Chapter 1150

The Gu room was dim, with incense floating.

Inside the translucent glass jars, Gu insects crawled. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants were all present. Limbs, scales, and carapaces collided and rubbed against the jar bodies, making rustling sounds. At this very moment, without exception, they all clung tightly to the jar walls, enviously watching the blue-armored centipede on the table eating, gorging itself.

Click, click, click.

Its mouthparts opened and closed, embracing a fist-sized, glistening water-attribute Great Elixir. Bai Awei swallowed it in large gulps, its scales becoming increasingly shiny, oily, and smooth.

Haochi!

"Cannot Move" rooted in the plantation, unmoving as a mountain; the Fat Catfish was glib-tongued, clever in speech and appearance; the little Mirage Dragon flattered the mistress, saving the country through a curve; Round Head had a crowd under its command, shrewd and capable; Fist supported the Fat Party, willing to be a lackey.

Especially the little Mirage Dragon, ever since the fat worm turned into a white dragon and learned to fly, it had been at the beck and call, relying on the prestige of its ancestors, bullying the weak and flattering the strong, bullying men and oppressing women, male theft and female prostitution, wine pools and meat forests...

Little did they know, before the little Mirage Dragon, it was the first personal guard, first attendant, and first loyal minister under the Heavenly God!

Ten years of drinking ice, hard to cool the hot blood; this heaven-splashing wealth finally reached it, Bai Awei.

Especially remembering the origin of its name.

"You are so mighty, let's call you Bai Awei."

Today, it works hard, not to prove how great it is, but to tell these brats that what it lost, it must personally take back.

Mighty!

Click, click, click.

Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw.

Water-attribute Great Elixir crumbs fell all over the table. The insect jars became restless. Li Xianghan stretched out her fair hand, wiped the crumbs on the table into her palm, came to the transparent jars, opened a few, and poured the dregs evenly into them.

The collisions were intense.

The insect swarm scrambled.

A venomous snake with intelligence glared fiercely at Bai Awei. Before this blue-armored centipede came to the insect room, they shared the Gu insect Great Elixirs, but now they could only eat some leftovers, and couldn't even leave the jar for fresh air.

Ignoring the Gu insects' reactions, Li Xianghan returned to her seat, propped her chin, and stared at the blue-armored golden wings, finding it more delightful the more she looked.

Hard work pays off.

After a full half-month of pursuit and spending countless elixirs to curry favor, the person and the insect finally established basic trust.

Perfect.

Too perfect.

The golden patterns on the wings, every shiny blue backplate, the sharp and pointed curved mouthparts, the golden limbs—not a single place didn't tend toward the ultimate centipede physique.

It was simply the handiwork of the Southern Frontier Gu God.

Li Xianghan couldn't imagine at all that there was a place or a corner in the world that could give birth to such a perfect beast-insect.

She could be certain that this centipede's strength belonged to the absolute elite among demon beasts. As long as she could refine it into her life-bound Gu, she would become the strongest among this generation of Saintesses.

Even if two Hunting Tiger Great Martial Artists died for this, it was worth it!

The only thing that puzzled Li Xianghan was that, as a centipede, it should like elixirs like earth vein yin energy, but this centipede in front of her insisted on eating water-attribute Great Elixirs, and they had to be freshly made, preferably with residual warmth. If they were more than three days old, it wouldn't eat or drink. It was truly a picky eater.

Fortunately, the Southern Frontier had rich water systems and didn't lack these water-attribute treasures.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Feelings were warming up day by day.

Li Xianghan looked forward to the day she could establish a blood connection with the Gu insect, then start to turn it into her life-bound Gu, branch out, achieve a new Gu insect system, and become an ancestor!

Maybe even one day, lead her to become the Centipede Gu among the Five Gu and Nine Poisons!

Saintess, Saintess—only the name sounds good. If you can't walk your own path, in the end, you're nothing more than a furnace for big shots. She, Li Xianghan, must fight for a name and grab a high position.

"Hiccup."

Bai Awei burped, its hundred feet stretching out.

Li Xianghan tried to look at it at eye level, stretched out her hand, and looked at the centipede nervously and expectantly.

Bai Awei was lazy and didn't want to move.

Li Xianghan felt disappointed in her heart.

"Knock, knock."

"Who!" Li Xianghan's pretty face was filled with malice. "Didn't I say I was going to refine the Gu insect and not to disturb me unless there was something urgent?"

The guard outside was sweating profusely and hurriedly shouted, "It is your grandmother. She is setting off for the front line tomorrow to appease the people and support the front line. She wants to see you today."

"That old thing, I feel unlucky just looking at her!" Li Xianghan couldn't help but slap the table.

It couldn't understand Southern Frontier language, but it could understand the reaction.

Bai Awei became curious, turned around, and opened and closed its mouthparts.

"My grandmother?" Li Xianghan was surprised in her heart, then immediately showed mockery, using the Gu insect communication method. "She is remarkable; she is a model of the Southern Frontier, a unique genius among generations of Saintesses. Born with good luck, she was touted by the local chieftain as a hero who sacrificed herself to poison the soft-footed genius of the Great Shun, receiving many rewards and being respected by everyone."

"She put on an act, and she's been acting until today, making the people of the Southern Frontier think so. In reality, she's nothing more than a shameless slut who got lucky."

"These are just Lai Jiazhang's one-sided words, right?" Xu Xu Yuelong asked.

"Correct. I suspect that the officials in Lingnan Province at the time had the same thought as Commandant Xu. They didn't know if Lai Jiazhang had taken bribes and lied upon returning. So, after Lai Jiazhang returned, they dispatched a second person, Department Magistrate Gong Qianqing."

"Wait." Long Long Yanrui raised his hand again. "If there's no problem, that's a good thing for Lingnan Province, right? Why does it look like they were determined to find a problem?"

"No problem is a good thing, but that's on the premise that there really is no problem." Xu Xu Yuelong tore open a tangerine peel. "If it's reported up, will His Majesty believe it? Will the Censor believe it? If the Imperial Court doesn't believe it, what if they send an Imperial Envoy?"

"It's just like Lord Ling Xuan here, acting as an Imperial Envoy. If Lai Jiazhang took a bribe and the Envoy found a problem, then Lingnan Province would be in real trouble. At the very least, they wouldn't be able to escape the charge of shielding each other."

"Then how do they know there's really no problem? If there's always no problem, they keep sending people." Even Long Long Binglin, who was usually more mature, couldn't grasp the logic. But halfway through, he suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed.

Xu Xu Yuelong popped the tangerine into his mouth. As the grandson of the Duke of Wei, having grown up in the Imperial Capital, how could he not understand the logic? He sneered: "I can probably guess the situation. The problem lies with Gong Qianqing, right?"

"The Qinzhou Governor really had no problem, but the officials in Lingnan Province were worried. Once such a matter is reported, it might offend the Imperial Censor who impeached them. To avoid being targeted by the Imperial Capital in the future, they simply decided to go all the way and frame the Qinzhou Governor!"

Long Long Binglin frowned.

Long Long Yanrui was completely dumbfounded.

"Deliberately slandering? If Qinzhou has a problem, doesn't Lingnan Province, which manages Qinzhou, also have a problem?"

"No, it's different." Liang Qu stepped on the wooden bar under the table and sucked the tangerine into his mouth. "If Qinzhou has a problem and Lingnan reports it, then it's the Qinzhou Governor who concealed it. Lingnan Province is also an 'innocent party' that was kept in the dark. There will be trouble, but it will be a small matter! This way, everyone is happy; the Censor keeps his face, and the province lands safely."

"Otherwise, it's a self-proving trap. The higher-ups say you have a problem below, so is there one or not? Simply put, regardless of whether it's good or bad, just cut out all the 'diseased' flesh."

Ling Xuan did not respond: "I found the commoners in the place where Gong Qianqing was located and discovered that Gong Qianqing's reputation wasn't very good. His lifestyle was extravagant; he often went to brothels and didn't return home at night. But this cannot be used as evidence; it can only be a clue."

"Based on the testimony of servants, I investigated Gong Qianqing's travel records and found that he had left the government office for two and a half months in the first half of the year. According to the distance, he stayed in Qinzhou for two months. Because Qinzhou was captured and had a Martial Saint stationed there, I couldn't sneak in to investigate."

"Fortunately, there was a clue about his love for brothels. After searching for three days, I found a pimp from the most famous brothel in Qinzhou at the time within Nanhai Commandery."

No way.

He could find even that?

Any time, any place, super detective, investigating cases seriously?

Liang Qu marveled at Ling Xuan's professional ability.

A pimp is a man who does odd jobs inside. In the South, they are called "pimps," and in the North, they are called "big teapots."

In a large brothel, there are quite a few such people. It's not impossible for a few to escape, but being able to find one is outrageous.

"Qinzhou fell, and the experts couldn't escape, but these low-class people fled with the commoners, all the way to Nanhai Commandery. According to the pimp's testimony, from March 6th to May 3rd, Gong Qianqing stayed in the brothel every night."

Liang Qu raised an eyebrow: "What kind of brothel was it, so attractive? *Ahem*, never mind, continue, continue."

The gaze on him shifted away.

"In other words, if that pimp didn't lie, Gong Qianqing went to Qinzhou for two months and stayed in the Qinzhou brothel for two months. And according to the pimp's impression, this person was generous and had delicacies every day, but it was all paid for by the Qinzhou Governor. The specific amount is unknown."

Liang Qu rubbed his chin: "Gong Qianqing probably guessed the province's thoughts and took the opportunity to make a profit?"

"I don't have evidence for that, but based on speculation, it should be so."

"The Prefect of Qinzhou defecting to the enemy was likely forced by Gong Qianqing," Xu Xu Yuelong guessed. "He originally thought that by hosting him with good food and drink, he would be safe and sound, but he ended up being set up by Gong Qianqing. From the moment Gong Qianqing set out, his fate was to be dismissed. Unfortunately, he didn't see through the intentions of the Lingnan Province officials, adding insult to injury."

Liang Qu remembered the snake demon incident in Xiangyi County.

At that time, he used the excuse of solving the snake demon disturbance to demand benefits from local wealthy families.

The difference was that he solved the snake demon, while Gong Qianqing just ate and didn't do anything.

"Is there a reason for the dismissal?" Liang Qu asked.

"Neither Nanhai Commandery nor the local area left any documents; they must have been deliberately hidden." Ling Xuan shook his head. "However... I privately went to find Department Magistrate Lai Jiazhang and recorded his testimony. According to him..."

"At that time, the reason Gong Qianqing gave was that the Qinzhou Governor was 'senile' and unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding the border. The province agreed. Before the documents reached the Imperial Capital, the White Ape died, the world fell into chaos, and Nanhai Commandery realized the matter had blown up, so they hurriedly withdrew the documents."

"..."

Xu Xu Yuelong sneered: "What a 'senile'."

Well, he's not senile anymore.

Alive and kicking, causing a huge stir.

Liang Qu sat back on the small stool.

The matter had reached this point.

The trajectory of the Qinzhou Governor's defection was already very clear.

Gong Qianqing's extortion and the 'senile' evaluation were definitely extremely important catalysts, and Lingnan Province's one-size-fits-all approach was the root cause.

To settle the matter once and for all, one only needs to find Gong Qianqing.

Quite easy.

Regarding the Nanhai King, Liang Qu had originally thought it would involve twists and turns, various decryption and case-solving, and battles of wits. As it turned out, Ling Xuan turned around, and in half a month, he had laid out the whole picture.

Clear and distinct.

Everyone looked at Ling Xuan.

Ling Xuan spread his hands: "Gong Qianqing is the Nanhai King's nephew."

Damn!

The last piece of the puzzle was in place.

The whole process was clear and bright.

In the end, it was actually the operation of hidden rules within a bureaucratic system. The local government and the Imperial Court played a game, and no one felt there was a problem. As a result, the Qinzhou Governor, who received the 'senile' evaluation, and Lingnan Province exploded, defecting to the Southern Border.

Coincidentally, the Southern Border unleashed two great divine arts: Mayfly Blood-Gathering and Blood-Hidden Gu, seizing this great opportunity to fiercely swallow up most of Lingnan, pushing the battle line to the doorstep of Nanhai Commandery in one go.

The matter had become completely serious.

The Nanhai King, concurrently serving as the Viceroy of Lingnan, was placed on a fire to be roasted and bore direct responsibility for this.

If the Qinzhou Governor hadn't defected, could the Southern Border have swallowed most of Lingnan?

Mostly the same.

Mayfly Blood-Gathering was not a one-day effort; it took a full two or three months. The fact was that after the war began, the Southern Border had already opened 'full perspective' and 'friendly fog.'

If one had to compare, the White Ape's sudden death had a greater impact than Qinzhou's defection.

Perfected Form and Mirage Dragon—undoubtedly, the latter brought greater opportunities.

Qinzhou was just a point on the entire line, affecting tactics. The key to the entire war situation still lay in Mayfly Blood-Gathering and Blood-Hidden Gu; that was strategy.

However, coincidence had it that they collided, appearing very glaring, and someone had to be the scapegoat.

What could the Nanhai King do?

It was easy to solve if he wanted to: push Gong Qianqing out to be the sacrificial flag.

Sending Gong Qianqing out a second time, although it had a bit of a 'looking for trouble' intent, after all, the province hadn't explicitly stated it; it belonged to their mutual tacit understanding. Since the matter happened, he could use the excuse of 'taking precautions' and 'worrying about bribery' as a pretext, claiming he hadn't thought Gong Qianqing would act like that.

If it were someone else, Liang Qu believed they would have been beheaded long ago.

But Gong Qianqing's identity was special.

After all, he was his own nephew.

If he sent someone out whenever there was trouble, what would his subordinates think? What would the Imperial Court think?

Heartless, cold-blooded?

Relatives shielding relatives.

The incident happened suddenly. The Nanhai King's battle with the Southern Border Martial Saint had no water added; he was indeed injured and had been claiming illness to avoid appearing, probably wanting to use this opportunity to beg for mercy, using time to sell his misery, and trying to exchange it for a good result.

"Oh!" Long Long Yanrui slapped his palm with his fist. "I understand. So that's how it is. But, were the granddaughter and the female relatives raped or not?"

"..."

"Sigh..." Xu Xu Yuelong's head ached. "If the Qinzhou Governor hadn't cared about the woman's reputation and had written it directly in the file, and had them sign and press their fingerprints before beheading them, it wouldn't have blown up to this point."

"He couldn't write it." Liang Qu tapped the table with his index finger. "If he had written it, the later events wouldn't have happened, but he would have offended the Perfected Form family. Local snakes are just as difficult to deal with. Either way, there was no way."

Ling Xuan was indeed formidable. In half a month, he had sorted out the whole matter, which was basically the truth.

Of course, it was also because there weren't too many conspiracies involved.

This was just a pretext appearing, and the collision of choices from all sides resulted in a somewhat inevitable outcome.

"At least I'm safe," Liang Qu thought.

At least the Nanhai King hadn't defected to the enemy, so his own actions wouldn't have too many worries. There were people to restrain the Martial Saint level, unless...

Wait.

Can't guarantee it.

To properly settle this matter, the Imperial Court must find a balance between appeasement and punishment.

Too much appeasement would make people suspect whether there would be a reckoning later. Too much punishment, and the Qinzhou Governor was a lesson from the past. Even if it were just right, if the Nanhai King's personality was sensitive, he would still worry about the bad impression left this time and the anxiety of no longer being trusted.

The reasons why a thing happens are too complex.

Personality, environment, the influence of relatives, the enemy's seduction—it was like a chaotic black box.

No one knows what will come out when something is thrown in.

Ling Xuan cupped his hands: "Based on my investigation, the matter is roughly like this. I hope Brother Liang can lend me Red Mountain again so I can send the message back."

"Can't the Purple Lightning Ship do it?"

"The Purple Lightning Ship is inside the Nanhai King's mansion. If I go to the mansion to send the message, there's no guarantee something won't go wrong. But this time it won't take too long. If I send it to Nanzhili or even Pingyang, and then send the message from Pingyang's Purple Lightning Ship, six days will be enough for a round trip."

"Take it and use it." Liang Qu was very generous.

"Many thanks!"

Ling Xuan stuffed the testimony and evidence into a tube, sealed it, and tied it to Red Mountain.

Red light flowed, moving close to the ground. After staying away from Lingnan and confirming it wouldn't be easily shot down by the Southern Border, it soared into the sky.

"Chaotic, truly chaotic!"

The tent was empty. Liang Qu paced around the square table.

To act without leaving any future troubles and solve the Southern Border, he had waited patiently for Ling Xuan's investigation, only to find such a result.

The Nanhai King and his nephew's messy business had absolutely nothing to do with Liang Qu.

However, the Martial Saint was a pillar of the nation, and Liang Qu was now a martial artist in the house. Fighting with the enemy, if the pillar was unstable, the roof beams would fall, making it hard not to affect his performance.

"Damn it, one by one, they are all controlled by their crotches. Does the Southern Border have a crotch demon?"

Liang Qu considered himself a five-good youth—loving the country, loving his home, loving his wife, loving his parents, and loving his water beasts—never going to shady places.

He did, however, remember an old friend he had never met—Yuan Yuan Yuwen.

The Hunting Tiger record holder before him, who was only nineteen, was conferred a title not long after, hooked up with a Southern Border Saintess, was planted with a love gu, and died suddenly in a brothel.

Now it was the same: the bandits who abducted the granddaughter, and Gong Qianqing who spent two months in a brothel.

The feng shui of this place is problematic!

"Everything is a Southern Border conspiracy!" the little Mirage Dragon said viciously.

"What did you say?" Liang Qu looked up.

"Ah?"

The little Mirage Dragon covered its mouth, thinking it had said the wrong thing, flicked its tail, and hurriedly shrank behind Long Long Eying.

Long Long Eying pulled the little Mirage Dragon out: "I'm here, what are you afraid of? I'm asking you."

The little Mirage Dragon hugged its palms and tested: "Southern Border conspiracy?"

"Southern Border conspiracy, Southern Border conspiracy... Yes, it's all a Southern Border conspiracy!"

Liang Qu's eyes flashed.

With Ling Xuan's secret report, the Holy Emperor would surely know the whole truth, but sometimes the truth isn't important. Knowing it would make the Nanhai King anxious all the same.

The urgent task was to solve the trust crisis, help the Imperial Court, and appease the anxious Nanhai King.

Having a stable rear would allow him to display his grand plans on the front line.

Solving the Lingnan problem as soon as possible and stabilizing the situation was the main contradiction.

"Between Lingnan and the Imperial Court alone, the contradiction between the central and local governments is too sharp to reconcile."

"No matter what, there is a game between the two. Since that's the case, why not pull the Southern Border in?"

Liang Qu's eyes shone brightly.

To stabilize the front line, the Holy Emperor would surely be happy to go with the flow.

"Yuan Yuan Yuwen and the Southern Border Saintess are a lesson from the past. It's credible. Can we splash dirty water on the Southern Border?"

The bandits at the beginning of the year were deliberately instigated by the Southern Border!

Thinking of the Southern Border Saintess.

Liang Qu subconsciously touched his wrist.

He had been in the Southern Border for half a month, and A-Wei had been gone for half a month...

(End of chapter)

"Brother Ling!"

"Brother Liang, is something the matter?"

"Is Brother Ling willing to risk his life to accompany me on a trip?"

"Where?"

"Qinzhou!"

(End of chapter)