Chapter 64: Chapter 62: Constant Speculation and Guesswork

"To be honest, I know this sounds like a fabrication. But if I’d just said people were vanishing without a trace, you Immortal Masters would have thought I was lying."

"That’s why I had to resort to this."

Song Chengyi said, looking deeply troubled.

"I’m sure you Immortal Masters can handle this. An Immortal Master’s Divine Techniques are boundless and all-powerful."

Anyone who didn’t know better might have responded to such praise with false modesty.

But that wasn’t the case now.

Hearing these sycophantic words, Xu Ningying was unmoved.

"Song Chengyi, this matter is not something I can decide," Xu Ningying said, shaking her head.

"He’s right, Song Chengyi. This matter is no longer as simple as a Demon Fiend," Su Qing said, sitting up straight and growing serious after he finished eating.

’Something that can alter memories is far beyond what I can handle right now.’

Song Chengyi’s brow furrowed at this, and his gaze shifted back to Xu Ningying. It was clear that she was the leader of the two.

But Xu Ningying just shook her head again.

"Song Chengyi, how about this: the two of us will stay here for two days. Tomorrow, you investigate and see if anyone else has gone missing. If more people disappear, we will stake out the area for a night."

"We’ll see if anything suspicious happens. If nothing does, yet people continue to disappear, then I will have to request support from the Sect."

Xu Ningying laid out her plan.

Su Qing immediately had a bad feeling.

’Is this woman trying to get herself killed?’

’Forget whatever confidence Xu Ningying might have—I have absolutely zero confidence in dealing with something so bizarre.’

Song Chengyi, however, nodded. "Since the Immortal Master has a plan, I dare not presume to speculate further."

Su Qing was stunned.

He wanted to scream at Xu Ningying, ’You’re trying to get us killed!’

But once the two of them seemed to reach an agreement,

neither of them spoke much.

The banquet ended quickly after that.

The moment they left the Government Office

and got inside Xu Ningying’s Flying Car,

he frowned and demanded, "Do you actually have a way to deal with the strange phenomenon here?"

"Aren’t you just asking to be killed?"

Xu Ningying, however, calmly said to Su Qing, "Calm down."

"I am calm! Staying here is dangerous!"

Su Qing took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, but everything Song Chengyi had said pointed to how dangerous this place was.

"Unknown dangers are the most terrifying kind, Xu Ningying. You have to remember, we only get one life."

"You don’t actually think I can protect you, do you?" Su Qing said helplessly.

Leaving now was entirely up to Xu Ningying, as her Flying Car was their only means of transportation.

Xu Ningying was silent for a moment.

"I think we should observe things for ourselves first. We can’t be sure that Cheng Yi isn’t lying, based solely on his word."

"What do you think?"

Xu Ningying’s words helped Su Qing calm down.

Su Qing fell silent. After a long moment, he finally nodded. "You’re right. It’s hard to believe it based on one person’s story."

"But you have to consider this: is he really willing to bear the consequences of deceiving an Immortal Master?" Su Qing retorted.

"He’s just a completely ordinary person!"

After Su Qing finished speaking, Xu Ningying began to panic as well. ’He’s right. Although I don’t fully believe what Cheng Yi said, would he really dare to deceive an Immortal Master?’

"For now, let’s leave the city and come back tomorrow. It’s better to spend the night in the middle of nowhere than to stay here."

Xu Ningying fell silent again, then nodded.

"Alright. In that case, let’s leave for now. We’ll deal with this tomorrow."

Su Qing finally let out a sigh of relief. ’The girl is teachable after all...’

"Then go ahead and start the Magical Artifact and get us out of here."

"Mm..." Xu Ningying nodded, placing her hand on a spot inside the vehicle. The car started up.

’So advanced.’

’She can control this Flying Car just by touching the console.’

’Even if it is a Flying Car with no wheels...’

Su Qing was secretly impressed by the sight.

Soon, the Flying Car started up and departed.

From the moment the Flying Car took off until they had flown out of the city,

Su Qing’s nerves were on edge. It was nighttime, after all.

He was terrified that some powerful expert would suddenly appear and force them to stay.

"We just need to get to the open sky outside the city," Xu Ningying said to Su Qing.

"This Magical Artifact really is something. It can fly at full power for five days straight. If it just hovers like this, it can stay up for fifteen days."

At this point, Xu Ningying also let out a sigh of relief.

Looking at Su Qing again, she added, "Actually, it would be useless to go back and report to the Sect now. We have no proof that anything is wrong here."

"At most, I’ll just have to retake my sect entrance assessment somewhere else."

Su Qing said without hesitation, "Then let’s go back and report to the Sect. It’s only a half-day trip back, anyway."

"But I have no proof of any of this."

"I at least need to record some evidence to take back." Xu Ningying took out a square map, looking incredibly frustrated herself.

More importantly, she was very worried about this assessment of hers.

’What if this is a test from the Sect?’

’I have to see it through.’

"Fine," Su Qing said coldly. "But I’ll say this now: if we run into an enemy stronger than me, and if I have a chance to escape, I will absolutely take it without a second thought."

Xu Ningying wasn’t surprised. "Of course. But I don’t think they’ll be too powerful."

"Otherwise, they could have just slaughtered the entire city."

"..."

’She’s right, damn it.’ Su Qing realized he’d been thinking about it all wrong. If the enemy was really that powerful, why wouldn’t they just slaughter the entire city?

’With an ability as powerful as altering memories at will, why be so secretive and just make a few people disappear every day?’

’It makes no sense at all.’

"Mm, you’re right. We’ll just stay here for the night, then go back to the city tomorrow to investigate."

Xu Ningying took out her belongings and began to prepare, checking her Magical Artifacts and some talisman paper.

They looked like items provided by the Zhengxuan Sect.

"I suspect this isn’t a Demon Fiend, but the work of a person. Possibly a Demon Cultivator."

"So?"

"If we really do kill a Demon Cultivator, the Sect will reward me. I can trade some of it for information you might be interested in."

At this, Su Qing’s eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Mm. I probably can’t pass a Cultivation Technique on to you, but information can be shared."

"We’ll see. We don’t even know if something like that is really here yet."

"I’m going to cultivate. Can’t waste Time."

"Mm..."

Xu Ningying nodded, looking at Su Qing in confusion. She didn’t quite understand. ’Does Su Qing not sleep at night?’

’Is it really a good idea to pull an all-nighter for Cultivation at his current Realm?’

’She recalled that the Five Qi Nourishing Yuan Skill was just a trash-tier Cultivation Technique for the Gathering Spirit Realm. Was there really a need to practice it so diligently?’

...