My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

The Lu family is located in Jinwu County of Jinwu Prefecture. All the residents of the county are surnamed Lu. The main Lu family compound is a large compound covering half the area of ​​the county, including eight lanes, nine forts, and two streets, which is quite spectacular.

The spirit boat docked in an open space outside the county, where Lu Xizhou, having received the news, had been waiting with his men.

Luo Hanying immediately noticed Lu Xizhou's haggard appearance. As long as a cultivator is not lacking in spiritual energy and is not injured, their spirit and energy would not be this poor, which shows that the Lu family is facing serious problems.

"Junior Uncle, I didn't expect it to be you."

Lu Xizhou stepped forward and bowed, beaming from ear to ear. "Please follow me. I will take you to my family home for a short rest and to learn about our current situation."

Ji Daoyun agreed, and the group followed behind Lu Xizhou, some flying on swords and others on weapons, directly into the depths of the courtyard.

Luo Hanying exclaimed in amazement as she looked at the vast complex of buildings beneath her feet. It was a beauty completely different from the ethereal mountains of the Shiren Sect.

If the appearance of the Shiren Sect is that of a banished immortal lying drunk on a mountain peak, then the Lu Family Compound is that of a composed and wealthy scion traveling through the mortal world.

"Is this your first time seeing this? It's my first time too."

Jin Caiyu had a good impression of Luo Hanying, so she leaned closer and sighed in a low voice, "I didn't expect to see how big and powerful the Lu family is as soon as I came down the mountain."

"Has Senior Sister Jin never gone down the mountain to travel?"

Luo Hanying knew that Jin Caiyu was a disciple who joined the Shiren Sect in the previous year. Seeing her shake her head, she asked curiously, "Why does Senior Sister stay in the sect all the time? It seems like everyone else is eager to leave the mountain."

“I don’t like worldly spiritual practice, so I don’t want to go down the mountain.”

Jin Caiyu looked at Ran Jie, "But Jie said that my cultivation after being born into the world would make it difficult for me to comprehend the Great Dao and would not be helpful to my cultivation. That's why I asked to come on this mission with her."

Ran Jie smiled and greeted Luo Hanying.

Luo Hanying nodded knowingly; she would always take her good friend's advice into consideration.

The group followed Lu Xizhou into the hall, where the Lu family patriarch and Lu Xizhou's siblings were already waiting.

After everyone was seated, Lu Chengping, the head of the Lu family, went straight to the point and explained the current problems facing the Lu family.

Over the past six months, there have been cases of missing persons in the townships under the jurisdiction of the Lu family.

At first, it was just a few mortals who suddenly went missing. After investigating their backgrounds, it was concluded that they wanted to escape debts, elope, or betray their masters. Since it was a matter for mortals, the cultivators did not pay much attention to it afterward.

However, as time went by, more and more mortals disappeared, and even some low-level cultivators mysteriously vanished. Some of the missing people's relatives had even been in contact with them the day before, and the broken life tablets indicated that they had died.

It was only then that the Lu family realized something was wrong. After discussing with Jiang Zhiqiang, the prefect of Jinwu County, Lu Chengping decided that the prefect would send people to investigate the cause of the mortals' disappearances, while the Lu family would send Lu Xiyan from the second branch of the family to search for the traces of the cultivators.

The mortals have found some clues. They say that the missing people were not in good mental condition the day before. Some of them seemed to have been frightened and were acting crazy. No matter who they saw, they felt that the person wanted to harm them.

Some people seem to think they are about to become rich overnight, and they are arrogant and disdainful of others, even kicking aside their wives, children and parents.

The people on the prefect's side speculated that there might be some evil cultivators, demonic cultivators, or monsters bewitching people, so the Lu family was put in charge of all the follow-up matters.

After accepting the task, Lu Xiyan, the second daughter of the Lu family, personally led a group to visit and search for details left behind by the cultivator before his death.

The turning point came when they stayed overnight in the village, and someone witnessed a strange dark shadow at night.

According to the descriptions of those below, the shadowy creature had two heads and six arms, using its arms to support its body as it moved. It had thick body hair, and its bloated lower body dragged on the ground. It resembled a spider with human-like features, but it was neither of those two kinds of creatures. It moved extremely fast, and all the cultivators who saw it suffered from excruciating headaches that could not be relieved. Many cultivators had already committed suicide because they could not bear the pain of their sea of ​​consciousness shattering.

Lu Xiyan had the highest cultivation level and was the closest to the eerie black shadow, but she screamed in front of the shadow and lost consciousness.

As her subordinates approached, her eyes were tightly closed as if she were in a nightmare, her body convulsed, and she occasionally screamed. Her exposed skin was covered with purple runes.

No one recognized the type of rune, and no information about runes could be found.

The investigation was forced to stop, and Lu Chengping dared not let his child put himself in danger again, so the case was shelved.

Lu Xizhou secretly ran out twice, trying to find clues. Luckily, nothing happened, but that also meant he returned empty-handed.

At the same time, a large area of ​​the golden parasol trees belonging to the Lu family withered and died.

They checked the soil, water source, and craftsmen from top to bottom, but couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Luo Hanying sighed inwardly, no wonder Lu Xizhou didn't seem as dashing and carefree as he used to be; so many changes had happened in his family.

Ji Daoyun interrupted Lu Chengping's complaints and pleas, stood up and said, "People come first, let's go and see Lu Erniang's condition."

"We'll discuss Jin Yewu's matter later. If we can wake Lu Erniang up, she'll likely reveal information about the shadowy figure, and that will provide a breakthrough in our investigation of her disappearance."

"I am Lu Ling, the chief steward of the Lu family. Please follow me." Lu Ling stepped out from Lu Chengping's side and gestured for everyone to follow him.

The group followed Lu Ling through a maze of twists and turns until they arrived at a new hanging flower gate, where a middle-aged man dressed similarly to Lu Ling led the way.

"I am Lu Feng, the steward of the second branch of the Lu family. This is the courtyard where the second branch resides. Please follow me." Lu Feng led the group deeper into the courtyard.

As Luo Hanying looked at Lu Feng introducing himself, the words "Lu Feng" fading into the air gave her an idea.

Luo Hanying quickly stepped forward and asked with feigned curiosity and innocence, "Are all your housekeepers surnamed Lu?"

"You're the second wife's housekeeper, so how many other housekeepers are there? Will we meet? What are their names?"

Lu Feng spoke respectfully and patiently: "Our Lu family has a total of four stewards: Lu Ling, the head steward who works for the family head; Lu Ze from the first branch; myself from the second branch; and Lu Yang from the third branch."

Whether or not we will encounter them depends on whether future investigations will implicate members of the other branches of the family.

Luo Hanying's eyes widened slightly when she heard Lu Ze's name. She thought to herself that it was so easy for her to find out who Lu Ze was.

Based on the mission requirements, Lu Ze must know something; he must be a bad guy.

But how did the first wife's family get involved with the second wife's family? The person investigating the matter is Lu Xiyan, so how did Lu Ze manage the household while also causing trouble?

Upon hearing this, Tao Xian chuckled and asked, "Why doesn't your fourth son have a steward?"

Lu Feng glanced at Lu Xizhou, who looked helpless, and replied, "Our Fourth Young Master is not yet married, so naturally he doesn't need a housekeeper."

Luo Hanying wanted to say something, but Ji Daoyun inquired about Lu Xiyan's current situation, so she could only seize the opportunity to find out what she wanted to know.