Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 352 Closing the City

When Mingyue hurried to Yanling City without stopping, she was surprised to find that the city gate of Yanling City, which should have been open to welcome passers-by, was tightly closed at this moment.

The entire Yanling City exudes a cold and austere air that keeps people at a distance.

Around the city gate, there were some soldiers with serious expressions and weapons in their hands, guarding there, and they were aggressively driving away the people who tried to approach and gather around.

The people's faces were filled with helplessness and fear, but they did not dare to get too close. They could only gather not far away, whispering to each other, and guessing what had happened in the city.

When Mingyue saw this, she immediately understood that something unusual must have happened.

He was extremely anxious and walked quickly towards the city gate without stopping. But as soon as he approached the city gate, before he could ask, several soldiers rushed forward aggressively and stopped him.

Those soldiers all had ferocious looks on their faces, with cruelty and impatience in their eyes.

Mingyue's heart could not help but jump. He was about to blurt out the words that he was a member of the Night Patrol Division, but he swallowed them back. He knew that something was wrong at the moment, and if he rashly revealed his identity, he might get into more trouble.

Mingyue quickly pulled the corners of her mouth, trying to squeeze out a slightly flattering smile, and said carefully: "General, what's going on? Why are people suddenly not allowed to enter the city? I have urgent matters to attend to, can you be flexible?"

One of the soldiers, who was burly and had a face full of flesh, stared at Mingyue with eyes as big as copper bells, and scolded in a bad tone: "There are members of a cult causing trouble in the city, and the prefect is personally leading the army to kill them. For the safety of you ordinary people, the city is temporarily closed and no one is allowed to enter or leave! Don't dawdle here, if you know what's good for you, leave quickly, and don't wait for us to drive you away!"

Mingyue's eyes flashed slightly, her mind raced, and she instantly heard some unusual clues from the soldier's words.

The actions of closing the city gates and arranging these soldiers to drive the people out of the city gates were probably all directed by the prefect of Yanling City. There must be some unspeakable secrets behind this, and it is definitely not just as simple as the so-called "eliminating cult members".

As a result, Mingyue couldn't help but worry about Shen Lie's safety.

Although he knew in his heart that with Shen Lie's strength, he was also quite famous in the Night Patrol Division and had a high status, just relying on the prefect of Yanling City, under normal circumstances, even if he wanted to take action against Shen Lie, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree, as difficult as climbing to the sky.

But Mingyue didn't dare to make any guarantees. What if the prefect of Yanling City became desperate and resorted to some sinister and cunning means, taking advantage of Shen Lie's unpreparedness and causing Shen Lie to capsize in the ditch and meet with some unexpected disaster?

The more Mingyue thought about it, the more anxious she became, and the more critical the situation seemed.

After all, he was the one who invited Shen Lie. If Shen Lie really encountered an accident because of this incident, Mingyue would never be able to forgive himself in his life and would probably feel guilty and blame himself for the rest of his life.

The soldier saw Mingyue standing there with his expression changing constantly. His brows suddenly frowned and a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes.

Without saying a word, he suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed Mingyue hard, cursing: "Damn it! Didn't you hear what I said? Don't stay here, get out! If you don't leave, I will be rude to you!"

Mingyue was caught off guard and was pushed by the soldier, causing her to stagger and almost fall to the ground.

After he stood firm, although he was filled with resentment, he also knew that it would be impossible for him to force his way in by himself. Not only would he not be able to enter the city, but he might also get himself killed. Then he would have no way to save Shen Lie.

So, he gritted his teeth, suppressed the anger and anxiety in his heart, and quickly turned around and left.

 …

Yanling City, in the government office.

Shen Lie's face was so gloomy at the moment, and his eyes were fixed on the magistrate He opposite him, with anger and disbelief in his eyes.

He suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice, "Prefect He, what is your intention in doing this? Are you doing this to rebel?"

Magistrate He sat on a chair with his eyes closed. His face looked much more haggard than when Li Zhi met him before, as if he had experienced something exhausting during this period of time, which made him lose weight and look tired and vicissitudes of life.

He heard Shen Lie's question but did not answer. Instead, his hands hidden in his sleeves trembled slightly uncontrollably, revealing his inner nervousness and anxiety at the moment.

Shen Lie really never expected that the prefect He in front of him, who seemed to be a responsible official, would be so cruel and decisive.

He just came to ask him about the missing people, but he didn't expect that this Magistrate He was so insidious and cunning. He got a forbidden Qi talisman from somewhere and mixed it into the tea prepared for Shen Lie without anyone noticing.

Shen Lie was caught off guard. After drinking the cup of tea, he felt as if the Qi in his body was sealed by an invisible force. At this moment, he was just like an ordinary person and could not cast any spell.

Even because his Qi was sealed, his whole body was limp and he couldn't even muster any strength. He fell into an extremely passive situation.

What made Shen Lie feel even more chilled was that in order to achieve his ulterior motives, Prefect He had so cruelly kidnapped the entire population of Yanling City and used them as bargaining chips.

What's the difference between such behavior and rebellion!

"You've gone to so much trouble, it shouldn't be just because of those missing people!" Shen Lie spoke slowly, trying to get some clues from Prefect He and figure out what he was planning.

At this moment, Magistrate He finally slowly opened his eyes, with a subtle complexion flashing in his eyes. He raised his head slightly, looked at Shen Lie, and said coldly: "Don't try to trick me. I don't intend to harm your life. Just sit here honestly. Everything will return to normal tomorrow."

Shen Lie couldn't help but frown at what Prefect He said.

He really didn't understand the deep meaning behind Magistrate He's words. What would happen tomorrow? Why did they have to wait until tomorrow? What was the conspiracy behind this? Many questions lingered in his mind, making him confused.

However, Magistrate He did not seem to intend to explain things clearly to him.

He just chuckled, then he stood up and patted Shen Lie on the shoulder as if to comfort him, then walked out without looking back, leaving Shen Lie sitting there alone.

As Magistrate He left, five soldiers wearing armor and holding sharp weapons immediately rushed into the room.

Obviously, even though Shen Lie had lost any ability to resist, Prefect He did not relax his vigilance and specially arranged five elite soldiers to guard Shen Lie.

Although Shen Lie was unable to move at this moment, his eyesight was still good. With just one glance, he could tell that these five people must be experienced warriors.

With these five people guarding, even if Shen Lie resumes his movement, it would be difficult to take them down in an instant.

This prefect He was very experienced, which made Shen Lie more and more anxious. However, Shen Lie did not show it on his face. He closed his eyes silently, thinking about how to get out of this situation.