The Blade-Wielding Legend

Chapter 1601 - 813: Rat Path (Part 2)

He looked at the furious Zhu Cong, his gaze calm:

"Mr. Zhu, blocking the hole and poisoning may be satisfying, but it’s not the best strategy, nor is it my intention for coming here!"

"These rats have been lurking here for a long time; the caves must be intricate and deep. The toxicity might not reach far and could force them deeper underground, making it harder to eliminate them entirely. Even if some are poisoned, there’s no guarantee that none will escape, leading to endless trouble."

"No matter who you ask, it’s impossible to keep watching. After we leave, they will surely double their revenge!"

What he said was both true and false.

Not eradicating them will indeed lead to revenge. After all, there has been precedent for such incidents.

Like some Weasels in the Northern Border causing trouble—if not cleaned up, they could ruin your family.

But the real reason is related to this trip to Hangzhou.

The Zhu Family’s young master suddenly understood Japanese in his dreams, learned from the Rat Spirits.

But how could the mice in the Divine State learn foreign languages on their own without a teacher? They must have learned it from some source.

What they really want to find is this source.

Zhu Cong was stunned, his anger suppressed, his expression uncertain: "Then... according to Young Hero Li’s opinion?"

Li Yan no longer looked at him, turned to Lv San, and said in a deep voice: "San’er, it’s up to you."

Lv San understood, nodded slightly: "Got it."

He then whistled to the side.

The Little White Fox, Chu Qi, who was lying in the yard eating roasted chicken, immediately raised its head and ran over happily.

It was wearing a specially-made vest, with bulging pockets in the front.

Soon, out from the pocket came two mice for a brief moment, plump and shiny, even wearing small jackets.

Especially those small eyes, as small as mung beans, no longer had wildness and appeared even more benevolent.

They were Rat One and Rat Two.

These Rat Demons, who stole incense, had gained a lot of benefits following Lv San, and their Dao had become more profound.

They stood upright, forepaws on their chest, bowing to Lv San and Li Yan with "squeak squeak," their demeanor respectful yet affectionate.

Lv San wasted no words, gestured at the tree hole, and made a clucking sound from his mouth.

It wasn’t mouse language, but Upper Language.

"Squeak squeak!"

Rat One and Rat Two immediately crawled toward the hole entrance.

Though plump, they were rat demons with Dao, their figures flickered, and they transformed into two nearly invisible gray shadows, darting into the deep rat hole, disappearing in an instant.

Lv San then sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, formed a Mantra with his hands, and then said:

"It’s quite deep down there... found a parrot’s remains, looks like it was just bitten to death not long ago..."

This was one of his spells enhanced with Witchcraft, allowing his vision to be attached to an animal.

Similar to Li Yan’s "Grass Spirit Technique," but more flexible.

"It’s my treasure Green Vajra!"

Salt Transport Envoy Zhu Cong gritted his teeth: "The rare bird brought back by the merchant team, I was very fond of it, thought I didn’t watch it well and it flew away, turns out it was harmed by this group of rats!"

No one paid him any attention and continued listening to Lv San.

"Almost at the bottom, the cave below is quite large, with many forks... found their scent... and... a few infant corpses..."

"They even eat humans?!"

Li Yan’s brows slightly frown, eyes becoming colder, turning to Zhu Cong, "Has there been any child disappearances from your mansion?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cong dared not be careless, solemnly clasped his hands and said: "This house is only occupied by my family, the eldest and second sons serve as officials in other places, no infants at home, but two months ago, heard about a merchant’s child in the vicinity disappearing, thought they were kidnapped."

"How far is the merchant’s residence from here?"

"About half a mile."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other.

Needless to say, the children were stolen underground and killed.

The size of this rat hole far exceeded their expectations.

Suddenly, Lv San’s expression became shocked, abruptly opening his eyes.

"What’s wrong?"

Li Yan promptly asked.

Lv San shook his head and said: "Those Rat Demons are quite clever, couldn’t defeat Rat One and Rat Two, they ran away."

He then looked at everyone, "The key point is, there seems to be a city below..."

......

Nightfall was like ink, outside Ganquan Square near West Lake.

A square stone well, surrounded by green stones covered in moss, the well water shimmering under the moonlight.

Though this was considered a bustling place, all street entrances had been blocked by Government Officials, so only Li Yan and others were by the well.

"It’s the Prime Minister’s Well!"

Salt Transport Envoy Zhu Cong was somewhat incredulous, introduced: "During the Tang Jianzhong Period, because the underground water was salty and bitter, then Hangzhou Prefect Li Mi presided over the digging of six wells, drinking West Lake freshwater for consumption, later Bai Letian and Dongpo Scholar had maintained them, how could it hide demons?"

He spoke while pointing to the inscription on the stone railing, although blurred, the words "Li Mi" could still be seen.

Discovering an underground city below, Li Yan and others were naturally curious.

But the rat hole was narrow, humans couldn’t crawl in, so they had Rat One and Rat Two search for an exit.

Turning round and round, spent the whole afternoon, circling a few streets before finding this place.

Afraid of leaking information, Salt Transport Envoy Zhu Cong had people set up barriers.

"No rush, wait and see." Li Yan gazed at the well water with a cold and stern expression.

The news of pirates had long been sent out, Hangzhou Prefecture and Mystical Sect had mobilized personnel to search, yet not a single clue.

Originally wanting to shock the enemy, but they hid deeply and had internal support, thus yielding no results.

Li Yan had a premonition that it should be related to the mysterious underground city below.

After a while, the water surface stirred, and Rat One and Rat Two emerged from the water, climbed onto the stone railing, shook off the water droplets from their small jackets, and squeaked chaotically.

Lv San listened and said in a deep voice: "Below there’s a passageway, but most of it has collapsed."

"Let’s go!"

Li Yan said no more and jumped into the well first.