The weak princess is super fierce

Chapter 888 Chasing the Demon's Breath

Lan Zhijin wasn't at the inn, so Huang Jing went out to look for him. It's possible that Lan Zhijin's absence was related to Li Heng, and it's also possible that Huang Jing shared the same thoughts as him.

Since he was already there, it was only a convenient thing for him to visit this private residence.

After thinking it over, Camellia decided to take an unconventional approach and climb over the courtyard wall on one side of the gate.

Upon entering the mansion and landing, Camellia was certain, given the demon race's sensitivity to the presence of their own kind, that demons had been present and engaged in combat within a short period of time at Li Heng's private residence.

but……

He walked through the front and back yards, and apart from a dozen or so servants guarding the mansion, he didn't see a single decent steward, let alone the mansion's manager.

Previously, when Huang Jing took him to Kuangguang River to look for old objects, he had rambled on about how Li Heng had given up on the mansion after Meng Shisan led Chang'an and Ma Ji to storm the door and slaughter a hundred people in one night.

Normally, Li Heng would no longer visit the private residence as frequently as before.

That's right. Li Heng bought this private residence to support these retainers and gather their wisdom for his own use. Later, all the retainers were killed, so naturally they could no longer come.

He tracked Huang Jing here. Given that Huang Jing came out to find Lan Zhijin, if Huang Jing had entered this mansion, then he must have discovered Lan Zhijin's whereabouts.

As for why Lan Zhijin would enter this mansion, the only reasonable reason he could think of that fits Lan Zhijin's identity as a mage, combined with the demonic aura he sensed here, must be that Lan Zhijin had chased after evil spirits all the way in.

As she pondered, a chill ran down her spine. Sensing danger, Camellia instantly used her fingers to cast a spell, teleporting ten feet away and landing on the eaves of a pavilion.

Looking down, he met Ma Ji's gaze and exclaimed in surprise, "Old Ma?"

Ma Ji's surprise was no less than Shan Cha's: "Little Cha?"

Camellia exclaimed with delight, "Exactly!"

In the exchange of questions and answers, he teleported back to the ground and stood in front of Ma Ji.

Meng Shisan had introduced him to Ma Ji. At that time, he already had the name Xiao Cha, but he was showing his true form. Unexpectedly, Ma Ji was still able to recognize him after he transformed into a mortal boy.

This truly delighted him.

"What are you doing here? Did the young lady send you?" Ma Ji looked around and, seeing no one and no other demonic presence, turned back to look at Camellia and asked.

Camellia knew that Ma Ji referred to Meng Shisan as "Miss," and that Ma Ji regarded Meng Shisan as half a master. The things Ma Ji was doing outside were instructed by Meng Shisan. Therefore, when Ma Ji asked him, he had nothing to hide and told him about his trip to find someone.

After saying that, he asked Ma Ji, "Why did Old Ma enter the Second Prince's private residence again?"

"I was investigating the matter the young lady entrusted to me, and I finally got a lead. I followed the demonic aura here, but I didn't expect to be blocked by a barrier as soon as I entered," Ma Ji said truthfully. "Looking at that barrier, I think there are only two people in this capital city who could set up a barrier that could stop me..."

Camellia answered quickly: "One is Miss Huang, and the other is Master Lan."

“That’s right.” Ma Ji nodded. “Later, the barrier was lifted. Although there were still some demonic traces, the evil spirits were gone. I followed the remaining demonic traces and circled the backyard. In the end, I only saw Miss Huang chasing after Master Lan and jumping over the back wall of the courtyard.”

"Then... the thread broke?" Camellia asked.

"It's broken." Ma Ji looked resentful. If Huang Jing and Lan Zhijin hadn't intercepted the evil spirit here, the thread wouldn't have broken! Camellia then asked, "Didn't Elder Ma intend to catch up with Miss Huang and Master Lan back then?"

Ma Ji glanced at Camellia, paused, and said truthfully, "We chased after her, but we couldn't catch her."

"Even with Elder Ma's four hundred years of cultivation, he still couldn't catch up?" Camellia exclaimed in surprise, wondering if Huang Jing and Lan Zhijin's cultivation had improved again in such a short period of time.
"They noticed I was following them and took turns casting spells to conceal their presence and aura. I'm a demon, and they're a celestial master and a sorcerer, both younger than me. Together, they could still shake me off." Ma Ji was already guessing what Huang Jing and Lan Zhijin were up to and why they didn't want him to follow.

"They should recognize Old Ma..."

"I recognize it."

Faced with Camellia's hesitation, Ma Ji gave his approval without hesitation.

"In that case, they should know that Master Ma is working for Miss." Camellia stroked her chin, thinking as she spoke. "It's fine that Master Lan isn't very familiar with Miss, but Miss Huang lives in Miss's courtyard and is on good terms with her. What could possibly make Miss Huang so determined to work with Master Lan to get rid of Master Ma?"

Ma Ji also wanted to know, thinking of what Shan Cha had just told him about Meng Shisan's experience of being poisoned and then having a high fever today: "Never mind all that, the young lady needs the two of them to save her now, so finding the person is the most important thing."

Camellia knew that finding the person was the priority: "How do we find them?"

He had only three hundred years of cultivation, while Master Ma had a hundred years more, yet he was still overtaken by Huang Jing and Lan Zhijin working together.

“They…” Ma Ji pondered, “They must have gone after the two demons I was chasing before, and I know where those two demons came from.”

Camellia immediately understood: "Master Ma thinks that since the Heavenly Master and the Dharma Master are chasing that demon, the demon will definitely return to its lair and deal with them in a familiar place when it has no other choice?"

"I hope I'm right," Ma Ji said, though he wasn't entirely sure.

What kind of demon is it?

"A butterfly, a wolf."

Speaking of this, Camellia thought of the water snake: "By the way, when Miss Huang came out, she was with Xiao Qing."

“Xiao Qing?” Ma Ji frowned. “But I can’t smell Xiao Qing’s scent.”

"This..." Camellia couldn't understand. "Is there something else going on here?"

"Perhaps. Otherwise, according to what you said, Xiao Qing couldn't possibly be absent." As Ma Ji spoke, his mind involuntarily conjured up the troubles the water snake might encounter.

Regardless of whether there were other matters involved, neither of them had witnessed them firsthand, so saying more now would be futile; they might as well take action directly.

"Let's go try our luck." Ma Ji led Shan Cha out of Li Heng's private residence and headed straight for the city gate.

The place where he discovered the butterfly demon and the wolf demon was the same place where Shang Chun's family was murdered years ago.

Meng Shisan and the others waited for a long time in their own bedroom in the Taichen Courtyard of the Meng family, but Huang Jing and the water snake did not return, nor did Shan Cha, and there was no sign of Lan Zhijin. She sat on the couch by the window with her chin in her hand, and from time to time she would glance at her own body lying on the bed, which was burning up with fever.

As evening approached, Old Madam Meng, being of advanced age, followed Meng Tianguan back to Changchun Courtyard to rest after being persuaded by Madam Shang and Madam Wu.

Meng Zhidu did not leave; he sat in the outer room of the house, like a deity or Buddha.