The cave was only a dozen meters high, and the two of them easily leaped into it.
As soon as they entered the cave, a strong smell of blood forced both of them to take a step back.
Following that, Lin Ji and Lu Zhao'er exchanged a glance, each seeing the disbelief in the other's eyes.
What kind of strong smell of blood could almost overwhelm two cultivators at the Fourth Realm!
The cave was not too large in size. Lin Ji casually tore off the hem of his long robe, found a branch, and lit a torch.
By the light of the fire, everything in the cave came into view.
A cushion, a large cauldron.
That was all.
The entire cave was unbelievably clean, not a speck of dust even when Lin Ji brushed his hand over the ground.
Lu Zhao'er had already stood in front of the cauldron.
"The smell of blood is coming from this cauldron."
"Be careful, don't lift the lid," Lin Ji quickly reminded.
Lu Zhao'er turned to look at Lin Ji, her gaze carrying a hint of strangeness.
"Am I too reckless in your eyes? Is it necessary for you to say that over such a small matter?"
"Just reminding you," Lin Ji smirked.
The smell of blood in the cave alone forced both of them to use their cultivation to resist. Who knew what had been refined in that cauldron.
"Perhaps the bodies of the people from Lianghe County were drained of blood and left in this cauldron," Lu Zhao'er speculated.
"What kind of thing needs to be refined with the blood of thousands of people? This seems a bit exaggerated," Lin Ji remarked.
"I don't know either, but it's obvious that this is not something you and I can investigate," Lu Zhao'er admitted with self-awareness.
Lin Ji readily agreed.
After searching the cave for a while and finding no other clues, Lin Ji asked, "Should we take the cauldron back, or leave it here and continue to find Master Zhan?"
The cauldron was as tall as two people. If they wanted to take it back, the two of them would certainly not be able to continue forward.
But before Lu Zhao'er could respond, a voice sounded at the entrance of the cave.
"No need to search for me, there's no need to take this cauldron with you, just leave it here," Master Zhan said.
"Master Zhan!" Lin Ji and Lu Zhao'er turned around, looking at Master Zhan with surprise.
"Are you alright?"
At this moment, Master Zhan looked a bit weary, with a dusty appearance.
He nodded slightly towards Lin Ji first, then looked at Lu Zhao'er.
"I'm fine. Lu Zhao'er, why are you here?"
"It's a mission from the capital, I took it," Lu Zhao'er replied casually.
"They allowed you to come? This matter is quite dangerous."
"I wanted to come," Lu Zhao'er replied succinctly.
Master Zhan nodded and didn't ask further, saying, "This is not the place to talk. You two should leave first. I will set up a restriction here to seal it, then we'll return to Liang City together."
Lin Ji and Lu Zhao'er quickly made their way to the cave entrance.
Then they saw Master Zhan forming hand seals with one hand, muttering something under his breath.
After a few breaths, a golden soul suddenly appeared and moved around in the cave.
Lin Ji really couldn't understand.
But when Master Zhan's soul returned to his body, a faint golden light shone in the cave. Lin Ji was surprised to find that he couldn't sense what was inside anymore.
"This is just a simple restriction. This place is not simple. We'll have to have someone from above come and deal with it again," Master Zhan sighed lightly.
After handling the situation in the cave, the three of them walked towards the outside of the mountain.
On the way, Lin Ji couldn't help but be curious but didn't dare to ask.
Lu Zhao'er, on the other hand, asked directly, "Did the man in black catch up?"
Master Zhan's face darkened instantly.
"I chased him for two days and three nights, I was almost out of Liangzhou! That guy runs really fast!"
Lin Ji pricked up his ears on the side.
This was the first time he had seen Master Zhan curse someone.
It was clear that he was really angry.
There was no need to ask further. Master Zhan said directly, "There are still some mysteries in this matter. The man in black is very strong! To be honest, if he were to fight me head-on, I might not be his match."
"Even you are not his match?" Lin Ji was astonished.
Lu Zhao'er also couldn't help but look at Master Zhan.
"I don't know the man in black's cultivation level, but he is injured and can still easily shake me off multiple times, so his cultivation level is naturally not low."
"Not only that, he seems to be entangled in something, so he only wants to escape and hasn't thought about fighting me."
"Where is he now?" Lu Zhao'er asked again.
"He has already left Liangzhou. I have already sent a message on my way back. I believe the surrounding states of Liangzhou will receive the news. This matter is temporarily unrelated to Liangzhou," Master Zhan said with a sigh of relief.
It wasn't until dawn that the three of them finally returned to Liang City.
Lu Zhao'er left with Master Zhan, while Lin Ji returned to his own residence.
It wasn't until he sat in the dining room that he suddenly realized that he had only eaten one meal yesterday.
"Breakfast is over, and it's breakfast again." Lin Ji thought to himself and couldn't help but smile.
He didn't know why he was laughing, he just felt that he had been busy all night, but in the end, he hadn't done anything.
It was really ridiculous.
Then he remembered the man in black mentioned by Master Zhan.
Lin Ji suddenly remembered that when he was in Qingyang County, he had also seen a man in black by the Liang River.
That man in black killed the pretentious Pig Dragon and said something about not being convenient to take action, otherwise he would casually kill Lin Ji and the others.
"Could it be that the man in black is the same person causing trouble in Lianghe County?"
At the thought of this, Lin Ji felt a chill in his heart.
He had actually faced such a dangerous person?
"Oh right!" Lin Ji suddenly widened his eyes.
He remembered the white-robed man he had seen in the Ghost King City.
The white robe, he felt familiar when he saw it.
Now it matched up!
White robe, black robe.
Apart from the color difference, the style of the robe on the white-robed man he saw in the Ghost King City was exactly the same as the robe on the black-robed man he saw by the Liang River!
Lin Ji didn't intend to think further.
He threw a piece of evenly sliced white meat into his mouth.
This matter was too big, not something he, a mere Fourth Realm Constable, could meddle in.
After finishing breakfast, he returned to his room, lay on the bed, and thought about the situation in the cave earlier.
"Lu Zhao'er and Master Zhan actually know each other? That's strange."
But this was just a small matter. This thought flashed through his mind and was then dismissed.
With a blink of an eye, it was already noon.
Lin Ji moved a chair to sit in the courtyard, basking in the sun, playing with Ah Lu's hair.
Just as he was leisurely enjoying himself, the steward, Old Li, hurried over.
Lin Ji felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.
"What's happening now?"
"Master, someone from the yamen has come, asking you to go over."
"Can't people have peace for a while?!" Lin Ji got up in anger, put on his clothes, and hurried towards the yamen.
Complaints aside, he still had to go.
(End of this chapter)