Even hybrid monsters have their day

Geng Miaowan nodded. Although this was different from usual, she couldn't pinpoint the problem. She turned to look outside again and asked Xiaobai in her mind, "Xiaobai, have you found anything there?"

From the moment Geng Miaowan entered the house, Xiaobai searched the area around it. Inside and outside the yard, even the corners of the walls were searched. A moment later, its voice appeared in her mind, "There!"

"what?"

"Judging from the smell, there were only signs of someone walking in the backyard last night, and it was just one person."

"Who?"

"Yan Lian'er!"

"you sure?"

"Of course!" Xiaobai said with certainty.

Geng Miaowan couldn't believe it. If what Xiaobai said was true, then the child had simply run away on its own? That sounded utterly absurd. But she knew Xiaobai had a very keen sense of smell, and since it was so certain, then it must be true.

This is how it happened?

Geng Miaowan felt her mind was in a mess. She glanced at Madam Lu discreetly; it was best not to tell her her suspicions before things were clear. After all, the child leaving on his own seemed completely illogical.

She then asked Lu about some of the children, and it wasn't until it was getting dark that she said goodbye to Lu and left the Yan family.

After leaving the Yan family's house, Geng Miaowan didn't go straight back to the inn. Instead, she had Xiaobai lead her out following the scent. They searched from the Yan family's backyard all the way to a mountain outside the town, and then disappeared without a trace.

By this time, it was completely dark.

As soon as she entered the mountain, Geng Miaowan felt a surge of spiritual energy wash over her. Normally, she would sit down and meditate, as meditating in a place with abundant spiritual energy can achieve unexpected results. However, she was not in the mood for it now.

"Look carefully again," she said to Xiaobai, while looking around. Xiaobai sniffed around, then used its divine sense to sense the surroundings, and shook its head.

"How could this happen?" Geng Miaowan was puzzled. How could someone disappear after arriving here? "I'll go check ahead. You go over there and look for any other places we missed."

Xiao Bai nodded and left.

It's almost half an hour's journey from here to the town. What is Yan Lian'er, a young girl, doing here alone in the middle of the night?

Although it was already dark, it didn't affect her vision. Since she began cultivating, her senses had improved considerably. Even on such a dark mountain, the faint moonlight allowed her to move about without difficulty.

After searching for a while longer, they came to a slightly open flat area. In the distance were rolling green hills, which appeared as dark shadows in the night, like undulating waves. Weeds grew rampant on the open ground.

Occasionally a gust of wind would blow by, and the waist-high weeds would rustle and squeak, mingling with the sound of distant tree branches swaying.

In the stillness of the mountains, the sound was especially eerie. Faintly, there seemed to be another sound within it; listening closely, it even sounded like human moaning!

In the pitch black of the mountains, how could there be any human noise? Geng Miaowan didn't believe it, but she lifted her foot several times and put it down again. Looking at the grassy area in front of her, she felt a chill run down her spine, and she only took two steps forward before stopping again.

Then, the sound grew closer, and she could almost hear something dragging on the ground. Even though there was no wind, a patch of grass in the bushes was swaying wildly, slowly moving towards her.

Geng Miaowan's heart suddenly jumped. She hadn't thought much about it when she went into the mountains, but now she felt uneasy. Speaking of which, at night, there are many of those kinds of things in the mountains…

She frantically called out to Little White in her mind, urging it to come quickly. She stepped back out of the bushes and stood on the ground to the side.

"What is it? What is it?" Xiaobai arrived quickly.

Geng Miaowan pointed to the bushes and said, "There's something in there..."

"Something? What?"

“It’s just…” Geng Miaowan looked around, squatted down, and whispered in its ear, “There’s… there’s a ghost…”

Xiao Bai rolled her eyes at her and said disdainfully, "Are you stupid? You're talking to me in your mind and you're still so close! Look at your pathetic self, let me see..."

After saying that, it shook its body, intending to investigate. To be honest, it didn't sense any ghosts. Geng Miaowan chuckled dryly, momentarily forgetting about the matter in her surprise. She was about to stand up when she caught a glimpse of something behind Xiaobai and froze.

She cried out "Ah!" and collapsed to the ground.

"What's wrong?" Xiaobai looked at her in confusion.

Geng Miaowan's eyes widened, she pointed behind it but couldn't utter a single word, her face alternating between fear and terror.

It turned around and saw a bloodless face appear before it without warning in the dark grass. The hair was disheveled, and bright red liquid was dripping from the face. The bloodshot eyes were staring intently at it, and the hand, pale in the moonlight, trembled as it reached out.

Little White had seen all sorts of monsters in Hell, and this appearance didn't even catch its eye, especially since the hand wasn't even aimed at it. It stood there calmly, watching the hand grab Geng Miaowan's ankle.

Geng Miaowan was far from calm. Her already taut nerves snapped with a "snap" when that hand touched her. She screamed without restraint, desperately trying to pull her feet back, but the other person held them tightly.

As soon as the other hand succeeded, it followed closely with its own. She was terrified and kicked at the hand with both feet, just as the other hand was about to grab her feet. In a moment of desperation, she grabbed a stone from the side and threw it at the other person's face.

With a "thud," the stone hit the thing's face. Geng Miaowan felt the pressure on her feet ease, so she quickly kicked with both feet and finally managed to kick the hand away.

As soon as her feet were free, she jumped up and took about ten steps back, staring at the figure lying motionless in the grass. For a long time, the figure remained lying there without moving.

"Dead...is he dead?"

“Dead,” Xiaobai said.

With a hint of disbelief, Geng Miaowan stepped forward and lightly kicked the figure with her toe, but it remained motionless. She slowly crouched down to see what was going on, but as soon as she did, the thing suddenly raised its head, its bloodshot eyes staring straight at her, and its hands gripped her wrists.

Geng Miaowan's scream echoed through the valley.