vrcanaries Chapter 591 Action (Part 1)
Chapter 591 Action (Part 1)
"Yes."
Jiang Li couldn't understand how the Soul-Stealing Worm could control the crab to cross the ocean and accurately travel upstream from the estuary to Huichang Canal, given the long journey and the lack of navigation.
"Did they come with ocean-going ships or fishing boats?" Shen Muchun guessed.
"Perhaps..." Jiang Li frowned, deep in thought.
She suddenly remembered that when she was in Japan, the Soul-Stealing Insects could jump from one mirror to another and escape through the "mirror passage".
If it weren't for the lightning bolts relentlessly pursuing him, he would have likely escaped on that day.
"Could it be that there's a mirror in the Huichang Canal that he imprinted his divine will upon? Or perhaps fragments of a mirror?!"
Jiang Li had a sudden thought and blurted it out.
Xie Chang'an and Shen Muchun were taken aback, then realized that her guess was very likely!
Back when the Soul-Stealing Insect was still the Green Lotus Ancestor, he had the Green Lotus Sect disciples distribute a batch of bronze mirrors bearing his divine soul imprint to his followers.
After the Qinglian Sect was destroyed, the imperial court spent a great deal of effort collecting these tampered bronze mirrors from the people and destroying them.
Logically, they should all have been thrown into the furnace and melted into molten copper, but could there still be some that slipped through the net?
Moreover, the Huichang Canal took seven years to build, during which countless laborers were hired, including people from foreign lands such as Mongolians and Jurchens. Who knows if there were any remnants of the Qinglian Sect or disciples of the Nine Lotus Sect from Japan mixed in with it?
The Soul-Stealing Insect instructed its followers to tamper with the canal construction, mixing fragments of the mirror imprinted with its divine intent into the bricks and stones—it couldn't have been easier!
They were right.
When Nanxi heard that the imperial court was going to build a South-to-North Water Diversion Project, he ordered his subordinate Saito to select a group of Nine Lotus Sect disciples to infiltrate the laborers building the canal. He then took the opportunity to mix fragments of a mirror imprinted with his divine thoughts into the bricks and stones and install them into the canal.
He originally planned to do something big when the Changqu Canal was completed, turning it into a "poison canal" and killing all the people along its banks!
As a result, from Nangong Qinghe to Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an, including Mo Qilang who was in charge of the project, they will all be cursed by the people and their infamy will last for ten thousand years!
He wanted to seize the opportunity to start a rebellion, take over the world, and the pure and immaculate spirit of the little fairy!
Unfortunately, despite his well-thought-out plan, Jiang Li unexpectedly sent a dragon and a shark king to intercept him in the East China Sea. Severely injured, the Soul-Seizing Insect had no choice but to abandon Nanxi's body and escape back to Japan, temporarily hiding inside Chu Feixue's body.
His soul was severely damaged and he could not get enough dragon energy to nourish him. The Soul-Eating Insect was in a slump and was then attacked by Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an who were trying to kill him. It was about to be destroyed by the tribulation lightning!
In the critical moment, the Soul-Stealing Insect gritted its teeth and self-destructed, blasting itself and the fragments of the Reincarnation Mirror into countless pieces, which mixed with the sand and stones on the seabed, thus stealing a sliver of life.
It took him another five years to gradually gather his shattered soul into a shimmering silver conch shell, which he used to lure the hermit crab into a trap.
After finally catching one, they began to reproduce while using the mirror fragments of the Huichang Canal as a "location". They tried every means possible, such as deliberately being swallowed by a big fish or attaching themselves to the bottom of a ship of the Great Chu. After countless years and many hardships, they finally reached the Huichang Canal.
From then on, he lay in wait in the Huichang Canal, constantly producing hermit crabs with "soul poison," which caused the "strange disease" along the banks of the Huichang Canal.
Fortunately, his remnant soul was severely damaged, and his cultivation level dropped to the Qi Refining stage, making it impossible for him to refine more "soul poison." The toxins in the hermit crab were continuously diluted, so the symptoms of the sick people were much milder than those of Empress Zhang and the Duke of Zhenguo.
He knew that the strange disease affecting the people along the Huichang Canal would eventually reach the emperor's ears, and that Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an would surely appear when the Longmen Medical Bureau and the Imperial Hospital were helpless.
When the family of three entered the Huichang Canal, the Soul-Eating Insect lurking in the darkness was so excited that it could hardly contain itself and wanted to pounce on it immediately and swallow the Immaculate Spirit Body that it had been longing for for so long!
Unfortunately, he was no match for those two at the moment, so the Soul-Sucking Insect had to lie low for the time being.
After such a long period of planning, a moment of impatience could ruin the whole scheme.
He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike with deadly precision!
Having figured out the key point about the "mirror," Jiang Li quickly grasped the ins and outs of the "strange illness of Huichang Canal."
"So, the monster has been lurking in the Huichang Canal all along?" Shen Muchun was shocked.
It's important to know that the water from the Huichang Canal eventually flows to water-scarce areas such as Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, which are not far from the capital!
Should he be thankful that the delicious "Huichang Canal Specialty"—that poisonous hermit crab—has not yet spread to restaurants and eateries throughout the capital?
Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an exchanged a glance, and couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
That day, when the family of three was investigating the underground culvert, the Soul-Stealing Insects were spying on them from the darkness.
Like a hunter lurking in the darkness, he keeps a close eye on them, his "prey"!
Jiang Li gave a cold smile.
The best hunters often appear as prey; in the end, we shall wait and see who emerges victorious.
However, their immediate priority is to address the hermit crab problem.
Jiang Li wrote a secret memorial and sent it to the palace.
Soon after, an imperial edict was issued to all regions—hermit crabs are poisonous and must not be eaten!
He also ordered local authorities to do everything in their power to eradicate hermit crabs, and anyone found illegally breeding them would be prosecuted for poisoning!
Everyone suddenly realized that the strange illness in Huichang Canal was caused by eating hermit crabs!
The aquatic and marine forces were also very effective. In just two days, they dug out all the hermit crabs hiding in every nook and cranny, imprisoned them, and provided them for Shen Muchun's research.
With a sample in hand, Shen Muchun led the elites of the Longmen Medical Bureau and Ghost Doctor Valley to begin research on the antidote.
Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an ordered the four children to gather their men, who then quietly headed towards Huichang Canal.
Late at night, two shadowy figures quietly arrived at the entrance of the Huichang Canal. One was petite and slender, the other tall and slender; they were clearly a man and a woman.
With a flick of her wrist, the petite, slender figure in black caused the guard at the entrance of the culvert to fall silently.
The tall, slender man reached out and gently pushed, and the two heavy stone doors opened with a thud.
Moonlight shone through the clouds, illuminating the face of the man in black. He wore a black copper mask, typical of the Eastern Depot's secret guards, revealing half of his handsome face. He was none other than Xie Buqi, the heir of the Prince of Jing'an!
"Brother, let's go inside quickly, lest we be discovered," the girl in black whispered.
She was also dressed in the night clothes of the Eastern Depot's secret guards and wore a black copper mask. The person who could call Xie Buqi "brother" was undoubtedly the newly promoted Princess Yongle, Xie Wuchou!
"Wuchou, we came here secretly without telling our parents, what if..." Xie Buqi hesitated.
"Brother, don't you want to go back to the Upper Realm with Father and Mother?" Xie Wuchou looked at her brother with burning eyes.