"If those people were originally tenants of this fortress, even if they are now under the control of sedatives and seductive fragrances, they should still be able to return to their own hos...
So, it’s possible that these people were abducted, just like the blacksmiths in Shuo Country who were taken and forced to mine and forge iron." Zhu Yu proposed a bold hypothesis, "What we can be sure of now is that the young boys delivering als and the ones bringing hot soup and fragrance to the farrs are all mindless zombies.
The farrs are controlled by the hot soup and fragrance; although they appear to act normally and can talk to people, their minds are just as muddled, like puppets on strings.
And the rune said that once those Protectors heard about the arrival of the fragrance delivery team, they hurriedly left, indicating that they themselves were not under the influence of the seductive fragrance.
Previously outside, they accepted bribes with pleasure, a deanor that doesn’t really seem like sothing a mindless puppet would do.
Combined with that old steward, if we exclude the Fortress Lord who has never shown himself, only the old steward and Protectors in the Immortal Castle are clear-minded.
They are the Fortress Lord’s own people, his trusted aides.
Visiting rchants are arranged in this courtyard, isolated from those people by high walls, with seductive fragrances on every road outside making it impossible to recognize directions,
while at night, thods are used to put visiting rchants into a deep sleep, so they can’t wander around and accidentally uncover the secrets of this fortress!"
The rune deeply agreed with Zhu Yu’s conclusion, nodding repeatedly in approval.
"By the way, I want to ask you, today, when you were watching people co and go from that tree, did you see a man almost a forehead shorter than , with a thin build, a goatee on his chin, and a mole on his face?" Lu Yan suddenly rembered and hurriedly moved closer, pulling the rune and asking urgently, gesturing on his own face as he spoke, fearing that he wouldn’t grasp the features he was describing.
The rune had already known the day before that the Jade Pendant Lu Qing picked up belonged to a tax collector who was with Lu Yan, so he carefully recalled, yet having no impression, he shook his head.
His shaking was a bit too vigorous, causing a stab of pain that made him gasp in shock.
Yan Daoxin slapped his head: "Oh! I forgot, you’ve still got a needle in your neck!"
Saying this, he held the rune’s neck with one hand and removed the needle from the back of his neck with the other.
With the silver needle removed, the rune felt the tension in his neck easing and relaxed significantly.
Even though he had stayed up all night and through the day and felt terribly tired, his mind remained clear.
"Divine Doctor, your skills are incredible!" The rune couldn’t help but glance outside, "The needle’s out, and I don’t feel dizzy or muddled at all, I didn’t expect this acupoint to have such persistence!"
"There’s no persistence in this... Eh?" Yan Daoxin realized it was already quite late as he turned to look at Zhu Yu, Lu Qing, and the others, "Does anyone feel sleepy or dizzy?"
Everyone else shook their heads.
"Divine Doctor Yan, how long does the effect of the Awakening Pills you gave us last night last?" Lu Yan curiously asked.
Yan Daoxin looked at him: "Logically, only about four or five hours..."
With this, everyone realized a whole day had passed, and it was nightti again, and the effect of the Awakening Pills had long worn off.
"Eh? Strange! I didn’t get sleepy today!" Lu Yan touched his own head in surprise, then touched the back of his neck, "I almost thought I was this energetic because I had a needle in my neck and forgot about it!"
Yan Shu nodded repeatedly, indicating he too felt clear-headed without any discomfort or muddled mind.
Zhu Yu sniffed as she heard them speak.
After dark, the air was slightly cool, lacking the warmth of the dayti, but in the cool air, there was none of the faint fragrance detectable in the previous nights.
She got up and walked straight to the small pond nearby.
In the sky, a crescent moon was bright and clear, its glow illuminating the courtyard, and the white flowers in the pond... Like in the dayti, the petals were tightly closed, hiding beneath the broad dark green leaves, as if suddenly shy, not daring to show themselves, and none of them were blooming.
Sure enough! Her trick was working!
Zhu Yu felt a burst of joy.
Not only was her thod effective, but her thought process was also correct; it was indeed those strange little white flowers that made them fall into slumber at night.
Now, without the flowers blooming, no fragrance wafted, they were all perfectly alert, without even having had one Awakening Pill, let alone any silver needles in their acupoints!
Lu Qing saw Zhu Yu running to the pond and got up to follow, but Lu Yan pulled him back.
"Brother, I can’t do it. Tonight, I plan to go out and investigate again, hoping to find my tax collector; I must get him out no matter what.
I’ve made up my mind, brother, don’t stop !" Lu Yan frowned tightly, telling Lu Qing, "I can’t just watch my people in danger and do nothing.
He got into trouble because I sent him to collect the plant tax; I must find a way to save them!"
"Okay." Lu Qing agreed surprisingly quickly to him, "Go if you want to, but whether you find him or not, you must return quickly and not risk yourself."
This response took Lu Yan by surprise, and after letting go and stepping away, he quickly caught up with Lu Qing heading to the pond: "Brother, what do you an? Do you think that even if you stop from looking, I’ll regret it, but even if I look, I won’t find my tax collector?"
"That’s exactly what I think," Lu Qing didn’t hide his true thoughts, "If it were my people in danger, I wouldn’t be able to stand by; even taking risks, I’d want to try.
But as an outsider, I really doubt you could find your subordinate in those bizarre houses.
You heard the rune, these people aren’t completely mindless; soone might suddenly beco lucid.
Given the circumstances, your tax collector is a man of the court, detained for so reason; dare they put him with these abducted villagers?"
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