Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 321
>Chapter Title: Target
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Li Huowang once again confirmed the list of stolen items on the paper. Although he couldn't discern the pill's effects just from the ingredients,
as the direct disciple of Danyangzi's pill cultivation back then, Li Huowang could still easily recognize this as a pill formula.
"Could it be another Danyangzi?" Recalling his past at Clear Wind Temple, Li Huowang's expression flickered uncertainly.
Seeing the shifting look on Li Huowang's face, Magistrate Lou cautiously asked from the side, "Sir? Have you discovered something? Have you found those infants?"
"Not yet, but we have a lead." Li Huowang slapped the paper against his chest.
"I may not know what they're refining, but some things never change. Pill refinement must follow the principles of one qi, two poles, six dusts, and seven returns. These ingredients fall short, so to reach the six dusts, they'll definitely steal some wushi powder or similar drugs next."
"List out all those drug ingredients and keep a close watch on them! No matter what they are, they'll come back!" Li Huowang declared with absolute certainty.
Regardless of whether it was another Danyangzi or not, the first step was to find them. Once found, everything else would be easier.
"Excellent! As long as we can recover the children for the people, this official will follow your lead no matter what! I'll summon all the medicine shop owners in the county right away!"
"Wait." Li Huowang grabbed him. "Doing that would just tip them off. I'll handle this. For now, you need to cooperate with me on putting on a show."
"A show?"
That very afternoon, Magistrate Lou led a large entourage in a grand send-off for Li Huowang's departure from Cangshui County. He gripped Li Huowang's hand tightly, showering him with flattery all the way.
Once word spread that Li Huowang was the one who caught the flower-picking thief, the crowd swelled layer upon layer.
Grateful locals tried to stuff all sorts of gifts onto Li Huowang's carriage, but he turned them all away.
After escorting him five li out, and with Li Huowang urging them to stop, Magistrate Lou finally turned back to the county with his reluctant followers.
With the flower-picking thief executed by lingchi, no more women in Cangshui County were violated.
Though the missing infants hadn't been recovered, no other babies went missing either. The panicked county gradually settled down.
A few days later, at night, on an empty street, a hunched night watchman yawned endlessly as he struck his clapper. "Dry weather, beware of fires~"
At first, nothing seemed amiss, but after the third watch, things turned eerie.
Along with the clapper's knocks, the watchman's shadow rose from the ground. Its limbs stretched thin and long, mimicking his slow movements.
The shadow seemed forcibly propped up from within, something writhing inside the pitch-black form.
The wooden clapper struck again with his shout. "Dry weather, beware of fires~"
As the watchman approached an apothecary, bundles of oiled herbs passed straight through the wall, vanishing into his shadow. The shadow grew slightly larger. "Dry weather, beware of fires~"
More and more herbs merged into the watchman's shadow, bloating it until it detached from human form, twisting into something increasingly grotesque and terrifying.
All of this was coldly observed by Li Huowang, sprawled on a rooftop.
The grand send-off by Magistrate Lou had been mere deception, designed to make them think Li Huowang had left and lower their guard.
Using his invisibility ability, Li Huowang had single-handedly scouted the remaining quantities and locations of wushi powder throughout Cangshui County.
After days of secret stakeouts, he finally caught them making another move.
Pill refinement required specific dates and lunar phases, so he'd bet they wouldn't wait forever.
"Daoist! We've found them, so what are you waiting for? Catch this child-stealing bastard now! We can't let them harm anyone else!"
On this matter, the Monk seemed even more eager than Li Huowang.
"No rush. Catching some errand boy stealing things is pointless. Let him go to hook the big fish behind him."
Once the watchman was far enough away, the invisible Li Huowang leaped silently across the tiles, tailing him.
Time ticked by. By the fourth watch, the bloated shadow had swollen to the size of a house, lumbering like a black little giant through the streets.
The Monk beside Li Huowang grew frantic, especially after spotting an infant in a bamboo basket passing through a wall into the massive shadow.
Sensing it had enough, the shadow detached from the watchman and floated into the air on spindly limbs.
"Daoist! It's getting away! Chase it!!" The Monk was nearly in tears at the sight.
"Quiet!" Li Huowang stomped his right foot on a rooftop stone beast and dashed toward it.
The shadow drifted above while Li Huowang pursued below. Luckily, his eyesight was sharp enough; otherwise, the black shadow against the black sky would have been indistinguishable.
As Li Huowang ran farther and farther, he exited Cangshui County onto the dirt road outside.
By now, he was gasping for breath, the distance widening.
"This won't do—I'll lose it!" Li Huowang immediately pulled out a talisman, bit his finger, and began drawing.
As two talismans stuck to his knees, veins bulged on his face, twisting it into a savage grimace. An indescribable scorching heat enveloped his heart.
But the cost yielded results—his speed surged several times over.
With the boost, a breeze whipped the fleshy sprouts on his face backward. He'd finally caught up to the shadow.
Gradually, dawn broke. As the first rays of sun pierced the sky, the shadow burst with a pop, spilling its contents into a surging river below.
Rushing to the riverbank, Li Huowang glimpsed vague shapes in the turbid water hauling the submerged herbs.
Ripples distorted his view, but he watched the blurry underwater forms drag the ingredients toward a distant underwater cave.
Lifting his head, Li Huowang eyed the low slit on the distant water surface. "Could this be their lair?"
Above the cave loomed a towering, verdant stone mountain, its base like a black maw devouring the wide river endlessly.
Carefully checking the location against the map, Li Huowang realized this spot lay at the center of the counties with missing children—the source of it all.
"No matter what they are, these guys are like Danyangzi back then, hiding in this desolate place."
Finding their hideout should have been cause for joy, but Li Huowang stared at the river cave, stumped for the moment.
"But how am I supposed to get in?"
(End of Chapter)