Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

The manager glanced at Chi Junlin and recognized her as the woman who had discussed the caravan's affairs with the chief and others earlier. The chief also held her in high esteem.

So they opened the road and allowed Magistrate Yu to lead the two men into the large wooden house.

Before long, Magistrate Yu led the two to a spacious young girl's boudoir.

There are many novel decorations and small Han Chinese toys here. On the table, there are also the Four Treasures of the Study, as well as some crooked calligraphy written by Qiaonu.

This was Qiaonu's boudoir. After entering the room, Chi Junlin and Wenren Xuan immediately searched the room thoroughly.

However, nothing of value was found.

I only found a few banned books that Qiaonu had read in the storage box by the bedside.

When Magistrate Yu saw these books, he immediately looked dumbfounded.

"This...this...how did my book get here? That's why it was missing..."

Seeing that Chi Junlin and Wenren Xuan were looking at him with strange expressions again, he shook his head repeatedly and said, "No... I didn't give it to her, she must have taken it secretly herself..."

Wenren Xuan did not say anything at this time.

Chi Junlin patted the book on his chest and casually said, "Read less, it's bad for your health."

Upon seeing this, Magistrate Yu could only blush and stammer in agreement.

After that, the three of them went to a side room behind the big wooden house.

This place is full of strange herbs, as well as some peculiar tools used by Miao shamans.

It was clearly the room of the old witch doctor, Ruoma.

The smell inside the room was too strong, a strange, fishy stench mixed with the scent of herbs.

It's like boiling a bunch of dead rats with a big pot of Chinese medicine for several days, and then letting it rot and develop a strange smell.

Magistrate Yu and Wenren Xuan both found the smell too unpleasant and refused to step into the room.

Chi Junlin endured the stench and searched the room, but found nothing.

However, when Chi Junlin came out, Wenren Xuan showed a surprised expression.

He repeatedly beckoned Chi Junlin to come over to the corner and take a look.

After Chi Junlin arrived, he saw Wenren Xuan pointing to a strange symbol carved under a wooden beam on the inside of the eaves.

Then Wenren Xuan explained, "This is a symbol left by the Demonic Sect, meaning that this is a stronghold of a Demonic Sect disciple. If needed, you can get help here."

Upon hearing Wenren Xuan's words, Chi Junlin had not yet shown much of an expression, but Magistrate Yu already showed a surprised expression.

"The Demonic Sect!"

His expression was somewhat puzzled. "How could the Demonic Sect have a stronghold in a Miao village in southern Hunan? Could this place have been infiltrated by the Demonic Sect as well?"

Chi Junlin didn't say much to Magistrate Yu, but stepped forward and carefully examined the symbol.

Although the mark is not very conspicuous, the force of the engraving on the wood is very deep, and it does not look like it was carved randomly.

Furthermore, the marks on it appear to have been there for some time, and were not recently carved.

This means that Ruoma, the Miao village shaman living here, must have known that someone had carved this mark here, or perhaps she carved it herself.

So, is this witch doctor connected to the demonic sect?

Recalling her previous treatment of the martial arts practitioners in the Southern Camp, she claimed they were poisoned but instead claimed they were bewitched by a Gu curse.

If Qiaonu's translation is not a forgery, then it means that the witch doctor was the mastermind behind the group's poisoning.

Furthermore, the leaders of the Miao village also encountered problems this time. If it was also a large-scale poisoning, it is indeed possible that she was the one who did it.

Further speculation suggests that Feng Lingqiu and Qiaonu's current disappearance may be due to the witch doctor's fear that the poisoning would be exposed, so he coerced or drugged the two women and fled with them.

Then the problem is coming.

Is there any direct evidence to prove that the witch doctor was the mastermind behind this?

Chi Junlin thought for a moment, then asked Magistrate Yu, "Where are those young men who escorted Qiao Nu to the camp earlier?"

Magistrate Yu looked troubled and replied to Chi Junlin, "They're all dead."

"died?"

Chi Junlin looked surprised.

Magistrate Yu nodded and explained, "Those young men you mentioned were the chief's bodyguards. When the chief and the others fainted, these bodyguards were found in the gatehouse, and not one of them survived; their throats were all slit."

Upon hearing this, only two words came to Chi Junlin's mind.

To silence them.

For some reason, Chi Junlin became increasingly certain that this was done by someone from the Demonic Sect.

Regardless of whether that witch doctor Ruoma belonged to the Demonic Sect, or whether there were other people in the Demonic Sect.

In short, this matter is inextricably linked to the Demonic Sect.

Moreover, the methods these people used were very familiar to Chi Junlin.

The feeling she got was that it was Ye Qiancao's doing again.

Chapter 323 Nighttime Investigation of the Corpse-Transporting Inn

Now that we know that what happened here was indeed done by the Demonic Sect, there seems to be little need to pursue the details of what happened.

What troubled Chi Junlin was where Feng Lingqiu and Qiao Nu had been taken.

With no other clues in sight, things seemed to have reached a stalemate again.

When the Red Emperor arrives, he inevitably feels a headache.

However, Wenren Xuan seemed to have thought of something at this moment, so he immediately said to Chi Junlin, "I think that since the Demonic Sect has set up a stronghold in the Xiangnan area, there should be more than one stronghold nearby."

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin glanced at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

Wenren Xuan then said, "Do you remember when we saw the plague demon and the men in black, and they captured a Miao child..."

Chi Junlin nodded, then his expression froze for a moment, as if he had suddenly gained a clear understanding.

Wenren Xuan then continued, "Now it seems that these recent cases of missing children are also clearly related to the Demonic Sect."

Although it's unclear what they suddenly want these children for, if so many children truly need to be relocated, then this single outpost is clearly insufficient.

Chi Junlin narrowed his eyes and continued her words, "So, there must be a base nearby that can transfer a large number of children without attracting much attention... Is there such a place nearby?"

Wenren Xuan pondered for a moment, then replied, "Although I am not very familiar with the surrounding area, based on my experience, I can find the stronghold by following the marks left by the Demonic Sect nearby."

"very good."

Chi Junlin nodded, then turned to look at Magistrate Yu, who was listening with great interest.

"you……"

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, you don't need to do anything."

Chi Junlin then said, "Later, send someone to the main camp to find a woman named Ghost Doctor. Tell her that I asked her to come here and help treat the Miao chieftains."

"The Ghost Doctor? I'll remember that."

Magistrate Yu nodded, then showed an enthusiastic expression, as if he wanted to say more.

"Don't ask any more questions."

Chi Junlin pointed a finger at him, "This is none of your business. If you want to live a few more days, just pretend you didn't hear anything."

Seeing Chi Junlin's slightly warning expression, Magistrate Yu nodded repeatedly, cold sweat dripping down his face.

"This humble official understands...this humble official understands..."

After sending Magistrate Yu away, Chi Junlin did not hesitate at all.

Then he and Wenren Xuan came out from the Miao village together.

After finding what appeared to be a mark left by another demonic sect next to a large tree at the village entrance, Wenren Xuan's expression gradually became convinced.

Following the signs, the two walked west along the path and arrived near an inn that looked abandoned.

Upon arriving at this place, Wenren Xuan immediately signaled Chi Junlin to hide.

The two looked over there from a distance behind the bushes.

Then they saw several people acting suspiciously behind the inn, carrying several jars in and out, doing something they didn't know.

However, Chi Junlin looked at this place and felt that something was strange.

He couldn't help but say, "What kind of inn is this? Why does it face north? And the entire building doesn't have a single window from top to bottom, and the main entrance is designed to face away from the sun. It would be a ghost if anyone lived here!"

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, Wenren Xuan couldn't help but reveal a strange smile on his face, saying, "You're right, this place really isn't for people to live in."

"It's not for people to live in, it's for..."

As Chi Junlin spoke, he suddenly realized something and squinted at the somewhat dilapidated inn.

Wenren Xuan then explained softly, "That's for the disciples of the Corpse Driving Sect, as well as for the corpses."

As they were talking, a man dressed in black walked quietly from not far from the inn. He had an eerie face and seemed to be a member of the Demonic Sect.

Behind him followed a slender, beautiful woman.

Although the woman was dressed in a luxurious dress, her face and body were extremely stiff, and her skin was ashen.

The demonic sect disciple held a golden bell in his hand. With each shake, the woman would leap behind him, covering three or four steps in a single bound.

If an ordinary person saw this scene in the middle of the night, they would probably think it was a ghost.

But when Chi Junlin saw this, he immediately recalled the corpse-controlling technique that Bian Renyao had shown outside Nandu City.

The woman was clearly not alive at first glance, and the disciple was obviously also a disciple of the Corpse Driving Sect.

At this moment, he could only control one female corpse, which was far inferior to the great demon Bian Renyao.

However, judging from the state of the female corpse, her figure and skin were well-preserved, and the man had even carefully applied makeup and dressed her up...

Well, I'm actually quite nice to this corpse puppet.

It's unclear whether this man was using the female corpse puppet as a weapon, or something else entirely...

The two men in black who had been in front of the inn immediately showed respect and bowed to the man who controlled the corpses.

Clearly, even within the Demonic Sect, there are relatively strict hierarchies.

A disciple of the Corpse-Driving Sect who is so adept at manipulating corpses must hold a high position within the sect.

The Corpse-Driving Sect disciple who brought the corpse puppet greeted the two casually before entering the inn with the puppet.

The two men in black then busied themselves with moving the items.

At this moment, Chi Junlin and Wenren Xuan hid behind a tree and discussed things quietly for a while.

They then decided to sneak into the inn after dark to find out what was going on.

Look at these members of the Demonic Sect, what on earth are they up to here?

The two then waited patiently outside until it got dark and the sun set.

The two men in black, who were also exhausted, had already gone inside the inn to rest.

Chi Junlin and Wenren Xuan then emerged from behind the tree and cautiously approached the inn.

There was no one around the inn at this time, and it was unlikely that anyone else would come to this place.

So no one noticed that the two of them secretly slipped into the inn.

Upon entering the inn, they found that the interior was just as desolate and dilapidated.

It was so dark you couldn't even see a ghost.

If Chi Junlin hadn't spotted someone inside beforehand, he probably would have thought the place had been abandoned.

After getting used to the darkness for a while, and gradually being able to see in the night, the two carefully began to explore inside.

The first floor of the inn was full of dilapidated and dusty items, clearly intended as a smokescreen.

The second floor was where the side rooms were located, which were clearly where the members of the Demonic Sect had lived before.

At this moment, Chi Junlin and Wenren Xuan heard faint noises coming from upstairs, like the creaking of the bed.

I have no idea what they're up there doing.