"Father! Father, what happened to you!"
"Father! Mother! Why has Father turned into a dried-up corpse?"
Inside the room, the Second Elder's children were weeping uncontrollably, and a beautiful woman was also constantly wiping away tears.
"It must be the Third Elder who did it. It must be him. I'm going to settle the score with him."
With a face full of resentment, Zhu Changqing suddenly stood up and tried to rush out.
No one stopped him; everyone in the courtyard was heartbroken and no one cared that someone had run away.
To confirm his suspicions, Shen Jinchen secretly followed Zhu Changqing to the Third Elder's house.
As expected, just like the Second Elder's residence, the Third Elder's house also contained a mummified corpse—himself.
Lu Duling was calmer than the group of people from before. He originally wanted to go into the palace to find the High Priest, but as soon as he stepped out, he ran into Zhu Changqing, who had a resentful look on his face, and the white-clad figure on the roof not far away.
Seeing Lu Duling emerge, Shen Jinchen floated down and stood in front of him:
"Did something happen to your elders too? They turned into mummies?"
"The Prime Minister has excellent eyesight, and I'm sure you've seen it too, so there's no need for Duling to elaborate!"
"Are we going to the palace to see the High Priest?"
"Yes, it's such a big matter, we must inform him and let him make a decision."
Lu Duling sighed and turned to head towards the stables.
"Lu Duling, do you mean your old man is dead too?"
Zhu Chang listened to the conversation between the two and asked in disbelief.
"Yes! My father suddenly convulsed in front of me half an hour ago, then rapidly withered into a desiccated corpse. Zhu Changqing is a great calamity for our entire Miao region. I hope you can prioritize the greater good and stop dwelling on past grievances. If you have any conscience left, you'd better go and see the Grand Elder to find out what's going on with them."
Lu Duling mounted her horse, glanced at Zhu Changqing and Shen Jinchen, flicked her whip, and rode away.
Is he telling the truth?
Zhu Changqing stood there, stunned, still unable to believe that the Third Elder had also turned into a dried-up corpse.
"I suspect that all ten elders of your Miao region have now turned into mummies, with none of them surviving."
Shen Jinchen glanced at the dazed, devastated man and added.
"Impossible, how could this happen?"
Zhu Changqing's mind was in a whirl, with only one thought in mind: Miao territory was doomed.
"You'll know once you see it. If you don't believe me, you can come with me for a walk, and we'll go and confirm the facts."
Shen Jinchen glanced at the man and then said something else. He had only vaguely guessed it before, but he didn't expect it to actually come true.
It seems the waters of Miao territory are far more complex than they appear.
While Yan Shengxiao certainly played a role in this, there were probably other motives at play as well.
"I don't believe it! Fine, let's go! I'll find some people to go and check at the other elders' houses, and you come with us to the Grand Elder's house."
Zhu Changqing glared at Chen Jinchen angrily, shouted those words, and then ran away.
Shen Jinchen shook his head with a slight smile and followed helplessly.
The high priest of the palace had been woken up by Lu Duling for two nights, and his anger was hard to suppress. Whenever Lu Donglin spoke, he would unleash a torrent of abuse:
"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, or you'll be removed from your position as commander and get out of Miao territory."
“My father is in trouble. I saw him turn into a dried-up corpse right in front of me. And before I went to the palace, I met Zhu Changqing. He said his father had also turned into a dried-up corpse. High Priest, something really bad might happen in Miao territory.”
Upon seeing Meng Ya, Lu Duling recounted everything he had seen. He was truly terrified at that moment, deeply regretting that he had agreed to the High Priest's proposal.
"What? You're telling the truth? How could that be?"
The high priest asked three questions in a row. His previous arrogance had long since vanished, and now he was filled with fear.
"I guess it was because those two Central Plains people suppressed that person too much yesterday that he launched a desperate counterattack."
Lu Duling thought for a moment and then voiced her guess. After all, anyone with eyes could see that the elders had made a deal with the soul there, and since they had stayed in the Miao King's palace for more than a month, it was not surprising that they had been schemed against.
"Is it possible that these three people are accomplices of that wisp of soul, and that their purpose in coming here is to conspire with that wisp of soul to destroy our Miao region?"
Even now, Meng Ya still cannot believe that the decision he made back then was a mistake, so he always tries to find some loopholes.
“If that’s the case, High Priest, then we’re really doomed! But I don’t think so. They’ve made their intentions very clear these past two days. They want the Gu King and Gu Queen. Besides, the Prime Minister and the Princess have indeed been afflicted by the Love Return Gu, so we don’t need to make pointless guesses.”
Lu Duling looked at the high priest in disbelief, then answered with a pained expression.
For the first time, Lu Duling doubted her choice of master when she saw Meng Ya's performance. This man really was just as the elders had said, lacking both ability and responsibility.
"Then... what should we do next? Oh, Mother, and Mother, today's events might still be related to you. Should we send someone to detain her immediately?"
Meng Ya was completely flustered at this moment, but for some reason, he suddenly thought of Yin Shun, and at the same time, he also thought of Miao Hou.
"Queen Miao is indeed acting strangely; perhaps we really should pay her a visit."
Lu Duling also felt that the Queen Miao was indeed acting very strangely during the period when the King Miao was in a coma. She would only send palace maids to ask about the situation every day, and then she would not show herself. This explained everything.
"Then immediately send troops to surround the Empress Miao's palace. At the same time, take control of the Holy Maiden. We'll wait here for the final news from outside the palace."
The high priest sighed, rubbed his forehead, and finally made a decision.
"Yes! I ran into Shen Xiang, the Grand Chancellor, when I went out. He will probably be entering the palace soon. Has the High Priest decided how to talk to him?"
After responding, Lu Duling voiced her opinion and then voiced her doubts.
"Let's talk about it when they arrive! I'll rest for a while first."
I think Meng Ya is too exhausted to deal with such complicated matters right now; he just wants to rest for a few minutes.
"good!"
Lu Duling was always decisive and efficient. Soon, he and his men surrounded the entire palace of the Empress Miao.
Outside the palace, Shen Jinchen followed Zhu Changqing's footsteps and went to the Grand Elder's residence as he had hoped. As expected, the Grand Elder had also turned into a dried corpse.
Meanwhile, a quarter of an hour later, the men Zhu Changqing sent to scout the area all returned with the same story.
Tonight is a night of nightmares. In an instant, none of the ten elders of Miao territory survived, and their deaths were bizarre. Some were discovered later, while others died on the spot in front of their families. In short, Miao territory, shrouded in darkness, is both eerie and oppressive.
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