Minglong

Chapter 28 Follow the clues
The chaos in Sanhe Building was quite big, but it did not affect the survival of the state in the end. The focus of the work of the royal palace was still on the evil spirit of Zihui Mountain.

After Linghu Qingmo left the county government office, he quickly came to Danwang Pavilion and went up the stairs. As soon as he reached the second floor, he heard a discussion coming from the hall:
"Danzhou is vast, and ordinary soldiers and servants would find it difficult to identify a large monster. Even if we were to investigate every county and village, it would take us a month..."

"Could it be that he went to the north?"

"Impossible, the footprints are heading towards Danzhou..."

"The footprints could just be left by a hunter. He's already a super-level demon, so why would he need to walk? Have you ever seen Mr. Mu go out and use his 'true qi to turn into a horse' and ride around?"

"Hmm~ That seems to make sense. My realm is still too low to imagine the splendor of the mountaintop..."

……

There are seven retainers and staff members in the palace who are of the third rank and above. Apart from the chief steward Zhu Wenyuan, there are also Master Huangfu Qi, General Tie Fengzhang, Guest official Ji Shiqing of Xuanhu Temple, and so on.

Linghu Qingmo arrived at the door and saw that except for Dianjun Tiefengzhang, everyone else was there. There were also some low-ranking guests. Because they couldn't find any trace of the big monster, they were brainstorming around the Danzhou map in the center.

Zhu Wenyuan stood at the head of the group, looking worried at the clueless monster hunt progress. Seeing Linghu Qingmo standing at the door, he asked warmly:

"Qing Mo, do you have something to report?"

"Greetings to all seniors."

Linghu Qingmo bowed and entered the hall.
"I just went to perform an autopsy. Xie Jinhuan said that the nameless floating corpse related to the demon bandits died from corpse flies and seemed to be cultivating some kind of 'poison flower'. I don't know the reason, so I came here to ask the seniors for advice."

"Gu flower?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the worshippers present fell silent.

Zhu Wenyuan held the folding fan in his hand, frowning, and thought carefully for a moment before saying in a serious tone:

"The method of cultivating the Gu Flower is a secret of the Wu Cult sect. Those who can master this technique must have reached at least the third rank. Are you sure Xie Jinhuan saw this correctly?"

Huangfu Qi, the tutor of the Crown Prince and the Princess, was second only to Zhu Wenyuan in status. He had served in the palace for over twenty years and was deeply respected by the Dan King. At this moment, he raised his hand, holding up his goatee, and questioned:

"Master Ji has also seen that corpse. It has been rotting for many days without a trace. The coroner searched inside and out but couldn't find any corpse flies. How did Xie Jinhuan know that?"

Ji Shiqing came from the renowned Xuanhu Temple of the Taoist sect. In his youth, he had traveled the southern border wilderness for many years. He was best at dealing with witch cult demons. Although he did not rely on his seniority to bully others, he still nodded.
"If the death had just occurred, it wouldn't be impossible to tell it was caused by the Gu Flower. But the body had been eaten by maggots and rotted beyond recognition, effectively destroying all evidence. I really can't imagine how Young Master Xie could tell he was raising the Gu Flower."

Linghu Qingmo didn't know how Xie Jinhuan figured it out, so he thought for a moment and responded:

"Xie Jinhuan is very knowledgeable and talented. Perhaps he came up with this idea on a whim."

This explanation is obviously a bit fantasy.

Anyone who can be a retainer in the palace must be knowledgeable and experienced.
Zhu Wenyuan couldn't believe that the eyesight of all the staff present was not as good as that of a twenty-year-old young man.

But when someone presents evidence, no matter how outrageous it is, one must consider the possibility. Zhu Wenyuan recalls carefully:
"There are six or seven species of Gu flowers that feed on corpse flies. It's hard to determine which one killed them."

Ji Shiqing did understand witchcraft and responded:

"The demon bandits are collecting 'Dragon's Beard Grass'. There are only two kinds of poisonous flowers that can be used: corpse flies and dragon's beard grass.

"Putting aside the impossible Soul-Requiem Grass, there's the Crazy Corpse Flower from Linglu Valley. If we follow this line of inquiry, we might be able to find a clue."

Huangfu Qi saw that his colleagues were all thinking along the topic, so he thought about it and interrupted:
"According to the 'Essence of Plants and Trees', the area surrounding the Crazy Corpse Flower must be littered with corpses. There shouldn't be a large accumulation of corpses anywhere in Danzhou. Perhaps they're being kept warm in a slaughterhouse or livestock market, using the carcasses of livestock. If we can find the place where the flower is being cultivated, we'll be able to prove the Li family was framed by the demonic bandits and that someone else is behind this."

After hearing the opinions of these experts, Linghu Qingmo naturally found his direction and bowed:
"Thank you for your guidance, seniors. I will lead the team to search all the livestock storage areas in the city."

Zhu Wenyuan nodded. The threat posed by a super-level demon was far greater than that posed by a mere third-grade wizard. Linghu Qingmo led his team in a search, and if the wizard dared to show up in the city, they would be there in a blink of an eye. They didn't waste any more time discussing the matter, and continued to discuss how to search for the demon...
-
Outside Danyang City.

The carriage sped along the official road upstream, occasionally passing by the escort caravans entering the pass, and the sound of horse bells rose and fell:
Jingle bell bell~
Xie Jinhuan sat outside the carriage, holding a telescope bought on the street, carefully searching both sides of the river, and left the driving work to his personal servant.

Coal Ball squatted beside him, clutching the reins with his paws, his large amber eyes filled with confusion, probably meaning - is driving my job? Why don't you go and have someone touch your head?

In the carriage, Lin Wanyi was also looking around the window, searching for a possible place where the crazy corpse flower could be cultivated.

Although she looked focused, she always felt a chill around her, as if she was not the only one sitting in the carriage!

But she also couldn't see the ghost in red in front of her. Apart from occasionally tightening his clothes, he didn't make any other movements.

After searching for a while, a beautiful garden appeared on the riverside. The river surface outside was filled with colorful large ships, and the buildings inside were magnificent. Countless tourists were walking and gathering in it.

Xie Jinhuan turned his telescope towards the garden and found it crowded with people. He asked:

"What is that place?"

"The Peony Pond. This year's Mid-Autumn Festival will be held there. It's not quite there yet, but by the time the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives, I'm sure tens of thousands of people will gather there."

"Really."

Since it had nothing to do with him, Xie Jinhuan didn't care too much.

After Lin Wanyi glanced at the riverbank for a moment, she felt uneasy. She turned to look at the empty seat beside her and whispered, "Xie Jinhuan."

"Hmm?" Xie Jinhuan turned around and looked towards the carriage.

"Do you... do you feel that something is wrong in this carriage? It feels like there's one more person?"

"Guji?"

Meiqiu turned around, and the look in his eyes probably meant - you just discovered that there is something dirty?

Xie Jinhuan quickly held down his personal servant and looked at the two beauties in the carriage, wondering:

"Really? Are you still recovering from the poisoning you suffered yesterday?"

Lin Wanyi thought it was possible, so she tightened her clothes and asked:
"By the way, when did you come back yesterday?"

Xie Jinhuan came back early and even went into the bathroom, but if Lin Wanyi knew about this, wouldn't she put a love poison on him and make him the son-in-law of the Lin family?
"I came back late yesterday, and Miss Zisu came just as I walked in."

"Oh……"

Lin Wanyi couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality. Seeing that it was just a dream, she put aside all distractions and continued searching the riverside.

The two men, the ghost, and the bird continued along the official road. After they had gone about twenty miles, the red-clothed ghost in the carriage suddenly spoke:

"and many more."

"Xu~"

Xie Jinhuan immediately pulled the reins and stopped the carriage by the roadside. Turning around, he saw a tree-lined path beside the overgrown official road. It looked like it had been trampled out by people and led to the depths of the hills in the distance.

Lin Wanyi noticed the carriage stopped and looked towards the distant mountains:

"That place seems to be called Jiguanling. There's a small river flowing out of the mountains and into Huaijiang River. Do you think it's here?"

Xie Jinhuan was not sure, so he got out of the car and walked onto the trail to observe carefully. He saw some scattered hoof prints and feces on the muddy ground covered with fallen leaves and weeds. It should be that livestock had passed by recently, but they were all heading towards the mountains, not out.

"This is a bit suspicious, let's go in and take a look."

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Xie Jinhuan first pulled the carriage away and stopped it next to an old bridge. Then he and the man and the ghost went deep into the trail. However, they found a stream at the end of the trail in a moment, and its source pointed to the depths of the hills.

Xie Jinhuan asked Meiqiu to fly high into the sky to conduct reconnaissance. After confirming that there were no living people in the mountains, he searched upstream along the stream.

Lin Wanyi followed closely behind, her skirt lifted. She felt something was wrong and looked around from time to time:
"Is there anything dirty here? Why don't you go back and inform the government and bring more people with you?"

Xie Jinhuan glanced at the ghost wife who was floating around searching and responded:

"How could there be something dirty in broad daylight? Even if there was, what are you afraid of with me right here?"

Lin Wanyi was actually worried that she would be tricked into the woods by a man and then turned into a woman.

However, in such a place, Xie Jinhuan might not be able to do anything to her, the direct descendant of the witch cult, so he quickly put the idea aside.

The two men and the ghost walked along the rugged stream for about half a minute and came to a pond.

The pool is three meters square and surrounded by vines. Part of the mountain on the side has collapsed, and soil and rocks have piled up on the side of the pool, making it look like a natural landslide.

Xie Jinhuan stood by the pool and observed. He could see a faint stench floating in the air, which seemed to come from below the landslide.

Ye Hongshang floated above the pool and nodded slightly:

"It's right here, behind the pond in the flower garden. It's buried. There's no one alive inside."

Although Lin Wanyi didn't hear the succubus whisper, she carefully observed the surrounding environment and reconsidered:
"This place is shady and near water, and has a very strong yin energy. It's definitely suitable for growing crazy corpse flowers."

Xie Jinhuan was sure he had found the place, so he naturally didn't say anything more. After checking the landslide to make sure there were no traps, he drew the Tiangang Mace from his waist and walked to the edge of the pool to take a deep breath.

Seeing this, Lin Wanyi quickly retreated to the edge of the pool and covered her ears.

Boom——

The next moment, a loud bang was heard from the valley.

Xie Jinhuan swung his mace with all his strength, and the pool of water immediately exploded, sending out a huge splash of water!

The energy swept through the endless flying water, smashing into the side of the collapsed earth and rocks, instantly creating a gap, but it was buried by rolling stones again.

Rumbling--

After three such back-and-forths, a gap was finally blasted into the collapsed mound, revealing a deep cave entrance behind it. A strong stench of corpses filled the air...

(End of this chapter)