After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 549 Strange Taoist Temple

"What was that! It flew, it flew past!"

"What's the big deal! It's just a stray cat!"

Master Zhao really wanted to say, "We've come so far, and it will be dawn in another hour. Why don't we wait until it's light before going in?"

But Lord Li had already led the middle-aged and elderly constables and servants ahead, so he had no choice but to follow.

After all, it seemed more dangerous for him to wait alone in this desolate wilderness.

Isn't there some kind of rule? In this situation, the person who is alone is most likely to encounter strange things.

Staying with the main group at least provides support and gives you peace of mind.

The sound of footsteps breaking twigs, the low chirping of nightingales, and the pounding of the heart intertwined, scratching at one's taut nerves.

The crescent moon, shaped like a scimitar, was dimly lit, and the stars twinkled listlessly.

It was occasionally obscured by a few drifting clouds, making it so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Zhao, the clerk, began to tremble and tightly gripped the hem of the person in front of him.

Led by a group of middle-aged and elderly explorers, they went straight into the abandoned Taoist temple, first paying their respects to the Three Pure Ones, and then circling around to the rear hall, where people were more likely to be hiding.

The rear hall was gloomy, filled with a contradictory atmosphere of decay and dryness.

The light in the back hall was even dimmer, but luckily everyone had brought tinderboxes and lit their torches away from areas with dry grass.

The torches instantly illuminated the rear hall, making it completely visible.

Just as the constable had reported, this place did not look like it could hide more than a dozen young men.

After all, there isn't even a complete room left here; not to mention the leaky roof, the four walls are also incomplete.

How exactly did this Taoist temple fall into disrepair? Master Zhao's way of keeping himself from being afraid was quite unique; he simply thought about things that had nothing to do with it.

"My lord, the footprints disappeared after reaching this back hall. We have also searched the surrounding area, but there are no footprints, nor any signs that the footprints have been cleaned up."

Those young people seemed to have vanished into thin air as soon as they arrived!

"Disappeared into thin air? No, that's impossible. There must be something we've overlooked. It'll be dawn in about half an hour. We'll check again then."

Lord Li, in the words of later generations, was a typical "materialist." Although he was not disrespectful to ghosts and gods, he was not superstitious either.

He believed that anything like disappearing into thin air or being haunted by evil spirits would ultimately be attributed to "human intervention" in the investigation.

This is why Prefect Li was able to lead the old craftsmen out to investigate in the middle of the night, because he had no source of fear in his heart.

In contrast to Magistrate Li, Zhao, the clerk, had always believed in these things and felt a chill run down his spine when the bailiffs reported it.

In the end, those who were able to come were truly sustained by the working spirit of the working class.

There's no way around it; sometimes, a job is more important than life itself, because for the proletariat, losing a job is often no different from losing one's life.

After his mind wandered for a while, Master Zhao seemed to calm down. Actually, it was mainly because there were many people, and they were all holding torches.

Moreover, the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten, and dawn was just around the corner.

When it gets light, Zhao Quanke won't be afraid anymore!

"My lord! Something's strange!"

One of the constables found something new by touching the base of the wall and immediately reported it.

Upon hearing the word "strange," Zhao Shiye's newly mustered courage immediately receded like a snail's antennae.

She even instinctively gripped the hem of the person next to her, her voice trembling as she asked:

"Wh...what strange thing?"

Lord Li remained calm and strode towards the constable. The constable pointed to a spot at the base of the wall where there was a row of strange symbols.

Almost all the constables were literate, so they all gathered around to look.

Lord Li crouched down to examine the torches closely, his brows furrowed. Just then, a cold wind suddenly blew by, causing the torch flames to flicker violently, and everyone couldn't help but shiver.

"Some of them look like characters, but they're not quite right either. Some characters are missing parts, and some just look like scribbles..."

"Ghostly scribbles?!" Master Zhao was so frightened he almost screamed, and quickly covered his mouth.

Just as everyone was puzzled by the strange symbols, a soft rustling sound came from a corner of the back hall.

Zhao, the clerk, turned deathly pale instantly. He felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his throat, clutching the hem of the person next to him tightly, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Lord Li's expression hardened, and he casually drew a dagger from a constable's waist, shouting in a low voice, "Who's there!"

After saying this, he led a few bolder constables slowly toward the corner.

Just as he was about to reach the corner, a completely black cat suddenly darted out from there, startling Master Zhao so much that he fell to the ground.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was just a cat, only to discover that the cat's eyes were glowing green.

"What's the panic? Cats at night just have eyes like that."

“My family also kept a cat, and its eyes were indeed like that at night.”

Master Zhao was helped up by the servants of the government office, but he didn't dare to look at the cat.

The cat completely ignored the startled crowd and walked around them to the wall where it had been before.

"Hey, this cat, it's like it can read, it really does look like it!"

The black cat stared at the strange writing on the wall for a while, but still ignored everyone. With a few leaps, it jumped over the wall and left.

The kitchen helper at the Jingzhao Prefecture tapped the rolling pin in his hand, "This cat is really strange. Why does it feel like it's here to investigate a case too?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Even if a cat is smart, it can't read, let alone scribbles, much less investigate cases. It's probably just a stray cat that happened to be passing by. What's the big deal?"

These words would be normal coming from anyone, but coming from Zhao Shiye, who was so frightened by the wildcat that he tripped and fell, they just don't seem very convincing.

If I remember correctly, among everyone present, it seems that only you, Master Zhao, are making a fuss, right?

Ahem, never mind, let's save face for the advisor~ Just keep these thoughts to yourself.

"Alright, enough talk, it's almost dawn, let's split up and get to work."

You guys check around again, be careful, don't miss any clues.

You guys try to make rubbings of the words on the wall, and then study them slowly when we get back to see what they mean.

If all else fails, you can send it to the Hanlin Academy, where there are many learned scholars; perhaps one of them can understand this kind of writing.

"Yes! Your lord!"

The bailiffs accepted their orders, while the menial laborers, lacking experience in such tasks, were simply there to make up the numbers.

However, at this moment they took on the role of guards, all surrounding the prefect and his advisor, which made them feel very safe.