Chapter 58 Soul-Locking Vine...Honey-Rotten Soil...
"Your Majesty!" Chu Xuanyi immediately turned to the emperor. "Ajiu has an extraordinary sense of smell. She said she could smell the scent of 'honey-rotted soil' even outside the camp. I suspect the demons of the Withered Vine Cult may have established more than one stronghold, and may even have surrounded the camp!"
The emperor's expression turned even uglier. He said in a deep voice, "Grandmaster, what good advice do you have?"
Chu Xuanyi pondered for a moment and decisively said, "For now, our first priority is to ensure the safety of Your Majesty. I suggest that we immediately narrow the defensive perimeter and concentrate all our forces there. At the same time, we should send elite scouts, led by local hunters familiar with the terrain, to conduct covert reconnaissance in the direction Ah Jiu has indicated. We must ascertain the enemy's strength and movements."
"Secondly," Chu Xuanyi continued, "the Withered Vine Cult is adept at using poison. We must strictly prevent them from poisoning us through food, drink, and other means. All imperial supplies must undergo strict inspection. I will personally prepare some medicinal powder to dispel poison and prevent miasma and distribute it to the imperial guards."
"Alright! Let's do as the Imperial Master says!" The Emperor made a prompt decision. "Pass on my order. All Imperial Guards must gather at the Central Army Camp and form a defensive circle! Order General Li, Commander of the Imperial Guards, to immediately select fifty elite soldiers to accompany the Imperial Master and Ah Jiu... um, follow the Imperial Master's designated personnel to investigate!"
The emperor paused subconsciously when he mentioned Ah Jiu. To have a little girl who looked only seven or eight years old participate in such a dangerous investigation was truly... unbelievable.
"Sir, I want to go too!" When Jiu heard that his "smell and smell" ability would be put to good use, he immediately became excited again, his tail almost raised to the sky. "My nose is the best! No matter how well they hide, I can smell them out!"
Chu Xuanyi did not refuse immediately this time. He looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, although Ah Jiu is young, she is indeed gifted. If she can provide guidance, we may be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort. I will personally take care of her safety."
The emperor pondered for a moment and nodded. "If that's the case, I agree. But safety is paramount. Don't act rashly."
"I obey the decree!"
At this moment, Xiao Yu also hurried back with several personal guards. There was a solemn look on his face and he was holding something in his hand.
"Your Majesty, Imperial Preceptor," Xiao Yu presented the item in his hand, "We found this at the edge of the woods where the body was found."
Everyone looked and saw that it was a small piece of broken, withered yellow vine, on which some fine, barb-like protrusions could be vaguely seen.
Jiu leaned over and sniffed it curiously, his face immediately wrinkling. "Huh? This vine smells so weird! It's a bit like... like snake skin dried in the sun, and a little... numbing, like licking Sichuan peppercorns!"
Chu Xuanyi took the vine, examined it carefully for a moment, and then sniffed it. His expression suddenly changed. "This is... the 'Soul-Locking Vine'! It's a unique plant used by the Withered Vine Cult to set traps and prohibitions! This vine itself contains a weak paralyzing toxin and is extremely resilient. Once it entangles, even ordinary swords and knives will find it difficult to cut it!"
He looked at Xiao Yu: "You only found this?"
Xiao Yu shook his head: "For now, this is all we have. But the ground around it shows signs of being disturbed, as if someone has buried something here. We're afraid of alerting the enemy, so we didn't dare go any deeper."
"Soul-Locking Vine... Honey-Corrupted Soil..." Chu Xuanyi's eyes were as sharp as an eagle. "It seems that the Withered Vine Cult has come prepared this time, and their intentions are not small! Not only do they want to kill people, they also want to set up a formation! The hunting ground is so large, what exactly do they want to do?"
Ah Jiu suddenly interrupted, "Sir, do you think they want to turn the entire hunting ground into a giant 'bug paradise'? And turn us all into those black, wriggling 'bug people'?"
"Your Majesty, there is no time to lose!" Chu Xuanyi pleaded with the emperor again, "I must immediately take people to investigate the location Ah Jiu mentioned! If there is an ambush, it must be eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise there will be endless trouble!"
Xiao Yu also stepped forward: "I am willing to go with you!"
The emperor looked at his two most trusted ministers and said in a deep voice, "Alright! I will hand over this matter entirely to the Imperial Master and the Regent! You must wipe out these scoundrels in one fell swoop! I will be in the camp, awaiting your triumphant return!"
Chu Xuanyi and Xiao Yu received the order and dared not delay even a moment. General Li quickly assembled fifty elite Yulin Guards, each one a top-notch warrior, agile and sharp-eyed.
"Ajiu, you lead the way." Chu Xuanyi looked at the eager little girl beside him, his tone more serious than ever before, "Remember, you are only responsible for smelling and pointing the direction. You are not allowed to leave within three steps of me, and you are not allowed to act on your own. Do you understand?"
"I know, I know! Sir, you are more nagging than my master!" Jiu muttered dissatisfiedly, but still nodded obediently.
"Your Highness, you take twenty men to encircle the enemy from the left wing, and I will take thirty men to follow Ajiu to investigate from the front. If we find anything, use the sound of arrows as a signal." Chu Xuanyi made the deployment quickly.
Xiao Yu nodded, and his deep gaze lingered on Ajiu for a moment.
"Be careful in everything."
Ah Jiu smiled sweetly at him, revealing his small white teeth: "Don't worry, Brother Xiong Xiong! I have a very good nose! Those bad guys can't hide!"
Xiao Yu looked at her heartless smile, his heart moved slightly. He nodded slightly, and then led his men to sneak into the dense forest on the left wing.
Chu Xuanyi led Ajiu and the other Yulin Guards and cautiously moved in the direction Ajiu pointed. Ajiu was like a well-trained beagle, sniffing the air with his little nose, stopping from time to time and tilting his head to carefully identify the direction.
"Sir, come this way! The smell is getting stronger!" Jiu pointed with his little hand at a patch of bushes that looked no different from the surrounding bushes. "It's right behind there! I smell it! It's that sweet, stinky smell with a hint of rotten wood and... and a very strange, rusty smell!"
Chu Xuanyi's eyes focused and he immediately made a gesture. The Yulin Guards behind him quietly dispersed, forming a semi-encircled formation and slowly approaching the bushes.
The closer he got, the more Chu Xuanyi smelled a faint odor, which was almost the same as what Ajiu described.
"Be careful!" Chu Xuanyi shouted in a low voice. He drew his sword and, together with several guards, pushed aside the dense bushes.
Behind the bushes, a small, cleared patch of ground was revealed! In the center, several half-buried pottery jars lay, their openings covered with cloth. Within, one could vaguely see something moving. Around the jars lay a thick, dark layer of soil—the very "honey rot" Ah Jiu had described.
What shocked Chu Xuanyi even more was that at the edge of the clearing, they found several pieces of armor and weapons of the imperial guards, but no bodies!
"Oh no! It's a trap!" Chu Xuanyi's pupils shrank and he reacted immediately.
Almost at the same time, Jiu suddenly screamed, his little body shrank back suddenly, and he pointed at the pottery jars with his little hands, his voice filled with tears: "Master! In the jars... in the jars there are so many red-eyed... giant scorpions! And pitch-black centipedes! They... they are about to crawl out!"
Before she could finish her words, the coverings of the pots suddenly "popped" several times, as if something had broken through from the inside! Immediately afterwards, countless fist-sized, blood-red scorpions and foot-long black centipedes surged out of the pots like a tide, making a creepy "rustling" sound as they pounced on the crowd!
"It's the 'Blood Jade Scorpion' and the 'Ink Shadow Centipede'! Both are highly poisonous!" Chu Xuanyi's face changed drastically, and he shouted sternly, "Retreat quickly! Form a defensive formation! Watch your step!"
Although the Yulin Guards were well-trained, they couldn't help but panic when they suddenly saw so many terrifying poisonous insects.
At this critical moment, something strange happened!
Ah Jiu, who had been following Chu Xuanyi all along, had slipped out from behind him at some point! Her small figure was like a nimble civet cat, not retreating but advancing, rushing directly towards the swarming poisonous insects!
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