Mizumu-kun walked along the empty path towards the place where the buildings gradually became denser. The lives of the townspeople are as busy as ever. The hut and small courtyard at the edge have been abandoned for a while. Although there is no grass growing in this severe winter, it has snowed recently, and only this family's courtyard still has accumulated snow that has not been cleared. The small house was covered with a thick layer of white, as if it might be crushed at any time. The broken tree was gone, leaving only a stump. Probably, it was used as firewood by someone. In a season like this, people won't waste anything that can keep them warm.
After walking through this house, the atmosphere of the New Year began to become more intense. It’s still Chinese New Year, and the town is decorated with lights and colorful decorations. The further you go in, the more lively it becomes. She wanted to go to a house, but felt that it was not good to go empty-handed. She should buy something. But she never knew how to choose gifts, so she silently considered whether it would be best to just keep the money. She stopped for a while in front of a pork shop, one of the few places still open during the New Year. She was still hesitating, but when the store owner saw her, his expression was not very good. He was still smiling when the last customer left, but when he saw Mizumu-kun on the roadside, his expression completely froze. But he reacted quickly and greeted politely. Shui Wujun now felt that it was not appropriate not to buy, so he was picking and choosing in front of the stall.
"I haven't seen you for a while..."
"Yes. Please help me weigh that piece of pork belly. Some are fat or some are thin. Both the elderly and children can eat it."
"...Hey, okay."
He seemed to want to say something else, but in the end he didn't say anything. He quickly tied up the weighed meat and handed it to Shui Wujun. Then he continued to smile apologetically and stopped talking.
"We haven't said how much it will cost yet."
"Uh, well, no more money, that's right."
Shui Wujun frowned slightly, naturally feeling that this was inappropriate, but he stopped arguing with the stall owner and left with more silver than he should have given. When the others saw her, they all had an indescribable look on their face, as if they were all guarding a common secret, but Shui Mujun was the outsider. Even if someone occasionally meets her eyes, they will immediately look away. She was keen and had noticed something strange a long time ago, but she knew that the people in this town were simple and honest, and no one would want to harm her. I was afraid that everyone would encounter some trouble. I’ve heard of corpses coming to life and attacking humans in many other places, so it’s relatively safe here—for now.
When she walked towards the familiar house, the old woman was sitting at the door basking in the sun. But her complexion was very poor, very pale, bloodless, and she looked sad, just like the broken tree at the edge of the town. Other people's houses had couplets posted in front of them, and lanterns and red peppers hung up, but her place was deserted, just like the desolate hut when she came here. Shui Wujun walked towards her. The old woman should have raised her head and said hello, but she didn't. She still sat there with her head lowered, and no one could catch her eyes. It wasn't until Shui Wujun stood completely in front of her that the old woman slowly raised her head, her movements as stiff as an ice sculpture. There was no snow swept around the yard. I wonder if she was too busy or in poor health to take care of the yard.
When she saw Shui Wujun, her face suddenly turned a little red, but it didn't turn red for a while, and then turned white again. After a while, it became green again, and it didn't take long for her face to look like a human face. When Shui Wujun said something was wrong, the old woman grabbed her hand with such force that it felt like she was going to break her bones.
"Gone...the girl is gone--gone!"
It can't be called a bolt from the blue, because this kind of thing is in line with the reaction of people on the street. They were all afraid that they would be shocked, saddened, or furious if they knew what happened. In fact, it's not that Shui Wujun didn't have this idea at that time, it was just that she killed it in time. She always felt that it was impossible to happen. This town was introduced to her by Lord Shuangyue in the past. It was very remote, but it had abundant products and people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Such bizarre things should not happen. After the old woman admitted it herself, she had to dig this strangled and buried idea out of the soil again, dust it away, and try to make it clear again. Shui Wujun calmed down and asked with difficulty:
"When did this happen?"
"Just...three or four days ago!"
She held the old woman's skinny hand, and it looked like there was no flesh and blood under the skin, as if she hadn't eaten properly in more than three days. When Shui Wujun left last time, she still had black hair, but it turned gray in a short period of time. The old woman must be having a hard time these days. She can't make things difficult for her anymore.
"You take the meat first, and we'll go into the house and talk."
The old woman stretched out her hand stiffly, as if handing over a branch, asking Shui Wujun to hang the things on it. But as soon as she took a little weight, her hands couldn't stop shaking, and the flesh fell off immediately, covered with dust. She was about to bend down to pick it up, but Shui Wujun was a step ahead of her, carrying the thing and helping her back to the cold room.
After some difficult recollections by the old woman, things generally became clearer. There was nothing unusual about Ye Yinquan before he disappeared. He went to bed early and got up early as before, and even helped her choose vegetables and fetch water when he had time. A living person in his twenties cannot just disappear for nothing. However, the public security here is good. It is better to say that people are not evil-minded and things like abduction and trafficking should not happen. If outsiders come here, the enthusiastic people will definitely tell them. So there are no clues so far, and the girl Ye Yinhua just disappeared for nothing.
"If you disappear overnight..."
Shui Wujun had an idea, maybe she left on her own. People here get up early and go to bed early, so when it gets dark, there is no one on the street. But where could she go? Where does she want to go? Even if you have any plans, you should wait until you arrive and say hello. She is a well-behaved girl who does not make her own decisions. Maybe she was deceived by someone... But the townspeople said that no one has appeared recently. But it’s also possible that the bad guys are acting covertly? There are so many possibilities for this matter, and Shui Mujun's head is also in a mess. But she had no choice but to comfort the old woman and let her let go of this knot first.
The old woman whined, but she had no tears. She probably cried herself to death in the past two days. She liked this girl so much, and she didn't feel good about losing her because of her negligence. She just sobbed and lamented.
"But what should I do? I heard that in the city outside, there are moving corpses everywhere, trying to eat people..."
"That's not the case" - should Shuiwu-kun say that? She rarely lied, almost never. In the past days, she only needed to get money to kill people, and she didn't need to do anything else. The art of language is something that she had to understand only after she died and became impermanent. But she's still not good at lying. Although there are currently only a few scattered areas affected, she cannot guarantee that these incidents will not become more dangerous and widespread in the future. The strange thing is that Yama Demon doesn't have any orders now, maybe because he feels that the situation is not critical enough to need to be handled by Wuchang.
But if it's more serious, where should they start?
Shui Wujun has nothing to do now, but she doesn’t know when Black and White Wuchang will send her a message next time. She must find her within a limited time, ensure her safety, and figure out her situation. Mizumu-kun left the town that day and walked out along the only road. She came from the spiritual vein, but Yin Huan does not have the ability to travel through the spiritual vein. As long as she calculates the distance of three or four days based on the movement trajectory of a normal person, she should be able to determine her location. Shui Wujun's Qinggong is very good. After becoming an Impermanent Ghost, her physical strength is no longer as fragile as that of a mortal. Her speed can be faster than any good horse.
Despite this, she searched for ten days and ten nights.
The New Year's holiday has ended long ago, and people have returned to their jobs one after another. She passed two big cities, four small villages, three vast woodlands, and a large mountain, but did not find out any news about Yin Huan. These places are not in a straight line, but in an arc, with a radius of approximately four days' travel time for a little girl. She found nothing and was so anxious that she could not sleep peacefully. Even though there was no need for sleep in the six realms of impermanence, she still felt unspeakably tired.
Over the centuries, many things would have made her feel powerless. The failed mission, the people who couldn't be saved, and all the injustices on this land - whether human or monster. Famine, war, plague, natural disasters... Various accidents are happening in every corner of the world all the time. These accidents will ferment and turn into a complete tragedy. Some of them didn't have to happen, and some of them she could still stop. Sometimes the fate of one or two little people can turn everything upside down. She already knew this. However, she still felt tired as never before... Yin Huan was such a key person. The adult once said that she needed unprecedented attention and protection, and what she had to do was to accompany her and try to solve this problem. Perhaps it will bring about an unfortunate curse. This is no easier than any major disaster. Although, the message given by that adult was still not clear enough...but it always is. That adult only needs to give the right order to the right person. No matter what that person does, he can almost make things develop in the most perfect direction, regardless of his own wishes - this is the vision of the Lord of Naraku. .
Will this mission fail in her hands?
No...it shouldn't have ended like this. Shui Wujun took longer and went to a farther place. With each additional mile, the area to be searched becomes wider than before. She came to a mountainous area again, and as before, she inquired from local well-informed people or monsters. Same as before - nothing. However, she still decided to stay here for a while, because her underworld bell resonated with someone unknown.
There is an Impermanence of the Six Paths nearby.
It was always good to have someone else she could ask for help, even though she had never been good at doing that in the past. Although there are not many opportunities to meet with colleagues from the Six Paths of Impermanence, one or two of them have great powers and can always be of help. The area here can be considered desolate, with only a few small villages at the foot of the mountain. Together, they were not as big as the largest village she had seen during this trip. Those people can't give themselves any effective information, and many people even don't know what the Six Paths of Impermanence are.
There are still such people in this day and age, and indeed they can be considered ignorant.
