Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1291: Thief

"The Book of Great Wilderness: Wood Element" states: "The people in the market run around for a living. When they reach adulthood, they are killed by human calamities and their bodies cannot be buried. Wild grass grows on their bones and flesh. It is red in color and extremely poisonous. It stays dormant for several months. Animals eat them first, and then people eat them again. They are poisoned and die. It is considered to be a disease. The gathering of the dead souls accumulates in quantity and quality, and manifests itself in the world as demons. They are good at hiding and killing people, and they change their appearances. They are called hundreds of faces and thousands of appearances."

  =

Lu Ning first went to take a look at the person who had stopped. He was indeed resting in a room in Zhenjian Villa. He was even sleeping defenselessly. If Lu Ning wanted to, she could take his life immediately.

"This guy is not important at the moment." Lu Ning turned her head and glanced underground. "How did the guy underground...get down? Also, what's underground?"

"From my professional perspective as a thief with many years of experience, first of all, this must have been done through some secret passage. Secondly, what is buried underground is most likely the magic sword that Zhenjian Villa is responsible for guarding." Wen Rong said.

"What does the magic sword have to do with demons?"

"How would I know."

Lu Ning looked at Wen Rong helplessly: "Then, with your professional perspective, can you help me find the secret passage?"

"This is simple."

Wen Rong took out another packet of medicine powder and said, "Let's find some water."

"What are you talking about?"

"Something to find the entrance to the underground."

Following the direction indicated by Lu Ning, Wen Rong quickly dissolved the medicine powder into a jar of water, and then took a branch and sprinkled the water on the ground. Surprisingly, after the medicine was sprinkled on the ground, all the hollowed-out places in the ground showed different shades of white. Following the outlines formed by these white colors, the two found some dug-up square bricks behind a military academy in Zhenjian Villa, and under the square bricks was a dark passage. This place was blocked by a large amount of accumulated debris. If it weren't for Wen Rong's strange medicine, Lu Ning estimated that he would have to let the colony grow before he could find it.

"Judging from the soil, it was dug out not long ago. This is not a hole that can be dug by human power in a short time. I'm afraid there are earth demons involved." Wen Rong took out a fire starter, lit it and threw it down. The flame burned normally and went out after a while.

"No problem, you can go down." She clapped her hands, "But I think we should not go down yet."

"Well, the hour is almost up, we have to go back and reunite. And if they are really down there, instead of taking the risk, it would be better for Zhenjian Villa or this group of martial artists to rush in and capture them." Lu Ning nodded in agreement.

After the two men had made their decision, they turned back and returned to the garden they had been to before.

Lu Qingxu and Han Younian had not returned yet, so the two sat there waiting.

“Do you recognize any other tourists in this scene?”

"No, I don't know many people. Han Younian came to me on his own initiative, unless he is. Of course, if you let me open the keyhole, I can confirm it immediately."

"You chose me first?"

"I can't just open the keyhole casually. I have to make sure it's worth it. Han Younian only has some reputation left by his father, but he himself is not special enough for me to try. But you, I heard from your father that you have solved the problem of demons. So it's safer to start with you."

"But I still want to ask what effect this is supposed to have? Why don't I feel anything until now?"

"I want to ask this question too! Although it can be used a limited number of times, it works on everyone. Why doesn't it work on you?" Wen Rong said distressedly, "The next time I use it, it won't be enough to finish this incident."

"What kind of ability is this...a prop you brought with you?" Lu Ning asked.

"I want to keep it a secret." Wen Rong said sternly, "I'm sorry, although we are working together, my identity is still a thief. In order to prevent me from being at a disadvantage when we are on a mission in the future, I don't want to tell you the details."

"Ok."

"Would you like to try it again?" After a moment, Wen Rong asked again, "I have used it even on top tourists, even though I almost got chopped off that time..."

Lu Ning felt it carefully and found that there was no improvement or reduction, just like usual. She really didn't understand what role Wen Rong played, so she could only shake her head again.

Not long after, Lu Qingxu and Han Younian came back, accompanied by several people, one of whom was Peng Yujian. As expected, after hearing the news about the demon, he was terrified again, and the faces of the people who followed Han Younian were also not good.

"When it comes to the existence of demons, several people have politely declined to continue helping." Han Younian said, "So Mr. Lu also found Master Peng, hoping that Master Peng can help us."

"Please don't say that, Mr. Han. This is to help us at Zhenjian Villa ourselves." Peng Yujian said quickly.

"Uncle Peng, don't worry about anything else for now. I want to ask first, what is the place below the house called Chengjian Hall?" Lu Ning asked.

Peng Yujian's expression became even worse: "That place? Queyue is there... but the only way to get there is through the headmaster's house..."

"If the demons have the ability to dig, this won't be difficult." Lu Qingxu immediately knew what Lu Ning was talking about, "Brother Peng, you can't use common sense to look at demons."

"We found a dug tunnel behind a military academy," said Wen Rong.

"typical?"

"And someone has already gone in." Lu Ning added a little more pressure.

"What? Then I have to go find my master quickly!" Peng Yujian turned around and ran away.

  =

Underground, two people were chatting while hammering on the solid rock walls around them with pickaxes.

"Is that Hundred Faces and Thousand Appearances accurate? We came all the way here just to dig a hole? Since the mud lice can dig to this place, can't we dig directly to the place where the sword is hidden?" A bearded man said in a muffled voice, "It's too stuffy down here. I almost passed out just now!"

"Be patient." Another man knocked off pieces of soil from the wall and carefully placed them aside. "These sects in the Central Plains are all capable. Zhenjian Villa, just by hearing the name, you can tell that they are good at suppressing these weapons with special properties. There is more than just one demon sword hidden in the underground sword cellar."

"So the mud lice don't dare to dig in? Ha, we have to explore the way here. I thought these monsters were very powerful, but it turns out they are no different from humans."

"Demons and humans are the same kind of creatures."

A gentle voice suddenly appeared in the enclosed underground environment, but the two men were not surprised, but continued to dig the tunnel slowly with the pickaxe in their hands. The shadow rose from the ground and turned into a human form. It continued to speak: "Your ancestors worshipped some of us as gods or mythical beasts, and some painted their images in their villages, which is the origin of national totems. But now, you no longer recognize our existence and intend to extinguish all the demons in the world."

"It's no use telling me." The bearded man muttered, "We in the mountains don't distinguish between monsters and non-monsters. We are all seeking a chance to live a better life. Now that the Wei Kingdom doesn't treat us as human beings, there is no need for us to treat them as some superior country and worship them."

Another person asked, "Bai Mian Qian Xiang, why did you come here suddenly?"

"The appearance of a demon-suppressing officer alone is not enough to affect us, but if there are other helpers, we must consider it carefully. Your whereabouts have been discovered, and I am only here to give you a brief reminder."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" The bearded man hurriedly threw away the pickaxe in his hand, turned around and was about to run out of the cave, but was grabbed by another man.

"Bai Mian Qian Xiang, let the mud lice come over and dig a passage for us from the other direction. We need to leave first."

"Oh?"

"People in the Miao Village still need to learn to read and write." The man glanced at Baimianqianxiang and said, "The battle of Yanji Mountain, the destruction of Yue in three days, and the turmoil in Huiyin River. These are the three times that the demons have committed crimes against the human race that I know of."

"But you still joined forces with us." said Baimianqianxiang.

"Because you still don't understand humans. We are not from the same race. Humans have a saying, those who are not of my race must have different hearts. This is not only true for you, but also for us." The man sneered, "So, now is an era of profit. Learn more, demon."

Just as he finished speaking, a ball of mud and sand suddenly exploded nearby, and a beetle with a golden body crawled out from a huge hole that was inconsistent with its tiny body. Its two wings split open, and a compound eye squeezed out of its tiny body and rose into the air.

"I've dug it... Let's go to the back mountain."

"Scorpion, leave some poisonous insects here to give the pursuers a surprise. We're going to make some noise anyway, so it doesn't matter."

The bearded man responded and took out a gourd from his waist.

After making some arrangements, the two men immediately ran out of the dug hole, and only Baimianqianxiang glanced at Nili.

"How about the magic sword?" asked the mud louse dully.

"They are just working without putting in any effort." Baimian Qianxiang said, "It is obvious that they know which method is more conducive to preserving themselves. They planted those cracks here and they are still acting in secret, but if they touch the sword cellar, they will probably die here."

"That...damn it."

"No, this is the wonder of the human race. They can even wield the butcher knife against their own kind for purposes other than hunting, and I can't even understand what they are fighting for." Baimianqianxiang still spoke in a gentle tone, "Greed, they call it greed, but the greedy demons I know are not like this."

"don't know……"

"I still have a lot to learn, and so do you, Nili. It's a pity that Li Gu was killed by the demon-suppressing officer, otherwise he could have brought us more useful information. Ah... Speaking of that demon-suppressing officer, I don't think I told the truth. If we met him alone, we would probably both be killed."

The mud louse retracted the eyeball and dropped it to the ground.

"Take the sword..."

"We will definitely get the sword, don't worry." Baimian Qianxiang said, "We dispatched so many demons, transferred the demon-suppressing officers, and contacted these humans in advance, all for the purpose of taking the magic sword."

The mud louse did not respond, but quickly burrowed into the soil and disappeared. The Hundred Faces and Thousands of Figures also dived into the shadow.

  =

"Sure enough, we found a passage, but the people have already escaped." On the other side, Peng Yujian also hurriedly brought back news, "It's a newly dug cave. There are two roads, one from the Military Academy, and the other leading to the back mountain. They must have prepared a way to escape from here a long time ago! They even planted poisonous insects there!"

"How's the magic sword?"

"The storage of the sword vault is the most strict in Zhenjian Villa. Even if there are demons to help, they are powerless to enter." Peng Yujian puffed out his stomach. "Although I don't know the details, I have heard from Master that the layout of the sword vault is not something that can be entered by breaking the wall from the outside. If you don't have the correct method, the intruder will be killed by the blood of the evil weapons stored in the sword vault."

"Why does this sound like a demon-like thing..." Wen Rong muttered.

"Since the sword cellar can be kept safe for the time being, then the most important thing is to hunt down these people. The six people in the villa have been identified, and two escaped from underground. According to what Mr. Han said, there should be only one person who has not been found. As for the matter of demons, it is beyond human power to deal with. I hope you can listen to me." Lu Qingxu said, "I don't have much experience in facing demons. I only know that the strengths of demons are actually limited. If we find out what the demons can do, we can deal with them more, hoping that the demon-suppressing officials will deal with them. Now, among the demons, one is mostly good at digging, and the other is unknown. We need to test the other abilities of the demons in a cautious way. In addition, we need to find out what the 'crack' is."

"Brother Lu is right." Peng Yujian said quickly, "Thanks to Mr. Han's reminder. Zhenjian Villa will find the last assassin."

"Master Peng, it's best not to alert the enemy." Han Younian said with a headache, "Although two people have noticed it in advance, we are still keeping an eye on the others. They haven't had a chance to exchange information yet."

"Isn't that perfect? ​​Take them all together!" said Peng Yujian.

"Brother Peng, are there so many people in Zhenjian Villa now? Can we capture all of them and prevent any of them from using the poison?" Lu Qingxu asked.

"What good can these bandits do with their kung fu?" Peng Yujian frowned and asked, "Could it be..."

"According to what my mother said, we should not underestimate our opponents." Han Younian said quickly, "Although the martial arts of the foreign tribes are not as good as those of our Central Plains martial arts, they also have some long-standing martial arts. We are naturally not afraid of our numbers, but today is Mr. Luan's birthday. If we ruin the event for this, wouldn't it be fulfilling their wishes?"

"Why not ask the masters from various sects for help? The people from various sects who came this time can't be wrong." Lu Qingxu said, "And we should also pay attention to the last person. He can hide for a long time, so he is also good at hiding. Don't underestimate him."

  "I think that person will most likely not come into contact with these people in the end." Lu Ning whispered to Wen Rong.

"Really?" Wen Rong glanced at her.

"If they have a thorough plan, they can differentiate between those who act alone and those who act as a team. The one taking a nap is probably a similar character, but he still needs to communicate with his companions, and his acting ability is average, which you can see."

"In this case, how do we catch the last person?" Wen Rong glanced at the people who were discussing.

"I have an idea. Would you like to try it together?"