Chapter 227: Tailing and Tracking (Seeking Subscriptions)

"Regarding the anomalies here in Chiwu City, the Hub City side has actually long since detected the clues."

While tailing and watching in secret, Assistant Prefect Zhen kept a close eye on every move of the Outer City Superintendent, Liu Hong, who was ahead, and spoke at the same time without turning his head.

By suddenly mentioning the existence of Hub City to Du En at this moment, he was actually conveying a message: that if he were to kill him, it would only directly escalate the situation, causing the Hub City Inspection Guard to arrive in force, shifting from the shadows to the light, and directly sealing the city to thoroughly investigate the relevant circumstances.

If Du En truly had ulterior motives, then he would have to consider such a consequence!

Even if he was Du Youli, who was highly regarded by the upper echelons of their sect, their sect was actually fighting fiercely internally, so he figured no one would want to easily hand others a handle against them; thus, he could use the existence of Hub City to suppress his illicit schemes and save himself from adding any trouble later.

Du En pondered and mulled it over, understanding his meaning, and did not waste breath or words to argue.

Because that would be completely useless; the nature of the Inspection Guard's position destined them to find it difficult to trust others—outsiders, at that—let alone the fact that he had just come knocking on their door directly.

Therefore, Du En asked very directly next: "Are those people at the city gate your arrangement?"

Assistant Prefect Zhen only shook his head, seemingly indicating a denial, not wanting to reveal the detailed situation.

Consequently, Du En continued: "I suspect they are here targeting me. Looking at it now, the anomalies in the Chiwu Mountain Range might not be their handiwork, but in this way, the possibility that they are outsiders here to target me has increased, and this is one of the reasons why I rashly visited just now."

Seeing that Du En's words appeared calm yet hid a certain implication, as if he were treating the Inspection Guard as an enemy as well, Assistant Prefect Zhen could not help but pause slightly.

A moment later, he finally gave a formal answer: "They are not people from Hub City."

Du En's eyelids drooped slightly.

Combining the circumstances before and after, because that group of people was truly too inferior, they could not have come from their own sect, and now that Assistant Prefect Zhen denied they were from Hub City, then they could only be people from other cities under the jurisdiction of Hub City.

"If that is really the case, then based on my own situation to speculate... Yunyi City?"

As Du En speculated, he arrived at this point, aiming at that large city presided over by a Great Cultivator.

At this current time, he naturally already knew where his former supervisor friend, Ren Li, had come from.

At the same time, the old City Lord of Nanmo, Yang Feng, had previously mentioned the way that Great Cultivator of Yunyi cultivated disciples with intentionality, yet still appeared somewhat hesitant and evasive; combining this with the current situation, a certain meaning was already ready to emerge!

"Because of the matter of Ren Li's reply letter back then?"

Logically, it made sense, and he had a general idea in his heart; even if he could not fully determine that this was the case, he could already unfold his plans along this line, as long as he did not fully commit to the belief and remained vigilant in other aspects.

Thus, Du En pondered, not leaving immediately, but continuing to follow Assistant Prefect Zhen.

Because regardless of whether they were the forces from Yunyi City or not, now that they were mixed up here in Chiwu City, one could boldly suspect that there might be collusion between them.

In other words, finding out clearly about this side was equivalent to finding out clearly about that side.

Next, the two no longer spoke, only quietly tailing along the way, following Superintendent Liu Hong out of the city.

Outside the city here, there were still dirty, chaotic, and cramped shantytowns, however, the place separating the shantytowns from the city was not called the Qingya Garden, but the Hongye Garden.

As the name suggests, this place, built using red-leaf parasol trees as the main material, was filled everywhere with vivid red-leaf decorations, whether natural or carved, as if one were situated in a dense forest of red-leaf trees.

After arriving here, Du En soon noticed the problem.

"Corpses..."

This involved his old trade, so without needing to use his divine sense or eyes to peer, just by moving his nose from several hundred feet away, he could smell the faint stench of corpses left by those who had just been transported through and had been dead for no more than half a day.

That Du En was so sharp made even Assistant Prefect Zhen look sideways.

However, he did not say anything more, only watching Liu Hong's side.

He only saw Liu Hong walk straight in, arriving at a small building within Hongye Garden, waving his hand and fanning, intending to cast a spell to drive away the faint stench permeating the air, but seemingly wary of something, he still suppressed this action.

"Cough! How is the situation?"

He stepped back two paces and asked a Foundation Establishment stage steward who was guarding here and had already come up to greet him.

"According to your instructions, the corpses from these days have all been gathered here, not a single part missing; they were all dragged over while still warm, totaling three hundred and eighty-three bodies."

"That's a bit few!"

"My lord, this... these lowly seeds are now basically at the middle stage of Qi Refining, as tenacious as cockroaches and bedbugs. I have already had the supervisors under me use their full strength as usual, but..."

"Can't you take action yourself? Just make up some reason, say something about them not knowing their place, not understanding how to advance or retreat, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth, and then palm-kill five or six hundred of them; that would be enough!"

Hearing these words that Liu Hong blurted out, the steward, even though he was not a good person himself, could not help but click his tongue secretly at this moment, feeling it was quite absurd.

"What does he need so many corpses for? To bury them?"

Du En immediately became alert; if there was a similar burial ground here, it was also cultivating resentment-monsters... but in the records of the Scripture Pavilion, it was never said that evil cultivators were active here.

Evil cultivators were a type of cultivator who underwent inner-side corruption due to the induction of resentment-monsters; they also had divisions of realms, but evil nature replaced magic power, and evil arts replaced everything else.

That is to say, without resentment-monsters, there would be no evil cultivators.

There were no records of evil cultivators active here in Chiwu City, which meant it was impossible for there to be resentment-monsters here...

Du En asked Assistant Prefect Zhen tentatively: "About when did the anomalies here become prominent?"

Assistant Prefect Zhen almost blurted out "no comment," but thinking that this situation could be known with just a little inquiry, he did not hide it and instead changed his answer: "One year ago; it was a year ago that the number of middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators here suddenly increased."

"And the change is still being transmitted layer by layer?"

Du En had just noticed that the stewards here at Hongye Garden already included sporadic late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there were nearly ten supervisors who had just broken through.

Normally, Foundation Establishment cultivators in this kind of retirement office lacked talent and at most reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment; it was very difficult to have enough resources to push further.

Not to mention those supervisors outside the city, who often could not see one person break through to the Foundation Establishment stage in ten years.

Yet the situation here was like this now; it was obvious that the mutation was rapidly transmitting its influence upward.

However, the situation inside the city, based on observations while passing through, was generally still considered normal.

In other words, the upward migration of the influence was not too exaggerated, and the scene was generally still controllable?

Du En thought to himself.

(End of chapter)