Catching Monsters

Chapter 656 Chen Qilang

"Lord Jiang, please come in!" Chen Qilang respectfully invited Jiang Yun to the reception room inside the government office.

Then, Chen Qilang said to the clerk beside him, "Quickly, go to Qiuyue Tower and order a few tables of food. The officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have had a long journey and should get some rest."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded slightly and did not object. After all, these Jinyiwei subordinates were indeed eager to have a good meal and drink while traveling at high speed.

The advisor enthusiastically led Jiang Yun's many Imperial Guards to Qiuyue Tower.

Dong Qiaofeng accompanied Jiang Yun into the reception room.

Chen Qilang had long heard of Jiang Yun's great name. After all, it was no easy feat for Chen Qilang to become a prefect.

He was a typical Confucian scholar from the Imperial Academy. After passing the imperial examinations, he served as an official in various places outside the capital. Through his own efforts, and with his father-in-law spending a large sum of money, he finally secured the lucrative position of Prefect of Hongjiang Prefecture.

But looking at Jiang Yun, so young, he became the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Although Chen Qilang and some officials talked about Jiang Yun in private, they all said that he was only favored by His Majesty because he was the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo.

Privately, most people looked down on Jiang Yun, who came from a scholar background but went on to become a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But when he saw Jiang Yun, he was extremely respectful, for fear of offending him.

After Jiang Yun sat down, Chen Qilang said with a smile, "Lord Jiang, although Hongjiang Prefecture is a small place, it has quite a few good places to eat, drink and have fun."

"I will make proper arrangements for you later."

Jiang Yun raised his hand to interrupt him and asked, "Lord Chen, there's no need for you to go to such trouble. We've come all the way from the capital, not for food and drink."

"Tell me, how exactly did my men who came here before me disappear?"

"I've heard that a sea monster has appeared?"

Upon hearing this, a look of hesitation and confusion appeared on Chen Qilang's face before he said in a deep voice, "Lord Jiang, this matter is indeed strange, it is like this."

It turns out that a strange typhoon had recently swept across the sea off Hongjiang Prefecture.

The torrential rain brought by the typhoon poured down.

Normally, for a coastal city like Hongjiang Prefecture, typhoons and torrential rains are not uncommon.

Strangely, starting that day, many people began to mysteriously disappear from the city of Hongjiang Prefecture.

At first, Chen Qilang didn't take it seriously, but later, more and more people were reported missing.

There were dancers from restaurants, constables from the yamen, and merchants who came to do business.

In short, the number of people going missing in Hongjiang Prefecture is increasing.

After Chen Qilang sensed something was amiss, he quickly reported the matter to the imperial court.

Not long after, four Imperial Guards arrived to investigate the matter.

However, after only three days of investigation, these four Imperial Guards disappeared without a trace.

Not long after, another twenty Imperial Guards arrived.

Unexpectedly, these twenty Imperial Guards disappeared on their very first night in this place.

Chen Qilang said, "Lord Jiang, to be honest, I don't know exactly what happened either."

"In short, everyone disappeared without any warning..."

Jiang Yun frowned and asked, "Lord Chen, those twenty Imperial Guards were staying at the restaurant, and then they disappeared overnight?"

“That’s right.” Chen Qilang nodded and said in a deep voice, “The place they are staying is Tingyu Tower, which is a guesthouse specially used by our government office.”

"After they checked into the restaurant, breakfast was prepared for them early the next morning, but they had disappeared without a trace."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun frowned. This was indeed strange. He asked, "What about the ordinary people who disappeared? How many are there?"

“If we include those who reported to the authorities, the number has probably exceeded one hundred.” Chen Qilang took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “And there is no pattern to it.”

"They disappeared from the city without any warning."

“I also organized the yamen runners to search everywhere. Needless to say, we searched not only inside the city, but also outside the city, within a radius of twenty or thirty miles.”

"Lord Jiang, even if these hundreds of people were killed, there must be some trace of them, right?"

Dong Qiaofeng felt a chill run down his spine, but he was also secretly relieved that he had been smart enough to invite Lord Jiang to come and investigate the matter.

If I were to come myself, I'd probably 'disappear' too.

Jiang Yun stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. Given the current situation, with so many people disappearing, there's only one possibility: it's the work of demons and evil spirits.

However, the twenty-odd experts from the Embroidered Uniform Guard were no ordinary people.

They were all highly trained experts, and even if they encountered demons and evil spirits, they would not be powerless to fight back and would not be killed silently by the demons and evil spirits.

That's really strange.

At the same time, Chen Qilang arranged for someone to serve a table of food and wine: "Lord Jiang, in my opinion, given your noble status, you should let your subordinates stay and investigate the case. You should return to the capital first."

Chen Qilang's concern for Jiang Yun was genuine, not because he and Jiang Yun had a particularly good relationship.

It's simply because he can't bear the responsibility if something happens to Jiang Yun in his jurisdiction.

Jiang Yun is now deeply trusted by His Majesty, and is also the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, and his official position is so high.

If Jiang Yun gets into trouble on his turf.

Even if he isn't held accountable for this, he's reached the pinnacle of his career as an official.

Forty-seven years old is precisely the age for striving.

Chen Qilang wanted to go further and become an official in the capital.

Jiang Yun pondered for a moment and asked, "Lord Chen, I am new to Hongjiang Prefecture and do not know much about this place."

Are there any strange or unusual rumors about this place?

"Or is there some kind of evil legend?"

Chen Qilang smiled awkwardly: "I... I have many things to do every day, so I don't know much about these things."

Mr. Chen Qilang is very busy. Although he has been in the local area for quite some time, he still has to entertain businessmen and local tycoons every day.

I don't have the energy to worry about these things.

"Lord Chen sent someone to inform my men that they are not allowed to drink alcohol." Jiang Yun turned to Dong Qiaofeng and said, "Let's change our clothes and go for a walk in the city."

"Yes, sir." Dong Qiaofeng nodded.

Soon, the two changed into casual clothes, left the government office, and strolled around the streets of Hongjiang Prefecture.

At this moment, the streets of Hongjiang Prefecture were bustling with activity. Clearly, the news of people mysteriously disappearing had been well contained by the government, and at least it had not spread among the general public.

"My lord, tell me, what exactly happened? So many perfectly healthy people just suddenly disappeared?" Dong Qiaofeng, standing beside Jiang Yun, frowned and said, "This kind of thing happens among the evil spirits we encounter within the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"It's not very common either."

Jiang Yun asked in a deep voice, "Then, in your opinion, what would the situation be?"

Dong Qiaofeng stroked his chin, pondering seriously: "If it really disappeared into thin air, there are only two possibilities."

"One possibility is that they were eaten by a monster."

"But most of the monsters that eat people are low-level demons who rely on eating people to cultivate their power."

"A demon of this level shouldn't have been able to devour more than twenty of our Jinyiwei's top experts."

Dong Qiaofeng paused for a moment and said, "Even if it's a powerful monster, if it really wanted to take action against so many Imperial Guards, it wouldn't be possible for them all to disappear without a trace."

"At the very least, they could put up a fight, and some signs of a struggle would be left at the scene."

"But according to Lord Chen, everyone seemed to have vanished into thin air."

Jiang Yun listened to Dong Qiaofeng's analysis with his hands behind his back, nodded slightly, and said, "What if it's an evil object?"

"An evil artifact?" Dong Qiaofeng was taken aback, then slowly said, "How powerful must that magic weapon be to accomplish this..."

Jiang Yun calmly said, "I don't have many clues either. The clues that Lord Chen mentioned are essentially meaningless."

"There's nothing useful at all."

Dong Qiaofeng frowned.

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Perhaps, Lord Chen has something he hasn't told us yet."

"Is there something wrong with him?" Dong Qiaofeng was taken aback.

(End of this chapter)