After the people from Wangyue Pavilion had all left, the prefect finally raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
However, Jiang Yaoji had no intention of letting him off easily. "After searching for so long, you haven't found any trace of them at all?"
As soon as she spoke, the prefect was so frightened that he stammered, "Just now we heard some noises under the cliff in the northwest. But when we got there, there was no one."
Under the cliff in the northwest...
Ji Yunxi, who had been listening intently, suddenly realized that this was exactly where they had climbed down the cliff earlier.
No wonder she couldn't find Feng Xingzhi and the others after she came down. They must have heard the prefect's men and deliberately led them away to protect her safety.
Judging from the prefect's words, they should not have been captured. Ji Yunxi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered how Xingzhi had managed to quickly evacuate with an injured Jiang Yaoji and an uncooperative Yue Hongshan.
Before she could react, Jiang Yaoji suddenly raised her voice and scolded, "A bunch of useless fools! How could you lose a few outsiders on your own turf?!"
The prefect wished he could bury his head in the dirt and didn't dare to say a word.
Seeing that the prefect was useless, Jiang Yaoji said with a gloomy face, "I'll lead the search myself. Tomorrow morning, I want all the citizens in the city to join the search in the mountains. I don't believe they can escape. They must be captured alive! But remember, on no account should you harm that man."
The prefect didn't dare to object and quickly agreed.
Jiang Yaoji's words made the prefect understand that the Prince Feng was of great significance to this mysterious woman and that he probably had no chance of becoming in - law with the prince. But now was not the time to worry about such things. His top priority was to ensure his daughter's safety.
After Jiang Yaoji left with her men, the prefect resumed his previous ferocious look. He grabbed the collar of a man beside him and said, "Spread my order. Notify all the citizens in the city overnight that the offering to the mountain god has escaped. If we can't offer the sacrifice within three days, the mountain god will be angry again. Not only will there be strange celestial phenomena, but everyone will die!"
Qing Xuan, who was hiding nearby, was so angry that he almost came out and chopped off the prefect's head.
To use them as sacrifices was already against the principles of heaven, and the prefect even tried to shift the blame to all the citizens!
Ji Yunxi saw his indignation and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be so angry. Since he's colluding with Jiang Yaoji, he's no good man," Ji Yunxi said helplessly. "What we should be more vigilant about now is Jiang Yaoji."
Hearing this, Qing Xuan's face darkened. "But Jiang Yaoji and her men outnumber us. I'm sure she just gave the order to capture us."
"It's very likely, but since we can't use our spiritual power, neither can they. So we don't need to be overly worried."
"How can we not be worried? The prince has just recovered from his illness..." Qing Xuan's voice sounded a bit dejected. There had been too many frustrating things recently.
Ji Yunxi knew that she had to pull herself together at this moment. So she pulled Qing Xuan and walked up the mountain under the cover of darkness, avoiding the prefect's men.
"If I'm not wrong, the current situation in Yue City is not only a natural disaster but also a man - made one. Look at that prefect. Using sacrifices to save the people is just a trick to deceive the illiterate," Ji Yunxi said.
Qing Xuan nodded. "He'd better rein in the excessive luxury in his mansion. Maybe that would be enough to support the people of Yue City. And don't you think the officialdom in the Eastern Jin Dynasty is really bad?"
"Why do you say so?"
Qing Xuan remembered the annoying man on Kunlun Mountain and asked, "Wasn't that man surnamed Lu like that?"
"That's true. But in every dynasty, there are corrupt officials. These people will cross the line for personal gain. It's an age - old truth." Ji Yunxi wondered how Zhu Linyun and the others were doing.
As they walked and talked, they managed to ward off the night's chill. "Master, they're going to search the mountain tomorrow. Are we really going to be sacrifices?"
Ji Yunxi thought that the prefect seemed so used to talking about sacrifices that this might not be the first time he had done such a thing. This time, they not only had to save themselves but also find a way to bring down this corrupt official.
According to the prefect and Jiang Yaoji's plan, they would be in an isolated and helpless situation tomorrow. They had to come up with a fool - proof plan.
Suddenly, Ji Yunxi remembered a place in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It might be useful, but she didn't know what it was like now.
Ji Yunxi stopped in her tracks, looked up at the sky, and estimated the distance from Guangwu Mountain to that place.
Seeing her stop, Qing Xuan looked at her in confusion. "Master, what are you looking at? The moon?"
After muttering to herself for a while, Ji Yunxi grabbed Qing Xuan and whispered, "Qing Xuan, go down the mountain right now."
"What?!"
"Listen to me. We're outnumbered. Without a doubt, Jiu Ge is injured, and with Yue Hongshan around, our chances of success are slim. But it would be much better if we could get some reinforcements."
Qing Xuan looked around and thought his master must be out of her mind. "Master, where can we get reinforcements?"
Ji Yunxi remembered that Jiang Linyin had once said that if she really thought Qing Xuan was stupid, he could take a look. Before, she thought it was just a joke, but now it seemed that Qing Xuan was really not very smart.
"Aren't I sending you to get them?" Ji Yunxi pointed in a direction. "If you continue east for more than ten miles from here, you'll find a valley. Once you enter the valley, you'll see a courtyard. After you get there, tell the people in the courtyard that Gu Yunxi is in trouble and ask them to come and rescue us."
Qing Xuan pointed in the eastern direction and was puzzled. "Master, if I remember correctly, going east leads to the sea, doesn't it?"
"It's not the sea. It's just a ten - mile journey."
Although Qing Xuan still had doubts in his mind—this clearly seemed to be the sea, where was the valley?—seeing her so confident, he thought that since it was his master's order, it must be right. He immediately changed his direction. "Then I'll set off. Don't do anything rash before I come back, master."
Without any delay, he rushed towards the east.
As he was approaching the foot of the mountain, he saw several servants holding broadswords, standing there on guard.
"I guess those people must have already escaped," one of them said impatiently.
"Who knows? But we have to follow the prefect's orders."
Qing Xuan thought it was bad that the prefect's men had blocked this way, but he had to get through here to get reinforcements.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He stepped forward and said, "The master has ordered you to return to the city immediately and check if the young lady has returned to the yamen."
The men were stunned for a moment and saw a handsome young man emerging from the grass. There was some dust on his clothes.
"Who are you..."
"I was sent by the master to tell you to go back quickly. Those people may have already come down the mountain. Report back as soon as you find out."