155: The news brought by Shen Jianxing

"System, I'm going into seclusion. Please pay more attention to the affairs of the governed territory."

After the battle in Yan Province, Lin Chuping had a deep realization and needed to go into seclusion to improve. Seeing that everything in the governed territory was stable, he directly announced his seclusion.

"Host, you can go with peace of mind. You can rest assured with my work."

Lin Chuping: "..."

To be honest, Lin Chuping was not very reassured, but he couldn't think of any other solution.

At worst, he would come out of seclusion to clean up the mess.

* * *

On the other side, after Granny Chen and her group returned to Qingzhou Prefecture City, they found two exquisitely decorated carriages parked at their home.

Flags embroidered with the characters "Shen" and "Liu" were inserted into the carriage shafts, gently swaying in the breeze.

Two young Juniors stood at their doorstep. Seeing Granny Chen in a daze, they quickly stepped forward to greet her.

"Temple Official Chen, we are the Temple Officials of Chang Sheng Village and Nan Shu Village. We apologize for our unannounced visit and hope Temple Official Chen will not take offense."

"Junior Liu Chunsheng."

"Junior Shen Jianxing."

Granny Chen chuckled. Of course, she wouldn't take offense. Perhaps because they were all Temple Officials under Lord Chuping, Granny Chen felt particularly close to these two young Juniors at first sight.

"Temple Official Shen, Temple Official Liu, I'm sorry for not coming out to meet you. You can just call this old woman Granny Chen."

Granny Chen bowed in salute.

"Granny Chen, there's no need for such formality."

Temple Official Shen's smile was gentle, but his gaze subtly swept over everyone's dirty and messy clothes. "I heard you all just returned from Yan Province?"

Chen Dashan was about to speak but was stopped by a look from Granny Chen.

"Since you two distinguished guests have come from afar, why not come to my humble abode for a cup of plain tea first?"

Granny Chen changed the subject. "I happen to have some matters I'd like to consult you about."

Temple Official Liu stroked his beard and said meaningfully, "That's good. We came here precisely to discuss an important matter with you all."

The group exchanged pleasantries for a long time before finally getting to the point.

It turned out that recently, several people from Chang Sheng Village had mysteriously disappeared after crossing the border of Qingzhou.

The story had to start five days ago.

Under the protection of Lord Chuping, Qingzhou was now very safe, so Liu Chunsheng, Shen Jianxing, Li Fu, and a few others discussed it and no longer restricted the young people in the village.

Anyone with strength wanted to go out and explore.

Usually, everyone traveled together, with the older ones guiding the new, and each time they went out, they always had someHarvest.

It was either game or herbs.

But it was precisely five days ago that something went wrong.

In the early morning five days ago, Li Ergou, a hunter from Chang Sheng Village, took three young Juniors out of the village.

This was their third time going hunting together near the Qingzhou border, and the previous two times had been very fruitful.

According to Li Ergou, the only survivor who escaped back, the situation at the time was like this.

* * *

At that time, they heard that there were deer herds in the old forest to the east, and Li Ergou's heart was moved when he heard about venison.

The youngest, Wang Hu, hesitated: "Uncle Li, isn't that almost the border? My mother said... that place is very eerie! We shouldn't go."

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Zhao Erniu, who was with them, patted the machete tucked at his waist. "With Lord Chuping's Divine Talisman protecting us, what kind of demons and ghosts would dare to approach?"

The three of them chatted and laughed as they left the village.

At noon, they indeed found a string of fresh deer hoofprints in the eastern forest.

"Strange..."

Li Ergou suddenly crouched down and touched the mud on the ground. "Why are these hoofprints reversed?"

Everyone looked closely, and cold sweat immediately broke out—all the hoofprints were walking backward, as if something was backing out of the forest.

Just then, a faint, almost imperceptible flute sound drifted from the forest.

The tune was very strange, sounding like someone laughing, and also like someone crying.

"Who's playing tricks there?"

Li Ergou sharply shouted, while quietly reaching for the Divine Talisman in hisin arms.

The flute sound stopped abruptly.

It was replaced by a "rustling" sound, as if something was closing in from all directions.

"Climb a tree! Quick!"

Li Ergou, being experienced, immediately darted up the nearest old locust tree.

The other two followed suit, climbing onto the branches.

Wang Hu had just settled on a tree fork when he suddenly felt a chill on his ankle.

He looked down and was instantly Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering—a pale hand was reaching out from inside the tree trunk, gripping his ankle tightly!

"Help...!"

Wang Hu's cry for help hadn't left his mouth when he was pulled into the tree trunk.

Even more bizarrely, not even a dent was left on the bark, as if the tree had always been solid.

Zhao Dani witnessed this scene with his own eyes and was so scared that he fell directly from the tree.

He was about to get up when he suddenly noticed that his shadow on the ground was not right—his own shadow was grinning at him.

"Lord Chuping, save me!"

Zhao Dani pulled out a Divine Talisman and slapped it on the ground.

A golden light flashed, and the shadow let out a piercing scream, curling up like burnt bark.

By the time Li Ergou came down from the tree, Zhao Dani was already gone.

Only a trail of wet footprints was left on the ground, extending deep into the forest.

In the end, only Li Ergou ran back, scrambling and stumbling.

They had already reported to Lord Chuping in the temple, but they had not received a response for a long time. They figured Lord Chuping was very busy and had no time to attend to such minor matters.

"After much thought, we still need to organize people to investigate beyond the border."

Shen Jianxing's expression was solemn. "It just so happens that Your Majesty has now moved the capital to Qingzhou Prefecture City. If we can enlist the help of experts from the imperial court, our chances will be greater."

Granny Chen pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "It is indeed strange. Logically, with Lord Chuping's Divine Power protecting the Qingzhou border, such things shouldn't happen."

Liu Chunsheng lowered his voice.

"We suspect that after the black mist dissipated, some evil spirits might have taken the opportunity to lurk near the border, specifically preying on isolated commoners."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dashan immediately slammed the table and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's take people directly and kill those bastards!"

Granny Chen glared at him.

"Rash! Without even knowing who the opponent is, acting rashly will only lead to needless deaths."

Shen Jianxing nodded in agreement.

"Granny Chen is right. This matter needs to be deliberated carefully. It would be best to unite experts from all over Qingzhou and also ask the imperial court to dispatch experts to assist."

Liu Chunsheng also added from the side.

"Our two villages have already organized manpower. It's just the imperial court..."

Granny Chen thought for a moment, then suddenly said.

"Your Majesty is now in charge of Qingzhou Prefecture City and holds Lord Chuping in high regard. If we submit a memorial in the name of the Temple Officials, perhaps we can persuade the imperial court to send people."

After some discussion, the group decided that Granny Chen would take the lead, unite the Temple Officials from various villages to submit a petition to the imperial court, and at the same time organize an elite team to first investigate the border situation.