nycdaug Chapter 172 The Non-existent Clue
Chapter 172 The Non-existent Clue
Tong Guchun looked at the group of people looking over from the boat ahead, gestured for them to move closer to the shore, and then grabbed the oar from the boatman and started rowing himself.
It must be said that this blood-transformed warrior possessed astonishing strength, and his rowing speed was practically like flying.
The small boat the two were in suddenly moved toward the shore at an exaggerated speed.
Once on the shore, Tong Guchun leaped into the water, landing on top of a plank in the water. He then reached out and grabbed it, using the momentum to pull the plank out with him, and they both landed on the shore.
At the same time, the other two small boats also arrived, and they saw figures leaping up and landing beside Tong Guchun.
"Sect Master, look."
Tong Guchun handed the wooden board, which was about three inches long and one and a half inches wide, to Zhou Ruoxu.
Zhou Ruoxu frowned as he took it and carefully examined it. He then noticed the traces left by the fire.
"Old Huang, take a look."
Zhou Ruoxu didn't speak, but handed the wooden board to Elder Huang next to him.
Huang Changxiu took the wooden board, examined it, and then shook his head slightly:
"It seems that the people of Taiping Palace are in grave danger. This is fragrant wood, a specialty of Yizhou, which is widely used in shipbuilding because of its waterproof properties."
“It’s winter now, and fishermen aren’t out. Apart from caravans, there are hardly any other boats to be seen on this lake.”
"And none of the merchant caravans from Yizhou have been reported to have been burned in the lake recently, so it seems..."
Huang Changxiu stopped speaking at this point, but everyone understood what he meant.
Zhou Ruoxu nodded slightly upon hearing this, then looked at Tong Guchun beside him and asked with a puzzled expression:
"Elder Tong, how did you find out?"
"Sect Master, I didn't notice either. Elder Li saw it."
Tong Guchun pointed to Ding Yi over there.
"Ah, I've mastered a pupil technique, so my eyesight is a bit better than yours, hahaha!"
Ding Yi made no attempt to hide his laughter and burst into tears.
Upon hearing this, everyone looked surprised, but their surprise was quickly replaced by delight.
"I never imagined that Lord Li also possessed pupil techniques; he's truly a genius!!"
As Zhou Ruoxu spoke, he stepped forward and patted Ding Yi on the shoulder.
"We'll have to rely on Elder Li a lot more from now on!"
"Little things, little things."
Ding Yi readily agreed.
You bunch of punks, just wait and see how I make you look like fools.
Ding Yi looked at the group of people in front of him and sneered inwardly.
Now that they had a clue, the group estimated the speed of the current and then boarded the boat again, heading forward.
After a while, Ding Yi and his group spotted a large ship moored on the lake ahead.
The people on the ship were all dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, and judging from their appearance, they were indeed from the White River City Surveillance Bureau!
"Who's down there?!"
The people on the large ship also spotted Ding Yi and his group. Someone leaned out from the stern and looked down at the small boat below, asking a question.
“We are all one family. We are here on the orders of Director Fu to investigate the disappearance of the Taiping Palace messenger.”
Zhou Ruoxu quickly replied.
"So it's Sect Leader Zhou."
Another voice came from the large ship, and then a man with a scar on his face appeared on the deck at the stern, looking down at the three small boats below.
"So it's Captain Ding."
Zhou Ruoxu looked at the man on the deck, clasped his hands in a fist and smiled as he spoke.
Ding Xiu smiled and then said nothing more. Instead, he turned and returned to the cabin, clearly not wanting to pay any attention to Zhou Ruoxu and the others.
Seeing this, Zhou Ruoxu did not show any change in expression. Instead, he gestured to the elders on the two small boats beside him, and the three small boats moved toward the shore.
"Sect Master, they stopped there; they must have discovered something."
As soon as Huang Changxiu stepped ashore, he spoke to Zhou Ruoxu.
“They’ve taken over the middle of the lake, so we can’t interfere. But there might still be traces around here.”
As Zhou Ruoxu spoke, he turned his gaze toward the jungle behind him.
"If the boat carrying the people of Taiping Palace were destroyed by fire, whether by accident or attack, the people of Taiping Palace would definitely abandon ship and flee, and the jungles on both sides would be the best choice."
Zhou Ruoxu analyzed.
Upon hearing this, Ding Yi, who was standing to the side, was quite surprised.
He naturally recognized this place, after all, it was here that he and the people of the Chaotic God Cult ambushed the Taiping Palace's warships.
However, it seems that the traces here have been cleaned up very meticulously by the Chaotic God Cult, and there is nothing unusual about it at all.
"Shall we split into two teams and head out to explore the jungle on either side?"
Huang Changxiu immediately made a suggestion.
"Ah."
As Zhou Ruoxu spoke, he led two elders to the jungle on the other side, while Ding Yi remained with Tong Guchun and searched the jungle on this side.
The two entered the jungle and discovered a problem.
The jungle on the shore was so vast, with towering trees and dense bushes, that they couldn't find any trace of it at all.
Tong Guchun was still unwilling to give up and kept climbing the tree to look around, but after a long time, he still didn't find anything.
Just then, Ding Yi walked behind a bush and, taking advantage of Tong Guchun's inattention above, tore a piece of cloth from the lining of his clothes, then dipped it in saliva and wrote the three characters "Baiyun Temple" on it.
I don't know if saliva will work, if not, I'll have to use urine (which is colored).
Ding Yi frowned as he looked at the faint water stains on the strip of cloth, thinking to himself. The next moment, a line of text appeared in his field of vision.
[Currently, the required lifespan for enhancement is 25 days. Should I enhance it now?]
Seeing the lifespan reduction notification, Ding Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief and then directly selected "yes".
The next moment, the strip of cloth in his hand trembled slightly, and then it transformed into another form in the white light.
Fragments of the robe from Baiyun Temple
A fragment of a robe worn by a monk from Baiyun Temple still retains a faint golden aura.
Upon seeing the prompt, Ding Yi immediately raised an eyebrow and then casually tossed the fragment to the ground.
Ding Yi did not deliberately expose the fragment, but continued to walk forward, pretending to continue the search.
In fact, actively revealing your discovery might arouse suspicion.
Any trap will only be firmly believed to be correct if the target discovers it themselves; this is a common tactic used to scam people.
Sure enough, after walking another hundred steps or so, Ding Yi suddenly heard a gasp from behind.
"Elder Li, come quickly!"
Tong Guchun's voice came from afar.
Upon hearing this, Ding Yi's lips curled into a smile, and he quickly rushed towards Tong Guchun's direction.
When Ding Yi arrived at Tong Guchun's place, he saw Tong Guchun holding the strip of cloth he had just thrown away, looking as excited as a child.
"Look, what's this?!"
Upon seeing Ding Yi, Tong Guchun immediately raised the strip of cloth in his hand.
"Could this be?!"
Ding Yi asked in shock.
"Hehe, if I'm not mistaken, this is something from Baiyun Temple. Good, good, I didn't expect it to be hidden so well, but I still managed to find it!"
Tong Guchun chuckled.
"Let's go find the sect leader. With this, we can get away with it!"
Tong Guchun, holding the strip of cloth, leaped swiftly through the jungle, speaking to Ding Yi at the same time.
Upon seeing this, Ding Yi naturally used his lightness skill to follow.
After the two returned to the shore, Tong Guchun immediately took out his short flute and began to play it again.
The melodious flute music caught the attention of the inspectors in the middle of the lake.
They peered out of the ship one by one, but lost interest once they realized it was the Wanxiang Sect. They then went back to their work.
Before long, Zhou Ruoxu and his companions appeared in the jungle opposite.
The two groups faced each other across the river. Tong Guchun made a gesture, and Zhou Ruoxu led Elder Huang and the other man onto a small boat, then headed towards them.