Chapter 64
They hadn't gotten anything useful from Murong Jing either, and with their departure from the capital imminent, the mystery surrounding their master's spiritual energy fluctuations was only growing. Inside the Exorcism Bureau, Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou watched Gu Qingci talking to someone not far away, their faces filled with worry.
"Actually, there's another place we can go," Shi Yunzhou finally spoke after a long silence.
"The Royal Hunting Grounds?" Gu Qingci entered Guancheng from this place, but she still had some questions. Zhou Xuanzhi asked, "It's been so long, are you sure there are any clues left behind?"
"Are you going or not?" Shi Yunzhou shifted his gaze to Zhou Xuanzhi.
Seeing the burning hope in those eyes, Zhou Xuanzhi agreed, "Okay, but how do we get in?"
Do you think the Emperor will find out if Gu Qingci suddenly disappears from the royal hunting grounds?
"Of course I know."
Shi Yunzhou snapped his fingers near Zhou Xuanzhi's ear and laughed, "Exactly! Imagine a living person suddenly disappearing from the royal hunting grounds and then suddenly appearing in Yunzhou, a thousand miles away. If you were the emperor, what would you do?"
The disappearance of a county magistrate would enrage people, but they couldn't openly send people to investigate. The Exorcism Bureau also had people sent in by various powerful families in various ways. So, at this time, the only thing they could do was...
"The Imperial Observatory," the two said in unison.
"We can have her father speak up, and we can also ask the Imperial Observatory for information." Hopefully, this time we can get some clues.
On a flat, open ground in the royal hunting grounds, the prince and an official from the Imperial Observatory stood together. The official from the Imperial Observatory was referred to by the prince as "Sun Lingtai".
The prince looked at the two brothers and said, "Our camp was set up here back then. Qingci went out from here at night and disappeared."
The events of that night were indeed strange. After Gu Qing, the poet, came out, the maidservant guarding outside the tent saw him, but the person simply turned around and vanished into thin air.
The visitor from the Imperial Observatory was a middle-aged man with a kind face. Looking at the two men, he spoke, "After receiving orders, we searched the entire hunting grounds but found no clues. Not long after, we received your letter. We also want to find out how the county princess instantly traveled a thousand miles away, but..."
"Does the gentleman know how to enter Guancheng?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked.
"Guancheng?" This question startled the Imperial Astronomical Bureau envoy, but he quickly understood. "You mean, the county princess was deliberately brought into Guancheng?"
"This is just my guess. She's just a county princess." A county princess who grew up in the capital and rarely left her home, whose father was a powerless prince, couldn't possibly be an enemy.
"Do you know that those who know how to open this city are basically the leaders and law enforcement elders of various sects?" Sun Lingtai explained to the two young men.
They knew perfectly well how Gu Qingci had entered Guancheng without this "person," and now all factions were almost certain that there was a traitor within the Immortal Sect.
Zhou Xuanzhi looked at Prince Gu and asked, "Your Highness, are you really sure you don't have any enemies?"
Prince Gu looked at Zhou Xuanzhi and shook his head, saying, "As someone who grew up in the palace since childhood, I naturally know what it takes to survive."
As the emperor's younger brother, this prince was granted the title of Prince of Yingchuan. However, over the years, he has rarely attended court, spending his days listening to songs and music or riding horses and hunting, living a life of "playboy" to this day. Despite his playboy lifestyle, he is still "approachable," and his friends range from princes and nobles to street vendors and laborers. As a result, everyone has forgotten his title and calls him Prince Gu.
It was precisely because of this personality and attitude that he became the only one who remained in the capital after reaching adulthood. Over the years, in order to survive in the capital, he truly managed to live a life of peace and have no enemies.
"That's why we can't figure out why they kidnapped the county princess to Yunzhou, and who these people are," Shi Yunzhou said, looking at Prince Gu. "We're even wondering if they might be demons."
Shi Yunzhou emphasized the word "demon race" heavily. When Prince Gu heard these words, he looked at Shi Yunzhou with a puzzled expression, "Demon race? Why did the demon race kidnap my daughter?"
The two remained silent, and Sun Lingtai, noticing that the two brothers seemed to be testing something, remarked, "If it's the Demon Clan, then we're in big trouble."
"What do you mean?" Prince Gu had a son and a daughter. His son had died young, and now he only had his daughter left, so he was naturally anxious.
Shi Yunzhou stepped forward and said, "The demon race has always been ruthless and irreconcilable. If it really is the demon race, they might have been wary of the Immortal Alliance Conference a few days ago, but now the conference has ended, and all the sects and factions that participated in the conference in the capital have left..."
Seeing the prince's still hesitant expression, Shi Yunzhou continued, "Actually, the county princess had already encountered danger back in Yunzhou, and was later protected by our Senior Sister Lin from Tianyu Mountain. If..."
Prince Gu wasn't stupid. He knew that Shi Yunzhou was pressing him to find out something from him. But when he thought about his only child, he realized it wasn't really a big deal. So he said, "Actually, Qingci was stillborn. The immortal who gave me the bracelet came to my door around that time. He said he had foreseen that I would never have children, but he had a way to bring Qingci to life."
"When the immortal saw Qingci, the child's whole body had already stiffened. He took out a small bottle from his robes, and I don't know what was in the bottle, but he poured it onto the child's forehead. Soon the child started breathing again, and his body slowly warmed up." At this moment, Prince Gu's face was full of vicissitudes, and his tone was cautiously ingratiating.
There's no way to revive a stillborn child, not even among the demons. But what if a soul could return to the mortal realm in the body of this infant? Possession of a corpse!
“In my younger days, I used to roam the streets and alleys, so I naturally heard about these things. I knew this wasn’t my child.” He gestured with his hands. “That child was so young. My son had only been dead for two years. I couldn’t be without a daughter. The immortal said I had no affinity with children, so he told me to raise this child well, saying that she would bring me good fortune in the future. But as time went on, I felt that she was my daughter.”
"The immortal said this child would be hunted down by the demons in the future, and gave him a bracelet, saying that the bracelet could protect the child. I thought this day would never come." The prince, who lived so carefree in the chaotic situation in the capital, said with tears in his eyes, "When Qingci disappeared, I knew this day had finally come."
"The Princess Consort knew about this too?" It was the Princess Consort who wanted Gu Qingci to stay in the Exorcism Division.
"Yes, we know. When we received the news that Qingci was safe and sound, we thought about how to ensure her safety for the rest of her life, but we couldn't think of any way. We are just ordinary people and don't have your skills or any magic. After thinking it over, the only thing we could do was to keep her by your side."
Zhou Xuanzhi and Shi Yunzhou felt a pang of envy for Gu Qingci, envying her for having such good parents. They also thought that if they had such parents, they probably wouldn't have entered Tianyu Mountain.
“Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them.” Sun Lingtai sighed, “So you don’t know what the reason is?”
Sun Lingtai's words instantly snapped the two brothers out of their emotional reverie. No wonder, it turned out that this Sun Lingtai was one of Prince Gu's men. No wonder Gu Qingci dared to reveal his background in front of the Imperial Observatory officials; it seemed they had been careless.
"I don't know, the immortal didn't say." Prince Gu looked at Shi Yunzhou and said, "I really don't know. Actually, I did think about this before, and I even sent people to investigate, but we couldn't find anything. As time went by, the children developed a bond with each other and stopped thinking about her background."
"The portrait you provided?" Zhou Xuanzhi asked. If the person in the portrait was real, then it might still be possible to find out.
Shi Yunzhou chimed in, "We can find this immortal and ask him why Gu Qingci is being hunted by the demons. Only by knowing the reason can we solve the problem, right?"
"It's true. I also want to know what the reason is."
A few days ago, the two learned how to open the Guancheng, and today, in this hunting ground, the two entered the Guancheng.
The interior of Guancheng was quite different from what I had imagined; it was a forest, devoid of any sign of life. As I walked along the path, I could hear footsteps all around me.
The two stopped in their tracks when suddenly a cold light flashed from their side. Zhou Xuanzhi drew his sword to block it, and turned around to see a female demon stretch out her claw and slash fiercely across his face.
The attack came too fast. Shi Yunzhou was right behind him, and Zhou Xuanzhi had to take it with his sword to protect his junior brother. His arm was exposed and unprotected by the sword energy, so it was torn open, and blood gushed out instantly.
The stench of blood permeated every corner of Guancheng in an instant, and demonic energy surged forth.
Shi Yunzhou untied his hairband to help Zhou Xuanzhi bandage his wounds, the stench of blood making him uncomfortable. Although he didn't know why the smell was so strong, looking at the monster before him, he knew that this aura would attract all the monsters in the area.
The moment the wound was covered, the smell of blood disappeared. The succubus was naturally not going to give up. It was not easy for someone to come from Guancheng, and he was a young cultivator. His flesh and blood must taste delicious.
The demoness, disregarding everything, pounced on the two again, her sharp claws striking back and forth. Having been caught off guard and falling into the demoness's trap, Shi Yunzhou became ruthless, unleashing his full power in every sword strike, each one aimed to kill.
The food that was almost in her mouth suddenly became aggressive, which greatly displeased the demoness. Judging from the sounds coming from deep within the forest, others were already heading in this direction, so she probably wouldn't be able to eat it all by herself.
The demoness stopped and looked at the two brothers, saying, "I don't know where you two are from, but with your current strength, you'd better just obediently become my meal!"
"Now that I'm in a good mood, I can give you a quick death. If you dare to resist, I won't mind biting you alive." After saying this, the succubus even swallowed.
As soon as she finished speaking, two swords pierced straight towards her heart. She had no choice but to dodge backward, but a tree blocked her way. In that moment of distraction, the two swords were already in front of her. The banshee stretched out her hands to block the two swords.
The moment the sword tip pierced their hands, pure spiritual energy surged into their bodies. For demons, the influx of spiritual energy would purify the demonic energy within their bodies; this purification was tantamount to corrosion.
The pain caused the banshee to scream, and in that brief moment, the sword was pulled out. All the strength seemed to have been drained from her, and she collapsed weakly to the ground.
In that short while, many more demons arrived. Seeing the female demon lying on the ground, they felt no pity whatsoever. Instead, they were calculating that if they couldn't defeat the two cultivators before them, this incapacitated female demon would become their food.
In Guancheng Prison, there is no room for sentimentality or gratitude.
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