Chapter 89 The wicked will be punished by the wicked.
"If I remember correctly, I killed that dragon to help you?"
Ah Chan's delicate chin was slightly raised, making her seem very reasonable: "These are two different things, and you're clearly willing to help me for ulterior motives!"
She must have been so enraged by that dragon that she didn't notice anything amiss last night and jumped right into the trap he had dug.
Pah! Liar.
"Who came looking for me in the dead of night, and despite my repeated refusals, insisted on inviting me to go dragon fishing?"
Ah Chan reluctantly admitted, "...It was me."
"Have I hinted at this to you before?"
"……No."
Achan felt a sense of powerlessness, like being speechless when questioned in court.
Bai Xiuming softened his tone, his deep voice flowing through the night with a hint of seduction: "What I did could at most be called going with the flow. Wouldn't it be better if someone helped clean up the mess?"
Unfortunately, Ah Chan wasn't so easily fooled, and her wandering thoughts returned on their own.
"Don't change the subject. Who is it that takes advantage of the situation and doesn't forget to repay the favor?" Achan glanced at him sideways. "Lord Bai is really good at seizing every opportunity, not wasting a single chance."
"Alright, it was my fault." Bai Xiuming readily admitted his mistake. "I helped you get revenge, and you keep my secret. Let's call it even, shall we?"
Ah Chan snorted: "Who said we're even? We're not even acquainted."
Bai Xiuming almost laughed out of anger: "It hasn't even been a day since you said we had a deep friendship, and now we're not close anymore?"
"Whether a friendship is deep or not depends on the situation. I was just deceived by you and I'm heartbroken. I feel that our friendship has already developed cracks."
"Then... I'll remember your kindness in keeping this a secret today? If you ever need my help in the future, please come to me anytime, okay?"
"Let's make a vow with a high five!" As soon as he finished speaking, Achan immediately raised her hand, just waiting for those words.
Bai Xiuming had no choice but to give her a high five.
On the other side, Shen Zhuo, who had just washed his face and hair by the pool, suddenly saw this scene and was speechless.
I just don't feel that these two people fit into this bloody scene.
He shook the water off his hands, circulated his inner energy, and steam rose from his head, quickly drying his hair.
Although he still had an unpleasant fishy smell, it was much better than before.
He stood up, and his subordinate rushed forward to report, "Sir, the dragon's corpse has been stored in the magic artifact, and the surrounding area has been dealt with. Only some bone fragments were collected from the blown-open head."
"Leave a few men here to guard the area. Search again at dawn, and make sure no one or wild animals find it."
Wild beasts are secondary; the most likely outcome of eating them would be death by explosion, or at least being killed by a demonic transformation. But if a human were to eat them, that would be a human life.
We should never overestimate the vigilance of the people. For many people who do not eat meat year-round, whether it is normal to find pieces of meat in the mountains is never a consideration for them.
"yes."
Shen Zhuo's subordinates quickly selected four people to stay here and guard the place, and they would come back to relieve the four people at dawn.
After giving instructions to his subordinates, Shen Zhuo walked towards the two men and said to them, "The corpse of that dragon has been collected. Do you want to check it again?"
Achan shook her head hastily, finding it dirty.
Bai Xiuming asked, "What do you plan to do with this corpse?"
"Throw it outside the city gate in a bit, so that the people of Yongzhou can have a good look at the Dragon King they've been longing for. After they've all seen it, then we'll dismantle it."
Ah Chan thought to herself, "No wonder he's Bai Xiuming's colleague; they're just as wicked."
After saying that, Shen Zhuo turned to A Chan: "Do you still not know the young lady's name?"
"My name is Ji Chan."
“Miss Ji, I am Chen Zhuo, the Commander of the Mingjing Division. You deserve the greatest credit for eliminating this evil dragon. Do you have any parts you desire? I will send them to you.”
Although the Jiao is far inferior to the Dragon Clan, its bones, horns, and skin are still considered excellent materials.
After thinking for a moment, Achan shook her head: "My lord, please give me something else in return. It would be best if there was fresh blood from other demonic beasts, but the rank shouldn't be too high, just second-rank would be fine. Forget about the stuff from the dragon corpse."
She originally wanted to get some dragon blood for Hui Niang, since it was rare, but this dragon was a half-demon, and she felt that Hui Niang probably wouldn't like the blood of a half-human, half-dragon.
"No problem." Shen Zhuo agreed readily, then asked Bai Xiuming, "And you?"
Before the other person could answer, he said to himself, "It's my duty, so you don't need it."
Bai Xiuming, who didn't even get a chance to appear on screen: "..."
Achan couldn't help but laugh out loud. When Bai Xiuming looked over, she silently turned her head away, her shoulders trembling for a while.
This is probably what they call "evil people will be punished by other evil people".
Shen Zhuo then said, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my men and leave now?"
Bai Xiuming uttered a single word: "Get lost."
Shen Zhuo wasn't angry. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go back to the city."
After most of the Mingjing Guards had left, Bai Xiuming led Achan back to Yongzhou City via another route.
It was a dark and windy night, and no one could see her. Bai Xiuming did not deliberately conceal his cultivation level and took less than a quarter of an hour to bring her back to the city.
Achan wasn't very comfortable with this speed. After entering the room through the window, she immediately climbed onto the bed to rest and it took her a while to recover.
Just then, she heard shouts and cries coming from outside.
She ran to the window, pushed it open, and peered out.
The city of Yongzhou, which had been gradually plunging into darkness, seemed to be suddenly awakened. Many people relit candles in their homes, and many others went out into the streets. Achan even saw the innkeeper of the inn where she was staying running out with a lantern.
The shouting continued. She listened carefully for a while before she realized that the person was shouting, "The Dragon King is dead, and his body is outside the city."
The once deserted streets were now crowded with people, including those who were crying out, probably unwilling to believe that their faith had collapsed.
She rested her chin on her hand, looking down at the people below, and suddenly understood why some demons were so eager to offer incense to humans. It was indeed a very powerful force, but unfortunately, it came and went quickly.
Although she already knew what had happened, seeing the commotion below, Achan felt the urge to join in the fun.
Without much hesitation, she ran next door and knocked on Bai Xiuming's door.
Bai Xiuming seemed to have just finished bathing. He had changed into a dark blue wide-sleeved robe, and his hair was not tied up, but tied back with a matching hairband.
"What are you going to do now?"
"The night is long...why don't we go see what's going on?"
This was exactly the answer I expected.
Let's go.
This time, Bai Xiuming was very proactive and didn't need her persuasion.
The two went down to the second floor and found that several other guests had also come down. They had probably been woken up, and their faces did not look very good.
The shopkeeper had already left; only the waiter was comforting the guests.
Seeing Ah Chan and the others come down, the waiter rushed forward in a flustered manner and explained before they could speak: "Esteemed guests, something big happened in the city today. Perhaps we disturbed your rest. When the manager returns, he will personally come to apologize to you."
Ah Chan laughed and said, "Little brother, there's no need for that. We saw something lively outside and were just about to go and take a look."
The waiter breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time did not forget to remind her, "People outside have probably heard that something happened to the Dragon God, and some people are bound to be extreme. Miss, you should still be careful."
"Thank you for the reminder, waiter."
Before leaving the inn, Achan glanced at the statue of the Dragon King behind the counter and suddenly felt something was amiss.
She leaned closer to examine it carefully for a while and found that this statue seemed quite different from the dragon king she had seen before.
If the purpose is to attract worshippers, the more similar the statue is, the better. Ordinary people might think they look similar, but in her eyes, these are clearly two dragons. They don't look quite the same in terms of claws, body shape, or face.
She pondered for a moment, then called out to the waiter, "Brother waiter, why do the statues of gods enshrined in your inn look different from the ones I've seen before?"
The waiter was taken aback at first, then said, "Oh, this statue was brought back by our manager seven years ago. Now most believers in the city have acquired new statues, and there are quite a few who, like our manager, prefer the old statues."
Our innkeeper said that business has improved ever since they brought back the statue. He couldn't bear to change it, so he's kept it here. If you look closely, there are some differences, but they're both dragon gods.
After thanking the waiter, Achan left the inn with Bai Xiuming.
Right now, people are carrying statues of gods out into the street, and there's more than one statue.
By the light of the lantern, Achan carefully examined the statues and found that only one of them was the same as the one she had seen in the inn, while the other three clearly resembled the recently killed Flood Dragon King.
"Bai Xiuming, did you see it?" Achan tugged at his sleeve and said to him.
"Um."
“It seems the Shen family has raised more than one dragon.” Achan suddenly thought of something and said, “I remember when I was in the capital, the statue in the old woman’s house who cursed me seemed to look a lot like the statue in the inn.”
“Same.” Bai Xiuming was quite certain.
"So that dragon is still alive? The Shen family has quite the ambition."
Ah Chan still remembers that the statue in Granny Tian's hand was quite mysterious, and obviously, the dragon behind the statue was not to be underestimated.
The two walked towards the city gate along a less crowded side of the road. Suddenly, Achan laughed and said, "I wonder if Lord Shen will be happy to hear this news? It's a pity there's no evidence."
Although the investigation has gained another lead, it has also gained another clue about the dragon.
"Evidence will be available soon."
Achan didn't quite understand what he meant. The Dragon King was dead, so where could they find evidence?
After walking a few more steps, Achan felt tired and took the initiative to put her hand on Bai Xiuming's hand.
Bai Xiuming glanced at her and immediately understood. He grasped A Chan's hand, and the two of them suddenly increased their speed. The people around them appeared as afterimages, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the city gate.
The city gates, which should have been tightly closed, were wide open at this moment. A large number of people were standing on the open ground outside the city. The soldiers guarding the city formed a circle and blocked the people who were trying to push forward.
The closer they got, the clearer the cries became. Similarly, Achan also heard many people laughing.
Bai Xiuming reserved a spot for her, and A Chan quickly crawled in front of him. As soon as she looked up, she saw the headless dragon corpse from before.
I didn't think much of it before, but now that a group of people are standing next to the dragon's corpse, the body looks exceptionally huge.
Shen Zhuo stood beside the dragon's corpse. Opposite him stood a plump middle-aged man in an official robe. The man was talking to Shen Zhuo, and although his expression was unclear, his body language indicated that he was not happy.
Ah Chan guessed correctly; the other party was indeed not very happy.
The man was the prefect of Yongzhou. Before Shen Zhuo even reached the city gate, the prefect had already come out to greet him.
He claimed that a soldier had reported that the Dragon King had suddenly come ashore, and he was uneasy, so he brought his men out to investigate.
At this moment, the prefect was still asking Shen Zhuo, "Lord Shen, not long ago you were helpless against this dragon, how come you were suddenly able to kill it? Could it be that a master helped you?"
"Prefect Liu is very interested?" Shen Zhuo's gaze toward the prefect already carried a hint of murderous intent.
His intelligence network is quite efficient; the dragon died, and he immediately came out to gather information. Perhaps the one truly curious isn't him, but someone in Xiling City?
Although Shen Zhuo had long known that the large-scale worship of the Flood Dragon King by the people of Yongzhou City was definitely related to the government officials, he couldn't take action against the officials of Yongzhou before because he couldn't capture the Flood Dragon King. Now that the Flood Dragon's corpse was right there, and people were actually offering themselves up, he couldn't be blamed for that.
Prefect Liu seemed to sense the danger and chuckled dryly, "It's not out of curiosity, just a casual question, hehe, just a casual question."
"Does Prefect Liu think that my sword is not sharp enough to kill a mere troublemaking dragon?"
"How could that be? Lord Shen is exceptionally brave and valiant; I would never doubt him."
"Does Prefect Liu have any other questions?"
"No."
Achan watched from outside the city for nearly an hour. It seemed that all the officials in Yongzhou City had arrived, and at the same time, more and more soldiers were coming to maintain order.
Many people who saw the dragon god was dead but couldn't accept it and wanted to live and die with him were knocked unconscious and taken away. Judging from their destination, they were going to the government jail. They'll probably come to their senses when they get out of jail.
Those who rushed out with knives to avenge the Dragon God were taken away by the Mingjing Guards. Although it is unknown whether the Mingjing Office in Yongzhou City has a prison, their fate is unlikely to be good.
People came and went to see the dragon's corpse, and the cries gradually subsided. Although there were many fanatical believers, there were also many pragmatic people. Since the so-called dragon god had been killed by the officials of the Mingjing Division, they naturally didn't need to worship it every day, which saved them a lot of money.
Achan watched the excitement for a while longer. During this time, Bai Xiuming left for a period of time, and Shen Zhuo also disappeared. It is likely that the two of them went to discuss the other dragon in private.
When Bai Xiuming returned, Achan told him that she was going back to sleep.
Shen Zhuo watched the two leave, his face darkening.
If Bai Xiuming hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have realized that there was more than one dragon. He just didn't know how much inside information these officials in Yongzhou knew.
That night, Achan slept soundly, completely unaware of all the events that had transpired in Yongzhou City.
When she woke up and went downstairs for dinner, she heard from the shopkeeper that the officials from the Mingjing Division had arrested many officials from Yongzhou the night before. Some were released, while others had their homes confiscated that very night.
As Achan listened to the commotion among the surrounding guests, some saying that the Mirror Master was too powerful and lawless, while others had different opinions.
Seeing that the guests were about to start arguing, the shopkeeper quickly intervened, saying, "If you are curious, let me find out more information before you jump to conclusions."
Although he seemed impartial, the shopkeeper was actually on Shen Zhuo's side.
It seems the shopkeeper has recovered from the sadness of losing the protection of the Dragon God.
Achan originally wanted to hear more news, but unfortunately she was going to Xiling today.
After inquiring with the innkeeper about the departure time of the ships traveling between Yongzhou and Xiling, she was about to go upstairs to find Bai Xiuming when she saw him coming down from upstairs.
Achan stepped forward and told him the departure time. Bai Xiuming had no objection. The two checked out of the room, and Achan went with him to buy some clothes and food. Seeing that it was almost time, they headed to the dock.
Just after noon, the boat that Achan was on finally set sail.
This time, without the Dragon King causing trouble, she could finally enjoy the scenery along the way in peace.
What she didn't know was that two hours after their ship set sail, another ship carrying dozens of Mingjing Guards also departed from Yongzhou City.
Shen Zhuo sat in the cabin, holding the confessions he had obtained from the interrogation of Prefect Liu and several other officials the previous night. Over the years, people had been sending them money to spread the word about the dragon's miraculous powers and to allow the people to worship it.
Of course, there were other officials involved, but he couldn't very well arrest all the officials in Yongzhou at once. He should leave this matter to the Emperor.
Their confessions mentioned a man named Shen Zhiyuan, who was the cousin of the current head of the Shen family. This confession gave him a good excuse to go directly to Xiling to investigate the case.
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