There was a dead silence. It seemed that everything in the world had fallen silent: the owls did not call, the leaves of the trees did not rustle, and the light breeze that had blown before had disappeared completely.

Jiang Wanyin walked with slow but confident steps along familiar forest paths. When he had first set out, the moon had illuminated his path along with countless stars. Now, with a tighter grip on Sandu's handle, the moon had disappeared behind heavy clouds, dimly lighting his way. As if mocking the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader, fog began to slowly descend, enveloping the trees in a ghostly embrace.

A few days ago, disturbing news had reached his ears: attacks on people, their corpses torn to pieces as if by wild animals. The victims were always married men of wealth, sometimes wandering monks. Things grew more concerning when Jiang Cheng's nephew personally came to report what he'd seen.

"I saw something strange last night," Jin Ling had said. "Claw marks, fighting marks... It looked like wolves or foxes." Jiang Cheng had told his nephew not to dwell on it and leave the matter to his elders.

Foxes. It made a strange kind of sense when he learned of increased fox activity in the area surrounding Lotus Pier, where such sightings were normally rare. He knew of spirits like the Huli Jing - how could he not? They were the stuff of childhood tales, legends, and horror stories seniors used to frighten younger disciples.

Jiang Cheng's thoughts turned to Jin Ling.无论这些狐妖是否真的存在, his goal remained the same: ensuring the safety of the young master and all Yunmeng Jiang members.

As if sensing his determination, the fog thickened, worsening visibility. At least, he thought, stopping abruptly at the sound of movement, he wielded a long-range weapon.