"I haven't seen her. If a girl as beautiful as her appeared in the village, I'm sure I'd remember," he said.
"That's not necessarily true. Watch me."
In front of Pan Yang, Ning Beichen took out a wooden necklace. It was adorned with many mysterious and ancient patterns, so intricate that one would surely remember it after just one glance.
Ning Beichen gently swayed the wooden necklace towards Pan Yang.
Whether it was to get a clearer view of the patterns on the necklace or to observe Ning Beichen's movements, Pan Yang's gaze turned blank within three seconds.
"Did you see the necklace?" Ning Beichen's voice, somewhat ethereal, reached his ears.
"Yes," Pan Yang replied blankly to Ning Beichen's question.
"Good. Did you get a clear look at the patterns on the necklace?" Ning Beichen's voice continued to drift to him.
"I couldn't see it clearly." Pan Yang took about a minute to answer.
"Do you want to see it clearly?" Ning Beichen slowly tempted him.
"Yes." Pan Yang answered blankly.
"Excellent. Now, follow my guidance. You are very, very sleepy. Your eyelids are almost unable to stay open. You've returned to a month ago. You saw a woman. Yes, this woman is very beautiful, with a great figure..."
Ning Beichen was employing hypnosis, guiding him into the deepest layers of his own memory.
As long as a memory exists, it will leave a trace. No one in this world can take away a person's memory; even if their head were chopped off, the memory would still exist.
Forgetting is not the loss of memory. As long as the memory is stored in the deepest recesses, sometimes, with just a trigger, you can recall memories you thought never existed.
"I see her. She's beautiful. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She even told me her name. She's called Nangong Feiyan, and she's from the ancient country..."
"Good. Think carefully, what was she here to do?" Ning Beichen asked with a smile.
Xiao Jiu, who was following behind Ning Beichen, was utterly shocked and blushed at the sight. He had interrogated Pan Yang, even resorting to torture and threats, but to no avail. Yet, Ning Beichen, using only a method of hypnosis, had made Pan Yang confess obediently.
"Amazing. I must learn Brother Chen's hypnosis techniques." Xiao Jiu was ecstatic inwardly. He knew his position clearly; in terms of martial arts, he was far inferior to Xiao Yi and the others, and couldn't help Ning Beichen much. However, in terms of wit and meticulousness, Xiao Yi to Xiao Ba were no match for him. If he could master Brother Chen's hypnosis, he could do more for Ning Beichen.
"Did Nangong Feiyan tell you what she was here to do?" Ning Beichen's voice held a seductive power. Even though it was just one question, it contained no less than ten types of audio frequencies, some of which were inaudible to human ears but could be received when hypnotized. Ning Beichen's ability, though initially rooted in hypnosis, had long surpassed its scope, reaching the stage of hypnotic brainwashing. If any other hypnotist were present, they would be incapable of guiding Pan Yang back to the deepest layers of his memory, let alone those memories that had been tampered with.
"She said... she was going to Devil Mountain to find something, and she wanted to hire me as her guide."
"I didn't agree. I couldn't. Devil Mountain is dangerous. Don't go. Anyone who enters Devil Mountain disappears. No one comes out of Devil Mountain."
"I tried to persuade her. I really did. I begged her not to go, but she ignored me. She told me there was something she needed in the mountain."
"Did she go in?" Ning Beichen's voice was like a devil's whisper, irresistible to Pan Yang.
"She went in. She went in with another woman..." As he said this, Pan Yang's body trembled violently, and his eyes began to roll back.
"Besides them, were there any others?" Ning Beichen knew Pan Yang had reached his limit. If he continued, he would become an idiot, so he hurried to ask.
"No... no, I don't know. I only saw those two." Pan Yang's condition was deteriorating, and speaking became increasingly difficult.
Ning Beichen originally wanted to ask more, but seeing his state, he knew there was no more time and asked his final question.
"Where is Devil Mountain?"
"Dev... il... Moun... tain... is..."
"Don't go..."
"Absolutely do not go..."
"Ah!!!" With a scream, Pan Yang's eyes rolled back, and he completely fainted.
"Brother Chen?" Xiao Jiu asked anxiously from behind.
"It's fine. He just couldn't bear it and fainted. He'll be fine after a good sleep," Ning Beichen waved his hand, reassuring Xiao Jiu not to worry.
"Brother Chen, leave him to me." Xiao Jiu stepped forward, picked up the unconscious Pan Yang, and placed him on the bed.
"Devil Mountain? Xiao Jiu, have you heard of this place?" Ning Beichen asked him after Xiao Jiu returned.
"No, I haven't. If I knew of this place, I would have definitely gone to check it out. Brother Chen, should I go ask other villagers?" Xiao Jiu shook his head.
"I suspect Pan Yang's amnesia is related to Devil Mountain. You probably won't get any information even if you ask the villagers," Ning Beichen said.
Xiao Jiu, somewhat unconvinced, went out and asked over a dozen villagers. As Ning Beichen had guessed, none of them had heard of the place. According to Ning Beichen's conjecture, Nangong Feiyan must have heard of this place from somewhere, or heard that the Jiu Gong Ce was there, and came to search for it. As for why she got involved with the Ruan clan, perhaps the information came from them. Now, Ning Beichen was more concerned about his senior sister Nangong Feiyan's safety than the source of the information.
"Xiao Jiu, I'm going to Devil Mountain. You stay in the village and wait for me," Ning Beichen said after thinking.
"Brother Chen, you have no backup. Let me go with you," Xiao Jiu said.
"No, Devil Mountain is rather strange. Bringing one more person is one more point of danger. If I don't return for a long time, help me deliver this letter..." Ning Beichen took out a letter and gave it to Xiao Jiu. If he didn't return for a long time, he asked Xiao Jiu to deliver the letter to Liu Yilin in Haizhou New City. It wasn't that Ning Beichen feared being trapped in Devil Mountain or losing his life, but rather he was being prepared for the worst, worrying that if he was gone for too long, Liu Yilin would worry about him.
After making arrangements, Ning Beichen entered Devil Mountain alone.