Chapter 348: Gone

“I—I’ll buy one.”

Just as the atmosphere was sinking into an incredibly awkward state, someone in the crowd finally could not hold back any longer.

Making money was not difficult for them exorcists, but if they didn't have Su Yan's talismans now, they would likely freeze to death here.

The priority was clear at a glance.

Once the first person stepped forward, others followed; soon, over a dozen exorcists actively jumped out to purchase talismans from Su Yan.

“Don't be in a rush, there are enough for everyone.”

Su Yan now fully embodied the mannerisms of a shrewd businesswoman.

The exorcist who was the first to purchase a Cold-Warding Talisman couldn't wait to use it as soon as he received it.

The moment the talisman entered his body, it was as if his entire being had come back to life.

Seeing this effect with their own eyes, everyone else swarmed toward Su Yan.

Ma Chulong and Ma Chulan watched, dumbfounded.

A thousand yuan per Cold-Warding Talisman, and twenty to thirty were sold in the blink of an eye—that was an income of twenty to thirty thousand yuan.

With this ability to make money, Su Yan was truly wasting her talent being an exorcist.

A few minutes later, except for the Zhou and Kong families who remained inactive, almost everyone had purchased a Cold-Warding Talisman.

Kong Nian stood to the side, her nose nearly twitching with rage, as she cursed directly, "Unorthodox trickery!"

Su Yan heard her clearly, but instead of getting angry, she simply smiled at her.

“I am earning money through my own skills. However, since Miss Kong looks down on my talismans so much, I presume you won't be buying from me either?”

Kong Nian panted heavily; she was also freezing severely, but she would absolutely not choose to compromise with Su Yan.

She could endure it, but Gan Hua and Kong Yueling were already shivering so hard their teeth were chattering.

Kong Nian's dialogue with Su Yan completely shattered their last shred of hope.

Gan Hua's wandering gaze landed on Ruan Tao. Seeing Ruan Tao's calm demeanor, he frowned slightly.

“Ruan Tao, aren't you cold?”

Since their strengths were comparable, there was no reason for Ruan Tao to be so indifferent.

Ruan Tao gave him a faint, sidelong glance. “To be unable to withstand just this little chill... you truly bring shame to the Kong family.”

Gan Hua froze visibly, staring straight at Ruan Tao.

The tone of his voice sounded nothing like him, yet it gave Gan Hua an incredibly familiar feeling.

Kong Yueling instinctively huddled toward Gan Hua, as if being close to someone might make her warmer.

“Senior Brother Gan, stop asking Senior Brother Ruan. It seems Senior Sister Yueqing isn't afraid of the cold either.”

If not for her reminder, they wouldn't have noticed Kong Yueqing at all, but now even Ruan Tao looked toward Kong Yueqing.

Kong Yueqing was not in the Kong family's ranks; instead, she was walking in a corner further back, possessing absolutely no presence. Yet, amidst the crowd of shivering exorcists, she was so composed that there was no sign of anything unusual.

Gan Hua frowned. So, it wasn't just Ruan Tao who was acting strange; even Kong Yueqing was the same.

As if sensing their scrutinizing gazes, Kong Yueqing slowly lifted her lowered eyelids. Her eerie gaze met Ruan Tao's scrutiny directly, and then she revealed a terrifying smile.

A shadow crossed the depths of Ruan Tao's eyes. Just as he was about to investigate further, Gan Hua's questioning rang out beside him.

“Ruan Tao, are you alright?”

As a companion who spent every day with him, Gan Hua understood Ruan Tao too well and immediately saw through his hidden emotions.

Ruan Tao had no choice but to withdraw his gaze and command him in a low voice, “You are responsible for monitoring Kong Yueqing.”

The domineering tone left no room for argument.

Gan Hua's heart trembled, and the way he looked at Ruan Tao changed completely. This tone was clearly... Kong Xiang!

But how could that be possible?!

Before his brain could even process it, he instinctively replied, “Yes.”

Ruan Tao swept a glance at Su Yan's side, then turned toward Zhou Li and asked, “Young Master Zhou, shouldn't we continue moving forward?”

It was the first time Zhou Li had noticed his existence, and he nodded.

It was indeed time to set off.

“Young Master Zhou, do you not need Su Yan's talismans?” Ma Chulan reminded him out of kindness.

Since Su Yan wanted to make money, as her good friend, she naturally wanted to help her.

The Zhou family had brought the largest number of people.

However, Zhou Li politely declined. “Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister Ma, but we do not need them at the moment.”

Ma Chulan looked surprised; she clearly hadn't expected this.

Did the Zhou family not fear the cold?

It wasn't until Su Yan spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear: “This is the Zhou family's ancestral land. How could they not know what the situation is inside?”

The implication was that the Zhou family had been prepared all along.

Only then did Ma Chulan realize the truth, though a hint of resentment toward the Zhou family grew in her heart.

The Zhou family clearly knew they would encounter extreme temperatures and had ways to resist it, yet they hadn't told them in advance.

They were here to help the Zhou family, yet the family was being quite stingy and secretive.

After the brief interlude, the group moved forward again.

Although the problem of the cold had been solved, the surrounding mist was growing thicker. The visibility had dropped from over ten meters to only about two or three meters around their bodies.

The scattered crowd also began to huddle closer together, absolutely not daring to let the people leading the way slip out of their sight.

Su Yan could clearly feel the gradually thickening miasma. She was suddenly curious; the Zhou family was one of the four great exorcist families. Logically speaking, even if the Zhou ancestral land wasn't "perfectly clean," it shouldn't be like this.

Gathering such a massive amount of evil energy just to test the strength of their descendants?

Then the Zhou ancestors must have lost their minds.

Regardless of what the truth was, Su Yan planned to find an opportunity to detach from the crowd so she could absorb the miasma here more discreetly.

The person leading the way suddenly stopped, causing the entire group to freeze in place.

“Why have we stopped moving?”

Someone shouted loudly. From where they were standing, they could not see the figures of Zhou Li or Zhou Chong at all.

A trembling voice explained, “I... I think I lost them...”

This single sentence triggered a massive wave of panic, and the entire group instantly fell into chaos.

“What do you mean you lost them? Weren't Young Master Zhou and the others leading the way?”

Almost all the responses were different forms of questioning.

“But they're gone...” It was still the voice of the same person.

Everyone's expression changed drastically. Without the guidance of the Zhou family, they couldn't even identify their direction. Wouldn't they be trapped here to die?

Seeing that the crowd was about to lose complete control, Ma Chulong hurriedly soothed them, “Everyone, stay where you are and don't move. I'll go to the front to check the situation.”

Ma Chulong's words carried some weight, and indeed, the restless crowd gradually quieted down.

“Big brother, I'll go with you.” Ma Chulan grabbed Ma Chulong's hand. They couldn't see what was happening ahead; what if there was danger?

Ma Chulong could naturally think of this as well, but the more danger there was, the more he couldn't let Ma Chulan go with him. He could only look toward Su Yan with a pleading gaze.

“Lanlan, let your brother go by himself.” Since Su Yan had spoken, Ma Chulan had no choice but to let go, even if she was worried.

(End of Chapter)