Chapter 21 The Four

It was not until the second half of the night that Tarona, who had been wandering underground in Jizhou Prefecture for more than two hours, came up with a frown. She held the courtyard wall with one hand and held the magic wand for detection with the other hand. She said in disbelief: "There is no tunnel or maze. This is unscientific!"

It is understandable that the owl likes cliffs, but the sentinel bird is different. It likes damp caves and bottomless caves.

How could it be absent?

Theseus said: [Is it possible that the anomalies in this world do not follow common sense? They neither like cliffs nor caves.]

Tarona asked, "What does it like?"

【High-rise palace? 】

For example, that magnificent temple.

Hmm...

The witch took back her hand from the wall and stroked her chin instead: "You have a point."

It's all strange that the habits have changed.

Well, her trip wasn't in vain, at least she knew that her abnormal habits had changed.

Go back, go check on her ruthless cat!

Theseus: [……]

Forget it, I won't attack my partner who has worked for more than two hours but gained nothing.

As a result, just as Tarona stepped onto someone else's roof, he remembered something: "Is the soul-chasing demon coming?"

She had agreed with Wuqing that she would go to meet him when Zhui Ming arrived.

Theseus calculated the time: [Almost, about ten minutes’ error. ]

So the Great Witch turned around and went to the city gate of Jizhou Prefecture.

…

Jizhou Prefecture was bustling during the day, and even the area outside the city was bustling with people, with cars coming and going on both sides of the road. But at night, the city and the outside of the city took on two completely different scenes.

There was no curfew in the city because of the temple of the Immortal Mother, so people were laughing and talking happily under the bright daylight. However, outside the city, it was silent. Not a single insect chirping could be heard in the bushes by the roadside, as if something had scared them all away.

——The more powerful a being is, the more it likes to occupy territory. *

The life chaser has arrived.

He and Wuqing were not taking the same path, and were coming from different directions. The person who was watching him was watching him closely, and he had to circle around several times before he was able to shake him off.

At this moment, he stopped in a land temple two miles away from Jizhou Prefecture. Each person had a bonfire, and a wild pheasant was roasting on the fire.

He had only hunted this wild pheasant after traveling several miles. It was really strange. The closer to Jizhou Prefecture, the harder it was to find prey. In the past, when he crossed the forest, he had to pay special attention to wild beasts. This time, it was convenient. He didn't even find any trace of wild beasts.

It looked like it had been cleaned deliberately.

But this is impossible. There are ferocious beasts even outside the capital, not to mention border towns like Jizhou Prefecture.

This place is vast and sparsely populated, so there must be more ferocious beasts in the mountains and forests.

But it didn't happen, which is totally against the common sense of the world.

Zhui Ming turned the wild pheasant on the fire over. In the light of the fire, the expression on his face seemed a little heavy.

In order to avoid being discovered, Zhui Ming chose to climb mountains and cross rivers. Because of his lightness skills, his pace was actually faster than walking on the main road.

It was precisely because he encountered a mountain and climbed over it that the abnormality of Lord Wang’s death was further highlighted.

There was no stronghold in the mountains he passed by. Even if it was destroyed by soldiers, there should be some ruins and traces left. But no, the mountains were clean and tidy, as if there had never been many people there.

So where did the bandits who killed Lord Wang’s family come from?

The people in Jizhou hate the bandits to the core. Not only do they have to guard against looting by the barbarians, but they also have to guard against looting by their own people. Their lives are extremely difficult. How can they not hate them?

Therefore, once a group of bandits were destroyed, they were completely wiped out. There would be no remnants left, and the common people would not shelter these bandits.

The possibility of human hiding is extremely small, and there is no trace at all in the mountains. Where did those bandits come from?

Zhui Ming picked up the firewood at hand and added it to the fire. Red sparks flew and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Lord Wang had always been on good terms with my uncle, and he was loyal to the court and the people. He was a well-deserved good official. But such a good official died in such an unclear way.

What is even more disheartening is that the government knew that some of the so-called evidence was flimsy, but he just let it go.

Just because the policeman is his confidant.

Just because...

"Why bother?"

An official has died and is dismissed. He is not a first-rank official, so just appoint another one.

Oh, why bother?

Why have the government become so cold and indifferent?

Or maybe he has always been like this, but he used to pretend a little, but now he doesn't even pretend.

In his eyes, his own leisurely life is more important. It is not worth it for him to start a war over a border town official.

Moreover, there was a good minister like Cai Jing who shared the emperor's worries, which made Zhuge Shenhou, who had been holding on to this matter for several times, seem to be increasingly dissatisfied with the emperor.

Zhui Ming stirred the firewood that was being licked by the flames, and suddenly he felt powerless.

This Song Dynasty is in turmoil, facing imminent external threats but increasingly corrupt internally, is there really... any hope of salvation?

After a moment's silence, Zhui Ming forced himself to calm down. Regardless of whether the Song Dynasty could be saved or not, he had to do what he had decided to do well, so that he could have a clear conscience.

Snap——

Outside the land temple, there was the sound of branches being trampled.

Zhui Ming was shocked. He didn't even notice someone approaching!

Just as he reached out to touch the weapon, an ethereal female voice rang out from outside the temple: "Are you the one chasing Ming?"

Hearing this, Zhui Ming realized the identity of the person who came: "Are you...Ms. Luo?"

"It's me."

Before he finished speaking, the owner of the voice floated in from outside.

She was really floating. Zhui Ming swore that he saw it with his own eyes. This lady Luo floated in front of him without touching the ground.

No wonder he didn't hear anyone approaching. That noise was probably made intentionally by Madam Luo to remind him that he was coming.

Just as the senior brother said, the strength of this outsider is unfathomable. Fortunately, he is not on Cai Jing's side, otherwise both of them would have died here.

Zhui Ming stood up, and when he looked straight ahead, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he bowed and saluted: "I am Zhui Ming, and Madam Luo Luo is here to pick me up."

If someone told him that there were monsters in this world, he would definitely not believe it. However, the person who said this was heartless, so he believed it even before he saw it with his own eyes.

Zhui Ming is also a handsome man, but due to his personality, he is rather unkempt. People who don’t know that he is one of the Four Famous Detectives will first praise him: What a bohemian and handsome man!

Tarona was very satisfied. The mysterious maternal love of the Blood-Grudge Nun had no reaction to Zhui Ming at all. It was very cold, not at all like the surging love when facing Wuqing. Sometimes she couldn't even suppress it, so much so that she thought Wuqing saw through it several times.

Good, she only needs to express her maternal love to Wuqing, which greatly reduces the amount of madness in her heart.

"No need to be polite."

The witch Xu helped him up and pretended to take out a crystal bracelet from her waist and handed it to Zhui Ming: "Put it on and close your eyes. I will take you into the city."

The night in Jizhou Prefecture is more dangerous than the day. The repulsive force that Tarona felt during the day seemed even stronger at night. It was definitely not possible to go through the city gate, so she planned to teleport directly there.

[Blood Nun] is a powerful ghost, whose existence is between reality and illusion. Combined with the confusion magic and ignoring magic that blurs and reduces the sense of existence, Tarona can roam freely in Jizhou Prefecture.

She searched the underground of Jizhou Prefecture in this state for more than two hours. Neither she nor Theseus, who was on the outside of the world, detected any hostile intentions or unknown sights. This meant that her combination of skills was so abnormal that she could not be discovered at all.

That's good, she doesn't want to come out of the dark for the time being.

The birch banshee was a target released by Tarona to attract firepower. The abnormals would only think that the destruction of Yanggu Town was also caused by the birch banshee. With the birch banshee outside attracting the abnormals' attention, she had enough time to turn this city, which had become the abnormals' lair, into a tomb of the abnormals.

Those two hours or so she worked weren't in vain.

…

"Tsk!"

In a dark alley, the handsome and unruly man Zhui Ming was leaning against the wall and vomiting violently. The culprit who caused him to not care about his dignity and just vomited out was standing at the entrance of the alley with his arms folded, waiting patiently for him to finish vomiting.

This is normal. It's the first time you transmit, so you feel dizzy.

Zhui Ming vomited out everything in his stomach. With trembling hands, he took out a piece of white cloth that was originally prepared for bandaging wounds from his pocket and wiped his mouth. While feeling the heat rising on his face, he thought to himself: If I had known this would happen, I would not have eaten the roasted pheasant.

...He had never been so embarrassed before.

It was the first time he had seen such magical power, and he was embarrassed. Fortunately, Lady Luo couldn't see it, so she saved his face.

Tarona had reminded him that he would definitely get dizzy after being teleported, because such things depend on one's physical condition, and also because she had never seen anyone get dizzy after being teleported, so who knew that Zhui Ming would get so dizzy.

I should have shortened the transmission distance earlier.

Alas, I wonder if the world's consciousness will deduct her extra compensation on the grounds of "embarrassing the son of their own destiny"?

Theseus: [……]

Theseus: [The world consciousness is not so petty. ]

Don't make up stories about him. He's the financial sponsor who pays him extra.

【That’s right! 】

The Great Witch suddenly became happy again.

By this time, the excitement in the city had died down by half, with people walking in groups of two or three on the street, and even the vendors were starting to close their stalls.

Before entering the inn, Tarona glanced in the direction of the Temple of the Immortal Mother. There were still many people there, and they were really filled with desire.

In the guest room, Wuqing was still awake, and Golden Sword and Silver Sword were also there.

Not long after they came back, they suddenly heard regular knocks on the door. Silver Sword, who was closest to them, hurried forward to open the door.

Before the door was fully opened, two figures slid in.

"Big Brother."

Zhui Ming, whose face was still a little pale, closed the door and rubbed Silver Sword's head.

As a bystander, he felt horrified just by reading the text of what happened in Yang Guzhen, let alone these two young boys who were not very worldly-wise.

They have worked so hard.

Tarona, who was still between reality and illusion, floated much faster than Zhui Ming. As soon as he slid in, the Great Witch had already sat in front of Wuqing.

Feeling that Lady Luo's eyes were on him, as if she was checking to see if he was injured, Wuqing said, "Lady Luo, don't worry. Our trip is not dangerous. On the contrary, we have gained a lot."

After checking that Wuqing was not injured and hearing his explanation, the uneasy mood of the Blood-Grudge Nun quickly subsided.

She had lost all her children, so she couldn't leave her child alone. She was worried when she was not with her children, fearing that something might happen to this child she had lost and found where she couldn't see him.

It took Tarona some effort to resist the urge of the Blood-Grudge Nun to rush over and hug Wuqing in her arms.

She sighed quietly in her heart and thought: Come on, let it keep rising. Anyway, I won’t be the one who will be embarrassed then.

Zhui Ming, who had seen the brief interaction between the two, touched his chin, with a somewhat weird look on his face.

Hiss, why does he feel that... there is something wrong between Madam Luo and Senior Brother?