Chapter 339: Young Master Zhu is Working Hard

If the matter of the Shanhe Bureau's Zhancheng Office gets out, Miao Yu will be scolded to death by his superiors.

Go seek aid from the Purification Bureau?

We of the Shanhe Bureau would rather die than bow our heads to the Purification Bureau!

But Miao Yu could not let his future brother-in-law die inside his own yamen.

Xu Yuan followed the Patrol Captain flyingly fast toward the Shanhe Bureau, saying on the way: "Brother Zhang, tell me the general situation."

The Patrol Captain sighed and said: "Young Master Zhu also had good intentions..."

Zhu Zhanlei and Zhu Zhanmei had originally planned to return to Luocheng today.

But they happened to run into the "Day of Forbidden Gazing," so they could not leave.

Zhu Zhanlei actually did not want to leave; he had already discussed with his third sister to transfer himself to Zhancheng to follow his future "eldest brother-in-law."

In Luocheng, Zhu Zhanmei would stare at him all day, urging him to improve.

Zhancheng obviously had no such troubles.

Moreover, Zhu Zhanlei felt he got along quite well with Miao Yu and Xu Yuan.

The most important point was: Xu Yuan had deposited a thousand taels of silver for him at the White Moon Pavilion, which he hadn't spent yet!

So Zhu Zhanlei was extremely "active" today, watching over those Captains in the yamen and making various defensive arrangements against the "Day of Forbidden Gazing."

He wanted to show his third sister that he would work hard in Zhancheng, and that he was useful here.

The Shanhe Bureau's Zhancheng Office also had its own treasury, inside which were stored some "materials."

Although they were not good quality and the standard was not high, on a day like this, it was best to dispose of them.

Zhu Zhanlei personally led people to block up all the light-leaking spots in the treasury.

After finishing these tasks, Zhu Zhanlei returned to his quarters to rest—he and Zhu Zhanmei lived in the same courtyard.

Zhu Zhanmei and his two squads of men had no incidents in the courtyard all morning.

But as soon as Zhu Zhanlei returned and reached the gate, that door turned into a strange thing!

It connected to some unknown void.

The courtyard gate had become a void portal, one that only let things in and never out...

Fortunately, Zhu Zhanlei had several protective items given by his family on his person.

He temporarily held it off, and Zhu Zhanmei rushed out behind him, grabbing the younger brother.

Now Zhu Zhanlei was "bitten" by that door.

Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei tried every method but could not pull him out.

Miao Yu's first reaction was to ask Xu Yuan for help, a priority even higher than seeking aid from the Canal Yamen.

Even the Patrol Captain secretly thought: If Young Master Zhu hadn't run around everywhere, busy here and there... he wouldn't have met this calamity.

Xu Yuan recalled Zhu Zhanlei's fate pattern.

Young Master Zhu, you are simply not suited to working seriously.

Better to focus on the very promising profession of being a "prodigal."

The two lowered their heads and hurried along the road.

They dared not ride horses on such a day; if the horses got startled and reared up, wouldn't that be passively looking up at the sky?

The street was completely empty; after passing three streets, a layer of white fur had attached itself to the two men's legs at some point!

As the two moved forward quickly, the white fur dragged backward, stretching endlessly.

Then it wound and twisted, becoming more and more.

The Patrol Captain exclaimed in surprise: "What kind of evil spirit is this again?"

Xu Yuan drew his long sword and slashed it through the air; lightning flashed everywhere, burning the white fur to ashes.

"Slow down," Xu Yuan said helplessly.

The two could only walk at a normal speed; as they walked, they felt something was wrong: a strange "ba-ba-ba" sound came from behind them.

"An evil spirit is following us!" the Patrol Captain shouted in alarm.

Xu Yuan held a ball of fire in his mouth, clutched a sword pill in his hand, and suddenly turned around...

"Da Fu?!"

The silly goose flapped its two large webbed feet, following closely behind the two men.

That "ba-ba-ba" sound was the sound of the large webbed feet slapping against the stone pavement.

"What are you doing following us? Go back quickly!"

Da Fu tilted its head, looking at Fan Zhezi.

It seemed not to understand.

Actually, it understood—Da Fu was gloating, wanting to go watch the spectacle.

It remembered deeply that the Zhu brat, upon seeing it for the first time, wanted to eat roast goose!

Xu Yuan could not drive Da Fu away, so he just waved his hand: "Fine, if you want to follow, then follow."

It took them a little over half an hour to arrive at the Shanhe Bureau.

"You've finally returned..." Two Captains guarding the yamen gate hurriedly welcomed the two inside.

Arriving at the rear courtyard, Xu Yuan finally saw Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanmei.

Miao Yu was holding his magical artifact seal, dipping it in cinnabar, and stamping the seal impression onto Xuan paper.

Then he waved his hand, and the Xuan paper flew into a portal.

He did not stop for even a moment; as soon as one was stamped, the next one followed.

These seal impressions were like calligraphy models for a literary cultivator, flying into the portal one by one.

Zhu Zhanmei was a Seventh-Rank Divine Cultivator.

She released four Yin Soldiers.

The strength of the Yin Soldiers was clearly beyond her own level to cultivate; they had all been arranged by the family.

The "long hair" of the four Yin Soldiers spread out and coiled around Zhu Zhanlei.

They held him, preventing him from being sucked into that portal.

Now Zhu Zhanlei was stuck inside the gate.

Zhu Zhanlei himself was a seventh-rank method cultivator, practicing the "Male Plowing Method."

The instant he stepped through the "courtyard gate" and sensed something was wrong, he threw out all the seeds on his person.

Over a hundred seeds grew into vast fields of "crops," all of which coiled around Zhu Zhanlei.

But more than half had already been torn apart.

Miao Yu, panting from exhaustion, saw Xu Yuan and hurriedly said, "Quick, help..."

Yet his hands dared not stop; seal characters flew out one after another.

Zhu Zhanmei's beautiful face was pale, and fragrant sweat slid down from both sides of her cheeks, drop by drop.

Seeing Xu Yuan, she said weakly, "My Lord Xu, as long as you can save my younger brother, the Zhu family will surely offer a generous reward!"

At the same time, she had released four powerful Yin Soldiers; her consumption was immense, and at this moment she was supported entirely by a thread of will.

Do not be fooled by her scolding her younger brother all day, disliking his lack of ambition, and always comparing him to "other people's children"; the brother and sister had grown up together since childhood, their bond deep.

That courtyard gate had already clearly detached from the surrounding courtyard walls.

The door pillars, lintels, and door panels emitted strange purple-black mist, like flames.

The two door panels clamped Zhu Zhanlei tightly.

On the other side of the door panels lay an empty, deep void, where a great crowd of Yin Ghosts, bound together in a chain by shackles, marched numbly in a line, with no head in sight ahead and no tail in sight behind.

Every step was unbearably heavy.

It seemed they might collapse at any moment; once fallen, they could never stand again.

The Yin energy was chilling, the ghostly beings somber.

Yet no one knew what world this was!

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, then still released the Skin Pill first.

All the strange phenomena that had appeared out of thin air today were due to the sun above their heads, which no one dared to look at.

First blocking the sunlight would fundamentally cut off the "source" of these evil spirits.

Afterwards, Xu Yuan released the Sinew Pill.

The beast sinew rope coiled toward Zhu Zhanlei.

But as soon as it approached the portal, an incredibly cold Yin force traveled along the beast sinew rope.

Xu Yuan could not help but shiver.

Looking again at Zhu Zhanmei's condition—no wonder her state was so poor.

Xu Yuan used the fire in his belly to dispel that chill, forcibly urged the beast sinew rope to coil around Zhu Zhanlei, then exerted his full strength: "Hey—"

The formidable strength, comparable to a sixth-rank Wu Xiu, brought by the "Dragon Transformation Method" was unleashed.

The beast sinew rope stretched taut and straight.

Yet Zhu Zhanlei, stuck inside the gate, did not move an inch.

In fact, because Xu Yuan pulled with all his might, the beast sinew rope dug into the flesh, and Zhu Zhanlei let out a cry of pain, "Ah!"

(End of this chapter)