novelraw Chapter 949: Smiling Spring
Chapter 949: Smiling Spring
Han Yu’s thoughts shifted toward Palm Hand Lu.
The more Han Yu learned, the less the man resembled the culprit.
Palm Hand Lu was searching.
Investigating.
Collecting records.
He had old documents.
Ritual notes.
Field reports.
And judging from his reaction in the cave, frustration too.
Han Yu leaned forward.
"It means he learned about the ritual elsewhere..."
His finger tapped the table again.
Palm Hand Lu wanted it.
That much was obvious.
Longevity tempted everyone.
Especially older cultivators.
Though Palm Hand Lu himself looked healthy.
Strong.
Far from old.
Han Yu doubted the man needed longevity immediately.
Unless...
He wanted it for someone else.
Han Yu paused.
No.
There was insufficient information.
He pushed that thought aside.
Then his mind returned to the largest question.
Madam Cold Fang.
The frozen corpses.
The Frost Qi.
The flower petal.
Everything pointed toward her.
Yet nothing fit.
Han Yu remembered the woman clearly.
Cold.
Quiet.
Lonely.
She had lived in isolation.
Nothing about her suggested desperation.
She had not looked like someone nearing death.
Her vitality was stable.
Her body healthy.
If longevity were the issue, he would have sensed it.
"Then why..." Han Yu muttered.
Why the same method?
Why the frost?
Why the bite marks?
Why here?
The Harrow Mountains lay thousands of kilometers away.
Frost Plume Town even farther.
This place should have no connection.
Unless...
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed.
Unless she moved.
Or someone related to her did.
He suddenly remembered something.
The corpses.
Every victim had bite marks.
But Palm Hand Lu’s documents barely mentioned them.
Their focus remained entirely on the ritual.
Han Yu stood.
"That means they overlooked it."
The bite marks were too consistent.
Too deliberate.
Palm Hand Lu chased the ritual.
Han Yu chased the killer.
Their paths overlapped.
Their goals did not.
He opened the window and looked outside.
Several rats sat quietly on rooftops.
One immediately noticed him.
"Master?" Chitterfang’s voice sounded mentally.
"Any new findings?"
"Yes."
Han Yu looked down.
"The children found another thing."
His expression sharpened.
"What?"
"There was a map among Palm Hand Lu’s documents."
Han Yu froze.
"A map?"
"Yes master. They copied it."
A small rat suddenly climbed through the window carrying another crystal.
Han Yu took it.
Information entered his mind.
A rough map appeared.
The northeastern frontier.
Snow territories.
Tropical zones.
Marked settlements.
Then...
A location.
Deep in the borderlands.
At the exact meeting point of snow and jungle.
The mark had writing beside it.
Han Yu read it.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
"Smiling Spring..."
Below it another note existed.
Ancient Longevity Site.
Possible sealed inheritance.
Han Yu slowly lowered the crystal.
The room became silent.
His thoughts moved rapidly.
A treasure.
Lady Rot Rose’s people investigating.
Snake Face arriving.
Mysterious deaths.
Rituals.
Frozen corpses.
Palm Hand Lu.
Madam Cold Fang.
Everything...
Everything seemed to converge at one place.
Han Yu stood and walked toward the door.
"Chitterfang."
"Yes master?"
"Gather the third battalion."
"All of them?"
"All."
The rat immediately became excited.
"Sneaky operation?"
Han Yu opened the door.
"Yes."
He looked toward the distant frozen north visible beyond the town.
"We’re going to Smiling Spring."
Han Yu left for the place marked soon after. The moment he learned about it, he already had a strong suspicion.
This place was very likely the site Lady Rot Rose’s people had discovered years ago. The same site they had investigated. The same site where her people had disappeared one after another.
And now Han Yu knew about the ritual too.
His understanding had changed entirely.
A longevity ritual with almost no visible flaws.
A method that could continuously extend life.
Such a thing would tempt anyone.
Han Yu had lived in the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect long enough to understand human nature. The sect elders would kill for it. Rogue cultivators would slaughter entire regions for it. Even righteous cultivators who preached virtue might lose themselves if death stood before them.
When lifespan ended, morality became flexible.
Han Yu had seen enough examples already.
As such, the importance of Smiling Spring instantly rose in his mind.
If the ritual truly originated there then it might explain everything.
The deaths.
The secrecy.
The disappearances.
The frozen corpses.
Even Madam Cold Fang.
Thus Han Yu departed immediately.
The rats spread out in advance while Chitterfang directed them through their network. The rodent army flooded the forests, snow plains and underground tunnels alike. Finding the place though turned out far harder than Han Yu expected.
Four full days passed before he even reached the approximate location shown on Palm Hand Lu’s map.
And once he got there... There was nothing.
Han Yu stood upon a rocky ridge overlooking the area.
To his left stretched endless jungle. Ancient trees rose dozens of meters high while thick vines covered the terrain beneath. Strange tropical flowers bloomed everywhere and giant insects buzzed in the humid air.
To his right spread white plains.
Snow covered earth extended toward distant hills. Frost winds swept over frozen grass and patches of ice reflected the pale sunlight.
The two climates touched directly.
There was almost no transition.
One step separated heat from frost.
The sight remained bizarre even now.
Han Yu looked around again.
Nothing.
No ruins.
No caves.
No formations.
No springs.
No inheritance site.
Nothing resembling Smiling Spring.
He spent the next week searching.
Every valley.
Every hill.
Every frozen lake.
Every cave.
Chitterfang’s rat battalion spread over dozens of kilometers.
They dug underground.
Climbed trees.
Entered burrows.
Followed animal trails.
Still nothing.
Han Yu cross referenced Palm Hand Lu’s map repeatedly.
He checked distances.
Mountain outlines.
Tree clusters.
Snow borders.
Everything matched.
And yet the place simply did not exist.
Han Yu finally stopped atop a snowy hill and narrowed his eyes.
"It’s hidden."
He was certain now.
This had to be an elaborate formation.
The only explanation left.
The problem was that he could detect absolutely nothing.
His spirit sense spread repeatedly.
Nothing appeared.
No fluctuations.
No barriers.
No distortions.
It was as if the place truly did not exist.