This female leader is a little bit stronger

"What are you laughing at? Your brother hasn't come back for several days, and you didn't even notice?" Lou Yanfeng's tone became heavier, with a hint of blame.

The bare hands are clasped.

He secretly blamed himself for being too indulgent towards his subordinates and having a group of unruly people!

Look, he's still wearing flowers on his ears!

Which little girl gave it to you?

How dignified!

"Asi is missing?" The young guard leader Zhu Wei was startled. He immediately plucked the flower from his ear and held it in his hand. He explained in a low voice like a child who had done something wrong. "He always leaves for seven or eight days. This time he's only three days late. I didn't take it too seriously..."

Lou Yanfeng was so angry that she drank tons of water.

Because she knew that Zhu Wei was a careless person, she gave the task of picking up and dropping off her sweetheart to the more careful Zhu Si.

"She is Yue Tianxin's sister. Your brother and her sister are missing together. You should take her along the way to find them. If you can't find them... you might as well not come back!" Lou Yanfeng slammed her hand on the tea table and ordered in a heavy tone.

Zhu Wei could not disobey the order of the abbot, so after giving instructions to his subordinates, he set off on a boat with Ning Ye.

Sanghe County is located in the north of Xiyuan County, and the two counties are separated by mountains.

The only passable road is the Tiansang River.

The boat sailed westward against the current, and every time they passed a pier or a fishing boat, the two would stop to inquire.

In two days, the boat traveled a hundred miles.

They searched every village along the way and asked everyone, but found nothing.

Zhu Wei persuaded Ning Ye several times, "Asi's ship is fast and has enough food on board. It is unlikely that they will stop midway."

Ning Ye doesn't think so.

Because according to the route he described, after they finished the waterway, they got on the official road.

There are many people on the official road and the possibility of a monk disappearing with a child is very small.

So they are more likely to get into accidents on the water!

Another village pier appeared ahead, and Ning Ye asked Zhu Wei to pull over.

There were many women washing clothes by the river. Ning Ye walked over and took out a small piece of gold.

"Excuse me, did you see a ten-year-old girl passing by on a boat ten days ago? There should have been an adult on the boat, a man, about twenty years old, who looked like him." Ning Ye pointed at Zhu Wei behind him.

He said that he and his brother looked very similar.

The women didn't want to answer a child's questions.

But when they saw the gold, their attitude immediately changed.

"What's your relationship with that girl?" asked a fat woman.

Ning Ye: "She's my sister."

The fat woman wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm. "I haven't seen it, but I can ask Old Man Cao for you. He hangs around the docks every day, so he must have seen it. If you can find out, can I have the gold?"

"can."

The woman smiled, put the unwashed clothes back into the basin, and stood up with the basin. "I'll go right away, you have to wait for me!"

Ning Ye nodded and found a stone block to sit on.

Her face remained calm.

Zhu Wei became more and more anxious. After two days without any news, he began to imagine that something had happened to his brother.

"My brother has no enemies, who would harm him?" Zhu Wei couldn't understand.

He didn't think it was Yue Tianxin's fault.

He was also familiar with that little girl. She was always well-behaved and everyone in Lelingfang liked her very much.

"Why don't you look anxious at all?"

“Is it useful to be anxious?”

Ning Ye folded her hands on her legs and closed her eyes. The murmurings of the women by the river kept coming into her ears.

"The fat guy is so desperate for money that he actually dares to go to Cao Laogui!"

"Isn't it? Everyone knows that Old Ghost Cao went to Ghost Gorge and got himself into trouble. She's not afraid of being infected with bad luck!"

"Shh! How dare you mention that place? Be careful, the water ghost might hear you and come to your house to catch you in the middle of the night!"

"Pah! God bless me, I didn't say anything just now!"

"..."

Ning Ye opened his eyes and looked over. The woman who kept spitting became more and more frightened as she spoke. In the end, she was so scared that she didn't dare to wash the clothes and ran away in a panic with the basin in her hand.

"Ghost Gorge..." Ning Ye silently recited these three words in his heart.

About two incense sticks of time passed.

The fat woman returned late, her eyes evasive, "Um...I don't want the gold anymore, you can ask someone else."

Ning Ye took out another bigger piece of gold and said, "Take me to see Old Man Cao, and I'll give you both."

After all, fat women can't resist the temptation of money.

Ning Ye met Old Man Cao on a tattered boat.

Old man Cao was dark and thin, with only a short stubble of an inch long. His pupils were white, as if covered by a layer of film.

He doesn't blink when he looks at people, or rather, he hardly blinks.

Zhu Wei looked at him for a while, and cold sweat broke out on his back, as if he was being stared at by a ghost.

Ning Ye's face showed no strange expression. He took out a large piece of gold and looked directly at the old man. "Have you seen the girl I was talking about?"

Old man Cao took out the welding smoke from his belt, took a puff, and slowly exhaled.

The dry old hand stretched out towards Ning Ye.

Ning Ye gave him the gold directly.

Old Man Cao finally spoke, "I have seen them. Ten days ago, their boat passed by here, going very fast, as if they were being chased by someone."

Afraid that the two would not believe him, Old Man Cao continued, "That man looks like the person next to you, wearing a blue shirt, and the little girl is wearing a yellow skirt, holding a long zither."

Zhu Wei nodded immediately, "Yes, they were wearing those clothes that day."

Ning Ye asked again: "Did you see clearly who was chasing them?"

Old Man Cao shook his head. "No. It was a large ship, and the people were inside and didn't come out. If nothing unexpected happens, the person you're looking for finally hid in Ghost Gorge."

"Ghost Gorge!" Zhu Wei suddenly gasped.

Ning Ye glanced sideways, "Do you know that place?"

Zhu Wei's face turned pale, and his voice trembled. "I don't know, but I've heard of it. Everyone living in the Tiansang River has heard of it! Ghost Gorge, the Road of the Dead, where the living can only enter but never leave. It's rumored that there's a ghostly painted boat inside that appears in the mist at nightfall. Anyone who sees it will have their soul sucked in, never to return..."

"Haha, rumors?" Old Man Cao smiled inexplicably and tapped his cigarette butt on the edge of the boat to knock out the ash. "That's more than just a rumor, kid."

Zhu Wei looked at him in horror, "Have you ever seen a ghost painting ship?"

Old man Cao didn't answer, but just gave him a sinister smile.

Ning Ye said to the old man, "Take us to Ghost Gorge. You name your price."

Old man Cao held up a finger and said, "One ounce of gold! I'll only take you to the canyon entrance, not inside."

"Okay." Ning Ye took out all the remaining gold and gave it to him, which was almost one or two taels.

Old man Cao immediately took up the oars and said, "Let's go. You take your own boats and follow me closely. I won't be responsible if you lose me."

Back to the ship.

Zhu Wei whispered to Ning Ye, "Do you really believe what that old man said? What if he's really evil and deliberately wants to trick us into going in and die?"

Ning Ye used his spiritual power to drive the boat to follow at a distance, while answering: "Whether it is true or not, this is the only clue we have at the moment. We have to go there to feel at ease."

"But aren't you afraid of...that?" Zhu Wei didn't even dare to mention that thing again.

"I'm afraid! But I have a twenty-four-word mantra that can destroy all ghosts and gods!" Ning Ye patted his chest.

"Which twenty-four characters?"

"Rich and strong..."

……