I Can Devour Spirits

In the pitch-black night, Duan Rong bypassed the patrolling government constables and secret agents scattered about, sneaking back to Jie Lei’s old residence.

Duan Rong slipped into the dry well, knowing that Xiao Yu had keen senses and even the slightest rustle would make her tense, so she called out as soon as she stepped into the passageway, ”It’s me.”

By the time Duan Rong reached the entrance of the secret chamber, Xiao Yu had already lit the oil lamp in the corner.

The dim yellow light from the oil lamp illuminated Xiao Yu’s face. Having hidden here for days, her hair was a bit disheveled, her expression somewhat gloomy, and her eyes slightly red, as if she had cried not long ago.

Duan Rong knew that in moments like these, instead of saying comforting words, it was better to tell a joke to make Xiao Yu smile. But having been on surveillance day and night and overthinking, he couldn’t come up with a joke. As he passed by Xiao Yu, he simply used his dirty fingers to quickly touch her face and then changed the subject by asking, ”Where did you put my clothes that I changed out of?”

Xiao Yu’s fair face was marked with a black smudge from Duan Rong’s dirty fingertips.

”I folded them over there.” Xiao Yu pointed to a dark corner of the secret chamber.

Duan Rong walked over and indeed saw his neatly folded clothes.

He squatted down, rummaged through the clothes, and found his Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Scroll.

Seeing Duan Rong searching, Xiao Yu asked, ”What are you looking for over there?”

”The Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Scroll.”

Xiao Yu frowned slightly and asked, ”What do you need the Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Scroll for?”

”I’m going to the Ministry of Communication’s liaison point.”

Xiao Yu wanted to ask more details, but Duan Rong had already taken the Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Scroll and walked out of the secret chamber.

Xiao Yu half-squatted there, listening to the fading rustling noises, and sighed deeply.

Just then, Zhu Xiaoqi came over, catching the light, her eyes moving as she said, ”Miss Yu, why do you have a black mark on your face?”

”A black mark? Where?”

”Here! This spot,” Zhu Xiaoqi said, reaching out to wipe it.

As she wiped that spot, Xiao Yu realized that it was the mark Duan Rong had just made.

”It won’t come off... I’ll get some water...”

Zhu Xiaoqi was about to go to the corner for water, but Xiao Yu grabbed her. ”Forget it, no need to wipe it. Let’s sleep.”

As Xiao Yu spoke, she blew out the oil lamp in the corner.

Zhu Xiaoqi didn’t mind, seeing as it was already pitch-black inside, whether wiped or not made no difference.

In the darkness, Xiao Yu lay there with her palm pressed against her face, and peacefully fell asleep.

At the bottom of the dry well, Duan Rong suddenly released his Divine Sense, confirming there was no one around, then he suddenly became as light as a swallow, his feet tapping against the well wall as he leaped out.

In the alleyway in front of Jie Lei’s old residence, Duan Rong looked up at the pitch-black night sky, identified the direction, and traversed along the alleyway, heading towards South City.

Sprinting all the way, he suddenly burst out of a filthy alleyway entrance to a large courtyard in South City, suddenly stopping and looking up at the city wall ahead of him.

The city wall was over three zhang high, and very thick. Moreover, there was still some distance from here to the South City Gate.

Under the Divine Sense Investigation, Duan Rong found no patrolling government constables or secret agents nearby, so he moved his body like a falling leaf, lightly gliding over, his toes touching the base of the wall, and then his body shot upwards, closely hugging the wall, soaring up with ease.

This city wall was very smooth, with no footholds, but with Duan Rong’s current Lightweight Skill at the True Qi Realm Great Perfection, crossing this wall was no problem at all.

Duan Rong vaulted over the city wall like a great bird, leaping down from three zhang high without alarming anyone, thanks to the moon being obscured by clouds at that moment.

Duan Rong landed softly on the ground and immediately leapt forward along a certain direction, advancing through the countryside.

Xianggu County is located in a remote area, and the nearest liaison point of the Ministry of Communication is over ten miles away at Wang Family Village at the southeastern foot of Xiao Mountain.

This liaison point is responsible for the communication of the three counties of Xianggu County, Sheqi County, and Jiuchong County.

Exerting his body, Duan Rong sprinted all the way, arriving at the foot of Xiao Mountain just as dawn was breaking.

Duan Rong halted, exhaled a breath of stale air, and then walked towards a nearby village.

Upon reaching the village entrance, he saw a partially buried stone tablet with the three broken characters of Wang Family Village.

The Ministry of Communication’s liaison point was in a house at the east end of the village.

Duan Rong checked the direction and walked towards the east of the village.

By now, smoke rose from cooking fires around the village, and farmers who had finished breakfast, were already heading to the fields with hoes.

The villagers glanced at a small, scabby-faced beggar walking along the edge of the village, but paid little attention, quickly moving on their way after a brief look.

The liaison point was beside a phoenix tree that had been struck by lightning and was half-charred; inside lived a bachelor in his forties.

Duan Rong arrived at the east end of the village and immediately saw the half-charred phoenix tree.

He approached the fence of a nearby farmhouse, where a middle-aged man dressed as a farmer, wearing a torn cotton shirt, was sitting in the yard eating breakfast, which was just a few steamed sweet potatoes.

Duan Rong stood there and coughed, prompting the man in the yard to turn around and glance at him, his face as dark and rugged as any common farmer, with dust lining the three forehead wrinkles.

If it weren’t for the description of this liaison point and the contact inside given in the secret letter from the sect, Duan Rong would never have connected this seemingly authentic farmer to the Ministry of Communication of the sect.