Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 505: Traces
The clear and bright voice was full of youthful characteristics, and "The Mountains and Rivers in the Palm" was indeed well-known in the martial arts world. When the gray-clothed man raised a corner of his clean chin from under his bamboo hat, He Changge's tense body slowly cooled down.

He already knew who the person in front of him was but he didn't know how he ended up here.

“You can’t bear to see him suffer before his death, and you don’t want Fengshuiwu to be destroyed, but you don’t even have the courage to swing a sword.” The man sighed softly and looked in the direction of Shenjing. The Emperor’s City was so far away that it was completely out of sight.

He Changge stood there in silence.

"Two days is definitely not enough to get from Dongting Lake to Yangjiadu." The man seemed to know what he was thinking, "I was already near the capital a month ago."

He looked at He Changge seriously: "I have been waiting for Master He Wu for a month."

He Changge slowly turned his head to look at him: "If Zhu Zhenchuan wants to find Xiaobang, just let him know."

"How can sitting across from each other in the hall compare to meeting like this?" The man raised his bamboo hat and looked at him, his eyes bright as a god. "How can I be sure that the only son of [Four Water Serpent Cultivators] He Wujian is still enjoying his legacy?"

He Changge's pupils suddenly constricted, and for a moment he looked at the man in front of him with near horror, his lips slightly parted and trembling.

"Xianrentai Crane Inspector Zhu Gaoyang has been ordered to investigate the assassination of the 'Queen of Kirin Blood'." The man raised his sign and pressed his sword, saying solemnly, "Now you will cooperate in investigating the whereabouts of He Wujian, and you will be detained afterwards."

"."

"Twenty-three years of history will always be revisited one day."

Pei Ye didn't know that he had missed his old friend. The ice spike didn't appear again until they and the rushing officials cleaned up the mess.

Pei Ye remembered that Xu Chuo told him "don't worry about Xuanmen". Although he didn't know what arrangements she made, it seemed that her promise was indeed effective.

There was no need to drive too fast on the return trip. The three of them sat in an open-air carriage, Xie Chuantang sat, Pei Ye leaned, and Zhang Piaoxu huddled in a corner.

His good friend Niu Ziyi, who came with him, followed behind on horseback from a distance, looking around curiously as if he was very wary of these official uniforms.

"You are all alone, and your Pulse Tree has just been born. Why are you going to such a dangerous place?"

Zhang Piaoxu looked up at him and said nothing.

But the next moment, Xie Chuantang cast a cold glance over: "Routine questioning, can't you hear me?"

Zhang Piaoxu stretched his neck unnaturally, adjusted his posture, and said in a muffled voice: "I just want to see what's hidden underneath them?"

"How do you know they have something hidden down there?"

"."

"Ok?"

"There was a lot of noise that night. I heard it all."

"Which night? What did you hear?"

"It was around mid-October, I can't remember exactly which day it was, but it was probably before the 15th." Zhang Piaoxu hugged her knees, "That night the boat was parked in the river outside Taipingcao, and in the middle of the night there was a sudden commotion inside, and it took almost a quarter of an hour for the noise to stop. Then all of a sudden the lights on the boat lit up, and many people were jumping in and out of the water, some were throwing iron nets into the water, and there were quite a few brave people jumping into the water. It was really lively."

Xie Chuantang frowned: "Why is there no record of this incident in Xicheng?"

"Well, no one else saw it at the time. It was a forbidden area for water transport, and no one was allowed to go there. The nearest house was a long way away."

"."

"."

There was silence for a moment. Pei Ye looked at him sympathetically. He looked at Xie Chuantang stiffly, and Xie Chuantang looked at him coldly.

"Then why are you there?"

"." Zhang Piaoxu avoided the woman's gaze, "I told you not to use this as an excuse to put me in jail."

Pei Ye said: "Speak now, I won't take you."

"That day a jerk on the street bullied me, so I went to his office and peed on his desk - hey! Don't write it down on the paper."

Xie Chuantang looked at him expressionlessly, and the boy's voice immediately lowered.

"It's okay. Lu Yugu was the host at that time." Pei Ye smiled and was curious, "Are you so curious? Do you want to get involved when you see it?"

Zhang Piaoxu remained silent.

Pei Ye didn't care too much. He knew that he and the boy had different ideas since the first time he met him. He just thought that Yang Yan should be able to chat with him.

However, Xie Chuantang still questioned him in detail and asked him to get out of the car and identify the place where the incident occurred again.

The carriage was still pursuing speed all the way and did not waste much time. When it arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture, it was just another morning.

"Hard work." Di Jiu, who was standing in front of the steps, looked much better. Li Zhao was still standing behind him. In the past few days, they had taken over such a big business as Jingzhao Prefecture and were tracing the legacy of the Taiping Cao Gang. They really didn't have a moment to spare.

They lit the heater in the room, and under the dim winter sky, a few people curled up in their chairs and relaxed, drinking a cup of hot tea to relieve their fatigue after a long time.

"We said that day that you were investigating the current purpose of Taiping Cao, and we were looking for the connection behind Taiping Cao." Di Jiu said softly, "Now it seems that this is the same thing."

The new Zhao Yin put down his teacup and said, "The transport commissioner, the transport commissioner, and even the court thousands of miles away in the south, if there is no big wing to protect them, how can everything be so stable and smooth."

"The most urgent thing is to find out where they unloaded the 'goods'." Li Zhao passed the plate around and asked everyone to grab a few winter dates to go with their tea. "Brother Pei and Captain Xie mean that they have all been unloaded in Shenjing?"

Xie Chuantang looked the most serious, she didn't even sip her tea, "According to Zhang Ercai's confession, they unloaded these 'goods' to Taiping Canal, which then transported them elsewhere. The 'Nanjinfeng' we intercepted was an empty ship returning, so based on this speculation, it was unloaded in Shenjing."

Taipingcao is controlled by the Prince of Yan's Palace, so naturally the things belong to the Prince of Yan's Palace, but the ultimate enemy has already known this, and at this time, in order to find out the other party's plot, there is a lack of connection in the middle.

Because no matter how they searched, there was no trace of tentacles from that majestic and secluded mansion in East City.

"Pei Ye found a very important clue on the ship." Xie Chuantang said, "One of the 'cargoes' escaped after Nan Jinfeng entered the capital. This one - I'll call it this for now - scale monster is not under the control of the other party."

Pei Ye nodded: "Judging from the traces, it is a very important one. And also very dangerous."

"Can this only be found?" Di Jiu asked.

Xie Chuantang said, "I have just recorded a detailed confession. A teenager admitted that he vaguely saw it. I will go to the east bank of Caohe River to search and I should be able to find some traces."

"I can ask the people from Xianrentai to come and help." Pei Ye said, "They are very professional."

Di Jiu tapped the table lightly and thought for a while: "So far, we haven't received any murder cases involving civilians, Li Zhao. Go check it again later."

After a pause, he continued, "Also visit the lost livestock and the like."

Li Zhao accepted the order.

West City.

Without that huge gang on the wide Caohe River, it would take some time to make arrangements. Today it was slightly cloudy, and the sky was cold and distant with no end in sight.

This river will not freeze, but the soil on the river bank has become a little dry and hard. The breeze shakes the dry grass and also shakes the clothes of several people.

"Look, it tore through the secret cabin here and escaped. The people on the boat threw a net to catch it. This is the mark left by the hook on the stone." Xie Chuantang raised his sword and pointed, "At that time, at least more than 20 cultivators chased it along the coast for more than 200 meters, and I don't know how many entered the water. But when they reached this position, they suddenly turned back." This was the largest dispatch in Jingzhao Prefecture after Di Jiu took office. Dozens of public servants were sent to the Caohe River, driving small boats and holding fishing nets, and were told to look for things like claw marks and scales. However, after searching for several rounds, none of these things were found, but the things of Ri Nan Jinfeng that day were restored.

Pei Ye frowned: "Why?"

"Because they found out they were tricked, the scaly monster went in the opposite direction." Xing Zhi said calmly. She squatted down, dipped her finger in a drop of cold water, and dripped it into her small glass gourd.

Soon, the remaining mysterious energy brought out a faint color reaction and turned into a light blue.

"A kind of residual mysterious energy and three to five mysterious arts are from the same source as the master of Fengshuiwu [Strange Dragon] He Changge." Xing Zhi said.

Pei Ye was stunned: "What is the cultivation level of this dock master?"

"It's quite a senior position."

"You couldn't catch it even after trying so hard?"

"It is limited after all if it is forcibly applied under the [Law of the Same World]." Xing Zhi looked at the water and changed the subject, "This means two things: First, the ability of this scale monster to control water is incredible. He Changge has practiced the water mysticism, but he was fooled by it; second, this scale monster has a considerable degree of intelligence and is extremely cunning."

She looked at Pei Ye: "It's definitely not a frost ghost."

Pei Ye nodded slowly, and Xing Zhi sighed softly, "I just can't understand why I can't find any trace of its spiritual mystery."

Xie Chuantang said at this time: "Sir, do you have any clues about its movements?"

Xing Zhi shook his head slowly: "Water is the thing that leaves no trace. Since Lingxuan has not left it, no matter how many times it has swam here, it cannot be traced."

Xie Chuantang was silent.

Pei Ye frowned and looked at the river surface: "In fact, it may not be in the water."

".What?"

Pei Ye raised his finger and pointed out: "This big bend of Caohe River is actually closed."

Xie Chuantang looked at him immediately.

"You see, the water seems to flow southward, but after three miles it passes the Taiping Canal Gang's base. If this thing escapes, the Taiping Canal will definitely set up a checkpoint to intercept it - and they did so. You remember the iron bars we saw in the water that night." Pei Ye said, "And in other directions, there are only shores."

Yes, the Caohe River looks wide and long, but after all, it was dug for merchant ships to load and unload, and the water must pass through the dock. Therefore, for animals, it is a huge cage.

Xing Zhi tilted her head: "There are always too many possibilities. Maybe they didn't make it in time, or they just didn't stop it?"

"Then they should have chased after them by following the river out of the city long ago," Pei Ye pointed out.

Xie Chuantang's eyes lit up.

"But they were delayed here for eight days because they lost this thing, and they believed it was in the city." Pei Ye said, "In the end, they searched the entire area but couldn't find it, and Taipingcao itself got into trouble, so Nan Jinfeng had no choice but to leave the city."

"so."

"The Cao River is two miles away from the nearest West Pond, so since it is not in this area, it must be able to go ashore."

Things became clearer and clearer, except that the scaly monster became increasingly eerie and blurry. The two women remained silent for a moment.

"It can travel through the water and walk on the shore. Is there such a creature in the world?" Xie Chuantang frowned and murmured.

"I understand!" In the silence, Pei Ye suddenly high-fived.

"Hmm?" Both of them looked at him.

Pei Ye smiled and pointed: "It was a tadpole, and later it turned into a toad."

"."

The two of them rolled their eyes at him silently at the same time.

"What's the matter! Isn't this joke funny?" Pei Ye was dissatisfied.

Xing Zhi smiled: "That's funny. Master Li must love hearing that."

"."

"Everyone has their own expertise when it comes to appearance. They should be almost done with it too. Let's go take a look first." Xie Chuantang didn't know who Master Li and Master Ming were, so he took the lead and turned around.

Not far from Caohe River, there is a government office.

The man with a goose-shaped badge tied around his waist was sitting at the desk with a pen in his hand. He would close his eyes quietly from time to time, and some images would slowly take shape under his pen. He was wearing a Taoist robe and looked like an immortal.

Zhang Piaoxu sat opposite him and refused to put her arms on the table.

"You should have seen its head. Describe it to me." The man closed his eyes and whispered.

"It had scales on its face, and when I saw it I almost got scared to death." Zhang Piaoxu looked up and recalled that night.

The man frowned, as if he felt something was wrong, but after sorting things out in his mind, he finished the realistic painting.

"The Painter in the studio." Three people had pushed the door open at some point. Xing Zhi lowered his voice and said, "He is a sorcerer who has practiced the spiritual scripture "The Beauty in the Painting". He has a special intuition about some images he has never seen before."

The man raised his head and looked at them, and just as he put down his pen, he smiled and said, "Hello, Xing Zishou."

"Mr. Qi, have you finished?"

The man stood up and said, "My friend, I have found five key points: 'scaly', 'sharp claws', 'fins', 'fangs', and 'horrible face'. I will complete the rest by combining other materials. This is how I completed the 'Portrait of the Beauty'."

Xing Zhi thanked him and took it, and Pei Ye leaned forward.

The painting showed a scaly creature lying in shallow water, with a very unusual body shape: it had a pair of muscular and slender forelimbs on both sides of its torso, with the joints bent, serving as a support for lying on the ground, and its claws were indeed sharp; the back part of its torso turned into a powerful long tail, which I think was used for water movement, but it had no hind limbs; its face did give a bit of a frost ghost feel, and it was indeed an appearance that would scare people at first sight.

But Xing Zhi soon raised his head and said, "Mr. Qi, we have just surveyed and found that this thing may be able to cross at least two miles of land, and it may not be strenuous."

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Oh? - Can it get ashore?"

He looked at Zhang Piaoxu.

Zhang Piaoxu was also surprised and said in a daze: "No, I don't know. I just caught a glimpse of it when I came out of the water at night."

"That's Young Master Pei's inference, and we think it's probably correct."

Pei Ye nodded confidently: "It must be - in fact, I think it can move and hide on land easily."

"Oh well, actually I think this image is already quite balanced." The man pondered, picked up the pen again, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then leaned over the desk and added a few more strokes. He smiled again and handed it to Xing Zhi.

The three of them gathered together and looked down, only to see that nothing else had moved, but two nimble and powerful hind legs had been added on both sides of the long tail.

Pei Ye was silent for a moment, frowned and whispered into Xing Zhi's ear: "Isn't this still a toad?"

(End of this chapter)