[Number Two: Alright, I’ll do Number Three a favor and keep an eye out for you. I have some influence in Yun Province. Finding someone isn’t difficult. As long as Zhou Chixiong is in Yun Province, I can dig him out.]
Such a bold claim? Xu Qi An became increasingly certain that Number Two wasn’t affiliated with the imperial court. There were two reasons: First, she cursed Emperor Yuanjing to ascend to heaven daily. Second, Yun Province was plagued by bandits, with refugees everywhere and a weak local government. If Number Two were from the imperial court, she wouldn’t make such promises.
Hmm… Not being an official yet passionate about eradicating bandits daily, Number Two must have a chivalrous heart.
[Number One: Acceptable.]
The deal was struck, and the conflict was resolved.
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society breathed a sigh of relief. Number Three, being a scholar, indeed had strong diplomatic skills. In normal circumstances, Numbers One and Two might have gotten into an argument.
Daoist Jinlian inviting Number Three to join the Heaven and Earth Society was indeed a clever move.
After Number Three joined the society, messages through the Earth Book became frequent and lively, with members exchanging information more often.
For everyone, this was a welcome phenomenon.
[Number Four: Why do the demon races covet the sealed object beneath Sang Lake? Hmm, it must be the work of the Northern demon races. Historically, Great Feng hasn’t had much conflict with the Myriad Demon Kingdom in the Southern Borderlands.]
The Northern demon races and Great Feng were bitter enemies, while the Southern Borderlands’ Myriad Demon Kingdom was locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Buddhist sects of the Western Regions.
According to the boss, the Northern tribes and demon races had been harassing the border regions in recent years, seemingly showing signs of restarting the war. It made sense that the Northern demon races would secretly cause trouble and stir up things in the capital… Xu Qi An’s heart sank.
[Number Five: So, what exactly is sealed beneath Sang Lake that the Northern demon races have been coveting for so long?]
Little sister, do you have many question marks? Uncle can’t answer you because uncle wants to know too… Xu Qi An grumbled inwardly.
[Number Nine: Whatever it is, it’s surely something that gives the Great Feng royal family a headache. Let’s hope it doesn’t affect the ordinary people in the capital.]
Xu Qi An seized the opportunity to interject: [The Chief Astrologer of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau is ill. What do you think about that? Cloud Deer Academy received secret information that there is indeed a formation at the bottom of Sang Lake. I believe it’s the work of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau.]
[Number Two: That’s false. How could a Tier 1 expert fall ill?]
Number Two rejected the idea outright.
[Number Five: Mm-hmm, Tier 1 experts stand at the pinnacle of the world. They can’t fall ill, especially those in the Occult Arts system.]
The Occult Arts system originated from healers.
Number Four also shared his thoughts: [The Chief Astrologer’s attitude might suggest that he doesn’t want to get involved in this matter.]
Number Four was clever, as his thoughts aligned with Xu Qi An’s… The Chief Astrologer didn’t want to be involved… What was the meaning behind this ambiguous attitude? Shouldn’t he be defending the capital?
Xu Qi An pondered silently.
[Number One: I can repay part of the debt now. The information about Sang Lake might not be of great value. Number Three, do you want to hear it?]
Not of great value, but wanting to repay the previous debt… Number One, you’re being a bit excessive, trying to fleece me in return?
Xu Qi An felt somewhat angry. This deal was a loss for him, but he currently desperately needed information about Sang Lake.
With the lead on Centurion Zhou cut off, he needed to find a breakthrough.
Xu Qi An transmitted with an indifferent attitude: “I might as well listen.”
[Number One: I checked the records about Sang Lake and found a very conspicuous time point. Perhaps what’s sealed beneath Sang Lake is related to this.]
Number One paused briefly before transmitting: [Five hundred years!]
[Number One: About five hundred years ago, the Crown Prince at the time was boating on Sang Lake when he accidentally fell into the water. From then on, he became mentally unstable and soon after drowned in Sang Lake. But five hundred years ago, there was also a major event. The history books only mention it briefly, and the court and commoners alike are tight-lipped about it.
[I believe Number Three should be remembered.]
I don’t, I don’t remember anything at all… No, I haven’t even read the history books!
Xu Qi An felt frustrated about why this world didn’t have Baidu. With just a click, everything could be solved, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, and so on. Including illnesses… Well, maybe with just a click, it would be “See you in the next life”!
Right, I should ask Cijiu. Cijiu has read all the history books; he’s a top student.
As the image of his little brother’s face and voice appeared in Xu Qi An’s mind, he was delighted to see Number Four jumping in to answer: [A coup?!]
Seeing this, Xu Qi An felt relieved because he knew others would inevitably ask on his behalf. After all, apart from Numbers Four and One, the rest of the group were academic underachievers who hadn’t even completed the nine years of compulsory education.
[Number Two: A coup?]
[Number Five: A coup?]
[Number Four: Five hundred years ago, there was a rebellion within the Great Feng royal family. The leader of the rebel army was the Prince of Pinghai, who later became Emperor Wuzong. Although Wuzong always used the pretense of purging corrupt officials to cover up his usurpation, it was ultimately not a glorious affair. Later historians were reluctant to speak of it, only daring to write: In the year of heaven’s fall, when demons ran rampant, Wuzong rose from the east and quelled the great chaos!
[The current Great Feng royal family are all descendants of Wuzong from that time.]
[Number Five: What does this have to do with Sang Lake?]
This girl isn’t very bright…
[Number Two: Is Number One suspecting that the sealed object in the Eternal Mountain and River Temple is related to the royal family from five hundred years ago?]
[Number One: Don’t you find it strange why the Chief Astrologer is pretending to be ill?]
What’s sealed beneath Sang Lake is an important figure from the royal family of five hundred years ago… It involves the taboo past of usurpation that the royal family is unwilling to mention, so only Emperor Yuanjing knows about it… Then the death of that Crown Prince five hundred years ago was certainly not accidental, but an act of revenge?
Because it’s also a member of the royal family, it’s considered a family matter, so the Chief Astrologer is pretending to be ill, not wanting to get involved.
The Northern demon races are stirring up this commotion to throw the capital of Great Feng into chaos, perhaps even destabilize the court, so they can make small moves in the North.
Xu Qi An drew in a sharp breath, unconsciously straightening his back. The waters of the Sang Lake case were deeper than he had imagined.
I should just run away. I feel like the risk of running away is even lower than participating in this case.
Xu Qi An chickened out.
[Number Three: Oh right, I forgot something. There are some characters inscribed on the seal beneath Sang Lake. It’s quite interesting, and I think I should share it with you all. Well, this is free of charge.]
He didn’t ask questions like “Does anyone know what kind of writing this is?” That would be too foolish.
What if it was just an ancient script? Wouldn’t that expose his low cultural level and make his Cloud Deer Academy persona untenable?
So, Xu Qi An wrote two distorted characters on the surface of the jade mirror: [Number Three: Two distorted characters.]
[Number Nine: This is Sanskrit.]
Sanskrit? Xu Qi An was taken aback.
[Number Five: How could Sanskrit appear in the seal formation at the bottom of Sang Lake?]
Having a low-IQ member in the group is quite good… Xu Qi An smiled, quietly waiting for one of the experts to explain.
[Number Four: It shouldn’t be like this. For such a secret matter, the royal family wouldn’t have allowed Buddhist practitioners to participate.]
Others also expressed their confusion.
After waiting for a long time with no one speaking, each having their conjectures, Xu Qi An asked: [I haven’t seen Number Six comment recently.]
[Number Nine: Mm, it seems Number Six has encountered some trouble. He left the Wellness Hall in the east of the city many days ago. This poor Daoist will be responsible for finding him.]
Is this bald guy always running into trouble?… Xu Qi An grumbled, then waited for another incense stick’s time before confirming that the group members had all gone offline.
You should say when you’re going offline, you bunch of ill-mannered folks.
…
Blowing out the oil lamp, Xu Qi An lay on the bed with the jade mirror under his pillow. He stared at the pitch-black ceiling, allowing his thoughts to ferment.
“If what’s sealed beneath Sang Lake is a powerful figure from the former royal family, then things will be troublesome. Knowing such a secret, I’d surely be beheaded… No, if they openly cause trouble and reveal their identity, I might not fear being silenced by Emperor Yuanjing.”
“Wei Yuan said that the task of tracking down the sealed object is being handled by others, and I don’t need to get involved. My task should be to find the spy in the Sang Lake case… But Centurion Zhou has escaped, and that lead is cut off. I can only pin my hopes on Number Two.”
“No, that’s not right!” In the darkness, Xu Qi An’s eyes suddenly lit up. He had overlooked something.
During the day, when discussing the case with Lü Qing in the council hall, they concluded that it was impossible for the nine missing persons to secretly smuggle gunpowder into the Eternal Mountain and River Temple without being noticed.
Centurion Zhou was from the Imperial Guards, who were only responsible for guarding, not for the ancestral worship ceremony. In other words, he had no opportunity to enter the Eternal Mountain and River Temple.
Centurion Zhou wasn’t the mastermind; the Imperial Guard Centurion Zhou was just one link in the case, responsible for delivering the gunpowder into the palace. Others were responsible for hiding the gunpowder in the Eternal Mountain and River Temple.
There was an even higher-level black hand behind him.
The black hand behind the scenes had joined forces with the demon races, orchestrating the Sang Lake case and releasing the sealed object from the Eternal Mountain and River Temple.
My real task is to root out this black hand!
Xu Qi An sat up, clenching his fist excitedly.