klisemfg Chapter 184 Luoying Village (9)
Chapter 184 Luoying Village (9)
Although the people at the door were not as enthusiastic as before, the oppressive atmosphere still enveloped the entire court.
Everyone's face looked tired and desperate, their eyes were swollen, and their crying was intermittent, like silent shouts.
Jiang Jinchen sat quietly in the hall, his face serious. He looked at County Magistrate He, but with just a glance, County Magistrate He understood and immediately bowed to Jiang Jinchen: "My Lord, what can I do for you?"
"County Magistrate He, this time three villages have lost children, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, this shoving and jostling at the door isn't the solution to the problem."
After saying this, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery turned to look at the weeping people outside the door and said, "Everyone, please be patient. Each of your three villages should send one person to come to this court and explain the matter clearly."
The common people were stunned when they heard the words of the Loyal and Brave Marquis. At this moment, a middle-aged man stretched his neck and nervously poked his head out, "Who is this gentleman...?"
Upon seeing this, County Magistrate He immediately slammed the gavel and said, "How dare you! This is a marquis from the capital, the Protector General of our Yun Kingdom!"
"The Great General Who Protects the Country?!" The crowd suddenly exploded. They didn't know what a marquis was, but if it was the great general who defended the country, they must have heard of him.
Someone in the crowd immediately reacted: "Could it be that General Jiang who has killed countless enemies?"
County Magistrate He raised his head proudly: "Exactly!"
The atmosphere in the crowd changed instantly. At first, some people were discussing in low voices, but then their voices gradually rose.
"There's help, there's help!"
"Finally, someone from the imperial court has arrived! And it's the great hero, General Jiang!"
After that, the people knelt down one after another, their knees slamming heavily on the hard ground, making a crisp sound, and kowtowed to Jiang Jinchen: "General, please make the decision for us!"
Jiang Jinchen frowned as he watched this scene and quickly stood up: "What are you doing? Get up first!"
However, those people seemed to have disregarded everything and insisted on kowtow to Jiang Jinchen several times before they would stand up.
Then the village chiefs of the three villages walked out of the crowd and went to the court.
"General, we are the three village chiefs of three villages. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. We will answer everything we know. We only ask that you help us find those children as soon as possible."
Jiang Jinchen briefly learned about the situation from the three village chiefs and found that what they said was exactly the same as what he currently knew and there was nothing special about it.
"It seems that there is still no breakthrough point."
At this moment, Jiang Yingxue asked, "By the way, when one of you was questioning the county magistrate just now, what mountain did you mention?"
Someone in the crowd immediately responded, "Miss, I'm talking about Mengshan! That's the only place in our county that hasn't been searched!"
"Oh, yes, may I ask where Mengshan is?" Jiang Yingxue turned to Magistrate He and asked, "Why don't you search it?"
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate He's face changed slightly. He explained repeatedly, "Oh, Miss, what a huge misunderstanding. Mount Meng is not a place that ordinary people can go. It's not that I don't want to search, but I can't search."
After hearing this, the four of them immediately looked at each other. Their intuition told them that this Mengshan might be the answer.
Chu Ying immediately said, "Then tell me quickly, what is so special about this Mengshan?"
"Mengshan is shrouded in mist year-round, giving it a grayish appearance, hence the name. It's filled with poisonous gas, making it inaccessible to ordinary people. A few unbelieving monks once said they wanted to go in to see if there were any rare and precious herbs, but they never came out. They must have been poisoned to death."
A yamen runner also explained, "And I heard that all the flowers, plants, and trees stolen there have all been corroded and turned into dead things. Anyone who goes in there will definitely die. If those children are really in Mengshan, there is no way they are alive. There is no need for us to risk our lives to go in and find them."
County Magistrate He nodded quickly: "That's right."
After saying this, County Magistrate He looked at the villagers and said, "If this child is really in Mengshan, he is definitely dead. There is really no need to go to Mengshan to look for him."
"No...those children must be in Mengshan..." A woman stepped out of the crowd and knelt on the ground. "Last night I suddenly heard a man's voice saying those children were in Mengshan. So before dawn today, I headed towards Mengshan."
The woman looked up at them, her eyes sparkling. "Then, at the foot of the mountain, I heard the child crying, heartbreakingly. I wanted to rush in, but when I saw the poisonous fog, I didn't dare go in. So I decided to report it to the authorities first..."
"Ridiculous!" Magistrate He pointed at the woman. "You don't dare to go in, but I dare to go in? Besides, hearing a man's voice in your own home in the middle of the night is ridiculous. It must be that you are dreaming about what you think about during the day. You must be confused and dreaming."
"No! No!" The woman quickly shook her head: "I really heard it, and I really heard the children crying at the foot of Mount Meng! I am not lying, I can swear on my life! Please, County Master, please save the children, they are really not dead..."
The woman cried heartbreakingly, no longer caring about her dignity. She began to kowtow desperately on the ground, her forehead hitting the cold stone slabs with a dull sound: "Please... please..."
"Oh, it's no use begging me. I'm just an ordinary mortal. If I had some cultivation, I might be able to enter Mengshan..." As he said this, the county magistrate glanced at the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery.
The woman, as if grasping at a lifeline, quickly turned to Jiang Jinchen and said, "General, I've heard that you're a skilled martial artist, capable of taking on a hundred enemies on the battlefield! The poisonous gas from Mount Meng is certainly no problem for you. Please, General, save the children!"
Jiang Jinchen hesitated for a moment. Although he had reached the Nascent Soul stage, he had never practiced any techniques to resist poison. He could resist ordinary poisons, but if this poison was too strong, he would be powerless.
Thinking of this, Jiang Jinchen said to the woman, "Hurry up and get up first. Take us to the place you said you heard the child crying, and then make a decision."
When the woman heard Jiang Jinchen's relief, she seemed to see hope and quickly stood up and said, "Thank you, General! I will lead the way for you."
In this way, a group of people walked for more than ten miles and finally arrived at the place where they mentioned Mengshan.
As they said, Mount Meng was indeed covered by a layer of gray fog.
The fog at the foot of the mountain was like a living thing, slowly rolling. Every time the wind blew, the fog was like a thick curtain, faintly covering the surroundings of the mountain range, but it just didn't disperse.