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Chapter 321 The Vanished Immortal Manor Has a Problem
"Let me see that whistle."

"Sir, please take a look."

Huang Yueniang took the silver whistle off her neck and handed it to Ji You.

This silver whistle is exquisitely crafted, but the sound is not produced by the whistle itself, but by the vibration of the reed inside.

Whenever airflow passes by, the reed vibrates continuously, thus producing a high-frequency vibration sound.

However, there's nothing useful to be found on this silver whistle alone.

Ji You observed carefully for a long time, then looked up at Tan Huizhi: "Is there anyone else who knows about your affair?"

“The people who were with us in the search for our relatives knew we were looking for someone, but they gave up halfway and therefore did not go to the Corpse Cave with us. All those who know about this are here now.”

"During your investigation of the Bu family, did you discover any other anomalies? For example, people unrelated to the Bu family?"

After careful consideration, Tan Huizhi shook his head: "We did not stay at the Bu family branch for long. Apart from the branch workers, we did not see anyone else."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ceramic lid of the medicine pot began to vibrate, and then it emitted an even stronger aroma of herbs.

Upon hearing this voice, everyone turned their heads and looked at Ji You, observing his attitude.

Ji You didn't speak, but returned the whistle to Huang Yueniang, then got up and went to the eaves by the door.

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately and silently got up and began scooping medicine out of the medicine pot without saying a word.

Ji You didn't know what medicinal herbs they used, but she found them spicy and pungent.

Once the medicine had cooled down a bit, they carried the porcelain bowl into the courtyard.

At dawn, a light drizzle fell, a layer of white mist drifted over the distant mountains, and the air was cool.

The crowd gathered in the corner where the evil beings were trapped. Some people were responsible for holding them down, while others were responsible for gently pouring the medicine into the mouths of those who had become evil.

As they continued drinking, an old woman who had been silent until then suddenly shed two lines of turbid tears.

They had persisted for so long, tried all sorts of remedies, and knew long ago that it wasn't an illness, but they still clung to this hope and refused to let go.

After searching for so many years, the person has finally been found. They have changed in appearance, but they are still alive and kicking. Who can really believe that they are dead?

Ji You silently looked around, and when he saw a two-cornered stone peak to the east, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

So he leaped up and headed towards the mountaintop, landing on the summit.

He had felt that the place looked familiar, and now he realized that the eastern side of the mountain, just across from him, was one of the places where he had once tried to break through.

At the time, he never imagined that such a situation would occur just across the mountain.

When he returned to the courtyard, the three bowls of medicine had already been administered, and Huang Yueniang was gently wiping the corners of Li Ruilin's mouth with a handkerchief.

"He couldn't even give you the status of a concubine, yet you've been searching for him for so many years?"

"He saved me."

As Huang Yueniang wiped his mouth, she spoke softly: "Ten years ago, my family couldn't pay our taxes, and my father was beaten to death by the officials. The county magistrate wanted to sell my mother and me into a brothel to pay off the debt. He happened to be passing by and saved us. I can never repay him in this lifetime."

After listening, Ji You remained silent for a long time: "Immortals are just people, some good and some bad. It's just that many cultivators forget that they are human as they cultivate..."

"Young master's insight is brilliant..."

"But you'll get yourself killed doing this."

Upon hearing this, Huang Yueniang lowered her head and said, "Yueniang should have died ten years ago."

Ji You fell silent after hearing this, gazing at the overcast sky for a long time without saying a word.

Who exactly those people are, and what their ultimate goal is—these questions hang like dark clouds overhead, never quite dissipating from his mind.

Tan Huizhi then came out of the house with two young men, carrying buckets of water, to repair the wall that Li Ruilin had smashed when he fled.

After looking at it for a while, Ji You suddenly spoke up: "Patriarch Tan."

Tan Huizhi turned around upon hearing the voice: "Young Master?"

"I haven't been in the Immortal Sect for long, so please don't mind if I say anything wrong."

"Please speak."

Ji You looked at his aged face and said, "Why have I never heard of the Tan family, or even seen any members of the Tan family?"

Tan Huizhi paused for a moment, then sighed: "My Tan family is actually a declining family. It had already dwindled in number five hundred years ago. Although I am the head of the Tan family, apart from my son and me, there is only my grandson left. Now... I don't even know if my grandson can still be considered a person."

"No wonder you sent your only grandson to work at the Immortal Manor."

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sir."

Ji You turned to look at Tan Xun, who had turned into a demonic corpse: "I forgot to ask which immortal estate he was in before he disappeared."

After hearing this, Tan Huizhi said, "It's a Taoist temple in Fengzhou called Fengxian."

"?"

"Sir?"

"It turned out to be an old acquaintance."

Upon hearing this long-forgotten name, Ji You's eyes became unusually deep.

The reason he entered the Heavenly Academy back then, in fact, was because of Fengxian Manor.

Seeing his suddenly serious expression, Tan Huizhi couldn't help but ask, "Does Young Master know about this Immortal Manor?"

"It's quite a coincidence that this Immortal Manor is located near Yuyang County, where I was born, but as far as I know, it moved away four years ago."

"yes……"

After Tan Hui finished speaking, he suddenly fell silent.

Ji You stared at him for a long time: "If you have something to say, just say it."

"Young Master's mention of Fengxian Manor has brought up some of my old speculations. Regarding their departure from Fengzhou, I don't think it was a relocation."

"Tell me carefully."

“After my grandson went missing, the first place I checked was Fengxian Manor, hoping to find someone in the manor who knew him to inquire about his whereabouts. But later I found out that it wasn’t just my grandson who was missing; in fact, it could be said that they were all missing.”

"It's just a pity that those who joined the Immortal Manor were marginal figures who were not valued by their families. In addition, cultivators are inherently cold-hearted and have many offspring, so many noble families are still unaware that someone in their family has lost face."

Although Tan Huizhi's cultivation level was not high, he had lived to this age and was still extremely meticulous.

At first, he thought Ji You was just passing by and happened to see Li Ruilin, so he became curious about why their family members had turned into evil corpses.

But it wasn't until he asked a few questions earlier that he realized Ji You's curiosity wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment thing, but that she was investigating something.

He also really wanted to know who had turned his family into such a grotesque and inhuman state, and he wanted to find the enemy and take revenge.

But after so many years of searching, their sixth sense told them that this matter was extremely complicated and that their low level of cultivation was simply not enough to do anything.

Now that he knows that Ji You seems to want to find that group of people as well, he tells her all the suspicious points he knows.

Upon hearing this, Ji You's eyes began to deepen.

Some things don't need to be said too clearly; as long as the listener has doubts, they will understand.

Tan Huizhi's words implied that perhaps the entire resort had a problem.

"Where is Ah Jun's younger brother? Which immortal estate is he in?"

Ji You had just compared the missing persons notices and asked about the identities of the missing persons one by one. She learned that in addition to Tan Huizhi's grandson, the younger brother of the swordsman A Jun was also a member of the Immortal Manor.

Upon seeing this, Tan Huizhi looked up and said, "Replying to your question, young master, Alang is also in Fengzhou, at a fairy estate called Ziyun."

"What a coincidence."

Upon hearing this, Ji You refrained from speaking and uttered a single word.

When he first established his family in Fengzhou, he conducted a three-year census of the population and the number of villages within the territory.

If I remember correctly, Ziyun Villa was one of the houses that suddenly moved away from Fengzhou back then.

He initially thought it was because he had reduced taxes, leaving many aristocratic families with no share of the profits, so they sought other opportunities. But now it seems things are not so simple.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the sun begins to rise slightly.

Smoke rose straight up from the courtyard, mingling with the white mist in the mountains.

Ji You stepped out of the small courtyard and headed towards the mountain through the damp forest.

Different perspectives lead to different attitudes toward the same thing.

Just like those elders who were on their deathbeds, when they saw the Bu family, they felt it was a divine opportunity, a chance to prolong their lives.

But they never imagined that, in the eyes of others, this meant the destruction of their family and the separation of life and death.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

Just like Huang Yueniang, since she was already prepared to die with him, neither persuasion nor comfort would mean anything to them.

The most important thing now is to use the Immortal Manor as a lead to see if we can find out what those people hiding behind the scenes are doing...

After the gathering of immortals, it was early summer. Several light rains fell, and the cicadas began to sing. Here, the crops in Fengzhou were growing very well, and from a high vantage point, the waters stretched out like a vast sea.

On the day of Renwu, in Yuyang County, Fengzhou.

County Magistrate Fang Zhongzheng, along with his wife, concubine, and several maids, were waiting at the gate, craning their necks to look south.

Before long, a carriage slowly approached from the south and then came to a stop in front of the city gate.

Immediately afterwards, the carriage curtain was gently lifted.

Fang Ruoyao stepped out of the carriage and looked at her family, saying softly, "Father, your daughter is back."

Fang Zhongzheng stepped forward and helped him down: "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."

"I heard that my elder brother returned a few days ago. Is he still at home?"

"He went out again a few days ago. That kid, he knew perfectly well you were coming back."

Fang Ruoyao smiled faintly: "My elder brother is busy with official business, so Ruoyao doesn't blame him."

Fang Zhongzheng nodded and then asked, "Is there any immortal estate that would like you to go and make offerings..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ruoyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she gently shook her head.

Their five-year term as disciples of the Heavenly Academy is coming to an end. Those with strong backgrounds will naturally return home, while those with less impressive backgrounds will choose to become worshippers at the Immortal Manor.

However, even being offered a place of worship depends on one's cultivation level. Fang Ruoyao has been in the academy for five years, but she is still only at the Lesser Illumination Realm and has not received any invitations.

She stepped down from the carriage and couldn't help but look towards the city gate.

It was from this place that she and that person left Yuyang and went to Shengjing. Now, only five years later, everything has changed.

Seeing his daughter shake her head, Fang Zhongzheng sighed softly: "How many days will you be staying this time?"

"In three to five days, I'll return to the academy at the beginning of the month to see if I can join the head academy and stay as a traveling disciple."

“Being a traveling disciple is not bad. Wasn’t Fairy Pei, who came to our house before, also a traveling disciple, and her status was extremely high?”

Fang Ruoyao could tell that these words were just words of comfort, but she still nodded gently and then entered the city with her family.

The changes in the city, however, surprised him.

The dilapidated mud-brick houses on the outskirts of the city are gone, replaced by neat and tidy blue brick houses, and the dirt roads between the houses have been paved with bluestone slabs.

In the heart of the city, there is a huge building with a plaque bearing the words "School".

Most noticeably, the people on the street were no longer so thin; there were even a few chubby children.

After watching quietly for a while, Fang Ruoyao returned to the county government with her father.

Before she even entered the gate, she saw a long queue in front of the mansion. When she reached the front hall, she saw the clerk sitting there, receiving the people one by one.

One came and one went, the clerk's pen never stopped working, and ink flowed freely.

"What is this doing?"

Fang Ruoyao looked at her father with a somewhat blank expression.

Fang Zhongzheng stopped upon seeing this: "A few days ago, Fengzhou Prefecture sent a letter saying that they want to compile all the information about the nearby Immortal Manor over the past eight years, and also to investigate some people who have had contact with the Immortal Manor. I don't know the specifics."

Is it related to taxes?

“Speaking of the Immortal Manor, it must be related to taxes and tributes. However, the questions that Fengzhou Prefecture ordered us to ask are really strange, and I don’t quite understand them either.”

Fang Zhongzheng muttered to himself, somewhat confused.

However, it wasn't just Yuyang County that received the letter. A few days ago, he attended a gathering of his colleagues and heard from others that other counties were experiencing the same thing.

What puzzled everyone was that the letter asked them to investigate not the immortal estates that were still standing, but those that had long since moved away.

He came to his senses and then took his daughter to the mansion behind the government office.

Master Niu continued to write down the people's accounts, his pen moving constantly, with a distinctly professional and meticulous style, recording every detail in a document.

This matter lasted for two whole days, finally ending at dusk on the second day.

On the morning of the third day, as the rosy dawn burst forth from the sky, another carriage approached this place on the official road of Yuyang County.

However, the carriage did not enter the city, but instead turned west along the stone-paved road outside the city.

And on this speeding carriage was Ji You.

After leaving Qingzhou, he returned to Fengzhou Prefecture, checked on the situation there, and found that everything was fine.

Agricultural development was rapid, wealth accumulated quickly, and the transportation of spirit stones remained stable.

He had previously mentioned guiding the establishment of trading markets to accelerate the flow of funds. After two years, Fengzhou has already seen many sizable markets.

In addition, their seedling cultivation has begun to show results. Even though the yield is not yet up to par, at least they have taken the first step.

At this moment, Ji You was sitting upright in the carriage, silently reading a letter in her hand.

The letter came from the arrogant ghost, who told him that he had returned to the mountain and briefly described the movements of the major immortal sects since the departure of the Immortal Tour.

As they had expected, the Immortal Sect continued to open up the ruins, even the smaller ones, and brought out a great many fruits.

Currently, only three large ruins remain unexplored.

One is the one in Lingzhou, which belongs to Lingjian Mountain, and it's the one that makes all three main peaks restless.

The other one is located on the east side of Yunzhou and is controlled by the Tianshu Academy.

As for the last one, it is located on the Moon Goddess Plateau in the southeast of Qingzhou, bordering Yuzhou.

Logically speaking, this ruin should belong to the Chen Clan of Immortals, but according to reports from the outsiders of Lingjian Mountain, the Daowen Sect has dispatched a large number of disciples to guard its perimeter.

Similarly, the Chen Clan has also been making frequent unusual moves in the past few days.

In addition, people from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion also appeared nearby from time to time, seemingly all intending to get involved, creating an atmosphere that suggested an impending war.

If he hadn't encountered Huang Yueniang and her group, he probably wouldn't have been worried about the contents of this letter. After all, the Wandering Immortals had observed for several days, and he was fairly certain that there was nothing wrong with the fruit.

However, when he learned that the Bu family members were actually playing the role of transporting corpses, and that someone was still hiding behind the scenes and constantly making moves, he always felt uneasy.

After a long while, the carriage slowly came to a stop in front of a huge mansion.

This mansion is built on a hilltop, with numerous pavilions and upturned eaves, still showing glimpses of its former grandeur.

However, the weeds growing everywhere under the courtyard wall and the dense cobwebs under the gate plaque tell us that no one has lived there for a long time.

Ji You put away the letter, then got out of the car. He glanced at the four large characters of Fengxian Manor, then pushed open the door and went inside. After looking around the courtyard, he used his spiritual energy to gather wind and opened all the doors upstairs and downstairs.

The house was filled with scattered items, which at first glance seemed to be the result of leaving in a hurry, but if it wasn't a departure, there might be another explanation.

He looked through each room, his gaze landing on a wall covered in scratches, the image of the evil creature's sharp and hard claws flashing through his mind.

Since returning to Fengzhou, this was the eighth immortal estate that had suddenly disappeared that he had personally visited, and Tan Huizhi's guess seemed to be being confirmed little by little.

These immortal villages that disappeared from Fengzhou are truly mysterious.

Especially the Purple Cloud Manor he visited the day before yesterday, where the manor lord's bedroom had a secret room with bloody claw marks all over the walls, like a hellish place.

"Turning people into evil beings might be an experiment to achieve some kind of purpose..."

"Whether it's Li Ruilin or the disciples of the Immortal Manor who disappeared into thin air, they are probably just test subjects. Since there are no cultivators in Fengzhou, it is naturally powerless to monitor them. This is indeed an excellent testing ground."

"The Qingyun World has experienced two outbreaks of zombie hordes, with a large number of zombies. It seems that some of them can be traced back to their origins."

Ji You looked around and couldn't help but mutter to herself.

He left Yuyang County, entered the Heavenly Academy, and subsequently established a family business. He reduced taxes and organized immortals to participate in farming. He also cooperated with the Directorate of Immortals to establish a new route for transporting spirit stones.

But in reality, he didn't spend much time back in Fengzhou.

In his view, the storms in Fengzhou were caused by external factors, and if he alone could guard against those external factors, then Fengzhou would naturally be peaceful and tranquil.

But he never imagined that there had always been undercurrents of trouble within Fengzhou, which never ceased.

He left his room and went to the incense hall of Fengxian Manor. After searching for some scattered pieces of paper, he took flight and landed in Yuyang County, stepping into the government office.

Fang Zhongzheng had known he was coming for a long time and was now there with the constables from the yamen gate to greet him.

Ji You was deep in thought and did not chat with them. Instead, she went to Fang Zhongzheng's study.

At this time, the case file, transcribed by the clerk based on oral accounts from the people around Ershilipu, was already placed in the study, and he opened it after sitting down.

“There are howls every night…”

"The cow was killed..."

"After the torrential rain, the mountain reeked of blood..."

"The dog has gone mad; it barks incessantly as soon as night falls..."

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(End of this chapter)