The woman didn’t expect Huangquan to see through her intentions so easily. Fear gripped her heart, and she turned to run!
Huangquan, observing her, narrowed her eyes slightly. In the moment the woman turned away, Huangquan swiftly moved and appeared right in front of her.
“You!”
Seeing Huangquan suddenly appear before her, the woman was startled. Before she could say anything, Huangquan grabbed her by the neck.
Holding the woman firmly, Huangquan looked at her indifferently. “You’ve spun quite a tale, but unfortunately, I’m not fooled.”
“What do you want?” The woman couldn’t believe Huangquan’s terrifying power, capable of catching even her.
“I’m asking you, during the time from the appearance to the disappearance of the white mist, did you see a young man?” Huangquan asked.
“The young man the man was holding?” the woman replied.
Huangquan nodded. “Yes.”
“No…” the woman replied. “I didn’t see him. Actually, I was here before the white mist appeared, but I really didn’t see him…”
Hearing her words, Huangquan frowned. “Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes,” the woman said. “My life is in your hands; I dare not lie to you.”
The woman’s expression seemed genuine, but Huangquan didn’t release her grip. Instead, she tightened her hold and asked coldly, “Why did you make up a story to deceive me?”
“Uh…” The woman struggled, then said with difficulty, “I, I spoke half-truths…”
Huangquan asked sharply, “Which half?”
“When I woke up, there were indeed many people. Those who went into the tower never came back. I didn’t go because I was too afraid at that time, too scared to go…”
“Afraid?” Huangquan raised an eyebrow. “Everyone else went, why were you the only one afraid to go?”
“Because… a person came out from the tower…” the woman hesitated.
“A person?” Huangquan frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure…” the woman said with difficulty. “A person came out from the tower. As soon as he appeared, the deathly aura surged out madly from the tower. I was nearby, I saw it, and I was terrified…”
“I didn’t dare to approach, but that man noticed me. He saw me…” Here, the woman even stopped struggling, tears streaming down her face. “His face was so terrifying, I was scared. I wanted to run, and when I ran, that man started running too. I thought he would chase after me, but as I looked back while running, I saw that the man’s feet were bound with chains. Those chains pulled him back, and that’s when I managed to escape…”
“I was scared, so I hid. When I came out again, the tower had anomalies. They wanted to go in, I couldn’t stop them, I only warned those I knew well. But they believed they could find a way to solve the problem from inside the tower. They didn’t listen to me, they followed the others inside, and once they went in, they never came out…”
After listening to the woman’s story, Huangquan pondered for a moment in her mind, then said, “You mentioned earlier that the tower absorbed the deathly aura?”
The woman looked fearful at the question, but answered truthfully, “That part was a lie…”
Huangquan continued to observe her, waiting for her next words.
“The deathly aura didn’t get absorbed by the tower; it came out from inside the tower…”
“That doesn’t make sense either,” Huangquan said calmly. “This relic site has existed for many years. According to what you’re saying, there should have been a dense and heavy deathly aura, at least stronger than what I see now.”
“But you see, the deathly aura here isn’t very dense…”
To be honest, while the deathly aura in this city looks frightening, it’s actually not strong at all. At least, it’s not strong enough for her to suppress it compared to the deathly aura emanating continuously from Qingqing. So, the deathly aura here isn’t as severe as the one on Qingqing.
“I don’t know what’s going on exactly. All I know is that the deathly aura here disappears periodically…”
“After the deathly aura disappears from here, it slowly gathers again. Once it accumulates enough, the deathly aura disappears once more.”
Huangquan looked at her and asked, “Are all of these things true?”
The woman vigorously nodded, “They’re all true.” She really didn’t dare to lie to her; this person was definitely not normal. Normal people couldn’t even see her, let alone harm her!
Huangquan looked at the woman and slowly let go of her.
The woman, seeing Huangquan release her grip, breathed a sigh of relief. However, before she could fully relax, her anxiety returned.
Huangquan’s hand moved to the back of the woman’s neck and touched a spot. In the next moment, the woman felt a burning sensation, as if something had been branded onto her soul.
“What… what did you do to me?” the woman trembled in fear.
“Just a little something.” Huangquan withdrew her hand and looked at the woman. “You’ve been here in this city for so long, you’re more familiar with it than I am. Help me find someone.”
“If I find him, I’ll take off what I gave you, and if I don’t find it…”
“I’m not familiar with this place either.” The woman panicked upon hearing this. “There are many places I can’t even go to. This place is especially strange. I’ll do my best to find him, but if I can’t find him, don’t blame me. It’s not my doing that he was taken away.”
The woman felt deeply wronged. Although she had entertained thoughts of tricking Huangquan and the others earlier, she had been countered before she could act. Having lived here for so many years without successful schemes was one thing, but now being threatened to help find someone was simply too much injustice!
Seeing her agitation, Huangquan smiled inwardly but maintained a composed expression. “As long as you sincerely try to find him, even if you can’t, I will spare your life. I keep my word, so you can rest assured.”
The woman looked at her, lips twitching as if to say something. However, seeing Huangquan’s ambiguous smile, she decided against it and only replied, “I will do my best to find him.”
Huangquan nodded slightly. “Go.”
The woman didn’t dare to linger and ran off as fast as she could.
Once the woman had left, Huangquan looked ahead.
The city was in ruins, but remnants of its former grandeur were still visible. Amidst the decayed cityscape, a tower stood tall and undamaged, resembling a pillar reaching into the sky.
Narrowing her eyes slightly as she looked at the tower in the heart of the city, Huangquan pondered.
If Brother wasn’t taken away forcibly, and that woman didn’t see him willingly follow anyone, then… how did Brother disappear?
Shifting her gaze away, Huangquan continued forward.
Regardless, she decided to first investigate that tower.
Perhaps she could find answers there.
However…
Just as Huangquan moved forward, intending to rendezvous with the High Priest and the others, she saw them approaching.
The High Priest, Feng Jiuyuan, Jingchen, Lin Xu, and Nangong Qingyue were all present, but…
Nangong Mian, who couldn’t move, was nowhere to be seen!
Huangquan stopped in her tracks, her expression instantly darkening.
It was a genuine, ominous darkness that made Nangong Qingyue and Lin Xu instinctively halt, afraid to approach.
