With Xu Dayou taking the lead, they quickly found the herb warehouse He Lingchuan was looking for.
This row of storehouses was divided into three sections holding four types of medicinal herbs. The prunella spikes were among them, occupying an entire storeroom to themselves.
"Are prunella spikes stored anywhere else in Luocang?"
"Yes, but they're scattered across seven or eight small storehouses, packed together with other herbs. We checked the inventory: the largest of those lots is only around four hundred jin, and the smallest barely forty, with no sorting." The manager pointed to the storeroom behind him. "Everything in here has already been sorted and packed—seventeen thousand three hundred jin in total, scheduled to be dispatched to seven destinations within three days."
"This is the place." He Lingchuan went inside to inspect it personally. Confirming that all the herbs were accounted for, he finally let out a long breath of relief.
His running back and forth since last night had not been in vain; at last, he had seized the initiative.
"Has this warehouse always stored prunella spikes?"
"Indeed. The warehouses at the center of town have the tightest security, so they hold the most precious medicinal materials. These warehouses on the edge of town have always stockpiled common goods like prunella spikes and ephedra."
Such herbs were cheap, with hardly anyone bothering to steal or rob them.
General Ling, however, remained somewhat worried. "Could Wan Song just pick a few random herb shops or apothecary dispensaries to raid for prunella spikes to tide him over?"
He Lingchuan asked him, "Why do you think Mr. Mai and Wan Song chose Zhitian Township as their base?"
General Ling pondered. "Because herbs are easy to get here?"
"If that's truly the reason, the demon puppet's consumption of prunella spikes cannot be small." If it only needed a few jin or liang, they could buy enough from any random apothecary. Why bother settling down in Zhitian Township?
Only in Zhitian Township could they purchase herbs in bulk over the long term without arousing suspicion.
Before He Lingchuan could speak, Jiao Yu chimed in, "Now that Mr. Mai is exposed, they can no longer remain in Zhitian Township and must pull out as fast as possible. If you were Wan Song, and the monster under your command couldn't survive without prunella spikes, what would you do?"
General Ling blurted out, "Pull off one big heist and run."
If you had to rob someone anyway, better to go big than go small.
He Lingchuan patted a medicine sack beside him. "There are over twenty thousand jin of prunella spikes here. That should last it for a while until they find a new source of supply."
"Will he know to look here?"
"Wan Song might not, but Mr. Mai should know very well," He Lingchuan said calmly. "Mr. Mai is a meticulous man; he probably planned his retreat long ago. Luocang always has prunella spikes in transit, making this their backup depot."
In truth, there was an absurd notion lingering in the back of his mind that he had never mentioned to any human or demon.
It still remained to be proven.
"So what do we do now?"
"Set up a few arrangements, and then wait by the stump for the hare." He Lingchuan turned to Xu Dayou. "I hear the grass jelly here is delicious?"
"You bet!" Xu Dayou chuckled. "Every time I come to Luocang on official business, having a bowl of grass jelly on the way there and back is an absolute must."
It was the height of summer in the seventh month, a season where the slightest exertion brought drenching sweat. Even though they had true power and origin power protecting their bodies to ward off the sweltering heat, having a bowl of chilled refreshment on a scorching day was pure bliss.
And so, led by Xu Dayou, the group found a nearby sweet soup shop.
The shop had been in business locally for more than sixty years, its craft passed down to the fourth generation. The grass jelly He Lingchuan ordered was made from broth brewed with bundles of fairy grass, steeped in icy well water overnight until it set into a firm jelly. When customers ordered, it was ladled over with osmanthus honey water and topped with a few soft, pink glutinous rice balls. Half-sweet and half-bitter on the tongue, it washed away all the impatient restlessness simmering inside.
Best of all, it was cheap.
He Lingchuan polished off two large bowls in a row, costing merely four copper coins.
Back in the Yuan Kingdom, the osmanthus honey alone would have cost more than that.
Sweet soup could fetch a high price anywhere, but only in the Beijia Kingdom was sugar a seasoning that ordinary commoners could consume freely at their pleasure.
Plentiful in variety and affordable in price.
Consequently, whether in the Jeweled Tree Kingdom or the Chiyan Kingdom, the streets and alleys were lined with shops selling all kinds of confections and sweet drinks, many of which had become established brand names. In the grass jelly He Lingchuan was eating, for instance, the proportion of "fairy grass" was the shop's secret recipe, said to incorporate thirteen different herbs and even two varieties of floral honey.
The simple bliss of enjoying sweets so freely was rare anywhere else in the world.
The other bailiffs also sat down to rest their feet, each ordering sweet soup. One of the bailiffs was a black-and-white striped skunk who declined the grass jelly and asked only for two bowls of honey water.
Of course, humans were not the only ones working in government service.
In summer, dusk fell late. But at this moment, several patches of dark clouds drifted in from the horizon, rudely driving away the scorching sun and drawing closed a curtain of black.
Lightning rolled through the cloud banks; a storm was brewing.
This was exactly what He Lingchuan had been waiting for. He stood up at once and said, "Let's head back. Time to get to work."
...
Night brought wind and rain, sweeping in with magnificent fury, soaking heaven and earth until all light vanished.
The whole of Luocang was submerged in a rustling deluge, without a single person on the streets.
Dried herbs feared water above all else, so even the busiest warehouses were forced to shut down and fall silent.
The personnel He Lingchuan had brought were deployed evenly throughout the nearby large and small warehouses, while he and Jiao Yu took four or five men to guard the main storehouse holding the prunella spikes.
This warehouse covered an area of three hundred square meters, built squarely with exceptionally high beams over two zhang—more than six meters—above the ground. The twenty thousand jin of prunella spikes neatly stacked took up only half of its capacity; the rest remained empty.
Oh, and in the corners of the warehouse sat several black jars.
He Lingchuan and Jiao Yu played the role of gentlemen on the rafters.
Three double-hours had passed since they finished their grass jelly and returned to the warehouse.
Inside, all remained deathly still, without the slightest anomaly.
It was nearly the hour of the Rat—the dead of midnight.
Peering out through the warehouse's transom window, He Lingchuan could not spot a single soul.
Fortunately, Jiao Yu was a predator adept at ambushes, accustomed to waiting, and offered no complaint.
A sudden clack came from below, instantly tautening He Lingchuan's nerves.
He soon saw, however, that it was only a small twig blown by the wind falling to the floor.
Several more bolts of lightning cracked across the world, lighting up the surroundings.
He Lingchuan suddenly tapped the tiger's back, pointing out the window as he hissed urgently, "Look!"
Jiao Yu looked back, and the fur across his entire body instantly bristled.
Outside the window across from them loomed what appeared to be a colossal behemoth. It was dark and murky, its silhouette indistinct, but it stood at least as tall as the herb warehouse.
Had the lightning not illuminated the sky at just that moment, likely no one would have noticed such a thing appearing in the pitch-black, rainy night.
Immediately afterward, the window went completely dark.
"Go!"
Plans truly could not keep up with changes. He Lingchuan had originally assumed the monster would burst up from beneath the warehouse floor, never expecting it would appear directly outside the building.
Spacious as the warehouse was, the thing outside was ridiculously massive and could not squeeze in at all!
Fortunately, he had a Plan B. Turning around, he darted out through the small window on the opposite side.
Jiao Yu followed right behind.
Meanwhile, for the bailiffs and demons stationed in the surrounding warehouses, this rainy night had been long and tedious.
Xu Dayou yawned for the tenth time, wiping away the tears in his eyes, only to see General Ling beside him still fully focused, staring fixedly at the warehouse across the way without even blinking.
These demons had incredible stamina, far beyond what ordinary humans could match.
The scene outside the window was exceptionally monotonous—nothing but the unrelenting rain and still scenery.
Wait...
Something was off about the warehouse opposite. It looked as if a massive dark shadow had appeared behind it.
Yet the lightning flashed and vanished, plunging the outside world back into darkness.
What was that?
Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, Xu Dayou rubbed them. When the next bolt of lightning struck, he saw the warehouse still standing in place, with nothing changed around it.
The massive dark shadow was gone as well.
Was it really just an illusion?
Just then, however, Jiao Yu suddenly sprang out from behind the warehouse, letting loose a roar: "Shoot at the warehouse!"
The tiger's roar ripped through the rainy night, booming like thunder in everyone's ears.
The surrounding warehouses burst open as men rushed out with bows and crossbows, raising their weapons and loosing their arrows!
Long cords were tied to the back of each arrow.
Though they saw no other suspicious figure, Jiao Yu's command was enough for them to obey without hesitation.
The wind-boring beasts smashed open the doors of their hiding spots as well, shooting forward like arrows.
To them, a distance of ten zhang was a mere two strides.
The wind-boring beasts lowered their heads like charging bulls, violently ramming their spiral horns into the outer wall of the warehouse!
Almost simultaneously, a volley of arrows arrived, striking the warehouse as well.
Against such a huge target, even He Lingchuan back when he first started learning archery months ago could not have missed.
Then a strange scene unfolded:
Though the arrows struck, they all skidded and fell away; not a single one lodged into the wall.
Even the horns of the two wind-boring beasts failed to pierce the wall's surface, carving only a few deep gouges and producing three crisp thuds.
Such a sound indicated it was not only extraordinarily hard, but also hollow!
The two wind-boring beast guards staggered back two steps, shaking their heads, clearly dazed by the recoil.
Only General Ling's horns drove half a finger deep into the surface, yet they seemed not to have struck flesh and blood. That single impact was enough to flip a giant elephant, yet the warehouse remained unmoved.
He had no choice but to yank his horns free, shaking his head.
The impact had left him somewhat dizzy.
Now everyone could see the bizarre anomaly.
The warehouse was clearly built of timber; how could it possibly be so resilient?
Even if talisman arrays were affixed to such warehouses under normal circumstances, they were meant to protect against water, fire, and pests—nothing that should contribute in the least to structural sturdiness.
Worst of all, after enduring this round of attacks, the warehouse actually began to sink rapidly.
Yes, sinking straight into the ground.
Left unchecked, it would be swallowed completely beneath the earth within three to five breaths!
This thing could even move this fast?
Fortunately, even as General Ling charged in to ram it, he roared at the top of his lungs, "Activate the array! Bloody well activate the array!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the official badge around Jiao Yu's neck began to glow.
Centering on the prunella spike warehouse, faint yellowish light flared up in seven spots across the ground within a twenty-zhang radius—the array talismans buried underground had taken effect.
In front of each array talisman stood a bailiff, guarding it with blade in hand.
The ground did not appear noticeably different, remaining a bed of mud where splashing muck and puddles were trodden into pits of varying depths as people ran. Yet the warehouse's sinking abruptly ground to a halt.
This was one of the formations widely utilized in warfare across the Beijia Kingdom:
Escape-Art Prohibition.
It was typically employed in sieges and positional warfare to seal off an enemy's earth-escape and water-escape techniques, preventing foes from sneaking into one's territory to wreak havoc—an exceptionally practical measure.
After all, the techniques and innate gifts of demons were boundlessly diverse and strange.
Chapter 466