novelraw Chapter 686 Malicious Intent
Chapter 686 Malicious Intent
Chapter 686 Malicious Intent
About an hour later, the remaining people in the mountain stronghold who had not yet set off saw a group of eight people depart. Among them were Commandant Liao and one of his soldiers who came from General Situ, two imposing guards beside the Golden-Faced Censor, and four people who looked quite unfamiliar.
The people in the mountain stronghold looked at each other, full of doubts. However, after Liao, the military officer, arrived here, he was only obedient to the Golden-Faced Censor and never smiled at anyone else. Considering that he was a person close to General Situ, they felt a certain respect for him and dared not rashly go up to ask.
As for the two guards beside the Golden-Faced Censor, needless to say, those two were only ever at their master's beck and call, and they barely even glanced at anyone else.
So after thinking it over, everyone decided to let it go. Anyway, the decision of who would leave and when had already been made by the Golden-Faced Censor, so they shouldn't gossip and annoy others. They should just do their own thing.
Of the eight people who set off from the mountain stronghold, four were unfamiliar faces: Lu Qing, Zhu Yu, Chang Yu, and Lin Kun.
Lu Qing and Zhu Yu were quite adept at disguising themselves, much like they had done elsewhere before.
Lin Kun was originally a burly man. Lu Qing stuffed a small bundle into his arms and put on a loose outer robe. After the fake skin was applied, he looked like a pot-bellied, somewhat wealthy middle-aged man. If it weren't for his calloused hands, you would never guess that he was a martial artist with a fierce face.
The eight men rode horses day and night, crossing the great mountain that stretched between the mountain stronghold and the capital, and arrived in the vicinity of the capital in just a few days.
This was Lu Qing and Zhu Yu's first time visiting the capital of Lan Kingdom. The Immortal Fortress and Xiaoshanlou they had visited last time were far from the capital. This time, they had also traveled from afar, and the surrounding area was desolate. Even the bustling towns they occasionally encountered were incomparable to other places.
Zhu Yu had thought that things would be somewhat better in the capital, but she found that the situation here was somewhat similar to her original expectations, but also very different.
The city of Landi was not heavily guarded, and the eight people easily entered the city. The city was bustling with people, and the streets were quite lively.
But as he walked, Zhu Yu's brows furrowed.
Not long after she entered the city, as she approached a slightly more bustling area, she caught a faint fragrance. Although they had worn the sachets Mu Hong had provided for them before entering the city and had taken antidote pills, the feeling that the whole city seemed to smell sweet still made her feel uneasy.
And she soon discovered that, as she walked through the streets and alleys, although they were bustling with people, she hardly saw any of the kinds of places that ordinary people would frequent, such as vegetable vendors, meat stalls, cloth shops, and cosmetics shops. She also didn't see any pharmacies or clinics. Instead, she saw many pawnshops.
Besides that, there were so many music pavilions and brothels that she could hardly count them all. You could see one or two on almost every street, with various red and pink gauze curtains fluttering in the wind at the entrance, like hands beckoning people to hurry to that land of gentle pleasures.
It was still early, and many of these places had not yet officially opened to the public. However, as we walked along, we could already see quite a few men lingering outside the doors, seemingly eager to get started.
Zhu Yu was somewhat puzzled. As he walked, he secretly observed the people and found that they were all radiant with a kind of excitement, and their faces were all ruddy.
She wanted to tell Lu Qing about her discovery, but fearing that there might be eavesdroppers on the street, she held back for the time being.
However, during her unsuccessful attempt to communicate with Lu Qing, she caught a glimpse of the soldier under Situ Jing's command following behind. She noticed that although he did not show any abnormality, his breathing seemed slightly heavier than the others.
Zhu Yu had never dealt with this soldier before, nor had he paid any special attention to him in the past few days. He didn't know what the soldier was like on a normal day, so he could only pretend not to notice him for the time being, lest he cause any trouble outside.
As they walked, passing two more streets, the surrounding fragrance grew stronger, and the soldier became increasingly strange. His pace slowed, his face flushed, and several times he unconsciously drifted towards the music hall by the roadside, each time Liao Yu spotted him and quietly pulled him back.
“We’re tired from walking. There’s a small pavilion on the street corner over there. Why don’t we sit down and rest for a while?” Zhu Yu noticed the unusual situation and quickly gestured to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing nodded, and the group turned into a simple pavilion at the street corner. Zhu Yu gestured to Chang Yu and Lin Kun to sandwich the soldier between them, preventing him from making any sudden moves.
"Check if his sachet is still there," Zhu Yu whispered to Liao Yu.
Liao Yu nodded slightly, turned to touch the soldier, then shook his head at Zhu Yu: "It's gone. It probably fell somewhere by accident on the way."
Sure enough.
Zhu Yu quickly took out a spare one from the small wooden box in his arms and handed it to Liao Yu, who deftly tied it around the man's neck.
The antidote sachet that Mu Hong had prepared emitted a refreshing medicinal fragrance. The soldier's unfocused eyes gradually regained their focus, the unusual flush on his face slowly faded, and he regained his senses.
He realized he had almost done something foolish and hurriedly tried to say something, but Lu Qing gave him a look and he swallowed back the words he was about to say. He sat there with his head hanging low, full of shame, without saying a word.
"The smell inside the city is definitely not right," Zhu Yu whispered to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing snorted lightly: "They really have malicious intentions."
Zhu Yu frowned and nodded.
Having come this far, she has roughly figured out the purpose behind the fragrance and the numerous music pavilions and theaters throughout the street.
Someone is trying to deliberately demoralize the people of Lan Kingdom and weaken their ability to protect themselves.
After losing their land and the skills they relied on for survival, the people outside the capital city were basically displaced and had little fighting power.
Within the capital city, there was originally a group of the wealthiest and most prominent people in the entire Lan region. If any of these people were dissatisfied with the incompetence and tyranny of the Lan King and wanted to take his place, they would obviously have the potential to succeed.
Therefore, the only way to prevent these people from becoming corrupt and decadent, indulging in frivolous pursuits and unable to extricate themselves from the allure of pleasure, is to eventually turn even the best people into mindless zombies.
In this way, if one day Lan is encroached upon by neighboring countries, the entire nation will likely be powerless to resist and will be at the mercy of others.