It didn’t take much effort for Lan Sheng Zhe to find Zhao Cheng Yin, what should've been a deserted and abandoned place in the middle of the mountain, Zhao Cheng Yin was grilling a goose in the small courtyard.
Lan Sheng Zhe stood there dumbfounded watching this guy just go about his day.
Zhao Cheng Yin noticed Lan Sheng Zhe’s presence and asked without looking up “Done fishing? Gege didn’t bring any to eat?”
“Who are you?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re at my house”
“How can this be your house?”
“Why can’t it? No one lives here, it's free and spacious, are you coming in? ”
Outrageous! Lan Sheng Zhe didn’t know why but everytime he spoke to this person he wanted to beat the guy till he begged for mercy. How can a normal human being live here? Suspicious, too suspicious!
“Do you know how many people came to the mountain recently and who they are?”
“Gege! I’m starving, if you wanna knowmore, let me eat first. Do come in, make yourself at home”
“Don’t mind if I do” with that being said Lan Sheng Zhe went inside the house. It looks like this guy was actually living here. The condition of the house doesn’t look too good, in one glance one can tell that the house was burnt and barely put together for shelter. There is only one small room and one kitchen. The room didn’t look like a human lived here, the ground was damp, from the roof crack dripping rain water and there was only a bamboo bed in the room with one clothing rack. Disappointed he came back to the courtyard, that guy was still eating and drinking.
“Found anything interesting?”
“You’re done?”
Zhao Cheng Yin’s cheeks puffy with food stuffed inside “Can’t you see? Why don’t you join me?”
Lan Sheng Zhe just stood there.
Zhao Cheng Yin with a frustrated look, “Dine with me if you want me to cooperate”
Lan Sheng Zhe, sat down. Zhao Cheng Yin handed him a piece of meat as he said, “The village chief destroyed the array”
“Why should I trust you? He’s a mortal, it’s impossible…" suddenly he remembered the clumsy cuts on vines before the entrance, but a mortal couldn’t have even found the array formation let alone destroy it, unless someone was helping.
Lan Sheng Zhe knitted his brows as he was lost in thought “You have proof?”
“Proof?” Listening to Lan Sheng Zhe ask for proof he laughed hysterically as if he heard a joke. “Right, you people love that kind of stuff. I don’t have.” Zhao Cheng Yin leaned forward closing the distance between Lan Sheng Zhe and him, almost too close making Lan Sheng Zhe feel a bit uncomfortable. “Immortal gege, shouldn’t that be your job to find it?”
Lan Sheng Zhe has never been in such close proximity to anyone before, staring at those dreamy eyes he was in trance yet irritated, “Who are you?”
After scrutinizing Lan Sheng Zhe for a while Zhao Cheng Yin leaned back. “I? I’m a lost soul floating in the mountain to pass the rest of my life, you can call me Cheng Yu*. You are?”
“Lan Sheng Zhe. Don’t call me gege.” After a pause Lan Sheng Zhe asked “Why are you helping me?”
“Because you are pretty”
“You-!” How outrageous! Lan Sheng Zhe’s hand was really itching to beat him up to pulp!
“You’re done eating?” With that being said, Cheng Yu took Lan Sheng Zhe’s bowl and chopsticks and walked away to the kitchen.
Lan Sheng Zhe only had one bite, hmph who wants to eat your greasy food anyways! Whatever, I'll go investigate the case, if he’s related to all of this, I’ll kill him with my own hands!
Actually Lan Sheng Zhe really liked it, he loves spicy food with rich flavor and the goose was made just right. Even though he was reluctant to eat, the aroma of the food was so good he didn’t even know when he put the food in his mouth.
Initially Lan Sheng Zhe wanted to leave and find the village chief immediately but decided to meditate under a tree near the Cheng Yu’s courtyard for the night.
…
Next morning in Yunhuan, Lan Sheng Zhe went to the Village Chief’s house to interrogate.
“Jiezhi Xiande, we are very grateful that you came all the way from Langhai, my wife and I were going to come find you to properly thank, please excuse this humble one’s poor hospitality”
Lan Sheng Zhe, “Were you the one to break the formation?”
Village chief, “Ay how is that possible. I’m only a weak mortal..”
Before he got to finish his sentence Lan Sheng Zhe unsheathed the sword and pointed towards the chief’s neck. “Speak one word of a lie and I will not hesitate to drop blood. I don’t have mercy for mortals who are willing to shake hands with the devil.”
Actually Lan Sheng Zhe wouldn’t hurt mortals, he just did this to scare him, at most he would arrest him for interrogation. He knew the chief was hiding something and ever since he came here. So, when Cheng Yu said the village chief had something to do with this mess, his suspicion increased.
“We’ll speak! We’ll Speak! Please don’t kill my husband!” Village chief’s wife ran out to the courtyard when she saw her husband’s life was in danger.
Village chief, “What do you mean “we’ll speak?” What do we know? Go back! Did I tell you to come out!”
Lan Sheng Zhe no longer bothered with the chief and looked at the wife still holding the sword pointing at her husband. “Speak”
Village chief got very nervous and was trying to tell his wife to keep his mouth shut. The village chief didn’t believe Lan Sheng Zhe would actually hurt a mere mortal like him. But his wife didn’t think so and started to reveal everything.
“Few months ago a guy wearing a mask came to my husband and asked him to go to the mountain and burn a cave down. My husband didn’t know it was the formation he was asked to destroy, really! My husband is a good man, he only wanted our Ying’er to live a little longer, that's all! Really please spare us” The woman started crying as she finished her sentence.
Looking at how terrified the woman was, Lan Sheng Zhe lowered his sword and let the woman catch a break before he started to ask questions to the chief.
“How did you burn down the cave?”
After his wife told the truth there was no point in hiding anything anymore so the Village chief cooperated.
“Jiezhi Xiande, I used to possess spiritual roots but I have no talent and the roots are very weak. I am as good as a mortal with no roots. That day the mask cultivator gave me a medicine that can amplify my roots by a thousand folds for a day, which as a result will completely destroy my roots. The cultivator gave me a map and told me to take the medicine only after I was inside and then place the lamp next to the formation and draw my blood. After doing so the lamp’s fire automatically started to burn through the formation line. I got scared and ran back home as fast as I could.”
Lan Sheng Zhe, “What did he look like?”
“He was about the same height as Jiezhi Xiande’s shoulder, he was wearing a red and black mask and couldn't see his face but I did see a large scar on his right hand when he was handing me the medecine”
Shoulder height, scar in the right hand, Lan Sheng Zhe couldn’t think of any person who meets the requirement.
“Do you have the container he gave you the medicine in?”
Chief’s wife on the side exclaimed, “Yes! I kept it, I’ll bring it out right away!”
Lan Sheng Zhe, “I’ll bother the lady to please give it to me”
The wife ran to bring out the container and hoped the cultivator would leave soon.
