NHWSG chapter 91

Xing Yingzhu lost contact, but Sheng Zhao couldn’t ignore Hu Huanyang.

He considered himself Xing Yingzhu’s confidant and even a sort of caretaker in the tower. Seeing Hu Huanyang so distraught, he felt a sense of responsibility.

Sheng Zhao thought for a moment, then wrapped the half-eaten buttered pastry in a plastic bag, stuffed it into his pocket, and slung the umbrella handle over his shoulder. He roughly rubbed Hu Huanyang’s shoulder.

He used too much force, and Hu Huanyang winced from the pain, subconsciously furrowing his brows and regaining some composure.

“What’s going on? Explain clearly,” Sheng Zhao demanded. “Where could such a big person have disappeared to?”

Hu Huanyang shook his head. He seemed to be hesitating about something, but he stubbornly asked again, “Where’s the boss? Can’t he come back?”

“No,” Sheng Zhao said truthfully. “He went to the Forbidden Abyss—though I’m not sure what that place is exactly, there’s probably no signal there.”

Sheng Zhao realized that the term “Forbidden Abyss” was almost synonymous with Voldemort for creatures like Hu Huanyang. Hu Huanyang shrank subconsciously, and he didn’t dare to ask what Xing Yingzhu was doing.

Until now, Hu Huanyang had to accept a fact—the only force capable of defending the household would indeed be unable to return for the time being.

But to resort to desperate measures and see Sheng Zhao as a straw to save his life… Hu Huanyang really couldn’t do such a shameless thing.

“I…” Hu Huanyang gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll think of something. It’s okay, Xiao Zhao.”

“Don’t say it’s okay,” Sheng Zhao urged, shaking Hu Huanyang’s shoulder. “Tell me what’s really going on.”

Hu Huanyang hesitated for a moment—he really had no other choice now. Zhang Jian was missing, and he couldn’t contact the people from Mount Longhu. His mind was already a mess, and now, being urged by Sheng Zhao, he blurted out everything.

Sheng Zhao pulled him under the nearby rain shelter, and it took him a full half-hour to understand the ins and outs of Hu Huanyang and Zhang Jian’s arrival in Qianshui.

Previously, Zhang Jian had taken Mr. Sun’s commission to investigate the ‘haunted villa’ matter, but instead of finding any ghosts, he found a strange Buddha statue.

The Buddha statue emitted a strong light, yet evil creatures still loitered around it, sucking the blood and fortune of Mr. Sun’s family as if they weren’t afraid of the Buddha’s light at all.

Zhang Jian felt something was wrong and had Mr. Sun’s family temporarily leave the villa. He also gave them protective items. Then he traced the origins of the Buddha statue from Mr. Sun and found out it came from a small fishing village near Qianshui.

According to Mr. Sun’s wife, there was an ancient temple in that fishing village, which had been around for at least two hundred years since the Qing Dynasty. It enshrined Buddhist objects, which were said to be very effective. Many people from nearby areas went to burn incense for blessings, whether it was for their career or wealth, and their wishes were often fulfilled.

Even people from several major cities nearby would come to pay their respects even if they had nothing else to do.

Mr. Sun’s family was in business, and they preferred to believe in such matters rather than dismiss them. It just so happened that during that time, Mr. Sun was facing some difficulties in his business. His wife had the idea to spend a lot of money to bring a consecrated statue from the temple.

Dealing with places like ancient temples was quite common in their line of business, so Mr. Sun’s family didn’t think much of it and proceeded to worship it upon its return. Little did they know they were inviting such a troublesome problem back home.

Zhang Jian managed to extract the address from Mr. Sun’s wife and confirmed that it was a “long-term business,” which made him feel that this was not a trivial matter. So, he felt it necessary to investigate the temple.

“And then?” Sheng Zhao asked. “Then how did he go missing?”

“That temple does have a strong following and radiant Buddha light. I felt uncomfortable as soon as I got close,” Hu Huanyang said. “So Zhang Jian asked me to wait outside while he went in himself—actually, I didn’t agree at first. I said, what if something happens there, and there’s no one to back us up? But Zhang Jian said he had used his heavenly eye and confirmed that it was indeed a proper place inside, with no monsters or ghosts, let alone those evil things, so I believed him…”

“And then he went missing?” Sheng Zhao was somewhat incredulous. “According to what you’re saying, isn’t that place a public attraction?”

Hu Huanyang nodded and said, “After he went in, he never came out again—I even called the police, but when they arrived and searched inside, they couldn’t find anything. With so many tourists coming in and out of the temple every day, people speculate he might have left through a side door. But if Zhang Jian had come out, he wouldn’t have failed to come find me, let alone disappear without a word.”

Sheng Zhao’s heart sank a little.

Others might not have noticed, but Sheng Zhao could tell that Zhang Jian seemed to have an inexplicable concern for Hu Huanyang, based on their few interactions. The idea that Zhang Jian would leave without considering Hu Huanyang’s safety seemed unreliable to Sheng Zhao.

Moreover, having been with Xing Yingzhu for so long, Sheng Zhao’s thinking had long since departed from the realm of ordinary materialism. His first reaction was that Zhang Jian might have been captured by some mystical means.

But Zhang Jian was originally the next-generation master of Mount Longhu. What kind of occult method could have captured him?

“It’s… it’s okay,” Sheng Zhao said, trying to reassure him. “Just think about it, even back then in Shanghai, that dragon didn’t harm Zhang Jian. It’s just a public attraction, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Xiao Zhao, you don’t know,” Hu Huanyang said. “Those evil things in Mr. Sun’s house would suck people’s essence and luck. Generally speaking, only demons would do such things. They feed on humans and experience a rapid increase in their power in a short period, and then—”

And then what? 

Hu Huanyang didn’t continue, but Sheng Zhao understood.

He was worried that Zhang Jian had been captured by some great demon, and then torn apart and devoured, becoming a dish for others.

During these days, Xing Yingzhu had also talked to Sheng Zhao about various things related to the demon race. Naturally, Sheng Zhao understood that for people like Zhang Jian, who possessed both magical powers and virtues, in the eyes of those wicked demons, he was no different from a plate of braised pork.

—No wonder Hu Huanyang immediately asked about Xing Yingzhu.

“I’m not worried about his life,” Hu Huanyang said with extreme sorrow in his brows, speaking softly. “But if he stays in such a place for too long and gets messed with, I’m afraid his cultivation will be ruined—”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Zhao also became anxious. Although he and Zhang Jian were not very close, they could still be considered fellow disciples, and there was still some friendship between them.

He subconsciously reached into his pocket and felt a soft feather.

—It was the one given to him by the blue phoenix.

Xing Yingzhu had previously said that her visit was not to help him……. was it for this matter?

Sheng Zhao couldn’t be sure.

He ran his thumb back and forth on the feather several times, feeling extremely nervous. He didn’t know whether he should break the feather and ask for help from the other party.

In theory, since Xing Yingzhu wasn’t here, it would be most appropriate for him and Hu Huanyang, both novices, to seek help from a divine bird like Ajing. But there was only one feather, and only one chance—

Sheng Zhao gritted his teeth and forced himself to let go of the feather.

Joking aside, Sheng Zhao thought bitterly: Even if the Boss wasn’t present, using such a big move now would be overkill.

Sheng Zhao repeated the phrases “A man should have a sense of responsibility” and “In Xing Yingzhu’s absence, I am the head of the household” in his mind three times, then forced himself to pat Hu Huanyang on the shoulder with a stiff head.

“It’s okay,” Sheng Zhao said. “Where is that temple? I’ll go take a look.”

“You?” Hu Huanyang looked at him in horror, shaking his head like a rattle, saying, “No, no, no, I can’t go in with you. If someone like Zhang Jian went missing, what if you get into trouble too? The Boss would tear me apart.”

“It’s okay, you’re overthinking it,” Sheng Zhao tried to reassure him. “Look at it from another perspective. You’re a demon, Zhang Jian is a geomancer, but what am I? I’m just an ordinary person—so many people burn incense in that temple every day. It’s unlikely that everyone will disappear. I’ll just go in as an ordinary tourist, take a look, and come back. What could possibly go wrong?”

Hu Huanyang was a little convinced by his words and hesitantly nodded.

“Well, problem solved,” Sheng Zhao said. He handed the umbrella to Hu Huanyang and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Now, tell me, where is that temple… Even if the parents are not at home, we can’t just mess up the house, right?”

Thousands of miles away, the highly anticipated “parent” had just passed through the seal of the Forbidden Sea Abyss, feeling dizzy and falling onto the sea surface.

The Forbidden Abyss was a divine realm, where all living beings that entered, whether they were demons, immortals, or monsters, had to carry a debuff that weakened them, as if it were some unknown “class,” always bowing down before the gods.

If Xing Yingzhu were still his original dragon form from years ago, that would be fine. However, he was now just a snake demon. As soon as he entered a place like this, he felt as if he’d been shackled, sinking heavily downward.

He hadn’t felt this heavy sinking sensation in many years. Suddenly, his mood became extremely poor, and he just wanted to finish things quickly and leave, so he didn’t waste time in this broken place.

Moreover, time flew chaotically within the Forbidden Abyss. If he stayed here for a day, it could be four or five days outside. He had promised Sheng Zhao that he would return within a week. He couldn’t break his word.

Unfortunately, this place was even more chaotic and messy than he imagined—what the person said was true, there really were anomalies here. Under the eternal night, the dark sea surged and roared. With one foot on the sea surface, Xing Yingzhu could almost hear the booming sounds below.

The familiar and unfamiliar howls seeped into his ears through the air, causing his expression to darken slightly. For a moment, it felt as if he’d been forcibly dragged back tens of thousands of years through time and space.