"Inside is some fragrant spice from Fengxi Prefecture in Yueguo, which my father personally bought from Xiangxi Pavilion. I heard that this scent won't fade away even after decades," Li Xiaoxiao said as she noticed Tang Jian holding the sachet to his nose and inhaling deeply.
"It smells really good," Tang Jian said, cherishing it as he tucked it into his bosom, addressing Li Xiaoxiao.
Li Xiaoxiao smiled, and the dimples on her face deepened. She turned around and walked towards the banquet hall, saying, "It's getting late. Let's go back..."
"Alright," Tang Jian chuckled and quickly followed her.
They walked through the corridor together and stopped at the entrance of the banquet hall, peering inside.
The atmosphere inside seemed somewhat strange. A slightly corpulent middle-aged captain was kneeling in front of Tang Shu and others, reporting something. Tang Shu and the prefect Lu Fengyi listened silently and then turned to Li Chen with grave expressions after the captain finished.
"Although Captain Sun's words were incoherent when he was dying, it's clear from his description that the multicolored light and the strange wind were indeed peculiar, resembling a human-made disaster rather than a natural one," Li Chen said after a moment of contemplation.
"For the past half a month, there have been continuous heavy rains, causing the water level of the Dashang River to rise rapidly. Yanfeng County is just a dozen miles away from the river bank. Once the bank collapses, the county will suffer from flooding. After discussing with Mr. Tang, we decided to move the people and animals in the county to Funiu Mountain, which is tens of miles away, for temporary refuge. Unexpectedly, such strange things happened along the way..." Lu Fengyi said, furrowing his brows.
Tang Jian and Li Xiaoxiao exchanged glances and then crossed the threshold into the banquet hall.
Seeing them come in, everyone stopped talking and looked at them.
After greeting the elders, Tang Jian asked Tang Shu, who was sitting in the main seat, "Father, what happened?"
Seeing this, no one showed any strange expression on their faces, as if it was not unreasonable for this young man to inquire about the matter.
In fact, despite his young appearance, Tang Jian was already a Qi Refinement Stage Five cultivator, while his master Li Chen had just barely entered the Foundation Establishment Stage after completing Qi Refinement to its fullest extent.
"Previously, to avoid flooding, over ten thousand people migrated from Yanfeng County to Funiu Mountain. However, near Qingluan Valley, which is adjacent to Funiu Mountain, they encountered a mysterious demonic wind and all disappeared, including the hundred elite guards I dispatched to assist the local soldiers. Only Sun Ji managed to escape, but he died after delivering incoherent messages," Tang Shu said after hearing the news.
"In recent years, our Tanzhou has been troubled by frequent disappearances of people and animals. I suspect it's related to the evil cultivators within our borders. What do you think, Master?" Tang Jian asked, looking towards the middle-aged man in a tawny robe.
Upon his question, all eyes turned to Li Chen, filled with anticipation, as if waiting for his conclusive judgment on the matter.
"Evil cultivators often act bizarrely and strangely, and it's common for them to sacrifice living beings. This time, over ten thousand people from Yanfeng County disappeared simultaneously. If it's truly the doing of evil cultivators, their intentions might be even more sinister," Li Chen said, a worried expression on his face.
Upon hearing this, Tang Shu and the others fell into deep thought, and the atmosphere in the hall became even more solemn.
"The fate of these ten thousand people is still unknown. We should do our utmost to save them. I hereby request to go to Qingluan Valley in Funiu Mountain to investigate this matter thoroughly, hoping to find some clues," Tang Jian said, looking at his father.
"If this is indeed the doing of evil cultivators, how can I let you go and risk your life? Zhao, the commander in our household, is also a Qi Refinement cultivator. This matter will be handed to him to lead a team of elite guards to investigate," Tang Shu said, shaking his head.
"Although Zhao is a Qi Refinement cultivator, he's only at the second level. I..." Tang Jian was interrupted by Tang Shu before he could finish his sentence.
"Zhao is just going to investigate, not to fight. In this aspect, you might not be more suitable than him. Moreover, the materials for your sword refinement are already prepared. Aren't you going to try refining a mid-grade magical sword? At this crucial moment, do you still want to go out?" Tang Shu asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"This time's sword refinement is unusual. You must avoid distraction. You need to adjust your state at least half a month beforehand to ensure no mistakes during the refinement. You can't act recklessly," Li Chen also said.
"But..."
Tang Jian wanted to say something else, but Li Xiaoxiao gently tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop arguing, so he remained silent.
"Can Tang Jian nephew already refine a mid-grade magical sword?" Upon hearing this, Lu Fengyi's round face was filled with surprise.
"It's just his first attempt..." Tang Shu said, his expression relaxing.
Upon hearing this, Lu Fengyi and the others still seemed incredulous and praised Tang Jian repeatedly. For a moment, their worries about the matter in Yanfeng County lessened, and the atmosphere at the scene became enthusiastic again.
After further discussion, the banquet was concluded, and everyone dispersed.
...
More than half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
It was noon, and the sun was shining brightly.
About fifty miles outside the city of Tanzhou, there was a vast area of sandy soil covered with sprawling green vines and leaves, where a large patch of lush green watermelons was planted.
A dark-skinned old man dressed as a farmer, holding a hoe with a willow wood handle, slowly dug grooves in the sandy soil along the vine-covered ridges.
The continuous rainfall in the previous period had damaged the existing drainage channels in the field. If they were not repaired in time, the next rain would cause water to accumulate in the field, and the watermelons that had not yet matured would be completely soaked and rotten.
The old man adjusted his broken straw hat and cursed the unpredictable weather. Suddenly, he felt a slight itch on his forehead and thought he was sweating due to the heat, so he pulled down the old towel hanging around his neck and wiped his forehead.
However, as he just grabbed the towel, his body involuntarily froze in place, unable to move at all.
A look of terror appeared on the old man's face, and his mouth was open, but he couldn't utter a single sound.
At this moment, a red line suddenly appeared on his forehead.
Blood light flashed along the red line, and the skin and flesh split open, forcibly pulling apart to the sides.
The old man's eyes first widened suddenly, then the whites of his eyes rolled up, completely losing their luster. The terrified expression on his face also disappeared instantly, becoming completely blank.
From the split flesh on his forehead, a blood-red eyeball about the size of a longan fruit protruded.
It spun around, looking around for a moment, then suddenly made a "puff" sound, popping out of the old man's forehead and flying out directly.
Trailing behind it were thin silvery threads, like delicate hairs, connected to the flipped-open flesh on the old man's forehead.
As the blood-red eyeball flew into the sky, the dense silvery threads were slowly pulled out of the body, turning into a cluster of silvery light that enveloped it.
The old man's body shriveled up at a visible speed, ultimately turning into a handful of dust that scattered into the watermelon field.
Wrapped in silver light, the blood-red eyeball hovered high in the sky, slowly rotating as it gazed towards the direction of Tanzhou City.
Suddenly, the silver light flashed, and it disappeared from its original position, reappearing tens of feet away in the next instant.
This repeated until it was gone from sight!
…
In the evening, a young man dressed in a brown short robe with a red headband tied around his head sat on the ridge of a xieshan-style hall, his hands resting on his knees, gazing into the distant western sky.
There, layers of clouds were blown and piled up into various exotic shapes, turning fiery red under the setting sun, as if they were burning.
The young man was Tang Jian.
After gazing for a while, he exhaled a long breath, clapped his hands on his knees, stood up, and with a light and agile jump, leaped off the ridge and landed in the courtyard.
This small courtyard, independent from other areas within the mansion, was named "Sword Pavilion" and was a forbidden area in the entire刺史 mansion. Ordinarily, no one was allowed to set foot in it except for a few people.
This had been especially true for the past half month.
Tang Jian pushed open the door of the hall with a "creak" and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
Inside the hall, it was brightly lit, without any daily furnishings such as tables, chairs, or beds. There was only a square-shaped black fireplace built near the wall, with a black iron platform on each side and a black wooden shelf, making it somewhat empty and spacious.
The black iron platforms reflected a dull light, covered in dents and marks of being hit and smashed, appearing somewhat old and damaged.
The wooden shelf on the other side was originally made of some kind of rosewood but had turned black due to years of soot and smoke.
There were square compartments on it, each filled with over ten boxes of various sizes from top to bottom, containing materials for refining magical swords.
After scanning the wooden shelf with his gaze, Tang Jian walked forward, pulled out a black long box from the lowest compartment, opened it, and found inside a black crystal that seemed neither stone nor iron, reflecting a faint glow.
He reached in, picked up the crystal, and hefted it, saying with some regret, "The weight of this iron essence is still too light. If it were a piece of copper essence this size, it would be just right."
After speaking, he placed the iron essence on a nearby forge and lifted a gray "stone cup" about a chi high from beneath the wooden shelf, placing it over the fireplace.
There was no handle on the stone cup, but there was a protruding groove around the rim, making it look very strange.
After positioning the stone cup, Tang Jian placed the iron essence inside and leaned down to blow a sharp breath into the fireplace.
With a "whoosh," the seemingly dim fireplace suddenly lit up with sparks of crimson light.