After being reborn, I locked up all the scumbags and bitches in one nest.

The two locked eyes instantly.

Qin Wanyou felt a pang in her heart when Murong Xiao looked at her like that, but she quickly snapped away. "If something happens to the Crown Prince, it will definitely cause a turmoil in the court. Wanyou also needs to find a marriage partner, so naturally she doesn't want anything to happen to the Crown Prince." At least not now.

Murong Xiao stared intently at Qin Wanyou for a moment before looking away.

Heartless woman!

"Don't worry, I won't let you find another job so quickly."

Qin Wanyou thanked him earnestly, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."

Murong Xiao chuckled lightly, "No need to thank me. If you're hungry, you can use the snacks on the table."

Qin Wanyou thanked her.

The two chatted casually for a while and soon arrived at Huguo Temple.

The two parted ways after getting off the carriage.

Murong Xiao immediately ordered Mo Nan to send someone to check if Xiao Ba from the Right Prime Minister's residence had encountered any trouble.

After entering Huguo Temple, Qin Wanyou explained her purpose to the monks who received her, and that she would be staying at the temple for a few days.

Upon arriving at the room arranged by the monks, Qin Wanyou looked at Shuangling's bandaged arm and asked, "How is your hand?"

Shuangling smiled and said, "It's nothing, Miss, it's just a minor injury, it'll heal quickly."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be joking, Qin Wanyou nodded, "You've had a tiring day, get some rest early, you have to get up early tomorrow."

Shuangling replied, "Yes, Miss."

Murong Xiao, having already sent someone to inform him in advance, went directly to Master Yun's courtyard after getting off the carriage.

After greeting everyone upon entering, Murong Xiao went straight to the point and asked, "Uncle-Master, have you ever heard of any martial arts techniques that can absorb a person's spiritual energy and internal strength without them noticing?"

Liao Yun was startled. "The Gu poison in your body can't be suppressed anymore? You're thinking of...?"

Murong Xiao hurriedly explained, "It wasn't me, Uncle-Master. It's because some strange things have happened in Yandu City recently. Some disciples with spiritual talent, specially trained by officials and noble families, have suddenly lost their spiritual power without any explanation. Moreover, there have been several disappearances, and the missing people are all people with high spiritual power and internal strength."

Master Liaoyun twirled the prayer beads in his hand, "When did this happen?"

Murong Xiao replied, "According to the information we have so far, it has been some time. At first, some people didn't dare to let anyone know that their spiritual power had disappeared, for fear of being abandoned and neglected. It wasn't until someone went missing that everyone started to take it seriously."

Master Liaoyun then asked, "Did the missing people all disappear from their homes, or were they missing outside?"

“Some people suddenly disappeared from their homes the next day, while others went out and never returned home, and we couldn’t find them. We couldn’t find any clues, and there were no signs of a struggle in the homes that were missing.” Murong Xiao truthfully reported the information he had found.

Master Liaoyun closed his eyes and pondered.

After a brief moment of reflection, Master Liaoyun opened his eyes. "It seems that the kidnapper must have extremely high martial arts skills. As for whether spiritual power can be cultivated, that is still uncertain."

"If you can't cultivate spiritual power, how can you absorb it? Then it's useless to absorb it," Murong Xiao asked, voicing his doubts.

Master Liaoyun looked at the sky and recalled, "According to records, two hundred years ago, a great demon appeared in the martial arts world. Because his descendants could not cultivate spiritual power, he taught them to practice evil arts that specifically absorbed people's spiritual power. At first, he thought that absorbing a portion of people's spiritual power would be enough, but he did not expect that the evil arts had side effects. He needed to absorb a large amount of spiritual power to recover. Not only that, he also bullied men and women and harmed the people. The imperial court wanted to arrest him, but the great demon's evil arts were extremely powerful, and those who went to arrest him all suffered at his hands."

Later, righteous people from the martial arts world joined forces with those willing to assist the government in capturing the great demon.

However, it failed again.

Moreover, all the spiritual energy of those who went there was absorbed.

Murong Xiao listened quietly to Master Yun's story, occasionally interjecting, "And then what happened?"

"Later, the then-leader of the martial arts alliance united all the disciples of the aristocratic families with outstanding martial and spiritual abilities, as well as righteous heroes of the Jianghu, to fight against the great demon." Master Liaoyun paused for a moment. "The book says that it was a very fierce battle. In the end, the leader of the martial arts alliance and the guardians of the aristocratic families self-destructed together to completely destroy the great demon. Few people came back alive. The imperial court also sent people to destroy the great demon's lair and burned it all down."

After listening, Murong Xiao concluded, "According to you, the person behind this is a descendant of that great demon?"

Master Liaoyun shook his head. "It's impossible to be sure, because the records say that all the descendants of that great demon were executed, and all records about evil arts were burned. We really don't know if any escaped."

Murong Xiao felt heavy-hearted; this was indeed a thorny problem!

Master Liaoyun instructed Murong Xiao, "Have someone keep a close eye on those with high spiritual power. Since the person behind this has cultivated evil arts, their body will be severely damaged and they will need to absorb a large amount of spiritual power to recover. They will definitely strike again. Just have someone keep an eye on them and don't act rashly. The person who can capture someone with high martial arts power silently must have unfathomable skills."

Murong Xiao should be the one.

The next morning, Qin Wanyou encountered Murong Xiao at the crossroads on her way back to the main hall after practicing her martial arts in a secluded spot on the back mountain. She bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Murong Xiao explained helplessly, "There's no need for such formalities between us."

Qin Wanyou explained, "Propriety cannot be disregarded."

Murong Xiao could only go along with her, "Are you going to the main hall to pray for blessings?"

Qin Wanyou nodded. "Yes."

"Let's go together!"

After saying that, Murong Xiao walked forward.

Qin Wanyou followed behind.

The two were then led into the main hall to pray for blessings by the monks.

Looking at the Buddha statue before her, Qin Wanyou prayed fervently: May Heaven have the virtue of cherishing life and spare the people of Great Yan from the disaster of floods.

Murong Xiao did not kneel down. He took the incense sticks, bowed once, and then placed them in the incense burner. He then looked at Qin Wanyou, who was kneeling earnestly with her eyes closed.

When I came out after praying, I saw a woman asking the abbot sadly, "Master, when will my son be found? He has been missing for several days."

The master certainly couldn't give an answer either, and could only keep comforting the woman.

Murong Xiao had already recognized the woman as a family member of one of the missing persons in those missing persons cases.

After coming out, Murong Xiao said goodbye to Qin Wanyou and told her to take care of herself.

Before leaving, Qin Wanyou couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Your Highness, are you investigating the recent missing persons cases?"

Murong Xiao turned his head and nodded at her.

Qin Wanyou looked at Murong Xiao and said softly, "You can investigate the Qin family's ancestor."

The voice was so soft it was as if no one was speaking.

But Murong Xiao heard this and looked at Qin Wanyou in surprise: What did you say?

Qin Wanyou said uncertainly, "Anyway, we can't find any other clues right now, so why don't we investigate as I suggested? But tell your people to be careful, that old man's martial arts are unfathomable."

Murong Xiao stared at Qin Wanyou for a while before turning and descending the mountain.

Seeing this heartbreaking farewell, onlookers looked at Qin Wanyou with envy.

As soon as Murong Xiao returned to the Prince's residence, Mo Bei immediately came to report, "Master, something has happened!"