Chapter 57 Jiu smells more clues
"Ajiu, can you..."
"It's really different!" Ah Jiu interrupted him, his face serious. "The mud we use to grow radishes in our house has a sweet earthy smell with a hint of grass. The mud here smells... well... wetter, stickier, and has a... a strange sweet, slightly moldy smell! It's like... like spoiled honey with mold growing on it!"
"Sweet?" Xiao Yu's eyes flashed when he heard that. He immediately walked over and squatted down to carefully examine the ground that Jiu pointed to.
Chu Xuanyi was also stunned. Although he was furious with Ah Jiu, he also knew that this girl had a gifted sense of smell, often finding clues in the most unlikely places. The last time the Imperial Hospital Chief Judge was poisoned, wasn't it because she first smelled the "withered seed" and its subtle "rotten wood" scent?
He suppressed his anger and leaned in for a closer look. The soil was indeed slightly darker than the surrounding area, and the surface was damp, with faint traces of tiny white, mycelium-like structures visible.
Xiao Yu picked up a little dirt with the tip of his dagger, brought it to his nose and sniffed it, frowning even more tightly: "It does have a strange smell. It doesn't smell like ordinary dirt, but rather like it's been soaked in something."
"Sweet... moldy... mycelium..." Chu Xuanyi muttered to himself, and then a light bulb went off in his head. "I know! It's 'honey mold'!"
"Honey-rot soil?" Xiao Yu looked at him.
"Well," Chu Xuanyi explained, "it's a special kind of soil that the Withered Vine Cult often uses to cultivate Gu worms. They ferment a mixture of honey, rotten meat juice, and several slightly toxic herbs to create this 'honey rot soil,' which is said to greatly promote the growth and toxicity of Gu worms. This soil itself emits a special sweet and rotten smell, and it is very prone to fungus growth."
He looked at Ajiu. This girl might be naughty, but her nose... was sharper than a dog's!
Ah Jiu felt a little embarrassed by his gaze and scratched his head. "I... I just think it smells bad. Sir, is this 'honey rot' the 'meal' for those little bugs?"
"That's understandable." Chu Xuanyi rarely contradicted her this time. "It seems that people from the Withered Vine Cult were active in this area and stayed for quite a while, otherwise they wouldn't have left such obvious traces."
Xiao Yu's face was icy cold: "They are cultivating poisonous insects here. Their goal is self-evident. The emperor is still ahead. We must immediately strengthen our vigilance!"
At this moment, Censor Qian, who had dared not utter a word the entire time, saw his chance and tremblingly approached, cautiously saying, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, Your Highness, the Regent, I just observed the celestial phenomena at night... ahem, I observed the aura during the day, and discovered that a demonic aura... oh no, an evil aura is indeed spreading from this direction. Moreover, within this evil aura, there is a faint trace... a hint of blood and... resentment!"
Chu Xuanyi glanced at him, thinking that his hindsight was quite impressive. But Censor Qian's final words, "blood and resentment," stirred his heart.
"How long has the body been found?" Xiao Yu asked the scout who first discovered the body.
The scout replied tremblingly, "Your Highness, it was about an incense stick of time ago. We followed a strange smell in the forest and found it."
"One stick of incense..." Chu Xuanyi pondered, "The people from the Withered Vine Sect shouldn't have gone far. Xiao Yu, immediately send people to seal off this area and search it thoroughly to see if we can find any other clues or their hiding place. I'll take Ah Jiu first... and take the others back to report to the Emperor and strengthen the defense of the Holy Palace."
He originally wanted to say that he would take Jiu back, but he changed his mind when the words came to his lips. He was afraid that this girl would do something weird again.
"I want to help find it too!" Ah Jiu immediately raised his little hand, excitedly saying, "I have a very good nose! Maybe I can smell where the bad guys are hiding!"
Chu Xuanyi rubbed his throbbing temples and said, "Behave yourself! Follow me and don't run around!" He was really afraid that this girl would accidentally rush into the enemy's lair. Whether he saved her or suppressed the bandits first, it would be very troublesome for him.
"Oh..." Ah Jiu lowered his head in disappointment, but soon raised it again and whispered to Chu Xuanyi, "Sir, then... then let's go back and tell the emperor! If it's too late, will those 'little bugs' also run onto the emperor?"
This is finally something that makes sense.
Chu Xuanyi nodded and said to Xiao Yu, "I'll leave this to you. Be careful."
Xiao Yu nodded: "Don't worry, Imperial Master."
Chu Xuanyi pulled Ah Jiu along, his feet moving like the wind, practically holding her collar as he shuttled through the woods. Ah Jiu stumbled as he pulled her, mumbling non-stop:
"Sir, please slow down! You're about to knock my sweet-scented osmanthus cake out of my mouth!"
"Shut up! If you say another word, I will throw you back to the Imperial Master's Mansion and leave you with your radish mud!" Chu Xuanyi growled without turning his head. He was extremely anxious now and had no time to listen to this girl talking about food.
Upon hearing this, Ah Jiu immediately shut up, but her little mouth was pouting so high that you could hang an oil bottle on it. She secretly complained in her heart: The adults are really getting more and more fierce, not as gentle as Brother Xiong Xiong... Well, although Brother Xiong Xiong didn't talk much, at least he wouldn't threaten to throw her away at every turn.
The two soon returned to the emperor's temporary camp. By this time, the imperial guards surrounding the camp were already on full alert, bows strung, swords unsheathed, the atmosphere even more tense and solemn than before.
When the emperor saw Chu Xuanyi and Ajiu return, he immediately asked, "Grandmaster, how is the situation?"
Chu Xuanyi bowed, his expression solemn. "Your Majesty, the situation is not optimistic. The deceased was indeed infected with the 'Withered Bloom Gu,' a highly potent, specially cultivated insect. The Regent and I discovered traces of 'honey-rotted soil' at the scene. We can conclude that the demon from the Withered Vine Cult is within this hunting ground, and has most likely been lurking there for some time."
"The Withered Vine Cult!" The emperor was furious upon hearing this, and slammed the table beside him. "How dare they use such despicable tactics in my autumn hunting grounds! What on earth do they want to do?"
"I suspect their target is..." Chu Xuanyi paused, his eyes swept over the emperor, and his voice lowered a bit, "I'm afraid they are coming for the Holy Ride."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the surrounding imperial guards generals changed drastically.
"Protect the emperor!" A general immediately shouted, and the surrounding imperial guards surrounded the emperor.
"Sir," Ah Jiu, who had been as quiet as a chicken, suddenly tugged at Chu Xuanyi's sleeve and whispered, "The smell of that 'honey-rot soil' isn't just in that place just now."
Chu Xuanyi was stunned and looked down at her: "What do you mean?"
Jiu wrinkled his little nose, sniffed the air hard, and then pointed his little finger at a dense forest outside the camp. "Over there, there's also a faint sweet, stinky smell! It's very faint, but my nose can't be wrong! It's like... like someone accidentally dropped a small piece of moldy honey there and then covered it with lots of leaves!"
"What?" Chu Xuanyi's eyes sternly said, "Ajiu, are you sure?"
Ah Jiu nodded vigorously, his face full of seriousness: "Sure! Even more sure than I am that the Imperial Master's kitchen hid a roasted chicken leg last night!"
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
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