89 Tracking
◎Dr. Ying...has passed away◎
It takes five days to travel by horse from Liulijing to Wanze City, and another ten days to reach Jinxi City, meaning Lu Ping set off at least half a month ago. What happened in Wuling Village during those two weeks remains unknown.
In terms of speed, Zuilan was faster than Xingyue. Since leaving the Jianchang Marquis's residence, Du Zhijin had been traveling without sleep and finally arrived at Jinxi City on the evening of the fourth day.
It's dark and windy, so it's not advisable to rush in. It's best to be cautious.
Avoiding the city guards, she sneaked into the arrow tower and looked down over the entire city.
The scenery was not much different from what she had seen before the Orchid Bathing Festival; it was still surrounded by green mountains and winding green waters. However, without the grand festival, the small town was dimly lit and much quieter. Even the Prince Chengduan's Mansion, which used to be brightly lit all night, was now silent, like a huge tomb.
She released her divine sense, which spread like a gentle breeze, sweeping across the mountains and valleys. Once fully recovered, her divine sense was enough to cover the entire small town.
Wherever his divine sense touched, ordinary people were startled from their dreams, and hundreds of demons trembled. But these were all minor demons who had only recently taken human form, and were not to be feared. Du Zhijin jumped down from the arrow tower, casually grabbed a demon, and asked, "Who is the demon leader of Jinxi City?"
Just like humans, demons always distinguish between high and low, primary and secondary, on the same territory. The one she caught was a rabbit spirit, which had probably just transformed into human form. Provoked by her, it was so frightened that its ears and tail popped out.
The rabbit spirit stammered, "Yes, yes, it is the Mountain King."
The Mountain Lord is a tiger. Jinxi City is mountainous, so it's not surprising that a tiger could cultivate itself into a spirit and rule the city. However, such monsters are mostly violent and bloodthirsty; if they want to eat someone, they will kill them directly without any subtlety or manipulation.
"Where is it?" However, Du Zhijin would not let it go. Before leaving last time, she had cleaned up the surrounding demons, but she did not expect that a new leader would appear in just a few months. These demons were growing in power faster than she had imagined.
Seeing her wielding two blades, the rabbit spirit immediately recalled the legend. The legend said that every night, a female demon carrying two large swords would roam around, killing demons wherever she went, leaving rivers of blood in her wake... The thought of possibly turning herself into braised rabbit head almost made the rabbit spirit faint.
Lord Mountain Lord! Please don't blame me for exposing you! It's just that the female demon is too terrifying!
This tiger assumed the identity of a wealthy merchant and built a luxurious mansion in the city, where it spent its days in revelry and drinking. When Du Zhijin arrived, it was with two beautiful female demons, oblivious to the world around it.
But soon, it learned how to write the word "death".
"Who are you! How dare you—"
Before she could finish speaking, her head hit the ground first. The rabbit spirit let out a scream and fainted.
Du Zhijin ignored the two terrified female demons, picked up the blood-dripping tiger head and threw it at the entrance of the county government office, not caring how frightened the people who opened the door the next morning would be when they saw this hideous face.
After doing all this, she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she deliberately stopped at the alley entrance and asked the person hiding in the shadows behind her, "How much longer are you going to follow me?"
Whether that thing was human or demon, it had been there ever since she spoke with the rabbit spirit. Like an invisible shadow, it stood there silently, neither appearing nor making a sound, its purpose unfathomable.
But she could sense that it meant her no harm, which is why she allowed it to follow her.
"The place I'm going to is quite dangerous. You'd better not follow me, or I won't save you if something happens." After giving her kind advice, she felt she had done her duty, so she stopped worrying about what was behind her, picked up her sword, and headed straight for Wuling Village.
Her divine sense told her that the demonic energy was most concentrated near the Tiger's Blood Pool in the back mountain, permeating the entire village, but had no other impact. The demon was very cautious, and its target was clear: it was probably after the demon core of the great demon that once inhabited Wuling Village.
She chose Tiger Xue Tan to fight the Flame Demon for two reasons: first, water could suppress fire and thus control the Flame Demon; second, Wuling Village had a clean atmosphere, so no other demon would suddenly appear, like a mantis stalking a cicada unaware of the oriole behind.
The reason why there are no demons in Wuling Village is that there was once a powerful demon here, so powerful that even though it died several years ago, its remaining power can still deter other demons and prevent them from daring to invade.
But as with death, a person's life is extinguished, and so it is with demons. The allure of the great demon's core was too strong; she guessed that some demons would be unable to resist coming to pluck the fruit, so she left the firework tube for Red Flower. Little did she know that the demon that came was so cunning, controlling the minds of all the villagers, including Red Flower.
Lu Ping's encounter with Honghua was accidental, but Honghua must have lingered on that road for a long time, waiting patiently for many days before finally finding a reliable person to hand over the fireworks tube...
Thinking of this, Du Zhijin felt a pang of guilt.
She shouldn't have left so early, nor should she have placed all the responsibility on Honghua alone. Although she was clever and quick-witted, she was still just a young girl.
Once this matter is settled, if Aunt Huang agrees, she wants to take Honghua to Dengxian Mountain for a visit.
While she was pondering, Zuilan had already brought her to Wuling Village. In Du Zhijin's memory, Wuling Village was not large, but the scenery was very beautiful, with water in front and mountains behind, and the villagers were simple and honest, and the children were cute.
But the Wuling Village before her felt unfamiliar. Under the heavy night sky, the stars and moon were hidden, the clouds were thick and lingering, and although there was no rain, the wind carried a faint, oppressive atmosphere. The three characters "Wuling Village" on the stone tablet were strikingly red, seemingly beckoning passersby forward, forward, but what lay ahead? No one knew.
The wind suddenly picked up, making the old locust trees by the roadside creak. Their gnarled branches looked like countless withered hands, desperately scratching at the sky in the darkness. The oppressive atmosphere in the air grew heavier, mixed with the smell of rotting grass and wood, and a faint trace of blood.
The village, which should have been filled with the barking of yellow dogs, was now so quiet that one could hear their own heart pounding in their throat. Du Zhijin conjured up the Awakening Moon, a long sword in hand, which instantly illuminated the small area. She was able to see something flash by behind the tightly closed windows of the village.
Farmers are generally frugal, and Ying Jianhua didn't even light a single extra candle at this time, and the other villagers were naturally the same. But even without light, she could still clearly see a pair of eyes behind the window.
A pair of blood-red eyes that could never belong to a human.
A cold glint flashed, and the moon, like a sharp arrow, pierced through the window paper, going straight into those eyes. Accompanied by a shrill scream from behind the window, bright flames ignited, and the once lifeless village suddenly "came to life."
"Help! Thief!"
The howling of some aunt pierced the dark night. Hearing that familiar voice, she was momentarily dazed.
This scene... seems familiar to her.
Where?
While she was still stunned, she was quickly surrounded by villagers who had rushed over after hearing the commotion. These villagers, some carrying machetes and others holding scissors, each revealed their most ferocious side.
However, after seeing the "thief's" face clearly, a question arose from the crowd: "Miss Mu? It's you again?!"
Du Zhijin: Why do you say "again"?
————
"Miss Mu, don't blame everyone for mistaking you for a thief time and time again. It's just that you don't follow the usual path. Last time you popped out from under Doctor Ying's bed, and this time you suddenly appeared in the middle of the night... You're too elusive!"
Uncle Zhao's family was slightly better off and could afford the cost of a night's candles. They were also related to the village chief, so Du Zhijin was invited to their home.
Hearing everyone's complaints, she scratched her face sheepishly, her fingers awkwardly picking at the ground under the table: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it... By the way, is Uncle Niu's eye alright?"
She learned from others that the person she had accidentally injured was Uncle Niu, and the one who shouted "Stop thief!" was Uncle Niu's mother, Granny Niu. Uncle Niu was the only adult male in the Niu family; if he was injured in the eye and couldn't walk, what would happen to the whole family?
She was prepared to pay for the medical treatment, but then she heard Uncle Zhao say, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. If you feel bad about it, you can just pay for it with an old hen tomorrow."
fine?
She paused, recalling the swordplay from just now, and couldn't help but doubt herself.
Once the Moon Awakening Sword is drawn, it's either death or serious injury; how could it be just a minor injury? But Uncle Zhao really had no reason to lie to her. Their relationship was only superficial, built on the connection of Ying Jianhua; their friendship wasn't deep.
Did she make a mistake just now?
"If you don't believe me, Niu Shoutian is right outside. I'll let him in." With that, Uncle Zhao called out "Shoutian" to the outside. A short while later, Uncle Niu came in.
He was a very simple, honest man, his hands nervously clutching the hem of his clothes, his eyes darting around, carrying an innate sense of restraint. He blended in with the other farmers and didn't stand out at all.
Du Zhijin paid special attention to his eyes because she remembered that there were two bloodshot eyes behind the window.
Noticing her watching, Uncle Zhao explained, "Hey, were you scared by Shoutian's red eyes? I told him to stay out less until he recovered, and he listened and was hardly ever seen during the day. He probably couldn't stand it at night and decided to go out for a walk, but who would have thought he'd run into you."
"Yes, yes, I'm so sorry for scaring you," Niu Shoutian said apologetically.
Red eyes are a disease caused by wind-heat and evil toxins, which can indeed cause the eyes to turn red. Du Zhijin examined him for a while and saw that Niu Shoutian really only had a few scratches on his face. He asked with some doubt, "Haven't you seen a doctor?"
"Sigh..." Uncle Zhao sighed, looking at her with pity. "Miss Mu, you don't know, do you? Doctor Ying... has passed away. There's no one left in the village who can treat patients."
Upon hearing this, she paused, unsure of what expression to make.
Shock? Grief? Questioning?
After a long pause, she decided not to make things difficult for herself and chose to remain silent.
Uncle Zhao naturally took her silence as "the greatest sorrow is a broken heart, the greatest grief is silence," and did not press her for details. Instead, he patted her shoulder comfortingly: "Please accept my condolences. You came back this time to have a good talk with Doctor Ying, right? I didn't expect things to have changed so much... Sigh, Miss Mu, don't feel too guilty. Get some sleep first, and go to pay your respects to Doctor Ying again tomorrow morning."
“…Hmm.” She opened her mouth, hesitated several times before finally deciding to follow Uncle Zhao’s arrangements.
[Author's Note]
I need to reach a total of 800 nutrient solution [pity][pity]
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