"Fallen Moon Village..."

Su Xuan quietly left the dungeon, cautiously slinking towards the base of the Floating Cloud Sect's mountain to find a place called Fallen Moon Village. While in the dungeon, Qi Li had told him that if her father were still alive, he would likely be hiding there. It was a secret refuge his father had prepared for just such an emergency.

He did not believe the fire at the Three Pure Ones Hall was a coincidence. In his and Xiao Chengyun's plan, there was no step that involved setting the hall ablaze.

It must have been that kid from the Spirit-Taming Sect, Su Xuan speculated. After escaping the dungeon, he must have done it either out of spite or to help divert attention away from me... If it's the latter, then I owe him one.

Soon, Su Xuan had stealthily reached the foot of the Floating Cloud Sect's mountain.

CRACK! CRACK!

The bones in his body creaked and groaned as his form slowly reverted to its original shape. It brought an unbearable pain, but fortunately, it quickly dissipated after he took a medicinal pill.

The mountain night was cool, and the branches of the trees swayed under the moonlight. Following Qi Li's directions, Su Xuan began heading northwest along a mountain path. Because the matter was urgent, he took a deep breath and started to tear along the path at full speed, the mountain wind whistling past his ears.

More than half an hour later, he stood atop a mountain peak.

Is that Fallen Moon Village?

He looked down and saw a cluster of buildings. There were no lights in the village, only the occasional bark of a dog, though it was impossible to tell if they were domestic or wild.

Sect Leader Qi, you'd better not be hiding too deep! Your entire sect needs you to save it!

Su Xuan leaped down, heading toward the village. Just as he arrived at the entrance, he was surprised to hear the sound of someone crying. He followed the sound and saw a small figure standing beside a stream, weeping helplessly.

"Little one, why are you out here alone so late at night? Where are your parents?" Su Xuan asked.

"My parents went out to work. It'll be several days before they return." The speaker was a very young girl with pigtails, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Then you really shouldn't be out here alone!" Su Xuan said. "Are you missing your parents?"

"No, it's my Ah Huang... he's gone," the little girl said, wiping her eyes. "While I was sleeping, I heard Ah Huang yelping strangely, like he was in a lot of pain. I came right out to look for him, but I can't find him anywhere. Ah Huang is my dog... sob, sob..."

"He's probably fighting with other dogs. He'll come home when he's done," Su Xuan reassured her.

Though that's what he said, he suspected the girl's dog had gone looking for a mate. Every dog went through that phase.

It's the same with people. A man at that stage can easily become a desperate suitor.

"Oh, right," Su Xuan asked, "this is Fallen Moon Village, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," the little girl nodded.

"Here, let me take you home first. You can wait for Ah Huang there. It's dangerous for you to be out here alone in the middle of the night."

Having confirmed his location, Su Xuan persuaded the little girl to go home.

"Okay... alright!" The little girl glanced reluctantly into the distance, then turned and walked toward the village.

"Big brother, you don't think Ah Huang could have drowned in that river, do you?" the little girl suddenly asked, grabbing his hand.

Su Xuan sensed her hand was ice-cold. "No, that won't happen," he said. "Besides, all dogs know how to swim."

"But I've never seen Ah Huang swim," the little girl said, looking up at him.

"For a dog, swimming is an instinct, just like it's an instinct for people to eat," Su Xuan replied.

"I hope so!" The little girl squeezed his hand even tighter.

"Is there anyone else at your house?" Su Xuan asked.

"Yes, my grandmother is home," she said.

"Have any strangers come to your village these past few days?" Su Xuan asked pointedly.

"No," the little girl shook her head. "No outsiders have come to our village in a long time. I know everyone here."

"Alright then."

Su Xuan asked no more questions. Qi Li had already told him the approximate location anyway. Her father's hiding place was the oldest house in the westernmost part of the village. All he had to do was find it.

A few minutes later, the little girl stopped in front of a wooden gate. "Big brother, I'm home."

"Alright, go on inside."

Su Xuan released her hand. He had been holding it the entire way, and it was still unnervingly cold.

"Thank you, big brother!" The little girl bowed politely to thank him.

"Don't mention it," Su Xuan waved his hand. "But from now on, you really shouldn't wander around late at night—"

Su Xuan stopped mid-sentence, his pupils shrinking at the sight before him.

As the little girl bowed, her head—pigtails and all—suddenly tumbled right off her neck.

Yes! It just dropped off her neck, just like that!

"Ouch!" the little girl's head cried out from the ground. "That hurts! Big brother, can you help me?"

Well... this is interesting.

Su Xuan's brows furrowed deeply.

His senses were far beyond those of an ordinary person; he could easily distinguish between humans and ghosts. Yet he hadn't noticed a single thing out of the ordinary about this girl. That meant she wasn't a ghost. But if she wasn't a ghost... how could her head fall off?

Just then, a large yellow dog darted out from nearby, snatched the little girl's head in its mouth, and ran off.

"Ah Huang! Ah Huang, let go of me!" the head shrieked from the dog's mouth. "Where are you taking me?!" The scene was utterly grotesque.

An ominous feeling welled up inside Su Xuan. He felt as if he had inadvertently walked into a trap. But this trap had a flaw—one that was easy to spot, yet just as easy to overlook. He was wearing clothes from the world below the mountain, which made him look completely out of place here. Yet, when the little girl saw him, she hadn't shown the slightest confusion. She didn't even ask where he came from or why he was dressed that way.

TAP.

As he stepped back, the headless little girl shot out a small hand and grabbed his arm. A muffled, gurgling voice rose from her open neck stump.

"Big brother, why didn't you help pick up my head? Give me back my head! Give it back! GIVE IT BACK!"

Then, another cloud of blood mist billowed out from the girl's neck. Su Xuan caught a whiff of a strange fragrance, and his body, which had been poised to flee, suddenly collapsed to the ground.

As his consciousness faded, he saw the little girl's headless body squatting beside him. Her small hands patted him in a bizarre rhythm as she chanted, "Sleep now. Sleep. Go have a beautiful dream. A dream you'll never want to wake from. Never... ever... wake... up..."

Su Xuan's eyelids grew heavy and slid shut. In his hand, however, he was tightly clutching one thing: the jade bracelet Qi Li had given him.

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