Chapter 1576: Turn around!

"The guards at the Spring Gushing Shanzhuang." The second disciple wiped away a nosebleed. "I wandered around the perimeter of the villa and saw the guards throwing out a few refugees. Although they were whipped, they weren't dead, nor did they lose any hands or feet. So, I had a flash of inspiration: I hid half a pancake on my person and disguised myself as a refugee to sneak into the villa. I hid here and there inside for about an hour until I was discovered by the guards and driven out."

He had picked two pieces of fruit as soon as he entered the villa, so that once the guards caught him, they would find the fruit and the gnawed pancake on him, assuming he was truly just a refugee who had come in to steal food. They only gave him a beating before throwing him out of the villa.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." The Master of Red Cottage praised him, then said to the other two disciples, "Did you see that? This is the attitude one should have when doing things!"

If it weren't for the fact that his back was truly aching, the second disciple could have stood even straighter. "Many thanks for the praise, Master!"

"What did you find out?" The Master of Red Cottage took out a sand table and placed it on the ground, but did not activate it.

The second disciple reached out and took a tree branch, drawing the positions on the sand table. "I climbed in from the northwest corner. There are only a distillery and two warehouses here. Following the lake to the south, there are two rows of houses that are occupied. Judging by their uniforms, they look like guards..."

He recounted the architectural layout he had investigated: three kitchens, four or five halls and pavilions, and several buildings that looked tall and magnificent. In reality, in such a massive villa, it was difficult for him alone, with just a pair of naked eyes, to pinpoint so many things, but the second disciple had released insect puppets to collect intelligence.

"The further south you go, the more people there are, and it's very hard to hide." The second disciple pointed to the south side of the sand table. "I couldn't reach the southern end, but the target's residence is likely there. I only saw a spire before I was caught."

"That's possible. The architectural layout here in Heaven Water City emphasizes facing south as a sign of honor." The Master of Red Cottage stroked his chin. "What about that man surnamed Wei?"

The second disciple shook his head. "I didn't find him."

He didn't even know the other person's height or appearance; how was he supposed to find him with just a name? "This bit of information is far from enough." The Master of Red Cottage's eyes flickered slightly. "It seems I'll have to make a trip myself."

The second disciple added, "I came out in a hurry, and there are over a dozen insect puppets left behind in the villa."

He had been chased out, so naturally, he didn't have time to retrieve the insect puppets.

"No matter, I will retrieve them." The Master of Red Cottage stood up. He still needed to get the target's schedule from Qingyang.

He soon learned that He Xiao was a super busy man.

This guy was wholeheartedly devoted to the capital's eastern expansion project and often didn't return to Spring Gushing Shanzhuang for two or three days at a time. At the construction site, he was surrounded by crowds, with several hundred guards by his side at every moment.

Without a doubt, the best place to make a move was still Spring Gushing Shanzhuang; people are most relaxed on their own turf, so the Master of Red Cottage had to thoroughly understand that place.

￥￥￥￥￥

North-central Flash Gold Plain, Frost Sea.

The residents of the coast all knew that this sea area had a bad temper; for ten months of the year, the waves were as angry as a roar, and ordinary people dared not enter the water. Only during those two winter months, when the cold air was biting, did the river surface settle down.

But with the weather so cold, and the northern part of the Flash Gold Plain freezing breath into ice, who would still travel by sea?

Some did.

Right now, there were five sailboats on the sea, sailing downstream with the current. The vast sea surface was silent; apart from the flowing clouds and mist, only these few ships were still moving.

A man in white stood at the bow, gazing into the distance at the line where the Heaven River met the sky.

He liked the feeling of riding the wind and breaking the waves.

A page boy came over from behind to report: "Lord Envoy, the turbulent waters have been passed. The boatman says the rest of the journey will be very smooth."

Bai Ziqi nodded and turned to walk back into the cabin.

Just now, the ship had been bumping, making it difficult for him to act. Only when the wind and waves calmed and the ship moved silently did Bai Ziqi close the cabin door and air vents, and insert a few incense sticks into the offering table.

He used the square table already in the cabin as an offering table and set up a statue.

The smoke curled up, condensing in the air into a vague face. Even the features were unclear, yet it possessed an inexplicable majesty.

Seeing the shadow in the smoke, Bai Ziqi immediately knelt and prostrated himself, performing the grand ritual of full prostration:

"Greetings, my Lord!"

His expression, his voice, and his movements were all extremely respectful. Because the target he was requesting to communicate with was the supreme leader of all gods, the undisputed leader of the Spirit Void pantheon—

The Spirit Void Holy Venerable!

A vigorous and upright voice seemed to ring out from the void: "What is it?"

Bai Ziqi remained prostrate, not daring to raise his head. "My Lord, I have tracked the clues of the Thousand Illusions True Person all the way to the Thousand Star Mausoleum. But there are layers of confusion here, and even the Lamp Spirit cannot see through them. Some mechanisms are beyond even the power of Yuan energy."

He had tried for several days.

Encountering new resistance in his mission, as a divine servant, he naturally had to seek help from the god he served.

"The methods of Thousand Illusions." The Spirit Void Holy Venerable's voice had the effect of lingering for three days.

"Yes."

Things that even the Heaven Palace's Lamp Spirit could not illuminate possessed great magical powers themselves. From this point of view, Bai Ziqi had not tracked the wrong destination.

The cabin was quiet for a few breaths before the Spirit Void Holy Venerable issued a new instruction: "Wonderful Clarity Heaven, Eye of Truth."

The Wonderful Clarity Heaven's Eye of Truth could theoretically break through all illusions. This was a supreme divine art of a true god; Bai Ziqi's Lamp Spirit could not be mentioned in the same breath. Using it to break Thousand Illusions True Person's blinding techniques was truly the right tool for the job. Bai Ziqi was overjoyed. "Many thanks for the Holy Venerable's instruction!"

The smoke in the cabin dissipated suddenly; the Spirit Void Holy Venerable had already withdrawn his divine sense. After Bai Ziqi stood up, he still bowed once more to the statue.

Just at this moment, the ship shook violently with a loud bang.

The offering table was fixed in the cabin and did not shift, but other things in the cabin rolled about in a mess, and even Bai Ziqi stumbled.

Had they hit an underwater reef? He had just opened the door when Bai Qi rushed down the wooden ladder. "My Lord, something underwater is attacking us!"

"Water demon?" Bai Ziqi went up in two steps, but did not rush onto the deck, instead peering out through the window.

Rushing out might expose him to the enemy's line of sight. Who didn't know the principle of capturing the bandits by capturing their leader first? "It's hiding underwater without leaving a trace. We have already released the Lamp Spirit to go down and investigate." Bai Qi was also watching the water surface when he suddenly pointed outside and shouted, "Bai Eleven's ship!"

Bai Ziqi had bestowed upon his trusted aides and guards the surname 'Bai' followed by a number, regardless of what their original names were.

There were no protruding reefs on the water surface, but Bai Eleven's ship was stalled. The surrounding sea surface looked like boiling water, churning incessantly and bubbling. The Bai family guards shouted a few times and fired crossbows into the water, and some even threw long spears into the water like harpoons for fish.

Immediately after, that ship shook violently again, then swayed crazily.

Anyone could see that something was attacking it from under the water! Several Lamp Spirits rushed into the water, shining brightly.

With their brightness, they could have illuminated everything beneath the sea surface, making it look like glazed water.

Just at the moment the light shone, everyone subconsciously took a light breath, because they indeed saw several massive figures underwater, two or three times larger than the ship! But immediately after, a black smoke permeated from the bottom of the water, deeper than a nightmare; no matter how hard the Lamp Spirits tried, they could not shine through this layered darkness.

Everyone could only see a bit of golden light occasionally emerging from the black curtain. That was the Lamp Spirits fighting with the demons underwater.

Someone on the ship jumped into the water, wanting to swim out of the black curtain's range.

Bai Qi shouted, "Don't go into the water, stay on the ship!"

But it was too late; these two people swam a few zhang before suddenly being violently dragged by something and disappearing from the water surface.

Bai Ziqi said in a deep voice, "Ignite the Holy Flame!"

Bai Qi channeled his true power and loudly transmitted the order.

The Lamp Envoys on the ships near and far simultaneously formed hand seals, and suddenly, bright light erupted from beneath the water!

It was as if the seabed had suddenly welcomed the sunrise.

That was several lamp spirits blooming with light at once, dispelling all the gloom within two breaths.

Not only that, the water temperature beneath the ship's hull suddenly rose; Bai Qi observed that the water surface began to steam with heat.

One must know that the seawater temperature of the Frost Sea at this time was around zero degrees.

The Holy Flame burned suddenly, not only boiling this small patch of water but also sending wisps of golden light drilling into the bodies of the demon beasts.

The demon beasts at the bottom of the water could not stand it either and scattered in all directions.

Before long, the sea surface returned to calm.

Bai Eleven's ship stopped to patch the holes, and upon recalculating, they had lost five people—three dead and two missing.

Bai Qi said indignantly, "Truly like maggots on the bone."

From the moment they left Bai Mao Mountain, they had discovered they were being tracked, and they hadn't been able to shake it off despite changing methods several times. Going to Bai Mao Mountain to investigate a formation was like poking a hornet's nest.

The other party could even mobilize sea demons.

"After the ship is repaired, turn around and head south, and go ashore at Horseshoe Port." Bai Ziqi ordered calmly. "We are going to the Yao Nation."

Even if he could crack the location of Thousand Illusions True Person's cave dwelling, his current manpower was not enough to loot the cave. Therefore, he had to make a trip to the Yao Nation and request the Goddess's assistance.

There were still a few clues waiting to be investigated in the Yao Nation.

"Yes!"

The guards never questioned his orders; the ships soon turned south and headed toward land.

￥￥￥￥￥

Fan Shuang was in a bad mood.

Ever since he led He Xiao into Heaven Water City, he had been thriving. He could now rub shoulders with high-ranking officials he hadn't been able to see once in a whole year; the looks his colleagues gave him were filled with much more envy and respect.

Even when Fan's father went to see his superiors, the other party was all smiles and amiable.

Just as he was about to soar to success, Fan Shuang actually wanted to sell all the residential land he had purchased in the New City!

When he said this at home, the whole family disagreed.

Seeing that the price was at a perfect moment to skyrocket, with not a single sign of stopping, why insist on selling at this juncture?

How much money would be lost if sold! But Fan Shuang insisted on selling, and didn't hesitate to have five arguments with his family within two days.

Fan's father was puzzled. "Did you get some inside information from Mr. He?"

Fan Shuang shook his head like a rattle. "No, really no. I just feel that the land prices in the New City have risen too fiercely, and I don't feel secure in my heart."

He couldn't say the reason He Xiao gave him for selling the land.

Because there was no reason at all.

"Then what are you in such a rush for?" his mother also said. "Grain prices have been soaring recently, but your father's salary hasn't risen. It's fortunate that the land prices have also risen fiercely, which is why we don't feel constrained. If you sell the land, you'll be holding onto dead money that doesn't rise, while the family's expenses for rice, flour, grain, and oil are rising sharply. What will we do then?" ===== CHAPTER 1577 =====