Whenever encountered by City Patrol Soldiers for questioning, Wang Lu would send them away.

After escorting them to a secluded alley near the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce, Wang Lu bowed and said, "Young Hero Li, I hope you keep your promise."

Having said that, he turned and disappeared into the alleyway.

Swish, swish, swish!

Sha Lifei and others also jumped down from the pitch-black rooftop.

Lv San whispered, "Since you entered the government office, a lot of people have been following you."

"I know."

Li Yan's eyes were indifferent, and he glanced at the dark alley, "We'll talk about it later."

......

Returning to the main room in the backyard prepared by the Jinzhou Chamber of Commerce, Li Yan immediately had the attendant bring hot water and clean clothes, while Long Yan'er took out medicine and Clearing God Medicine Powder she carried.

After washing, applying medicine, and taking some, Fatty Lin and the others somewhat regained their complexion and calmed down slightly.

"Brother Yan, this time... this time was really..."

Fatty Lin's voice was hoarse, filled with gratitude yet tinged with helplessness and shame, "I mishandled things, causing trouble for you all."

At this moment, his heart was filled with confusion and unease.

Previously, with the halo of the young master of the Lin Family, combined with his thick skin and eloquence, he could easily accomplish many things and retained some arrogance.

Even joining the Twelve Primordial Spirits was just for fun and exploitation.

But this time, he really stumbled hard.

"It's not Fatty Lin's fault!"

Kuai Dayou said with lingering resentment, "Those damn bastards deliberately made trouble, completely ignoring our explanations. I just retorted a few words, and they accused me of roaring in court."

Kong Shangzhao, somewhat calmer, took a sip of hot tea and said solemnly, "These people were prepared. They drugged the welcome banquet, and Mystical Sect experts were ambushed in court. The person behind it must have a significant identity."

"It's the Lu and Xie Families." Li Yan replied.

"So it's them! No wonder..."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Lin's face turned pale, "There's no chance."

Sha Lifei was somewhat curious, "Are these two families remarkable?"

Fatty Lin said with a bitter expression, "The Gusu Lu Family are descendants of Lu Xun and Lu Kang of the Three Kingdoms Eastern Wu. They moved south to Suzhou to avoid the chaos in the late Tang Dynasty, and were rewarded by the court in the Southern Song for providing resources against the Jin, establishing their foundation. When Great Xuan established its dynasty, they submitted early, offering grain for military contributions and were awarded 'Hereditary Thousand Households,' becoming leaders of the Suzhou Prefecture gentry..."

"The current Family Head, Lu Hongyuan, is the Imperial Censor of the Nanjing Imperial Supervision Office. The second branch manages Cao Yun and the silk industry, monopolizing the cotton trade from Suzhou to Songjiang. The third branch leads the 'Tianxiang Academy' in Suzhou, closely associated with Huqiu Yunyan Temple and Xuanmiao Temple..."

"The Qiantang Xie Family are a branch of the descendants of Xie An from the Eastern Jin. They moved to Lin'an in the late Northern Song, prospered through maritime trade in the Southern Song, and held the position of Director of the Maritime Trade Office in the Great Xing Dynasty. After the seas opened, they specialized in tribute trade with Japan and Liuqiu."

"Currently, there are three officials in the family: the Ningbo Prefect Xie Tingfang, Min Nan Governor Xie Huai, and the current Family Head Xie Yun, who is a doctor of the Zhejiang Qingli Department in the Jinling Ministry of Revenue..."

Listening to Fatty Lin's narrative, everyone was somewhat astonished.

The power of these two families somewhat exceeded their expectations, akin to local emperors, being both local aristocratic families and key figures of the Sea Opening Sect.

"Good grief..."

Sha Lifei curiously asked, "What about your Lin Family, claiming to be the richest in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, don't you have court officials supporting you?"

Fatty Lin sighed, "My Lin Family, to be frank, is just a nouveau riche. We followed the Great Xuan army during the southern expedition, made our fortune by managing military logistics. My grandfather was shrewd enough to expand the family, but after his death, the old generals from that generation gradually passed away, and the ties were severed."

"The Xie Family and my Lin Family both reside in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and our clansmen look down on each other, often having minor conflicts, but nothing major has happened."

"This time with the Lin Family in trouble, they definitely won't let it go easily."

"I see..."

Li Yan pondered and said, "No wonder, that Zhou Yinyao said he could only help temporarily. The Xie Family and Lu Family joined forces, forming a grudge, they certainly won't let your Lin Family recover."

Fatty Lin's face grew even bitter upon hearing this.

"Don't worry."

Li Yan drank some tea and said solemnly, "There's always room for maneuvering. Zhou Yinyao utilized some Mystical Sect connections, but the Lu and Xie Families are latching onto the case of Lin Yaozu colluding with the Japanese. Without finding the real culprit to clear suspicions, we will always be restrained."

"How exactly did Tian Qianhu die?"

On the mention of Tian Qianhu, Fatty Lin took several deep breaths and tried to calm his mind before slowly narrating:

"That night, nearing Jurong's border, the escort team had about fifty men, aside from Tian Qianhu's Personal Soldiers, there were a few Colonels dispatched from the Southern Secretariat..."

"Before the incident... around the late hour of the evening (around eleven o'clock), the team camped in a wild area beside the official road, Tian Qianhu and Captain Zhou were discussing something by the fire pile in the center of the camp, their voices not loud, but their faces didn't look good, seemed to be arguing."

"Then suddenly..."

Fatty Lin's voice trembled, eyes filled with confusion, "Something strange happened! Originally, the night was clear with a bright moon and stars, and the wind wasn't strong. Suddenly... a bizarre wind whipped around the camp! The wind was bone-chilling cold, swirling, sweeping up dry leaves and dust from the ground, causing the fire pile to crackle and spark wildly, sending embers flying everywhere. The horses also began to bray and kick uneasily."

"Sensing something wrong, we rushed to help, but it was already too late."

"That wind seemed to have eyes, specifically targeting the fire pile and tents! Tian Qianhu drew his sword and retreated, yet he was swept up by the wind. Then, in the wind suddenly came a sound... a sound akin to snakes hissing, or like many small insects gnawing at leaves with a 'hissing' noise..."

"And then?" Sha Lifei listened intently, urgently asking.

"Then..."

Fatty Lin swallowed, "After the wind dispersed, there was only a skeleton left of Tian Qianhu, as if gnawed by thousands of ants in such a short time."

Li Yan frowned and asked, "These are the things common people see, but you are from the Mystical Sect, didn't notice anything amiss?"

"Really nothing."

Kuai Dayou smiled bitterly, "The opponent's means far surpassed ours. Using Divine Skills for probing only resulted in dizziness, ringing ears, almost getting bewitched to kill."

Kong Shangzhao nodded, "Though we woke up in time, we indeed were bewitched, striking at the soldiers beside us, unable to defend ourselves while in custody."

Li Yan knitted his brows, glanced at Wang Daoxuan beside him, "Daoist, I've never heard of such spells before, can you figure it out?"

"Could it be Rampaging Soldier mischief?" Wang Daoxuan looked at Fatty Lin.

Fatty Lin quickly shook his head, "I can differentiate Rampaging Soldier, at that moment the ground had no frost, felt like Gu worms..."

"Not Gu worms."

Long Yan'er shook her head, "Any Gu worm must parasitize a human body to be displayed. Such a scale, able to use sound to confuse Mystical Sect members... seems more like some exotic insect being driven."

Saying this, she looked at Lv San.

Lv San nodded, "Indeed it seemed so, but couldn't guess what it was."

Within the Twelve Primordial Spirits, experts of various paths quickly made a judgment. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Unfortunately, the Divine State is vast, they couldn't possibly know it all.

"No matter what it is, there must be someone controlling it..."

After pondering, Li Yan asked, "You mentioned that night Tian Qianhu and that Captain Zhou were arguing. Did you hear clearly what they were saying?"

Fatty Lin slightly shook his head, "Was too far, couldn't hear clearly."

Kong Shangzhao spoke up, "I do know something; I occasionally chatted with Tian Qianhu along the way. That Captain Zhou is not an outsider, he is a distant brother-in-law to him, sent to Jiangnan on a mission and trusted only him."

"Tian Qianhu said that Captain Zhou's village clan mainly consists of weavers, wanting to ask Tian Qianhu for help in something, maybe that's what they argued over..."

"Weavers?"

Li Yan's mind flashed with inspiration, "Where is that Households Commander Zhou?"

He suddenly remembered that the Demoness Lai Yin had established a "Silk Cocoon Sect," with doctrines related to mulberry and silkworm, secretly worshipped by many Jiangnan commoners, especially weavers.

Fatty Lin shook his head, "After we were imprisoned, we never saw him again."

Li Yan looked out the window, "Rest first, we'll search tomorrow morning."

A foreboding intuition inexplicably arose in his heart.

This "Silk Cocoon Sect" is widely spread across Jiangnan, everyone distracted by Tai Lake demon chaos, yet this sect might be the greatest hidden threat...