Chapter 99: Attention Drawn by the Devouring of the Nation's Fortune!

The crowded throng drew nearer, soon arriving in front of the Blood Food Shop.

A martial artist sent flying by a spear lunged toward the Blood Food Shop, about to shatter the painstakingly hung signboard; Huang Qingzhou tapped his toe and, with a gentle force, restrained the attacker.

"They're from the Imperial Surveillance Bureau!"

Seeing the group of black‑robed warriors wielding black spears, Xing Rong's expression shifted slightly.

"Imperial Surveillance Bureau?"

Fang Xu wondered, "Why would the imperial household send Surveillance Bureau personnel to explore the ruins?"

Xing Rong shook her head. "The Surveillance Bureau obeys only Emperor Yu; now the Crown Prince and the Seventh Prince cannot mobilize it."

"If the Surveillance Bureau is dispatched, it likely means His Majesty Emperor Yu has emerged from seclusion."

"Just..."

Xing Rong frowned, puzzled. "Ordinary matters aren't worth the emperor mobilizing the Surveillance Bureau—only a grave threat to imperial rule would merit it..."

Watching the black‑clad vigorous warriors stride away, Xing Rong stared for a long time before reacting, then bowed to Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou and said, "Please, go inside."

After guiding Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou through the Blood Food Shop, Xing Rong pulled Fang Xu aside before they left, handed him a deposit certificate for five hundred taels of gold, and said, "Little Brother Fang, you recommended the crown prince to me; this is my thanks, not counted in the profit share."

Fang Xu hesitated, then took the certificate with a smile, saying, "Sister, your kindness—I cannot refuse."

"Money offered at the door—don't turn it down for nothing."

He slipped the certificate into his pocket, agreed with Xing Rong to return on the shop's opening day, then Fang Xu brought Huang Qingzhou back to the Hall of Distant Reach.

Maple Forest Town Government Office.

The Surveillance Bureau's black‑clad warriors had already arrived; seeing Li Xingchao and the others, the disheveled‑looking youth at their forefront bowed and said, "Ling Mu greets the Seventh Prince, the crown prince, and the Grand Diviner."

Seeing the youth who called himself Ling Mu, Li Xingchao frowned. "Has Father Emperor emerged from seclusion?"

Ling Mu glanced around, then gestured to Li Xingchao for a private word.

Li Xingchao led him to the side room, where Ling Mu produced a gold‑and‑black scroll from his sleeve.

Unfurling the scroll revealed a black dragon baring its teeth and claws, its five talons plainly visible.

Seeing the scroll, Li Xingchao's pupils contracted; he hurried to bow, but Ling Mu steadied him, saying, "His Majesty said the Seventh Prince is injured—no need for excessive ceremony."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingchao straightened, his demeanor solemn, and asked, "Father Emperor sent Deputy Envoy Ling—what are his orders?"

Li Mu nodded. "The Imperial Observatory has sensed that Great Yu's national fortune is being gnawed by an unknown force, and has reported this to His Majesty."

"His Majesty seems to have noticed as well, suspecting a link to the ruins of Mount Tilan, and thus ordered me to investigate."

"The national fortune is being devoured by some force?"

Li Xingchao's brows knit tight; instantly he thought of his son Li Xun's ordeal.

Back then, Li Xun had been schemed against by a shaman, fallen into a trap, and Xu Liang had urged me to give him the emperor‑bestowed jade pendant to ward it off.

"Could this be related?"

"But that seems far too fantastical!"

"If the Muruyun State's shaman truly possessed a method to steal Yu State's fortune, then the state that should have fallen would be Yu, not Muruyun."

"No way!"

"This must not be revealed to Ling Mu, let alone Father Emperor!"

"Li Xingchao has only this one son, Li Xun; even Xu Liang can't break the scheme on him, and surely none of the Imperial Observatory's officials can either!"

"Li Xingchao knows his father; should he suspect this concerns Li Xun, for the sake of Yu State he would unhesitatingly sacrifice his son!"

"If Yu State's national fortune loses its protection, Li Xun will almost certainly die; his death would render all my years of scheming meaningless."

"'Any leads from the Imperial Observatory?' Having made up his mind, Li Xingchao asked tentatively."

Ling Mu shook his head. "The prediction only points roughly to this area; the exact cause remains unclear."

"Xu Liang is a member of the Imperial Observatory and one of its five Supervisors; at the time he found nothing wrong, yet the fact that the remaining four could still approximate the direction is already commendable."

"'If you need any assistance, Director Ling, just say the word,' Li Xingchao replied calmly."

Ling Mu bowed slightly, went with Li Xingchao to the courtyard, approached Xu Liang, and said, "Grand Diviner, my mission still requires your help."

Upon hearing this, Xu Liang glanced at Li Xingchao.

Seeing the nod, Xu Liang said, "Old man, feel free to tell Deputy Envoy Ling what I can do."

Ling Mu rose, looked at the black‑clad warriors behind him, and ordered, "Plant the battle flags at once!"

The black‑clad warriors acknowledged, bowed, and dispersed in all directions.

Ling Mu told Xu Liang, "I don't understand feng shui and fortune arts; I can only examine each piece individually. I borrowed this set of battle flags from the Imperial Observatory—please, Grand Diviner, help me deduce their layout quickly to finish the mission."

Seeing the battle flags, Xu Liang's pupils contracted!

"The Imperial Observatory deploying battle flags surely means Yu State's national fortune is troubled; thinking of that, he pondered a moment and also thought of Li Xun."

His gaze flicked to Li Xun beside him, then to Li Xingchao.

Seeing Li Xingchao shake his head slightly, Xu Liang hesitated, then decided not to speak of it.

"He merely looked at Ling Mu and said, 'Old man, I'll do my best.'"

Around Maple Forest Town, the Surveillance Bureau's black‑clad warriors each carried a strange flag and planted them at various points surrounding the town.

The town's martial artists watched the black‑clad warriors' movements, all looking curious.

Feng shui masters are rare enough; under normal circumstances they're hard to find, and feng shui formations are even rarer—many martial artists have no idea what those mighty‑aura imperial warriors are doing.

After returning to the Hall of Distant Reach, Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou never went out again, naturally unaware of the Surveillance Bureau's black‑clad warriors' maneuvers.

Only as nightfall approached, while dining with Fang Xu and the others, Huang Qingzhou suddenly frowned and looked up at the sky.

Fang Xu asked curiously, "Senior Brother Huang, what's wrong?"

Huang Qingzhou murmured, "Maple Forest Town seems to be shrouded in some kind of feng shui formation."

"Just this sort of formation..."

Before he could finish, a faint pillar of light suddenly flared up somewhere in the town.

Although this pillar of light only flashed and vanished, Fang Xu still keenly caught it; that wisp of black light seemed to be issuing from his own courtyard.

Full of doubt, he turned to look at Huang Qingzhou, then hurriedly ran out.

Seeing this, Huang Qingzhou also hurriedly followed.

When the two arrived at Fang Xu's courtyard, the Supervision Bureau's personnel, the Golden Scale Guard, Li Xingchao, and the others had already gathered there.

Ling Mu looked at the tightly locked courtyard gate before him, hesitated not at all, kicked the gate open with one foot, and led the people inside.

"Fang Xu, as the heir apparent I recall correctly, this is your home, right?" Li Xun stepped forward, frowning.

Fang Xu hesitated slightly, then clasped his hands and replied, "Exactly."

As soon as his words fell, two black-clad martial artists from the Supervision Bureau stepped forward, ready to seize him!

"Stop!" Huang Qingzhou flashed his stance, blocking the two, glanced at Li Xingchao, and said, "Fang Xu holds our Ascension Immortal Society's Immortal Sect Travel Permit—is the State of Yu preparing to break the rules?"

Hearing this, Li Xingchao frowned, waved his hand to have the two Supervision Bureau officers retreat, then calmly stepped forward to face Huang Qingzhou and Fang Xu, saying lightly:

"This matter will be clarified shortly; if Fang Xu's guilt is proven, I will personally go to pay respects to Elder Jiang and Steward Xu."

"Fang Xu, little friend Huang, let's go inside and have a look."

Leading Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou, the group arrived at Fang Xu's courtyard, where they saw numerous black-clad martial artists, under Xu Liang's direction, overturning the stone table in the courtyard and digging for something in the ground.

(End of chapter)