Chapter 111: Failed Scheme

"Wages."

Facing He Bo, who was on the verge of losing control, Du En's tone remained calm as he pointed out the deficiency, "The wages you previously owed me have not yet been settled."

"Don't push me too far!"

"Who is the one pushing too far?"

Du En retorted directly, "That is the work compensation I am reasonably entitled to; not a single cent can be missing."

"Hiss..."

He Bo gritted his teeth, air whistling through the gaps in his teeth as his entire body's mana aura began to fluctuate, as if he were about to explode into action at any moment.

Reporting, resigning, submitting upward, approving, and conveying—this was the entire process.

"Just a hypocritical fellow; now that he's given up all pretense, there's no need to maintain that hypocrisy!"

Especially the second point—that was the reason he decided to take the risk and actively introduce some complications!

However, in the end, he did not do so, choosing to force himself to calm down while performing a rough calculation, then sneered mockingly: "To be this wild over less than two hundred low-grade spirit stones, you really are vulgar and base. Take it, keep the change!"

Secondly, to frame an evil cultivator.

Du En's spirit meal was still cooking when the room door was soon knocked upon.

After returning to his temporary residence and sensing that the divine sense observing him in secret had departed, he quietly restrained his aura and ran back to the Corpse Affairs Hall pavilion, lurking in the dark to watch He Bo, wanting to see if this fellow would act alone.

Du En was intentionally provoking his anger this time, yet deliberately backed off at the final moment, creating a contrast in his behavior.

A second-tier storage bag, what a fine treasure; who knows which bastard will benefit from it next!

After sighing, he looked up and saw that Du En still didn't want to accept the order slip, and still didn't want to leave!

No entry into the city without a summons!

It was clear that this signed order carried a supervisory function and could also serve as identification for entering and leaving the city.

Doing this was not considered a violation of the rules, and that Outer City Superintendent was likely waiting for him to do something against the rules out of youthful impetuosity due to the assignment of the errand.

He Bo was so angry his lungs were about to explode.

Damn it, are you ever going to finish!

She ran off in a panic, and Du En didn't pay it any mind, opening the transfer order in his hand to take a look.

"Good, good, kid, fine, you've cut off your own path of retreat; this is something you brought upon yourself!"

Just as He Bo was truly about to explode, Du En spoke again at the perfect moment: "I'm afraid you might pull some other small tricks, so it would be better if you submitted it upward directly."

Under such dual stimulation, He Bo would likely be suspicious and uneasy, feeling that there was a problem inside, and then, unable to restrain himself, choose to leave alone, either to chase back the submitted order slip or to seek an audience with the manager.

The voice was also familiar; he opened the door to look, and sure enough, it was the female servant who had been to the gravedigger's small courtyard before.

If active strikes won't work, one can only be passive and focus on diligently cultivating to strengthen oneself first.

After wandering around, he returned here to stay for a while.

He tossed out two hundred low-grade spirit stones directly, which scattered and were collected by Du En into his storage bag like swallows returning to their nest; watching this, He Bo's eyelids twitched, and he couldn't help but feel a flash of regret and pity.

All in all, his situation had actually improved.

"Master Du, there is a transfer order for you..."

Even He Bo, after calming down, had an expression that became flickering and uncertain, even harboring a vague illusion that he was letting a tiger return to the mountains.

Because things developed smoothly, Tang Yiping indeed did not pay extra attention, quickly finishing the approval, then signing and issuing the official transfer order, handing it to the servant to deliver.

Because He Bo had optimistically convinced himself.

"Forget it, He Bo, you're not taking the bait on this?!"

If He Bo died at this critical juncture, it would be impossible to avoid suspicion, but since he had only just broken through and not even a day had passed, he wouldn't be considered capable of murder, so at that time, others would only half-believe and go to search for the evil cultivator first.

"No, I dare not trouble you. Please have a good night, this servant will take her leave now."

There was nothing unexpected; it merely stated the position he was being transferred to, while also specifying the departure date, the gathering location, and finally, a specially noted sentence.

"This isn't right, actually it's very easy to notice, after all, our attitudes are all laid out in the open; as long as he isn't stupid, he will definitely be able to notice."

Because he could cook spirit meals again, his cultivation efficiency would be pulled back up to thirty times a day.

Of course, only limited to that specific time of gathering for departure.

"... Thinking about it carefully, from beginning to end, he was overly calm; perhaps, he actually never cared?"

Thus, He Bo laughed out of extreme anger, directly calling for a specialist to have the order slip urgently submitted to the Outer City Affairs Office within the city.

Before he couldn't sense it, but now he barely could—it was clear they were at the Foundation Establishment stage!

A fellow like He Bo was merely a minor skin irritation; the evil cultivators were the true heart-and-gut disease!

Especially this group of fellows, who seemed to have ulterior motives, brewing something, and yet their true colors could not be fathomed; they were truly impossible to guard against!

Du En was still confident about taking down He Bo.

"An illusion! It must be an illusion! As long as the evil cultivator strikes, everything will get better!"

However, he was actually doing it for the sake of insurance, feeling that it was better not to go under the Superintendent's nose right now, so as to avoid any complications.

At that time, Du En would strike suddenly on the way, killing him between Qingya Garden and the city!

Submission was originally supposed to be done by oneself, and the Superintendent would sometimes choose to grant an audience, or perform trivial sub-processes like recording the corresponding person's image.

After all, he was still injured, and he himself was no ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Taking him by surprise and killing him quickly would be no problem!

It was just that, in the end, Du En did not wait for such an opportunity.

For one, revenge doesn't need to wait until the next day.

Thinking this, Du En did not waste any more effort and retreated to his temporary small building.

Because he had an extra middle dantian, the Crimson Palace, and the lower dantian had not yet been filled by his Dao foundation, he was now effectively using dual-core propulsion, which naturally boosted the efficiency of his cultivation and energy circulation.

On the other side, Du En had not actually left.

Du En didn't say anything else, didn't do anything else, and turned to leave.

"This guy is actually still able to keep his cool... It seems he is truly very confident that I will die sooner or later, so his mindset is very optimistic."

Du En naturally would not allow any loopholes to be exploited, and having He Bo do it on his behalf could more easily create the illusion for the Superintendent that things were going smoothly and no extra targeting was needed.

Therefore, for Du En to say this now, to tell the truth, is actually to relinquish some of the initiative.

She had learned her lesson now; she did not dare to be contemptuous just because Du En was about to be transferred to a perilous place. She kept her head low and eyes submissive, bowing slightly while holding the scroll of the transfer order high with both hands, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

"... I can't see through him!"

Right, it was not the twenty-seven times from before, but thirty times.

On the transfer order scroll, there was a faint flow of spiritual energy; after observing it carefully, the existence of an artifact restriction was discovered.

"I truly didn't expect it; when he had just broken through before, he was clearly still quite humble."

His operation like this caught the other stewards off guard, and they were stunned for a moment.

"Holy crap, this kid is truly arrogant!"

The gazes of the stewards had never once wavered, and the meaning was unmistakable.

"A frog at the bottom of a well, that's all; he must not have realized the danger of this errand yet!"

"Resigned to his fate? Because he's afraid of death?"

After all, the one who died was a Foundation Establishment steward, and it seemed he was the kind favored by the Superintendent, so Du En felt that the Outer City Affairs Superintendent would likely make a move when the time came.

"Mm, I have received it; sorry to trouble you to report back."

Striving to calm the waves in his heart, after reciting this to himself several times, he suddenly began to feel refreshed and full of anticipation; he didn't even care about the shattered door, and walked upstairs with a rhythmic tread.

He felt no regret, calmly taking out a clay pot to cook a spiritual meal.

These stewards switched to communicating directly via divine sense, and in the end, they did not reach a detailed conclusion, but their attitude toward Du En had clearly become much more grave and cautious, and they dared not set any tone casually anymore.

As long as this guy is not some pure incompetent, there is a high possibility he will discover the evil cultivators operating in the shadows.

"What is going on with him?"

"Not letting me enter the city to walk around and buy things, this Outer City Affairs Superintendent..."

Du En thought this as he closed the door, put away the transfer order casually, and calmly continued his practice of cooking and refining.

(End of this chapter)