Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1292: Knowledge and Action

"The Great Wilderness Book: Water Travel": At that time, people suffered from natural disasters, so they slaughtered three animals to sacrifice to the gods. The blood and flesh blocked the river, and the tendons and bones dried up. The disaster was over, and the dumb cocoon was born. The dumb cocoon swallowed the sound, blocking the way for people to call for help. It was good at growing in clusters near water and also ate living things. Waiting for the body to cry silently, the disaster spread to the sky, and broke out of the cocoon and became the demon king, called the dish butterfly.

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Lu Ning found that she had nothing to do in the discussion, so she decided to take Wen Rong with her to try other methods.

In the end, Lu Ning was a little pessimistic. She didn't even believe Han Younian's statement that there were only nine assassins. Since the distribution center said that it would protect Lu Qingxu's departure, it meant that something big must have happened in Zhenjian Villa.

"Wen Rong, do you believe me?" Lu Ning asked.

"Do not believe."

"Uh... if you don't believe me, why are you following me out here?"

Wen Rong raised his eyebrows: "Didn't you say you had an idea?"

"But if you don't believe me, why did you come with me to try it?"

"What's wrong with trying? Will I die? If I were to die, I would be the first one to run away."

Lu Ning thought about it carefully before saying the next sentence.

"I won't die. I just want to ask you what your first mission is so that I can make a judgment based on it."

"You should have said it earlier." Wen Rong shrugged, "My mission is to steal a piece of martial arts or mental skills from Zhenjian Villa, and not be discovered before the birthday banquet is over."

"You can just steal it before the birthday party is over...but the distribution center will probably not let you take advantage of this loophole."

Wen Rong nodded: "That's right, I know that the loopholes left by the distribution center are traps. Last time I had a mission to enter a city, we thought that as long as we got in before the deadline, there would be no problem. In the end, when there were still a few hours left, the city was blown up! The mission was ruined!"

Just by hearing this description, Lu Ning suspected that it was done by some tourists who entered the city early, but unfortunately there was no evidence.

"However, Zhenjian Villa is so important that probably all the tourists have been gathered here. Since it is such an important matter, I think an earth-shattering event is probably difficult to reverse. In fact, according to the mission, it is very likely that our lives will be threatened."

"Anyway, we won't lose any points if we fail the mission, so why don't we run ahead of time?"

"Why did you jump to this step?" Lu Ning pulled Wen Rong back, "What I mean is, things are bound to happen anyway, so why not just bring it out?"

Wen Rong listened and clapped his hands: "I understand, you want to fish."

"Yes, the important thing is that we have to prepare a bait that can catch them. Although the magic sword is the best bait, it's a pity that Zhenjian Villa will definitely not let us use it. As a second choice, we can think about what those people are going to do?"

"Creating some trouble in Zhenjian Villa?"

"Probably not." Lu Ning said.

"That's right. According to what Mr. Han said, these guys came to Central Plains mainly to cause trouble. And even if something unexpected happened at the birthday banquet at Zhenjian Villa, would it have any impact on the overall situation in Central Plains?" Wen Rong immediately understood what Lu Ning meant. "So even if they blew up Zhenjian Villa - no, this problem is indeed quite big - even if they burned Zhenjian Villa, that would not be their goal."

"It is a real move that can shake the Central Plains martial arts world and even the confidence of the people of the Central Plains. If they really have top masters, then sending them out to challenge them is actually a good choice."

"If you say so, I think it wouldn't be a good idea even if they killed a few guests attending the birthday party here, right?" Wen Rong asked.

Lu Ning stopped and looked up. The plaque of the Alchemy Pavilion was hung above the main entrance of the three-story building in front of him.

"What if it's cannibalism?"

This may have given Wen Rong a chill.

"You didn't refute it, which proves that you know it is possible. You are an expert in using drugs. There are many strange drugs in this world, not to mention a group of people who are good at using poisons." Lu Ning said, "Tell me, Wen Rong, what drug can do this?"

"I know... three." Wen Rong said with some difficulty, "The hallucinogenic potion is the most superficial method, which is easily resisted by people with deep internal strength. The crazy potion is one of the fourteen powerful poisons for mental stimulation. It can make people tirelessly and indiscriminately attack everything around them that is moving. It can be treated with relief drugs, provided that the person can be subdued. The last one is the corpse-reincarnation potion. I... Wen Rong has seen the formula of this drug in a broken ancient book. It was invented by a demon and needs to be integrated into the flesh and blood of the demon to allow the demon to be reborn in the human body."

Lu Ning was not surprised that Wen Rong knew this: "Then guess, which one is it?"

"...I don't know, but if it were me, and I had the ability, I would definitely use all three at once."

"Relax, maybe we guessed the direction wrong." Lu Ning smiled.

"You proposed a very scary direction, and then told me that my guess was wrong? I'm not the martial arts type! Even in this martial arts world, it's easy to die! I think I should find a way to run quickly... Don't pull me!"

Lu Ning pulled her into the alchemy pavilion.

This is not a forbidden area, it is just a place where ordinary disciples receive medicine. Now, it is also open to guests. After entering the door, the strong smell of medicinal materials penetrated into the nose, even a little choking. Several disciples in charge of preparing medicine were just inside the door. When they saw the two people coming in, one of them asked, "You two, is anyone injured? Or sick?"

"No, I'm just a little curious about the use of medicine in Zhenjian Villa." Lu Ning said, "My friend is also good at using medicine, but he comes from a poor family and has only seen those rare medicines in books. Now that I have this opportunity, I want to see it on the spot. I wonder if it will affect you?"

"Of course not, just don't go to the counter. If you want to see any medicinal materials, we can take them out." The disciples were very enthusiastic, probably because there were not many people interested in medicine. Wen Rong also immediately put on a posture of seeking advice, looking and asking questions, and soon attracted everyone's attention. Lu Ning pretended to be watching from the side and quietly went up to the second floor.

There was no one on this floor, but rows of bookcases. Zhenjian Villa had a large collection of medical books, but due to the limitations of the times, many of them were compilations of folk remedies and medical skills written by some people with medical skills. Although it looked like a lot, most of them were bamboo slips, so Lu Ning took a casual look and didn't plan to continue flipping through them.

She went up to the third floor.

A person was sitting on the third floor. There were not so many books here, only a few tables and chairs, and sunlight shining through the windows. It was a woman in white, about the same age as Lu Ning. She spread out a piece of paper and was writing on it. She seemed to have noticed Lu Ning and just raised her head.

Lu Ning didn't expect that there was someone on the third floor.

"Hello." The woman put the pen on the inkstone beside her and nodded slightly to Lu Ning. "I thought this place was remote, and most people would come to the lobby to get some medicine, and would not come upstairs. It should be a quiet place."

"I didn't expect that there would be someone upstairs in this empty building." Lu Ning said, "Who are you?"

"I should be the one asking you this question," the woman said. "In terms of who came first, I was here first and you came later. In terms of where I went, I greeted the disciples downstairs and came here to hide away, but you were sneaking around. Don't you have something to hide?"

"That makes sense. However, the martial arts world is not the place to compete with words." Lu Ning drew her sword with her backhand. She didn't have time to waste talking to this woman. She just wanted to subdue her quickly and then ask the questions she wanted to know.

She originally thought that she would need to use some tricks, but she didn't expect that she would just rush forward and put the sword on the opponent's neck. The woman's expression did not change, but her body reaction could not be hidden from Lu Ning - she really did not react to Lu Ning's action.

"You don't know martial arts?" "You really don't know me?" The woman looked at Lu Ning in surprise, "What sect are you from?"

"Sorry, there is no sect."

“No sect or school… Whatever.” The woman shook her head. “I’m from Zhixing Valley. If you don’t know, I’ll use a more popular term, the historian of the Jianghu.”

"Sorry, I've never heard of it. But I'm curious, if you're a historian, what are you doing in this attic?"

"Historians do not record everything. The birthday banquet of Luan Tianyin at Zhenjian Villa itself is not worth recording, but what happened at the banquet may be recorded as historical materials. Why can't I take a break?"

Lu Ning looked at her carefully with his demon eyes, and did not see any demonic aura, so he slowly moved the sword away.

"Lu Ning, I'm sorry for the offense."

"It's okay. Ignorance is not a crime. I am Lou Lingzhu, the disciple of Zhixinggu. Since you have acknowledged me, I won't mind. What are you doing here?"

"Here, there are assassins from Southern Xinjiang working together with demons to cause chaos. I know that the demons' target is the magic sword 'Que Yue', so the assassins from Southern Xinjiang are most likely aiming to stir up chaos in the Central Plains martial arts world."

"Where does this information come from?" Lou Lingzhu was not panicked at all.

"Han Qianyin's son Han Younian, his mother sent a letter to him."

"Fairy Guiyun's news is indeed true. Since the demons are involved, the situation here should be reported to the Demon Suppression Bureau..."

"There is no one at the Demon Suppression Office at the foot of the mountain. There is a Demon Suppression Officer here, but he alone cannot handle so many assassins."

"What does that have to do with your coming here?" asked Lou Lingzhu.

"Of course, I came here to see if anyone stole the drugs and left any traces. But I didn't expect that there was already someone here."

Lu Ning glanced around. The place was cleaned very cleanly, and even with her demon eyes she could not find any traces of demons left behind.

"If someone really had evil intentions, they wouldn't have chosen this place. It's too obvious." Lou Lingzhu shook his head. "But if you're talking about suspicious people, I know them."

“We’ve already identified some of them.”

"You also found the Southern Deputy Chief of the Mountain Gang?"

"Who?"

Lou Lingzhu shook his head, "I forgot that you have no common sense in the martial arts world. The people who came to celebrate the birthday of the Mountain Gang this time are the Southern Chief and Deputy Chief. The Mountain Gang is a group of people from all over the world, including peddlers, fortune tellers, performers, and theater actors. The Southern Deputy Chief's mother is from Southern Xinjiang. She wandered when she was young and often helped people from Southern Xinjiang to enter and leave the Great Wei territory. Because she did not cause any trouble, no one was held accountable. I don't judge people by their status, but his actions are often suspicious. This time he is in the town and has frequent correspondence. I don't know if a gentleman should take precautions, there may be something fishy going on."

"You mean, this deputy chief is an insider?" Lu Ning said.

"You can ask him. The people in the Mountain Gang are not good at martial arts, most of them are good at fighting. This deputy chief is just good at martial arts. With the martial arts you just showed, it won't be difficult to catch him and ask him."

"Then how can I trust you? Miss Lou, you do know a lot, but I have to dispel my suspicion of you first."

"Just take me with you." Lou Lingzhu did not hesitate. "If this matter really involves demons, it is worth recording in the book. It will be quite useful to me."

"Okay." Lu Ning nodded.

Lou Lingzhu collected the things on the table and stuffed them into a backpack beside her. Lu Ning took her downstairs, called Wen Rong, and the three of them left the Alchemy Pavilion.

"Who is this?" Wen Rong asked.

"Zhixing Valley, Lou Lingzhu."

"Oh, you are from that place." Wen Rong's face immediately lost some of its enthusiasm.

"You know?" Lu Ning asked.

"I know. I ran into Zhixing Valley when I was being hunted before. They didn't do anything to me, but they were all very dull and boring. When they started chatting..."

"Have you ever been to Zhixing Valley?" Lou Lingzhu asked.

"The people there cured my injuries and threw me out. I am very grateful to you, but you are too serious and formal. I am not used to that atmosphere."

"Since we are recording history, we should take it seriously. The name of Zhixing Valley comes from the unity of knowledge and action. If we don't have this belief, it's better to..."

"Stop, stop, stop. What I fear most is your explanation. You are always right, but I am not good at reasoning, because I am always the one in the wrong." Wen Rong said with a bitter face. As a thief, she is of course the one in the wrong.

Lu Ning didn't care how the two got along, but skillfully found the guest room where the guests were accommodated. Each gang had its own clothing, so all they had to do was find the place where the Shan Gang disciples were guarding the door.

After finding the place, Lu Ning recalled the layout of the surrounding houses and found the wall next to it. Instead of rushing in, he observed it for a while.

The small courtyard of the guest room was quiet, even dead silent. Lu Ning picked a leaf from the tree next to her and blew it into the courtyard. The bacterial spores growing on the leaf flew into the courtyard.

Through the vague perception of the colony, Lu Ning smelled a familiar smell - the smell of blood.

"Ok?"

She dropped down from the wall and whispered, "Something happened. Something doesn't seem right in there."

"What?" Wen Rong was shocked. "Something has happened. Let's hurry up--"

"I'll go and ask for an audience." Lou Lingzhu said, "Given my status, they will always treat me with courtesy, so there will be no problem getting in."

Lu Ning nodded: "Then please, the two of us ..."

"You will pretend to be my followers for now."