185: Chapter 185 Disappearance, Earthquake!

By the time Lin Wan reached the city gate, a scene of chaos met her eyes.

The heavy city gates were wide open, and hundreds of City Defense Army soldiers were slumped on the ground in disarray.

Many soldiers were deathly pale, their legs trembling so violently they couldn't even stand.

An atmosphere of defeat and fear permeated the entire city gate area.

"Where are they?" Lin Wan demanded sharply.

A Constable behind her strode forward and grabbed a City Defense Army officer by the collar.

"I asked you, where are they!"

The officer swallowed hard, pointed outside the city, and stammered, "They... they ran away."

"Hundreds of men, and you couldn't stop one person?" Lin Wan laughed in anger.

"With hundreds of men forming a military formation, you could have blocked even a Return to Truth Realm expert for a while. You actually let someone escape without even lifting a hand?"

The officer made a bitter face, his voice trembling with a hint of a sob, "Constable Lin, it's really not our fault."

"You...!"

"Forget it, Constable Lin, there's no need to waste words on these people." The Gold-Badge Constable who had come with her stopped Lin Wan and shook his head.

The Great Wei City Defense Army was already mediocre to begin with; placing any hope in them was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Lin Wan gritted her teeth.

She tapped her feet lightly against the ground, leaped to the edge of the city gate, and peered into the distance.

On the wide official road, a few trees swayed slightly, but there was no trace of the person in the bamboo hat.

"A bunch of useless trash."

Lin Wan cursed under her breath, filled with frustration.

Such a good opportunity, and she had let the person slip away right under her nose.

With no other choice, she could only lead her subordinates back to the Execution Ground.

By the time they returned to the vegetable market, the chaos at the Execution Ground had subsided significantly.

The Constables were cleaning up the bodies and maintaining order.

The surrounding commoners had long since fled, leaving behind only the mess and the pungent smell of blood.

Wu De's headless corpse had been wrapped in a straw mat and tossed aside casually.

Shi Taichu's body had also been collected, though there were no further arrangements yet.

Lin Wan walked quickly to a dark-faced old man and bowed with cupped hands.

"Chief Constable Xiang Nan, I am incompetent; I let them escape."

Chief Constable Xiang Nan stood there with his hands behind his back, saying nothing.

Lin Wan continued her report, "However, I have identified the person."

"This person is none other than the wanted criminal from the Earth Ranking who disappeared from the Jianghu, Mountain Lord!"

"Mountain Lord?" Chief Constable Xiang Nan frowned slightly.

He was just about to speak when his originally ruddy complexion suddenly turned deathly pale.

"Cough, cough."

He coughed a few times and spat out a large mouthful of dark red blood.

The blood landed on the bluestone slab, emitting a "hissing" corrosive sound and rising in a puff of white smoke.

The hard bluestone was corroded into pits, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

"Chief Constable!"

The surrounding Gold-Badge Constables gathered around, their faces full of shock.

In their eyes, Chief Constable Xiang Nan was one of the pillars of the Six Doors.

He had only exchanged a few blows with the opponent, yet he was so severely injured?

Chief Constable Xiang Nan waved his hand to indicate he was fine.

After spitting out the stagnant blood, his complexion actually regained a bit of color.

He let out a long, stale breath, and his breathing gradually steadied.

Chief Constable Xiang Nan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze gloomy.

"What a Mountain Lord."

"What an overbearing True Qi."

He looked down at his right hand.

His entire arm was trembling slightly, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger had split open, dripping with blood.

In that punch just now, not only was the opponent's strength immense, but their True Qi was also laced with an extremely cold and sinister Evil Qi.

That cold Evil Qi was like a bone-eating poison.

If he hadn't made a split-second decision to forcibly expel the Evil Qi with his own blood and Qi, his entire arm would likely be ruined by now.

"Pass down the order: update the wanted poster and strength assessment for the Mountain Lord immediately."

Chief Constable Xiang Nan said coldly.

"This person is extremely dangerous, and his strength is definitely not that of an ordinary Return to Truth Realm expert. Raise the alert level to the highest!"

"Report this to the Dragon Sparrow Bureau immediately and ask for instructions from above."

"Yes." Lin Wan replied quickly.

Just as everyone was preparing to withdraw,

Rumble!

The ground suddenly shook violently.

It was as if a Dragon was turning over, and the roof tiles of the surrounding houses rattled.

The people at the Execution Ground were swayed unsteadily, looking around in confusion and fear.

"What's going on?"

"An earthquake?"

"Get out of the way, the wall is going to collapse!"

Cries of alarm erupted everywhere.

Shop signs on both sides of the street fell one after another, smashing to pieces on the ground.

Some dilapidated houses even began to develop cracks, and dust fell in showers.

The commoners who had already hidden in their homes now ran out onto the streets in terror.

However, this tremor came and went quickly.

In just a few breaths, the shaking disappeared.

Leaving behind only the cracked ground and the collapsed walls.

Lin Wan stood steadily on a patch of ground that was still intact, completely unaffected by the vibration.

Earthquakes were not common in the capital; one happening in a decade would be considered frequent.

Yet this earthquake had occurred without any warning, giving her a vague sense of foreboding.

"What on earth has happened..."