Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Chapter 127: Detective Wheat
The village chief led a few people to check the areas where the wheat was lost.

"Masters, the wheat in this field has been harvested. You won't see anything if you go there."

The village chief was still the smooth-talking person that Wei Xi had imagined. He didn't ask what the crowd of people were doing there, but just said that they might not be able to see anything.

Wei Xi knew what he was thinking, and since it didn't get in the way, he let Lian Gouqie talk to the village chief.

The village at the foot of Yizhangyuan Mountain is called Eryan Village. It has a wide terrain and many reclaimed fields, all of which are connected together. There are poles inserted in the fields to divide the fields.

What the village chief said was true. Now there was only wheat stubble left in the field after the harvest, burning in the field and no one cared about it.

"These families are making a big fuss, but they are farmers. They rely on these plots of land to make a living year-round."

Lian Gou asked: "How was it handled in the end?"

The village chief sighed, "It's all in vain. Whoever got caught in this is unlucky. The crops were destroyed by the mountain creatures. If they were caught and killed, that would be fine. The men of these families slept in the sheds at night to watch over them, but the creatures didn't come, so they had no choice but to accept it."

Wei Xi checked the field pointed out by the village chief. The wheat stubble was not neat and was definitely not cut with a sickle.

In order to rule out the possibility that wild animals in the mountains stole the food, Wei Xi squatted down and tried to find any remaining evidence.

Zheng Xing's love for the land made him temporarily forget the burden on his heart, and he seized this opportunity to ask the village chief about this year's harvest.

"Speaking of this, I have to thank Elder Qingniu," the village chief said, his smile as bright as a wrinkled walnut. "Two years ago, only a few families dared to plant the seeds we were given."

"Last year was a bad year, and the village's harvest decreased. However, several households used the immortal master's seeds, and their yields did not decrease. Needless to say, this year, Hulala used Elder Qingniu's seeds, which is why they survived the two waves of natural disasters in spring and summer and had a good harvest."

Zheng Xing pulled out a cloth bag and grabbed a handful from the field, intending to take a sample back. "The seeds you're using were bred by our master over twenty generations. They're suitable for the environment of Qingzhou. While the yield isn't much higher, the fact that they're resistant to disasters is impressive."

The village chief nodded repeatedly and expressed his gratitude to the immortal again.

Zheng Xing wasn't particularly impressed. He interrupted, "If you encounter any problems while planting, you can come up the mountain to find me so I can help you improve. Although I don't have the skills of my master, I can still help you."

Qin Feng raised his eyebrows: Although this kid is not scared and has a heavy heart, he has a kind and foolish heart. No wonder Elder Qingniu chose him as his apprentice.

"I'm down here today too. Please, village chief, take me to the threshing ground. I want to take some back to see if I can save it for seeds."

The village chief gratefully agreed. Wei Xi, who stood up with a few strands of hair pinched, frowned. "Wheat drying ground? Is there anyone guarding it?"

"Of course there are," the village chief replied. "All the wheat harvested by the entire village is dried there. The few families whose wheat was lost have already dried it first."

After confirming that Huang Sanniang was the culprit, Wei Xi handed the fur she had found to Qin Feng, "Village Chief, do you mind if we go take a look together?"

The biggest advantage of this village chief is that he doesn't ask anything. The nearby villages are closer to the Qingcheng Sect than the Qingzhou government.

After all, the Qingcheng Sect not only helped with disaster relief but also bought food from them. Elder Qingniu also helped improve crop varieties. If one was sick, they would occasionally meet the immortal master who would write a prescription for him.

Moreover, the Qingcheng Sect does not collect taxes from them.

Qian Liangfeng and Lian Gouqie were left to investigate the remaining crime scenes, and the remaining three followed the village chief to the wheat drying ground.

Wei Xi had a question in his mind that needed an answer: Why did Huang Sanniang steal the wheat?
Is it to eat? Thinking of Huang Sanniang's form that no longer looked like a human, Wei Xi was reserved.

Or does she have other intentions?
Wei Xi couldn't guess for sure now, but after calculating, he concluded that Huang Sanniang's route was indeed following Maizi's.

Arriving at the threshing ground, Zheng Xing saw golden wheat spread out on the ground, with several people occasionally turning it over with rakes. The village chief greeted one of them and handed Zheng Xing a handful of wheat from his field.

Wei and Qin walked around the field to check.

Wei Xi soon noticed something unusual. She pulled Qin Feng and gestured for him to look at the wall.

When I looked closer, I found that there was a layer of gray scale powder on the top of the low wall. If I hadn't looked carefully, I would never have noticed it.

"Is this... what she left behind?" Qin Feng had never met Huang Sanniang, so he was not sure.

"I've seen the scales on her face, and it looks like she's been around here recently."

After saying that, Wei Xi rubbed the scales with his fingers, regretting the limitations of the tracking technique.

"She's wandering around like this, are you sure you can find her?" Qin Feng was quite worried.

Wei Xi brushed the scales off her fingertips. "I'm not afraid of her moving, I'm just afraid she'll go into hiding. She's probably somewhere near the village or the Yizhangyuan wheat fields."

"If she were to meet someone in that state, there would have been a huge uproar and chaos. She probably couldn't stay near the water source or in the village."

"At this time of year, the woods near the foot of the mountain are full of people collecting and chopping firewood," Wei Xi quickly made his own guess. "Didn't Zheng Xing say she was crawling on the ground like a snake? She must be in a cave halfway up the mountain."

"I just don't understand," Wei Xi said, a puzzled expression rarely seen on her face. "Why is she competing with Maizi?"

Just as I was wondering, Zheng Xing rushed over and said, "Come and take a look!"

No matter what Zheng Xing discovered, Wei Xi thought coldly, this man could be used as a bird of mourning.

Although he was complaining in his heart, he still followed Zheng Xing.

Zheng Xing led the people to a corner of the threshing ground, where the wheat was piled up, indicating that it had been dried and was ready to be sold or stored.

"Some of the wheat here isn't the variety that Master gave to Eryan Village," Zheng Xing picked out a few grains from the pile. "This slightly longer grain still has a faint spiritual power. It's from the original Yizhang variety."

The village chief's expression changed. How did the wheat from Yizhangyuan Immortal Sect end up in his village's wheat pile? Could it be that this immortal master was the reason they came here?

The village chief was about to explain, but Qin Feng glanced at him and said, "Don't panic. Listen first. I'll ask you later."

Wei Xi took the grains of wheat, checked them, and mentally corrected Zheng Xing's label to "wheat appraiser."

"Village Chief, do you remember when this batch of wheat was piled up?"

The village chief who was named wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This batch of wheat belongs to Wu Laosan's family. According to the order, it should have been delivered to the field three days ago and dried for two days before being piled up."

Wei Xi put his hand into the wheat pile and found that the wheat deep inside was not mixed with the wheat grains a foot away.

It seemed that Huang Sanniang had been here last night. Wei Xi threw the wheat in his hand back with an expressionless face.

"Clean up," Wei Xi said as he wiped the dust off his hands. "Let's catch this wheat thief today."

　Thanks to: JUCK0, Chu Yuxi, Mao Gou Yingyu, book friend 20220430114712285, Yi Zhong, and Flying Red Scarf for their recommendation votes!
　　

(End of this chapter)