Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 185 - 184: Evil Influence

"They left on their own?" The talisman was shocked when he heard this. "If it were just one or two, that would be one thing, but so many strong men quietly disappeared at night and vanished without a trace?!"

The rune nodded: "That’s why the locals believe something sinister is at play.

There’s a rumor that their previous mining activities angered the Mountain God, who then abducted the able-bodied men as punishment.

But just now, an old woman told me she doesn’t believe the gods would do such heartless things. She thinks it’s definitely the work of Evil Spirits."

"Interesting! This is really quite intriguing!" Yan Daoxin listened for a while and suddenly smiled, "I initially thought I was being dragged onto your pirate ship this time, quite boring.

Unexpectedly, just as we arrived in Shuo Country, we encountered such an incident!

Pretty good, truly not a wasted trip!"

The five of them walked through the forest for another hour or so and arrived at a town. Seeing the sun had set, making it unsuitable to continue traveling, they found an inn in town to rest for the night before continuing their journey.

The innkeeper was a man in his fifties, and the two young workers in the shop were his sons. Though none of them were short, they were all thin and frail. When asked about the mysterious disappearances in the area, the three of them didn’t seem worried at all.

"Honored guests, over the past year, quite a few men have mysteriously disappeared in this area. However, they were all strong and healthy types, while those like us, skinny and weak, have remained safe and sound, with nothing happening to us."

The innkeeper kindly advised them, "I see you all look quite fit, so after dark, don’t go out. Leave as soon as daylight comes!"

When he heard the five of them wanted a room each, he hastily waved his hands: "Our small inn can’t accommodate five separate rooms; otherwise, I would advise you all to stay together!

I suggest you... open two rooms instead. It’s not wise to sleep alone!

In these parts, those who went missing are said to have woken up in the middle of the night and just wandered off in a daze.

This whole business is just too eerie! So, it’s better not to be alone. If someone unintentionally gets possessed, at least there’ll be someone nearby to help stop them, or call for others to help!"

"Alright, then we’ll listen to the innkeeper and take two rooms." Lu Qing nodded after hearing the innkeeper’s advice and took out silver to pay for the rooms.

The innkeeper sighed in relief when he saw how cooperative Lu Qing was. "Good, good, I’ll have my son show you to your rooms right away!

In my inn, nothing has ever happened, and I truly dread having such strange happenings occur right under my nose. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps!"

"Didn’t the families of those who ran out in the middle of the night stop them?

Could it be that everyone in their households was sound asleep at night without anyone noticing?" Yan Daoxin asked curiously.

"Of course there was!" The innkeeper sighed, "I heard from a relative in the countryside that in their village, there really was a family woken up in the middle of the night, firmly stopping the dazed young man from leaving the house.

But later on, who knows what happened. The person didn’t leave, but seemed as if his soul was lost, turning foolish and witless..."

Realizing what he’d said, the innkeeper suddenly felt something was amiss. The method he suggested clearly had no tangible effect, and he looked a bit awkward, giving Lu Qing and his companions a sheepish smile: "Well... having more people around is better. If there’s any disturbance at night, you can stay alert and not fall for any tricks!

You all have the protection of immortals, so I’m sure nothing will happen!"

With that, he quickly called over his son to help guide the guests to their rooms.

The inn in this small town couldn’t compare to those in bustling counties. The rooms appeared cramped and basic, both featuring a single large bed with tattered straw mats laid atop.

Seeing the room’s simplicity, the rune hesitated and glanced at Zhu Yu.

Having followed Lu Qing on their travels, the talisman and rune weren’t unused to spartan conditions. Sleeping rough in the wild, with the ground for a bed and the sky as a canopy, wasn’t strange to them, so such conditions didn’t hinder their rest.

But Zhu Yu was different.

While outsiders saw her as a fair and handsome young Daoist, the talisman and rune knew she was the master of their household.

The waiter, though lean, was quick-witted. Seeing the rune’s expression of dissatisfaction, he quickly said, "Honored guests, in our place here, we don’t often have traveling merchants, and we don’t have any superior rooms. The rest of the rooms are much the same.

If you don’t believe me, feel free to look through them all; choose whichever room you like!"

Zhu Yu didn’t mind. Previously, at an abandoned house, she had slept on a thin layer of straw, which was less comfortable than the large shared bed in this little inn.

"Then please help us prepare some hot water for washing up!" she said politely to the young waiter, casually handing over a string of Copper Coins.

"Alright, sure thing!" The young waiter took the copper coins, likely unused to guests spending so freely, and grinned widely, "Please rest in your rooms for a while, I’ll arrange for hot water to wash away the dust!"

With that, he happily sprinted off.

"Enough, let’s not be too picky. They really are much the same, all in the same condition!" Yan Daoxin stretched, kneading his aching lower back from the long horse ride, and pointed at a room next to them, "The three of us will stay next door to you. We’ll be close to one another, so if anything happens, we can respond."

Lu Qing nodded and entered another room with Zhu Yu.

Previously, Zhu Yu had rushed to reach their destination, fearing any unexpected developments before they could verify with Zhu Cheng.

But now, she wasn’t in a hurry.

The events along the way made her realize the person orchestrating all this had done so far more secretly than they had initially thought.

Perhaps the opposition wasn’t aiming to pin a rebellion charge directly on Prince Shuo but had a bigger scheme in mind.

In that case, uncovering the truth was important but not extremely urgent.

As her anxiety subsided, the exhaustion from their continuous journey resurfaced.