Chapter 1604

Cao Wendao and his disciples took this road when they came, which counted as a field, personal inspection of the situation at Huilong Slope, and they all felt it was suitable for striking.

"Wei Yishan returning west will likely rest and resupply at the self-run camp at Huilong Slope." Cao Wendao made the decision, "We'll catch him there."

He didn't have the patience to follow him all the way. Not to mention that the road conditions were complex and easy to lose track of, who knew what other tricks would be behind them.

These two people, Xiao An and Wei Yishan, were too important to his research and needed to be controlled in his hands in time.

"Yes!"

Two disciples were sent by him to lurk near the gate of Yongquan Manor to avoid missing Wei Yishan's departure.

There were two disciples left by his side, one of whom whispered to the other: "I really didn't expect that wild puppet masters would appear here."

The speaker had no intention, but the listener did. Cao Wendao's heart stirred; wild?

No, he had previously suspected that among the Black Armor Army that took away his Hinge-Tailed Tiger and Sowbug Porcupine, there was also a puppet master, or at least someone very familiar with monster puppets.

The vast Flash Gold Plain usually couldn't find a second group of puppet masters, and two appeared in the last few months?

How could it be such a coincidence? Hiss, is Wei Yishan a member of the Black Armor Army?

This conjecture was a bit explosive.

Wait, if Wei Yishan is the Black Armor Army, then the Yangshan people in Yongquan Manor, and his target He Xiao...

Tsk tsk, when Qingyang assigned him the assassination mission, did she know the target's true identity? Thinking of this, he casually wrote a note and released a Green-Fly Coin to fly away.

Quiet Lake Small Abode, Huaji Island.

Beside Qingyang's residence was a huge longan tree, with lush branches and leaves, bearing abundant fruit every late summer. Qingyang had also tasted the longans on its tree; they were very sweet.

The longan tree naturally had no fruit now, but the branches and leaves were still dense. Qingyang leaned on the big tree, holding a green jade gourd in her hand.

This gourd was an old item she brought from the Qinggong in Lingxu City; its capacity wasn't as small as it looked on the surface, at least able to hold 150 or 160 jin of fine wine.

The tree trunk was already soaked, but she didn't care, sipping fine wine while gently swinging her legs.

Her youth was basically spent in the Imperial Palace of Lingxu City; the Emperor was still the Crown Prince then and didn't like to cultivate, often sneaking with her to the big tree at the edge of the floating island to look at the vast land below.

When people get old, they always like to recall the past.

But there was no magnificent Lingxu City before her eyes, only a pitch-black construction site under construction.

The Quiet Lake Shanzhuang opposite hadn't had its lights on for many days; the construction team and the ordered building materials had all been moved to support Tianshui East City. The clanging noise finally stopped, and Quiet Lake returned to tranquility.

He Xiao did this and even received a lot of praise from the Yao King, praising him for putting the public before his private interests. Qingyang shook her head secretly whenever she thought of it; the Yao Court was still looking forward to the new city construction, full of energy to work hard, completely unaware that a disaster was imminent.

Heh, on the verge of death, still desperately chasing after worldly possessions.

Yuan Xuan walked under the tree and whispered: "Palace Master, everyone has been sent out."

Qingyang gave a hum.

"Envoy Liang said that his scheduling still needs three days."

"Dawdling, the consistent style of the Temple." Qingyang didn't find it strange at all, "Whether it's Lingxu City or the Yao Nation's Temple, they are all like this. If there could be a few more Bai Ziqi, their work efficiency would improve a lot."

As soon as she finished speaking, a light 'whoosh' sound rang out in the air.

Someone ambushing? Yuan Xuan became vigilant.

Qingyang poured a mouthful of wine, unconcerned, exposing her vital points: "Just a flying message."

A green shadow flew around her a few times, as if confirming her identity. Qingyang reached out, and the object stopped in her palm.

It turned out to be a Green-Fly Coin.

This coin is hollow and can hide messages, most suitable for short-distance transmission.

Just by looking at the color of the Green-Fly Coin, Qingyang knew it came from Cao Wendao.

In the middle of the night, what message did the Master of Red Hut send her again? This guy loved to make trouble out of nothing; he was notoriously difficult to serve in Lingxu City.

Qingyang pressed open the interlayer of the Green-Fly Coin, took out the note, and unfolded it.

With just one glance, she put away her nonchalant expression.

"Palace Master?" Yuan Xuan could sense her abnormality because the surrounding air suddenly became heavy.

"The guest Wei Yishan by He Xiao's side is a puppet master?"

"The monster puppet test subject that escaped from Red Hut was hidden by Wei Yishan or He Xiao?"

The message Cao Wendao sent didn't have many words, but it was a bombshell.

During their last meeting, Cao Wendao said that his monster puppets were taken away by the Nine Nether Emperor and the Black Armor Army, and were released again at Xiaotao Manor to hurt people. Being able to do this showed that there was very likely a puppet master in the Black Armor Army.

Now, Cao Wendao confirmed that there was also a puppet master hidden by He Xiao's side; is the Flash Gold Plain overflowing with puppet masters recently?

If not, this person Wei Yishan is an important clue, pointing straight to the Nine Nether Emperor!

Is He Xiao the Nine Nether Emperor? Or is he related to the Nine Nether Emperor?

With Qingyang's temperament, she couldn't help but take a deep breath at this moment, using the cold night wind to calm her mood.

Although her first reaction was that it was impossible, looking back, on the night Xue Zongwu was killed, although He Xiao wasn't in Mangzhou, he appeared in Zhuo'an a few miles away, coincidentally staying at the same inn as General Zhongwu.

That night, the tribute was stolen, and General Zhongwu chased the two little thieves all night, which turned him into the key suspect in the Yao Court's investigation of the murder case.

How could so many accidents happen wherever He Xiao went?

Cao Wendao didn't know He Xiao's specific background, so he only sent these two messages.

But as soon as Qingyang saw the content of the note, she immediately had a leap of association!

The Qinggong once lost an ancient treasure, which was the shell left by a giant snail monster, called "Mud Palace," which had the ability to store living things and escape underground.

This thing was also shelved in the Qinggong because it could only match a snail monster, and even Beijia couldn't find a snail monster that could carry it.

But it made a comeback many years later and was used by someone to deal with her! "Xi Yunhe..." Qingyang couldn't help but whisper this name.

Xi Yunhe created a strange monster, the Snail Toad, using it to open the prologue of the Elixir of Immortality case.

She had read the files of the Elixir of Immortality case; this Snail Toad could match the ancient treasure "Mud Palace," but it always appeared on rainy days. At that time, He Xiao deduced that this might be a prerequisite for the Snail Toad to move.

And this monster came from the hands of a puppet master, and it had to eat summer-withered grass to maintain its half-snail half-toad form, otherwise it couldn't carry the "Mud Palace."

After the Elixir of Immortality case was closed, Xi Yunhe and the Snail Toad were missing.

But she later learned that Xi Yunhe was very likely a weapon left by Frost Leaf to deal with her.

As for which puppet master created the Snail Toad, the file didn't record it, and no one cared.

At that time, the attention drawn by the case was all focused on Cen Boqing and Qingyang; who would research who manufactured that Snail Toad?

But she had always suspected that He Xiao worked for Frost Leaf.

If that puppet master also worked for Frost Leaf, did He Xiao know him, and could he also borrow his Snail Toad?

"Rainy day?" She muttered to herself, "Before and after Xue Zongwu was killed, it was raining in Mangzhou!"

Although it wasn't far from Zhuo'an to Mangzhou, the mountain roads were winding and rugged, and the roads were slippery on rainy days; to return that night, one needed a thousand-mile steed. This was also the reason why General Zhongwu was officially suspected:

He really had a horse that could travel eight hundred miles at night.

However, if the murderer used an underground-escaping monster puppet, wouldn't there be no trace underground? She also knew her idea was a bit much; if the Nine Nether Emperor really used a puppet master and a Snail Toad to hunt down Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng, it meant he was also related to Xi Yunhe and the Frost Leaf National Preceptor.

Frost Leaf might have such strong people under him, but how could he trigger the Black Dragon Mark? If the Black Dragon Mark was related to the ancient Dragon God, it would never favor filth like Frost Leaf! Or is it that the Nine Nether Emperor himself also had treasures for escaping underground? But what about that puppet master Wei Yishan? Why was the test subject lost by Red Hut in his hands? Qingyang immediately instructed Yuan Xuan:

"Go and check if any medicine shops bought or sold large quantities of summer-withered grass within a hundred miles of Mangzhou before and after Xue Zongwu was murdered."

She had to confirm it.

"Yes."

Yuan Xuan was about to turn around, but Qingyang stared at the note and suddenly said: "Wait!"

This note said that Cao Wendao used a trick to overhear He Xiao and Wei Yishan's conversation, so he knew Wei Yishan would pick up Xiao An tomorrow morning, luring Cao Wendao into the trap. So Cao Wendao decided to play along and intercept Wei Yishan halfway.

"Where is this guy?" Qingyang pondered, "If he wants to track Wei Yishan, he can't be too far from Yongquan Manor now. But the suburbs east of the city are all mud, and to find a foothold where others can't see..."

She looked down and asked Yuan Xuan: "Within five miles of Yongquan Manor, where still maintains the original landscape and is suitable for camping?"

This question was too obscure; Yuan Xuan tried hard to recall for a long time before saying: "The eastern suburbs are being turned over everywhere, and it's all mud; to find a decent foothold around Yongquan Manor, it has to be Taoxi, Red River Valley, or Baimo Forest."

They walked the eastern suburbs every day and were very familiar with the terrain and topography here.

"Red River Valley is impossible; the terrain is too low, and after the rain, it's damp, with water pits and ice valleys everywhere." Qingyang pondered, "In this season, the leaves of Baimo Forest have fallen, and it's already bald, not good for hiding people."

Then it could only be Taoxi.

"With Cao Wendao's temperament, he can only stay in Taoxi." Cao Wendao was used to being pampered and couldn't camp in the mud. Thinking of this, Qingyang was shocked, "Not good! I can calculate it, and He Xiao certainly can too!"

Yuan Xuan couldn't help but say: "You mean, He Xiao knows Cao Wendao is stationed outside the manor?"

"This person is very good at digging pits, letting others jump into traps without knowing it." Qingyang thought of He Yang's death and was full of anger.

Now that she thought about it, He Yang's invitation to battle at the Yao King's birthday celebration was very likely a part of He Xiao's plan.

Not only did he suffer enough grievances in front of the officials, but he also killed He Yang, this thorn in his side! Is it strange that he is calculating against Cao Wendao now?

Qingyang supported herself with one arm and jumped off the tree: "Prepare the horses, come out with me!"

Be fast.

Once it's too late, I'm afraid it will be too late.

(End of chapter)