CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 25: CORPSES HIDDEN IN THE CAVE

Zhu Yu was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected that in such an unremarkable place like Qingshui County, a mere County Magistrate could also have connections to the Second Prince.

This Second Prince, Lu Zhang, whether in terms of himself or the influence of his maternal family in the court, was unmatched throughout Jin Country, even the Eldest Prince, born of the deceased Empress, couldn’t compare.

"It seems this Li Wencai also has some capabilities; even a mere County Magistrate can be a student under a prince," Zhu Yu sighed.

Lu Qing smiled lightly, "Lu Zhang has many disciples, and he may not recognize all of them.

However, whether they can catch Lu Zhang’s attention or not, those people probably don’t mind too much, as long as they can establish such a connection, they might be considered under Duke Yan’s protection."

He spoke with subtlety, yet it was clear and understood, and Zhu Yu understood it well too.

If the Lu Family is desperately accumulating wealth in Qingshui County, Mr. Li is probably not idle in this regard either.

No matter how great the expenditure to buy a title, it can’t compare to the weight of being a prince’s disciple.

Whether it’s Prince Yi or Duke Yan, they are figures akin to Daluo Immortals that a county magistrate can never reach.

There are no free rides in this world, especially not those that require layers of turning to embrace.

Li Wencai came from humble beginnings; in terms of family wealth, he might not even compare to wealthy merchants.

The funding for this naturally needs a source.

However, knowing that County Magistrate Li was trying hard to associate with Duke Yan’s faction, Zhu Yu instead thought that there might be little relation to the disappearance of Lu Family’s housekeeper.

After painstakingly establishing connections, when the timing isn’t ripe yet, if at this critical juncture any trouble occurs and people immediately disassociate from it, throwing him out, all previous efforts would be in vain.

Realizing this, Zhu Yu suddenly noticed something and looked up at Lu Qing.

Even though he had never been to Qingshui County, he knew very well about the County Magistrate’s background here.

Lu Qing met her gaze, looking at ease, aware that they were heading to inspect a corpse; those unaware might think they were going for an outing in the countryside.

After a while, the carriage stopped at the foot of a mountain.

"Master, Second Master." Fu Wen jumped out of the carriage, walked to the back to pull open the curtains for the two, "The carriage can only go this far, we have to go up the mountain."

Lu Qing got out, holding the curtain back, and Zhu Yu lightly hopped out of the carriage, turning to look at the steep mountain slope beside them.

Perhaps noticing Zhu Yu’s surprise, Fu Wen added from the side, "I’ve checked, this is already the best path to take."

Zhu Yu looked at the mountain full of shrubs, unable to resist doubting where the "road" he spoke of was.

"Can you manage?" Lu Qing saw her staring at the slope, seemingly hesitant.

Following the principle of not turning back once the bow is drawn, Zhu Yu nodded, "Not a big problem."

"Then, I’ll lead the way." Fu Wen, being the only one among them who knew where the bodies were hidden, naturally took the lead and didn’t forget to instruct his younger brother, "Fu Lu, you cover the rear and pay attention to the surroundings."

Since being tricked in the broken temple, Fu Wen had been on high alert without a moment of relaxation.

"Don’t worry!" Fu Lu nodded at him, "If that scoundrel dares show up, watch me break his bones!"

The four of them started climbing up the steep mountain path hidden by wild grass; although Zhu Yu said it wasn’t a big problem, she did face some hardships on the way up.

The slope was steep, and covered with weeds; she didn’t know how Fu Wen and Fu Lu managed to walk as if they were glued to the ground, like walking on flat land, without even gasping for breath, whereas her feet would slip on the weeds, and if not for Lu Qing’s occasional assistance, it would have been uncertain whether she could even make it up the slope.

Though somewhat worn out, panting and sweaty, Zhu Yu finally climbed to the top of the small hill.

Before she could catch her breath, she heard Fu Wen pointing forward and saying to Lu Qing, "Master, if we go down that way, there’s a cave halfway down the mountain..."

It’s well known that going up a mountain is easy but going down is hard.

Zhu Yu initially thought that although climbing up was tiring, going down just meant retracing their steps which, though tough, would be manageable.

But after all that effort, it turned out that going up and down each had its own ordeal... Her legs nearly gave way, and she almost sat down on the ground, feeling faint.

Lu Qing extended his arm, "The way down is difficult, hold onto me if you’re losing strength."

Zhu Yu didn’t hold back, not wanting to make things harder for herself out of stubbornness, and also feeling that this tough task was given to her by him, with grievances having a source, she almost childishly leaned a good part of her weight onto Lu Qing’s arm to vent her frustration.

Lu Qing clearly noticed Zhu Yu’s rather childish act, showing a slight smile in his eyes, but his arm remained steady, confidently supporting them as they went around the hill and down to the halfway point, still calm and composed.

Finally, the four of them arrived at the cave halfway up the mountain, and Zhu Yu released Lu Qing, wiping the sweat from her face with her sleeve.

"Second Master, are you okay?" Fu Wen asked, seeing Zhu Yu sweating profusely.

"Nothing, just feeling hot." Zhu Yu half-truthfully replied.

Indeed, it was hotter now than in the early morning or evening, though the grove was somewhat cool, most of her sweat was from the effort of climbing.

But by now, Zhu Yu’s attention was no longer on the tiresome climb; she had directed her gaze towards the cave beside her.

Despite the bright light outside, the cave’s interior was dark, and standing at the entrance, nothing could be seen inside.

But standing at the mouth of the cave, feeling the dank and cool air with a somewhat unusual smell wafting out, it was all too familiar to Zhu Yu, instantly transforming her demeanor, the fatigue from the climb dissipating, her expression grew serious.

"Fu Lu," Lu Qing spoke.

Fu Lu, understanding immediately, took out the torch he had prepared earlier to light up, only to be stopped by Zhu Yu.

"Don’t light the torch yet, let me check inside first," Zhu Yu shook her head at Fu Lu, "Going in recklessly with a torch might be dangerous.

Didn’t you smell that stench coming out? If the foul gas inside the cave is too concentrated, going in with a torch might put all of us in danger."

Fu Lu was startled hearing this, quickly putting away the flint, placing the unlit torch aside.

Zhu Yu took a few steps towards the cave, stopping at the entrance, and asked Fu Wen, "When you found this place, did you get a clear view of what’s inside?"

"Yes, there are not just one but several corpses inside, some already reduced to mere white bones, there’s also the person we found that night at the Ghost Immortal Temple, and... there’s one particularly odd, its size is much larger than usual, looking quite round," Fu Wen said, while illustrating the size of the most peculiar corpse.