strictlysupreme Chapter 188 Qinglin City Wharf
Chapter 188 Qinglin City Wharf
The Great Shun Dynasty was a vast country, divided into Southern Shun and Northern Shun by the Qinglin River and Liyang Mountain in the middle of its territory.
The capital city is located in Nan Shun, so Xue Lan and his companion left the capital to travel to the Da Li Dynasty, which borders the northern border of Da Shun. They had to pass through seven cities, making it a long journey.
Xue Lan appeared slow on the surface, but ever since she met Ling Yuanzi in the Galan Secret Realm, she had been feeling uneasy. So the two of them did not set foot in any cities along the way, but instead flew along the direction of the mountains, and arrived at the Qinglin River in just one day.
As the longest river in Da Shun, the Qinglin River is where all the major and minor waterways of Bei Shun converge. Naturally, shipping along its banks was highly developed. On the surging river, merchant ships came and went, leaving behind a crisscrossing trail of ripples, like a dense net.
Xue Lan had been traveling at breakneck speed before, but slowed down as she passed through this place, standing on a cloud and looking down at the Yangtze River below.
Xue Tong sensed something was off, so she asked sincerely, "What's wrong?"
Xue Lan looked down at the endless river below, raised her hand, and turned her gray-white eyes into a clear black.
"Let's go down and take a look!"
The two appeared in a secluded corner of the dock. Like two small fish, they silently blended into the bustling crowd at the dock.
The two weaved through the crowd for a while, with Xue Lan leading Xue Tong upwards. After walking for a short time, they noticed someone following them.
She heard Xue Tong's deliberately lowered voice: "Xue Lan, someone is following us!"
Xue Lan nodded to indicate that she understood. Her divine sense had already detected that someone was following them. It was a tall, burly middle-aged man with a full beard who had been following Xue Lan and her companion for about half an hour.
Although this person had a fierce appearance, he was not an evil person, because Xue Lan could sense a murderous aura emanating from him.
This murderous aura was neither the kind carried by desperate criminals, nor the kind that Ji Jinjin possessed from fighting on the battlefield.
This malevolent energy originates from prison.
Xue Lan continued walking forward, explaining to Xue Tong as she went, "The person following us is a constable!"
"Officer!" Upon hearing Xue Lan's words, Xue Tong's face turned pale instantly.
Xue Lan was puzzled: "Didn't you do something wrong behind my back? I've never seen you this scared, not even monsters or demons!"
Xue Tong looked timid and hesitant: "Of course I haven't done anything wrong, but I get scared when I see the police!"
Xue Lan caught a new word in her words: "Police?"
"They're constables!"
Xue Lan smiled gently and continued walking forward.
At this moment, Xue Tong couldn't help but ask Xue Lan, "Where exactly are we going?"
Xue Lan quickened her pace and softly replied, "Let's go to the River God Temple and offer incense to the River God of Qinglin River!"
"You really enjoy communicating with the gods that much?" Xue Tong complained. This wasn't the first time Xue Lan had done this. In the past day and a half, Xue Lan had taken her to almost every mountain god temple along the way, and they had to go in and burn incense at each one.
"arrive!"
As soon as Xue Tong finished speaking, Xue Lan stopped in her tracks. In front of them was a magnificent temple, with people coming and going. The two bought incense at the temple entrance and went inside, but the middle-aged man did not follow them in.
Xue Tong held incense in her hand, looking at the statue in front of her. The statue was of a graceful woman, dressed in a gorgeous dress with the hem carved into the shape of water ripples. Her face was gentle, and ribbons fluttered behind her, exuding an ethereal aura.
"Wow, that's amazing!" the little girl exclaimed, then followed Xue Lan in bowing several times to the statue and placing the burning incense sticks into the incense burner.
After the two finished their worship, Xue Lan, as usual, stood in front of the incense burner for a while in a daze before leading Xue Tong out of the temple.
As soon as they stepped out of the temple, Xue Tong couldn't help but ask, "What are you investigating?"
Xue Lan was somewhat surprised: "You're quite thoughtful!"
"I'm not out of my mind. You're visiting temples one after another within two days. Even if you're good friends, you shouldn't be doing that!"
Xue Lan raised her hand and patted her head: "It wasn't intentional visiting; I was investigating!"
She was investigating the situation of these mountain and water deities. City gods and local deities are connected to the human world, and usually, if something goes wrong, it will be discovered by the immortal sects quickly. But these mountain and water deities are different. If they are corrupted by demons, it will be impossible to detect them in a short time.
Xue Tong was speechless: "So you've been teaching me Minesweeper these past two days."
Xue Lan nodded, and just as she was about to say something more, she saw the constable who had been following the two of them walk up.
This time, he didn't avoid her at all, and walked straight up to Xue Lan and her companion: "You two ladies aren't from around here, are you?"
Xue Tong hid behind Xue Lan in fear, clearly not wanting to face the middle-aged man.
Xue Lan bowed to the burly man and said, "I am from the capital. I have brought my younger sister to Qinglin City because we wish to take a passenger ship to the Great Li Dynasty."
Upon hearing the words "Da Li Chao," the middle-aged man's expression changed slightly: "Are you two young ladies going to Da Li Chao? Do you have any relatives there?"
Xue Lan answered again, "I have an aunt at home!"
The burly man scratched his head and asked again, "Do the two young ladies have any family members with them, such as parents or brothers?"
Xue Tong looked at Xue Lan and shook her head: "No!"
The burly man looked at the two women in front of him with utter astonishment and couldn't help but ask, "You two young ladies just... crossed two cities like that?"
Xue Tong secretly answered him in her heart, "That's right, that's exactly it. We flew here the day before yesterday!"
Xue Lan nodded to the big man again.
"Ladies, you can't continue traveling alone like this!" The burly man took out a waist tag from his waist. "My name is Qin Liu, and I am a constable in Qinglin City. There are slave traders everywhere north of the Qinglin River. You two ladies can't continue traveling alone. If you must go to Dali Dynasty, you might as well stay at the dock for the night and leave tomorrow on a passenger ship arranged by the city lord's mansion. You two ladies, follow me, and I will take you to an inn!"
Just as Xue Tong was about to say thank you, she heard Xue Lan in front of her slowly speak: "How can you prove that you are a real constable and not a human trafficker in disguise?"
This question not only stunned Qin Liu, but even Xue Tong looked at Xue Lan.
Qin Liu had never encountered this situation since the start of his patrol, and couldn't help but hold up his waist token: "I have a waist token!"
The girl in the dark red dress spoke up decisively: "The waist tag can be forged!"
"No... how could this be forged? This was personally supervised by the city lord during its forging. Look at this Bixie beast head!" The middle-aged man held up the waist token in front of Xue Lan's eyes, and then heard the girl's emotionless voice.
"I've never seen a real waist token before. If you're the real human trafficker, even if you have a fake waist token, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, would I?"
Xue Tong thought to herself, "Didn't Xue Lan already know that Qin Liu was a constable? Why is she still making things difficult for him?"
For the first time in his life, Qin Liu felt somewhat at a loss. He encountered a wary and strong-willed girl while on official duty, and the crucial point was that he really had no way to prove it.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind.
Yes, why didn't he think of that before? They were dressed like ordinary people, searching for human traffickers while gathering outsiders. Everyone they approached trusted that waist tag completely.
What if a human trafficker pretends to be a constable to deceive people...?
The waist tag that his colleagues were very familiar with, they could tell the real from the fake at a glance, but these common people could not.
Thinking of this, Qin Liu broke out in a cold sweat.
The tall man nodded to Xue Lan and did not ask her to follow him.
"Ladies, Qin Liu was too hasty! The City Lord's passenger ship will depart from the dock tomorrow morning, and the words 'Qing Lin' will be written on its sail. Ladies, please be careful in the city today."
After saying this, Qin Liu hurriedly left.
Xue Tong emerged from behind Xue Lan: "Could he really be a human slave trader?"
Xue Lan patted her head: "He's definitely not a human trafficker, I am."
Xue Tong thought the girl was joking and shook his head: "Stop messing around!"
"You trust me that much?" Xue Lan's voice carried a strange laugh. "What if I were a human slave trader?"
Xue Tong wanted to say that was impossible, but when she looked into Xue Lan's eyes, which were disguised by an illusion, the little girl suddenly felt a chill down her spine.
Like a bird suddenly struck by a cold arrow, unable to fly any longer, Xue Tong's voice was hoarse: "Xue Lan..."
She now understood why Xue Lan had made things difficult for Qin Liu before.
Because of disguise and...deception.
If Qin Liu is a human trafficker in disguise, Xue Lan and her companion will be in danger; if Xue Lan is deceiving her, then she...
She thought Xue Lan was giving Qin Liu some pointers, but in reality, Xue Lan was also testing her.
Now the results are out.
Qin Liu is smart, she's lacking.