I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 237 - 205: Turning Point in the Story

Sang Que held the map given by Xiao Wu and quickly reached the vicinity of Jiuling Village with Xia Chan and Xuan Yu. This was another small village nestled at the foot of the mountain, somewhat resembling Black Mountain Village.

At this moment, the sky was gloomy, with a heavy snowstorm blanketing the village in white, an expanse of dazzling whiteness wherever one looked.

Sang Que didn’t know if Little Chan would suffer from snow blindness, so she reminded her not to stare at the snow continuously.

Meow—

Just as they were about to enter the village, Xuan Yu suddenly crawled from Xia Chan’s arms to her shoulder, making a threatening growl towards a certain spot behind them.

As Sang Que and Xia Chan turned around, they saw a headless woman, covered in blood, standing under a snow-laden pine tree by the roadside. Before Sang Que could take a closer look, a gust of wind stirred up the snow, and the headless woman vanished again.

"It’s a wandering soul," Sang Que said to Xia Chan. She was already accustomed to such sights; as long as it was overcast or in places like forests where sunlight couldn’t reach, wandering souls would often appear, not necessarily having died nearby.

"Let’s enter the village first. We’ll pretend to be sisters lost in the snowstorm, not revealing our identities."

Sang Que advised Xia Chan, who nodded vigorously.

Ordinary folk were fearful of the Evil Suppression Bureau. If it’s confirmed that Jiuling Village has issues, they could reveal their identities for a direct investigation. But since that’s uncertain now, it’s best to pose as ordinary people, allowing the villagers to lower their guard and possibly reveal any clues, if there are any.

In the snowy weather, the villagers of Jiuling were staying indoors. As Sang Que and Xia Chan entered, they called out in the village.

"Is anyone there—"

Several households living at the village entrance heard the call, opened their doors to look out, and all they saw were women or elderly men. No young men were visible; most likely, they had been drafted for military service.

The villagers only gave them a brief glance before closing their doors in caution.

Woof! Woof woof!

Sang Que heard the barking of dogs and soon saw an old man leading a black dog out from the village to scrutinize them from afar.

"Who are you?"

Xia Chan held Xuan Yu, and Sang Que trudged a few steps forward. "The snow is too heavy. My sister and I got separated from the caravan and lost. We wanted to ask where the nearest relay station is."

The old man, presumably the village chief, remained wary, pointing Sang Que in a direction. "The relay station is that way. Our village doesn’t host outsiders; you’ll have to go on your own."

With that, the village chief led the black dog away, having no intention of dealing with Sang Que and Xia Chan.

"Xuan Yu, do you sense anything amiss?" Sang Que asked Xuan Yu.

Under usual circumstances, Xuan Yu would have already started exploring a new place. But the snow was too heavy, and Xuan Yu, afraid of the cold, stayed curled in Xia Chan’s arms, its bright green cat eyes scanning the surroundings.

Meow~

"Little Chan feels there’s nothing dirty here."

Sang Que nodded, first taking Xia Chan away, planning to sneak back alone later to eavesdrop outside a few households for a while. They were talking about their men being drafted and waiting for the snow to lessen so they could go hunting.

Later, Sang Que gathered some rags from one household and a handful of rice from the kitchen outside, using the witchcraft Yu Da taught her to perform divination with the Yin asking questions.

The conclusion from the Yin was also that there were no evil spirits or ghosts in the village; everything seemed normal.

With that, Sang Que had no choice but to leave and go back to the place where the headless wandering soul had appeared and search again, yielding nothing.

Helpless, Sang Que could only take Xia Chan and Xuan Yu and head to White Tower Village to meet up with He Buning.

White Tower Village was named after a white pagoda that housed a Longevity Buddha. Sang Que arrived early and didn’t see He Buning, so she wandered around the village.

White Tower Village was slightly larger in scale than Jiuling Village, yet still lacked young male villagers. A household had just lost an elderly family member, and the funeral had been held the day before, with musicians from Tianliang City coming to send him off.

Sang Que inquired and confirmed it was brothers Cheng Ge and Xingzhu.

By dusk, He Buning finally arrived, with no results from his side either.

For the next three days, Sang Que and He Buning operated separately, investigating all twelve villages around Guyang County. Sang Que, being more efficient, covered more grounds, using witchcraft to consult the Yin at each place.

Forget the Dragon and Snake Child, there wasn’t even a snake to be found in these villages.

He Buning had mentioned that the Dragon and Snake Child was depicted as having the upper body of a child and the lower body of a snake.

Finally, the group returned to the relay station, where Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu were still waiting. The snowstorm had lessened in recent days but showed no sign of stopping, trapping everyone from Tianliang City at the relay station.

At night, everyone gathered in He Buning’s room for discussion.

"Boss, could it be that we were mistaken and the Dragon and Snake Child statue isn’t near Guyang County? Or perhaps it was destroyed long ago?" Xiao Liu sat by the table, playing paper frog with Xia Chan and Xuan Yu.

Xiao Wu nodded in silence, somewhat agreeing with Xiao Liu’s perspective.

Sang Que said nothing, looking at He Buning.

He Buning pondered deeply and glanced out the window. "This snowstorm isn’t normal, and it started when we began investigating the missing item from the Merit Office, as if someone intentionally used the snow to hinder our search. The Dragon and Snake Child inherently has the power to bring disease and natural calamities. Just because we can’t find it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist; it might just be invisible to us."

Sang Que lowered her head with a guilty conscience, pretending her shoe sole had something on it. She wondered if this was the power of a clever mind to rationalize everything? No matter what the situation, they could always self-justify?

Xiao Wu realized something. "Boss, do you want to... use the Ghost Eye?"

Sang Que’s heart skipped a beat. So that’s how things were developing!

Sang Que thought it through. This might be good. Few knew about her obtaining the Yin Child’s lost right arm from Yan Daozi.

However, in Fish Woman Village, the Yin Child took the eyeball from He Buning, and she was present.

If she arrived at Tianliang City and the Yin Child’s other eyeball got lost, with He Buning’s talent for self-rationalization, he would surely suspect her.

Now that the Tianliang City Evil Suppression Bureau had lost many items, if He Buning took it upon himself to retrieve the Ghost Eye, that would be ideal.

But having just lost one Ghost Eye, if He Buning lost another, he’d likely be demoted from his Colonel position.

Moreover, Xiao Wu mentioned using the Ghost Eye to track down the Dragon and Snake Child, implying this Ghost Eye had the same function as the other?

He Buning spoke with concern. "The Merit Office strictly controls these special yin objects. Even now, I might not have the authority to borrow the Ghost Eye."

At this, Xiao Liu spoke up. "Why do we have to borrow it? Boss, don’t take everything on yourself. The items lost belong to the Merit Office. We’ve already gone through great effort in investigating and tracking the missing items. We’ve done enough to save their face."

"I think we should go back and speak directly with those at the Tianliang City Merit Office. Let them figure out how to find the Dragon and Snake Child statue. Make it clear: if they can’t find it, and a major snow disaster hits the Qingcang Mountain Range, they’ll have to go to Wangshan City and explain to General Cao."

Xiao Wu nodded, and Sang Que also felt Xiao Liu was right. Whoever made the mistake should bear the responsibility. They can help, but they won’t take the blame.

If the people at the Merit Office feared Colonel Cao of the Yin Walking General would investigate the matter, they would definitely employ the Ghost Eye to trace the Dragon and Snake Child. This way, the Ghost Eye wouldn’t have to pass through He Buning’s hands, and even if something went wrong, it wouldn’t implicate He Buning.

He Buning thought for a moment. "Alright, then let’s take advantage of the current lighter snowfall and set out immediately to return to Tianliang City."