Pine Town was a small settlement, barely qualified to be labeled as a town. Everybody knew everybody and their ancestors. So the few frequent disappearances had raised quite a storm.
Some people even wanted to leave the town and come back after the problem was solved. The town chief was definitely not in his best mood, which was apparent from the conversation Han Xuhan had with him.
Mu Ran didn't seem to think that he needed the help of mortals to catch the demonic cultivators. So he had sent Han Xuhan on behalf of the sect to meet with the authority figures of the town while he went to visit the places where the recent disappearances had taken place.
From the town chief's account, Han Xuhan learned that most of the disappearances had happened on a route near the town that went through a medium-sized, dense stretch of woods. At this point, going near that place by themselves was synonymous with a suicidal move for the townsfolk.
