Chapter 100: Stone Hammer! That Kid Is Yuan Liuzhai

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Que Bu was a bit flustered at that moment, his eyes showing a hint of 'alarm'.

Que Bu could hardly believe it; everything Huangmu said was true.

After all, if all this is as Huangmu described, that absurdly powerful youth being Yuan Liuzhai's illegitimate child would affect the power structure of the Pure Spirit Court to an unimaginably terrifying degree.

When power reaches the level of Yuan Liuzhai…

Even Yuan Liuzhai's private life is shadowed everywhere by 'struggles' and 'politics'.

"It makes no sense! I've been by Lord Yuan Liuzhai's side for a thousand years..."

"Even if Lord Yuan Liuzhai really wanted to go to Soul-Drifting Street to do something, he lacks the 'motivation' and the 'time'."

Detective Que Bu discovered a clue; lacking solid evidence, he flatly refused to believe Huangmu.

"Sluurp~"

In response, Huangmu gave no explanation and calmly sipped his tea.

However, the more Huangmu remained calm and open, the more thoughts crowded Que Bu's mind…

"……"

For a moment, Captain Que Bu Chang Jirou and Huangmu sat in the Eleven Squad headquarters, facing each other in silence, while the atmosphere in the headquarters grew increasingly heavy.

Huangmu stayed silent because he was too lazy to explain; after all, the more one explains, the messier it gets, and the more loopholes appear!

Fabricating a lie often requires millions of lies to make it fit! But as long as Huangmu doesn't bother to make it fit, a single lie suffices; the rest Que Bu can fill in with his own mind.

"……"

As for why Que Bu Chang Jirou kept silent, it was hoping Huangmu would explain a thing or two; unfortunately Huangmu never intended to explain, so his scheme fell flat.

After about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea…

"Huangmu, this matter is of great importance—are you really sure?!"

Que Bu could no longer hold back; he looked at Huangmu and asked for confirmation.

"This is not a matter of certainty or uncertainty…"

"You've seen Geng Mu's strength; now rumors outside claim he's my child."

"But I can be certain that Geng Mu is not my child!"

"According to the nobles' research, the stronger one's spiritual pressure, the higher the innate talent of their offspring!"

"Looking across the entire Pure Spirit Court, aside from myself, how many could be powerful enough to bear a child as gifted as Geng Mu, Que Bu?"

"Moreover, once this spreads within the Pure Spirit Court, Que Bu, do you think more people will believe the child is my son or that he is Shan Laotou's son?"

Huangmu calmly stared at Que Bu Chang Jirou, his tone even.

"This…"

Que Bu was shaken by Huangmu's calmness and words.

In fact, Huangmu's statement was baseless, a classic sleight‑of‑concept; instead of clarifying the rumor, he shifted its protagonist from himself onto Shan Ben Yuan Liuzhai…

Rumors are like memes—both products of gossip, created for 'entertainment'. Since they're a by‑product of entertainment, the bigger the scandal, the more the audience loves it.

Using a rumor to counter a rumor is far more efficient than clarification… Once Huangmu spreads the rumor that Geng Mu is Shan Laotou's illegitimate child, who will still pay attention to his tiny role as Eleven Squad Captain?!

As for how Shan Laotou would clear the rumor, it's simple—Huangmu has already thought it out for his good master! When Shan Laotou simply declares that Geng Mu is the Spirit King's illegitimate child, everyone will focus on His Majesty the Spirit King, and no one will care about his tiny title as Guardian of the Court and Mountain‑Opening Ancestor!

Hmm, given Shan Laotou's nature, he's unlikely to do that…

Not doing it is actually easy—Shan Laotou could just acknowledge Geng Mu directly, and that would be that.

If you calculate carefully, Shan Laotou would also be a late‑born son!

At this point, Huangmu could only say to his beloved master, "Do not thank me!"

"But if that's the case, why hasn't the rumor spread outside that the child is Lord Yuan Liuzhai's illegitimate child?!"

Que Bu, still looking naive, stared at Huangmu with a foolishly innocent expression and asked.

"Isn't that obvious? Because I haven't spread it outward yet!"

Huangmu rolled his eyes at that, of course he couldn't say such a thing.

"Que Bu, I think you know that with Shan Laotou's current standing, countless eyes watch for his mistakes. As a disciple of Yuan Liuzhai, how could I bear to see my master err?"

Huangmu began to play the emotional card.

"Hiss! Huangmu, you mean to say that the rumors about you out there were spread by you yourself, just to help Lord Yuan Liuzhai clear suspicion in advance?!"

Que Bu inhaled sharply, surprised at Huangmu's selflessness.

"Exactly!"

Huangmu, upon hearing that, adopted a posture of being willing to sacrifice his own innocence for his good master.

As for who originally spread the rumor, it no longer seemed that important…

Of course, if Huangmu knew who the rumor came from, he'd stroll over with a grin and stab that gossip‑loving fellow to death.

"Hiss!"

At this moment, Que Bu finally felt Huangmu's 'deep‑thinking worry'.

"But I still don't understand…"

"If that child truly is Yuan Liuzhai's offspring, why does Yuan Liuzhai have me ask you whether the child is your illegitimate child?!"

Que Bu, at this point, was candid, pouring out his confusion straight to Huangmu.

"Hehe…"

Huangmu merely gave a light smile.

"Que Bu, think carefully—are you sure Shan Laotou's question truly means that?"

Huangmu first feigned mystery, smiled at Que Bu, then turned the question back to him.

"Oh?!"

Upon hearing this, Que Bu's pupils constricted slightly.

"Right, Sir Yuan Liu Zhai, are you sure this question has no deeper meaning? Or is it that I failed to grasp Sir Yuan Liu Zhai's intent?"

Que Bu muttered to himself, constantly questioning himself, reflecting on whether he had missed something, failing to grasp Sir Yuan Liu Zhai's true meaning.

At this moment, Que Bu had not yet realized; his train of thought was now being led by Huang Mu.

"Que Bu, think again—did Old Man Shan say anything suspicious before sending you to me?!"

Huang Mu set down his tea cup and continued to guide Que Bu.

"Suspicious words..."

Upon hearing Huang Mu's words, Que Bu froze instantly, for after careful thought he realized there indeed was something.

Que Bu suddenly recalled that Old Man Shan's words before sending him over did indeed sound rather suspicious.

"Back then, Sir Yuan Liu Zhai told me, if it truly is Huang Mu's child, bring him to me! From today on I will personally educate that child! This time I will not believe that child will still go off the proper sword path; I will surely raise him into the finest Reaper!"

Que Bu furrowed his brows, murmuring the words Old Man Shan had once said to him.

"Wait, why does Sir Yuan Liu Zhai, once he confirms that child is Huang Mu's offspring, insist on personally educating that child? And why does he say this time he won't believe the child will still go off the proper sword path? These 'this time' and 'still will' now seem suspicious~"

Que Bu kept analyzing; as his analysis deepened, the sweat on his forehead grew more and more.

"I see now! I understand, I understand everything!"

After a brief stunned pause, Que Bu suddenly showed an expression of sudden realization; he had figured it out, he had understood everything.

"Huang Mu truly thanks you for pointing it out; I now understand everything."

Que Bu looked at Huang Mu and thanked him from the heart.

"What have you figured out?"

Huang Mu narrowed his eyes slightly and probed Que Bu with a question.

"Huang Mu, I now understand—Sir Yuan Liu Zhai seems to have me confirm whether that child is your offspring, but all this is merely a facade!"

"Actually, Sir Yuan Liu Zhai had me come to you to confirm whether that child is his illegitimate child—that is the truth beneath the surface..."

Que Bu spoke to Huang Mu in a calm tone, as if he had seen through everything.

"Discharged!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Mu silently thought to himself.

"Huang Mu, this time Sir Yuan Liu Zhai's matter is truly thanks to you!"

"If it weren't for you, the whole Jing Ling Ting would likely be in chaos right now..."

Que Bu then rose from his seat and bowed slightly to Huang Mu, expressing his admiration for him.

"It's fine, these are all things I should do! Who made me Old Man Shan's disciple? If I don't help Old Man Shan, who in this world could help him?!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Mu gave Que Bu a slight smile.

Hmm, not bad! Looks like Que Bu has been successfully led astray by him~

"Then do you have any more questions?"

Huang Mu continued to look at Que Bu and ask.

"Nothing more! I need to go report..."

Que Bu shook his head; he now had no further questions for Huang Mu.

"You know how to report, right?"

Huang Mu looked at Que Bu, seemingly uneasy as he asked.

"Relax~"

"I understand, I understand everything!"

Que Bu stood up and winked at Huang Mu.

"Go on~"

Seeing Que Bu's small gesture, Huang Mu finally put his mind at ease.

It's not that Huang Mu doesn't trust Que Bu……

It's mainly that Que Bu, this kid, has always been honest and sincere.

"If Que Bu returns to the First Division barracks and sincerely tells Old Man Shan that old fool: 'Huang Mu told me that child is not Huang Mu's! It's a debt of love you left outside when you were young!'"

"Then the moment Que Bu's words finish, Old Man Shan wielding the Remaining Fire Long Sword would surely come to kill him……"

Therefore, in Huang Mu's view, it's best to act steadily.

"Leaving!"

After bidding farewell to Huang Mu, Que Bu hurried back to the First Division barracks.

"What do you mean?!"

Shanben Yuan Liu Zhai stood in the Division Chief's Room, having already awaited Que Bu for a while.

At this moment, Yuan Liu Zhai, who was questioning Que Bu, felt extremely uneasy inside.

"Sir Yuan Liu Zhai, everything is just as you thought!"

Upon hearing this, Que Bu respectfully reported to Shanben Yuan Liu Zhai.

"That child actually is……"

Shanben heard this, his pupils constricted sharply. He knew his disciple usually was a bit off‑kilter and lacked propriety, but he never imagined his disciple could be so off‑kilter! He had truly ended up with a grandson.

"Hehe……"

Que Bu saw Yuan Liu Zhai's pupils twitching, his last doubt dissolved; indeed, as Huang Mu had said, that child very likely has a close relationship with Sir Yuan Liu Zhai.

"Good!"

Shanben Yuan Liu Zhai remained silent for a long time, then softly uttered a 'good'.

At this moment, Shanben had made up his mind; he intended to personally educate Huang Mu's child, determined to raise his fine grandson into the finest person in the world.

I understand! I understand everything……

Que Bu listened to Yuan Liu Zhai's words and nodded repeatedly.

"Yuan Liu Zhai, sir, please rest assured; I will do my utmost to assist that child."

Immediately after, Que Bu suddenly looked at Yamamoto Yuan Liu Zhai and spoke solemnly.

Huh?!

Yamamoto heard this, his eyes flickered with a hint of surprise; he didn't know what Que Bu was up to this time.

However, Yamamoto remained silent until the end, merely nodding his head silently.

Yamamoto's behavior made Que Bu increasingly confident that his judgment was correct.

On the other hand……

After Saito was blown away by Gengmu's sword, she then fought Gengmu continuously for a full five times……

Unfortunately, the outcome of these five battles was always Saito being blown away by Gengmu; Saito had already racked her brains and pulled out all stops, yet she couldn't gain even the slightest advantage against Gengmu!

By this point, Saito realized that Gengmu and Uno Hana Retsu were of the same ilk—born fighting machines with an unparalleled keen awareness of combat!

Immediately, Saito gave up on further sparring with Gengmu, deciding to start Plan B: cultivate a child stronger than Gengmu, then defeat Gengmu……

Sigh……

In response, Huangmu in the captain's quarters sighed helplessly.

Huangmu looked at the eternally defeated Saito shaking her head repeatedly; to Huangmu, Saito was too single‑minded—if he were Saito, he would never engage Gengmu in close combat……

Instead, he would use Saito's own Soul‑Cutting Sword ability to fly into the air, then unleash a barrage on Gengmu on the ground; the damage need not be high, just enough to threaten Gengmu, then wait for Gengmu to wear himself out.

As for Saito's inner plan, Huangmu still had no idea at this moment……

What truly troubled Huangmu at this moment was that, with the boy Gengmu joining their division, his Eleventh Division's barracks would likely become even livelier~

However, none of that matters now; the most important thing is to resolve the rumor issue.

To this end, Huangmu carefully selected from his own division's soldiers, finally picking a few who were usually quite sharp, and brought them to his captain's quarters.

"Your usual performance I have seen; I chose you because, in my view, you are the sharper ones among our Eleventh Division~"

"And today I have a very important task to entrust to you! I don't know if you can handle it for me!!"

Huangmu sat in the captain's quarters, looking at the few Eleventh Division soldiers he had summoned into the room, and asked with a chuckle.

"Please rest assured, Captain Huangmu; no matter what the task, please leave it to us!"

Those Eleventh Division soldiers, hearing this, agreed without hesitation; in their eyes, serving Huangmu was the greatest honor.

Hehe……

If that's the case, then I will explain the detailed plan of this task to you all~

You all remember this: once you hear the detailed plan, you will have no chance to back out~

Huangmu now wore a kind expression, causing the Eleventh Division soldiers before him to greatly lower their guard.

Please speak! We are already prepared!

Even if we were to assassinate Central 46, we would spare no effort!

The soldiers Huangmu had summoned were all veterans of the Eleventh Division, having experienced the 46 Chamber's investigators and the incident of them coming to cause trouble. They had never forgotten what Central 46 had done to them back then, and even now the memory remained fresh and vivid; thus they felt no reverence whatsoever for the so‑called Soul Society, the Supreme Judicial Authority.

Haha, don't worry! It's not something as extremely difficult as assassinating the 46 Chamber~

I simply hope you can help me spread a rumor within the Seireitei……

Huangmu chuckled lightly and continued.

This is truly too simple for us; please tell us exactly what kind of rumor we need to spread in the Seireitei!!

The soldiers, upon hearing Huangmu's words, all pricked up their ears.

At the same time, a soldier shifted his body, leaning slightly toward Huangmu, hoping to hear the upcoming task more clearly this way.

You few, think of a way to make the rumor that Gengmu is actually the illegitimate child of the Guardian Court Founding Ancestor, Yamamoto Yuan Liu Zhai Shigekuni, echo throughout the Seireitei……

Huangmu didn't speak; instead, he used Heaven's Net on the people in the room, directly implanting the task he needed to give them into their minds……

There's no helping it; Huangmu always handles things steadily.

Well… maybe we should just go assassinate Central 46 instead.

When the Eleventh Division soldiers heard Huangmu's words, their pupils all contracted sharply.

Compared to spreading the rumor that Gengmu is actually Yamamoto General Commander's illegitimate child, they would still prefer to assassinate Central 46, since assassinating Central 46 with Huangmu's protection would likely spare them the death penalty, at worst landing them in Avīci Hell for a thousand or eight hundred years……

But spreading this rumor would likely bring consequences far worse than mere imprisonment! Just imagine—once the news spreads in the Seireitei, Yamamoto General Commander will surely fly into a rage……

The Eleventh Division soldiers, just imagining Yamamoto General Commander wielding Flowing Blade Like Fire and flying into a rage, felt a chill run down their spines.

How about it? As I just said, isn't this task very simple!!

Just as the Eleventh Division soldiers' eyelids twitched wildly, Huangmu's gentle voice softly reached their ears.

Simple! Simple! Really too simple……

The Eleventh Division soldiers, after hearing Huangmu's words, repeatedly nodded in agreement.

Actually, at this moment the Eleventh Division soldiers' hearts were practically ready to curse the streets.

However, Huangmu didn't care at all what those soldiers thought; he only cared whether his beloved Teacher Yamamoto could sense the deep kindness of this disciple of his.

(End of Chapter)