Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 556 Southern Border Town
Qingyi dragged the man out of the city, and they landed not far after they flew.

The centurion who had chased after her stopped abruptly, only then realizing that the person was a little girl. But he would not underestimate her because of her appearance or size.

Seeing that the other side had stopped, the centurion was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing that Qingyi's clothes and appearance did not resemble those of barbarians, he asked, "Why are you arbitrarily arresting people in the city?"

Qingyi glanced back at the centurion, then looked into the distance.

The centurion followed Qingyi's gaze and saw a spirit boat rapidly approaching.

A short while later, Lu Zheng and the other two arrived in front of Qingyi.

Seeing the cultivator Qingyi was holding, Lu Zheng immediately moved him aside and searched his body for some bags containing Gu insects, including several kinds of locusts.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "The locust plague near the capital, was it your doing? Where else can you find these locusts? Are there any other people who can breed these insects...?"

The man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this; he hadn't expected that his actions had been discovered by these people.

He had clearly done it very discreetly; there was no way anyone would have been watching him.

When Lu Zheng asked the question, the man chose to remain silent and did not respond.

Seeing this, Qingwan said, "Let me do it! You get some rest!"

Qingwan thought she could use this kind of stubborn person as a practice subject.

Lu Zheng then handed the person over to Qing Wan, then looked at the centurion not far away, turned and stepped over, and politely asked, "Are you a soldier from the border city?"

Seeing that Lu Zheng was polite and had an extraordinary bearing, the centurion smiled back and said, "I am a soldier of the Dingnan Pass border city, serving as a centurion, under the command of the Zhennan Army... And you gentlemen are?"

Lu Zheng began by briefly explaining everyone's origins and then recounting the recent events that had occurred in the Southern Border Royal City.

The centurion was shocked to hear this. He was stationed in the border town and had not yet received any news from the royal city or the Zhennan Army. How could such a thing have happened in the past few days?

A troop of border troops hurriedly arrived from behind.

The centurion's mind raced, and he immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare for battle in the city.

Before long, Qingwan's side also uncovered a lot of information during interrogation.

The man was originally loyal to the barbarian royal family and had been away from home, which is why he escaped capture.

After learning about the situation in the royal city, the man and several colleagues plotted to create some chaos in the city in order to see if they could rescue some members of the barbarian royal family.

The swarm of locusts was released by the man.

He wasn't quite sure where the others were or what they were planning to do.

Everyone divided the work and cooperated, also for the sake of confidentiality, so no specific details were revealed to each other, adhering to the principle of adapting to changing circumstances.

The man thought that those people had been arrested and had implicated him.

After all, what he did was the safest thing to do. He would release a swarm of locusts near the capital, and they would wreak havoc in a day or two without him having to go to the capital to control anything.

The man stayed in this border town, waiting for news from the capital.

Before the news arrived, he was arrested instead.

He had never seen the military officers and soldiers in the southern border region work so efficiently before.

Qingwan asked again and again, and confirmed that the man had only released the locusts in one place, and that he was the only one who knew how to cultivate such locusts.

Breeding an insect requires considerable effort and resources. The man was cultivating locusts because he was instructed by members of the barbarian royal family to cultivate several types of insects capable of causing major disasters in preparation for potential future wars. Creating insect plagues to fight enemies was a common tactic used by Gu cultivators in the Southern Frontier, so the man chose locusts, which were relatively easy to cultivate.

The centurion standing nearby was alarmed. He had always thought the barbarians in the southern border were restless, but he never expected them to actually be plotting a rebellion.

Yun Xiao looked at Lu Zheng and said, "Now that the person has been captured, there's nothing to worry about. This matter involves other people as well, so let the Zhennan Army handle it!"

With clues in hand, the Zhennan Army was more professional in finding these local cultivators.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and then nodded.

He searched the man thoroughly, killing all the pests in the breeding bag, and then handed the man and the insect corpses over to the centurion as evidence.

Lu Zhengdao said, "It seems I will have to trouble you to take the man to the Zhennan Army."

The centurion nodded hurriedly. The matter was of great importance and could not be handled by a mere centurion from a border town.

Fortunately, the main force of the Zhennan Army was not far from this border town. Sending someone over to inform them would bring a reply soon.

The centurion ordered his men to control the man and then invited Lu Zheng and the others to rest in the city.

Afterwards, chaos erupted in the border town.

These days, anyone who has had intimate contact with the man has been arrested and interrogated by the border troops.

The centurion also ordered his men to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals who had recently entered or left the border town, and to check their identities along the streets, just in case.

In a small courtyard, Lu Zheng was sitting and recuperating.

Beside him, Yun Xiao took the spiritual herbs he had found from Lu Zheng, started refining pills, and demonstrated his pill-refining skills to Lu Zheng.

"Alas, what a pity, my cultivation level is a bit too low, otherwise I would have given you a batch of precious pills, and I guarantee you would be lively and energetic after taking them."

Yun Xiao cast a spell, and purple flames shot out from the ancient alchemy furnace, instantly enveloping it in scorching heat.

Qingyi stood by the alchemy furnace, her eyes slightly moving as she looked at the ball of flame, the reflection of the flame flickering in her eyes.

Yun Xiaoyin sensed something was amiss and quickly said, "I'm refining pills, don't be greedy!"

During this time together, Yun Xiao also learned about Qing Yi's recipes. He was worried that the little one might not be able to control herself and end up burning the entire furnace in one gulp.

Qingyi glanced at Yun Xiao, then sniffed, suppressing the burning desire in her heart. She took small steps to Lu Zheng's side and quietly waited, taking out a book to study.

After some time, a rich aroma of medicine filled the entire courtyard.

However, that aura quickly subsided.

Five golden pills appeared in Yun Xiao's palm, with a hazy spiritual aura flowing around them, making it clear at a glance that the pills were of extraordinary quality.

"Let me try the pill on you first..."

Yun Xiao swallowed a pill, then revealed a satisfied expression. "It's been a long time since I've practiced this kind of pill, and my skill level hasn't dropped at all!"

Lu Zheng then asked curiously, "Daoist Master, what effect do these spiritual items have on your clone?"

He still remembered how Yun Xiao had haggled with him over the price of dragon meat.

Yun Xiao said leisurely, "It's not of much benefit to cultivation, it's mainly for tasting! My true body has long since stopped eating mortal food, and I rarely even consume spiritual items, all in order to keep my body pure and spotless."

Yun Xiao smacked his lips. "There's nothing I can do. I'm not like you scholars who cultivate Confucianism and Taoism and can eat simple meals. I'm not a true immortal without desires either. I still need to enjoy myself a bit, otherwise it would be too boring."

(End of this chapter)