Discuss with you

Chapter 348 Little White Flower

"If those people were originally farmers in this fortress, even if they are now under the influence of sleeping pills and incense, they should still be able to go back to their own homes..."

So, these people might all have been kidnapped, just like the blacksmiths in Shuo Kingdom who were kidnapped and forced to mine and forge iron. Zhu Yu put forward a bold hypothesis, "What we can be sure of now is that the servants who deliver meals, the servants who bring hot soup and incense to the farmers, are all mindless walking corpses."

Those farmers, controlled by hot soup and incense, may appear to act normally and even speak to people at first glance, but in reality, their minds are just as muddled, like puppets on strings.

The fact that the guards left as soon as they heard the incense-delivery team was coming indicates that they were not under the influence of the incense.

Before, when we were outside, if we gave them some benefits, they would gladly accept them. Their behavior was certainly not that of a mentally unstable puppet.

Including the old steward, not counting the castle lord who has never shown his face, the only people in the entire Immortal Castle who are of sound mind are the old steward and the guards.

Then they must be the lord's own people, his confidants.

The visiting merchants were housed in this courtyard, which served to isolate them from the outside world. Furthermore, every path outside was filled with incense, making it impossible to discern directions.
On the other hand, they used methods to put visiting merchants into a deep sleep at night, so they couldn't wander around and accidentally discover the secrets of their fortress!

Fu Wen deeply agreed with Zhu Yu's conclusion and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"By the way, I also wanted to ask you, when you were up there today, watching people come and go below, did you see a man who was about a forehead shorter than me, thin, with a goatee on his chin, and a mole on his face?" Lu Yan suddenly remembered, quickly moved closer, pulled out a talisman, and asked eagerly, gesturing on his cheek as he asked, as if afraid that Lu Yan wouldn't realize what features he was describing.

The night before, Fu Wen knew that the jade pendant Lu Qing had picked up belonged to one of Lu Yan's tax collectors. He guessed that the image Lu Qing was showing him now was that tax collector's appearance. So he tried to recall carefully, but in the end, he had no recollection of it at all and shook his head.

As a result, his head-shaking motion was a little too forceful, and a sharp pain made him gasp.

Yan Daoxin slapped his forehead: "Oh! I forgot, you still have acupuncture needles in your back!"

As he spoke, he pressed down on the rune's neck with one hand and used the other to pull out the needle from the back of his neck.

After the silver needles were removed, Fu Wen felt the tendon at the back of his neck, which had been stretched taut, loosen again, and he felt much more relaxed.

Although I've been up all night and all day and am exhausted, my mind is still clear.

"Miracle doctor, your skill is amazing!" Fu Wen couldn't help but look outside. "Even after the needles were removed, I didn't feel dizzy at all. I didn't expect these acupoints to have such a lasting effect!"

"Where does this stuff get its lingering effects from... Hey?" Yan Daoxin only now realized that it was getting late. He turned to look at Zhu Yu, Lu Qing, and the others. "Is anyone feeling sleepy or dizzy?"

Everyone else shook their heads.

"Dr. Yan, how long will the effects of the 'wake-up pills' you gave us last night last night last?" Lu Yan asked curiously.

Yan Daoxin looked at him: "Logically speaking, it should only be four or five hours..." When he said this, everyone realized that a whole day had passed and it was already evening, so the effects of the waking pill had long since worn off.

"Huh? That's strange! I wasn't sleepy today!" Lu Yan touched his head in surprise, then touched the back of his neck. "I almost thought I was so energetic because I had the needle in my neck and I'd forgotten about it!"

Yan Shu nodded repeatedly, indicating that she also felt refreshed and had no discomfort or mental fog.

Zhu Yu sniffed as she listened to what they said.

As night fell, the air grew slightly cool, lacking the warmth of the daytime. However, the cool air also lacked the subtle fragrance that had been present on previous nights.

She got up and walked outside, going straight to the small pond.

A bright crescent moon hung in the sky, its light spilling into the courtyard. The white flowers in the pond... just like in the daytime, their petals tightly closed, hidden beneath broad, dark green leaves, as if suddenly shy, not daring to peek out, and not a single one in full bloom.

Sure enough! My trick worked!
May I be filled with joy.

Not only was the method effective, but her thinking was also correct. They would fall into a deep sleep at night before, which was indeed due to this strange little white flower.

The flowers aren't blooming, and there's no fragrance wafting out. These people haven't even taken a single sedative pill today, let alone had any acupuncture at the Ten Xuan points. Yet they're still feeling refreshed and energetic!
When Lu Qing saw Zhu Yu run to the pond, he got up to follow her, but Lu Yan grabbed him.

“Brother, no, I plan to go out and explore again tonight. If I can find my tax collector, I will bring him out no matter what.”

"My mind is made up, brother, please don't stop me!" Lu Yan frowned and said to Lu Qing, "I can't just stand by and watch the people who follow me be in danger and do nothing about it."

The people got into trouble because I sent them out to collect the flower and plant tax; I have to find a way to rescue them!

“Okay.” He thought Lu Qing would try to dissuade him, but after listening to Lu Yan’s words, he simply nodded and agreed readily. “Go if you want to, but whether you find the person you’re looking for or not, you must return as soon as possible. You must not put yourself in danger.”

He didn't try to stop him, which surprised Lu Yan. He nodded, let go of Lu Qing, and was about to leave when he realized something was off about Lu Qing's words. He quickly took a few steps to catch up with Lu Qing, who was heading to the pond to check the situation: "What do you mean, brother? Do you think that if you stop me from going to find someone, I will feel resentful, but even if I do go, I won't be able to find my tax collector?"

"That's exactly what I think." Lu Qing didn't hide her true thoughts and was very frank. "If someone around me were in such a dangerous situation, I wouldn't be able to stand by and watch. Even if it meant taking some risks, I would want to try."

But from an outsider's perspective, I really don't think you can find your subordinates in those strange houses.

You heard what the rune said earlier. Those people aren't completely out of their minds; some might suddenly come to their senses unexpectedly.

In this situation, your tax collectors are, after all, officials of the imperial court. For some reason, they've been detained. Have these people lost their minds, daring to place them with these kidnapped villagers?