As Lin Yan could see figures from afar, she noticed the atmosphere was tense.
Wei Wanru stood in front of some people lying on the ground, facing a vague shadow.
Wei Wanru sensed Lin Yan's arrival and looked over. The shadow also looked over, its form trembling slightly, but it quickly realized Wei Wanru's concern for Lin Yan and attempted to drift closer.
Lin Yan stopped her steps and then tore off the almost ineffective Divine Speed Talisman from her leg.
Neither Lin Yan nor Wei Wanru paid attention to the approaching shadow.
Lin Yan felt a wave of Yin energy rush towards her, so she quickly retreated a few steps and threw a talisman towards the shadow.
At the same time, she affixed an Armor Talisman to herself to block the incoming Yin energy.
"Heavenly Master? Another Heavenly Master, why must you meddle in my affairs? You are all in this together, all of you!" The shadow in front of her shook violently, making it almost impossible to discern its human form.
Although the voice emanating from the shadow was hoarse, it could still be recognized as a woman's voice.
Lin Yan did not know what she had gone through, but she could hear her pain.
Her pain did not slow Lin Yan's actions. She took out several different attack talismans and threw them towards the shadow.
Although she desperately wanted to capture the shadow, it seemed to have lost all reason. She had to subdue it quickly to give Wei Wanru enough time to save those people.
Just as Lin Yan cast several more talismans, a gust of wind appeared and swept the shadow away.
She did not pursue it, but merely watched the receding wind for a while, then put away the talismans in her hand and walked towards Wei Wanru.
Upon approaching, Lin Yan noticed the people lying on the ground. They were wearing ordinary long-sleeved shirts and trousers, not the hiking gear of the missing hikers, nor the uniforms of the police or firefighters.
Were these people nearby villagers? Lin Yan examined their complexions closely and found that although they were all asleep, each of them had an expression of lingering terror on their faces.
"They were like this when I arrived. That ferocious ghost just now wanted to harm them, and I stopped her," Wei Wanru explained.
"Have you found any trace of others?"
"Not yet. However, that ferocious ghost you encountered earlier seems to have some issues. As you saw, the ghost couldn't even maintain a complete human form, yet her abilities were strong enough to mesmerize even me. If we didn't have a connection, I'm afraid I would have been lost in the mist." Wei Wanru found it quite unbelievable, but she also felt the malevolence and resentment of the female ghost. She likely died unjustly.
"There must be something helping her. She couldn't have done this on her own," Lin Yan sensed other abilities here besides Yin energy. The abilities here resembled legendary divine power, but she couldn't understand why divine power would aid this ferocious ghost.
"Can these people wake up? We might need to ask them some questions." Lin Yan wanted to approach the villagers but was stopped by Wei Wanru.
"Yan Yan, don't touch them. They are all under a curse. Don't get it on you."
"A curse?" Lin Yan channeled her spiritual energy to her eyes, and she saw black threads entwined around the group of people.
The black threads wrapped around them, some already close to their necks. All of them had threads, with some being darker and others lighter.
It seemed they would have to wait for them to wake up on their own. Judging from these curses, whatever happened here was likely related to these villagers.
She just didn't know what had happened to make that ferocious ghost so full of malevolence. Did they do something?
"Sister Wei, you stay here. I'll go look around and see if I can find any news about the missing people." Lin Yan didn't want to wait here any longer.
"Alright, you be careful."
After parting ways with Wei Wanru, Lin Yan began to explore the surroundings.
In less than ten minutes, Lin Yan felt the mist around her thinning significantly, as if she had left the area covered by the thick fog.
This was not right!
"I am Lin Yan of the Lin family from Huishan. I request an audience with the local mountain god!" Lin Yan bowed.
There was no response from her surroundings. The mist around her seemed to have thinned further, and she could now see things a hundred meters away.
Lin Yan took out the materials from her bag and drew a talisman on a nearby large stone. As soon as the talisman was finished, a gust of wind blew through the mountains, rustling the talisman.
"I am Lin Yan of the Lin family from Huishan. I pay my respects to the local mountain god." She bowed in the direction the wind was blowing.
Lin Yan received no direct response, but she knew there was a mountain god present.
"Leave this place, junior. You should not interfere with what is happening here." A consciousness entered Lin Yan's mind.
"I'm afraid I can't. I can choose not to interfere with what is happening here, but too many people have gone missing. I must bring them back." Lin Yan bowed again. "I beg the mountain god's mercy and to release those innocent people."
"Go!" The consciousness did not agree to Lin Yan's request, instead repeatedly urging her to leave.
"Mountain God, are you doing this for that woman? I see no bloodthirsty aura around her, which means she hasn't killed anyone yet. While personal revenge might be satisfying, surely you wouldn't want her unable to be reincarnated, would you?"
Lin Yan straightened her body. The consciousness before her exerted immense pressure as soon as she mentioned the woman, enveloping Lin Yan.
She felt as if she were carrying a mountain on her back. Although she appeared calm, her body was nearing its limit.
"Go, leave this place!"
Lin Yan's strength made the deity wary, not only of the ferocious ghost with a century of cultivation but also of Lin Yan herself. If Lin Yan remained here, then the ghost would be unable to exact her revenge. Although the deity could protect her, Lin Yan could certainly harm her. The merit Lin Yan possessed, though concealed, was as conspicuous to them as the sun in the sky. The deity did not wish to confront such a person and could only resort to this method to send her away.
She owed the deity a favor, yet the deity could not protect her entirely. Now that she sought revenge, the deity would not allow anyone to stop her.
"It seems you are determined to interfere with her revenge. However, as a deity, doing so would be an abuse of power, and your position would likely become unstable. Worse, you might even receive punishment. Would you perhaps like to hear my proposal?" Lin Yan knew that woman must have suffered immense injustice, and these villagers were either the perpetrators or accomplices. Someone who could enlist the aid of a mountain god should be a good person. Lin Yan couldn't bear to see her remain such a resentful ghost.