Chapter 295 - 141: Accidentally Splashed with Muddy Water

Chapter 295: Chapter 141: Accidentally Splashed with Muddy Water

"A different place?" Jiang Mu was taken aback.

"For instance... come to Yunzhou City."

Shui Miaozheng looked at him, her gaze sincere. "I’m over there, and while I can’t promise you a grand future, I’ll definitely treat you well. I’d never let you be wronged."

’Alright, alright.’

’So the fox is finally showing its tail, is she?’

’This is a blatant attempt to poach me!’

’Too bad. I still have Aunt Bai Xiang waiting to cook for me, I haven’t had my fill of the little healer girl’s foot-stomped cakes, and...’

’Hmm, I guess there’s nothing else.’

’But it’s hard to leave home.’

Jiang Mu set down the rabbit bone and said seriously,

"Aunt Shui, I appreciate the kind offer, and I am truly grateful. It’s just...

Hu State is my home, after all. Director Ran gave me this opportunity, and Yan Fenghuo and Xu Fu are my brothers-in-arms.

The Demon-slaying Bureau’s duty is to protect its jurisdiction. Since I started this work in Hu State, I should see it through to the end and weather the storms with my colleagues. Leaving now wouldn’t feel right, for any reason."

His words were high-minded and full of righteous conviction.

Although Shui Miaozheng had expected he wouldn’t agree, hearing the clear refusal still brought a pang of disappointment.

In truth, with her status and connections, it wouldn’t be impossible to force Jiang Mu’s transfer to Yunzhou City. It would just require pulling a few strings and likely offending Ran Qingshan and the others.

But a melon plucked by force isn’t sweet.

She would much rather have Jiang Mu come willingly than by coercion.

"You’re right. I was being inconsiderate."

She quickly composed herself, her smile as gentle as ever.

After that, by a silent, mutual agreement, neither of them brought up the "poaching" incident again. Instead, they shifted to more lighthearted topics.

Jiang Mu even told a few jokes he’d heard in his past life, which made Shui Miaozheng cover her mouth in a light chuckle. The atmosphere in the cave grew pleasant once more.

Before they knew it, the two of them had polished off the plump wild rabbit.

Though, to be fair, most of it had gone into Jiang Mu’s stomach.

Outside, the rain showed no signs of letting up. In fact, it grew heavier, forming a small stream that gurgled past the mouth of the cave.

In the meantime, the paper crane Shui Miaozheng had sent out returned, carrying news from Ming Cuicui and her team.

They hadn’t found the Wolf Demon’s lair either.

"It seems you were right. The Wolf Demon is hiding deep within an underground cavern."

Shui Miaozheng put away the paper crane, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Wiping the grease from the corner of his mouth, Jiang Mu suddenly said, "Aunt Shui, I think I can find the mine demon."

"Really?"

Shui Miaozheng froze for a second, then her beautiful eyes lit up with surprise and delight.

Jiang Mu nodded and recounted in detail how he had discovered the Earth Ghost Demon’s nest while rescuing Xu Fu and the others.

After listening, Shui Miaozheng furrowed her delicate brows, a puzzled look on her face.

"That’s strange. According to you, there’s a sizable Earth Ghost Demon breeding nest in that area?

Although this type of Demon is skilled at burrowing, their nests have distinct features and their demonic energy leaks easily. Logically, the Demon-slaying Bureau patrols from Yan City should have easily discovered and reported it. Why has it never been mentioned in the files?"

Jiang Mu pursed his lips, his tone laced with disdain.

"The Yan City Demon-slaying Bureau? You want to rely on them? You’d be lucky if only eight out of ten pieces of their intelligence were wrong. They’re rotten to the core internally; missing one or two demon nests is perfectly normal for them."

Shui Miaozheng thought for a moment and figured he had a point. She didn’t dwell on it, saying decisively,

"There’s no time to waste. I’ll take you there right now. At my speed, it won’t take long."

Jiang Mu, of course, had no objections.

Protected by Shui Miaozheng’s Magical Treasure and propelled by her flight-related Divine Abilities, the two of them braved the torrential downpour and quickly arrived at the stretch of wilderness where Jiang Mu had slain the Earth Ghost Demons.

The scorched black marks from the Buddha Lamp Oil and the collapsed cave entrance were still there.

Shui Miaozheng landed and carefully inspected the dozen or so scattered cave entrances of varying sizes. Her expression grew increasingly grave.

"Generally, an Earth Ghost Demon colony wouldn’t create so many entrances. It’s not in their nature. This... is indeed very rare.

However, this makes it even more likely that the mine demon is deep within this nest, either being kept in captivity or imprisoned by them.

Let’s go in and take a look."

Because the Earth Ghost Demons’ bodies are relatively small, the cave entrances they open are mostly narrow.

They chose what looked like the most spacious entrance. Shui Miaozheng used her Star Power to widen the passage slightly, and even then, it was just barely large enough for one person to pass through.

Even so, the tunnel inside remained extremely narrow.

For the first stretch, they could walk hunched over, but after about a hundred feet, the passage narrowed sharply, forcing them to crawl.

The rock walls ahead were quite solid.

Shui Miaozheng tried to widen it again, but with little success.

For safety, Shui Miaozheng had chosen to take the lead and scout the path ahead.

But after crawling only a short distance, she began to regret it.

For a mature, full-figured woman like her, crawling on all fours was a rather undignified posture.

If Jiang Mu, who was right behind her, simply looked up, he would probably see...

But backing out to change their formation now would be a huge hassle; the tunnel was so narrow it was difficult to even turn around.

Shui Miaozheng could only console herself with the thought:

’It’s pitch-black in here, so dark you can’t see your hand in front of your face. Xiaojiang behind me shouldn’t be able to see anything... right?’

She forced down her embarrassment and continued crawling.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Jiang Mu was blessed with the Divine Abilities of the [Earth Inspection Star].

In this pitch-black cave, his eyes were like night-vision goggles, allowing him to see as clearly as if it were broad daylight.