The only thing they gained from this trip was this rotten leaf.

Beneath the tree, apart from the blood dripping from the hanging head, there was nothing else. It was clear that Lady Wen did not die here, but after her death, someone wrapped her head in cloth and deliberately hung it here.

According to Lady Wen's maid, two days before officially breaking off the engagement, Lady Wen attempted to hang herself for the third time. After waking up and learning that her parents had agreed to call off the engagement, she was overjoyed, saying that she had finally put down a heavy burden. She wanted to take a good bath in the hot springs with pomelo leaves to wash away the bad luck, and in two days she also wanted to go to the ancestral hall to fulfill her vows and go down the mountain to relax and unwind.

Therefore, when the maid discovered that she had disappeared from her boudoir, she assumed that Lady Wen couldn't wait to go out and play.

Feng Rugu listened and nodded repeatedly, as if he wasn't the one Lady Wen had discarded like worn-out shoes, crying and vowing to die rather than marry.

...His face was as thick as a winding city wall.

Fortunately, there was still this leaf, pointing the way for the next step for the group.

When the Wen family's doorman led the group to the guest house and took his leave, Luo Fuchun, who had been suffering from a headache the whole way, finally said, "Master, even if you're acting, you should at least show some grief in front of her family."

Feng Rugu said slowly, "As for crying, I only met Lady Wen once. If I really tried to act heartbroken, it would be too fake. Besides, she smashed a set of my tea ware..."

Luo Fuchun couldn't hold back anymore, "Master! Don't mention your tea set anymore! The person is dead--"

Feng Rugu muttered, "...Bought by Luojiu."

Luo Fuchun: "..."

Sang Luojiu played peacemaker, "Forget it, forget it. If Master likes it, we'll just go buy another set."

Luo Fuchun was deeply distressed, "Luojiu! Shut up! Can't you see that this person is clearly trying to swindle you!"

Feng Rugu laughed heartily.

Ruyi couldn't be bothered to talk more with Feng Rugu. He took Hai Jing to the side hall of the guest house, so Feng Rugu naturally and shamelessly occupied the main hall.

After spending the day with Feng Rugu, Hai Jing marveled, "From the looks of it, Lord Yunzhong truly lives up to his reputation as a 'heretic of the Dao'."

Ruyi repeated Hai Jing's words, deep in thought, "...'Heretic of the Dao'."

He walked the mortal world and his ears were never clean. He had naturally heard many anecdotes about the Dao sects. He had heard of Feng Rugu's title "Heretic of the Dao", but didn't know its origin.

"Among the current leaders of the three Daoist sects, he's the only one who has truly taken human lives." Hai Jing thought Ruyi was interested, so he explained in detail, "...They say it was the life of an ordinary person. I heard that if his master hadn't picked him up, it wouldn't be surprising even if he had cultivated the demonic path..."

Only when he noticed the cold light in Ruyi's eyes did he realize that he was creating verbal karma, and quickly shut his mouth.

Even though Ruyi didn't like Feng Rugu, he despised talking behind people's backs even more.

Ruyi looked at him, "If you do it again, I'll have you go cultivate the silent meditation."

Hai Jing was as silent as a cicada in winter.

Outside the side hall, Feng Rugu, who had put on a bathrobe and came to ask if they wanted to bathe in the hot springs together, lightly pressed his finger against the door panel. He stood dazed for a moment, then laughed silently.

Apart from Luojiu, his master, and senior brother, no one had ever spoken up for him before.

This feeling was really quite novel.

He went alone to the hot springs behind the guest house.

The hot springs were surrounded by pine trees. At night, all was quiet, with only the sound of the pines rustling.

The scent of pine permeated his clothes, the starry river floating like a raft.

Feng Rugu dipped one hand into the pool, his knuckles scattering the hazy crescent moon in the water. Thinking about all that had happened during the day, he fell into a daze.

He muttered to himself, "...Boren?"

A quarter of an hour later, Wen Zhen, the eldest son of the Wen family, personally brought a few vegetarian dishes to the guest house where the group was staying.

There was a medicinal fragrance on him. Ruyi could smell that it was a warming medicine for calming the mind and soothing the nerves.

Ruyi inquired, "How is Madam Wen?"

"My mother is just lacking in energy, all is well. Thank you for your concern, Master Ruyi."

Compared to his willful third sister and his wild second brother, Wen Zhen had a steady temperament. He tucked his sleeves, frowning slightly, as if always burdened with endless worries.

"I heard about what happened today. This matter is entirely due to my second brother being too rash, and Lord Yunzhong is not at fault. I will persuade him again tonight, and tomorrow I will bring him to apologize to Lord Yunzhong."

As he spoke, the wrinkles between Wen Zhen's brows deepened a few more degrees, "Because of what happened back then, Lord Yunzhong has made many enemies in the demonic path. My father and mother presumptuously decided to form a bond with Fengling, only seeing the benefits and not the dangers. Now they're pushing all the blame onto Lord Yunzhong, sigh..."

As soon as Wen Zhen mentioned the past events, Luo Fuchun couldn't help but straighten his back.

But Wen Zhen had no intention of continuing, "How has Lord Yunzhong's health been in recent years? In recent years, he has secluded himself in 'Still Water Runs Deep', shutting his doors to visitors. I wanted to climb the mountain to express my thanks several times, but couldn't gain entry. It's really..."

Luo Fuchun was disappointed again. Without much hope, he casually asked, "How was Master able to save everyone when he was severely injured and on the verge of death back then?"

Wen Zhen's shoulders suddenly shook, as if recalling a heart-wrenching past event. His face also turned pale. He stood up and bowed, awkwardly taking his leave, actually avoiding the question.

Wen Zhen's strange behavior further piqued the curiosity of those present.

Hai Jing had just been reprimanded by Ruyi, so he naturally didn't dare to ask more. He just pricked up his ears, eagerly looking at Luo Fuchun and Sang Luojiu.

Sang Luojiu looked at the slightly dejected Luo Fuchun, "I remember that Senior Brother's elder brother was also one of the surviving Daoist friends who came out of the 'Forgotten World'. Why are you still so curious about what happened back then?"

Luo Fuchun said in frustration, "As soon as my elder brother entered the 'Forgotten World', he was attacked by demonic energy and suffered a serious injury. Later on, he was exhausted from his injuries and fell into a coma for a long time. When he woke up, he had already come out."

Seeing the extremely eager eyes of the little monk across from him, Luo Fuchun explained, "Do you know about the demonic sect's chaos that happened thirty-nine years ago?"

Hai Jing didn't dare to speak. He pursed his lips tightly and nodded like a pecking chicken.

Seeing this, Ruyi quietly stood up and took his portion of the fruit, "Be back by the hour of the dog to do your homework."

With that, he went out the door and returned to the side hall.

Hai Jing immediately let out a huge sigh of relief, "I know, I know."

Thirty-nine years ago, the Demon Lord of the Nine-Branched Lamp took advantage of the weakness of the Dao sects at that time to counterattack the righteous path. He massacred the four Daoist sects of that time, especially Qingliang Valley.

Those who resisted were all exiled to the barbaric lands.

Across the lands, ghosts wailed straight to the ninth heaven.

The Demon Lord, Jiu Zhideng, schemed for the position of the righteous path and ruled the Dao sects for thirteen years. Using a policy of appeasement, he suppressed and slaughtered the innocent Blood Sect, trying to support the demonic path as the orthodox way.

However, the Demonic Dao had gained orthodoxy and only wanted to indulge in their desires without adhering to the rules, causing much discontent within the Dao.

During those thirteen years, his position as the leader of the Demonic Dao was not a comfortable one.

Twenty-six years ago, with the return of the orthodox cultivators who broke free from the shackles of the barbaric lands, he died a violent death, and the Demonic Dao subsequently disintegrated.

Up to this point, everything was still fine.

Later on, big problems arose.

The three sects, whose systems were still intact, focused wholeheartedly on recuperating after eliminating the chief culprits and killing the rebellious Demonic Dao members.

The small Demonic Dao sects that had been suppressed and unable to raise their heads seized this rare opportunity for development.

Regardless of whether they practiced Demonic Dao techniques or only had Demonic Dao bloodlines, and regardless of whether they had committed evil deeds or not, once discovered, they were all killed, and their Dao books, scriptures, silver taels, and cultivation treasures were seized, openly kept for their own use.

It can be said that the few Dao sects that can be ranked nowadays all rose by trampling on the corpses and blood of the Demonic Dao.

The lords of the remaining three sects saw that the situation was not good and all came out to stop it, but they had suffered the most damage. Coming out to speak for the enemy not only left them with no standing, but they were also counter-accused, saying that Jiu Zhideng, the leader of the Demonic Dao, originally came from Fengling Mountain and was one of the Fengling disciples, so Fengling should take responsibility for the thirteen years of turmoil.

Although the person who said this was immediately beaten up by the Daoist partner of the Fengling Mountain's Lord Xiaoyao, the fact was as such and could not be refuted.

Luo Fuchun recounted the events of those years vividly: "...Later, the Demonic Dao was hunted to the point of madness and hid in a space called 'Forgotten World' to conceal themselves."

"The gate of 'Forgotten World' opens once every three months, and the location of the opening is not fixed. Those Demonic Dao members, like rats in the gutter, take advantage of this three-month opening period to come out and find some spirit stones for their own cultivation. But they harbor resentment in their hearts and plan to carry out a big revenge, a big conspiracy."

"Ten years ago, the Eastern Emperor Sacrificial Ceremony was restarted... Oh, to put it in simpler terms, the Eastern Emperor Sacrificial Ceremony is a trial for the three major Dao sects, requiring young disciples to go to the locations specified in the rules to battle fierce beasts and fight evil spirits, selecting the best disciples to be accepted into the inner sect."

"At that time, among the outstanding disciples of the various Dao sects, who didn't want to join the three major sects? Therefore, in an instant, there were many applicants."

"Those with excellent aptitude were divided into one group, those with slightly inferior aptitude were divided into another group, and so on, layer by layer, to avoid those with slightly inferior aptitude from encountering crises beyond their abilities and getting injured, which would not be good."

"The three major sects each sent out outstanding inner sect disciples to serve as enforcers. The group led by my master happened to be the one with the best aptitude and the highest innate talent from various Dao sects, gathering at Mount Qiemo..."

At this point, Luo Fuchun raised his teacup and took a sip of the fragrant tea.

This was waiting for a "Then what?" to set the stage.

Hai Jing indeed cooperated and asked eagerly, "Then what?"

Luo Fuchun suddenly slammed the table, startling Hai Jing: "Who would have thought that the gate of 'Forgotten World' would open like this at the peak of Mount Qiemo, sucking in my master and the crowd!"

Sang Luojiu smiled and shook his head on the side, still holding soap nuts, rubbing the clothes and shoes that Feng Rugu had dirtied during his investigation on the mountain today.

Hai Jing gulped and stammered, "Th-then what?"

Luo Fuchun leaned back and said angrily, "...If I knew what happened later in 'Forgotten World', why would I be so indignant?"

Hai Jing was also hooked and thought for a moment, then pulled Luo Fuchun over and mumbled a few words, seeming to be giving him some ideas.

Luo Fuchun's eyes lit up: "Not bad, little monk."

Hai Jing chuckled a few times and scratched his bald head.

...

After a short while, at the hot spring behind the side hall, the water mist lingered, as if in a fairyland.

At this moment, three heads peeked out from the edge of the stone screen.

At the very bottom, Sang Luojiu said in a small voice, "Senior Brother, is this not very good of us?"

"Shh." Luo Fuchun used a voice transmission technique and said, "The little monk is right. There must be old scars left on Master's body, and perhaps we can glimpse some clues from them."

Sang Luojiu: "...Is that so?"

Luo Fuchun tried his best to prove that his master was an unparalleled hero, not just a pretty face, and his analysis was particularly clear: "Maybe there really are some secrets on Master's body... Usually, Master is so lazy, so why doesn't he ask you and me to attend to him when he bathes?"

Sang Luojiu moved his lips, feeling that normal people wouldn't easily ask others to accompany them when bathing.

Since Senior Brother requested, he came along anyway.

It's just that the three of them peeking at their master bathing together was indeed a bit perverted.

The rippling light in the hot spring was like silver, and Feng Rugu had his back to them, his long hair cascading over his shoulders, accentuating his slender neck and shoulders. However, the warm mist billowed like a sea of clouds, and he was in the midst of it, making it really hard to see clearly. One could only vaguely make out that on the left half of his back, there were crisscrossing fine veins, difficult to discern what they were.

Hai Jing's eyes were sharper: "It seems to be a tattoo..."

Before he could finish, a cold question came from behind, nearly scaring the souls out of the three: "...What are you doing?"

Turning their heads and seeing it was Ruyi's face, Hai Jing was so frightened that his shoulders trembled, and he couldn't even utter a coherent sentence before lifting his legs and fleeing.

The other two were also embarrassed, and they both bowed and ran away, one faster than the other.

Ruyi slightly frowned, watching the three disappear into the night, then turned his head, only to come face to face with Feng Rugu, who was leaning against the stone screen with a loose bathrobe draped over him.

Feng Rugu still had misty steam rising from his shoulders and hair, making his features appear even more moist and handsome: "Master, has your Buddha ever said what the offense is for peeping at others bathing?"

Ruyi: “...”