Chapter 1637: Extraordinary Organization and Ghostly Means

The attendant immediately stepped forward to clear away the cold tea.

While waiting for the water to boil, he cautiously asked Bai Ziqi, "My Lord Commandant, what have you figured out?"

Having been by Bai Ziqi's side for a long time, he could tell that the Commandant's expression suggested he had gained some insight.

Bai Ziqi had often been lost in thought lately, sitting for half a day at a time. The attendant had never seen the Commandant struggle so much with any case.

The Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds was truly a cunning opponent; despite all the running around Commandant Bai had done, he still couldn't strip away the man's disguise.

"Every target the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds kills is guilty of heinous crimes; every time he kills, he leaves behind a judgment," Bai Ziqi said slowly. "I think I am not the only one on the Glittering Gold Plain investigating the ultimate purpose behind his actions."

What troubled Bai Ziqi most was the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds' motive.

What exactly did the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds want to do? Bai Ziqi wanted to know, the Yao Nation wanted to know, and every faction on the Glittering Gold Plain wanted to know.

"But ordinary commoners don't have this dilemma," Bai Ziqi asked the attendant. "I've asked several commoners what they think the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds is trying to do. Do you remember how they answered?"

The Commandant was testing his memory again! The attendant tried hard to recall: "The old woman from the Peng Nation said he's just helping the common folk fight the bad guys. Since they can't beat the bad guys themselves, the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds helps them fight. The merchant from the Pei Nation you asked said they weren't sure either, but after the local tyrants were eliminated by the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds, they could conduct business normally."

"Is there a possibility that the answer has been laid out before us all along, but we've been blind to it, while the illiterate masses have hit the nail on the head?"

The attendant thought for a long time but still had no clue, so he had to honestly say, "My Lord, I don't understand."

"What if the action itself is the purpose?"

"Ah?" The attendant still didn't understand; it sounded too profound.

"Since we are tracking this person, every word and action of his is worth careful scrutiny. The Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds has repeatedly declared countless times that his actions are to act on behalf of Heaven and to punish the wicked. If... if his purpose is indeed just that?"

"Ah? This?" The attendant found it hard to believe. If he weren't facing his master, his next sentence would have been: "Who has so much time on their hands?"

"Everyone judges others by their own standards, always assuming he has ulterior motives, which is why no matter how we look at his methods, they seem to harm others without benefiting himself." That was why no matter how they speculated, they couldn't figure it out. "But what if the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds' purpose is truly to act on behalf of Heaven and punish the wicked?"

The man stated his intentions every single time, and every killing was a declaration of his heart, yet the world refused to believe it. Should one blame the other party for being mysterious, or blame oneself for being too shallow? The attendant stared, dumbfounded: "Is there really such a person? Is there really such a thing?"

Once the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds failed or was exposed, the outcome would be worse than death.

What kind of person would dare to defy the world and disregard life and death just to practice the flimsy words "act on behalf of Heaven"? Not to mention the chaotic Glittering Gold Plain, he hadn't even seen such a person in Beijia or the Grand Void Gate.

Bai Ziqi turned to look at the rising sun and said softly, "There is a belief called a Great Vow. Do you understand?"

The attendant thought for a long time and shook his head.

He didn't understand.

If it were truly as Commandant Bai said, what exactly was the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds aiming for by doing this?

Why eliminate evil for others? Why punish the wicked for others? What benefit was there for himself? "Are you wondering what benefit he gets from doing this?" Bai Ziqi said with some emotion. "The world values profit, thinking that the world bustles only for profit and moves only for gain, and that there are no exceptions. That is because their vision is short-sighted and their minds are dull. For those in the human world with a Great Vow, if you judge them purely by profit, you will never understand them."

The attendant couldn't help but ask, "Is there really such a person in the world?"

"Why wouldn't there be?" Bai Ziqi said casually. "One hundred and eighty years ago, the Yuan Nation rebelled. The official records that document this history describe the King of Yuan as a madman, saying he was mentally deranged, plunged the country into fire and water, and destroyed Yuan in a single day. But I have read the true inside story; he was a man with a Great Vow in his heart."

"Are you saying he is comparable to the King of Yuan?" And also a big trouble? "When we judge a person, we must see if their words match their actions," Bai Ziqi asked him. "Since the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds appeared, which of his actions has not conformed to his own claims?"

The attendant thought for a long time and shook his head.

"Practicing it once or twice is not difficult; practicing it ten or twenty times is also not difficult; but what about a hundred times? What if he continues to do so in the future?" Bai Ziqi said sternly. "He will become the person he claims to be, without deviation."

The attendant blurted out, "The reincarnation of the Dragon God?"

"Legend has it that the Dragon God fell for the sake of all living beings in the world. If the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds believes he is the reincarnation of the True Dragon, then his current actions are all very reasonable."

The greatness of the Dragon God could not be denied even by the Heavenly Gods; the Tiangong even specially opened a temple for it, the Dragon God Temple.

But this temple was not on the main peak, nor did it have a statue; it only housed a spirit tablet, and for hundreds of years, it had been rarely visited. Most tourists who went up the mountain didn't even know of its existence.

"You must know that whatever is done and whatever is thought will surely have an echo." The same goes for a Great Vow.

The attendant whispered, "If it is truly as you say, and the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds simply wants to act on behalf of Heaven, and you have already calculated his motive, then what is the next step?"

What would Commandant Bai do next?

The hot water was ready, so he hurriedly poured the tea.

"Finding his purpose makes it easier to calculate his actions." Bai Ziqi raised his cup and took a small sip. "The Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds has always claimed that he wants to punish the wicked, so I ask you, what is the greatest 'evil' on this Glittering Gold Plain? Or rather, in the eyes of the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds, and in the eyes of the entire Glittering Gold, where does the greatest 'evil' lie?"

Uh... The attendant thought for a long time and shook his head.

He didn't know the Glittering Gold Plain very well.

Bai Qi stepped over the threshold and happened to hear the last sentence, asking without thinking: "The Yao Nation?"

The attendant turned to refute:

"Throughout our journey, whenever the commoners in those places mention the Yao Nation, aren't they filled with envy and jealousy, wishing only that they had been born in the Yao Nation to be among the elite? How can this be seen as 'evil'?"

He added, "Besides, although the Yao Nation is a small country, it is not something that can be countered by the strength of one person!"

Bai Qi, however, said, "What can commoners understand?"

Bai Ziqi took another sip of tea.

What he wanted to say was not the Yao Nation, but his subordinates assuming so for now was not wrong.

"Then it is reasonable for him to stir up trouble in the Yao Nation and create various incidents."

Bai Qi: "Are you talking about He Xiao?"

Attendant: "Are you talking about the Regent Qingyang?"

The two spoke in unison, but the names they asked were different.

The two looked at each other, their expressions strange. Bai Qi said: "The Commandant said the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds has a Great Vow! Does Regent Qingyang look like someone who acts on behalf of Heaven?"

The attendant retorted: "Does He Xiao look like it? He's just a merchant! He handles business with his left hand and procurement with his right in Tianshui City, proficient in every trick of extortion and bribery. You say such a person would make a Great Vow?"

"Neither of you is wrong. Even if we push it to this point, they both still remain suspects." Bai Ziqi said slowly, "The 'Great Vow' I spoke of is only a hypothesis. Except for the Tiangong, I have never seen such a person anywhere else."

If the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds truly had a Great Vow, he couldn't be Qingyang; but the problem was, Bai Ziqi couldn't be sure of the premise of this hypothesis either.

"Looking solely at the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds' targets, if he intends to overthrow the Yao Nation, then Qingyang—"

He didn't continue, but nodded.

Didn't the conspiracy between Qingyang and Miao Zhantian reach this point? He Xiao was right about one thing: behind the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds is an extraordinary organization, and it must have ghostly means.

This fits the description of Qingyang perfectly. As the oldest Grand Preceptor of Beijia, how many unfathomable supernatural powers does she possess? If the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds is a persona created by Qingyang, what does she want to do after the Yao Nation falls?

Is she even more ambitious?

There was one more thing Bai Ziqi didn't even dare to say in front of his confidants: were Qingyang's actions instigated by the Emperor? Was the Black Flood Dragon mark left when the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds appeared truly identical to the Black Flood Dragon mark of the Yuan Nation and the Ancient Panlong City back then? After all, that mark only lasted for three days; no one could compare the difference between the two!

If, if the Black Flood Dragon mark is related to the Emperor? The Emperor is a descendant of the Dragon God himself; if he can create the Black Flood Dragon mark and imply that he is the reincarnation of the Dragon God, isn't that also a matter of course?

Furthermore, when Chong Wu led his army to wipe out the fox demons, it just happened to coincide with the emergence of the Luo Sheng Armor;

On the day Xue Zongwu was murdered, Chong Wu was nearby in Zhuo'an.

All these coincidences are clues.

It is not entirely unreasonable for the King of Yao to suspect that the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds and the Black Armored Army are Qingyang's forces.

"This isn't a government office investigation; I don't need conclusive evidence to make an arrest, but suspicion is enough." Bai Ziqi said sternly, "After returning to Tianshui City, once the Goddess's plan is launched, no matter what happens in Tianshui City, we will take down He Xiao immediately!"

Whether Tianshui City is governed or in chaos, good or bad, he doesn't care;

If the Goddess and Qingyang want to stir up monstrous waves, let them; it has nothing to do with him.

Right now, there is only one target he wants to capture in Tianshui City: He Xiao.

The attendants didn't ask why they weren't taking down Qingyang.

The answer was obvious: even Commandant Bai couldn't easily touch Qingyang.

This former Grand Preceptor, who was nearly two hundred years old, carried countless mysteries and taboos of Beijia.

Therefore, Bai Ziqi must deal with He Xiao first, and interrogate him once captured.

It would be best if He Xiao were the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds; if not...

Then it would be troublesome.

He would not only have to report to the Tiangong, but also pass the hurdle of the Demon Emperor.

That was a trouble he couldn't intervene in.

The wrinkles between Bai Ziqi's brows didn't smooth out all day.

Fortunately, good news kept coming.

The next day, Bai Sixteen's message arrived again.

Bai Ziqi had long since mastered the ability to hide his emotions, but after reading the note from Bai Sixteen, he couldn't help but pat the table three times and laugh loudly:

"Good, good, good!"

What was good? The attendant and the others were all waiting for the rest.

"Bai Sixteen has found the Black Armored Army!" ===== CHAPTER 1638 =====