Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 228 Encountering Chen Jiyuan
Zhou Zhao slowed her breathing as much as possible. The moment the red blood mist exploded, she knew that the first fish she had been waiting for had taken the bait.

She pretended to be shocked and stood there, then felt a pain in her finger and her head began to feel dizzy.

Zhou Zhao knew that she had been bitten by an insect and should be unconscious at the moment.

Thinking this, she secretly used her internal energy to force some blood out of the wound. Then she closed her eyes and her legs went weak. Just then, a strange giggling sound rang in her ears. Zhou Zhao felt her vision go black and a sack fell from the sky and covered her up.

Then came a sudden leap, landing on someone's shoulder, and then soaring upwards onto the roof.

This person is not tall, has a effeminate air about them, and their laughter is very shrill.
But his strides were unusually large, and the hands resting on the sack were very large... He must have been a man who looked like a woman.

However, something was strange, and Zhou Zhao perked up his ears.

No, there wasn't just one person. Besides the one carrying her, there was another person. She heard two breathing sounds besides herself; one was steady, while the other was very heavy, clearly indicating extreme excitement.

However, there were three people, including her, and she only heard one footstep.

This is just too bizarre.

In this situation, there is only one possibility: the other person was also being carried by the person carrying her.

So why would the murderer bring along someone with mediocre martial arts skills to pull off such a kidnapping?
The person who kidnapped her carried two others with ease, their steps perfectly steady, demonstrating exceptional martial arts skills. Thinking of this, Zhou Zhao's heart sank, and she became even more vigilant.

She can't afford to make a fool of herself.

You should know that she was very likely to die in the Lost City.

Zhou Zhao pondered the journey, carefully sensing the route. They had been leaping and bounding across rooftops. At one point, she smelled a strong incense aroma, indicating they had passed a temple or monastery. Later, she smelled the aroma of wine, but heard no noisy voices, suggesting it was a winery rather than a restaurant…

Later, the wind blew in through the burlap sacks, carrying the fishy smell of shrimp and aquatic plants, indicating that they must have reached the water's edge.

Sure enough, Zhou Zhao felt the man jump down from the roof beam, then take a few steps forward, and then jump again. His steps sank slightly, and the sack swayed a few times. He had boarded the boat.

The city is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and almost a third of the city is a lake.

It seems that the missing person was taken away by water after being abducted.

I wonder if Ah Huang has followed us. Even if he has, how would he know if she boarded the ship and went where? They're so far away, he might not be able to sense her anymore, even if the Gu worms in the box she gave him are there.

Moreover, she is now stuffed in a sack, and the fishy smell of the lake will mask her body odor.

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, she felt another wave of dizziness and was thrown heavily onto the boat.

Zhou Zhao cursed the androgynous thief a thousand times in his heart, then leaned to the side, his upper body resting on the edge of the boat.

The three of them boarded the boat, which was noticeably sinking, indicating that it was not a large, spacious vessel but rather a small boat. This way, she could lean to the side and get closer to the water's edge, making it easier to enter the water if needed. Moreover, she wanted to leave a trace for Ah Huang.

"Zhou Zhaosheng is more beautiful than rumored, but his skills are not as good as rumored. I didn't expect things to go so smoothly this time."

The third person spoke, his voice low and his tone filled with excitement and frivolity.

"With Lord Zhou as his backer, getting into the Court of Justice is a piece of cake. What great destruction of Tianying City? It's just fooling those who have never seen the world. A woman like that only got in thanks to Marquis Lu and that incredibly strong, foolish prince."

That shrill and eerie voice belonged to the murderer who carried her; he knew her identity inside and out. So, they weren't just lying in wait at the city gates, kidnapping anyone they saw who looked good; they had checked her identity. Who gave them the audacity to kidnap both her and Chen Jiyuan?
As the two began to speak, the sound of oars splashing water could be heard. Zhou Zhao gently slashed the seam of the burlap sack with the dagger in her sleeve, revealing a hole the size of a finger. She flicked her wrist, and a small pink pill fell into the water plants by the lake with the sound of oars.

This is a pink sleeping potion with miraculous effects that they used in the outer city when they were in Tianying City.

She found it very useful and collected quite a few, never expecting it to come in handy now.

“You’re absolutely right! But what if she wakes up halfway through?” the third person asked again.

"Don't worry, she's fallen for my trick. Once she's on this boat, she can't get out. Hehehe..." A sharp, piercing voice rang in my ears.

Zhou Zhao listened intently, but did not move at all. Her breathing was unusually steady, as if she had truly fainted.

She didn't carry much sleeping potion in her sleeve. After a distance, and seeing the water plants through the hole, she threw out the second one. It wouldn't knock out a human, but it would stun the fish. Liu Huang followed and saw a group of dazed fish, so he knew her route.

The boat was moving very fast. For some reason, the two people on board stopped talking and just kept rowing. Just as the third small flying insect crawled into Zhou Zhao's sack, the boat finally reached the shore.

Zhou Zhao closed his eyes and was carried away again.

They landed.

"What time?"

The shrill voice rang in my ears again, “At three quarters past 9 PM.”

Zhou Zhao listened and secretly made a mental note of it.

It was morning, so it couldn't be 9:45 PM. As soon as they landed, they encountered sentries and had to exchange secret signals.

"Guest, please follow me."

No one spoke along the way. The only breathing Zhou Zhao could hear was himself and the person carrying him. So the other person was a guest, who was then led away.

The man carried her for a short distance, then went down, probably into the underground. Zhou Zhao felt as if she were being treated like merchandise and thrown to the ground. Then, she heard the sound of a door closing and chains locking.

She was locked in a dungeon.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, the surroundings fell silent.

Zhou Zhao lay motionless, feeling eyes watching her. Suddenly, she heard a familiar yet anxious voice, "Wake up! Are you alright? Wake up!"

It was Chen Jiyuan's voice.

Then a sarcastic voice came from the side, "What's the use of waking up? Being caught here is worse than never waking up at all. Can't you just stop whining and wait to die quietly? You powerless beauty from the Court of Judicial Review."

Great, there are only three people, including her, one of whom is Chen Jiyuan, whom she is looking for.

Zhou Zhao felt that this should be considered a favorable situation.

She took the sack off and looked in the direction from which Chen Jiyuan's voice came.

Upon seeing Zhou Zhao, Chen Jiyuan clutched his chest in shock. He looked at the scholar behind him and said, "You're right, I must not have woken up yet."