The Unruly Immortals

"Dad! Mom! Where in the world are you!!" Bai Lingmiao, tears streaming down her face, kept searching throughout Niuxin Village.

Following her was Li Huowang, who joined her in her search, even though he could see that there really was no one else in the entire village but them.

At that moment, Top Scholar Lv, with a hint of caution, approached with a feigned smile.

"What exactly is going on?" Li Huowang, with a furrowed brow, asked Top Scholar Lv, who had arrived at the scene before him.

Top Scholar Lv had a look of innocence. "Taoist Master, how would I know? When I arrived here, there wasn't a single person in the whole village."

"I was wondering myself, thought I had gotten the place wrong, so I went looking around for several miles. But having combed through the entire Niuxin Mountain, this is the only place I saw."

Hearing this, Li Huowang fell silent, took a deep breath, and started following Bai Lingmiao, who was heading off into the distance.

So Bai Lingmiao continued her ceaseless search throughout the village, but still, she found nothing at all.

When Li Huowang saw Bai Lingmiao, drenched in sweat from her panic, turning back to the entrance of the village to start the search from the first house again, he rushed over, grabbed her shoulders with both hands, and pulled her into his arms.

In that moment, Bai Lingmiao couldn't help but burst into tears, leaning on Li Huowang's shoulder and sobbing heavily, "Brother Li, my home is gone, my home is gone!!"

The long-held anticipation dissolved into nothingness at that moment, and Li Huowang knew what that felt like, as he could empathize completely.

"Don't cry, maybe they just left temporarily, it doesn't necessarily mean something bad has happened. Let's think positively."

Top Scholar Lv, standing nearby, also tried to comfort her, "Miss Bai, the Taoist Master is right. Perhaps they have gone to seek refuge just like us, and when they return from seeking refuge, they will be able to see you."

Seeing this, others also gathered around, each trying to console Bai Lingmiao with their words.

However, these insubstantial words did little to comfort Bai Lingmiao; she was no fool. With the whole village gone, she realized that this matter couldn't be trivial.

Bai Lingmiao's cries of despair overshadowed the joy of reunion and cast a shadow over the village, so much so that no one spoke a word during dinner.

After dinner, Li Huowang, under the moonlight, started circling the entire village. He wasn't looking for people, but for traces.

The entire village's population couldn't have just disappeared; something must have happened. Even if they were devoured by the evil spirit or deceived by the Oblivion Path, there had to be traces left behind.

"Taoist Master, actually, when I told Miss Bai that her family had gone to hide from calamity, it was just to make her feel better. In my opinion, it's unlikely they've gone to hide from disaster."

"Who would go into hiding and not lock their doors? Plus, the pigs in the backyard were so hungry when we entered the village; they scarcely resembled pigs anymore," Top Scholar Lv said to Li Huowang, rambling on.

Li Huowang crouched down and examined the pattern of the stone pavement on the ground. "When you first came in, was the village in disarray?"

"Not at all, not the slightest bit messy. The clothes were still hanging outside, and the cattle and dogs, everything was fine; just the people were missing."

"And I specifically checked, the clothes in every household's wooden cabinets were all accounted for; it's clear they didn't travel far."

Li Huowang's eyes moved inch by inch, searching for details, and any possible dangers.

When Li Huowang pushed open a door and found that he still couldn't find any clues, he removed the cotton from his ears and began to listen intently to every sound around him.

He circled around the village endlessly, even recruiting the help of Master You, who was said to be able to dig three feet into the ground.

But this time it was different from past incidents; there were no hostile gazes, no sinister evil spirits—there was nothing at all.

When Li Huowang returned to the Bai family's courtyard with three entrances, he saw Luo Juanhua and Chun Xiaoman, one on either side, comforting Bai Lingmiao in the brightly lit hall.

The others stood around, discussing something in groups of twos and threes. When they saw Li Huowang come back, they all looked over at him.

"You all go to sleep first, we can talk about anything else tomorrow." Seeing that Li Huowang had spoken, the others did not insist any further and left in pairs and groups.

Having cried, Bai Lingmiao's pink eyes had gotten even redder. She looked at Li Huowang with deep sadness in her eyes and kept choking up.

"It's quite late. Where is your room? Go wash up and sleep."

Bai Lingmiao, with lips pursed, stood up and walked towards the water tank in the kitchen.

A stick of incense later, the two lay silently in a bedroom suffused with a faint scent.

Looking at the furnishings around them, and the white mosquito net, it was clearly Bai Lingmiao's former boudoir.

Bai Lingmiao curled up on the bed, her shoulders trembling continuously as she tried not to cry out loud.

The next moment, she felt herself being hugged, leaning against a sturdy chest.

"Don't cry. If there's trouble, we solve the trouble. We are people with divine skills now. Are we afraid of not finding anyone?"

Bai Lingmiao's shaking shoulders stopped, and her head nuzzled against Li Huowang's chest. Suddenly, she pulled away from Li Huowang's embrace, grabbed the drumstick that was placed in front of the copper mirror, and rushed out of the room.

"Clang, clang, clang! Clang, clang, clang! When there's trouble in the heavens, the flying immortals will handle it; when there's trouble on earth, the colors red and yellow will rush to it! If there's trouble in the Underworld, call the sorrowful king to help... I stop the horse's head to ask its country, and pull the silk reins to seek my hometown; some are named Zhang or Wang, or Li, or Huang... Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Li Cunxiao, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang, Wang Yanzhang..."

Listening to the rhythmic drumming outside, Li Huowang slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes the next day, he found that Bai Lingmiao, who usually got up early, was silently lying in bed.

"How did it go? What did the Immortal Sects say?" Li Huowang asked as he got dressed.

"They can't find them," Bai Lingmiao replied, struggling to hold back her grief. "Even the Immortal Sects can't find them... Brother Li, do you think my parents are really gone?"

Li Huowang walked over, patted her on the shoulder, and then turned to walk out of the room. "I'm leaving. While I'm away, keep an eye on things for me."

Just as Li Huowang had turned around, Bai Lingmiao opened the door. With her eyes red and somewhat bewildered, she said, "Brother Li, where are you going?"

"Where else? If the Immortal Sects are useless, of course, I have to find a way to figure out where the entire village's people have gone. You're in such a state, how can I not care?"

When Bai Lingmiao heard this, she immediately threw herself on him, hugging Li Huowang's waist and resting her face against his back, her tears soaking his clothes. "Thank you, Brother Li..."

Seeing that Li Huowang had been very indifferent all along, she thought he had completely disregarded her family's troubles.

But to her surprise, he had long thought about what to do; he just hadn't said anything about it.