The night shrouded the mountains and forests, while the moonlight dappled through.
The wind rustled the leaves, and the dense branches swayed gently under the moonlight, breaking the eerie silence with the occasional call of a night owl.
Suddenly,
birds in the forest were startled into flight, and the sound of galloping hooves followed.
A fire dragon approached from afar, led by Li Yan and his companions.
Apart from the Captain Bureau’s n, the group included four Daoists, two from the Zhushan Sect and two from the Zhenwu Palace.
Currently, there were not enough people at the Purple Cover Cave to launch a large-scale operation, so what they could do was to set up an altar and summon soldiers and horses for support at any ti.
These four Daoists were specifically following to perform rituals that would allow yin soldiers to arrive at the scene imdiately.
In addition to that, they also possessed special Divine Skills.
One had Yin Yang Eyes, another could hear the words of Ghost Gods, another was skilled in Qi Observation, and the last one was an Intention Spiritual Root, adept at Divination.
Normally, these individuals were the treasured mbers of the orthodox Magic Veins, well-protected and not easily allowed to leave the mountain, and the temple masters paid close attention to them.
Even the Earth Immortal Cave’s poisoning of disciples did not target them, for fear of provoking an investigation by the temple masters.
But now, they were all sent out to follow Li Yan.
One reason was because they had been negligent and caused trouble.
The other was out of anger.
Whether or not there was a formidable Earth Immortal in the Earth Immortal Cave, such actions had already crossed the bottom line of both sects.
Not only did they ask Li Yan to continue investigating this matter and stabilize the situation in Dangyang, but they also sent ssages via carrier pigeons, requesting experts from within the sect to co and assist.
With the situation in Dangyang being chaotic, the group did not rest and imdiately descended from the mountain, hurrying back to the Dangyang County city at night...
Leading the group, Li Yan rode his horse while speaking to the Daoists beside him, "Gentlen, what do you think the tiger demon used to conceal itself?"
The Earth Immortal Cave was dangerous, and they would not head there imdiately.
He planned to do two things upon his return; first was to thoroughly search for the hiding places of the Heavenly Saint Sect rebels and eradicate them.
According to previous intelligence, so of these individuals had been killed by the Earth Immortal Cave after stealing "Grave Blood Beams" and plotting against the tiger demon, yet they continued to cause chaos in Dangyang County.
This indicated that quite many people must have been involved.
So many people would need a hiding place, food, and water, which would definitely leave so traces; the county governnt officials might not find them, but the Captain Bureau was skilled in such matters.
The other concern was the tiger demon itself.
All signs suggested that the foe must know a lot, and perhaps finding it could unravel this series of mysteries.
The only trouble was its hiding place.
Hearing Li Yan’s inquiry, a disciple of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect spoke up, "Such demons often prefer occupying caves or tombs in forests or mountains and then set up Arrays to create a Ghost Wall."
"As long as they don’t cause havoc everywhere, civilians can’t get close, and thus naturally, the information can be concealed."
Another person nodded in agreent, "Any Array setup cannot be done without changes in Earth Vein Qi. I will ascend the mountain later for Qi Observation and should discover sothing..."
As they were talking, Li Yan’s expression suddenly changed, and he quickly raised his hand.
"Stop!"
The Captain Bureau’s riders were skilled, and at his command, they each pulled tightly on their reins, causing the warhorses to swerve abruptly, snorting to a stop.
"There’s gunpowder ahead, Brother Lv San, find soone!"
Li Yan squinted his eyes, staring at the official road ahead.
At his command, Lv San raised his hand and a hawk screeched into the air, quickly making a discovery, "On the right, northwest direction."
"Catch them!"
Households Commander Zheng issued a command, and a Captain Bureau ensign imdiately leaped forward with his subordinates, clanging as he drew his long sword and entered the dense forest.
Li Yan did not join in the assault.
He was to stay and command, so naturally, he could not run around chaotically.
Soon, shouts of rebuke, sounds of blades clashing, and the whistles of crossbow arrows piercing through the forest echoed from afar.
Simultaneously, cries of hawks resounded in the sky.
Lv San frowned, "Only three Death Soldiers."
Hearing this, Li Yan knew imdiately they had not captured anyone alive.
Indeed, as the Captain Bureau’s n erged from the forest, the ensign reported with a bow, "Sir, there were three thieves secretly spying, and seeing no escape, they killed themselves."
At the sa ti, three bodies were carried out.
Households Commander Zheng did not criticize, as they had often seen this situation; the people of the Heavenly Saint Sect were fanatical, believing they would be protected by the Heavenly Saint after death.
Betraying the Holy Sect was a grave sin; once captured, fearing they could not withstand torture, they often committed suicide imdiately.
Households Commander Zheng gave a aningful glance, and imdiately an older man disguised as an ensign dismounted and inspected the corpses closely.
"There are fragnts of white chalk mixed in the mud beneath our feet, such stuff is found only in tombs or abandoned Military Fortresses..."
"Their clothes are not slly; they show signs of being washed; there must be a small river or stream near their location..."
"Their dry food consists of unevenly sized flatbreads, made in the hos of civilians..."
"Bring the map and county records!"
At Households Commander Zheng’s command, soone produced a map.
With the light of the torches, Households Commander Zheng spread the map in front of Li Yan, asserting solemnly, "Young Hero Li, it seems these people are hiding in villages nearby Dangyang, with locals cooperating to supply them..."
"Dangyang was an ancient military stronghold and has undergone nurous conflicts, with many tunnels and Military Fortresses built, difficult to count, but we can roughly guess their locations."
He said, pointing at a few regions on the map.
Li Yan praised, "Worthy of the Captain Bureau."
"You flatter , young hero."
Households Commander Zheng showed no sign of pride, instead expressing concern, "We’ve been entangled with the Heavenly Saint Sect for many years and are quite familiar with their thods."
"These people often use the relationships of Jing Chu refugees to infiltrate various villages, secretly spread teachings, and with familial and friend networks, establish strongholds."
"The governance of Dangyang County is still relatively clean, but in so places where officials act tyrannically, the resentful commoners often cooperate with Heavenly Saint Sect attacks."
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