Urgency

At first, they thought that something might have gone wrong on their end, and that the prefect was deliberately making trouble for them in this matter.

Later, seeing Adviser Xue's serious and earnest investigation, and recalling Prefect Tong's usual character, they belatedly realized that something serious might have really happened.

Guided by the local villagers, the constables finally found the mountain stronghold that Han Weishu had described.

Subsequently, under Xue Chengfeng's investigation, the constables found several other mountain strongholds that, according to local villagers, usually sent people down the mountain every few days, but had been quiet for many days recently.

As expected.

These mountain strongholds were almost all like the one Han Weishu had experienced; all able-bodied people had been kidnapped, leaving only a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled people barely surviving in the mountains.

One mountain village was in a particularly dire situation, with only a few elderly people paralyzed on their beds and two infants under one year old remaining.

Before Xue Chengfeng and his group arrived, the old man had already starved to death.

All that remained of the infants were bits of flesh and limbs that had been gnawed away.

Seeing this tragic scene, Xue Chengfeng suppressed his surging emotions and ordered two constables to lead the villagers to bury the body. After sending one of them back to the government office to report on the situation, he led the remaining constables to investigate along the drag marks on the ground.

Because a significant number of people were kidnapped in each mountain stronghold, the traces left on the ground were still quite evident even though many days had passed.

Clearly, those people had likely conducted their own investigation and knew the general situation of these mountain people. They were very confident that they would not be discovered, which is why they acted this way and didn't even bother to conceal their tracks.

After the constable returned to the government office and informed Tong Shuzheng of the situation, Tong Shuzheng immediately sent an urgent letter to the imperial court and rushed to Xiushui Village.

Time waits for no one.

The slower they go, the more danger those people face.

At 7:00 AM today, Han Weishu, who was temporarily staying at the government office, suddenly told him that those who had been tied up might be in mortal danger.

She said this because in the latest news that Qiuqiu sent her, several of the mountain people who had been kidnapped to mine, both old and young, had nosebleeds that they couldn't stop.

They went to the guards and cried to them, but they were completely ignored.

He just kept whipping them because he saw them delaying their work.

Han Weishu didn't elaborate on how she knew these details or the specifics, but Tong Shuzheng could sense the urgency in her words.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to make a trip to the Lingxian Sect.

After all, if the situation were really as critical as this Han the Immortal described, by the time the official document from the imperial court arrived, it would be too late.

Faced with these extraordinary beings, there is very little that ordinary people can do.

In such situations, one has no choice but to seek help from the sect.

One reason the imperial court formed an alliance with the sects was to secure their assistance during this critical time.

Lin Xiao was quite surprised to see Lord Tong again so soon.

After hearing his explanation, Lin Xiao immediately frowned and took out Location Sound Transmission Talisman containing Mo Yuanjiao's Spiritual Power.

Mo Yuanjiao had already told them about his relationship with the current emperor, and that if they had any urgent matters to discuss with the royal family, they should just talk to him.

Therefore, Lin Xiao immediately informed Mo Yuanjiao about the matter.

After delivering the message, Lin Xiao Tong Shuzheng:

"Where is that fellow Daoist from the Clear River Sect? If he knows the way, could he lead the way so we can go rescue them now?"

Seeing that he was eager to save people right away, Tong Shuzheng to himself that he hadn't chosen the wrong person, but at the same time he sighed and said:

"Sect Master Lin, this matter is probably not so easy to resolve. For a long time, countries have adhered to the principle of 'keeping to themselves,' and immortals from different countries are not allowed to arbitrarily enter the territory of other countries."

While it's true that if someone tries to sneak in secretly and we don't notice, there's nothing we can do, but at least we can't do it openly.

If we blatantly enter another country's territory without evidence, the consequence could very well be triggering a war between the two nations.

Hearing this, Lin Xiao felt helpless.

He knew that if war were to break out, the depletion of national strength would be secondary; the most important thing would be the impact on the lives of ordinary people.

In this day and age, ordinary people are already suffering enough. If they were to bear the horrors of war as well, they would truly have no way to survive.

It was clearly the other party who broke the rules first, but now they are the ones who are hesitant to act against them.

After thinking for a moment, he asked:

"So, does that mean we just need to find the evidence before the other side discovers it?"

Tong Shuzheng smiled wryly:

"This evidence is actually quite difficult to find. Because those people are unregistered mountain dwellers, they are unregistered, making them impossible to trace. If the neighboring country really wants to protect them, they can simply say that those people are their citizens, and we will have no way to do anything about it."

Lin Xiao frowned and said:

"Then we'll have to settle this privately."

Tong Shuzheng nodded helplessly:

"The best course of action now is to bring the person back secretly and ensure their safety first; we can deal with the rest later."

"I just don't know what the imperial court's opinion is."

As he spoke, Tong Shuzheng asked:

"Sect Master Lin, should we perhaps Shangyang Sect and your sect join forces to handle this matter?"

He asked this question mainly because both sects are now located in Hufang Province. Although Shangyang Sect has been downgraded because it no longer has Nascent Soul Ancestor, he is not clear about the situation of these sects.

I wonder if Lingxian Sect wants to cooperate with someone else to save effort or something.

Hence this question.

But Lin Xiao denied it without even thinking:

"No, we'll do it ourselves."

He had already witnessed Shangyang Sect's efficiency and methods twice, and he didn't want to see them again.

After discussing it, Lin Xiao decided to first go to the border with the neighboring country, which was the place where those people were taken onto the spirit ship. The time spent on the journey would be used to wait for Mo Yuanjiao to give the court a reply.

Therefore, Han Weishu is needed to lead the way.

Tong Shuzheng dragged back to the Liaoju Prefecture by Lin Xiao.

Because Lin Xiao had given the sect's only spirit ship to Mo Yuanjiao, and now time was of the essence, there was no time to have him build a new one.

In order to save time, Lord Tong had no choice but to abandon his pride for a moment.

Along the way, Tong Shuzheng felt his face go numb from the wind.

Fortunately, Lin Xiao later noticed Tong Shuzheng's discomfort and thoughtfully used his Spiritual Power to create a protective shell for him.

That's how he managed to avoid drying out on the road.

Behind them followed Liu Yunan, who had recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Although Lin Xiao has the highest cultivation level, he still needs a helper when he's out and about.