Chapter 370

"Mon... monster!"

The people from the Commandant's office were startled and raised their guns one after another.

That 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 a giant salamander, and it was clearly cultivating evil arts.

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

"Hiss—!"

Seeing that it had been discovered by the group, this monster suddenly opened its huge mouth and let out a threatening hiss at them.

Bang!

Li Yan didn't say a word and fired directly.

At such a close distance, naturally, there would be no mistake.

The monster's huge head exploded on the spot, flesh and blood splashing everywhere.

The people from the Commandant's office also fired subconsciously, a series of gunshots accompanied by firelight, illuminating 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!"

Battalion Commander Cheng hurriedly called for the group to stop, then drew his sword to look, and said with lingering fear: "Young Hero Li, what is this thing?"

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

Li Yan blew on the barrel of his flintlock pistol, removed the magazine from the back, took another one from the leather bag at his waist to replace it, and sneered: "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, spray poisonous mist, and use bewitching evil arts, having killed more than one martial arts expert, so it wasn't afraid at all when it saw them enter.

Unfortunately, before it could make a move, 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, stumbling toward the monster's body, crying and shouting:

"Master, Master... you are too bold!"

Before she finished speaking, a puff of black smoke emerged from the gecko's corpse, surging into the old nun's mouth.

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

"Don't be in a hurry!"

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

Seeing this scene, he had already made a guess.

He originally thought it was a human raising a monster, but he never 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 pure black, and she was crawling on the ground like an animal, baring her fangs at them, making clicking sounds with her tongue.

So it was just a puppet...

Seeing this, Li Yan lost interest. He raised his Soul-Severing Blade, pressed it against her forehead, and the Demon-Suppressing Money on the sword tassel jingled.

Feeling the killing intent, the monster stiffened all over.

Lu San stepped forward, muttering, and interrogated her in the language of the upper regions.

After talking for a while, Lu San turned his head, full of disgust: "This monster came from the nearby mountains, obtained secret techniques in the 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 heard this and interrogated it again in the language of the upper regions.

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

However, Li Yan was faster. Dark energy exploded under his feet, and he followed closely, leaping out, while reaching out to grab forward.

What the others saw was just him pulling casually.

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

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

In an instant, gloomy wind scattered, blowing the candles in the Buddhist hall, and the group vaguely heard the roar of a wild beast in their ears.

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

At the same time, the old nun fell to the ground with a thud. After waking up, she trembled all over, kowtowing incessantly, "Master, spare my life, Master, spare my life!"

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

"Who are you?!"

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

Among them, a young master with fair skin and blue circles under his eyes put on his clothes carelessly and asked angrily: "I am Lu Kang of the Lu family. May I ask you officers, why did you break into this place?"

"Young Master Lu..."

Battalion Commander Cheng's eyes were cold. He stepped forward and slapped him, saying in a cold voice: "You've committed a major crime, even the Lu family can't protect you!"

"Bold!"

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

Battalion Commander Cheng was so angry he laughed, "Cripple them all for me!"

The elite soldiers of the Commandant's office heard this and rushed up one after another. Sword light flashed, blood splashed, and they didn't show any mercy, killing all these men.

This group of young masters in Xiangyang City were all good-for-nothings on weekdays; otherwise, how could they gather in this place.

This Young Master Lu was also stunned from taking Five-Stone Powder and drinking, and seeing this scene, he broke out in a cold sweat, "Officers, wait, let's talk this over, my father..."

"Don't mention your father!"

Battalion Commander Cheng held his sword against his throat and said in a cold voice: "I ask you, have you ever sent people from Xiangyang City to inquire about news and send it here?"

The Lu family had considerable power and also had people in the imperial court to look after them; otherwise, after such a big incident, the position of Prefect would have been taken away long ago.

Since he had made a move, he had to make the matter solid.

Dealing with the relatives of these imperial officials, the Commandant's office was very experienced and had to force a confession while the iron was hot, never letting them recover.

"This..."

This Young Master Lu was also confused. He instinctively felt that this matter couldn't be admitted casually, but he couldn't help but panic, and couldn't help but look at another young master beside him.

Battalion Commander Cheng looked over, kicked the young master down directly, and pressed his sword against his throat, his eyes full of fierce light: "Well, Young Master Liu, does this matter also have something to do with Commander Liu of the garrison?"

"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 who said 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 it was bad and looked at Young Master Lu again, full of resentment: "It was his inducement, and he threatened me with this matter, it has nothing to do with me!"

"Idiot!"

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

Sha Sha Li Fei saw this and said in a strange tone: "Yo, no wonder Xiangyang City is so rotten. With this group of young masters covering for them, what can't be done?"

"Arrest them all for me!"

Battalion Commander Cheng shouted angrily, and the Commandant's office men rushed up, pulled out ropes, and tied this group of young masters up tightly.

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

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

Battalion Commander Cheng ignored him and directly led people to drag the old nun into a side room for heavy interrogation. Although this old nun was also a sorceress, she didn't have any real skills, only knowing how to bewitch and prepare aphrodisiacs and other crooked ways.

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

The result was as expected.

This old nun, whose Dharma 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 Buddhist gate to escape pursuit.

This nunnery was originally a quiet place, and those who practiced seclusion here were all suffering people, not cultivators.

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

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

According to her, it was originally just to gather for debauchery and 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 An Fade was one of them.

Many things were directed by these people.

This place looked like a place for debauchery, but in reality, it had been controlled by the Ghost Sect, and through these young masters, they had inserted people into many key positions in Xiangyang City.

!.

Even Yuchenzi of the City God Temple was invited to this place by Young Master Lu, and under the guise of drinking and feasting, he was corrupted step by step...

"Who were those people?"

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

The old nun had been tortured, so how would she dare to hide anything.

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

"Later, a few more people came, including a terrifying old man called Master Huang Liu, whom even my master had to kowtow to when he saw him, and a Miao woman whom everyone called Princess..."

"Where did they go?"

"This, the little one doesn't know, but that An Fade is from the Snake Sect, and he has a formidable disciple called Yu 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 piece placed by Zhao 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 Near Wuchang, but Master Huang Liu had been resurrected because of it, not only summoning the monsters of the Yangtze River to cause trouble but also activating this secret piece, 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 Ancestor," and had colluded with the Ghost Sect...

Just as they were interrogating, the men from the Commandant's office were also searching everywhere.

Soon, a man from the Commandant's office walked in quickly and cupped his hands: "Master, 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 hidden place halfway up the mountain, and below it was a luxurious villa, with exquisite wood and brick carvings, small bridges and flowing water—it looked like it had cost quite a bit of silver.

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

Coincidentally, this villa was the only way to the nunnery, and there were guards arranged 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 obstruct them, the people in the nunnery would have received 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 kill Li Yan, but he never expected to be counter-killed, and they entered along the secret passage, 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 were kneeling in the corner, trembling with fear.

The fierce elite of the Commandant's office were searching everywhere.

Li Yan and the others, led by a squad leader of the Commandant's office, walked quickly into the villa and arrived at the secret passage of the back mansion.

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

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

Besides this, there were quite a few firelocks and gunpowder.

Battalion Commander Cheng sneered: "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 Giant Salamander Master fell into an ambush because of these."

Lu San also had a gloomy expression, looking in the direction of Mount Xian, "I have already made a covenant with the Giant Salamander Master, and I can vaguely feel that it is not dead yet."

Li Yan patted him on the shoulder, "There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately. The Giant Salamander Master should still be in Mount Xian."

As he spoke, he looked to the side, "Battalion Commander Cheng, handle the matters here first. Also, help me send a letter to Battalion Commander Zhou of the garrison, saying the time has come, come to Mount Xian quickly."

"Remember, deal with those internal traitors first..."

…………

Before dawn, Xiangyang City was in chaos.

The Commandant's office suddenly mobilized in large numbers, rushing directly into the government office, controlling the Prefect of Xiangyang, and at the same time entering various government offices to make arrests.

Even in the garrison camp, Wu Wu Degui came in person, holding the imperial order, and took down Commander Liu of the garrison 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 trembling with fear, staying in their mansions and not daring to move around.

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

Some large clans in Xiangyang City, including the powerful Lu family, didn't dare to move, because even the Daoists of the City God Temple 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 were thrown into the prison.

Those secret pieces of the Ghost Sect were either killed or captured, with not a single one escaping the net.

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

………………

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

Wang Wang Daoxuan looked at the lush green mountains around and said in a low voice: "This Mount Xian is rumored to be the cave dwelling of Chisongzi, and it is very likely to have hidden blessed lands, but it shouldn't be within the scope of Yunmeng Marsh. Why would the Scripture Forest of Wang Chan Ancestor be in this place?"

Li Yan shook his head: "We'll know when we find it. Those people should already have clues. Saving the Giant Salamander Master is the priority."

As he spoke, he looked to the side, "Brother Lu San, can you sense anything?"

Lu San heard this, immediately formed a Dharma seal, and slowly whistled toward the sky.

The whistling drifted in the forest, seemingly rising 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 brows furrowing tighter and tighter, "Strange, I could vaguely sense it outside the mountain, why is there no movement after entering the mountain?"

"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 don't know how to speak, then shut your mouth, don't make trouble, be careful I won't give you food!"

Wu Ba looked aggrieved, scratching his head, looking anxious, 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 what Wu Ba meant.

"You mean, there are little people underground?"

(End of chapter)