reply

"Hello, I think..." Yu Tongan stopped a person passing by them, but before he could finish, the other party interrupted him.

The other person covered his face with a cloth and took a step back: "I don't know, ask someone else."

Then the other party walked away from Yu Tongan and left in a hurry.

Seeing the other party's attitude of avoiding them like the plague, Mingyu has become accustomed to it.

They patrolled the city early this morning, but gained almost nothing, and no one was willing to communicate with them.

"How many people do you think are still living in the city?" Mingyu turned around and glanced at the person who was secretly watching them from the corner. When the person saw Mingyu turning around, he immediately turned around and left.

This is not an isolated case. There were many people looking at them along the way.

"I don't know. I suspect that more people don't even want to go out." Yu Tongan also noticed the people looking at them around, and frowned to help Mingyu block some of their sight.

At this time, they were the only group of people who came to Sulou County. Mingyu knew that it was normal for them to be watched, but knowing that there had been situations of food and medicine snatching, he felt a little subtle.

When there is a disaster and no one cares, what will happen if outsiders come here with a lot of supplies?

"There don't seem to be many clues in the city, or have they all been driven out?"

Mingyu diverted some of the attention from the people who were watching them secretly to Yu Tongan.

"I don't know, but if we can't find the patient or the body, we have no way of knowing for sure whether it's voodoo or a plague."

"Then let's go back first." The sky was beginning to darken, and it would soon be night.

"Um."

When they returned to their temporary residence, the others didn't gain much either.

"The people here are so weird." Wu Ren was a little angry. "Someone was dragged away before he could even say anything. I'm not sick at all."

Today, Xueliu and Yuyao are guarding here, Wuren and Wupi are in the same group.

Mingyu also felt that something was wrong with this city, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It would be better to investigate it as soon as possible.

"I'm going to go out and take a look tonight."

"That's exactly what I was planning." Yu Tong'an crossed his arms, tapping his fingers on them. After thinking for a while, he ordered, "Wu Ren and Wu Pi will take turns on guard tonight."

Mingyu and Yu Tongan looked at each other and before they said where they were going, the people around them started to explode.

"Sir, we are unfamiliar with the place and it's night time. If you go out, I want to follow you." Wu Ren was the first to object. He glanced at Mingyu, as if he didn't trust Mingyu.

Mingyu paused in raising his sword when he was suddenly glared at. He didn't know how he made Wu Ren feel that he was unreliable.

"Girl, it's very dangerous to go out so late at night. Can't we go tomorrow?" Xue Liu also disagreed.

Wu Pi knew it was difficult to change his young master's decision, so he just advised Yu Tongan to bring more people: "Young master, at least bring a guard."

"Bringing too many people will attract attention. Two people will be enough." Yu Tongan refused. "You just stay here tonight."

"Don't worry." Mingyu smiled at Xueliu, "I'm good at martial arts. If anything happens, I can run faster than Master Yu."

Judging from the calluses on his hands, Yu Tongan probably doesn't have the habit of practicing martial arts, but whether he does or not is another matter.

Wu Ren's eyes widened, and he couldn't believe that Mingyu could say such shameless words.

"Is it fun?" Yu Tongan patted Mingyu's head lightly, reminding her to set off.

"Not very."

Seeing Wu Renya's itchy look, Mingyu stood up happily and followed Yu Tongan out of the room.

Xue Liu watched the two people disappear and sighed a little worriedly. A bug landed on her arm and she slapped it away.

"There are so many bugs here." While cleaning up today, she got a bite on her hand without knowing when.

"There are more bugs in the mountains." Yu Yao had just stood aside and didn't dare to interrupt. When he heard Xue Liu complaining, he casually offered a suggestion, "If you think there are too many bugs, you can fumigate the house with hay first. Then there won't be so many when you go to sleep."

This is a good idea. I can't help much now anyway. I'll go and drive away the bugs first. Then I can have a good sleep when the girl comes back.

Xueliu, having made up her mind, also left the room.

…

"Where are you going?" Yu Tongan walked beside Mingyu with a lantern in his hand.

"Let's go to the City Lord's Mansion and take a look."

"Then let's go."

Yu Tong'an led the way, holding a lantern. It was pitch black, with thick clouds obscuring the bright moon. Few families lit their lanterns, and even those who did kept their doors tightly shut, fearing light would see through the cracks and any prying eyes.

"Do you think the city lord really escaped?" Yu Tongan, who was half a step ahead, spoke suddenly.

"It's hard to say. But there's really no one managing it right now. It seems you don't agree?"

Yu Tongan didn't answer and asked a new question: "Did you find anything strange today?"

There are too many strange things.

"First of all, there are no patients." Seeing that the people in the city were wearing veils, whether useful or not, it also proved that the infection existed, but they did not see a single patient.

"What else?" Yu Tongan gently reminded Mingyu to pay attention to the steps under his feet.

"The attitude of the people here is also very strange." No matter where they go, there are people watching them quietly. It seems more like they are on guard against them than asking for help in their last resort.

But what were they on guard against? They were coming from outside the city, and there was no news of widespread disease spreading outside of Sulou City.

"Today, when we approached the south city gate, more people surrounded us. When we moved away, there were fewer people. Why is that?" The only way to reach other cities in Sulou County is to exit from the north city gate. The south city gate leads to the farmland.

Yu Tongan added something to Mingyu: "The South City Gate is where they expel people who might be sick."

"That doesn't make sense. Even if we went out, there's no reason for them to stop us. Aren't they usually the ones who are stopped when we're coming back?"

"Then we can only find out what they are hiding." Yu Tongan stepped into the city lord's mansion.

The mansion was deserted, with half of the door barely hanging on the door frame, looking like it was about to fall off; the mansion was in a mess, with cabinets collapsed and porcelain pieces scattered on the ground. It must have been searched by those who stayed in the city, and there were not many things left.

"Has it been emptied? Can everything be taken away in such a short time?" Mingyu was a little confused. Everything that could be taken away from the lobby had been taken away.

"Not necessarily, it could be the people in the city." Yu Tongan raised the lamp a little higher and found a half-burnt candle on the ground. He straightened the chair with a missing leg and lit it, and the room became brighter.

Mingyu frowned, still unable to understand. "What are they doing with these things? They can't be eaten, and they can't be traded for anything else. What's the point of them?"

"If everyone thought as clearly as you do, there wouldn't be so many confusing things in the world." Yu Tongan said as he walked into the main room of the City Lord's Mansion.

The room was still in chaos, but there were still no clues; the same was true for the other rooms.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that there was no bloodstain in the mansion, so no violent incidents had occurred. The wardrobe was also empty, and ordinary clothes were not valuable, so the owner of the room must have packed his luggage before leaving.

Walking around in the backyard, Mingyu thought of Yu Tongan's big family and felt a little curious.

"Did Yu Boyan go to help after the Spring Festival?"

"You still remember this?" Yu Tongan chuckled. "I've already arranged for someone to teach him some things. He should be able to learn how to trade soon."

Mingyu felt a little surprised.

"I thought you wouldn't like him helping with business."

"Did you think I would just make some random arrangements to fool him to deal with Grandpa?"

Mingyu nodded honestly.

Royal wealth and estrangement between brothers are very common things.

"The power of decision in the Yu family has long been in my hands. Even if he comes in, it won't be shaken." Yu Tongan said casually, obviously not taking Yu Boyan as a threat. "Besides, it's better to send him somewhere else. Don't keep focusing on my mistakes."

"The most important thing is that this matter was actually discussed with Grandpa."

Mingyu looked at Yu Tongan in surprise. Yu Tongan had a smile on his face and frowned when he saw Mingyu's surprised expression, looking more like a smug fox.

"…So that wasn't really arranged to cover the mouth?"

"Yes." Yu Tongan's mood brightened. "We originally went into business to avoid suspicion, and it's impossible for us to take the imperial examination."

Old Master Yu was a founding father of two dynasties, and his influence is still great.

"He's already come of age, so there's no other place for him to go except to come in and help." Yu Tong'an pushed open the door to the study. "Originally, we wanted to tell him on New Year's Eve, so it was a few days early."

Mingyu followed him in, and after a long pause, he could only sigh, "...That's amazing."

The study is one of the few places that can be considered relatively intact. Books are scattered all over the floor, but they have not been taken away.

The ink on the table had dried up, and the ink on the brush had solidified into a clumping mass before it could be washed off.

Mingyu opened the cabinet, which was filled with official documents.

Yu Tongan left a light for Mingyu and went to other places to see if there were any clues.

There were official documents and other things in the cabinet, some of which were obviously personal letters. Mingyu looked at them and sighed.

"What?" Yu Tongan turned around, thinking he had found something.

"No. It's too messy," Mingyu explained. "I'm used to the way the documents in the historical museum are categorized, and I'm annoyed by seeing all this stuff mixed together."

Yu Tongan found it a little funny and was about to make a joke when he saw Mingyu stand up and move closer to the candlelight with the letter.

"It's a reply letter." Mingyu's expression was somewhat serious. "It's a rejection letter, rejecting the city lord's request for help."

Yu Tongan walked quickly to Mingyu, and Mingyu handed him the letter.

The letter said the situation was not critical and advised the recipient to be more cautious and solve the problem himself.