Chapter 322: The Struggle for Ruins

From noon to dusk, the sky gradually darkened.

Ji You turned the case files copied by the county government secretary to the end, then took out a huge cloth scroll from his storage gourd.

This cloth scroll was filled with dense text, circled and connected, looking incredibly complicated.

Ji You picked up a brush, wrote down the relocation date of Fengxian Villa on it, and then filled in keywords such as "biting," "bloody smell," and so on.

As he flicked his finger to light the lamp, the study was illuminated in a dim yellow; a wisp of spiritual energy carried the wind and lifted the entire cloth scroll into mid-air.

Ji You moved back a few steps and observed the cloth scroll.

"Immortal Master gives medicine."

"People are getting fewer and fewer."

"Summoned to go elsewhere to practice secret techniques."

"Their five senses seem to be getting duller."

These words or short sentences were all copied by him through news left by other disappeared Immortal Villas, or discussions by the surrounding commoners.

The early ink had dried, but it seemed to be announcing a scam with no life and no death.

Ji You leaned against the window and watched quietly; with his palm facing down, the dozen or so brushes in the brush holder rotated in the air, arranging various shapes.

Sometimes like a six-pointed star, sometimes like a star map of the night, so that the lacquer-red desk of Fang Zhongzheng was gradually swirled into a deep pit, and the lacquer on the surface was peeled off into pieces.

After watching for a long time, Ji You's gaze fell to the bottom right of the cloth scroll.

That area was specially reserved when organizing clues, and on it were written the names of some families such as the Du family, Bai family, Liu family, Li family, Zheng family, Heavenly Academy, Chen family, Chu family, etc.

The Immortal Villas in Fengzhou were basically branches of families, and these families were the true controllers behind those disappeared Immortal Villas.

The reason Ji You wrote them down was because of the four words "Immortal Master gives medicine" mentioned by Tan Huizhi's grandson before he went missing.

When he was in Fengzhou Prefecture, he had asked the Immortal Villa disciples who could be called an Immortal Master.

According to those disciples, the so-called Immortal Master refers to the managing elder sent by the family to which the Immortal Villa belongs.

In other words, if the Immortal Villa had problems because of the so-called Immortal Master giving medicine, then the cause naturally lies within these families.

At this time, Ji You picked up the brush and wrote the four big characters "Profound Origin Immortal Mansion" after the names of those families.

Fengxian Villa is backed by the Profound Origin Immortal Mansion; this matter is almost known to everyone in Yuyang County.

And there is a memory in Ji You's mind; it was the year he first came to the Azure Cloud World, when the sound of gongs, drums, and firecrackers naming the mountain was heard.

He remembered that at that time, Master Chen told him that it was an Immortal Master visiting the Supreme Holy Sect.

Ji You watched for a long time, his eyes constantly drifting between these families and the Immortal Sects.

It was already night, and when the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, the courtyard behind the county government was full of guests.

Jia Sicong, Dong Wei, and a group of Master Chen's old students gathered together, specifically to visit Fang Ruoyao who had returned from the Immortal Sect.

Fang Zhongzheng specially arranged a banquet for them, but as the dishes were served, everyone did not move their chopsticks, but looked at the front window of the study in the south across the large courtyard.

Because there were candles lit in the study, the shadows in the room were reflected very clearly on the doors and windows.

They knew that Ji You had also returned and was in Master Fang's study.

And the reason they did not move their chopsticks was actually because they were thinking about whether to invite Ji You to the banquet.

"Since the parting in Yuyang back then, we classmates haven't seen each other for many years; Zhengxin Xianzi Ruoyao, why don't you invite Ji You to come out and drink."

"Yes, the matter of breaking the engagement has passed for a long time; with Ji You's broad-mindedness, I think he shouldn't have any grudges anymore."

"I once teased the widow Wang at the head of the village with him back then; we shouldn't be so distant. If Zhengxin Xianzi Ruoyao doesn't want to go alone, we will accompany you."

After hearing this, Fang Ruoyao hesitated for a long time, and then slowly got up. The others followed suit, but just as they were about to walk toward the study, the figure reflected on the door and window by the candlelight suddenly stood up.

Afterward, a hot aura pressed down violently, and everyone's eyes saw a sword energy soaring into the sky, and the heavy energy rushed straight into the heavens, hitting the sky into a sparkling piece.

Under the moonlight, the thick clouds were torn through for a hundred miles.

Seeing this scene, everyone sat back down.

Before serving the dishes, they also begged Fang Ruoyao to show some immortal magic, and they saw the spiritual energy surging into a ball in her palm, and they were amazed just by lifting the pot from the air.

But just a moment ago, they felt dazed that the five years of Fang Ruoyao and the five years of Ji You were not the same thing.

If they had known this, they should have invited him to eat more baskets of steamed dumplings back then.

Jia Sicong was trembling slightly, thinking of the opportunity to walk out a path to the sky back then.

At dusk three days later, Ji You arrived in Zhongzhou.

Most of the families on his cloth scroll were gathered in Zhongzhou; the Liu family, Du family, and the Zheng family's old house were also in the neighboring county.

He felt that if these families really had problems, it was impossible for there to be no traces; the reason they were not discovered might be because the families were closed off from each other, and many things were not noticed, so he wanted to find out.

And from the perspective of spatial distance, he felt that the closer the family was to the Zheng family, the more likely there would be problems.

But what surprised him was that these families were all closed tightly, with magic arrays roaring around, and the interior was silent and eerie.

Besides that, there were rotating cultivators guarding all entrances to the dojo, rotating every two hours.

However, after visiting several times, he learned another way, which was a water shop located in Lingbi City.

"The Liu family's water has always been delivered by us; speaking of which, we can be considered to have served the immortals for decades."

"Old Master Liu drinks tea and has always only used the stream from Jade Spring Mountain."

The water shopkeeper was an old man in his fifties, chattering endlessly in the face of Ji You's silver.

After hearing this, Ji You tapped the table lightly with his fingertips: "Are you still delivering these past few days?"

"Not delivering anymore; some time ago, the Liu family specifically sent someone to say that they don't need water for the time being."

"That Old Master Liu doesn't drink tea anymore?"

The water shopkeeper waved his hand: "It's just that they don't let us deliver it, but they will go to get the water themselves."

After pondering for a long time, Ji You said: "Did you cause any trouble that made the Liu family unwilling to use you anymore?"

"Young Master, what kind of words are these? Our Runquan Water Shop is a century-old brand, specializing in the industry, and has never been said to be bad. To tell you the truth, those immortal masters have profound magic power and can fly to the sky and escape the earth, but drawing water may not be as handy as us."

Hearing Ji You's questioning, the water shopkeeper was obviously somewhat displeased, pouting and proving himself for a long time: "If Young Master doesn't believe it, you can go ask Old Xu at the vegetable shop; their vegetables are not delivered either, and it's the same time as us."

Ji You was silent for a long time: "When did it start?"

"It was probably the middle of last month."

"Then before you stopped delivering water, did anything happen to the Liu family?"

"It was just that a group of people left in a carriage in a hurry for half a month, and then came back, and then neither water nor vegetables were wanted, and the big door was closed all day."

After the water shop owner finished speaking, he looked at Ji You: "Young Master, are you really ordering water? Why do you always ask about the Liu family?"

After hearing this, Ji You smiled, left the silver in his hand, and then got up and left the water shop.

The Liu family sent people to participate in the Wandering Immortal Assembly, and after they came back, the whole family was under martial law...

High in the sky, Ji You hid in the clouds and mist, looking down at the Liu family's huge mansion, somewhat unable to figure out the connection.

Afterward, he stepped into the air and spent two full days flying to the Li family in the northwest of Zhongzhou.

Except for the few families adjacent to the Zheng family ancestor, Ji You felt that the biggest problem was the Li family, the reason naturally being Li Ruilin.

In his view, even if Li Ruilin was a branch disciple, he should have brothers and parents.

But he had been missing for so long, and the only one searching for his whereabouts was Huang Yue Niang, which seemed extremely unreasonable.

And what made him feel even more suspicious was that this Li family was under martial law almost the same as the Liu family, and the time was almost consistent, both around the Wandering Immortal Assembly.

The Li family is a thousand-year family, far larger than the Liu family.

Their family's dojo itself is a city, almost catching up to the scale of Shengjing, but after the family protection array rose, he could not even step into the city gate.

He checked around the Li family for a long time, then went to the Wuluo Trading Company in the nearby city.

He had promised the proud ghost that he would go to Fengzhou to find her, but he hadn't investigated this matter buried in Fengzhou clearly, and he always felt somewhat uneasy in his heart, so he wrote a letter to her, wanting to postpone it for a few days.

After sending the letter, Ji You found an inn to stay in.

He had been going back and forth between several big states these past few days, consuming a lot, and needed a short meditation to adjust his breath. ===== CHAPTER 323 =====