Chapter 1325: The Missing People

“Young master, there isn’t a single person in the city. Even the livestocks are completely gone.”

Ye Qing was currently standing at the gates of White Horse. He had spread out his demonic thought to perceive the entire city. Flanking him were Papersmith and Faceless.

Papersmith’s report was unnecessary. He could tell himself that living being existed in the county.

That said, the county was also overflowing with some sort of evil, anomalous aura. Clearly, the inexplicable mass disappearance had something to do with Strangers.

“Faceless, when did the people of White Horse disappear?” Ye Qing asked.

Faceless answered with a salute, “Seven days ago.”

“What about Chief Fang and Chief Gu?”

“They disappeared three days ago,” Faceless answered. “Three days ago, after receiving word that the people had gone missing, Chief Fang and Chief Gu mustered their forces and personally came over to investigate. Then, they disappeared.”

Ye Qing asked after thinking for a moment, “Did the Tian Yong Pacification Bureau send reinforcements after they went missing?”

“No.” Faceless explained, “Chu is currently plagued by all sorts of Stranger outbreaks, and the Pacification Bureau has their work cut out for them. They simply cannot spare the men.”

“That is why this old slave contacted you at first notice.”

“Mm. You did well.” Ye Qing nodded. “Let’s enter the city.”

There was only so much Faceless could find out from outside. So, with Faceless and Papersmith by his side, Ye Qing entered White Horse in hopes of finding some useful information.

What he found... was that there was nothing useful in the city whatsoever.

Sure, there were signs and tracks that proved that the Pacification Bureau group was here, but that was it.

The people of White Horse were just ordinary people. It was only natural that they were powerless to resist whatever powerful Stranger had befallen them. It also made sense that they would disappear without a trace.

Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang were different though. Fang Xiaoman had become a Trueman half a year ago, and Gu Suitang a Half-Step Grandmaster[1]. Strength wasn’t all they had either. In a sense, they were even more experienced than him when it came to dealing with Strangers. Ye Qing was certain that they would be able to put up some resistance even against a Disaster-class Stranger. At the very least, they would leave some sort of battle scar behind.

In reality, there was nothing. They had left nothing behind just like the helpless citizens of White Horse.

Either the Stranger was so powerful that even Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang had been kidnapped in one move, or the Stranger possessed a very unusual ability. Perhaps it could whisk someone away without them noticing.

“I found nothing, young master!”

A moment later, all three of them gathered at the city center. Both Papersmith and Faceless reported that they found nothing.

“Mm. Papersmith, check out Lion Forest. Faceless, circle around White Horse some more and see if you can find some clues,” Ye Qing instructed after some thought.

“As you command, young master,” Both Faceless and Papersmith responded before taking their leave.

After the duo were gone, Ye Qing spread out his demonic thought and perceived the strange aura of evil and anomaly that refused to disappear from White Horse.

Although the aura was dark and bizarre, he did not sense any taint or death from it. Therefore, it probably meant that the Stranger that left behind this aura was not a tainted or a bloodthirsty Stranger. There was a good chance that the vanished citizens were still alive.

Next, Ye Qing gathered his demonic thought and tried to track down the Stranger’s tracks or direction of departure.

However, the only thing he could confirm that the aura had disappeared the instant it left White Horse.

Because of this, he couldn’t confirm what Stranger was behind this incident.

Frowning, Ye Qing crossed his arms and walked aimlessly on the streets.

“Hmm? What’s that smell?”

Suddenly, Ye Qing caught an unusual stench. It smelled like something rotten and smelly, but for some reason, an indescribably fragrant scent was mixed within the stench.

It kind of reminded him of stinky tofu. The more you smelled it, the more you liked it.

“Is that the Three-Day Violet? Thank goodness!”

Ye Qing followed the stench until he saw a gorgeous, dreamy flower on the ground.

Big as a bowl, the flower was shaped like a trumpet. It also changed colors continuously under the sun. Sometimes it was red, sometimes it was white, and sometimes it was black. It kept changing between the three colors, and it looked beautiful and dreamy.

However, the flower also gave off a strange smell that was both smelly and fragrant.

Excitement gripped Ye Qing as soon as he saw the flower. Hatred-class, the Three-Day Violet was an unusual flower that grew roots on the first day of planting, sprouted on the second day, and bloomed on the third. The flowers had three colors, and visually speaking, it looked gorgeous and fantastical. Unfortunately, it also gave off a strange stench that repelled all manner of birds and beasts. On the third day, the flower would wither, and that was that.

Because the name had three colors, it was named Three-Color Violet. Because it withered in three days, it was also called the Three-Day Violet.

Of course, fantastical colors and strange smell wasn’t the only thing the Three-Day Violet possessed. Starting from the moment it was sown until the day it withered, the Three-Day Violet would record and store its short life in its pistil.

In other words, the Three-Day Violet possessed a three-day record of everything that happened around it.

The way to obtain the record was very simple. Simply eat the pistil, and they would see it all.

Normally, the Three-Day Violet was found in deep mountains and uninhabited places. It would never appear in a populated city like White Horse.

Therefore, there was only one possibility. Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang were the ones who planted this Three-Day Violet just in case.

If they were successful in eliminating the Stranger of White Horse, then whatever. If they failed, or if something bad happened to them, then the Three-Day Violet would provide vital clues for future Pacification Bureau personnel to pick up where they left off. This was exactly the kind of thing his cautious colleagues would do.

There were better news. He noticed that the location of the Three-Day Violet was close to a spot where the Pacification Bureau group had lingered for an extended period of time.

Pleased, Ye Qing reached out to grab the Three-Day Violet when suddenly, it wobbled without warning and unleashed a terrible stench that was easily ten times worse than before.

“Phew... what a smell!”

Although Ye Qing was prepared for this and had sealed off his nose beforehand, he could still sense the strange stench. In other words, the odor emitted by the Three-Day Violet affected more than just the sense of smell. It affected his spirit as well.

If he was anyone else, the sudden blast would probably be enough to make them throw up until they fell unconscious, literally.

Ye Qing was made of sterner stuff, but even he felt like throwing up violently after catching a whiff.

“Gah, I feel dirty.”

The worst part? This was just the appetizer. He had to eat the pistil of the Three-Day Violet as well. Just the thought was enough to give him goosebumps.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice. He could only suffer!

And Ye Qing ripped off the tri-colored pistil of the Three-Day Violet in one swift motion.

1. Man, you can really feel the difference in growth here. ☜