Chapter 320: Target

Li Huowang once again confirmed the items that had been stolen, listed on the paper. Although he couldn't discern the medicinal effects of the pills from the ingredients alone, as Dan Yangzi's direct disciple in alchemy, Li Huowang could easily recognize that it was a complete medicinal formula.

"Could it be another Dan Yangzi?" Li Huowang's expression flickered as he recalled his past experiences at Qingfeng Temple.

Noticing the change in Li Huowang's expression, County Magistrate Lou, who was standing nearby, cautiously asked, "My Lord? Have you discovered something? Have you found the infants?"

"No, not yet, but I have a lead," Li Huowang said, tapping the paper against his chest. "Although I don't know what they're refining, some principles are immutable. Alchemy must follow the principles of 'one qi, two poles, six defilements, and seven returns.' These ingredients are still insufficient. To achieve the 'six defilements,' they will certainly steal some more medicinal ingredients, like the Fiftieth Powder, next."

"Inventory all those medicinal ingredients and keep a close watch! Whatever they are, they will definitely come back!" Li Huowang stated with absolute certainty.

Regardless of whether it was another Dan Yangzi, he first needed to be found. Once found, the subsequent steps would be straightforward.

"Understood! As long as we can help the common people find their children, I will follow your every command, My Lord! I'll go gather all the pharmacy owners in the county right away!"

"Wait," Li Huowang stopped him. "Doing that would alert them. I'll handle this. First, you need to cooperate with me in putting on a play."

"A play?"

That afternoon, County Magistrate Lou, accompanied by a large entourage, grandly escorted Li Huowang out of Cangshui County. He held Li Huowang's hand tightly, uttering various flattering remarks along the way.

When the onlookers learned that Li Huowang was the one who had caught the notorious "flower thief," they gathered in dense layers around him. Many grateful county residents, holding various gifts, tried to stuff them into Li Huowang's carriage, but he politely refused them all.

After escorting him for about five li, Li Huowang again urged them to return, and only then did County Magistrate Lou reluctantly turn back to the county with the others.

With the "flower thief" having been executed by slow slicing, no more incidents of women being defiled were reported in Cangshui County.

Although the disappeared infants had not been recovered, no other infants went missing, and the anxious residents of Cangshui County gradually settled down.

A few days later, late at night, on the deserted streets, a hunchbacked night watchman yawned repeatedly as he struck his clapper, calling out, "Dry weather, beware of fire!"

Initially, nothing seemed amiss, but after the third watch (around midnight), things turned strange.

Accompanying the sound of the clapper, the night watchman's shadow detached itself from the ground and stood up. Its limbs became long and slender, and it moved slowly, mimicking his actions.

The shadow appeared to be forcefully propped up by something, and within its inky darkness, something was stirring.

The sound of wood clappers resonated again, along with the watchman's call, "Dry weather, beware of fire!"

As the watchman approached a pharmacy, some medicinal ingredients wrapped in oilcloth inexplicably passed through the wall and merged into the watchman's shadow. The shadow grew larger. "Dry weather, beware of fire!"

More and more medicinal ingredients flowed into the night watchman's shadow. The shadow swelled and bulged, gradually losing its human form, becoming increasingly distorted and terrifying.

All of this was observed with cold detachment by Li Huowang, who lay prone on a rooftop.

His previous farewell with County Magistrate Lou had merely been a ruse, intended to make the perpetrators believe he had left and thus lower their guard.

Using his invisibility, Li Huowang had quickly ascertained the quantity and locations of all the remaining Five-Stone Powder in Cangshui County by himself.

After several days of covert surveillance, he finally waited until these entities made their move again.

Alchemy has specific requirements regarding auspicious dates and times, so he had anticipated that the culprits couldn't wait indefinitely.

"Daoist priest! Since you've found them, why are you hesitating? Quickly catch these child thieves! We can't let them harm more people!"

On this matter, the monk seemed even more anxious than Li Huowang.

"No rush. Catching someone who's just out stealing is useless. We need to let him go to reel in the bigger fish behind him."

Seeing the night watchman move away, the invisible Li Huowang quietly followed behind him, stepping lightly on the roof tiles.

Time passed bit by bit. By the fourth watch (around 1 AM to 3 AM), the swollen shadow had grown to the size of a house, resembling a stumbling black giant moving through the streets.

At this moment, the monk beside Li Huowang stomped his feet in agitation, for he saw a child in a bamboo basket pass through a wall and merge into the enormous shadow.

Seemingly satisfied with its haul, the shadow detached itself from behind the watchman and, waving its long, slender limbs, floated into the air.

"Daoist priest! He's getting away! Go after him, quick!" The monk, witnessing this, was so anxious he was almost in tears.

"Be quiet!" Li Huowang stomped his right foot heavily on a stone beast ornament on the rooftop and dashed towards the shadow.

The shadow floated in the sky while Li Huowang pursued it on the ground. Fortunately, his eyesight was excellent; otherwise, the dark shadow would have been indistinguishable from the dark sky.

As Li Huowang ran further and further, he left Cangshui County and reached a dirt road outside the town.

By now, he was breathless with exertion, and the gap between him and the entity was widening.

"This won't do; I'm losing it!" Li Huowang immediately pulled out a talisman, bit his fingertip, and began drawing on it.

As two talismans were affixed to Li Huowang's knees, veins bulged on his face, making him look exceptionally fierce, and an indescribable heat enveloped his heart.

However, this sacrifice yielded results: his speed instantly increased severalfold.

Due to the accelerated speed, the tender flesh sprouts on Li Huowang's face were blown backward by the wind. He had finally caught up with the shadow.

Gradually, dawn broke. With the first rays of the morning sun, and with a soft "pop," the shadow shattered, and its contents fell into a turbulent river.

When Li Huowang rushed to the riverbank, he saw something in the unusually murky water moving the medicinal ingredients that had fallen into the river.

The water rippled, making it difficult for Li Huowang to discern what it was. He could only watch as the indistinct shapes underwater, carrying the medicinal ingredients, moved towards a distant underwater grotto.

Li Huowang lifted his head and looked at the low opening on the water's surface in the distance. "Could this be their lair?"

Above the grotto was a towering, lush green stone mountain. The grotto at the base of the mountain resembled a giant black mouth, continuously swallowing the wide river into its depths.

Carefully comparing the location with his map, Li Huowang realized that this spot was precisely at the center of the counties where children had gone missing, indicating that all the incidents originated from here.

"Whatever they are, these individuals must be similar to Dan Yangzi from back then, intentionally hiding in such a remote place."

Finding the culprits' hiding place should have been a cause for joy, but Li Huowang looked at the grotto on the water's surface and found himself in a dilemma. "But how do I get in?"