Startled by the sudden sound, the junior martial sister and brother jumped.
Fortunately, Huo Chongxiao reacted quickly. Seeing the black mist driven out by the spell, he immediately drew his sword to block. Bai Mengjin rushed over and pulled Yue Yunqiao behind her just in time.
The black mist was shattered by the sword qi.
Still shaken, Yue Yunqiao involuntarily grabbed Bai Mengjin's sleeve and asked, "What—what is this?"
"A minion ghost," Huo Chongxiao said, a lingering fear gripping him.
Minion ghosts were fierce spirits formed when people were killed by demonic creatures and their souls lost their minds. That was the origin of the saying "acting as a tiger's minion."
This minion ghost had considerable cultivation and had hidden itself so craftily that had it not been forced to reveal its form, they might never have noticed if Yue Yunqiao had been possessed.
Yue Yunqiao was only at the Qi Condensation stage and had come out with him this time just to gain some experience. If she had truly been possessed, her Divine Sense could have been harmed, with consequences too grim to imagine!
Thinking of this, Huo Chongxiao looked gratefully at the kind-hearted person who had stepped forward to help: "Many thanks to the young lady for your help... Uh..."
To his surprise, she was just such a little girl. What was she doing wandering the streets in the middle of the night?
Seeing his expression, Bai Mengjin finally relaxed.
This guy really didn't recognize her!
Recovering his wits, Huo Chongxiao apologized, "Pardon my rudeness. I am Huo Chongxiao, a disciple of Danxia Palace. May I ask your name, miss?"
"My surname is Bai, and I am the second-eldest in my family."
"You are from the Bai Family?"
Receiving an affirmative reply, Huo Chongxiao smiled. "So we are all of one family."
The Bai Family was an affiliated clan of Danxia Palace, living under its protection and taking orders from it, so they indeed counted as their own people.
After exchanging names, Yue Yunqiao pulled her over and said affectionately, "Miss Bai, thank you just now! If not for you, I would have been in big trouble!"
When Bai Mengjin had first entered Danxia Palace, she had been on very good terms with Yue Yunqiao. Seeing her alive and well now filled her with nostalgia, and she smiled as she replied, "Fairy Yue is too kind. I just happened to be passing by."
"Oh, we're all family here, no need to call me Fairy. I'm a bit older than you, so why don't you just call me Senior Sister?"
She figured that since the girl was from the Bai Family, she would surely enter Danxia Palace in the future, so calling her that in advance was no big deal.
Bai Mengjin feigned hesitation for a moment before quickly agreeing.
Once the forms of address became closer, it would be easier to build a connection, wouldn't it?
When they finished speaking, Huo Chongxiao asked with concern, "Miss Bai, why are you out here alone in the middle of the night? Did you run into trouble?"
Facing Huo Chongxiao as he was now, Bai Mengjin felt a strong sense of nostalgia. Once upon a time, he too had been a warm-hearted person—not like later on, when he threw himself entirely into the grand cause of eradicating demons and ignored everything else. She could only blame the blow dealt to him by Yue Yunqiao's death, which had been far too heavy.
Her eyes rolled, and she put on a troubled look. "I..."
Seeing her pathetic appearance, Yue Yunqiao immediately patted her chest. "Just tell us what's wrong. As long as it's something we can help with, we certainly will."
Bai Mengjin lowered her head and said in a small voice, "It's not really anything major. It's just that I had a bit of a falling out with my eldest brother at the academy today, and I don't dare go back..."
What kind of trivial matter was this? Yue Yunqiao, who had been pampered since childhood, could not understand: "You're so well-behaved, a falling out must be your eldest brother's fault. If anyone gets punished, it should be him. What are you afraid of?"
Huo Chongxiao, however, picked up on something and pulled her back, saying, "Junior Sister, every family's situation is different. You can't paint them all with the same brush."
Then he turned back around. "Miss Bai, how about we accompany you back? You helped us out immensely, so in reason and in etiquette, we ought to pay a visit to express our thanks. Given the thin veneer of our respect, your family's elders might not punish you after all."
"Can you?" Bai Mengjin was first startled with joy, but quickly reined in her smile. "Would that be proper? You still have things to do."
"It's fine, it won't take that much time."
Bai Mengjin still shook her head, saying considerately, "You just discovered a minion ghost, and it's very likely the demonic creatures sensed it. If I delay you, who knows, it might ruin something important."
Hearing this, Yue Yunqiao thought it made sense and looked at her senior brother.
Huo Chongxiao thought for a moment and asked her, "If not, would Miss Bai care to join us? If we're lucky enough to uncover an important clue, it will count as a contribution, and your family's elders won't hold your previous absence against you."
"This is a great idea!" Yue Yunqiao clapped her hands. "You can see minion ghosts, which shows you're extremely sensitive to demonic qi. With your help, we'll accomplish twice the work with half the effort."
Bai Mengjin broke into a smile. "Really? Won't I be a burden to you?"
"My senior brother is right here, what are you afraid of?" Yue Yunqiao encouraged her. "If you make a contribution, we'll report it. When you take part in the entrance trials later on, you'll be given priority admission—how wonderful is that? Senior Brother, don't you agree?"
Huo Chongxiao nodded. This mission was not rated very high, and Bai Mengjin seemed quite capable in her cultivation. Since he was already looking after Yue Yunqiao, he didn't mind having one more person along.
Bai Mengjin gratefully took Yue Yunqiao's hand. "Thank you both. I will definitely do my best to help."
She was overjoyed inside; having seen Huo Chongxiao's kill-crazed demeanor in the future so many times, she truly wasn't used to him being this easy to trick.
The three of them returned to the matter at hand.
Huo Chongxiao gathered the remaining demonic qi onto a talisman paper, destroyed the soul-summoning array on the ground, and sighed, "Big Aya has already fallen victim. Her poor mother."
Bai Mengjin asked, "When did demonic creatures appear in Qingyun City? I never even heard about it."
"We received the bounty hunter's report last month," Yue Yunqiao replied. "That person tracked down five or six cases, the earliest of which started with a disappearance three months ago. I suppose Qingyun City is so large that a few missing people are hardly noticeable."
"Moreover, this demonic creature is very skilled at concealment. We searched everywhere and found no residual demonic qi; if not for the compass reacting, we might have been fooled," Huo Chongxiao said, looking rather troubled. "We did find some lingering demonic qi, but the amount is so small I don't know if it's enough to track by."
"Let's try it first," Yue Yunqiao said. "Senior Brother, I'll guard you."
Huo Chongxiao nodded, took out an archaic-looking stone lantern, closed his eyes, and began chanting a spell.
This was a tracking technique of Danxia Palace. Bai Mengjin felt that his concerns were entirely justified; given his current level of cultivation, this tiny bit of demonic qi indeed might not be enough.
Just as he took out that piece of talisman paper to burn it, she suddenly spoke up, "Huo Gongzi, let me hold the lantern for you. If I channel my spiritual power into it, perhaps the effect will be a bit better."
Huo Chongxiao thought it made sense, so he handed the stone lantern to her.
Holding the lantern, Bai Mengjin quietly pinched a spell with her fingers before pouring her spiritual power into it.
The talisman paper stained with demonic qi was brought close to the lantern, and with a "boom," the flame flared up with a puff of black smoke, pointing in a certain direction.
Huo Chongxiao beamed with joy. "It worked!"
Looking equally delighted, Bai Mengjin returned the lantern to him. "That's wonderful! Shall we give chase?"
Huo Chongxiao discerned the direction and took the lead. "Let's go!"
Bai Mengjin followed behind with a soft smile. She had, after all, been reviled as a demonic overlord for thousands of years; she could still manage a small trick like this. It was just a pity her cultivation was heavily suppressed—she wondered how she could ever recover it.