Chapter 156: A Change in Fortune

After returning to the villa, Jingwu packed his things for his trip to Dongping Prefecture.

She thought for a moment, then walked to Shao Chengrui's house and knocked on the door.

"Cousin, are you asleep?"

Shao Chengrui was still reading when he heard the sound and immediately went to open the door: "Not yet, what's wrong, A-Wu?"

Jingwu stood at the door, looked at him and said, "I'll be away for a while tomorrow, and I'll try to get back before the results are released."

Upon hearing this, Shao Chengrui immediately understood that his cousin had other things to do, so he subconsciously agreed.

"Okay, be careful in everything, and come back soon."

Hearing these words of concern, Jingwu smiled and said, "Okay. Then you should get some rest, cousin. I'll head back now."

After saying that, he turned and went back to his room.

The next morning, the two set off for Dongping Prefecture.

They teleported and landed in front of the government office. The guards were stunned for a moment when they saw the two people appear out of thin air, and then quickly became alert.

Who is it?

Yue Huai looked at them and immediately took out the Xuanmen token: "Yue Huai, a Xuanmen Xuanshu master, please inform Prefect Wang that Yue Huai is here to visit."

The constable recognized the token and, upon hearing this, dared not delay and immediately went inside to report.

Jingwu took this opportunity to look around and became puzzled.

It's only noon, and there's not a soul on the street.

Dongping Prefecture is considered one of the most prosperous cities in Yizhou, so why is it so sparsely populated in broad daylight?

Jingwu looked up at the distant mountains to see where the problem was.

Just then, a constable came out, immediately changed his demeanor, and respectfully invited the two inside.

"Please come in, gentlemen. The prefect is waiting for you in the front hall."

Jingwu followed the boy inside, all the way to the front hall. Before he even stepped inside, the boy's hand was grasped by a middle-aged man in official robes.

"Young Master Yue, it's an honor to have you grace us with your presence. May I ask what brings you here?" Prefect Wang patted his hand, his face twitching with excitement.

Yue Huai disliked being touched by others, so he immediately frowned and withdrew his hand, nodding slightly in acknowledgment: "Prefect Wang."

Prefect Wang wasn't annoyed at all; the smile on his face didn't change at all. This man was the Empress's own nephew, the only son of the Yue family of the Xuanmen Sect. They were too busy trying to curry favor with him to possibly give him a hard time.

He greeted the two with a smile and led them inside, arranging for them to sit down. He then immediately ordered his servants to serve tea.

After arranging these things, Prefect Wang's gaze fell on the girl beside him, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

He had never seen this person before. Was she a young lady from the Han or Yue family?

But his demeanor doesn't seem like it. Could he be some kind of esoteric master from the Xuanmen sect?

Jingwu was studying the feng shui formation around him when he looked up and met those probing eyes, causing him to frown slightly.

Before he could say anything, the person in front of him immediately looked away.

Jingwu didn't dwell on that matter and immediately asked, "Prefect, may I ask if there have been any problems in Dongping Prefecture recently?"

Prefect Wang immediately snapped out of his daze, looked at the person in front of him, and hesitated for a moment: "Which aspect are you referring to, young lady?"

Jingwu looked at him seriously and said, "All the strange places."

Upon hearing this, Prefect Wang's expression turned quite somber.

I had clearly suppressed these things, so why did they still reach Yue Huai's ears?

Could it be that there's a spy among us?

“Prefect Wang.” Yue Huai saw the guilty conscience hidden in his eyes and said coldly, “The Xuanmen has detected a change in the fortune of this place. He sent me to investigate. I ask Prefect Wang not to hide anything, or you will lose your official hat.”

Prefect Wang was startled and sat up abruptly. After thinking for a moment, he spoke: "Young Master Yue, some things have indeed happened in Dongping Prefecture recently, but they are not serious. Why did they alarm the Xuanmen?"

"Tell me what happened first."

“These days, the wind blows frequently, and after the wind blows, a patch of vegetation withers, and the well and river water becomes murky and undrinkable. Also, the elderly in the village often fall ill, and recently, many elderly people have gotten sick and died. But birth, aging, sickness, and death are all normal.”

Upon hearing this, Jingwu immediately understood that the place's fortune had been damaged, likely due to some problem with the guardian beast.

She frowned, staring intently at the other person: "This is the 'minor problem' you were talking about?"

Prefect Wang immediately sat up straight, and for some reason, he was actually afraid of the young girl in front of him.

He realized that this was extremely humiliating, and was about to say something to intimidate him when he heard the boy speak.

Are there many neighborhood disputes lately?

"There are more than before, but nothing major has happened. It's just that Zhang San doesn't like Li Si today, and Li Si steals a chicken from Chen Wu tomorrow. They're all just minor conflicts."

Yue Huai's gaze turned cold: "How's the weather been lately?"

"Oh dear, the weather has been terrible lately, with frequent storms and torrential rains that have ruined all the crops in the fields. I even submitted a memorial last month, but I don't know when the government's subsidies will arrive."

Prefect Wang stroked his beard and puffed out his chest, indicating that he was a good official who cared about the people.

But the next second, the girl's angry voice was heard: "After so many things have happened, you still dare to say it's just a small problem?"

Prefect Wang was baffled and was about to retort when he saw the two men immediately stand up and leave.

"Hey, why did you leave so suddenly?"

The two were too lazy to waste any more words with him, so they walked out of the government office without looking back and stood on the street, looking around.

So many warnings prove that Dongping Prefecture is indeed experiencing a problem with its fortune.

The fact that so many things happened at once can only mean that there's a problem with the guardian beast.

Jingwu looked around, then turned to the yamen runner and asked, "Where is the local temple?"

Upon hearing this, the constable hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's on that mountain."

Jingwu glanced at the mountain he was pointing to, and immediately teleported in that direction.

Yue Huai didn't say much and teleported away with her.

The two landed in front of the temple at the same time, only to find that the entire temple was in a state of disrepair. Upon entering, they discovered that the statues inside had been smashed.

Jingwu frowned, about to say something, when he heard a noise behind him.

Turning my head, I saw a peasant woman walking by carrying a vegetable basket.

"Auntie, please wait a moment."

Hearing the noise, the peasant woman turned around and asked, "Did you call me?"

"Yes, ma'am, I wanted to ask if you live around here?"

Aunt Wu nodded: "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Do you know how this temple ended up like this?"

Aunt Wu looked the two up and down. Seeing that the man's clothes were made of fine fabric, she knew that he must be a rich man.

She immediately raised the corners of her mouth and said, "If you want to know, give me one or two taels of silver first, otherwise I will absolutely not tell you."