Langwu County is famous for its unique mountain villages and frequent fog. After dusk, night comes quickly.
The locals work from sunrise to sunset and rest at sunset. Their leisure activities at night are nothing more than making and beating their children. Therefore, the streets are dark and quiet. Even the timid ones may not dare to walk at night with a lantern in the thick fog.
The street where Hongxiu Pavilion is located is an exception. The lights are bright and the laughter and joy will not stop until midnight.
Those who come and go are all brave people. It doesn't matter if they walk at night. The two strings of red lanterns hanging high in Hongxiu Pavilion are like lighthouses in the dark. They are the guiding lights, and finding them is like finding the harbor of the soul.
Squeak—
The Zhu Mansion was sealed because the case had not yet been solved. The lady moved to a nearby villa with her maid. The red gate slowly opened, and the sound of the door being pushed open seemed particularly harsh in the silent night.
The two maids walked timidly towards Lu Bei and She Xuan. They felt that their mistress was sacrificing herself to feed the wolves tonight just to rescue the head of the family who was wrongfully imprisoned, and their pretty faces were filled with joy.
In a fragrant room deep in the attic, a ray of red candlelight shines through the paper window.
When She Xuan walked into the house with a frown, Lu Bei waved his hand to drive away the two maids, then stood at the door with a knife in his hand, sensing the slightest movement around him with his mind.
"Ma'am, calm down. Let's have a couple of drinks first."
"Madam, just sit there. Distance creates beauty."
"How about we talk about the case..."
Hearing She Xuan's embarrassed voice in the room, Lu Bei shook his head repeatedly. This was the difference between having experience and not having experience. If he had entered the room, his wife would have begged for mercy.
Sir, calm down, let's have a couple of drinks first.
Sir, just sit there. Distance creates beauty.
How about we talk about the case...
“Hehehe…”
Lu Bei laughed subconsciously, raised his hand to cover his mouth, shook his head to dispel the generous and powerful Jian'an thoughts in his mind, and held his breath to concentrate on sensing the movements around him.
rustle-
Rustling sounds arose from all directions, penetrating the thick fog surrounding the backyard. Amidst the spine-chilling spitting sounds, thousands of venomous snakes, about half a meter long, swam out of the darkness.
The fine scales alternate between red and yellow, with warning colors forming one ring after another.
“Here I come.”
Lu Beiwang was overjoyed, it was worth it for him to rack his brains, change his usual great and upright image, use all kinds of crooked tricks, and even stand at the door to watch, finally he got a clue.
Bang!
The door was violently kicked open, and She Xuan walked out with a frosty face. The noise outside the house was too harsh, it was hard not to hear it.
"Well, there's something on your face." Seeing a big lip mark on She Xuan's cheek, Lu Bei couldn't help but laugh out loud.
When She Xuan felt the powder on her fingertips, she was disgusted and tore off the human skin mask without saying a word.
Bang!
Lu Bei moved faster and raised his hand to stop She Xuan's unwise behavior, telling her to be patient or the culprit would show up.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss—”
Thousands of poisonous snakes raised their heads and hissed and spewed venom. No one knew if it was because of their species or if they had been mutated by humans, but the venom spread into the air and quickly mixed with the thick fog. Large amounts of green poisonous fog filled the entire backyard.
[You have been poisoned. After deducting the defense and poison immunity, your health remains unchanged.]
[You have been poisoned. It has been determined that you are hallucinating. Your senses are less sensitive. Your spirit is -10, and your endurance is -10.]
There's something!
Endurance and life decreased by ten points, which was directly reflected in cultivation and health points, decreasing by one hundred points each.
Cultivation: 22270/22370
Health: 21770/21870
Seeing the two figures plummet, Lu Bei raised his eyebrows, thinking that he couldn't bear it. If they continued to drop like this, he would become an ordinary person in half a year.
He looked around at the five colors in his palm, and with his backhand he suppressed the two divine lights of wind and fire.
In an instant, a strong wind blew through, blowing away the green poisonous fog. The fire then took advantage of the wind and spread rapidly, evaporating the surrounding water vapor while burning a large number of poisonous snakes with crackling sounds.
"snort!"
She Xuan snorted coldly and released the pressure of her own bloodline. The snakes fled in all directions in fear as if they had met their natural enemy, no longer having the courage to rush towards the fire one after another.
"Come out, I've seen you."
Lu Bei fixed his eyes on the apricot tree on the courtyard wall, and finally murmured, "I see. If my guess is correct... the case is solved."
A black shadow jumped out from outside the yard and stood beside the tree on the courtyard wall, staring down at She Xuan with his red eyes full of murderous intent.
The county magistrate was Zhu Shilang.
He was supposed to be imprisoned in the county government office, but he escaped from prison. His appearance had changed drastically, his eyes were like blood, shining in the night, and there were three twisted red lines extending from his eyelids to his forehead and nose wings, giving him a terrifying murderous aura.
"So this is the evil art of expelling insects that Lord Zhu practiced secretly. The file doesn't have such details..." Lu Bei cursed inwardly. If he had known that Zhu Shilang looked different when he was practicing his magic, he would have solved the case when he read the file.
"Where is my wife?"
Zhu Shiqiao questioned, his eyes skipping over the two people at the door and looking into the house with concern.
Lu Bei took a step across to block Zhu Shiqi's sight: "Don't worry, Madam is well dressed. But Master Zhu didn't kill my brothers, did he?"
"They are loyal to their duties and are a thousand times better than you two. I just paralyzed them, not killed them." Zhu Shilang said gritting his teeth.
"Don't talk nonsense. My 'brother' is at a disadvantage!"
Lu Bei smiled coldly, raised his hand and touched She Xuan's chin, then took off the human skin mask.
The black hair fell down, and the charming and indifferent face made Zhu Shilang dumbfounded. He turned his eyes away blankly. Lu Bei's dead face disappeared and switched to the original thief look.
Xuanyinsi, Qingwei, codename Ding.
"You, you guys..."
Zhu Shiqi pointed at the two men tremblingly, knowing that he had fallen into a trap, and his momentum dropped. He smiled bitterly and jumped into the courtyard, sat cross-legged and stretched out his hands, giving up resistance and said: "Catching a thief is like catching a thief. Lord Qingwei has found out the truth, so let's arrest the criminal and close the case."
"No, he's not the murderer, I am."
The lady walked out of the house quickly, knelt beside Zhu Shilang with tears in her eyes, held him in her arms, turned to Lu Bei and said sadly: "I killed them, and I also made the Gu worm. In order to save me, he secretly practiced the Gu worm method. If you don't believe me, just watch..."
After she finished speaking, a red glow spread across the lady's face, and she looked just as evil as Zhu Shiqi.
"Look, the evidence is irrefutable. I am the real murderer. He secretly found out everything and took all the blame on himself." The lady hugged her husband tightly. To prove it, she even did it herself. She waved her hand to attract a large number of poisonous snakes to hesitate.
Madam, please move away. I can’t see Lord Zhu’s face.
Lu Bei nodded, and to confirm his guess, he asked directly: "Master Zhu, is this true?"
Zhu Shiqi broke free and saw his wife's appearance. He was horrified: "Madam, what are you doing? When did you secretly practice this magic?"
"You dead man, you know it all, why are you still pretending?"
"Madam, it's useless for you to take the blame for me. The evidence has already been found by the Huangji Sect..."
"… "
She Xuan looked at the two people who were crying and hugging each other, and her mind was quite complicated. If it were in the past, when she met such a loving couple, she would turn a blind eye and pretend nothing happened, but now...
She looked at Lu Bei and whispered, "The real murderer is one of them. Who do you think it is?"
Neither!
Lu Bei gave a silent reply, and started to work on the pair of mandarin ducks regardless of his crying. He gave She Xuan a look, then flew up into the air and jumped onto the roof, heading straight for the street where Hongxiu Pavilion was.
There is a red dot in the darkness, and it is still open late at night. It is obvious that it is not a serious entertainment venue.
"Where are you going? The prisoners don't care?"
She Xuan floated lightly in the air, half a body length behind Lu Bei. She thought that this guy had a change of heart and gave the couple some space alone, but she didn't expect that he ran farther and farther.
[You have been poisoned. It has been determined that you are hallucinating. Your senses are less sensitive. Your spirit is -10, and your endurance is -10.]
After receiving the information, Lu Bei confirmed the case again, thinking that it was a sure thing. He reminded the beautiful snake girl beside him: "How do you feel? Are you poisoned?"
"There is a trace, but it's nothing serious. It should be that the poisonous insect just now is quite special. I can remove the poison by sitting quietly and conditioning myself." She Xuan said truthfully.
Then you are gone!
Lu Bei waved his hand to push away the strong wind, speeding up the wind, and solemnly warned: "Don't use your power, don't worry about the poison, remember, no matter what happens, don't try to detoxify, even if I tell you in person later that it's safe."
"Why?"
Seeing Lu Bei acting as if he was facing a formidable enemy, She Xuan realized that things were far from as simple as she had imagined, and she became alert.
"Trust me and be obedient."
"good."
She Xuan looked at Lu Bei's profile, nodded her head heavily, and asked, "What happened to the county magistrate and his wife? Is there someone else who is the real murderer?"
"Yes, I have solved the case."
"???"
A string of question marks flashed across She Xuan's mind. Forgive her for having so many worries, but her hair was long, black and shiny, so how did she solve the case
"Zhu Shiqi is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, but he brought a few poisonous snakes to cause trouble for the Baodan and Xiantian realms. Do you really think you can get rid of me like this?"
Lu Bei sneered, "If it were someone else, they might not know, but if it were me, you stinking snakes, I'll count them one by one, and none of you will be able to escape today."
“Ahem.”
She Xuan coughed twice: "Don't ask riddles, who is the real murderer?"
"Sister She, have you ever heard of the Snake Dragon Cult?" Lu Bei smiled mysteriously.
She Xuan thought for a moment and shook her head.
"That's a pity. With your Xiantian realm cultivation, and the blood of the snake, and you're also... uh, an old girl, if you join the Snake Dragon Cult, you might be able to become a saint, and after two years, you can become a great protector."
She Xuan: “…”
This person looks annoying at first glance, but if you look closely, he is really annoying.
…
Hongxiu Pavilion.
Thick milky white fog wrapped around the red lanterns. A cool breeze blew in from the sky, and the fog dissipated in curls, like ribbons on a fairy's clothes.
Because it is not a formal place, not only the ribbons, but also the clothes on the fairies are getting less and less.
Inside the Red Mansion, there were sounds of musical instruments, and elegantly dressed women were plucking the strings with their hands. A scholar who claimed to be an elegant man was quoting from classics, holding the little hands of the girls, and reciting some weird poems with a beaming look on his face.
There were also passers-by who passed by eight times in one night, touched their wallets, and cursed the decline of morals.
Lu Bei and She Xuan strode in. The two of them were dressed in black, which was too eye-catching. They immediately attracted a lot of attention. But soon, when they saw the brocade-patterned black robe on She Xuan, they quickly lowered their heads.
This is terrible, the black-clad yamen officials came to Hongxiu Pavilion to have fun
No, they are not here to arrest people, are they
Without waiting for Lu Bei to shout to clear the place, more than half of the guests left on their own, and the remaining half sat upright, took the hands of the girls in front of them, and calculated their careers and love lives.
"Ah, ah, ah, you are a bunch of heartless people. It's just getting dark, why are you thinking about your old hag at home?"
A plump and beautiful woman walked down from the red building, waving a painted fan, and came to the door, smiling and saying, "Two sirs... one sir, but it's late at night and I can't find an inn. Do you want to stay in a private room for one night?"
"That's exactly what I meant. Lead the way." Lu Bei nodded.
"This way, please."
The beautiful woman raised her hand and put it on Lu Bei's arm, pressing it softly and warmly, burying most of it in her.
She Xuan frowned, the place of entertainment was disgusting. She would remind Lu Bei when she had time to ask him to think more about his senior sister and not to come to such places to gather information in the future.