Chapter 562: Putting it on the Table

The closer to the main city area, the more prosperous the roads on both sides. Tea houses, wine towers, eateries, foot shops, bathhouses, opera houses, red pavilions, and government offices—everything needed for people's livelihood and public use was available.

He He Lingchuan even saw a giant wine tower on the side of the road, five stories high, each floor several thousand square meters, with lights bright inside and guests bustling.

But it wasn't the largest or most magnificent building; temples were.

Just behind the main street, in an area where every inch of land was worth an inch of gold, He He Lingchuan could always see the roofs of various temples, some large and some small. The names worshipped in the temples were also different.

Anyway, those who could set up a temple in Lingxu City were not ordinary gods.

According to Fu Fu Shanyue, the rich and noble especially liked to donate to build or renovate temples, or even add a temple roof. If Lingxu City didn't forbid the use of gold roofs, it would probably be shining with gold everywhere. The rich and noble doing this not only had face but could also seek the continued protection of the gods.

"Effective?"

He He Lingchuan felt stupid as soon as the question left his mouth.

Fu Fu Shanyue laughed loudly: "Gods don't speak, sincerity leads to spirit!"

It was dark, and there was a problem of accommodation.

If officials from various places and demon nations entered Lingxu City to wait for orders or handle affairs, they usually lived in post houses, which was convenient for the superiors to summon them.

Fu Fu Shanyue entered the capital on his own this time and could choose his residence freely. But he still chose to stay in the post house, so as not to be unable to find him when the superiors wanted to summon him.

Just from this detail, He He Lingchuan knew that this person was rough on the outside but fine on the inside.

Or perhaps there were too many big shots in Lingxu City, and even Fu Fu Shanyue didn't dare to act recklessly here.

Although it was a post house, diplomatic envoys from various countries and officials from other places lived here, so the conditions were quite good, with a quiet environment, exquisite utensils, and sincere and natural smiles from the slaves.

Of course, post houses were also divided into three grades. Officials from other small countries who came to Lingxu City were usually arranged to stay in second

The Crown Prince of Chi Yan naturally had to stay in the highest-grade accommodations, and He He Lingchuan tagged along to secure a room as well.

If the inns He He Lingchuan had stayed in before were small guesthouses—the kind where the front desk staff often disappeared for no reason—then the first-class inn in Lingxu City was of five-star hotel caliber.

With his subordinates busy getting settled, Fu Fu Shanyue wanted to drag He He Lingchuan out for a drink to wash away the dust of the journey, but the latter refused: "I have things to do."

"Nonsense," Fu Fu Shanyue glared. "This is your first time in Lingxu City, what could you possibly have to do!"

"Visiting relatives and friends." He He Lingchuan patted his shoulder. "Seriously, let's find a time to drink tomorrow."

"Fine, fine, go ahead."

He He Lingchuan thought for a moment, returned to his room first, released his eyeball spider to the rafters, and then quietly left through the back door of the inn, boarded a deer-drawn carriage, and headed toward his next destination.

Less than two hours after he left, a guard came in to report:

"Your Highness, an envoy from the Tiangong has come to deliver an order!"

"Now?" It was already late at night; was the Emperor in such a rush? When Fu Fu Shanyue met the envoy, it turned out that the Star-Plucking Tower was summoning him for an audience that very night.

His decision to stay at the inn was indeed absolutely correct. Fu Fu Shanyue straightened his attire and left with the envoy.

The other party didn't mention He He Lingchuan at all.

Young Master He was considered a key figure in Bai Sha Fu Jue, but here, he was nothing. It was enough for Bai Bai Ziqi and Fu Fu Shanyue to present their case to the Emperor; as an insignificant outsider, He He Lingchuan didn't even have the qualifications to be summoned by the Emperor.

Bai Bai Ziqi had brought him to Lingxu City just as a precaution, in case one of the masters wanted to learn more about the situation but couldn't find the person who had handled the case for the Chi Yan Crown Prince.

Of course, He He Lingchuan knew he had other motives as well.

￥￥￥￥￥

Tiangong, Star-Plucking Tower.

Bai Bai Ziqi knelt on the ground, recounting the investigation process in Bai Sha Fu Jue in full detail. This was not only for the Demon Emperor to hear, but also for the Chief of Dou Yun and the Holy Venerable of Lingxu.

He had handled it meticulously, bringing back all the material evidence, witnesses, and culprits involved to Lingxu City, including the remains of Fu Fu Songhua, Wu Kai, and Cheng Yu.

After listening for over an hour, the Demon Emperor couldn't help but yawn: "Are you saying that Cen Boqing has confessed?"

"He has, but Lady Cen brought witnesses to prove that he was only an accomplice. The true mastermind is someone else."

The Demon Emperor asked again: "If it was so difficult for you to get Wu Kai to talk, how did Yao Yao Xingning manage to capture this actor who was his contact so easily?"

Bai Bai Ziqi shook his head: "Lady Cen said she was just lucky."

"I'm afraid someone acted in the shadows to help her," the Demon Emperor said lazily. "You don't need to ask her anymore; she's a scatterbrain, she probably doesn't even know herself. Can you still continue investigating this case?"

Bai Bai Ziqi hesitated slightly:

"I'm afraid it involves a great deal."

"Continue investigating for now, but do not announce the results yet," the Demon Emperor said slowly. "The Minister of Agriculture has been coming to me in tears for days, claiming his family knew nothing of his son-in-law's actions; as for the Lord Zhongsun family, they keep coming to complain, demanding to track down the whereabouts of Lord Zhongsun Mou, saying they want to see him alive or his corpse if he is dead."

Bai Bai Ziqi said: "They are also involved in the Immortality Pill case."

"Heh, the Qingfu Temple and everyone inside were burned to nothing, and Wu Kai is already dead. With no material evidence or witnesses, the old man Lord Zhongsun can righteously deny everything, claiming he never took the Immortality Pill and that his grandson couldn't possibly have covered for Cen Boqing or provided false testimony in Bai Sha Fu Jue, and that it was all Cen Boqing's frame-up. That cunning old thing... Hmm, while you were investigating in Bai Sha Fu Jue, did you find any direct evidence of Lord Zhongsun Mou providing false testimony for Cen Boqing?"

Bai Bai Ziqi thought carefully, then shook his head: "The case progressed slowly in Bai Sha Fu Jue and nearly stalled because there was no direct evidence of Lord Zhongsun Mou and Cen Boqing's involvement. Wu Kai was very thorough. In the courier disappearance case, the false testimony he provided was written and fingerprinted by Fu Fu Songhua himself. Even if investigated later, Lord Zhongsun Mou would only be guilty of gullibility and negligence in handling the case."

Thus, the charge of the Lord Zhongsun family privately purchasing Immortality Pills remained hanging, but Lord Zhongsun Mou's disappearance made them the genuine victims.

"I expected as much," the Demon Emperor snorted. "The Lord Zhongsun family still wants to cause trouble for the Cen family. Tell me, should they?"

"If Mai Xuewen's hijacking and killing of Lord Zhongsun Mou was an independent action and not ordered by Cen Boqing, then..."

"Mai Xuewen is still at large, and you haven't even caught a glimpse of his shadow. It looks like he won't be appearing for some time."

Bai Bai Ziqi lowered his head: "This subordinate is incompetent."

"Enough, ignore the Lord Zhongsun family for now; continue tracking the leads provided by Lady Cen..."

Before the Demon Emperor finished speaking, several red characters suddenly appeared on the Heavenly Book:

Kill the chicken to warn the monkey; the Lord Zhongsun family's crimes shall not be forgiven lightly.

The hall fell silent.

With just a few light words, the Lord Zhongsun family was about to face disaster.

This was the decree of the gods.

After a long while, the Demon Emperor said: "The Lord Zhongsun family has been loyal ministers of Lingxu for over a hundred years."

This was a plea for mercy, but the Heavenly Book did not react; clearly, the Heavenly Gods did not intend to retract their decree.

The private refining and purchasing of Immortality Pills was something that truly touched a nerve with them.

The Demon Emperor coughed again: "If it must be done, it should be done according to the rules! Only act when there is evidence! If Bai Bai Ziqi continues the investigation, neither the buyers nor the sellers of the Immortality Pills will escape. As for punishing the Lord Zhongsun family... why the rush?"

For a long time, there was no new instruction from the Heavenly Book; it was likely a tacit agreement.

The Demon Emperor immediately changed the subject: "There has been some progress at the Qingfu Temple, hasn't there?"

Day after day, they kept giving him difficult problems. If a cockroach appeared on the surface, there might be a whole nest of them in the house. Lord Zhongsun Mou buying Immortality Pills for his grandfather was definitely not an isolated case.

Should he punish every single case he discovered, just like killing cockroaches? How many subjects would that implicate? What if it caused turmoil in the Lingxu City royal court? But in the dictionary of the gods perched high above the world, where would the words "the law does not punish the masses" be found? Bai Bai Ziqi didn't know what the Demon Emperor was thinking and just lowered his head to answer "Yes."

"As for the anomalies of the Great Fang Hu, what is your own view?" The Demon Emperor had already heard the statement earlier and now wanted to hear Bai Bai Ziqi's own opinion.

He glanced at the divine altar, which was quiet and still.

"The Great Fang Hu's aura fluctuated twice. From the perspective of time and space, the Chi Yan Crown Prince Fu Fu Shanyue and Mai Xuewen were both likely to have appeared in that vicinity," Bai Bai Ziqi said respectfully. "This subordinate believes that both of them should be investigated."

"With the King of Treasure Trees taking the lead, four or five demon kings have submitted memorials one after another. Hmph, now is not the time to move against people like Fu Fu Shanyue. At the very least, we must wait until the Immortality Pill case is concluded, lest the demon kings think I am targeting the Chi Yan Nation." The Demon Emperor looked at Bai Bai Ziqi. "Be polite to Fu Fu Shanyue."

"Yes." Bai Bai Ziqi hesitated.

The Demon Emperor immediately noticed: "Is there something left unsaid? Speak!"

"The special envoy sent by the Chi Yan Crown Prince to investigate the case—this subordinate also feels there is something not quite right about him."

"Oh? Is it the person who pursued the courier case to the end and ferreted out Cen Boqing?" The Demon Emperor's tone rose slightly. "What do you mean?"

Bai Bai Ziqi didn't dare to be negligent and spoke the truth: "I cannot find any connection, nor is there any evidence, not even indirect. This subordinate just... feels uneasy whenever I see him."

"Intuition is more important than evidence." The Demon Emperor didn't think there was any problem with that. "Since that is the case, just summon him for questioning. Why do you hesitate over such a small matter?"

"This subordinate understands."

Bai Sha Fu Jue was the Chi Yan Crown Prince's territory, so it was inconvenient for Bai Bai Ziqi to interrogate his subordinates there; but back in Lingxu City, many concerns had disappeared or been simplified.

"It is inconvenient for you to interrogate Fu Fu Shanyue, but you can interrogate his subordinates," the Demon Emperor chuckled. "Isn't that perfect?"

"Yes." Bai Bai Ziqi thought for a moment and added, "If neither he nor the Chi Yan Crown Prince is the target we are looking for, could the Holy Venerable trigger another anomaly in the Great Fang Hu?"

Things shouldn't happen more than three times; if the Great Fang Hu emitted fluctuations again and again, the difficulty for the Star-Plucking Tower to locate it would decrease significantly.

The Heavenly Book did not react; clearly, the gods were also pondering. The reasons for the two anomalies of the Great Fang Hu were completely unrelated, and it was hard to say what kind of trigger could set it off.

The Demon Emperor was uneasy: "What if it sees through us?"

The Heavenly Book slowly displayed two lines of text: Lady Mitian is dead; the Great Fang Hu has instinct but no artifact spirit. Once activated, it cannot be stopped.

"Is that so? That's good."

The Chief of Dou Yun, who hadn't spoken for a long time, suddenly said: "The Holy Venerable once said that over a hundred years ago, the Great Fang Hu underwent many changes in Lady Mitian's hands. Someone saw with their own eyes that it swallowed a Water Spirit, which shows it has a craving for rare treasures."

The Heavenly Book had more writing:

"The Great Fang Hu integrates the laws of two realms and enjoys eating exotic treasures from both."

Upon hearing this, the Demon Emperor said: "Fine, isn't the Dun Garden auction in Jin Jiao about to begin? Go to the treasury, take a relic of the Heavenly Gods, and test them."

(End of Chapter)