Chapter 485: The Busy Parties

"Another ability is molting," Helian Chen said with a smile. "Haven't you seen its cast-off shell?"

"Yes, there were six." Now only four remained.

"This should be its innate divine ability. I believe every molt is equivalent to a rebirth, similar to an immortal's possession," Helian Chen stroked his beard. "That is, everything starts over. You see it as if it is still that Zhu Yao Erniang, but in fact, it has been reborn several times. This method cannot be perfect; I estimate there must be some side effects."

He He Lingchuan nodded: "Yes, it said so itself—that because it has molted too many times, it has lost quite a lot of its past memories."

"Yes, yes!" Helian Chen tapped the table lightly. "The 'mystery of the womb'! This is the evidence!"

For a cultivator to possess a body and be reborn goes against the laws of nature, so one must experience a barrier of confusion upon entering the womb; if you can push through it, you might still be yourself; if you cannot, your past memories are washed away completely, and you become a brand-new, ignorant soul.

But the price of breaking through this barrier is immense, and no matter how resilient the spirit is, there will inevitably be damage and loss. It is impossible to "be reborn" again and again through possession, because the next "mystery of the womb" will be even more powerful. Do it two or three more times, and the original memories will be gone entirely.

Losing all memories is not much different from dying.

Every time Zhu Yao Erniang undergoes a major molt, she loses some memories; this confirms that her method is not much different from possession.

Having understood enough, He He Lingchuan stood up and bowed to Helian Chen: "I have benefited greatly from our conversation, Master."

Helian Chen stroked his beard and smiled: "You are a good child. If you have anything in the future, just come find me with A-Luo."

With his status as a Grand Alchemist, this showed how much he valued He He Lingchuan. The latter immediately thanked him.

￥￥￥￥￥

Northern Twilight Plains, border of the Chi-Yan Kingdom.

At the inn where He He Lingchuan and Li Li Qingge once stayed, some guests had also been staying there for several days.

A man in green sat on the second-floor corridor, gazing at the distant mountains.

They had booked the entire second floor, so there wasn't a single idler; it was the perfect place to sit and listen to the rain hitting the thatched eaves.

This was the border between the Chi-Yan Kingdom and the Twilight Plains; the mountains were still half-bald, the trees were listless, and the flowers and grass on the ground were sparse, maintaining a desolate appearance even in midsummer.

Lacking vegetation as a modesty cloth, the foreground appeared desolate, while the distant mountains seemed all the more vast.

Someone came to report from behind:

"Commandant Bai, locals say that twenty days ago, strange phenomena appeared in the ruins of Thousand Star City again." The subordinate said, "That day, a sandstorm blew across the plains, followed by a heavy downpour, and several merchant caravans accidentally entered the Thousand Star City ruins. In the second half of the night, the rain stopped and the clouds cleared, the moonlight shone brightly, and the illusion appeared."

"I have also heard that the ruins occasionally manifest illusions, which do no harm to people, and there are old rumors of light and shadows," Commandant Bai asked. "Is there anything special?"

"Witnesses say that two illusions appeared on the spot. Everyone had only seen the first one, which was the fall of the Yuan Kingdom and the death of the rebel king. Who would have thought that after more than an hour, a second one appeared, which no one had ever seen before."

"Oh?" Commandant Bai became interested. "What was the content of the second one?"

"It was Thousand Star City before the war; the buildings were all there, it was very peaceful under the moonlight, and there was basically no one around. It looked like a snippet of an ordinary night in the city."

"Ordinary?" Commandant Bai chuckled. "If it were truly that ordinary, how could it trigger the Heavenly Net disturbance?"

"Does the Commandant believe this is the cause of the Heavenly Net disturbance?"

"Twenty days ago, the timing matches; it is worth investigating further. Besides, the Thousand Star City ruins have always been special in history; no matter what strange things happen, it is within reason," Commandant Bai said. "Also, the area designated by Commandant Dou is very large; from the border, two hundred miles north, this entire region must be investigated in detail."

"My subordinate heard that several monsters and several government officials have gone missing within the Chi-Yan Pass recently, also on rainy nights."

"When?"

"About seventeen or eighteen days ago. The government checked the scene twice, found no clues, and let the matter drop."

"Hmm, this place looks a bit chaotic." Commandant Bai waved his hand. "Go, find a way to collect more clues."

……

Capital of the Chi-Yan Kingdom.

Fu Fu Shanyue was reviewing the military reports from the front line.

It was the fifth day since he returned to the capital from the Twilight Plains, and the King had declared him Crown Prince.

With Fushanjie no longer there to compete with him, the Chi-Yan Kingdom had no choice but to follow the divine will. Therefore, from now on, Fu Fu Shanyue had to fulfill his duties as Crown Prince and share the burdens and worries of the King.

The situation on the eastern battlefield was still somewhat unexpected.

Just as he was deep in thought, someone came to report from outside:

"Conveying the King's oral decree!"

Hmm? Fu Fu Shanyue looked at the sky; it was already very late. The old man had something to say at this hour?

Since returning to the capital, he had received several decrees from the King, but every time he entered the palace, his biological father's response was always two words:

"Not seeing!"

The King of Chi-Yan had made him Crown Prince only out of helplessness, but the resentment in his heart had not dissipated at all.

Fu Fu Shanyue also knew that he couldn't push his luck after gaining an advantage. These days, he had been diligent in his performance; besides submitting the real-time progress of the White-Shouldered Eagle messenger case on time, he kept sending treasures and beauties to his father, doing whatever it took to cater to his preferences.

He was the only son left; what else could the old man do to him? His attitude would soften sooner or later.

The palace envoy entered and conveyed the oral decree.

It turned out that the Inspector of Lingxu City had written a letter of complaint to the King of Chi-Yan, saying that the Crown Prince's special envoy he had sent out was vulgar in speech, acted recklessly, and even threatened the superior envoy.

And the King of Chi-Yan issued a decree to his son, reprimanding him for arbitrarily appointing outsiders and for acting arrogantly and offending the superior envoy.

"Tell the person you sent out to be more polite to the superior envoy; don't lose face for our Fushan family!"

After the palace envoy left, Fu Fu Shanyue looked at the bright moon outside the window and couldn't help but laugh wildly.

The guard beside him: "……Crown Prince?"

"Lord Zhongsun Mou thought it would be useful to complain to my old man, hahahahaha!" Fu Fu Shanyue laughed heartily, grabbed the eastern front battle report, and slammed it onto the table. "Naive! Is it this Crown Prince who wants to mess with him?"

"It is my Chi-Yan that wants to mess with him!"

Otherwise, why would the King of Chi-Yan only scold him in such a painless way, and orally at that? He didn't order him to stop the case either.

If he didn't say no, that was tacit approval.

Fu Fu Shanyue felt relieved; this move of his was truly well-played.

……

Lord Zhongsun Mou had been busy in Baishaqu for three days.

The account books left by Mr. Mai had many clues pointing here; he peeled the cocoon and drew the silk to find them, and gradually things began to take shape.

He even found Mr. Mai's residence in Baishaqu—

An inn in the east of the city.

This inn focused on comfort, and Mr. Mai had been renting a room here year-round; this was already the third year. The innkeeper had a deep impression of this guest because he was generous, paying the full year's rent in advance at once, and often gave tips.

But Mr. Mai himself remained missing.

The inn said he hadn't returned for more than ten days.

On the third day of arriving in Baishaqu, Lord Zhongsun Mou was about to go out; while changing clothes, he glanced down casually and inadvertently saw a tiny shadow flash by.

Eh, what was that? As a merman, Lord Zhongsun Mou actually had two layers of eyelids; the outer layer was no different from a normal person's, while the inner layer was specialized to be transparent to block water. This layer of eyelid also had a strong light-focusing effect, allowing him to see clearly even in the dim underwater.

The light in the room wasn't good, but Lord Zhongsun Mou could still see clearly that it was a tiny spider!

As he changed clothes, the spider jumped from his old clothes onto the hem of his new ones.

How long had this thing been following him?

Lord Zhongsun Mou reached out to grab it, but the spider flicked away and jumped under the bed.

It was ridiculously agile; this was a monster! "This spider is a spy!" Lord Zhongsun Mou shouted. "Catch it!"

The guards stepped forward and flipped the bed over; another one was even sharper and rushed to close the doors and windows first.

"There's a crack in the wall by the bed!"

"Dig it open!"

The guard reversed his sword hilt and knocked hard several times, and the wall powder fell in a rustle.

The bricks inside were exposed, but there was no sign of the spider.

After digging out a few more, they discovered a hollow space in the wall bricks; the spider had probably escaped to the next room from there.

"Forget it." It couldn't be caught. Lord Zhongsun Mou signaled them to stop, his face as dark as water.

Who could have released it? Between Beijia was a kingdom of monsters, and methods of stealing secrets were common.

Was it that kid under Fu Fu Shanyue?

But the distance between such small things and their masters usually wasn't too far.

Could it be that he was being watched as soon as he arrived in Baishaqu?

They were flipping beds and digging walls, making such a racket that the innkeeper was naturally alarmed and came over to ask.

The guards had just sent him away, and Lord Zhongsun Mou was about to go out again, when someone actually came looking for him from outside.

Who was so blind?

It was said to be an old acquaintance from Lingxu City.

The person who walked in was in his early thirties, with a round face and thick eyebrows, but Lord Zhongsun Mou didn't recognize him.

How was he an old acquaintance? He was lying. He frowned and was about to throw him out, but the man bowed deeply: "This humble one has seen the Inspector! My master's surname is Cen."

"Chen?" This was a common surname; there were countless officials surnamed Chen in Lingxu City. "Who exactly is it?" Where did this lowly person come from, daring to play games with him?

"Master Cen Boqing, the eldest son-in-law of our Between Beijia Kingdom's Minister of Agriculture."

The Minister of Agriculture was in charge of the food and wealth of the entire vast empire; he could be called the Great Steward of Between Beijia, and his status was of great importance.

"Why is Cen Boqing here?" Lord Zhongsun Mou was very surprised; he had indeed dealt with this person a few times. "He is not a Chi-Yan person."

"Master Cen's villa is in Baishaqu, and he brings his family here to recuperate every year."

Lord Zhongsun Mou snorted: "I've only been here for three days, how did you find me so quickly? Is there someone by my side tipping you off?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards behind him knelt down one after another: "This humble subordinate would not dare!"

"No, no, it has nothing to do with these people by your side."

"Then who?" This was the Chi-Yan Kingdom; how could a few people know him? "It was Master Cen's attendant," the man smiled. "Master Cen is an old acquaintance of yours from Lingxu City, and his attendant has seen you many times. He recognized you when you were having tea at Wangzhuang this morning."

He continued: "Master Cen would also like to invite you to Tianxiang Tower to reminisce; please do spare some time."

(End of chapter)