Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

Chapter 16

Young Miss Chu lived in the west wing of the Chu household. The pale pink bed curtains were tied to the bedposts with tender green cords, revealing the child's quilt.

The quilt remained unmade, soft and piled on the bed, with a corner hanging over the edge, embroidered with a lifelike little tiger, its head and face full of naivety and cuteness.

Young Miss Chu was five years old, born in the Year of the Tiger. When she was three, Master Chu took his granddaughter to test her spiritual roots and found she had dual spiritual roots.

The Chu family was overjoyed. They had planned to keep the child for a few more years and then, when she turned ten, have her join the Jade Clarity Sect.

This was also why Master Chu went to the Jade Clarity Sect two years ago to reclaim those thirty thousand spiritual stones.

He was doing it for his granddaughter's future.

Unfortunately, the little girl who was heavily anticipated by the family disappeared from the house.

Master Chu stood at the door, supported by the butler, unable to bring himself to enter.

The older one gets, the softer the heart becomes. In recent years, his daughter-in-law, son, and daughter-in-law passed away one after another, and Master Chu could still manage to preside over the family affairs.

But now, with his only granddaughter missing, Master Chu couldn't even bring himself to step into the room.

Once inside, seeing Chu Chu's clothes, the kites she played with, the books she read, there was a lump in his chest that made it hard to breathe.

Nanny took over, following Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi and detailing what happened that night: "On the night Young Miss disappeared, I personally covered her with the quilt, saw her fall asleep, and then I went to wash up. When I returned—" Nanny paused, her eyes reddening, "Young Miss was gone."

Jian Huan listened, nodding and muttering to herself.

The experiences from these three months of transmigration were more abundant than her entire twenty-plus years of the previous life.

She had slept in a haystack, set up a street stall, caught a robber, and now... investigated a case?

Jian Huan moved around the room, inspecting it, and stood by the window looking down.

The view from this young lady's room was excellent; from the window, one could see the lotus pond in the backyard.

She asked Nanny, "Did you hear any unusual sounds that night?"

Over the past ten days, Master Chu had reported the case and also hired several groups of cultivators. These people had questioned Nanny multiple times, all asking similar questions.

Nanny's answer remained the same: "No, I heard nothing."

Shen Jizhi stood with his hands behind his back by the bed, asking Master Chu, who was outside the threshold, "Did the cultivators you hired use Tracking Butterflies?"

Tracking Butterflies were a type of low-grade spiritual beast used to find people. If they sniffed an item belonging to the person they were tracking, the butterflies would fly along the path the person had taken.

In theory, Tracking Butterflies should have been used the night she went missing for the best results.

Master Chu replied, "Yes, they were used, but the Tracking Butterflies showed no reaction, just flying around the room."

That meant no trace was left behind.

The person who abducted Chu Chu must have been a cultivator with some skill, able to evade the Tracking Butterflies' detection.

Jian Huan inquired about Chu Chu's whereabouts in the days before her disappearance. Nanny said that Chu Chu had been suffering from a mild heatstroke and had been resting at home, not going out.

The servants in the Chu household had all been questioned in detail by Master Chu, and the previous investigators had also checked them, finding no suspicious points.

Master Chu even spent a large sum to hire a Golden Core Stage cultivator, but the cultivator also expressed his inability to help, suggesting Master Chu seek a Nascent Soul Stage expert.

However, such a high-ranking figure would never come to investigate the whereabouts of a little girl from an ordinary wealthy family.

Could a missing girl from a merchant family really bring the Minister of Justice to personally investigate the case?

Of course not.

Seeing that Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi had no leads, Master Chu's hope gradually faded.

Even the Golden Core Stage cultivator had no solution; could these two young people really find her? It was just a last-ditch effort.

Master Chu rubbed his temples, looking like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.

"Shen Zhenren, Jian Zhenren, I am feeling quite tired. If you need anything, speak to the butler. I will retire to my room to rest," Master Chu said.

The butler arranged two bedrooms, as per Jian Huan's request, right below Chu Chu's room.

The window was open, and the garden breeze blew in, making the candlelight flicker.

A faint scent of lotus seemed to be hidden in the wind.

Having agreed to Master Chu, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi would not return to the Jade Clarity Sect for the time being.

She took out the Xuantian Mirror and contacted Jiang Mian.

[Money Bags with Talisman: Mianmian, help me, please.]

[Cotton Candy: What's up?]

Jian Huan briefly explained the situation at the Chu household to Jiang Mian, omitting the thirty thousand spiritual stones.

[Money Bags with Talisman: Please inform Elder Yu Qing that I will return to the sect after finding Chu Chu. Also, tell the Equipment Forging Hall's head that Shen Jizhi is the same.]

[Cotton Candy: Sure! How coincidental, I just saw Elder Yu Qing flying past, I'll call him now!]

[Money Bags with Talisman: By the way, ask Elder Yu Qing for his Xuantian Mirror ID so I can consult him about talismans while I'm out!]

After waiting for a while.

[Cotton Candy: Done, Elder Yu Qing said he understands and told you to be careful. Also, Elder Yu Qing didn't give me his ID, just asked for yours.]

[Money Bags with Talisman: Thanks, I'll treat you to the cafeteria when I get back!]

[Cotton Candy: Great, when you come back, bring me a few boxes of lotus cakes from Linxian City.]

[Money Bags with Talisman: No problem.]

Jian Huan put away the Xuantian Mirror, leaned out of the window, and looked at the adjacent window.

There, a vague shadow stood, waiting for her response.

Jian Huan told him, "I've informed them for you too."

Shen Jizhi's voice came through, "Thank you."

Jian Huan asked, "Any thoughts on this case?"

Shen Jizhi replied, "None yet."

Jian Huan chuckled, "Then you can head back, I don't mind earning the thirty thousand alone."

Shen Jizhi looked up, "Do you have any?"

Jian Huan shrugged, "Of course, this isn't too hard for me."

Shen Jizhi didn't believe her, "Hmph."

Jian Huan rolled her eyes, "Believe it or not."

With a bang, she slammed the window shut and ignored him.

Jian Huan took out the Talisman Compendium from her Mustard Seed Pouch and flipped through it, looking for any talismans that could be used to find someone.

The Talisman Compendium was thick, and Jian Huan flipped through it quickly, finding none suitable.

Until she reached the second-grade talismans at the back, she started to feel dizzy after just a few pages.

Jian Huan closed the book with a slap, closed her eyes, and rested, not daring to look further.

There are seven grades of talismans, and with Jian Huan's current cultivation level, she could only study first-grade talismans.

It seemed she needed to raise her cultivation level. Once she got her hands on the fifteen thousand spiritual stones, she would buy some spiritual pills and soak in foundation-building liquid.

All of these required money.

Since there was no immediate solution, Jian Huan started drawing talismans again.

She had given all her previous ones to Sword Sky, so she needed to replenish her stock for unforeseen needs.

What if they could use them while searching for Chu Chu?

...

She drew several of each: Invisibility Talisman, Teleportation Talisman, Haste Talisman, Thousand-Pound Talisman, and a newly learned Armor Talisman.

With the final stroke, Jian Huan's spiritual energy was depleted. She took out some Fasting Pills and ate a few, finding they were not very effective anymore.

Fasting Pills were also first-grade spiritual pills, and it seemed they no longer satisfied her.

According to Elder Yu Qing, this was a sign that her dantian was gradually expanding, which was good for a cultivator.

As long as she replenished her spiritual energy with higher-grade pills, there was a high chance of advancing her level.

Should she buy some second-grade spiritual pills tomorrow to try?

Jian Huan hesitated.

Look at Shen Jizhi next door, already at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, still eating the cheapest Fasting Pills, and not seeing any special efforts from him.

No, he had been cultivating for so long and had such a slow progression, probably due to lack of funds for spiritual pills?

Jian Huan pondered for a moment, remembering something, and went over to open the window again.

She leaned out, finding that the adjacent window had also been closed.

Jian Huan: "..."

Jian Huan: "Hey, Shen Jizhi!"

No response.

She shook her head, sighed, leaned her elbows on the windowsill, and pressed most of her weight on it, then asked the lotus pond with a deep tone, "Want to know what clues I have?"

Almost instantly, the adjacent window silently opened: "What?"