Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1284 Accident

Daonan Prefecture is the prefectural capital, which is naturally much larger than Feng Town. But after entering, what Lu Ning saw was not the life like that in Feng Town, but a scene of depression.

"What's going on here?" This time even Lu Qingxu didn't know what was going on.

Daonan Prefecture was also a prefecture established along the river. Its aquatic products, transportation and farming were all very prosperous. Even during the years with the worst drought in historical records, people were able to survive here.

From the political achievements of Daonan Prefecture in the past two years, Lu Qingxu could not predict that this place would become like this.

"Come on, An Ning, let's go to the entrance of the government office in the prefectural city and take a look."

He was most familiar with the government office's situation. By going there and taking a look, he could get a general understanding of some important situations in the city.

When they arrived at the gate of the yamen, there was no court session. There were only two yamen runners at the gate, and nothing else. Lu Qingxu looked at the gate and then left with Lu Ning.

"The prefect of Daonan Prefecture... Lu Zheng, although greedy, is also capable. Why?"

"Do you remember this person?" Lu Ning asked.

"Daonan Prefecture is a relatively important prefecture in the south, and it is lucrative. The Ministry of Personnel will carefully consider the officials who can be assigned here. Lu Zheng should be an official here for the third year. The evaluations in the first two years were both excellent. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to take a prefectural position in another year."

"But that's not the case with the government office."

Lu Ning said.

Putting aside the knowledge of this world, her observation ability is not weak. The staff at the gate of the government office is not even of normal standard. Not to mention that when she looked inside from the gate, the whole yard was full of fallen leaves and no one cleaned it up. It was clearly daytime but it was dead silent.

"Lu Zheng is not such an incompetent person. He returned to Beijing two years ago and I met him once." Lu Qingxu said.

"I can go and take a look." Lu Ning said.

"Well...be careful."

Lu Ning was a little surprised that Lu Qingxu didn't stop her this time.

The two found an inn that was still open to stay in. After Lu Ning put down his luggage, he rushed to the government office.

She knew that Lu Qingxu would definitely go check out some of the street situations himself, and she needed to find Lu Zheng. Even though she didn't know him, it didn't matter.

She went around to the back of the government office, and thanks to the fact that there were not many people on Daonan Mansion Street, she easily found a place to jump into.

Behind the government office was the place where the prefect lived. After Lu Ning jumped in, she immediately noticed the fallen leaves all over the yard, which were almost unsweeped. She walked into a side room, which was very simply furnished and did not look like anyone had lived there for a long time.

There were no guards patrolling the huge residence, nor were there servants cleaning. Lu Ning checked all the rooms, and except for the main house and a wing room, there were no signs that anyone had ever lived in the other rooms.

Even the main house seemed to have been empty for a long time. Lu Ning walked around the house and found several opened official documents, all of which were from half a month ago.

There is no key information in the official document. But... the number of official documents of the Wei Dynasty cannot be so small. Have the official documents during this period been taken over by people from other government offices?

Lu Ning went to the government office again. There were no people staying there, so Lu Ning easily found the roll call book. But in this book, there were records up to today.

"strangeness."

Unlike the unattended house behind, the county government office shows obvious signs of daily use. The house is cleaned very cleanly, forming a sharp contrast with the outside.

However, while looking for clues, Lu Ning felt a chill. Her intuition told her that it was not advisable to stay here for long. Seeing that she had gained nothing, she quickly left this strange place.

On the way back, she saw Lu Qingxu chatting with the boss under a tea stall.

From the nobles to the common people, Lu Qingxu could chat with anyone he wanted to, which was a skill that Lu Ning couldn't learn. She walked to Lu Qingxu and sat down quietly, then took a coarse porcelain bowl and poured herself a bowl of tea.

It seemed that Lu Qingxu still needed to talk, but Lu Ning was recalling her experience in the government office. That strange cold was not normal cold. She was very resistant to cold now. Even if she only wore a single piece of clothing in the cold winter, she probably wouldn't feel cold at all.

"Thanks, boss. By the way, where can we find food nearby? We wanted to try the specialties of Daonan Prefecture, but we didn't expect that everywhere was closed..."

"Brother, you've asked the right person. Daonan Mansion is still open for business. You should go to that alley to find it." The boss smiled and pointed out several locations to Lu Qingxu.

"Thanks, boss." Lu Qingxu placed a few copper coins on the table, picked up the tea bowl and drank it in one gulp, then stood up, and Lu Ning also stood up.

The two of them walked towards a small alley. When they turned inside, Lu Qingxu asked, "Is there no one in the government office?"

"Yes, except for the yamen runners at the door, there is no one here." Lu Ning nodded. "The house in the backyard has not been used for about half a month, but the yamen in front shows no signs of being unused for many days."

"According to the boss, the government office will still hold court every day, but at night."

"at night?"

"That's why everyone keeps their doors closed." Lu Qingxu frowned. "It hides during the day and comes out at night. It's a sign of evil spirits."

"demon?"

"I'm afraid Lu Zheng has met with an accident. However, the situation in Daonan Mansion is not something you and I can solve. We must leave first."

"Now?"

"Yes, An Ning, the only time I dealt with a demon, there were many casualties, including several martial arts masters I invited." Lu Qingxu said seriously, "Even if the situation is serious, we must save lives first, and then talk about other things."

"What are demons?" Lu Ning asked, "I often hear people say that a demon star has appeared in the northern part of the Great Wall. Is that a demon?"

"I don't know." Lu Qingxu quickly led Lu Ning through the alley and returned to the inn. "Demons have different forms and unknown origins. Their strengths, characteristics, and even minds are all different. The one I spent a lot of effort to kill had the ability to spit out poison and looked no different from an ordinary dog."

"In that case..."

"Don't think about solving it yourself, An Ning. You have never come into contact with a demon, nor have you ever fought one. Even I know very little about demons. Most of these matters are handled by the Demon Suppression Department. We only need to find the Demon Suppression Department here to solve this matter."

"Do you know where it is?" Lu Ning asked.

"It should be near Zhenjian Villa."

The two quickly packed up their things. When they left, the innkeeper was a little surprised, but he didn't ask any more questions. While it was still daytime, the two drove the donkey cart to Zhenjian Villa, leaving Daonan Mansion.

The distance to Zhenjian Villa is not far, and it is all plains. The only thing to worry about is the dense forests in the south, and there are many trees along the way.

By the evening, the donkey cart arrived in a wilderness. Lu Ning found a sheltered slope to stop and began to pick up stones and dead branches to prepare a meal. Lu Qingxu was also busy, taking out the food and water from the luggage and counting what he would need today.

"When we left the city, was there no one leaving the city gate?" Lu Ning suddenly asked.

"We chose to leave in the afternoon. Usually people leave the city in the early morning. Given the current situation in Daonan Prefecture, it is normal that few people leave."

"Why do so few people leave?" Lu Ning asked, "Since everyone knows there is something strange..."

"Without a pass issued by the government, where will they go? Will they become bandits?" Lu Qingxu sighed, "Aning, most of them grew up in the city. If they leave the city, they will be homeless. It is very likely that they will die on the road."

"...I didn't think it through." Lu Ning piled up the stones, set up the dead branches, and lit a bonfire with a fire starter. Lu Qingxu put the pot on the fire and poured the water and ingredients into it.

"After it boils, you can eat it. If you want it to taste better, you can wait for a while." Lu Qingxu sat on the ground, "Keep watch at night..."

"You go first and I go second." Lu Ning clapped her hands, "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Lu Qingxu nodded, stared at the ingredients in the pot, and took out a spoon to stir it a few times.

Lu Ning didn't plan to walk too far, so she went around the slope and found a place out of sight.

Just as she solved the problem and was about to return, a familiar chill crept into her heart again.

"who!"

She had already touched the hilt of the sword with her backhand.

At this time, a creaking sound came from the avenue. Lu Ning stood up and looked at the road, and found that a carriage was swaying towards this side. The horse pulling the carriage was skinny, and there was no driver in the carriage. Even all the decorations on the carriage were tattered, making people suspect that it would fall apart at any time.

The carriage drove slowly past without paying any attention to Lu Ning. It maintained this speed and went away. When it passed by, Lu Ning felt that the chill had reached its peak.

It was when the cold was at its worst that she was able to distinguish the difference between it and the cold she had felt in the Daonan Prefecture government office.

The good news is that this is probably not the same one.

Bad news, there is more than one demon.

Lu Ning stared at the carriage as it left. In the end, the carriage did not do anything to her. When Lu Ning returned to the campfire, she asked Lu Qingxu, but Lu Qingxu said he saw nothing.

"Demons... each has different characteristics." Lu Qingxu served Lu Ning a bowl of soup and a piece of cake. "That car is probably of the same type. You can see it, but I can't. This must not be a good thing."

"We know nothing about demons, but if we encounter them so frequently, wouldn't it be a big deal if we met them head-on in the future..."

"If it comes to a matter where we have to risk our lives, we'll consider it later." Lu Qingxu said seriously.

Lu Ning lowered her head and took a sip of the soup. The warmth dispelled the remaining chill.

As expected, even in a martial arts world, it wouldn’t be easy to get there once it came to a distribution center scene.

Monsters like demons probably have their own system. Although there are no monsters that cannot be completely eliminated under the classification system of the distribution center, the difficulty is also divided into many levels. Most of the monsters Lu Ning encountered before were able to be killed by force. From Lu Qingxu's previous description, she thought that demons were also of this type, but after seeing the car, she felt that this was probably not the case.

She had a hunch that many of these monsters were probably of a specific type that could be cracked.

With the passing of the car, Lu Ning lost all desire to sleep. She had been meditating the whole time when Lu Qingxu was on guard, and she did not fall into a deep sleep at all. Fortunately, her physique from practicing martial arts was quite good, so even this kind of light sleep could still keep her energetic the next day.

This unusual sense of urgency also made the two of them hurry on their journey, and they arrived at the foot of Zhenjian Villa early.

There is a village at the foot of Lieping Mountain, which exists due to the power of Zhenjian Villa. The people in the village also practice martial arts, and usually manage the property at the foot of the mountain for Zhenjian Villa. Many of them are tenants. And at special times like this, they can also take on the responsibility of entertaining guests. Although it is called a village, its actual scale is not small.

As for being able to enter Zhenjian Villa to celebrate birthdays, except for special visits and the day of the birthday banquet, Zhenjian Villa cannot accommodate so many people on ordinary days.

In this "village", there is a very neatly maintained house, located in a corner by the river, and not many people come here on weekdays. Lu Qingxu brought Lu Ning here, confirmed the symbols painted on the door, and then knocked on the door gently.

Not long after, a young man with a blue face opened the door, looked outside, opened his mouth, and gestured twice with his hand.

"Mute slave?" Lu Qingxu nodded slightly to the young man, "Are there any people from the Demon Suppression Bureau here?"

The mute slave waved his hands repeatedly, then pointed inside the house. Seeing this, Lu Ning closed his eyes and felt it for a while. When he didn't feel the strange chill, he was the first to walk into the door.

The mute slave led the two people into a study, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write on it. Lu Qingxu reached out and picked up a book bound with ropes on the table and flipped through it roughly.

"Page twelve..."

Lu Qingxu murmured something, and the mute slave had already finished writing and handed it to the two of them.

The paper read: Recently, traces of demons have frequently appeared in various towns and villages in the nearby provinces. The seven demon-suppressing officers have already set out. If there are traces of demons, first check the atlas to confirm whether it is a demon that has been reported. If not, write down what you know and wait for the demon-suppressing officers to deal with it.

"Mute slave, outsiders are not familiar with the details of the Demon Suppression Division. Can you tell me a thing or two?" Lu Qingxu asked, "Demons are rampant? Since the founding of the Wei Dynasty, there have been few cases of demons."

The mute slave took down a scroll of old bamboo slips from the shelf next to him and handed it to Lu Qingxu.

Lu Ningze took the book and flipped through it.

Each page of the book was a record of a demon, some with pictures, some with only text descriptions. Lu Ning did not see any records about Daonan Prefecture, but she saw a picture of the car she saw on the road.

[Old chariot - speculated to be a big monster.]

The witnesses were all people involved in the demonic incident.

No injuries were recorded, and no unusual deaths occurred among those exposed.

It only appears from Shenshi to Haishi.

The threat is unknown. 】

The car in the painting was almost identical to the one she had seen. Perhaps someone had drawn the car based on their impressions. This was also the only demon on the twelve pages whose details were recorded as unknown.

Among the twelve pages, there are six "new monsters", four "big monsters", and two "evil spirits".