As the standoff grew tense with swords drawn and bows cocked, the County Magistrate quietly chimed in, "Why not... arrest them and take our time questioning them in the public court?"
Clearly, the County Magistrate was siding with the Saintess of Wu Shan.
But that wasn’t surprising.
After all, when Li Wenli and Bai Junjun had heroically saved them, these people were still unconscious, unaware they were being controlled by Gu insects, let alone their clouded consciousness.
They were not familiar with the strength of these two youths and treated them as if they were intruding without reason.
But Wu Shan was different.
An County was not far from Witch Ancestor Mountain, and the locals knew more about it than even the Third Prince did.
They usually worshiped the Witch God, so their obedience to the Saintess of Witch Ancestor Mountain was absolute.
Faced with the Saintess of Witch Ancestor Mountain and two unfamiliar youths, whom would you support?
Just then, the man with scaly skin faintly regained consciousness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw several figures in deep blue standing nearby. His hair stood on end as he struggled to get up and tried to flee.
Right at that moment, a sharp sound like whistling through leaves suddenly emanated from the surroundings.
Immediately after, a sinister cold wind began to whirl.
Hearing this sharp noise, the man pursed his lips to summon the Lifebound Gu inside his body.
Li Wenli noticed these developments and instinctively shielded Bai Junjun behind him.
But the calamity struck too rapidly. Almost instantly, the man on the ground had not even managed to summon his Lifebound Gu when suddenly, several dark grey snakes emerged from the ground, biting into his neck in one swift motion.
The dark grey snakes quickly burrowed into his body through the bites, devouring the poor Lifebound Mother Gu.
The man had no time to utter a word before his lips turned black and he met his demise.
Wu Nuan was utterly unable to prevent this sudden turn of events, unable to even attempt a rescue as the man was overtaken by the poison.
At that moment, a slightly mocking voice rang out.
"My dear niece, you can’t show mercy to traitors. Those who should be executed must be dealt with immediately.
You, on the other hand, have fallen into your old indecisive ways. If you didn’t kill him right away, were you waiting for him to get a chance to flee?"
Narrowing her eyes at the newcomer, Wu Nuan saw a seductive woman slowly appear, her chronic adversary, her aunt by apprenticeship, Wu Yunlan.
Following behind Wu Yunlan were two young girls, both with faces of disdain.
"Auntie, you’re being impulsive," Wu Nuan said indifferently. "Witch Crow is missing. I spared a survivor to interrogate about Witch Crow’s whereabouts."
"What?" Wu Yunlan’s face stiffened, and after a long moment of shock, she anxiously exclaimed, "Witch Crow... how could Witch Crow be missing? Haven’t you always been bound to Witch Crow?"
"A quarter of an hour ago, Witch Crow stopped sending me messages," Wu Nuan revealed.
"Could it be that his accomplices took him away!" Wu Yunlan sharply swept her gaze over the villagers, looking hostile.
All at once, the villagers shook their heads and protested their innocence.
"No one leaves alive without explaining themselves clearly!" Wu Yunlan threatened fiercely, grinding her teeth.
"..." Bai Junjun was speechless.
It was clearly she who had recklessly killed the man.
But from their exchange, Bai Junjun also realized that the small Gu insect formation they had encountered, which could take the shape of a skull, was probably the Sacred Object known as Witch Crow that the ladies were talking about.
However... the Witch Crow had already been burned by the Fox, and there was no possibility they could retrieve it now.
If they were to find out, it would likely mean trouble for the Fox.
Fortunately, the scaly man was already dead. As long as they denied everything resolutely, the Saintesses wouldn’t be able to do anything to them.
The two exchanged a glance full of tacit understanding and nonchalantly shifted their gazes away, without any further communication.