Upon hearing this, Chen Che's expression changed and he immediately strangled the bearded man by the neck.
Sure enough, a highly poisonous and pungent smell came out of the bearded man's mouth.
Unfortunately, it was too late, he had already swallowed the poison by some unknown means.
"Uh...I'll go down there and take a seat first...hehe..."
The bearded man looked in pain and struggled to speak.
Immediately afterwards, he began to vomit black blood from his mouth.
Not long after, his neck crooked and he died completely.
"Well, he is a decisive person, but it's a pity that he didn't ask for much important information."
Looking at the dead bearded man, Chen Che said helplessly.
Then he turned around and looked at Wang Jingming.
"Teacher, what he said is not of much value. Only the last sentence is a bit weird."
At this point, he suddenly stopped.
Because he found that the teacher seemed to have thought of something, his face suddenly became extremely ugly, and there was even a hint of panic in his eyes.
Chen Che did not disturb his thinking, but just waited quietly.
After about a dozen breaths, Wang Jingming suddenly shouted: "Chen Che, come with me to the county government office!"
"good."
Chen Che didn't ask any further questions and immediately agreed.
Wang Jingming was obviously very anxious and walked very fast.
At this time, a large number of people holding torches had gathered outside the study. Among these people were masters from the surrounding major families, as well as soldiers from the city.
Seeing Wang Jingming's gloomy face and hurried steps, everyone who originally wanted to express their condolences consciously made way for him.
The county government office was only a few hundred meters away from Wang Jingming's residence. Not long after, Chen Che followed Wang Jingming to the gate of the county government office.
"Woooooooo..."
Before he entered, Chen Che faintly heard the sound of a woman crying from the back hall of the county government office, which gave him an unknown premonition.
Hearing the cry, Wang Jingming's face became even more ugly.
After quickly walking into the county government office, he rushed directly in the direction where the crying came from.
It didn't take long for the two of them to arrive at the residence of the magistrate of the county government office.
Before entering, Chen Che vaguely saw a middle-aged man in official uniform with a three-foot white silk tied around his neck, hanging in the room.
Several women nearby were crying loudly around the hanging middle-aged man.
"This... the county magistrate hanged himself?"
Chen Che was extremely shocked.
What happened?
Wang Jingming's pace is getting faster and faster.
After entering the room, he didn't even look at the county magistrate who had hanged himself, nor at the crying woman next to him. Instead, he looked directly at the magistrate's seal on the desk.
To be precise, it was a suicide note stamped under the magistrate's seal.
Putting the big seal aside, Wang Jingming picked up the suicide note and quickly read it.
Gradually, his body began to tremble, and his face was filled with anger.
After spending a month with Wang Jingming, this was the first time Chen Che had seen him lose his composure.
Even when he was assassinated, he was not so angry.
"Teacher, what happened?"
Chen Che finally lost his temper and asked in a low voice.
"Oh, you will know it after reading this suicide note."
Wang Jingming sighed heavily.
Chen Che took a look at the suicide note and his expression changed slightly.
This is a letter of sin to oneself.
There is only one thing mentioned in it.
The Lieyang Stone Mine beneath Stone Fire City... was completely hollowed out due to the county magistrate's misjudgment.
Seeing the chaos in the city, the county magistrate knew that the matter could no longer be concealed, so he chose to hang himself.
After reading this letter, Chen Che didn't know what to say for a while.
Lieyang Stone Mine is the foundation for building the city and the most important guarantee against evil spirits.
Although ordinary people in the outer city can prevent evil spirits from invading by placing a Lieyang Stone in their homes, there must be a prerequisite, that is, their homes are within the city and under the protection of the Lieyang Stone Mine.
There is no Lieyang Stone Mine in Stone Fire City now, so what is the difference from it in the wild?
The warrior's own Qi and blood are strong, so there will be no big problem even in the wild.
But what should ordinary people do?
"Chen Che... Stone Fire City is over, our hometown is over."
Wang Jingming seemed to have become much older all of a sudden, and his tone was extremely depressed.
Chen Che didn't know how to comfort him when he saw this.
When he first left the city for a mission, he heard Du Peng say that the most fundamental reason for the increasing chaos in recent years was that the imperial court continued to collect Lieyang Stones in order to build a Lieyang Palace to protect the current emperor.
Be protected from evil spirits.
But he didn't expect... this Stone Fire City would be hollowed out.
If a city loses the Lieyang Stone Mine, there is no need to exist.
"In an abandoned city without Lieyang Stone Mine, it is normal for hundreds or even thousands of people to die in one night.
But in the past half month, there have been less than a hundred incidents of evil spirits harming people.
Haha... They are waiting for July 15th."
Wang Jingming said quietly.
Chen Che was shocked when he heard this.
According to the memory of the original owner, every July 15th is the time when the Yin Qi in heaven and earth is at its strongest.
The evil spirits will become extremely powerful on this day.
For most small towns in Daxia, this day is an annual test.
On this night, if a family is so poor that they don't even have a Lieyang Stone, they must find a family with a Lieyang Stone to stay for one night, otherwise something big will happen in all likelihood.
Even a wealthy family must be cautious on this day.
As for an abandoned city like Stone Fire City without the protection of Lieyang Stone Mine... wait until July 15th, the day when the Yin Qi becomes strong and evil spirits break out...
One careless move could wipe out the entire city.
And if more than 100,000 people really die, it is very likely that a super evil spirit will be born.
Some time ago, he read a lot of miscellaneous books in the teacher's study.
One of the books records an incident where an evil spirit destroyed the city decades ago.
At that time, the city guard was at odds with the county magistrate, so he secretly took refuge with Xie Sui and secretly dug out the Lieyang Stone Mine.
No one noticed it at first, but on the night of July 15th, evil spirits rioted and the whole city was massacred.
That night, a terrifying evil king was born from the evil spirits.
The evil king later destroyed several cities before disappearing without a trace.
…
"Teacher... today seems to be the second day of July."
Chen Che said softly.
At this moment he suddenly understood.
No wonder those people insist on assassinating the teacher.
Without the Lieyang Stone Mine in Stone Fire City, the teacher, a great scholar, has become the last barrier to resist evil spirits.
And if the teacher dies, then on July 15th, evil spirits will no longer have any scruples...
"Yes, today is the second day of the Lunar New Year. Calculating the time, Stone Fire City only has thirteen days left to live.
I have to find a way to relocate everyone in Stone Fire City within these thirteen days."
Wang Jingming's voice was hoarse.
As he spoke, two lines of tears flowed down his cheeks.
Stonefire City is the place where he was born and his hometown.
And now, he wants to bury him in his hometown in person.