Catching Monsters

Chapter 288 Nightmare Technique

At the north gate of the capital, all the civil and military officials of the court waited at the gate according to their rank.

The funeral team arranged by the Ministry of Rites was also ready to proceed.

Soon, the deafening sound of gongs and drums filled the air with funeral music.

Only fifty-odd soldiers brought back Xu Dingwu's body, along with a thick coffin, which was pulled by a horse-drawn carriage.

Tao Yuelan, standing in front of the crowd, was already in tears.

Needless to say, the people from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion also sighed repeatedly.

Even officials who had grudges against Xu Dingwu during his lifetime had to show a look of 'sorrow' at this moment.

At the forefront of the crowd, Xiao Yuzheng, along with four princes from the royal family, were invited to help carry the coffin.

Before his death, Xiao Yuzheng, accompanied by four princes, stood beside the carriage, holding the coffin, as the carriage slowly entered the city.

The people of the capital had already come upon hearing the news.

Countless people gathered on the road from the north gate of the capital to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Jiang Yun followed among the civil and military officials, standing beside Xu Suwen.

Following the crowd, we returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Wu Chi and his servants, who were waiting at the entrance of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, had also changed into their old battle armor and stood on the left side of the entrance.

On the right stood Qin Ziliang and other current Zhenchi Army guards.

It can be said that two generations of Zhenchi Army have been waiting here.

Upon seeing Xu Dingwu's coffin in the distance, Wu Chi took a deep breath and shouted, "The general is back!"

"salute!"

Instantly, all the veterans and newcomers of the Zhenchi Army placed their right fists on their chests and gave a standard military salute within the Zhenchi Army, gazing at Xu Dingwu.

In the capital, a shrine dedicated to loyalty and righteousness was also built specifically to enshrine Xu Dingwu.

……

Inside the Imperial Study, Xiao Yuzheng has been quite busy these past few days. On the one hand, he has to deal with the memorials in his hands, and on the other hand, he has also participated in the entire funeral of Xu Dingwu.

Finally, after Xu Dingwu's burial, the matter was basically settled.

Feng Yu brought Xiao Yuzheng a cup of ginseng soup: "Your Majesty has been working so hard these past few days, you really need to take care of your health."

"How can I easily rest?" Xiao Yuzheng took a deep breath and suddenly coughed. Lately, he had been feeling increasingly powerless.

His body was becoming increasingly weak.

Seeing Xiao Yuzheng's expression, Feng Yu forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, good news has come from the front. The Hu army is basically trapped with nowhere to retreat. The Tianqi army has also joined forces with the Zhenchi army. Marquis Weiwu still has 50,000 troops blocking the way ahead."

"According to intelligence, the Hu people are also running out of food, and we are sure to win this battle."

"That's good. In that case, I can focus my energy on eradicating the bandits in the southwest." Xiao Yuzheng said, taking a sip of ginseng soup, and then asked, "The matter of establishing a crown prince should probably be put on the agenda as well."

Xiao Yuzheng was in good health and young and strong, so he had never thought about this matter.

Once a crown prince is appointed, the courtiers will begin to take sides; this is human nature.

But now, his health is deteriorating, and this matter needs to be addressed urgently.

Upon hearing Xiao Yuzheng's words, Feng Yu dared not respond and remained silent.

……

Sanqing Temple.

"Oh, Miss Ao, you can't touch this."

"This is Dao Fan, you can't tear it."

“Miss Ao, this is an incense burner for worshipping the ancestral master. You must not do it carelessly.”

Jiang Yun stood inside the Sanqing Temple, sticking close to Ao Yu and keeping a close eye on her.

After losing her memory, Ao Yu came to the Sanqing Temple and found everything new and interesting. At this moment, she was wearing a white dress and lifted a huge incense burner with one hand.

Ao Yu frowned and couldn't help but say, "Young Master Jiang, you're being a bit too stingy... This isn't allowed, that isn't allowed, you won't even let me into the Sanqing Hall..."

"It's not that I'm being stingy and won't let you in. The Sanqing Hall is dedicated to the Three Pure Ones, and you're a demon..."

"If we don't go in, we don't go in... It's not a big deal."

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the Sanqing Temple. Jiang Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Qi Da, who had a somewhat anxious look on his face. Behind him were more than thirty Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) subordinates.

He quickly came to Jiang Yun's side and said in a deep voice, "My lord, something bad has happened. Something has occurred at the Marquis of Weiwu's residence."

The Marquis of Weiwu's Residence?

Jiang Yun's expression changed slightly, and she exchanged a glance with Qi Da.

He instructed Ao Yu, "Miss Ao, you stay at the Sanqing Temple. I have to go out for a while..."

Upon hearing this, Ao Yu immediately shook her head: "No way! It's been so many days, and you've been making me stay in this Taoist temple all day. It's so boring. I want to come with you..."

After saying that, he followed along without waiting for Jiang Yuntong's agreement.

Jiang Yun was also somewhat helpless against her. She was a demon dragon in disguise, and although she had lost her memory, she had also temporarily lost her magic power...

But he possesses immense strength and his physical abilities remain intact.

It cannot be stopped.

Jiang Yun didn't care at this moment; whatever, Ao Yu was following along...

He and Qi Da, along with others, quickly headed towards the Marquis of Weiwu's residence.

The group hurried along, and on the way, Jiang Yun asked, "What happened at the Marquis of Weiwu's residence?"

"Everyone in the Marquis's residence has fallen ill with a strange disease," Qi Da said in a deep voice. "As you know, Marquis Weiwu is leading troops at the front lines. His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter and has given our Eastern Garrison Command a death order: we must solve the case as soon as possible." "Furthermore, not a single direct relative of Marquis Weiwu can die. If even one dies, everyone involved in the investigation will be held accountable."

"Commander Li attaches great importance to this... and has arranged for Commander Yang to personally oversee the matter. Commander Yang then asked me to come and fetch you immediately..."

Hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded with a stern face and quickly arrived outside the Marquis of Weiwu's residence.

The massive Marquis of Weiwu's mansion has been surrounded by Imperial Guards, who have been deployed to protect it inside and out.

Jiang Yun and his group, along with Ao Yu who was following behind, all successfully entered the room.

Upon entering the Marquis of Weiwu's residence, Jiang Yun used his magic to open his eyes and look around the entire residence.

However, upon closer inspection, there was no problem whatsoever; there was no yin energy or evil spirit.

At this moment, the Imperial Guards were searching the entire Marquis of Weiwu's residence.

Jiang Yun led Ao Yu to find Yang Liunian immediately.

Yang Liunian's forehead was also covered in sweat. He ordered his men to continue searching. When he saw Jiang Yun arrive with a beautiful woman behind him, he was a little surprised and frowned, asking, "Brother Jiang, who is this?"

"Forget it, there's no time for this. All the people in the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion have fallen ill with a strange disease."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun asked, "What kind of illness?"

"The entire household of the Marquis of Weiwu, including servants, numbered fifty-seven people."

"They all fell into a deep sleep or coma."

"I can't wake him up no matter how I call him."

With that, Yang Liunian led Jiang Yun into the main hall of the Marquis of Weiwu's residence.

Many beds had been laid out on the floor of the hall, and everyone was lying on the floor, breathing steadily, as if they were asleep.

Jiang Yun spotted Feng Beier at a glance from the crowd.

Yang Liunian held a white handkerchief in his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said in a low voice, "Brother Jiang, this case is quite unusual. As you know, Marquis Weiwu is fighting on the front line... His family must not suffer any mishaps."

Jiang Yun nodded slightly and asked, "What have the people at the Marquis of Weiwu's residence been eating lately, or...?"

Yang Liunian: "I've checked everything, there's no problem at all. I even drank the water from the Marquis of Weiwu's residence myself, and it was fine."

"What should we do if he's unconscious..."

What kinds of evil magic can cause someone to do this?

“That’s a lot. Logically speaking, there should be some yin energy or evil spirits around her.” Jiang Yun squatted down next to Feng Beier and carefully examined her body. There was no yin energy or evil spirits.

But he fell into a coma and couldn't wake up.

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes. Witchcraft?
After looking through it all, I still had no clue.

"That's strange." Ao Yu, who had followed, sniffed around the room and said, "There's a weird smell here."

"A strange smell?" Jiang Yun turned to look at Ao Yu, only then remembering that Ao Yu had a very sensitive nose...

Throughout the entire capital city, the smell of Fang Jiuyou's remains could be detected at the burial site.

You'll definitely be able to smell something that ordinary people can't detect.

“It smells like medicine.” Ao Yu sniffed, then covered his nose and described it to Jiang Yun: “It smells very bitter, like herbs, and these people all have this herbal smell in their mouths and noses.”

"Is there a similar smell inside the Marquis of Weiwu's residence? Can you find it?" Jiang Yun asked quickly.

“Okay.” Ao Yu nodded, but narrowed his eyes and looked at Jiang Yun with a smile: “But I have conditions.”

"explain."

Ao Yu thought for a moment: "I haven't decided yet..."

"Let me think about it later."

Jiang Yun agreed without hesitation, and Ao Yu then sniffed around and began searching the Marquis of Weiwu's residence.

Jiang Yun and Yang Liunian, along with their men, followed closely behind.

Before long, they arrived at a cellar in the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion. Ao Yu sniffed the air, smashed the wooden door of the cellar with a punch, and went inside.

Jiang Yun and Yang Liunian exchanged a glance.

Yang Liunian couldn't help but sniff the air: "There's no smell at all."

After saying that, he lowered his voice and asked, "Where did you find this girl with such a keen sense of smell?"

Jiang Yun awkwardly explained in a low voice, "Reporting to the lord, she is a demon, so it's normal that her nose is more sensitive than that of ordinary people."

"Oh, a dog demon?"

"no……"

They followed him into the cellar, where Ao Yu had already taken out a black jar containing liquid.

“They should have drunk this.” Ao Yu handed it over.

The black jar wasn't very big, only about the size of an adult's fist.

Jiang Yun opened the bottle, took a deep breath, and after smelling it for a moment, her pupils contracted slightly.

Understood.

"Nightmare Technique!"

Yang Liunian, who was standing next to him, also wanted to come closer to smell it, but the scent was very faint. He asked curiously, "Nightmare Dream Technique? What is this?"

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "This medicine is used in conjunction with the Nightmare Technique to put people into a deep sleep."

"To put it simply, the person who cast the Nightmare Spell sealed the people of the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion into a dream."

"And, if I want, I can kill them in my dreams at any time."

(End of this chapter)