Chapter 370: The Calamity All Stems from Internal Thieves

"Mon... Monster!"

The men of the Commandant's Office were startled and raised their guns one after another.

The thing on the beam had the exact same color as the surrounding environment, and coupled with the dim candlelight in the Buddhist hall, if one didn't look up specifically, one wouldn't notice it at all.

This thing looked like a gecko, but its size was astonishing, comparable to an alligator, clearly cultivating evil arts.

As it breathed, the faces of the men and women in the hall became increasingly pale.

"Hiss—!"

Seeing that it had been discovered by the crowd, this monster suddenly opened its giant mouth and let out a threatening hiss toward them.

Bang!

Li Yan did not say a word and fired directly.

At such close range, there was naturally no mistake.

The giant head of that monster exploded instantly, flesh and blood splashing everywhere.

The men of the Commandant's Office also fired subconsciously; a series of gunshots accompanied by firelight illuminated the entire Buddhist hall.

Although what they used were not new-style firearms, the bullets also shot into the monster's body, blood splashing everywhere.

With a loud 'thud', the monster's corpse fell from the beam.

"Stop!"

Company Commander Cheng hurriedly called for the crowd to stop, then drew his blade to look around, his heart still lingering in fear, "Young Hero Li, what is this thing?"

"A monster that cultivates by absorbing essence..."

Li Yan blew on the barrel of his flintlock pistol, removed the magazine from the back, and took another one from his leather bag to replace it, while sneering, "This monster has some cultivation, but unfortunately, it has never seen the power of firearms."

He was right; the monster lying on the beam could hide its aura, spit poisonous mist, and use soul-bewitching evil arts, and had harmed more than one martial arts expert, so seeing them enter, it was not afraid at all.

Unfortunately, before it could act, its head was blown off.

Just at this moment, an old nun, naked and still possessing charm, woke up faintly. Seeing this scene, she let out a shrill scream and stumbled toward the monster's body, crying, "Master, Master... you are bold!"

Before she could finish speaking, a strand of black smoke emerged from the gecko's corpse and surged into the old nun's mouth.

The old nun immediately rolled her eyes and trembled all over.

"Don't rush!"

Li Yan stopped Sha Lifei, who was preparing to fire, and looked coldly at the Buddhist hall, "Let's see what this thing has to say."

He had already guessed the situation before him.

He had originally thought it was a human raising a monster, but he hadn't expected it to be a monster controlling a human, and to make such a big scene—he didn't know where it got the guts!

Sure enough, after a tremor, the old nun suddenly raised her head; her eyes had turned pitch black, and she crawled on the ground like an animal, baring her fangs at them, her mouth making clicking tongue sounds.

So it was a fool...

Li Yan lost interest instantly. He raised his Dust-Severing Blade and pressed it against her forehead, the 'Suppressing Demon Money' on the blade tassel clinking.

Feeling the killing intent, the monster stiffened.

Lu San stepped forward and muttered, using the upper language to interrogate.

After a long talk, Lu San turned his head, his face full of disgust, "This monster comes from the nearby mountains, obtained secret arts in a cave, controlled this old nun, and is an accomplice of that Young Master Zhao."

Li Yan frowned, "Ask it, what is its relationship with that An Fade? Is it a member of the Ghost Sect?"

Lu San interrogated again using the upper language.

Unfortunately, the monster first remained silent, then fierce light appeared in its eyes; it suddenly exerted force with all four limbs and shot out with a 'whoosh', wanting to escape from the Buddhist hall.

However, Li Yan was faster; his hidden strength erupted beneath his feet, and he followed closely, leaping out, while simultaneously reaching out to grab.

What the others saw was just him pulling casually.

But Li Yan had actually used the Soul-Hooking Rope. A strand of black smoke was pulled out by him instantly, and as the Soul-Hooking Rope contracted, it flew into his palm.

At the same time, electric arcs crackled in Li Yan's palm, and he slapped forward violently.

In an instant, the sinister wind scattered, blowing the candles in the Buddhist hall to flicker, and the crowd vaguely heard the roar of wild beasts in their ears.

This monster had harmed many people, so naturally, he couldn't let it escape.

At the same time, the old nun also fell to the ground with a 'thud'. After waking up, she trembled all over and kept kowtowing, "My lord, spare my life, my lord, spare my life!"

And as the monster was beheaded, the men and women in the main hall also woke up one after another. Seeing the bloody scene before them, they screamed and retreated.

"Who are you?!"

"What is the Commandant's Office doing here?"

Among them, a young master with fair skin and blue eyes, who was wearing clothes in a disheveled manner, asked angrily, "I am Lu Kang of the Lu family; may I ask you lords why you have broken into this place?"

"Young Master Lu..."

Company Commander Cheng's eyes were cold; he stepped forward and gave him a slap, saying coldly, "You have committed a major crime, and even the Lu family cannot protect you!"

"Bold!"

Several men beside him saw this and were about to step forward to obstruct.

Company Commander Cheng laughed in anger, "Abolish them all for me!"

The elite of the Commandant's Office heard this and rushed forward in a swarm; blade light flashed, blood splashed, and they did not show any mercy, beheading all these men.

This group of young masters in Xiangyang City were all good-for-nothings, otherwise, why would they gather here?

This Young Master Lu had also taken Five-Stone Powder and was drinking and having fun, his brain dizzy. Seeing this situation, he broke out in a cold sweat, "Lords, wait, let's talk things over, my father..."

"Don't mention your father!"

Company Commander Cheng held his blade against his throat and said coldly, "I ask you, have you ever sent people to inquire about news in Xiangyang City and send it here?"

The Lu family had significant power and was also cared for by people in the court, otherwise, with such a major incident, the Prefect position would have been taken away long ago.

Since he had taken action, he had to make the matter solid.

Dealing with the relatives of these court officials, the Commandant's Office had rich experience; they had to strike while the iron was hot to force a confession and could not let them recover.

"This..."

This Young Master Lu was also confused; he knew this matter could not be admitted easily, but he couldn't help but panic and couldn't help but look at another young master beside him.

Company Commander Cheng looked over and kicked that young master down, holding his throat with his blade, his eyes full of fierce light, "Well, Young Master Liu, does this matter also have to do with the Regional Military Commissioner, Lord Liu?"

"It has nothing to do with my father!"

That young master was also panicked and hurriedly pointed at the old nun, "It was this old thing, saying she was afraid of people coming to find trouble, so she made me arrange for a few people to go to the Garrison to inquire about news..."

As soon as these words came out, he realized something was wrong and looked at Young Master Lu again, his eyes full of resentment, "It was all his temptation, and he even threatened me with this matter; it has nothing to do with me!"

"Fool!"

Young Master Lu's face turned pale, and he cursed angrily.

Sha Lifei saw this and said in a strange tone, "Yo, no wonder Xiangyang City has rotted to this point; with this group of young masters covering for them, what couldn't they do?"

"Arrest them all!"

Company Commander Cheng gave a furious shout, and the men of the Commandant's Office swarmed up, pulled out ropes, and tied this group of young masters up like zongzi.

Thinking of the colleagues who had died after the plague broke out, they were furious in their hearts and secretly dealt heavy hands, causing this group of people to cry for their fathers and mothers.

That Young Master Lu begged, "Lords, we admit defeat, can you let us put on our clothes..."

Company Commander Cheng ignored him and directly led people to drag the old nun into a side secret room for heavy interrogation. Although this old nun was also a sorceress, she had no real ability and only knew how to bewitch and prepare aphrodisiacs and other crooked ways.

Her backer was nothing more than that monster and Young Master Lu. After just one round of torture, she was in a state worse than death and confessed everything.

The result was as expected.

This old nun, whose religious name was Qingyue, was not a good person to begin with; she was a black sorceress of the Yan Sect, and after committing a crime, she fled into the nunnery to escape pursuit.

This nunnery was originally a quiet place, and those who practiced in seclusion there were all miserable people, not cultivators.

She was used to the martial world, could talk well, quickly gained power, and by chance met that monster and worshipped it as her master.

Young Master Lu built a Peach Blossom Studio nearby, and after meeting her a few times, they hooked up.

According to her, originally they just wanted to gather for lewd pleasure, collect money, and incidentally help the monster absorb essence to cultivate.

But just last year, her monster master suddenly helped her introduce a few fellow travelers, and that An Fade was one of them.

Many things were directed by these people.

This place looked like a place for lewd pleasure, but in reality, it had been controlled by the Ghost Sect, using these young masters to plant manpower in many key areas of Xiangyang City.

!.

"Who were those people?"

Li Yan felt he had caught a big fish and interrogated her personally.

The old nun was tortured and didn't dare to hide anything.

"Originally, the leaders were Master Lu and this An Fade, but they were wary of each other and were likely not in the same group; they even fought a few times in private, I heard they were cooperating to find some treasure in Mount Xian..."

"Later, a few more people came, an old man who was terrifying, called Huang Liushi, even my master had to kowtow when seeing him, and there was a Miao woman, everyone called her Princess..."

"Where did they go?"

"This, the little one doesn't know, but that An Fade is from the Snake Sect and has a formidable disciple named Yu Faling, who is currently in Mount Xian..."

After a round of questioning, Li Yan had vaguely figured out the truth.

That Master Lu should be a hidden Ghost Sect expert, very likely a secret agent planted by Zhao Changsheng in Xiangyang, and even after the death of the Three Mothers of Tongtian, he hadn't been exposed.

They had destroyed the Ghost Sect's plot in Wuchang City, but Huang Liushi had been resurrected as a result, not only gathering water monsters in the Yangtze River to cause trouble, but also activating this secret agent, Master Lu, to trigger the plague.

And this Snake Sect master and disciple, An Fade, were hiding here, secretly searching for the 'Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu', and had colluded with the Ghost Sect...

While they were interrogating, the men of the Commandant's Office were also searching everywhere.

Soon, a man from the Commandant's Office walked in quickly and cupped his hands, "Commander, we found some things."

Li Yan and the others heard this and immediately followed out of the Buddhist hall.

This nunnery was built in a secret place on the mountainside, and below it was a luxurious villa, with exquisite wood and brick carvings, small bridges and flowing water; one look and one knew it had cost quite a bit of silver.

It was the Peach Blossom Studio built by Young Master Lu.

Coincidentally, this villa was the only way to the nunnery, and there were guards planted by Young Master Lu along the way, forbidding idlers from approaching.

If they had come from the main road, even if the other party couldn't stop them, the people in the nunnery could have received the news and escaped along the secret passage.

But that An Fade didn't know what was good for him, thinking that relying on his layout methods, he could behead Li Yan, but he didn't expect to be counter-killed by them, entering along the secret passage and catching them off guard.

At this moment, the villa was already brightly lit, several guard corpses lay on the ground, and many maids and servants knelt in the corners, trembling with fear.

The elite of the Commandant's Office, fierce as wolves and tigers, were searching everywhere.

Li Yan and the others, led by a Squad Leader of the Commandant's Office, walked quickly into the secret passage of the back mansion.

Before they even got close, Li Yan's face became gloomy.

They saw that inside the secret room, it was densely packed with alligator skins, some already made into armor, and some clearly peeled off not long ago.

Besides this, there were also many firelocks and gunpowder.

Company Commander Cheng sneered, "Hmph hmph, privately storing armor and firearms, the Lu family is finished this time!"

Li Yan shook his head slightly and said to Lu San, "It seems the Alligator Master was ambushed because of these."

Lu San also had a gloomy face and looked toward Mount Xian, "I have already made a covenant with the Alligator Master and can vaguely feel that it is not dead yet."

Li Yan patted his shoulder, "There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately. The Alligator Master should still be in Mount Xian."

Saying this, he looked to the side, "Company Commander Cheng, handle things here first, and also, help me send a message to Thousand-Man Commander Zhou of the Garrison, saying that the time has come, come to Mount Xian quickly."

"Remember, handle those internal thieves first..."

…………

Before dawn, Xiangyang City was in chaos.

The Commandant's Office suddenly moved out in force, directly rushing into the Prefectural Yamen to control the Xiangyang Prefect, while simultaneously entering various Yamen to make arrests.

Even inside the Garrison camp, Wu Degui came personally, holding the Imperial Court's order seal, and took the Regional Military Commissioner, Lord Liu, into custody for investigation.

Those who resisted slightly were killed on the spot.

The officials of Xiangyang City finally recalled the terror of the Commandant's Office in the past; each of them was as silent as a cicada, staying in their mansions and not daring to move around.

They didn't even know that all the calamities were caused by their unfilial sons at home.

Some great clans in Xiangyang City, including the powerful Lu family, did not dare to move, because even the Daoists of the Chenghuangmiao had personally come out to suppress them.

Just as dawn broke, the chaos in Xiangyang City had already subsided, and a total of more than thirty officials and gentry had been thrown into the prison.

Those Ghost Sect secret agents were either dead or captured, without a single one escaping the net.

And on the river surface, warship after warship sailed toward Mount Xian...

………………

In the mountain forest, Li Yan and the others moved forward carefully.

Wang Daoxuan looked at the lush green mountains around him and said in a low voice, "This Mount Xian is rumored to be the Daoist site of Red Pine's cave dwelling, and there may be hidden blessed lands, but it shouldn't be within the scope of Yunmeng Marsh; why would the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan's Donghu Laozu be in this place?"

Li Yan shook his head, "We will know when we find it. Those people should already have clues; saving the Alligator Master is the priority."

Saying this, he looked to the side, "Brother Lu San, can you sense anything?"

Lu San heard this, immediately pinched a spell, and slowly whistled toward the air.

The whistling drifted in the forest, seeming to rise with the mountain wind, flying in all directions.

"Whoosh~"

A sound came from the wind, as if the mountain forest was also whistling.

Lu San listened attentively, his frown deepening, "Strange, I could vaguely sense it outside the mountain, why is there no movement after entering?"

"Go to your mother!"

Just at this moment, Wu Ba suddenly spoke.

Li Yan's face turned black, and he scolded, "Shut up, if you can't speak, shut your mouth, don't make trouble, be careful I won't give you food!"

Wu Ba was full of grievances, scratching his head and ears, full of impatience, suddenly lay on the ground, kept patting, and then pointed to the ground, saying in a low voice:

"Go to your mother... little person, little person!"

Li Yan's eyes twitched, but he also understood Wu Ba's meaning.

"You mean, there are little people underground?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 371 =====

"Are you saying there are tiny people underground?"

(End of chapter)