Chapter 362: Wave-like Clouds and Strange Winds

Lu San pointing the way, Sha Lifei providing cover, Li Yan launching a surprise attack.

The coordination between the three was like flowing water.

This was the result of their special training during those few months at Lake Liangzi.

After the imperial court released firearms, Li Yan knew that he would inevitably face them in the future, and his strategy for dealing with enemies would definitely change.

Therefore, they conducted coordinated training for various situations.

At present, it looked like the effect was not bad.

It had been only a few breaths since the other party fired, and Li Yan had already found the target.

While clinging to the wall, Li Yan smelled that there was a person in the house, with Yin Sha aura lingering on him.

At the same time, strange noises came to his ears.

This second supernatural power of his was called Ghost God Ear. Besides extraordinary hearing, its greatest ability was being able to hear the language of ghosts and gods.

With the two supernatural powers cooperating, he obtained more information.

The other party was a sorcerer, and there was the sound of insects crawling in the leather bag at his waist; he should be able to control poisonous insects.

Of course, Li Yan had long expected this.

At such a distance, and using a formation to cover it, he only detected it when the shot was fired; it was definitely the work of a sorcerer.

The person inside also realized something was wrong and quickly put away the gun, preparing to flee, while simultaneously scattering a handful of poisonous insects from his waist.

Li Yan's eyes narrowed. He pulled out the Dust-Severing Duanhun Feidao from his waist, flicked his hand, and then flipped and jumped onto the window.

The Dust-Severing Duanhun Feidao whistled in the air and drilled into the room.

When Li Yan jumped onto the window, he happened to see a man with the flying knife stuck in his shoulder, his soul suppressed, lying on the ground without moving.

Sand sand sand!

On the ground, there were dense, tiny spiders, moving extremely fast, scurrying everywhere, and most of them climbed onto the man's body.

Although these spiders were small, they were very terrifying.

They climbed onto the man's body, their butts arching, and actually bit through the skin and drilled inside.

Li Yan felt itchy all over just looking at it. He immediately blew two long and short whistles, then leaped into the room.

Ding ding ding!

The Three-Talent Demon-Suppressing Money's tassel shook, and the spiders scattered in all directions.

As for Lu San, he had already set off to support when Li Yan arrived. Hearing the whistle, he took the opportunity to pat the demon gourd.

Buzz!

A swarm of poisonous bees whistled out, surged into the room, and captured and killed all the scurrying poisonous spiders.

Li Yan came to the man and checked.

This man had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, wearing ordinary coarse black clothes. He looked plain and simple, and one couldn't find him in a crowd.

Li Yan tore open the other party's clothes.

On his chest was tattooed a Qiongqi beast pattern.

Sure enough, it was someone from the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect!

Looking at it this way, this epidemic was mostly their doing.

Thinking of this, Li Yan looked to the side.

The other party used a Commandant Division Divine Fire Gun, which should have been snatched, but it had already been modified, wrapped in a layer of strange tree bark.

This tree bark was covered in tumors, and in the middle was a layer of red tree gum condensed; it was this thing that interfered with his sense of smell.

If he hadn't heard the sound, plus his martial artist's intuition, he really wouldn't have been able to dodge it.

Just at this moment, dense footsteps rang out in the corridor outside, and a group of Yamen soldiers rushed up holding guns.

Li Yan broke the man's teeth directly, threw away the poison fangs inside, put away the Dust-Severing Duanhun Feidao, and pierced his dantian directly.

"Ah!"

The man woke up immediately, let out a scream, and then glared at Li Yan with anger. "Eagle dog, kill me or cut me..."

Slap!

Li Yan slapped him dizzy, and said coldly: "A thing that can't see the light, what kind of hero are you pretending to be?"

"Speak, who gave you the news!"

He had been assassinated the moment he entered the city; clearly, someone had tipped him off in advance, and their status definitely wasn't low.

The man's mouth was full of blood, and he gritted his teeth without saying a word.

Just at this moment, his expression changed suddenly. He began to scratch his skin, his eyes filled with terror, and he reached into his bosom in a panic.

"Are you looking for this?"

Li Yan held up a small wooden bottle and shook it.

"Give it to me quickly!"

The man was anxious and wanted to rush up to grab it.

Li Yan kicked him away, moved his ears, and shook his head. "Speak quickly; I can wait, but those little things can't."

"Ah—!"

The man became itchier and itchier. He clawed frantically, and some places on his skin were torn apart, but he saw the little spiders inside had already bitten through the cavity and were spinning cocoons in the flesh.

It looked very ghastly.

Buzz!

The poisonous bees remaining in the room surged up and captured and killed the little spiders.

This scene made the soldiers' hair stand on end, and they retreated repeatedly.

"I'll speak! I'll speak!"

The man was anxious and said hoarsely, "Commandant Division, Xu Sanlang."

Following those soldiers up was also a Xiangyang Guard Thousand-Household. His expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "Quick, send a message to the Commandant Division to make an arrest!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yan's suspicion lessened slightly.

Wuchang Guard Thousand-Household Liu Yizhong was the son-in-law of Tian Squire of Hanyang City. Being able to mention this relationship meant he was also one of their own.

Because of this incident, they were naturally delayed.

The group simply waited in this inn.

This inn had nothing strange about it. After Xiangyang City was blockaded, the original boss dismissed the staff, and he himself died of the epidemic. He was a lone individual, and the inn was also abandoned.

Before long, a black-clothed Thousand-Household from the Commandant Division walked up the stairs with large strides. While walking, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

He was somewhat fat. After entering the room, he said with a bitter smile, "Brother Zhou, this time your brother has lost a big face. You have to help me."

Zhou Thousand-Household's face turned ugly upon hearing this. "The person ran away?"

"Not ran away, but died."

This fat Commandant Division Thousand-Household said with a bitter smile, "That Xu Sanlang was a Hundred-Household under my command. After receiving the news, I went to surround and capture him myself, but who knew this kid would be forced into a corner and commit suicide."

"This person must be handed over to me to handle."

Zhou Thousand-Household shook his head quickly upon hearing this. "This person was captured by Gentleman Li; I cannot make the decision on how to handle it."

Although both were Thousand-Households, one was a local guard military officer, and the other was the Emperor's trusted Commandant Division; their status was naturally different.

He couldn't afford to offend him, so he could only push it to Li Yan.

Of course, he likewise didn't want to offend Li Yan, so he said, "Gentleman Li, let me introduce you. This is..."

"No need, no need."

The fat Thousand-Household of the Commandant Division waved his hand directly, then a smile appeared on his face, and he bowed. "Is this Gentleman Li? I am Wu Degui. The Yunyang Prefecture Commandant Division Seal-Holder Huang Thousand-Household entrusted me to send you his regards." Another relationship-based person.

Back then, when Li Yan and the others came from Manchuan Pass, they met the Commandant Division's Huang Thousand-Household in Shangjin City and even entrusted him to remove Lu San's wanted order.

Later, there was internal strife in the Commandant Division, and Huang Thousand-Household pretended to be sick to avoid disaster.

The Jingchu mountain people launched a surprise attack, and those few Thousand-Households handled the matter poorly and were dismissed from their posts for investigation, while Huang Thousand-Household obtained Li Yan's news, fought a comeback battle, and directly became the Yunyang Prefecture Commandant Division Seal-Holder.

There was also the Yichang Commandant Division Seal-Holder, the original Thousand-Household.

The favors Li Yan scattered at will had now begun to show results.

"Oh, Huang Thousand-Household."

Li Yan was somewhat helpless and shook his head. "It doesn't matter who gets the person, but he must not die, lest the clues be interrupted."

"Easy to say!"

This fat man Wu Degui squatted down, looked at the man who kept his head down and didn't speak, chuckled, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and said, "Brother, this official knows your ways."

"Don't say that Xu Sanlang, this inside man, died because of you; even if you said nothing, I fear you would also be silenced."

!.

"Tsk tsk, people, some things are just said casually. You treat them as brothers, but they want your life..."

This fat man Wu Degui didn't look very reliable, but he had a good way with words. In a few sentences, he made the man hesitate.

"If I speak, can you spare my life?"

"Of course, with so many people, how could this official break his word."

Wu Degui patted his chest and guaranteed it. The man finally spoke: "My name is Cheng Zixing. I grew up in the Jingchu mountains, learned sorcery from my grandmother, and was recruited by the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect."

"I was forced. Those people in the village have all gone crazy. Besides farming, they just worship that Lord Lord Tian Sheng Duke all day long."

"I don't know much about this outing, and I didn't expect they would dare to cause an epidemic and kill so many people..."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Who are the people who took action?"

"I don't know."

The man was full of dejection and shook his head. "We were all arranged by Xu Sanlang. Before the epidemic broke out, we were already lurking in Xiangyang City. We couldn't contact each other and could only listen to the arrangements from above."

"On ordinary days, I hid in the grain and oil shop across the street to work. The boss's family were honest people and didn't know my identity. They were also infected with the epidemic two days ago..."

"Are they dead?"

"Xu Sanlang made us spread rumors. The boss's family heard it and were afraid, so they went to rush the checkpoint. When I came back, they had already..."

Clearly, although this man was from the Lord Lord Tian Sheng Sect, his conscience was not yet completely gone. These things had already made him dissatisfied, so under the interrogation, he told everything one by one.

Fat Thousand-Household Wu Degui nodded. "Not bad. Since this official has promised, I will not kill you, but you must stay in prison for a while until this official requests a pardon."

"Men, take this righteous man to heal his wounds."

After the subordinates took the person away, Wu Degui's face changed rapidly, and he called another Thousand-Household, saying coldly, "Release the news. There must be accomplices in the city coming to silence him. Don't let a single one go; try to capture them alive!"

"Yes, sir!"

After the arrangements, Wu Degui smiled again, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Gentleman Li, do you think this arrangement is feasible?"

Li Yan nodded. "Just do as the official says."

Sure enough, none of those who could sit in the position of Thousand-Household were fools.

Wu Degui was happy and asked again, "Gentleman Li, it's not peaceful in the city now. Why don't you go to my Commandant Division..."

Zhou Thousand-Household on the side was anxious upon hearing this. "Official Wu, I was ordered by my superiors to invite Gentleman Li."

"Wait!"

A scream came from the corridor.

They saw that Xiangyang Prefecture Judge Wu Maoze also rushed up in a hurry, panting and saying, "I was ordered by the Prefect. Gentleman Li must stay in the Yamen; besides, we still have to investigate the case of Gentleman Li's disappearance..."

Sha Lifei laughed. "Yo, we've become a hot commodity."

Li Yan was somewhat speechless. He had already seen the strangeness.

These people didn't think they were rare, but were afraid that after they solved the case, the credit would be snatched by others.

Just as they were speaking, Zhou Thousand-Household and Wu Thousand-Household changed expressions at the same time and retreated several meters away, covering their noses tightly with coarse cloth.

"What... what's wrong?"

Judge Wu Maoze asked stammeringly.

He didn't notice that his face had already begun to turn purple, and some green moss had appeared in his mouth.

Li Yan's face also turned ugly.

Sha Lifei on the side muttered, "Why is there sudden chest tightness?"

As he spoke, he began to cough violently, and the saliva was full of green moss...

…………

"It was a trick!"

Lu San's face was gloomy as he spoke in a muffled voice.

In the room, Wang Fu and Sha Lifei were all lying on the bed.

Their faces were all somewhat purple, their lips white, and they would turn over and cough at the slightest movement, and the saliva they coughed out was full of green moss.

Sha Lifei said with a bitter smile, "Damn it, I didn't expect that even wearing a vinegar cloth wouldn't prevent it."

That shot earlier shattered the corpse.

One could imagine the power of the new-style firearm; blood foam and broken flesh splashed everywhere. Sha Lifei and Wang Fu, who were closest, were directly hit.

At this time, they had already arrived at the Commandant Division to stay.

After all, there were many experts here, and Li Yan also wanted to see if he could catch the accomplices coming to rescue and ask for the source of the epidemic.

Seeing that the sky was still early, Li Yan pondered for a moment. "Brother Lu San, let's go to the river and ask the Tuo Master."

"You guys go ahead and rest assured."

Wang Fu pulled out a yellow talisman and stuck it on his chest. "These plague-removing talismans should be able to suppress it for a while."

Lu San was worried, so he instructed Wu Ba to guard the two, before striding away from the Commandant Division with Li Yan.

Now that the situation was urgent, the two didn't care about anything else. Riding the horses borrowed from the Commandant Division, they showed their tokens all the way and flew to the river.

On the wharf, it was still as cold and clear as before.

They were too lazy to find another place. Lu San immediately burned incense, danced the Nuo dance while forming seals, and chanted ancient incantations.

After about three sticks of incense, a thin mist rose on the river, and a huge Tuo dragon poked its head out of the river and swam to the shore.

This Tuo dragon was also a demon, not small in size, but it wasn't the Tuo Master.

Lu San frowned and immediately asked in the local language.

But before he could say two sentences, his face became abnormally ugly.

"What happened?"

Li Yan asked quickly.

Lu San sighed. "The Tuo Master has disappeared."

"What?!"

Li Yan was stunned. "When, where did it happen?"

They were looking for the Tuo Master, firstly to ask about the Xiangyang City epidemic and see if the other party knew anything.

Secondly, they wanted to ask clearly who gave it the idea to go to Wudang Mountain to beg for incense.

He hadn't expected that the Tuo Master had also met with an accident.

Lu San said in a deep voice, "Just two days ago, the navy reported that there were water demons causing trouble on the nearby river, and the Tuo Master went to pursue and kill them, but afterward, it disappeared without a trace."

"By the way, before the Tuo Master left, it told this subordinate that it suspected the one who took action was an old acquaintance—none other than that East Lake Patriarch!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 363 =====

"What?!"

Li Yan looked stunned. "When? Where did this happen?"

They were searching for the Tuoshi for two reasons: first, to inquire about the plague in Xiangyang City and see if the other party knew anything.

Second, to ask clearly who gave it the idea to go to Mount Wudang to sponge off their incense offerings.

Unexpectedly, the Tuoshi had also met with trouble.

Lu San said in a deep voice, "Just two days ago, the naval forces reported that water demons were causing trouble on the nearby river. The Tuoshi went to pursue and kill them, but afterwards, it vanished without a trace."

"Oh, right, before the Tuoshi left, it told its subordinates that it suspected the culprit was an old acquaintance—none other than that Donghu Laozu!"

(End of chapter)