Chapter 796

「「Judge, many thanks. The Yunqi battle formation attacks and defends, the Youfu authority punishes prisoners; Yunqi and Youfu are two aspects of one whole of the Xianzhou. Being able to serve

「「The Bu Li Crazy Bandits disguised themselves and infiltrated the Dark Prison, broke jail, released prisoners, and caused chaos. Among the four departments' on-duty judges—Detention, Shackles, Punishment, and Inquiry—the judge of the Detention Department, Xue Yi, has temporarily fallen in battle. I will take over his duties and order the Golden Person's Soul-Hooking Envoy and the netherworld officials to enter each level, striving to quickly restore the out-of-control areas. 」」

「「Jing Yuan nods: "I and the two behind me will go deep into the Dark Prison to investigate clues."」」

「「General, the situation on each level remains chaotic and unclear; you personally venturing into dangerous territory——」」

「「The Cloud Cavalry General personally coming to dangerous territory is common." Jing Yuan interrupts, saying, "Yun Lei escaped, and the Envoy of Yao Qing was seized by the Bu Li people, life or death unknown. This incident is no small matter. General Tian Ji not only had no complaint, but decided to take action to capture the wolf, eliminating future trouble. With such a burning heart, both emotionally and rationally, I think Luofu must give an explanation——」」

「「How did the Bu Li prison-breakers learn of the area where Yun Lei was detained? And why such a coincidence that they executed their plan just before Yao Qing's envoy was to escort him? In my view, the answers to these questions are not hard to find. What matters is whether we can find clues and trace the mastermind behind the scenes. 」」

「「I understand. However, what the general wishes to do is probably difficult. 」」

「「For a long time, this behind-the-scenes black hand has disregarded Luofu's safety, acting unilaterally. Concession will only embolden the opponent, further endangering Luofu's peace. 」」

「「Han Ya understood: 'Indeed, as the general said. The general's decision will be fully supported by the Ten Kings Office.'」」

——

Honkai 3.

「「Mastermind?" Kiana tilted her head, "Isn't there only one Phantasm? Could there be another mastermind?"」」

「「Hehe, Kiana, why don't you first consider a question?" In the classroom, Auntie Jizi leaned by the window, gazing at the outer sky together with her, "If you were a Bu Li participant in the operation, how would you obtain the news that 'the Yao Qing Starship is preparing to escort Yun Lei back to Yao Qing'? This news is confidential; aside from insiders of the Starship, hardly any outsiders know. 」」

Kiana stared, the doubt on her face slowly fading as she fell into thought. After a long while she spoke: "... I don't know, Auntie Jizi, do you think the Starship has an insider?"

Auntie Jizi smiled, said nothing, but her expression already gave the answer.

「「I also lean toward the idea that someone inside the Starship colluded with the Bu Li people to participate in this operation." Mei Yi lowered her head thoughtfully, "But I don't know what they're doing it for? To wreck the Starship? To topple Jing Yuan? If it were a previously planted Phantasm undercover agent, that would be fine, but if it's an insider native to the Starship... I can't fathom their purpose. 」」

Nowadays the Starship has stabilized; there's no reason for an insider to team up with the Abundance Folk to stir internal rebellion. Or could it be that the internal forces of Luofu Starship have long been rebellious, already having defected to Phantasm?

「「There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests." Auntie Jizi looked down from a height over the campus scenery, speaking lightly, "As long as interests can be reconciled, former enemies may not necessarily become today's friends. Perhaps someone inside the Starship has aligned interests with the Bu Li people? After all, the enemy's 'standard' can be very flexible. 」」

——

Jing Yuan and Ling Sha decided to start by investigating the Bu Li people nearby who were disguised as fox people.

「「According to the report of the Yan Qing Elite Guard, he discovered several fox people of unknown origin at Hui Xing Port, and after tracking them realized they were Bu Li people in disguise. This is the corpse of one of them. 」」

Ling Sha placed the previously prepared corpse before everyone, but this corpse is huge in build, looking nothing like a fox person at all.

「「Looking at his current appearance, it's impossible to imagine this guy could disguise himself as a fox person. 」」

「「The alchemists detected some… complex drug components in his remains, which seem to explain why these Bu Li people can transform into fox people. Simply put, fox people and Bu Li people share the same origin; although their appearances now differ greatly, there is little genetic difference between them. This drug allows Bu Li people to temporarily alter their physique, presenting a fox person's appearance. 」」

「「In other words, once they stop taking the drug, they will soon reveal their true form?" Dan Heng asked. 」」

「「Hah… familiar formula, familiar method." Jing Yuan let out a cold laugh. 」」

「「Alas, the secrets of the Medicine King are endless; this time the Dan Ding Si probably can't escape involvement either." Ling Sha sighed deeply, "In sorting through their prescriptions, I found one called 'Return Dust Stabilizing Form Pill', specially for agents to suppress the signs of demonic yin form and maintain normal appearance. Compared with the drug inside the Bu Li people's bodies——」」

「「I suppose it's the same thing? 」」」

「「Ling Sha nodded: "Although the drug properties and ingredients differ, the principle is the same."」」

「「Since ancient times, the Bu Li people have been pursuing stronger physiques, regarding fox people as weaklings. Now, to rescue the war chief, these people are actually willing to disguise themselves as fox people…… their determination is truly great. 」」

——

One-Punch Man.

「「I don't know how Yun Lei would feel upon seeing, after leaving prison, the fox people he despises most become a general. 」」

But if we think differently, even fox people with weaker physiques can become as strong as generals through training, meaning physique is not the decisive factor for strength. What matters is combat and daily training.

「「Hmm, the key is to obtain Fei Xiao's daily training data; could it be that she, like the teacher, also runs ten kilometers a day, does a hundred push-ups, etc.? 」」

Jenos has been scribbling in his notebook, recording similar notes countless times, yet still unable to figure out what he lacks compared to a true "strong".

「「Teacher, fox people's physiques are clearly inferior to Bu Li people's, and their lifespans are not as long as those of Starship people; they clearly only have a few hundred years of life, so how could a strong one like Fei Xiao arise? 」」

Jenos closed his notebook and curiously asked Qi Yu, who was earnestly skewering meatballs in the hot pot.

「「Ah, Jenos, you're asking this again? Of course it's because of combat." Qi Yu skewered the meatball with his chopsticks, satisfiedly putting it in his mouth, "Not all fox people are as strong as Fei Xiao, right? Maybe if you challenge the strong opponents Fei Xiao once faced, lasting a few hundred years, you could also become as strong as her. 」」

——

「「If all these Bu Li scouts have taken the disguise drug, I suggest we start investigating along this line. You two, follow me. 」」

As Ling Sha lit the medicine in the incense burner, the three began to follow the smoke forward, arriving before a corpse of a martial official with twisted limbs.

「「Ling Sha bent down to examine the corpse, seeing that the martial official's bones were broken inch by inch, and couldn't help exclaiming: "What tremendous strength… the killer shattered this martial official's bones with a single blow."」」

「「Such brute force is certainly not something an ordinary Bu Li person could do… most likely it's Yun Lei. 」」

「「Ling Sha lifted her head, brows furrowed: "Forgive my boldness, but is this Bu Li person truly so ferocious?"」」