A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 424: Disaster Leads to the Poisonous Insect Valley

At night, soldiers and horses surged in Guicheng, Lianzhou, and the north and south gates were closed early. After Xiao Hongzhong reported to the governor of Lianzhou that the Poisonous Insect Valley had secretly poisoned Guicheng, he sent people to search the city for the whereabouts of the poisoner. For a while, the people talked a lot. When they learned that a thief had sneaked into Xiao's mansion and poisoned people, they were filled with righteous indignation and spontaneously cooperated with the officers and soldiers to search for suspicious people.

Half an hour later, two dark figures jumped into a shabby thatched house outside Guicheng. They knelt in front of the masked man in black who had been waiting there for a long time and said respectfully:

"Lord Zuogo!"

"Mission accomplished?" The masked man in black asked coldly with his hands behind his back.

"We were just one step away. We didn't expect that Xiao Hongzhong's son would come back at the critical moment..." The two men kneeling on the ground looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then one of them replied tremblingly.

"In other words, your mission this time has failed?"

"Please give us another chance, Lord Zuo Hu!" Hearing the cold voice above their heads, the two men lowered their heads and requested in a trembling voice.

"Idiot! You've alerted the enemy. Didn't you hear the commotion in the city right now? If you were half an hour later, you might not be able to get out." The masked man in black sneered, and then whispered angrily.

The two people kneeling on the ground trembled and sweated profusely when they heard this, and dared not say a word.

"Forget it. Considering your previous contributions, I will not pursue the matter this time. Get out of here before the soldiers search outside the city!" After a long silence in the broken thatched hut, the masked man in black suddenly spoke in a cold voice.

"Thank you, Lord Zuo Hu!" The two men who were still kneeling on the ground were secretly delighted and kowtowed to express their gratitude. But then one of them couldn't help but ask worriedly, "What if the higher-ups ask about this..."

"Although the mission failed, fortunately you successfully led the disaster to the Poison Insect Valley. As for Zheng Yunqi, we can only wait for an opportunity to get rid of her in the future." The masked man in black said calmly, then turned to look at the two people under his feet and continued to instruct: "But if you want to live, you must keep your mouths shut. Don't let the North Film Academy get hold of any handle, otherwise no one can save you."

"Yes, thank you, Lord Zuo Hu!"

"Get out of here!"

Soon, the two shadows climbed through the window and left again. Nanying Zuohu also came to the door and looked at the flickering fire in the city. He raised his fist and banged on the door, saying helplessly: "It just so happens that Zheng Yunqi lives in Xiao's mansion. Now that Xiao Hongzhong has been alarmed, it will be even more difficult for him to find another opportunity. Damn it!"

In the Fu Garden of Xuancheng in Xiyue Kingdom, Yan Zong finally woke up after a few days of drowsiness in bed. He was refreshed and asked Mr. Fan and Yu Cheng about the traitors:

"In other words, the old woman who assassinated me and the three strong men who acted with her that day were all killers hired by Liunan's rebels?" With the help of Yu Cheng, Yan Zong came to the pavilion in the garden and asked with a sneer after listening to Mr. Fan's statement.

"Yes, the mastermind behind all this is Pan Huaian, the imperial censor of Liunan. After Liunan surrendered to Xiyue, he fled to the neighboring country of Nanjiang. The three people who died in Manze were originally servants in Pan Huaian's mansion. They were retaliated by him just because they abandoned him and surrendered to Xiyue." Mr. Fan replied, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and slowly sitting in front of Yan Zong.

"Sir, you are very insightful and thought of starting from the identities of the three dead people in Manze. When His Highness was assassinated, the old woman lied that she was avenging her dead son. I was almost misled by this sentence." Yu Cheng also added.

"Have all the people been captured now?" Yan Zong asked again.

"Yes, in addition to the old woman and her three accomplices, there were also several traitors who had previously attempted to assassinate the gentleman. They were Pan Huaian's loyal servants and were all captured in one fell swoop." Yu Cheng continued to smile and bowed in response.

"Where is Pan Huaian? Has he asked Nanjiang to hand over the person?" After hearing Yu Cheng's words, Yan Zong nodded with relief and asked coldly.

"Pan Huaian is dead. I think he knew his plan had failed and committed suicide out of fear of punishment." Mr. Fan replied immediately.

"Dead? That's too good for him!" Yan Zong gritted his teeth and said unwillingly.

"Your Highness, sir, I heard a piece of news these two days that made me suspect that there might be something fishy about Pan Huaian's death." Yu Cheng, who was standing aside, frowned and hesitated for a moment before speaking to the two people in front of him.

"Oh? What news?" Mr. Fan looked up at Yu Cheng and asked curiously.

"I heard that those Liunan officials who would rather defect to other countries than surrender to Xiyue suddenly hanged themselves within just half a month. It's very bizarre!" Yu Cheng became interested and sat aside to reply.

"They all died in the same way?" Yan Zong and Mr. Fan looked at each other and asked Yu Cheng at the same time.

"Well, at first everyone thought it was just a coincidence, but as more and more people died, the news spread among the countries. Naturally, Xiyue Country became the first target of public criticism. It was not until a Taoist doctor from Yuhai Country found out that the two officials died because they were poisoned by the secret medicine Gu Xin from the Southern Xinjiang Poisonous Insect Valley and their minds were controlled by someone, so they pretended to commit suicide. Now the spearheads of the countries have turned to the Southern Xinjiang Poisonous Insect Valley."

After listening to Yu Cheng's words, Yan Zong remained silent, but a complex expression flashed in his cold eyes, while Mr. Fan stroked his beard and muttered to himself with some doubt:

"Secret medicine Gu Xin? This is a secret poison from the Southern Border Poisonous Insect Valley that can manipulate a person's mind and soul, hence the name Gu Xin. But the Poisonous Insect Valley has always lived in seclusion, mysterious and hard to find, and they have never been involved in political struggles between countries, so how could they have such a deep hatred with these officials of the former Liunan Dynasty?"

"Yes, if you want to say that someone is trying to shift the blame, the secret medicine Gu Xin is a poison that is kept secret in the Poisonous Insect Valley, and I heard that only the Valley Master of the Poisonous Insect Valley knows the formula. Although the owner of the Poisonous Insect Valley changed a year ago, and the current Valley Master is the eldest disciple of the former Valley Master, no matter what, how could the owner of the Poisonous Insect Valley pass on the secret medicine and bring disaster upon himself?" Yu Cheng also shook his head, puzzled.

"All the countries are denouncing the Poisonous Insect Valley. What is the opinion of the Queen of Southern Xinjiang?" Yan Zong asked calmly, picking up the warm tea beside him.

“The whereabouts of the Poisonous Insect Valley are mysterious, and it is said that there are deadly poisons hidden within a ten-mile radius outside the valley. Even the Southern Xinjiang Dynasty does not dare to search for it easily. Therefore, the Queen of Southern Xinjiang only announced to the outside world that the actions of the Poisonous Insect Valley have nothing to do with the Southern Xinjiang Dynasty, and the other countries can do nothing about it. At most, they can just curse and vent their anger.” Yu Cheng then replied to the King.

Yan Zong did not say anything, but lowered his eyes to look at the warm tea in the cup and thought to himself: Liunan was very good friends with Southern Xinjiang, and there was no reason for these officials to offend the Poison Insect Valley and cause trouble for themselves, unless they had some hidden deal in private. But Liunan had been dead for several months and these officials had already scattered to various countries. Why did the Poison Insect Valley kill them all? Or maybe what Yu Cheng said was right, and the Shadow Clan cleaned up these traitors on the orders of the emperor, and then directed the disaster to the Poison Insect Valley? But how did the Shadow Clan get the secret medicine Gu Heart of the Poison Insect Valley?

Although Yan Zong was stationed in the military camp for many years, he had a good relationship with his elder brother since childhood and knew his personality to some extent. When Emperor Liunan surrendered to Xiyue with all the civil and military officials, Liunan should have become the subjects of Xiyue. However, some officials vowed not to surrender to Xiyue and took the opportunity to escape to other countries. The court was magnanimous and did not pay much attention to this, but Yan Zong knew that his elder brother's generosity was just a superficial effort, and his methods behind the scenes were better than his father's, otherwise he would not have reused the Shadow Clan.

Therefore, regarding this matter, Yan Zong was more inclined to believe that it was his royal brother who secretly ordered the Shadow Clan to kill all these rebellious ministers. However, he was puzzled as to how the Shadow Clan obtained the secret medicine Gu Xin from the Poisonous Insect Valley. Even if the Poisonous Insect Valley would cooperate with the Shadow Clan, it would be impossible for them to easily pass on their unique skills to outsiders and bring themselves into trouble.

"Your Highness, there is news from Lianzhou in Jingsong Kingdom." Just as Yan Zong was lost in thought, a secret guard appeared outside the pavilion, and immediately handed over the letter that had just been taken off the carrier pigeon with both hands and reported.

Yu Cheng immediately stood up and walked out of the pavilion, and handed the letter in the secret guard's hand to the prince.

"What?" Yan Zong opened the rolled-up letter and couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise.

"Your Highness, what happened?" Seeing the shock on His Highness' face, Yu Cheng and Mr. Fan couldn't help but become curious.

Yan Zong said nothing, but handed the letter to Mr. Fan. Yu Cheng glanced at it and his eyes widened in shock:

"How dare the Poison Insect Valley come to Xiao Hongzhong's house and poison him at this time?"

"What's the purpose of the Poisonous Insect Valley making enemies everywhere?" Mr. Fan also frowned, puzzled again.

Although the letter did not specify the details, Yan Zong guessed that the poisoned person must be Zheng Yunqi who lived in Xiao Hongzhong's mansion. Zheng Yunqi was very young, and her father Zheng Yu was an upright general. It was impossible for the father and daughter to have any connection with the Poisonous Insect Valley. Yan Zong was more convinced that the Shadow Clan was acting on orders. As for how they got the secret medicine Gu Heart, he did not know.