Chapter 1039: Things Can’t Just Vanish
Editor: Henyee Translations

Chu Qingzhi stood at the doorway, observing the situation inside the tent. “What’s going on?”

Tang Jinghong looked up, his expression grim. “A scout just reported that Xia Sang Kingdom has occupied all of Chen’an. The area is now vast and sparsely populated. All distress signals have been intercepted, and by the time we found out, it was too late.”

Meng Shengdong added seriously, “Chen’an is a vassal state of our Dalin. By occupying it, Xia Sang Kingdom has effectively declared war. This is a battle we must fight.”

Chu Qingzhi thought for a moment. “Jinghong, what are your thoughts?”

Tang Jinghong’s gaze was icy. “We must report to the court and simultaneously ally with General Chen to confront the enemy.”

Chu Qingzhi paused. “You focus on the battle, and I’ll handle the other matters.”

Tang Jinghong nodded. “Alright.”

As they continued to discuss the strategy for the upcoming battle, Chu Qingzhi left the tent and headed to Liang City to investigate the missing official salt.

Zeng Huo came to report. “The salt disappeared on the road between Liang City and the neighboring city. Would you like to go see it?”

Chu Qingzhi nodded. “Lead the way.”

They arrived at the location where the salt vanished. It was a forested area with a road cutting through it. The forest was dense and dark, even during the day.

Chu Qingzhi surveyed the surroundings. This place was indeed suitable for an ambush.

Zeng Huo pointed to the right. “There’s an abandoned village over there. When the plague hit the eastern border, many villagers fled, and none returned.”

Chu Qingzhi looked in that direction and thought for a moment. “Let’s check it out.”

After so many days, any tracks would have disappeared, and the witnesses were all dead, so they had to rely on luck.

They crossed mountains and arrived at the abandoned village. Weeds had taken over, and the roofs were covered in wild grass. In another year or two, the village would be completely overtaken by nature.

Chu Qingzhi walked to the left, planning to circle the village. If they found nothing, they would leave.

After a few steps, she heard a noise. “Who’s there?”

Her spiritual sense quickly locked onto the source, revealing a child.

The child was in tattered clothes with messy hair, almost indistinguishable as male or female, running desperately in one direction.

Chu Qingzhi leaped and landed in front of the child, who ran right into her.

Startled, the child turned to run again.

Chu Qingzhi grabbed the child, lifting them off the ground. The child’s legs continued to move frantically in mid-air, their face covered in sweat, looking like a terrified deer.

Finding this amusing, Chu Qingzhi smiled. “No one has ever escaped from me. Do you still want to try?”

“Let me go! Let me go!” the child screamed in fear.

Chu Qingzhi turned to Zeng Huo. “Am I really that scary?”

Zeng Huo speculated, “The child must have seen something terrifying recently, which is why they’re so frightened.”

Chu Qingzhi put the child down. “Did you see something recently?”

The child immediately ran again.

Chu Qingzhi watched the child run off like a startled rabbit. “…”

Suddenly, she smiled and leaped ahead of the child, who ran into her again.

The child turned to run once more.

This repeated several times until the child was too exhausted to continue and sat down, panting.

Chu Qingzhi, still smiling, asked, “Had enough running?”

The child’s sweat dripped onto the ground. Their hair was soaked, and they raised a small hand. “I can’t run anymore. I can’t get away from you.”

Chu Qingzhi took some candy from her pouch and handed it to the child. “Good. Now, can you answer my questions?”

The child swallowed hard but didn’t take the candy. “What do you want to know?”

“Did you see someone stealing the salt?” Chu Qingzhi asked, unable to think of any other terrifying event the child might have witnessed.

The child’s eyes filled with fear. “I don’t know what salt is. I just saw some people killing others and taking their stuff.”

So the child had seen it. Chu Qingzhi pressed on, “Where did they take the things?”

The child pointed in a direction.

Chu Qingzhi looked. That was towards Liang City. Could the salt have been brought back to the city?

Zeng Huo spoke up, “There’s no good place to hide something like that on the way from Liang City. Could it have been taken back to the city?”

Chu Qingzhi said, “We can find out by asking the gate guards.”

She turned back to the child. “Do you want to come to the charity hall with me, or stay here?”

The child hesitated. “Will there be food?”

“Yes,” Chu Qingzhi confirmed.

The child immediately agreed. “Then I’ll go with you.”

Chu Qingzhi tilted her head. “Let’s go.”

The three of them walked along the road to Liang City. Chu Qingzhi spread out her spiritual sense, looking for anything unusual.

They followed the road through the forest, then a bamboo grove, and finally a vast plain. There was no place to hide a large quantity of salt.

At the city gate, Chu Qingzhi surveyed the area. “It must have been brought back to the city.”

Zeng Huo agreed.

Chu Qingzhi approached the gate guards and showed them a token. The guards immediately bowed.

“I need to ask you something,” she said.

The guards were polite. “Ask away.”

Chu Qingzhi led them to a less crowded spot. “Have you seen any large shipments coming into the city recently?”

The guard thought for a moment. “No, we haven’t seen any large shipments.”

Chu Qingzhi released a bit of pressure, her tone severe. “Think carefully. If I find out later, you’ll be in big trouble.”

The guard felt the weight of her presence but insisted. “There really hasn’t been any. Please investigate further.”

Chu Qingzhi used a truth spell to ask again, but the guard’s answer remained the same.

Chu Qingzhi was puzzled. How could there be nothing?

Zeng Huo suggested, “I can go back and order a more thorough investigation. So much salt can’t just disappear.”

“Wait a moment,” Chu Qingzhi said, sensing something was off. “Why would someone steal the salt? And why did it disappear right before the festival? Could there be a connection?”

Zeng Huo considered. “You mean the salt theft could be the Xuan family’s doing, to distract General Tang and spread his forces thin?”

Chu Qingzhi nodded. “That’s possible. I hadn’t thought of it before, but it does seem connected.”