Chapter 121: The Witch in the County Government Office

A moment later.

An unusual sound came from the door. CREAK... it opened a crack.

The woman in purple jumped in surprise and quickly turned to look.

No one was at the door.

It seemed the wind had simply blown it open.

The woman in purple stared at the doorway for a while before looking away.

Another moment passed.

The woman in purple suddenly let out a soft sigh and spoke to the empty air, "Who are you?"

No one answered.

The room was terrifyingly quiet.

Although the woman in purple couldn’t see anyone in the room, just a moment ago, her Lifebound Gu had grown uneasy. It had clearly sensed something!

"You must be using an Invisibility Talisman or some similar method."

The woman in purple spoke again, "Why not show yourself? Let Yiyi have a few drinks with you.

Don’t worry, sir. Yiyi won’t scream or let anyone else know."

"How many of your Witch Race are still in Bluestone City?"

A voice suddenly rang out in the room.

Liu Yiyi froze, a look of confusion on her face. "What Witch Race? Your voice sounds a little familiar... Ah!"

Liu Yiyi covered her small, cherry-like mouth, her face full of pleasant surprise. "Young Hero Lu, is that you? We’ve met before!"

Lu Bai’s expression was blank. He stood nearby, holding the Bone-Cutting Saber, watching Liu Yiyi coldly.

"Young Hero Lu, what are you doing?"

Liu Yiyi’s tone was a mix of feigned anger and coquettishness. "Come out, quickly! A hero like you, why are you acting like a common philanderer, hiding and sneaking around..."

As she spoke, a blush appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes filled with shyness.

Lu Bai remained silent.

"Sigh."

Liu Yiyi turned her back, sighed softly, and said, "Do you despise me, Young Hero? You won’t even grant me a single glance?"

Liu Yiyi’s expression turned sorrowful. She secretly formed a hand seal in front of her, a green glint flashing in her eyes. In a soft voice, she began, "Yiyi’s presence in this brothel was not by choice. My father passed away, and we had no money for his burial. My mother is gravely ill, and even..."

SHHINCK!

Before Liu Yiyi could finish, she felt a cold sensation on her throat, followed by a warm, viscous liquid flowing out.

"GURGLE..."

Liu Yiyi wanted to say more, but her throat felt like it was full of holes. Only a strange, gurgling sound escaped her lips.

"You..."

Liu Yiyi clutched her throat as blood seeped through her fingers. She struggled to her feet, her face a mask of disbelief. She clawed at the air in front of her twice, but her hands met nothing.

’Is Lu Bai even a man?’

This sob story had never failed her before. Even the most hard-hearted man would have felt a stir of pity and compassion upon hearing it.

But this Lu Bai didn’t say a word. He just came up and slit her throat!

’What a monster!’

Liu Yiyi felt her limbs grow cold. Her head swam, and her vision began to blur.

The most infuriating part was that from beginning to end, she never even saw a glimpse of Lu Bai.

He didn’t even give her a chance to fight back!

THUD.

Liu Yiyi collapsed to the floor, her breathing slowly ceasing.

Lu Bai searched the room.

He found a few things like Silver Needles and puppets, but no other clues.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Bai didn’t linger. He left the Drunken Flower Tower without a sound.

In a corner by the entrance of the gambling house, the Old Gambling Ghost opened his eyes to a narrow slit and muttered, "A name can be given by mistake, but a nickname is always earned. That kid is ruthless. He’s a real piece of work."

-----------------

After returning to the Luo Family estate, Lu Bai took off the Mountain Demon Hat.

He washed himself, changed into clean clothes, then went to the back kitchen and burned his bloodstained garments in a fire.

Only after taking care of everything did he return to his room.

With the help of the Mountain Demon Hat, this operation was much cleaner and more efficient than the one at the Zhou Family’s place.

Lu Bai carefully thought back. There were almost no loose ends.

Still, a sense of unease lingered in his heart.

’There must be other members of the Witch Race in Bluestone City.’

’Liu Yiyi from the Drunken Flower Tower was just one of them!’

Lu Bai had scanned the Drunken Flower Tower with his Eye of Illusion but hadn’t found any traces of Ghost Qi.

But not long after he arrived in Bluestone City, a Painted Skin Ghost and a Great Ghost had appeared one after another.

The one practicing Ghost Cultivation had yet to be found.

Lu Bai felt like he was forgetting something important.

He couldn’t recall what it was at the moment.

So much had happened in the past few days since he returned from outside the city.

Black Dog’s life had hung by a thread.

After saving him, Lu Bai had challenged Mo Shaohan to a martial contest.

Then came three days of intense training with Yun Luo, and finally today, Chen Tieshan’s sudden, violent death...

Lu Bai remained in his room, his brow furrowed in deep thought as he replayed every detail of the past few days.

The four lines chanted by the Old Gambling Ghost at the entrance to the gambling house suddenly flashed through his mind.

"With loaded dice, the dealer stakes his claim, / In this next game, your heart’s the price of shame, / The Drunken Flower wilts and washes down the drain, / County’s sun has set, a coffin bound in chains..."

Lu Bai recited it to himself a few times.

’Dealer,’ ’Drunken Flower.’

’Was the Old Gambling Ghost trying to hint at something?’

Lu Bai found a brush and paper and wrote down the four-line poem, character by character.

He read it over several times, his gaze finally landing on the first word of each line.

"’With... In... The... County...’"

Lu Bai said softly, then his eyes lit up. "The Witch is in the County Government Office!"

’Hiding in the County Government Mansion?’

Lu Bai’s expression turned grim and uncertain.

He suddenly thought of something else.

When Li Tianxing had described the situation to him, he’d said that people from the Xuanjian Sect and the County Government Office had visited the Luo Family together to discuss transferring the Tier Two Profound Iron Ore mine.

And the two Cultivators from the Xuanjian Sect had no traces of Ghost Qi on them.

Which meant the problem lay with the person accompanying them from the County Government Office!

Black Dog wasn’t trying to attack the Xuanjian Sect Cultivators that day, but the person from the County Government Office!

If this member of the Witch Race was hiding in the County Government Office, things were much more complicated.

Lu Bai wasn’t sure how many of the Witch Race were hidden in the County Government Mansion.

Or how many people were under their control.

’Does Governor Dou Kuan have any connection to the Witch Race?’

Everything was unknown.

What’s more, the County Government Mansion was highly guarded.

Even with the Mountain Demon Hat to conceal his presence, he might not be able to find the Witch Race member hidden inside.

He had already discovered the Mountain Demon Hat’s drawback earlier in the Underground Gambling House.

It could only hide his presence, not the sounds he made.

The slightest unusual noise would give him away.

’To solve this, I’ll probably need the help of the Evil Extermination Bureau!’

Then Lu Bai had another thought.

’The Evil Exterminator Guards aren’t in the city!’

It seemed the Evil Exterminator Guards’ departure from Bluestone City was no coincidence.

They were likely lured away by the Witch Race in the County Government Mansion.

Lu Bai had a premonition that the crisis was drawing nearer.

The moment he perceived the enemy through the Golden Silkworm Gu in his body and their senses made contact, he knew the other party had also become aware of him!

Lu Bai reached into his robes, took out the Jade Bottle, uncorked it, and poured out the Enlightenment Pill inside.

A rich, medicinal aroma filled the air.

This was completely different from the Bone Strengthening Pill and Bone Forging Pill he had taken before.

Those two were merely Low Grade Elixirs, containing only twenty to thirty percent of their potential medicinal power. Their color was murky, their surfaces rough, and their smell acrid.

This Enlightenment Pill had only minuscule impurities, like the tip of a needle. It was smooth and lustrous as jade, and its fragrance was captivating.

He estimated it was a Top Grade Elixir, containing ninety to one hundred percent of its medicinal power!

Without hesitation, Lu Bai swallowed the Enlightenment Pill.

A massive, warm burst of energy instantly exploded within him, surging into his Blood Qi.

Lu Bai used the power contained within the Enlightenment Pill to begin stimulating his Double Yin acupoints.

If he could just open one more acupoint, his combat power would rise to another level!