Chapter 13: Night Talk at the Han Residence, the Eerie Residents

Han Family.

Among all the families in Luoyang City, theirs was considered one of the weakest.

Thus, even at the dinner table, Han Qian barely had a chance to speak.

All he could do was silently wait for the banquet to end so he could find an opportunity to talk to Gu Fan.

What Han Qian hadn’t expected…

Was that this disciple of the sect turned out to be such a coward!

The thought filled Han Qian with resentment and frustration.

Once he returned home, Han Qian went straight to his study.

He had decided to submit a written report!

If things continued this way, all the common folk in Luoyang City would die!

By then, the city would turn into a dead zone!

“Family Head Han, you sure are in a rush. Didn’t even notice an extra person in your room?”

Han Qian jumped at the sudden voice!

Turning his gaze, he saw Gu Fan sitting casually in a seat to the side.

“Gu… Emissary Gu! Why are you here?”

Gu Fan held a teacup in his hand, spinning it leisurely as he smiled.

“Obviously, I came to hear the ‘truth’ you claim to know.”

“But didn’t Emissary Gu just refuse earlier?”

Gu Fan shot him a sidelong glance.

“To be honest, I really wonder how you ever became the head of a household. Now that I’ve seen it, it makes perfect sense why the Han Family is at the bottom of Luoyang City.”

“I don’t get it—when the so-called truth involves saving the lives of the people, how could you just stop me in the middle of the street…”

Han Qian’s face flushed with embarrassment under Gu Fan’s mockery, his expression awkward.

Only now did he realize just how irrational his actions had been.

“Emissary Gu’s rebuke is justified. I, Han Qian, was too impulsive.”

Gu Fan had no patience to waste words on someone with this level of intellect. He waved his hand.

“Save the nonsense. I’m giving you one incense stick’s time. Speak clearly. Keep it to the point!”

Han Qian took a deep breath, sat back down, and reorganized his thoughts before beginning to speak about the so-called truth.

Inside the study, candlelight flickered.

Gu Fan frowned as he listened through the entire account.

When Han Qian finished, he sat watching him with eyes full of hope.

“So you’re saying that over the past year, the population of this small city has been steadily decreasing?”

“Yes, Emissary. The worst incident took away sixty-seven households overnight!”

Gu Fan found it hard to understand and continued questioning.

“With that many people vanishing at once, didn’t the neighbors find anything suspicious? Wasn’t there any panic within the city?”

Han Qian sighed helplessly, a strange expression on his face.

“That’s what I find disturbing!”

“All the friends and neighbors of the missing residents thought it was completely normal. But when asked why, they couldn’t explain—they just… they seemed like their awareness had…”

“Been twisted?” Gu Fan interjected.

“Exactly! That’s the word!”

“I personally questioned one of the families. When I brought up their neighbor’s sudden disappearance, they didn’t find it odd at all. But when I hypothetically mentioned another household vanishing, they acted surprised… That discrepancy makes me suspect…”

“Suspect that there may be some kind of existence forcibly twisting their fear and awareness regarding the missing residents!”

Han Qian shuddered as he finished speaking.

For a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Gathering Realm to react like that—he was clearly deeply frightened!

Recalling that unknown presence he had sensed earlier and the broken Immortal Tribute mission in Luoyang over the past year…

For the first time, Gu Fan felt that things might be a bit troublesome.

Gu Fan stood up and pointed in a direction.

“What place lies in that direction?”

Han Qian looked and confirmed.

“The City Lord’s Residence!”

The City Lord’s Residence?

In that case, the origin of it all likely had something to do with the City Lord.

“Any other leads?”

“That’s all I know, Emissary.”

Gu Fan fixed a sharp gaze on him for a while.

Then he gave a cryptic smile and said no more.

He rose and moved to open the door.

Han Qian became a little anxious and asked,

“Emissary! Are you planning to…”

Gu Fan turned his head and glared wickedly.

Han Qian was so frightened he stumbled back a few steps, swallowing his words.

Seeing the reaction, Gu Fan flicked his figure and disappeared into the Han family courtyard.

The next day.

Gu Fan woke up naturally, having slept in.

By the time he got up, it was already close to noon.

Outside the door, the City Lord had sent someone to invite him for a meal.

But Gu Fan casually made up an excuse to dismiss them.

Instead, he picked a random small tavern, ordered a few dishes, and began to eat leisurely.

What puzzled Gu Fan, however, was that no one had been watching him along the way.

That was unexpected.

Whether it was due to his identity as a Heavenly Evil Sect disciple on an investigative mission, or because he had interacted with Han Qian—

The City Lord should have secretly assigned people to follow him…

Was this a sign of goodwill?

At that moment, Gu Fan casually called over the tavern owner and pulled out a piece of silver.

“Please wait, kind customer. I’ll get your change right away.”

Gu Fan waved his hand with a smile.

“No need for change. I just want to ask you something.”

Hearing that, the tavern owner, delighted by the generosity, didn’t refuse.

Gu Fan motioned for him to sit down.

Then, as if chatting casually, he asked,

“Shopkeeper, is everyone in Luoyang City so wealthy? Why did I see so many vacant houses at night?”

The tavern owner froze briefly but then quickly smiled.

“Oh, that’s nothing strange. Some families passed away, others moved out to make a living elsewhere.”

“But not that many, surely? From what I saw, nearly half the houses are empty. Many of them seem to have just been vacated recently. Isn’t that odd?”

The tavern owner froze again, then seemed to realize something.

“Ah, totally normal. People, after all, are like flowing water—always moving. That’s natural, right?”

Gu Fan said nothing this time. He simply looked at the shopkeeper with a faint gaze.

Just like Han Qian had said last night, the residents here seemed to automatically fix the inconsistencies!

No—that wasn’t right. They didn’t have that ability themselves.

Gu Fan recalled what had just happened. Each time something illogical was mentioned, there would be a brief pause.

Then it was as if something forcibly rewrote their minds.

Everything had been corrected!

“How long have you been running this tavern?”

“Ah, I grew up in Luoyang City. This tavern was passed down by my father. I’ve been running it for over twenty years now.”

Gu Fan smiled and continued.

“Then over the past decade, you must have seen many neighbors and friends leave Luoyang City, right? Or was this only in the past year?”

The tavern owner’s expression twisted, his friendliness vanishing. His face turned pale, and his brows creased with irritation and unease.

“You should go. I’m not doing business today. I’ll return your money!”

Seeing Gu Fan unmoved, the shopkeeper took the silver he’d just accepted and slammed it on the table, repeatedly urging.

“Go, go! I’m closing for the day! Leave!”

Seeing this, Gu Fan didn’t push further. He stood up and walked toward the door.

At that moment, the tavern owner said,

“Young man, leave Luoyang City as soon as possible. If you’re too late, it’ll be too late!”

“Is that your own advice, or someone else’s?”

The shopkeeper stood up, slowly cleaning the table.

“It doesn’t matter. Just go. I’m closing now…”

As he finished, he gave Gu Fan a long, meaningful look.

His eyes were filled with helplessness, resentment, and countless unreadable emotions.

Seeing this, Gu Fan more or less understood the situation.

Without hesitation, he strode out of the tavern.

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