Zu An was worried about Ji Xiaoxi's safety, so he did not hold anything back and flew straight into the sky towards Tongluo Mountain.
His movements quickly attracted the attention of many people in the capital.
"As expected of the regent, he disappeared in the blink of an eye."
"Isn't there a no-fly formation in the capital? Why does it have no impact on him at all?"
"The punishment is not enough, haven't you heard, doctor? Those are the things that restrain us assholes."
…
The major families in the capital are also looking at the sky with doubts.
"He left in such a hurry. Could it be that something big happened in the court? I haven't heard anything happened recently."
"This evil star had better leave Beijing and never come back."
…
In the palace, in the Kunning Palace, Eunuch Lu greeted the queen through the curtain, "Mother, the regent seemed to have flown out of the capital in a hurry just now."
"I know." The queen waved her hand lazily. With Zu An's cultivation, there was no need to worry about him being in any danger.
Eunuch Lu exited the room with some surprise, thinking that the empress usually paid the most attention to intelligence, but when it came to Zu An, she seemed so open-minded and at ease.
Sure enough, if a man is strong enough, women will be much more tolerant of him.
Thinking of the queen's very comfortable and lazy look just now, Eunuch Lu felt sad and excited at the same time. The queen must be very happy in the back of the college today.
In the East Palace, Rong Mo chirped by the window and ran to report to the Crown Princess, "Miss, Miss, the regent seems to have flown out of the capital, so fast."
"I know." Bi Linglong responded feebly. At this time, her heart was filled with the grievances between the Bi family and the previous generation of Zu'an, and she had no time to think about anything else.
Rong Mo was startled, thinking that the young lady usually cares most about Master Zu's news. What happened today that even the news about Master Zu couldn't arouse her interest?
Let’s just say that Zu An traveled very fast and soon arrived at the Tongluo Mountains.
It is close to the capital, so the distance is not too far.
The reason why it has this name is that it is said that the Suidan River flows through here and it happened to turn several turns here. The rushing river water hits the mountain and makes the sound of gongs.
Of course, the official records of the imperial court are that this mountain is named because it is rich in copper mines.
However, after thousands of years of mining, the copper mines were almost exhausted, and the imperial court abandoned the mines here.
There are still many mines left over on the mountain, where rainwater accumulates over time, forming small lakes.
I don’t know if it’s because of the rich mineral content, but the water in those lakes is extremely clear, and from a distance, it looks like pieces of sapphire.
Shadow Moon Lake is the most beautiful and largest among them, but it is located deep in the Tongluo Mountains and is rarely visited on weekdays.
At the foot of Tongluo Mountain
A small town that looks a little more depressed than usual. It's not dark yet, but there are not many people on the street.
Zu An didn't take it to heart. After all, this place was not as modern as the city in his previous life, and there weren't that many people.
Just as he was about to pass by, he suddenly noticed several people in embroidered clothes who seemed to be heading towards the mountains.
He let out a sigh and landed directly in front of those people.
"Who!" A group of people were talking and laughing, but they were shocked when they saw this. Everyone drew their weapons and looked at each other warily.
"The vigilance is good." Zu An nodded with satisfaction. These people were wearing the iconic embroidered clothes and iron masks. They were obviously the embroidered clothes messengers.
He didn't have time to change back into the commander-in-chief's clothes. Anyway, with his current official status, he was enough to mobilize them.
"Regent...Prince Regent?" One of the messengers in embroidered clothes recognized him and saluted hurriedly. Several others were also startled. Who is the most agitated person in the capital now? Who among them would not know, so they hurriedly saluted.
I was afraid that my behavior just now would offend the other person.
Zu An originally planned to use his waistband to identify himself, but was stunned when he saw this: "Do you know me?"
"We have seen your portrait." Several people said with a smile.
Zu An "..."
You stupid businessman has left my portrait everywhere. I have to send someone to find out who is so capable.
At first he thought it was the profit-seeking businessmen in the capital, but now he immediately realized something was wrong.
It stands to reason that there is still a certain difference between the portrait and the real person, and none of the businessmen in the capital have seen me. Even if they have seen me occasionally, it is difficult to draw a vivid picture based on memory alone. Nowadays, these embroidered messengers outside the capital can rely on the portrait
Recognizing him for the first time shows that the portrait is extremely restored, and it must be someone who is very familiar with his appearance.
Could it be someone from the imperial court?
But because he was worried about Xiao Xi, he didn't have time to think carefully, "Why are you here? Did something happen nearby?"
You must know that any matter that requires the dispatch of the Embroidered Clothes Envoy is not a trivial matter.
They also appeared in Tongluo Mountain. Could it be related to Xiaoxi's distress?
When it came to business, the embroidered messengers looked solemn, "Prince Regent Mingjian, a strange thing did happen in Tongluo Mountain recently."
"People around here often go into the mountains to collect firewood and send it to the capital early in the morning to sell it. But in recent days, none of those who collect firewood have come out after going into the mountains."
"You must know that the people who enter the mountains are all woodcutters who have lived here ancestrally. They are very familiar with the roads in the mountains and know which places are dangerous, so they only go in the mountains.
We collect firewood on the edge and never go deep into the mountain. If only one family didn't come out, it could be said to be an accident, but so many people didn't come out. People in the town were panicked, and they said there were monsters in the mountains."
Zu An asked in a deep voice, "Which family did the rumor about monsters first spread?"
The embroidered messengers were a little surprised. They didn't expect that the regent asked such a professional question. They also started from this aspect in investigating the case.
"An old woodcutter named Zhang in the west of the town claimed to have seen some monsters in the mountains. Fortunately, he saved his life by hiding in a tree hole." The leading embroidered messenger replied, "Later the government sent a
The police team came to investigate this matter. The first thing they did was to find the woodcutter Zhang and ask him to take everyone to the place where we saw those monsters."
"After all, Tongluo Mountain is close to the capital. The elite troops in the capital camp will sweep and clean up Tongluo Mountain every year to ensure that there are no powerful ferocious beasts. Therefore, those agents should be enough to deal with various daily situations, but unexpected things happened.
, the group of police officers also did not come out after entering the mountain."
Even though the Embroidered Clothes Messengers usually deal with the most difficult and dangerous cases, when they said this, they also felt a little cold on their backs.
Zu An secretly nodded. He was a little strange before. Just because the woodcutter was missing, it shouldn't be enough to send the Embroidered Clothes Envoy out. It turned out that a whole team of police officers had also disappeared.
"Do you know the general location of the so-called monsters?" Zu An thought that this incident was probably related to Xiao Xi's distress.
"Roughly in this area," the embroidered messenger took out a map and drew a circle. "The woodcutter has always been brave, and his father left a map, so he often went deep into the mountains to pick some fresh food.
I went to the market to sell mushrooms and some rare medicinal materials for money, and this time I also encountered those monsters when I went to pick mushrooms."
Zu An took a look and found that this place was not too far from Mingyue Lake. "Has he ever said what those monsters are like?"
I wonder in my heart, could it be that some guys from the demon clan came here?
The embroidered messengers shook their heads and said, "We have not received relevant information. The woodcutter may have told the police, but they are all missing now, and we have no way of knowing."
Zu An nodded, "Then you should investigate carefully. If you are in danger, save yourself first. Contact the embroidery building in Beijing to call for support in time."
Of course he would not act together with these people. He had to quickly search for Xiao Xi's whereabouts, and these people could not keep up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Several of the Embroidered Clothes Envoys were a little unsure about this matter. However, the Embroidered Clothes Envoys have always been very strict in managing the army. Even if they were in danger, they could only bite the bullet and find valuable information.
Information will do.
With his oral instructions, even if there is any danger, I can retreat first and not be held accountable by Xiulou. This will greatly increase the survival rate, and I will naturally be grateful.
Zu An nodded slightly, then tiptoed a little, and flew into the air, flying deep into Tongluo Mountain.
After flying for a while, the forest below became more and more dense. In many places, trees and vines even blocked the sun all day long, making it difficult for humans to set foot.
A layer of white mist shrouded the mountains and forests. The farther you flew in, the thicker the mist became.
"Huh?" Zu An gradually realized that something was wrong. The fog was too thick, far exceeding the ordinary fog in the mountains and forests.
Moreover, these mist seemed to have the function of blocking spiritual consciousness, and even he had to lower his height before he could investigate clearly what was going on below.
Zu An stood on the top of a big tree, glanced around, then took out his jade cong and communicated with nearby animals.
Although as his spiritual consciousness became more and more powerful, this jade cong was used less often, but in many special times, this jade cong was more effective.
Sure enough, he soon established a connection with the small animals in this mountain forest, including tits, wild boars, rabbits...
Countless information appeared in my mind, and it was as if I was reading the thoughts of these "aboriginal people" at that moment.
Soon he felt that these animals seemed to be full of fear. The fear seemed to be invisible, or the animals' heads could not describe the specific fear. He only felt a purple feeling.
Apparently the thing that scares them has something to do with the color purple.
Then his mind moved, and he seemed to sense useful information.
The figure disappeared into the distance in a flash, leaving only the treetops where it stood swaying slightly.
Soon he came to a small lake. This was not Shadowmoon Lake, but a small pond formed by some unnamed mines near Shadowmoon Lake.
There is an abandoned campsite by the water, and it seems that someone camped here not long ago.
He squatted down and looked at some light yellow powder on the outside of the camp. This was the dragon's excrement. Ji Xiaoxi had scattered this in the mountains outside Mingyue City to guard against the approach of various ferocious beasts.
It seems that she has indeed been here!
He carefully observed the traces of the camp, and his heart sank. There were many scattered footprints. It was obvious that she was not alone in the camp at that time.
That Nizi is too kind and trusts people easily. Sometimes people's hearts are more terrifying than ferocious beasts.
He carefully inspected the scene. His experience as the Embroidered Clothes Messenger made him an expert in this area, and he quickly judged a prototype.
There were no traces of a fight here, so it probably wasn't the people from those camps dealing with Xiao Xi.
It seemed that the tent was not closed in time, and pots and bowls were knocked to the ground everywhere. It must be that these people evacuated in a hurry to avoid something terrible.
