I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 140 - 114: Wangshan City
Sang Que used instant teleportation all the way, leaving the bandit lair and searching through the woods for Kou Yushan and Xia Chan.
On the road, she saw some people who had escaped from the bandit lair. They dared not run randomly at night and all huddled at the foot of the mountain.
Kou Yushan and Xia Chan were not among them; they must have been separated.
Sang Que continued her search forward. That night, she was also excessively depleted, and the Evil Mist had become extremely thin, unable to support much more instant teleportation.
Fortunately, she didn’t run far before she saw Kou Yushan and Xia Chan. Their escape speed was swift, and they had already reached the pre-arranged location.
Xuan Yu and the Black Donkey were at the agreed location, guarding Xia Chan’s body under the tree.
Xia Chan reattached her body, holding a bamboo basket, eating the roast chicken Sang Que had brought.
Her mouth was so full she couldn’t speak. Seeing Sang Que return, she just mumbled a couple of sounds and continued to eat, not forgetting to share a chicken leg with Kou Yushan.
After eating and drinking, Xia Chan regained her strength and, using her hair, circled a space between three trees. They made a small fire to settle in the forest for the night, planning to set off again at dawn.
The next post station was about half a day’s journey away, and beyond that post station was Wangshan City.
Sang Que let the Yin Child sit in the tree to intimidate the surrounding Evil Spirits. Xuan Yu was also in the tree, trying to make friends with the Yin Child while staying vigilant in case He Buning and his group approached, as they needed to leave the range of Purple Clouds Mountain by this route.
Xia Chan, full and satisfied, lay her head on Sang Que’s lap to sleep while Sang Que and Kou Yushan briefly discussed the situation.
Kou Yushan didn’t ask how Sang Que had arrived. He had actually noticed many things about Sang Que but never asked questions.
"...The second leader of the bandits is supposedly a Nine Songs Bell Doctor?"
Hearing Kou Yushan, Sang Que was somewhat surprised.
Kou Yushan pondered, "I heard it mentioned while those bandits were chatting, but I suspect that Bell Doctor is an impostor. The Nine Songs Bell Doctor saves lives with compassion; I’ve never heard of a Nine Songs Bell Doctor doing bad things."
Sang Que nodded, "Then it might be an impostor. Tomorrow at the post station, do you still have any silver coin on you?"
Mentioning this, Kou Yushan’s expression turned a bit peculiar. He reached into his bosom, "The money I had earlier was taken by the bandits, but..."
Kou Yushan pulled out a money bag. When opened, it surprisingly contained a roughly crafted gold bar and two bars of silver, each weighing five liang.
"I took these from the bandits. It’s enough for us to buy a courtyard in Wangshan City and pay all sorts of taxes for the first year."
Sang Que couldn’t help but laugh, "Indeed, robbing really is the quickest way to get money. What do you plan to do when you get to Wangshan City?"
Kou Yushan replied, "I’ve lived to this age and realized that constantly hiding from those Evil Spirits and Deceit is useless. If they’re meant to find you, you can’t escape. To live well, you must have your own ability to deal with Evil Spirits, so I want to join the Evil Suppression Bureau."
"Actually, I’m also planning to join the Evil Suppression Bureau when I go to Wangshan City," Sang Que hadn’t told Kou Yushan this formally before.
Kou Yushan glanced at Sang Que with a slight nod, "Indeed, now that the Witch Temple is abandoned and it’s impossible for you to be a temple priest like your mother, joining the Evil Suppression Bureau is also a good choice. Maybe one day, you can rise to a high position and restore the Witch Temple."
Sang Que didn’t respond; she hadn’t thought about it at all, but she didn’t want to shatter Kou Yushan’s expectations since he genuinely believed in the Witch Lady.
"By the way, I kept your household registration document safe with me. The bandits didn’t care about it, so they didn’t search for it. I’ll give it to you now since you need to register when entering Wangshan City." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
Kou Yushan took out a thin piece of paper from the seam of his clothing, stamped with the big seal of the Dongyang County county government.
Trained by her mother, Sang Que recognized many traditional characters. She glanced at it, slightly dazed.
"This says..."
Kou Yushan explained, "Your mother asked me to protect you and not reveal you are her daughter, so I bribed the people at the Dongyang County county government with the silver coin you gave me. You are now Sang Mulan, an orphan who grew up in Dongyang County and whose parents have passed away."
"Your age is also changed to one year older, now seventeen. Remember, you’re seventeen and not married yet, requiring you to pay an extra head tax, but there’s no other way. You’re tall, so it wouldn’t be suitable to change your age to younger."
"Thank you." Sang Que stored the document, surprised at Kou Yushan’s meticulousness.
It seemed that this part of the forest might have been cleared by the bandits, allowing Sang Que and her group to pass a peaceful night.
At the break of dawn the next day, they began walking toward the official road.
Xia Chan held Xuan Yu while riding the donkey; Sang Que and Kou Yushan walked. Just after noon, they reached the post station.
Sang Que was cautious, worried that He Buning might trace her identity, so she did not show up and instead let Kou Yushan take Xia Chan in to book two rooms, then used instant teleportation to return to the room later.
In the afternoon, other people who escaped from the bandit lair arrived at the inn one after another. Their numbers had sharply reduced by half, and as soon as they entered the courtyard of the inn, they began to cry.
At dusk, He Buning arrived with Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu, and Xiao Liu indeed began to inquire with those who had escaped, asking if they had seen a Yin Walker.
Kou Yushan and Xia Chan were also questioned, and Xiao Liu remembered them, asking some unrelated questions after they identified themselves, seemingly paying particular attention to Xia Chan.
He Buning, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Liu only replenished their food and water and left without staying overnight.
The next morning, Sang Que directed Kou Yushan and Xia Chan to accompany the others to Wangshan City while she remained unseen, following behind them.
The group traveled tirelessly and arrived outside Wangshan City by twilight.
Wangshan City is located between two mountains, splitting the Qianyue Mountain Range into the East Yue and West Yue, serving as a gateway to the heart of Qinzhou. To enter or exit Qinzhou, one must pass through Wangshan City.
Even after seeing countless images of ancient cities from various dynasties in modern times, Sang Que was still awestruck by the imposing grandeur of this magnificent ancient city.
The towering city walls were constructed from massive stone slabs, layered upon one another, giving a sense of solidity and stability. The stone carvings around the city gates were exquisite, and guards holding long spears stood on both sides of the gates, exuding a sense of majesty and solemnity that discouraged affronts.
Those entering the city queued orderly, seemingly overawed by the city’s imposing aura, all subconsciously lowering their voices.
To enter the city required registration, and Sang Que feared that the previous encounter outside Tangyuan County during the Mid-Autumn Festival might lead He Buning to suspect that the people from the bandit lair were her, so she didn’t enter the city with Kou Yushan and the others.
Originally, Sang Que intended to secretly enter the city using her Instant Teleportation ability, but a giant Eight Diagrams Copper Mirror, that didn’t look easy to handle, hung above the South City Gate of Wangshan City. Sang Que estimated that the mirror surely had the power to suppress evil spirits and ghostly beings.
Thus, she secretly ran to the base of the city wall where no one was watching, attempting to infiltrate using Evil Mist. As long as Evil Mist could penetrate through, she could directly pass through the wall into the city.
However, as soon as her Evil Mist touched the city wall, red runes slowly appeared on many stone slabs, causing Sang Que’s Evil Mist to crash as if against a copper wall.
These stone slabs did not uniformly have runes on them; instead, every seven or eight slabs would have one inscribed with runes. The slabs exhibited a dark red color, with some mixed with black crystals.
Other than vermillion, what else?
Sang Que stood at the base of the wall, mocking herself for being foolish. The safest place in all of Qinzhou should not be so easily infiltrated by evil means.
Finding no other option, she had Kou Yushan and Xia Chan take the donkey and enter the city first, planning to return home and enter the city the day after.
Meanwhile, she instructed Kou Yushan to first find a place to settle in, and when possible, help inquire about the recruitment by the Evil Suppression Bureau.
Outside Wangshan City, Sang Que held onto Xuan Yu, hiding under the tree’s shade, feeling relieved as she watched Kou Yushan and Xia Chan pass the inspection and enter smoothly. Her concern was that Xia Chan might be an Evil Person and would be discovered but, so far, there seemed to be no issue.
"Let’s go, Xuan Yu. We’ll go gather some branches in the woods and make a simple door to return home."
*
At night, Wangshan City was under curfew. The streets were deserted except for the night watchmen and the patrolling constables from the Evil Suppression Bureau.
In the backyard of the Evil Suppression Bureau, He Buning’s residence.
Xiao Liu returned from outside, holding the registration documents from today’s city entries.
"Boss, I’ve looked. Kou Yushan and Xia Chan have already entered the city. There’s no one named Sang Mulan."
He Buning sat at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t sure why, but upon seeing Kou Yushan at the inn, he immediately thought of the girl he saw outside Tangyuan County on Mid-Autumn Night.
She could effortlessly defeat Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu on her own. Chances are high that she’s the one from the bandit lair.
But yesterday at the inn, Xiao Liu asked Kou Yushan and the other people traveling with him, and none had seen Sang Mulan.
The name Sang Mulan was mentioned by Kou Yushan, aged seventeen, hailing from Dongyang County, rather than Black Mountain Village, and the age didn’t match either.
Lately, He Buning had been asking the side from Dongyang County to tally the survivors from the Ghost Opera Troupe’s sacrificial events, especially focusing on females aged sixteen. Now, all he could do was wait for the message from Dongyang.
However, the girl beside Kou Yushan seen by Xiao Liu yesterday seemed to match the age.
The thought of that silly girl, seemingly not fully sane, filled He Buning with an inexplicable irritation, and his chest felt tight with pain.
"In a few days, the Evil Suppression Bureau will be recruiting. You two should go see if there are good candidates. Our Night Travelers are too few; we need to bring in more."
Mentioning this, both Xiao Liu and Xiao Wu showed difficult expressions, bitter yet unable to speak out, primarily because they didn’t dare to.
