This secret was most likely related to the cry for help I had heard. It was even possible that this anomaly was caused by me… Xu Qi An was startled by his conjecture.
As a seasoned criminal investigator with rigorous logic, he didn’t immediately conclude that he was the “real culprit.” Strictly speaking, he was a suspect.
There could be other possibilities. Although he had verified with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao that only he could hear the cry for help, it didn’t necessarily mean that he had caused this disturbance.
Sangbo itself had secrets, known only to Emperor Yuanjing. It was possible that this turmoil would have happened anyway, and he had merely heard something he shouldn’t have due to his unique abilities.
“The peculiarity about me… is probably this inexplicable money-finding buff,” Xu Qi An’s feelings were complex, filled with both a strong curiosity and apprehension about uncovering the truth, fearing it might be more than he could handle at his age.
Another hour passed, and the ancestral worship finally concluded.
The Imperial Guards and high-ranking Night Watchers escorted the royal clan members and civil and military officials as they left. Xu Qi An and his colleagues were finally relieved of their duties.
“How strange, what could be inside the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple?” Song Tingfeng asked casually on the way back, indulging in gossip.
“Keep your eyes open while walking, Li Ronghao,” Xu Qi An joked, trying to distract himself and calm his nerves.
“Who’s Li Ronghao?” Song Tingfeng asked, puzzled.
Xu Qi An ignored him.
The other Bronze Gongs also discuss the recent anomaly.
“That was sword qi, wasn’t it? I’ve never seen such a terrifying sword qi. Even Zhang Jingling, who cultivates sword intent, is far inferior,” one Bronze Gong said.
“It scared me to death. I thought there was an assassin at first. But I should have known better—how could such a formidable assassin enter the capital? Our capital has the Supervisor and the Imperial Tutor stationed here.”
“What do you think is inside the temple?”
The Bronze Gongs looked at each other, unable to answer this question.
“It’s the sword that the founding emperor used on the battlefield,” Xu Qi An said.
Everyone turned to look at him. The Bronze Gongs of the Night Watchmen’s Office had polarized attitudes towards Xu Qi An.
Some wanted to befriend him, while others envied him. After all, being able to cause two Gold Gongs to fight over him meant that this guy would surely have a promising future, at least becoming a Silver Gong.
“What do you know?” someone sneered.
“Go ask the senior officers yourself,” Xu Qi An sneered back.
These young Bronze Gongs didn’t know much about the Battle of Shanhai Pass, but the older Bronze Gongs and Silver Gongs should know about how Emperor Yuanjing had requested the divine sword and gifted it to the King of the North.
It’s worth mentioning that the King of the North was a prince, Emperor Yuanjing’s younger brother.
His actual title was Prince of Huai.
King of the North was a respectful title for the Prince of Huai, as he guarded the north and intimidated the various tribes of the grasslands.
There were many princes, but only one King of the North.
Sensing the tension between Xu Qi An and Bronze Gong, the others casually changed the subject, discussing other matters.
This ancestral worship ceremony had been alarming but ultimately uneventful. With their mission completed, the Bronze Gongs discussed plans to visit the Jiaofang Si or a familiar brothel that night.
This was a dull era. Men’s entertainment activities and social interactions were limited to listening to music at taverns or sleeping with women in brothels.
How tedious!
…
Back at the Night Watchmen’s Office, Xu Qi An suddenly felt his heart palpitate, knowing that there was activity in the “Earth Book Chat Group.”
He excused himself to use the latrine and took out the jade miniature boundary. He saw that Daoist Jin Lian was consulting him and Number One.
[Nine: Number One and Number Three, the ancestral worship is over. What happened? It caused quite a commotion.]
Number One didn’t reply. Instead, the others were eagerly gossiping.
[Two: Daoist, what do you mean? Was Emperor Yuanjing assassinated during ancestral worship? Is he dead? Haha.]
Xu Qi An was certain that Number Two was not a court official unless they never intended to meet Number One and himself in person.
This Number Two is such a malcontent. If they lived in my era, they’d be tracked down by the police in no time and invited to the station for some government hospitality.
[Nine: This poor Daoist was meditating when I suddenly saw a beam of sword light pierce through the clouds from the direction of Sangbo, just like the day when pure qi soared from Cloud Deer Academy.]
[Two: Which expert went to assassinate him?]
[Nine: That treasured sword of the nation was the personal weapon of the founding emperor of Great Feng. After the founding of Great Feng, it has been bathed in national fortune daily, becoming an artifact intimately linked to the nation’s fate. In theory, such a powerful instrument should not exhibit any anomalies.]
After Number Two finished speaking, Daoist Jin Lian’s next message followed immediately.
Seeing that they had spoken out of turn, Number Two didn’t speak again. After waiting for about ten seconds and seeing that Daoist Jin Lian had finished, they continued:
[Two: So, what exactly happened?]
[Four: What? The nation-protecting divine sword awakened? Did a Tier 1 expert enter the capital of Great Feng, triggering that divine weapon? Otherwise, I can’t think of any reason that could cause the nation-protecting divine sword to awaken.]
Number Four seemed very shocked. They had once served as an official in the court and knew no less about Great Feng than Numbers One and Three, perhaps even more.
[Five: I only care if the emperor of Great Feng is dead or not. If he’s dead, this granny will tell my father.]
Granny… so Number Five is a girl. Xu Qi An’s eyes lit up.
[Four: Tell your father? What are you planning to do?]
[Five: Of course, to send troops to attack the border, to plunder Great Feng’s food and women, ah hahaha.]
As expected, Number Five was indeed of a different race. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so clear about the history of the Myriad Demons Kingdom. Hmm, the Myriad Demons Kingdom is in the Southern Frontier, so Number Five should not be from the northern tribes.
Southern barbarian, or eastern barbarian?
At this moment, Number One came online.
[One: The ancestral worship has ended. The divine sword in the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple awakened, causing some disturbance. It has now subsided again. Emperor Yuanjing entered the temple for a quarter of an hour, doing who knows what.]
[Nine: Alas, as expected, Sangbo indeed has secrets. These secrets are probably known only to the royal family.]
[One: How much does the Daoist know?]
Xu Qi An’s spirits lifted.
[Nine: This poor Daoist is merely a monk, and doesn’t know any secrets. It’s just that before the sword qi pierced the sky, this Daoist saw demonic qi gathering in the direction of the imperial city.]
[Six: This humble monk also sensed it, though it was just a fleeting moment.]
The Buddhist disciple, Number Six, chimed in.
The Earth Lineage cultivates merit, so they should have methods of observing qi similar to the art of reading the atmosphere… I’m not very familiar with Buddhism, but logically, they should be sensitive to demonic qi and monster qi.
Xu Qi An silently observed.
[Two: In other words, during the ancestral worship, a great demon or someone from the demonic path approached the capital, causing the nation-protecting divine sword to reactively awaken, frightening away that mysterious expert.]
Number Two made a judgment.
[Four: Although the Supervisor is stationed in the capital, if the other party is also a top-tier expert in the world, they could indeed approach the imperial city in an instant.]
[Six: Tier 1 experts can be counted on one’s fingers. Who would dare to invade the capital at this time?]
For a good while, no one spoke. Everyone was probably comparing notes in their minds, each making their guesses.
But Xu Qi An knew that it wasn’t some Tier 1 expert invading. The problem originated from Sangbo itself.
[Four: Daoist Jin Lian, when did the sword qi pierce the sky?]
[Nine: An hour ago. Why do you ask?]
An hour ago… and Number Three inquired about Sangbo-related information exactly an hour ago, almost simultaneously…
Judging from Number Three’s attitude at the time, he was very eager to know everything about Sangbo.
Number Four recalled Number Three’s inquiry not long ago, and connecting it with the situation that occurred during the ancestral worship, it was obvious that Number Three’s inquiry wasn’t without reason.
Number Three is a Confucian scholar, well-versed in historical texts. How could he not know the history of Sangbo? Why would he unnecessarily transmit a message to inquire?
Number Four himself knew the history of Sangbo, and he couldn’t help but put himself in Number Three’s shoes.
“If it were me, participating in the royal ancestral worship ceremony, and this happened midway, I would explain the situation immediately, then discuss the cause of the anomaly with the members of the Earth Book, concluding that it might be a Tier 1 expert invading.
“But Number Three didn’t. Number Three very purposefully inquired about the history of Sangbo. Number Three is certainly not a fool; on the contrary, he’s extremely intelligent.”
Number Four silently reasoned: “He’s a student of Cloud Deer Academy, he shouldn’t unnecessarily ask these things unless he made some discovery, thus doubting the history he had read before, doubting whether his understanding of Sangbo was correct.”
Thinking of this, Number Four was startled. He arrived at a conclusion that surprised him:
The problem originated from Sangbo. Number Three had glimpsed one or two things, and this truth made him doubt his understanding.
[Four: Number Three, you know something, don’t you? You were there at the time. Right after you asked about Sangbo’s situation, the nation-protecting sword immediately reacted, causing such a commotion. This can’t be a coincidence.]
Number Four’s transmission made the members of the Earth Book react.
So this was why Number Four had just asked Daoist Jin Lian about the time when the sword qi pierced the sky.
As the fragment holders’ thoughts were in turmoil, Number Four continued to transmit: [Number Three, you’re a student of Cloud Deer Academy, you must know the history of Sangbo. Although Cloud Deer Academy has withdrawn from the court for two hundred years, its foundation is profound. The records of Sangbo’s history in the academy’s library would only be more detailed than what I said.
[I found it strange at the time why you would ask such a question.]
No, I don’t know… Xu Qi An didn’t know how to explain. The terrifying cry for help had caused his mental breakdown. In such a situation, he couldn’t consider maintaining his persona.
[Four: Because you began to doubt your understanding, you felt that the history of Sangbo you had learned before might be wrong.]
Everyone suddenly realized that this was the case.
Xu Qi An suddenly realized that this was how he thought.
Number Four is truly a great detective… Well, although the guess is wrong, I have to admit that he’s very sharp, the quickest to react among everyone.
As expected of a scholar who once served as an official in the court.
[Two: Wait, if that’s the case, does the problem itself come from Sangbo, rather than a Tier 1 expert invading?]
[Four: That’s something we need to ask Number Three.]
[Five: Number Three, why aren’t you saying anything? Tell us quickly!]
Seeing this, Xu Qi An decided to break his silence. Using his finger as a pen, he wrote:
[Heh, I do indeed know some inside information that others don’t.]