Looking at the contents of the paper, Cheng Ruyi's unease grew. After a moment's consideration, she decided to hand it all over. She didn't recognize the jade pendant, but perhaps the Zhou or Guo families would? Who knows, this jade pendant might be some crucial evidence?

Thinking of this, she took the two items and walked over to Registrar Peng, asking, "How is it? Have you found any clues?"

"Yes! These letters are too thick; the middle part won't burn through. It just needs some time to piece them together!"

"Oh... Registrar Peng, have you ever heard of the White Lotus Sect?"

Cheng Ruyi sensed the figure opposite her pause upon hearing the name before looking up at her and replying, "Of course there is. The White Lotus Holy Sect is the sect of the current Imperial Preceptor, deeply trusted by the Emperor, and I've heard they have many followers in the capital... Your sudden question about this wouldn't be......"

Cheng Ruyi simply handed him the jade pendant and the paper, and then continued searching around herself.

Although she appeared calm on the surface, her heart was in turmoil.

How did she get involved with some imperial advisor?! Is this someone a commoner like her can afford to offend? She should have known better than to investigate further!

Sigh... I don't know if failing to complete the main quest has a bigger impact, or if continuing the investigation has a bigger impact...

This is a loss no matter how you look at it!

The secret room wasn't large, and the two found nothing else, so they returned to the study to try and piece together some useful information from the pile of ashes.

Piecing together a complete sentence from a pile of burnt fragments with only a few words remaining is undoubtedly a huge undertaking, but it is not difficult if you just need to find the key words.

"Boys and girls... thousands... sacrifice... moon high in the sky... blood... this is bad, this is bad!" Cheng Ruyi became more and more terrified as she read on. She knew the water was deep, but she didn't expect it to be this deep!

"This...this matter is more complicated than we imagined, and it's beyond what a county government can handle!" Registrar Peng broke out in a cold sweat. "It's no longer safe here. I need to take this evidence back to the county government!"

After saying that, he beckoned two tall, burly men with upright faces and said to Cheng Ruyi, "These two are guards of the Zhou family. They know some martial arts. They will escort Madam Cheng home first!"

"What about Qinglan and Xiaoyu? They're still searching for clues in the underground cave. We can't leave such an important discovery undisclosed!"

"I'll send someone to inform them. You can go back now!"

There were still no hints about the main quest, proving that she hadn't yet reached the core content, but she had already stepped in with one foot in and half her head was soaked.

The Imperial Preceptor, the White Lotus Sect... she certainly couldn't afford to offend them, but was there no one in the entire capital, the entire Great Yue, who could stand against him? Of course there were!

As far as she knew, Chongzhou Prefecture was the foundation of the Gu family, which was not only one of the four great families, but also incredibly wealthy, and even produced a concubine.

Huh? Chongzhou Prefecture?

Something flashed through Cheng Ruyi's mind, and she thought about it quickly... What was it that she had just thought of?

She frowned, quickly returned to the pile of waste paper, and slowly began to search through it again, piece by piece.

"Madam Cheng, you'd better stop interfering and go back now!" Seeing that the other party was unmoved, Clerk Peng was about to have his guards forcibly drag her away.

Red, Blue, Eternal, Yuanming, Donghuai, Bima, Xinyao... Mountain?!

So that's how it is! Cheng Ruyi finally understood. No wonder these words looked so familiar!

"Registration Officer Peng, I understand! These are the names of the counties in our Chongzhou Prefecture! Look, this is Qingyao County, this is Shangyuan County, and there are also Changyong County, Xinbi County, Dongming County, and Huaishan County!"

Sure enough! Reading really does pay off. All those travelogues and miscellaneous books she read during the New Year holiday were worth it. If she hadn't memorized the map of Chongzhou Prefecture, how could she have made that connection?

Cheng Ruyi said excitedly, "This shows that this case is very likely to involve the entire Chongzhou Prefecture. Our Huaishan County is not an isolated case."

Peng, the registrar, gasped. "Oh my goodness, could you please not say it so loudly?"

"Thirty-seven children went missing in our county last night. This number is far from what was said in the letter, which means that in addition to the county, their targets must also be the surrounding villages and towns. With so many people, it will take time to transport them anywhere. Moreover, the letter also mentioned that the moon was high in the sky, so... we might still have time!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, and she vaguely felt that she had finally found the entry point for the main quest. "Registration Officer Peng, is there any special location between Huai Shan County and Dong Ming County to the north?"

Could there be another reason besides underground caves for the Zheng family to go to such lengths to dig a tunnel leading to the north of the city? Moreover, the missing children were found even further north, proving that their destination was indeed in the north.

"The land north of the city is relatively barren. Although there are a few small villages, there aren't many people, so it's relatively desolate... If we're talking about any special places between our county seat and Dongming County... there is an abandoned stone quarry, would that count?"

The sun slowly sank behind the distant, rolling mountains and then disappeared, leaving only a pale purple sunset. Suddenly, a full moon appeared through the clouds, casting a soft glow over the dark earth.

Cheng Ruyi, accompanied by two Zhou family guards, found Guo Qinglan and Xiaoyu in the tunnel. After quickly explaining the situation to them, she headed north along the cave.

It took the group about half an hour to reach the northern end of the cave. There was actually another man-made passage ahead, but for some reason, the passage was only dug for a few dozen meters before work stopped.

"Although the passageway inside is impassable, there is an exit on the side that leads to the ground level. From there, you can go up to the woods in the north of the city."

Guo Xiaoyu led the way with a torch, and everyone followed behind. Before long, they arrived at the woods.

Not far from the woods was the official road, where a carriage and dozens of yamen runners were parked. Registrar Peng paced back and forth beside the carriage, glancing around nervously from time to time.

After parting ways with Cheng Ruyi, Registrar Peng immediately rushed back to the county office, handed the clues to the magistrate, and then quickly prepared a carriage and manpower to come and assemble. He was so busy that he was dizzy and overwhelmed.

After rushing around, we finally arrived at the agreed-upon location on time.

Fortunately, they were on the official road, which allowed them to arrive much faster than Cheng Ruyi and her group, who were navigating the winding underground caves.

After the two groups met, they immediately set off for the quarry.

"Registrar Peng, did you tell Luo Xian? What was his reaction? What are the plans afterward?" Guo Qinglan couldn't help but ask as soon as she got in the car.

"Reporting to Madam, when I returned to the county office, Master Zhou was also there. I told them about our previous discovery. Magistrate Luo took it very seriously after hearing it. He not only sent a carriage and thirty constables over, but also immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the Dongming County office to request reinforcements!"

After finishing his speech, the clerk, Peng, who was covered in sweat and panting heavily, took a deep breath before continuing, "Magistrate Luo's idea is for me to take this group of yamen runners as the vanguard to investigate the situation at the quarry. If we find anything, we should not act rashly for the time being, but notify him immediately. He will bring his men over as soon as he receives our message."

Perhaps it involves the entire Chongzhou Prefecture and is of great importance, or perhaps it's for other reasons, but in any case, Luo Xian has finally begun to take this case seriously, which is a good thing.

With horse-drawn carriages, the abandoned quarry that used to take two hours to reach on foot can now be reached in less than an hour, and everyone can also rest and recharge in the carriage.

The quarry is located in a barren mountain northwest of Huaishan County. Turn left from the main road and there is a small road that was built in the early years to facilitate transportation.

Logically, this path leading to a quarry that has been abandoned for many years should be overgrown with weeds, but now there are not only no weeds, but the entire path is covered with tire tracks, indicating its recent high frequency of use.

Not knowing what was going on inside, and afraid of alerting the enemy, everyone got off the car at the intersection, made some preparations, and then walked up the mountain.

"Miss, I'll go up first to scout the way. You wait for my news halfway up the mountain!" This time, Guo Xiaoyu specially brought her weapon, a spear, and had been carefully wiping its tip on the carriage.

"Okay, go ahead!" Guo Qinglan nodded to her, not forgetting to remind her, "Be careful! If you find anything, come back and meet up with us first. Don't act impulsively!"

The little fish girl holding the long spear had a completely different aura. She turned around and disappeared into the night with a few leaps.

The others also carefully followed the path toward the barren mountain ahead.

Along the way, they occasionally saw several people dressed as bandits being knocked unconscious and left on the road. It was obvious that this was Xiaoyu's doing. Peng, the clerk, also arranged for the yamen runners to tie them up. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough manpower, so they could only leave the bandits lying by the roadside for the time being.

The barren mountains in this area are not very high, but they cover a large area with several peaks. The mountain roads wind around and around, and the quarry is located in the very center of the area, making it a very well-sealed place.

After winding their way through three mountains, and well past midnight, they finally spotted Xiaoyu on the mountain path ahead, looking as if she had been waiting there for some time.

Guo Xiaoyu gestured for everyone to extinguish half of the torches before speaking seriously: "We'll see the quarry after we cross one more hill. From now on, everyone should try to be as quiet as possible!"

"In the middle of the quarry's open space was a very large iron vat. It was so dark that I couldn't see what was inside. To the east, there was a large circle of wooden crates. I didn't dare get too close because I couldn't see clearly, but I estimated that there were about a hundred children trapped inside... their fate unknown."