Ch 523: Bewitching Valley

Jiang Nanyu and the Old Taoist didn’t care, letting them follow until they entered the territory of Sichuan Province.

Old Master Zhou also received Jiang Nanyu’s message and had made preparations early.

Their destination this time was Bewitching Ravine, one of Huaxia’s “Ten Forbidden Zones”.

Bewitching Ravine is located in Wawu Mountain within Sichuan Province. It was once called the “Path to the Underworld” of the mortal realm. From the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, it was sealed off by imperial order. Countless mysterious and eerie incidents of cannibalism have occurred to this day, making it a national Level 1 restricted area.

Legend has it that during the late Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, the founder of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, laid down the Bagua Disorientation Formation in Wawu Mountain to evade arrest by the imperial court. This formation utilizes the cyclical process of life and death of all things. Whoever enters the formation will lose their mind, become disoriented, and even a great immortal would find it difficult to escape.

After the crisis was resolved, Zhang Daoling did not remove the formation, resulting in the mysterious disappearance and ultimate demise of those who entered Bewitching Ravine afterward.

Bewitching Ravine’s bewildering path, the entrance and tomb of the Yellow Springs.

Jiang Nanyu was warned by the Old Taoist from a young age never to approach Bewitching Ravine. Over the years, her understanding of it came from records and hearsay on forums.

Meishan.

Jiang Nanyu and the others had arrived at the lodging point prepared by the Zhou family.

It was a farmer’s house. The car was parked a few hundred meters away from the farmhouse in the village entrance. Zhou Ruoruo had been waiting for a long time.

“Shushu!” Zhou Ruoruo ran towards her happily.

“Meow~” General jumped and pawed at Zhou Ruoruo in greeting.

“Cat King is here too!” Zhou Ruoruo crouched down, tentatively extending her hand, “Can I pet you?”

General was very fond of the title “Cat King,” and reluctantly（ secretly pleased） tilted its head, agreeing to the human’s request.

Zhou Ruoruo tried to hug General, but underestimated the amount of meat under its fur and almost stumbled.

It must weigh at least thirty kilograms!

“I heard Daoist Master Ma is here too. Where is he?” Zhou Ruoruo noticed Chang Yinzi wasn’t in the group and curiously asked.

“He’s dealing with some private matters,” Jiang Nanyu explained.

Zhou Ruoruo didn’t ask further but instead mentioned those following Jiang Nanyu: “They’ve entered Meishan territory. Should we deal with them?”

“No, our destination is Bewitching Ravine. That’s a good place,” Jiang Nanyu smiled mysteriously. “After all, it’s a Level 1 restricted area. A few missing people are pretty normal, right?”

Zhou Ruoruo suddenly understood and laughed along.

“Shushu is still so clever.”

Jiang Nanyu touched her stomach: “Is there anything to eat? I’m hungry.”

“Meow!”

This King is hungry too.

“Yes, I brought my family chef. The dishes should be ready now.” Zhou Ruoruo patted General’s head. “I specially prepared beef and abalone that were airlifted today for General…”

“Meow?” General’s eyes widened instantly.

Jiang Nanyu twitched her mouth and angrily patted General’s head: “Why give him such good food? If he can catch a rat in Bewitching Ravine, that’ll be good enough!”

General was so angry it howled. If there weren’t so many people around, it would have spoken human language and scolded Jiang Nanyu.

Jiang Nanyu walked towards the inside of the room with her hands behind her back.

Upon entering the room, a table full of delicious dishes instantly made Jiang Nanyu and General forget their conflict. They both rushed to the table.

The human and cat buried their heads in eating. Seeing them eating like they hadn’t eaten in three days, Zhou Ruoruo quickly said: “Don’t rush, eat slowly. The chef can make more if it’s not enough.”

The table full of dishes, enough to feed ten adults, was almost completely devoured by Jiang Nanyu and General. Zhou Ruoruo stared at them dumbfounded.

“S-should we ask the chef to cook some more dishes?”

Jiang Nanyu was about to speak when General beside her let out a loud belch: “Burp~~~”

It looked up at everyone, then pretended nothing happened and lowered its head to lick its fur. Why are they looking at it? It just burped.

These humans are so unsophisticated, making a fuss over nothing. Haven’t they seen a handsome Cat King burp before?

Jiang Nanyu and Zhou Ruoruo exchanged a glance. Zhou Ruoruo instantly understood and had the plates cleared.

Jiang Nanyu patted General: “Go, guard outside!”

The full General was in a good mood, so after Jiang Nanyu finished speaking, it happily jumped out of the window, nimbly climbed a tree, and hid in the darkness.

Jiang Nanyu took out a talisman, performed a spell gesture, and used a formation to envelop the entire room.

“Okay, now we don’t have to worry about anyone eavesdropping.” Jiang Nanyu took out the Heavenly Master’s Mirror and used dental floss to pick her teeth with it.

“What’s this…?” Zhou Ruoruo narrowed her eyes slightly. She found the mirror in Jiang Nanyu’s hand familiar. After thinking carefully, her eyes widened in shock, “Isn’t this the Heavenly Master’s Mirror? You stole the Heavenly Master’s Mirror from the Heavenly Master Sect?!”

“This is the genuine article. The one in the Heavenly Master Sect is a counterfeit.” Jiang Nanyu tossed the Heavenly Master’s Mirror to Zhou Ruoruo.

Zhou Ruoruo frantically caught the mirror, her face visibly pale with fright: “This is the Heavenly Master’s Mirror! Be gentle!”

“Don’t worry, it won’t break. You can toss it around as much as you want.” Jiang Nanyu then asked, “Old Master should have told you, right? You know where I’m going this time, right? Did you bring the things?”

“Yes, yes.” Zhou Ruoruo carefully placed the Heavenly Master’s Mirror on the table and took out a box from behind her, opening it—

Upon seeing the contents, Jiang Nanyu’s expression turned strange.