Chapter 45: This Scholar Looks Very Familiar

"Bought it, let's go." 【4

Yan Shuyi touched her own cheek, muttered something, and walked toward the first floor of the Qionghua Pavilion in a somewhat dazed state.

When she reached Lu Lu Qingqiu, Du Zhu, and Qian Qian Yunxiao, she suddenly snapped back to reality, looked them over, and her sword intent suddenly surged.

The sword path of the Spirit Sword Mountain primarily cultivates the sword heart; even if the spiritual energy is not projected outward, the sharpness of her intent is enough to make one feel awestruck.

The three of them suddenly held their breath, their pupils gradually constricting.

They had seen the young woman once yesterday at the Immortal-Ascending White Jade Terrace, and their impression of her was mainly that she was a peerless beauty with a mysterious and noble background.

Seeing her for the second time today, buying things for Ji You, they felt she was more like a lively, ordinary young lady.

But now, face-to-face, they felt a pressing sense of coercion.

It had nothing to do with cultivation realm, but rather a kind of condescending momentum.

The first reaction of Du Zhu and the others was: who on earth is this?

Why is it that just as this woman turned around, she could generate such a completely different momentum, whistling incessantly?

However, what they did not know was that if it weren't for this young Inspector's whim to find someone to play with, given their status, they would likely never see her in this lifetime.

But what made the three of them breathe a sigh of relief was that the cold and sharp woman before them did not make any move, and she turned and went downstairs.

And what they didn't know was that the young Inspector had just wanted to draw her sword and poke them a few times, so that Ji You would know that she was actually a very dignified woman.

"Ji You, I want to eat candied fruit."

"..."

Ji You followed her downstairs, watching the young Inspector in front walking with her hands behind her back, her steps steady, her temperament completely different from when she arrived.

But she didn't maintain her dignity for long before she started wandering around uncontrollably again.

What a strange woman...

Ji You couldn't help but mutter, and suddenly he saw a scholar passing by, who was also staring at him with a strange expression.

The bandit-like Ji was slightly stunned, thinking to himself that this person looked very familiar, but in the end, he felt it didn't matter—they were unrelated.

"Brother Ji, why are you here? I was just about to go to Nishan to send you a letter."

"?"

Behind Xinghua Lane in the West City, near the corner of Chunhua Lane, there was a tile-roofed house; this was where Kuangcheng lived after taking his post at the Immortal Inspection Bureau.

The small room had only enough space for a bed, and besides that, there was a desk and scrolls all over the floor.

Behind the tile-roofed house was a small courtyard, piled with fallen leaves, looking as if it hadn't been cleaned up yet.

Ji You followed Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng into the house and sat before the desk, while Yan Yan Shuyi, knowing they had matters to discuss, sat in the courtyard, obediently sipping tea.

"I am leaving Shengjing for a period of time to investigate the matter of the evil seeds. My return date is uncertain, so I came specifically to inform you."

Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng looked at him: "Is that so? But you didn't seem to recognize me on the street."

Ji You instantly became much more serious: "That was just a bit of a disguise on my part."

"Brother Ji is so cautious; that is also true..."

"By the way, why did you ask someone to send me a letter?"

Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng lowered his voice: "As I said last time, the Immortal Inspection Bureau is investigating Wei Li's embezzlement of tax offerings. We have already made some headway, and I also took this opportunity to find some clues regarding the disappearance of children from the orphanage."

Ji You looked at him: "Did you find the mastermind?"

"I led my colleagues to investigate the Yanxing Post Station outside the city and discovered that a batch of infants was sent to the Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion."

Kuangcheng also couldn't help but clench his fists: "The Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion does the most of this kind of refining medicine with humans. We saw it before in Yuyang County. After Brother Ji becomes the Abbot, do not let them off."

Ji You thought of Qiu Ru, gripped his teacup, and spoke: "Naturally, I will not."

"In addition, there is a suspicious point among these clues that I cannot fathom."

"?"

Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng lowered his voice and said: "The infant disappearance case did not start at the orphanage, but children have been disappearing continuously since three years ago. Some were even newborn babies, stolen right under their parents' noses."

"To date, I have investigated 138 cases. Several government offices in Shengjing have case files, and the reports are relatively concentrated."

"The most bizarre thing is that three Imperial Princes in the palace have also disappeared one after another."

"But I checked the exit records of the Yanxing Post Station and found that the number of shipments did not match this; half of the children were not sent to the Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion."

Ji You frowned slightly: "Besides the Xuanyuan Immortal Mansion, there is someone else?"

After saying this, Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng took a slip of paper from his bosom: "I found a few places, also from the records of the Yanxing Post Station. I think there are some problems."

Ji You unfolded the paper and looked at it, his brow gradually furrowing.

After joining the Immortal Inspection Bureau, Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng held a clerical position and did not deal with investigations, so his days were quite leisurely.

But like Ji You, he didn't want to be an idle person and always felt he should do something, so he started investigating this infant disappearance case.

As for why, it actually stemmed from the thin, gaunt child he met when he first went to the orphanage to deliver quilts.

That child was named Huwa; he didn't want anything, just knelt and kowtowed, begging Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng to help him find his sister, with whom he depended on for survival.

In fact, before investigating, Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng also knew that the theft of infants was likely related to the Immortal Sects.

After all, in this world today, commoners can barely feed themselves; who would steal hundreds of children?

But even so, Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng still felt that he should give Huwa an answer.

And now that he had investigated, he indeed found the shadow of the Immortal Sects, but Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng was already powerless, so he hoped Ji You would have a way.

But what he didn't expect was that when Ji You saw the content on the paper, he felt a chill run up his spine.

There wasn't much content on it, only the names of three small towns.

Qiling Town, Yuhe Town, Beisha Town.

Ji You was silent for a long time, subconsciously clenching the paper: "Why did you pick these locations from the shipping records of the Yanxing Post Station?"

"One of the Yanxing Post Station's convoys visited these places too frequently. After all, these are remote small towns; even if they were purchasing supplies from the capital, they shouldn't have a trip every month, and their travel times highly coincide with the occurrence of the disappearance cases."

After Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng finished speaking, he looked at him, somewhat puzzled: "Do you know these three places?"

Ji You crumpled the paper into his palm: "I don't know, I've never seen them. However, I will help you go and take a look. If there is news, I will notify you."

"Many thanks, Brother Ji."

"Investigating to this point is the limit of your ability. Focus on your promotion; do not forget that the burden of the Xiang family is now entirely on your shoulders."

Kuangcheng nodded after hearing this: "The Wei Li embezzlement case has been investigated quite thoroughly. The Ministry of Revenue has replaced a large number of officials. His Majesty's determination to push for new policies this time is very strong, and even the reign title has been changed from Taiwu to Taiyuan. I have more things I can do for the common people."

Ji You looked up after hearing this: "The imperial court is actually no safer than the Jianghu. Do not be too eager to stand out in everything, and don't let others use you as a tool. Remember what I told you last time: go woo Wei Li's granddaughter, or go woo the Princess!"

Xiang Xiang Kuangcheng turned his head to look at Yan Yan Shuyi sitting in the courtyard: "Is that your Abbot's granddaughter?"

Yan Yan Shuyi was sitting on a stone stool, her eyes fixed on the only withered leaf hanging on the tree, her expression obedient.

Ji You also looked over, and after a long while, he chuckled: "No, just a cute little girl."

"..."

As the words fell, both of their shoulders suddenly trembled.

Because it seemed that some kind of energy had suddenly shot out just now. In that instant, the only withered leaf on the tree, along with the branch, snapped off.

The young Inspector sitting on the stone stool drinking tea remained calm, only her beautiful eyes began to narrow slightly.

(End of chapter)