After Tian Jian left, Ji Shiyou sat down on the chair.
His expression appeared calm, but his heart was filled with anxiety.
Time was pressing, and Jun Shuxue was missing.
As the leader, he could not stand by and do nothing while a fellow disciple disappeared.
Even if it delayed their journey, he had to find the person.
Otherwise, upon returning to Jinwu Palace, he would not be able to account for it to the Grand Elder.
It would also chill the hearts of their fellow disciples and affect their sense of belonging to the sect.
"Missing? She didn't return last night?"
When Mingyue woke up and learned of Jun Shuxue's disappearance, she was first surprised.
Then, she got up and headed for the door, intending to help search for her.
Although she didn't think highly of Jun Shuxue, she was still a young woman.
Missing for a night, she must have encountered danger.
"Senior Brother, we haven't found Junior Sister Jun.
I wonder if she returned to the sect on her own. If so,
we should stop searching. Time is tight.
If we don't depart soon, we'll waste another day."
Just as he exited the room and before he went downstairs, Tian Jian returned with fellow disciples.
Seeing Ji Shiyou, he hurried over to report.
His expression was grim, even a little annoyed.
He thought to himself that he shouldn't have let Jun Shuxue go on missions with them.
It was bad enough that she caused trouble along the way, but now she was playing the disappearing act.
She was making everyone search for her, delaying their departure for Sifang Mountain.
"This..."
Seeing everyone staring at her, awaiting her command, Mingyue was speechless.
She didn't know whether to search or not. She looked back at Ji Shiyou in the room.
"Search. A fellow disciple is missing. We must find her alive, or her body if dead.
Even if we can't reach Sifang Mountain on time, and miss the emergence of the rare treasure,
we cannot disregard the life of a fellow disciple. We will not leave until Junior Sister Jun is found."
Ji Shiyou, who was in the room, heard the conversation outside the door.
He walked out, his face stern, and said.
"Right, search."
Hearing Ji Shiyou's words, Mingyue nodded repeatedly like an echo.
Then, like a loudspeaker, she relayed the message to Tian Jian.
Tian Jian nodded secretly, thinking that Fairy Mingyue had a kind heart.
Junior Sister Jun had always targeted her, and now she was in trouble.
Even Senior Brother hesitated about whether to continue searching, yet she didn't give up.
Since Senior Brother had decided to continue the search, everyone could only turn and head downstairs.
However, their expressions were grim, and they harbored unspoken criticisms about Jun Shuxue's sudden disappearance.
"You're with me."
Ji Shiyou intended to search for the person himself, fearing that Mingyue might reveal something if she was with others.
He pulled her along, wanting to go out together.
At this moment, footsteps were heard from the entrance of the inn.
Jun Shuxue's figure appeared at the doorway.
"Junior Sister Jun, where did you go? You didn't say a word.
You made us search so hard. Look, time was already tight,
and now we've wasted half a day. Everyone skipped breakfast to find you."
Seeing Jun Shuxue appear, Tian Jian immediately stepped forward and began to lecture her.
"I went shopping for clothes."
Jun Shuxue's face was expressionless as she replied to Tian Jian.
She was wearing a brand-new red dress and a golden hairpin on her head.
Her face was clean, not at all like her disheveled appearance from yesterday.
She looked more like a bride.
Ignoring Tian Jian's reprimand, she walked directly towards the stairs and happened to encounter Ji Shiyou and Mingyue coming down.
Without greeting them, she walked past them.
She deliberately swayed her shoulder and bumped into Ji Shiyou.
"Junior Sister Jun, what are you doing?
Don't you know that we couldn't find you,
and Sister-in-law, no, Fairy Mingyue was most worried about you?
She was about to lead us out to search for you. What's your attitude?
I..."
Unable to stand Jun Shuxue's treatment of Mingyue, Tian Jian couldn't help but step forward to scold her.
However, with a glare from Jun Shuxue, he immediately fell silent.
"Tian Jian, have the innkeeper arrange food. We'll set off after eating."
Ji Shiyou was eager to depart and didn't care about Jun Shuxue bumping into him.
Seeing Tian Jian still babbling, he directly ordered.
"Yes, I'll go arrange it now.
Sister-in-law, you have such good temper. You're not angry even now.
On behalf of Junior Sister Jun, I apologize to you.
You..."
Before Tian Jian could finish, Ji Shiyou glared at him.
He swallowed the rest of his words and immediately went downstairs to find the innkeeper.
In his heart, a small figure was weeping, saying:
"Everyone's glaring at me!"
Mingyue's gaze never left Jun Shuxue.
She was filled with remorse. After her "ransacking,"
Jun Shuxue could still afford to buy clothes and jewelry.
This proved that her robbery was not thorough enough.
This was an insult to her professionalism, which Mingyue could not accept.
Where had she missed something? Where else could Jun Shuxue be hiding things?
Mingyue was still pondering even when it was time for dinner.
Facing a table full of dishes, she didn't even move her chopsticks.
"Eat."
Ji Shiyou sat beside her and tapped Mingyue's rice bowl with his chopsticks.
Mingyue snapped back to attention and began to eat rice, mouthful by mouthful.
"Eat your vegetables!"
Ji Shiyou picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork rib and put it into Mingyue's bowl.
The fellow disciples exchanged knowing glances, thinking:
'Sister-in-law is amazing, daring to tap Senior Brother's rice bowl.'
Only Jun Shuxue, unusually, did not cause any trouble.
She finished her meal silently and went upstairs to pack her things.
Her expression was blank, and she didn't even look at Ji Shiyou or Mingyue.
After everyone finished eating, they left the inn.
Because of the half-day delay, they traveled at full speed.
Their luck was not as good as yesterday. By the time it got dark,
they had not yet exited the dense forest and had to find a flat, spacious area.
They prepared to camp in the mountains for the night.
They had prepared thoroughly for this trip.
Tian Jian's storage bag contained tents.
In a short while, he led the junior disciples in setting up the tents.
Tian Jian was very observant. Without being instructed,
he assigned Ji Shiyou and Mingyue to the same tent.
Furthermore, their tent was quite far from everyone else's.
About forty to fifty meters away, diagonally above everyone else's tents to the left.
Tian Jian, fearing that Jun Shuxue might cause trouble again, set up her tent diagonally above to the right.
This way, the entire campsite was divided into three factions: Jinwu Palace disciples, Ji Shiyou and Mingyue, and Jun Shuxue.
The three tents formed a triangle, ensuring no one would disturb another.
In the center, Nu Tao had already lit a bonfire.
Everyone sat around the bonfire, and Mingyue heated the dry rations she had packed from the inn for dinner.
She never took eating lightly.
She felt a bit embarrassed eating alone.
She didn't want to distribute them to everyone, as she wasn't familiar with them and didn't even know their names.
Fearing exposure and being seen as an imposter,
she asked Ji Shiyou to distribute the steamed buns she had bought to everyone.
Everyone accepted the food and shouted in unison, "Thank you, Sister-in-law."
This made Ji Shiyou's face darken, and he sat back by the bonfire, sulking.
Everyone wolfed down the steamed buns, but only Jun Shuxue, huffing with anger, refused to take any.
She returned to her tent by herself. Everyone automatically ignored her, as if they hadn't seen her.
After a simple dinner, Tian Jian arranged for night watch.
Except for Ji Shiyou, Mingyue, and Jun Shuxue, everyone else was assigned shifts.
Two people per group, each shift lasting half an hour.
As this was a dense forest, there were wild beasts.
They were disciples of the immortal sect, so they weren't afraid of wild beasts.
However, being disturbed while sleeping was still very annoying.
"Rest first. We'll go out at night."
Back in their tent, Ji Shiyou sat cross-legged at the entrance.
He spoke without preamble. Mingyue, having spent a long time with him,
had grown accustomed to Ji Shiyou's way of speaking.
She understood what Ji Shiyou meant: after everyone fell asleep,
they would attempt to switch their misaligned souls back.
Two hours later, the night was deep, and the outside was silent.
Ji Shiyou woke the sleeping Mingyue. The two, unnoticed by the fellow disciples on watch,
quietly left the tent and went out of the camp.
They found a secluded spot and tried several different methods again.
However, they were still unsuccessful. Mingyue was becoming impatient.
Just then, a scream came from the direction of the camp.
Ji Shiyou, worried about the safety of his fellow disciples, darted towards the camp like lightning.
Mingyue's cultivation was not as high as his, and she was left far behind, only able to chase after him.