Chapter 347: Discussing Yesterday Today

The stone wall was indeed a place that needed to be looked at. Although the other three sides of the hall were not carved, they were chiseled flat. Only the one behind the stone seat was rough, almost in a natural state.

Wudong sheathed his sword, pressed his hand on it, and closed his eyes: "Empty."

"Broken Dragon Stone." Sui Zaihua said, "The same as where we are."

Wudong looked back. This hall had no other exits. The damp cold that was obvious when entering the hall came from the giant stone hanging above that had not yet fallen.

Heavy rocks and deep lakes were indeed cages that most Mystic Gate masters were unable to break open.

This Broken Dragon Hall was designed in two stages. The deep stage had already been used, which was the stone wall in front of them.

"Can it be opened?" Sui Zaihua stood by the corpse and looked over.

Wudong took out a small ring as sharp as a saw and pressed it into the stone wall. A sharp sound that made teeth ache rang out immediately. A moment later, stone chips the size of a zhang fell down one after another. The sound became lower and gradually went into the depths.

"When investigating cases more, one must guard against all kinds of secret calculations."

Wudong let it move forward, turned his head, and Sui Zaihua had already removed the two play faces. Sure enough, they were two faces he had never seen before. He pressed them here and there, and there was no trace of disguise.

The old man spread the two play faces on the ground: "【Sun】 and 【Liu】."

"What do they represent?" Wudong walked over, "I didn't find much useful information about the Huan Si Lou in the case files. I think you might know something?"

"Because it is my inference that seems to be true and false over the years, and it hasn't formed a basis, so it hasn't been recorded yet." Sui Zaihua said softly, "I think the Shaolong Huan Si Lou should be a Three Kingdoms play."

"There are four people in the upper layer, the play master 【Sima】, and below him are 【Sun】, 【Liu】, and 【Cao】, totaling four play faces." Sui Zaihua continued, "Here, they sent two very absolute controls."

"..." Wudong was silent for a moment, "I found in the prefecture city that Qiao Changyue had a secret meeting with the chief manager of Jin Jin Yuzhai, but in the records of the prefecture city, after this secret meeting, the transaction between the Instrument Bureau and Jin Jin Yuzhai did not change at all, and the number of heart amber was all correct."

"So I think," he looked at Sui Zaihua, "what they discussed was the question of who to sell to after Jin Jin Yuzhai took the heart amber."

Sui Zaihua nodded.

"Heart amber business can be called the life-saving pillar of Jin Jin Yuzhai. Qiao Changyue used this to force them to sell the heart amber they obtained to the Huan Si Lou, which is why I came to check Jin Jin Yuzhai's accounts."

"But I always thought it was Jin Jin Yuzhai colluding with the Huan Si Lou half-pushing and half-pulling." Wudong tapped his sword hilt lightly.

Sui Zaihua nodded slightly, understanding what he meant.

Wudong did indeed call Sui Zaihua to form a combination of one bright and one dark, but he didn't really want to use this step. Because Jin Jin Yuzhai being forced, then controlled, to become a puppet of the Huan Si Lou was a too bizarre thing.

Qiao Changyue's position in the Instrument Bureau did indeed control the entry and exit of heart amber, but the Shaolong government office was open, and the Xianren Terrace was only two streets away.

Jin Jin Yuzhai was not an old widow who had nowhere to complain when tied up by two strong men.

If Qiao Changyue's first sentence was to threaten Jin Jin Yuzhai to sell heart amber to the Huan Si Lou, then the chief manager's second sentence would be to threaten him with joy to increase the heart amber quota for Jin Jin Yuzhai every year, otherwise his collusion with the Huan Si Lou would be placed on the Xianren Terrace's case.

So Wudong thought that it was the Huan Si Lou that offered conditions that Hua Wanquan could not refuse, coercion and inducement, so this matter had the possibility of success.

However, Jin Jin Yuzhai was actually completely controlled.

This perhaps represented that at the end of purchasing heart amber, it was not a power in the shadows like the Huan Si Lou, but an equally upright authority.

Jin Jin Yuzhai had no way to turn over from such coercion from both sides. Perhaps it didn't even realize it was doing business with the Huan Si Lou.

So Wudong arrived here now, facing such a situation.

"Their desire to prevent us from approaching the truth seems to be even greater than completing their own plans." Wudong frowned and looked at the two corpses on the ground, "Even if I die, the Xianren Terrace will know the shadow behind it in half a month... Is it necessary to pay such a price?"

"That's how it is." Sui Zaihua said softly, "They are very, very hard at hiding, whether from the trail or the level—in Bowang, I agreed that the upper limit of the Huan Si Lou in the 'stealing souls and swords' matter was 'Tuanshen', because in the whole thing, none of the four play faces were seen."

"However, the first time we met later, it was that play master." Wudong said hoarsely.

"'Play master'... This is exactly what I want to say." Sui Zaihua paused, "The one you encountered might not necessarily be the play master."

Wudong narrowed his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"This is about the name 'Qu Zhu'." Sui Zaihua continued, "I specifically mentioned it to you—acquaintance?"

"I have been dealing with the Huan Si Lou for many years, but the intersection that didn't come from birth was Qu Zhu."

"When I first saw him, he looked very strange to the place he was in, in cloth clothes and inferior saber, with messy hair and straw sandals, coughing under the eaves of the Bowang State Office on a rainy day, like a poor and frustrated guest."

That was twenty-seven years ago in Bowang City. Every time the summer rain was continuous, the entire state office became nervous and busy. The twenty-five-year-old Sui Zaihua was the youngest Sigung in Xiangzhou. When he walked out of the government office with an umbrella, Sui Zaihua saw this young man leaning on the road steps across Yu Chaocai's shoulders.

He walked up and said he could help design a Mystic Array to stabilize the Zhuoyue Lake. The group of officials didn't even give him a cold look. Yu Chaocai stopped and asked a few questions, and ordered his followers to give him some warm clothes and food.

Sui Zaihua had seen this kind of person. They read too many stories of famous scholars, thought highly of themselves, didn't even have the patience to keep their feet on the ground, and only had beautiful dreams of flying into the sky.

The Zhuoyue Lake could not be governed by a Mystic Array at all. He knew it.

No matter whether the Mystic Array could do it or not, at least Bowang couldn't do it.

The lake water that year was still calmed down by Sui Zaihua and the Bowang judge. However, the young man didn't know how he really won the favor of the Inspector, and was able to become a small clerk in the state office.

Sui Zaihua's official career in Xiangzhou was not smooth. His superior was jealous of talent, and Sui Zaihua, who had no attachment, couldn't see the day of success. After helping to consolidate the Zhuoyue Lake for four consecutive years, Yu Chaocai sent a letter to the prefecture office to transfer him to Bowang.

This was a very important care that the young Sui Zaihua received in his official career. Although it was not a kindness of knowing, it was also a feeling of clearing the clouds.

It was just that in this year, the young man who had no roots or foundation back then had already emerged in the officialdom. Sui Zaihua was surprised to find that the kind of falling and sharp edge had been restrained a lot. When they met in the state office, the person actually took the initiative to greet him with a smile, not seeing the arrogance of the time at all.

Because of the difference in positions, Sui Zaihua and him didn't have many intersections. However, as young and promising people in the same officialdom, and both were promoted by Yu Chaocai, they inevitably became familiar with each other, so they maintained a subtle relationship that was neither close nor distant.

"It was during that period that I knew his array and artifact talent was really good." Sui Zaihua said softly, "I also understand some array and artifacts, and this also served as my stepping stone many times in the past years... but it was far from being called 'talent'."

The sharp edge of the young man in the Bowang officialdom was like a sword out of its sheath. Sui Zaihua watched his amazing sharpness, and at the same time watched his amazing clumsiness.

The officialdom of thousands of threads was never so simple. It was a sensitive spider web. Once involved, it was a vortex. Qu Zhu walked straight forward with his sharp blade. Sometimes he achieved achievements that made people dumbfounded, but soon he fell and bled with a broken head in ignorance... Fortunately, this small pond of Bowang was difficult to drown people who were tall enough, and fortunately, Yu Chaocai was an upright Inspector.

So this young man who seemed to know nothing about officialdom was always able to stand up again. He gradually recognized many invisible rules and saw the invisible threads behind people... Sui Zaihua once saw with surprise that for some reason, he stood at the gate of an old judge with gifts. When people opened the door, he showed a beautiful smile, and his waist was slightly bent.

The deepest intersection Sui Zaihua had with him was the summer rain of the second year. The person brought wine again to talk about the matter of governing the lake with a Mystic Array. Sui Zaihua explained to him in great detail why such means could only be used in large cities like the Divine Capital and Taiyuan. With wine and rain at night, the two chatted for a long time.

"Does Brother Wuhai also have no background?"

"Only son of a cold family."

"People like us..." Perhaps a bit drunk, the man leaned on the railing and looked at the messy lake in the rain, "How can we walk to a high place?"

"How high does Brother Qu want to walk?"

"Hahahaha."

"..." Sui Zaihua lowered his head and drank a cup, "Master Yu is already very high."

He smiled: "... Further up..."

"Eight immortals cross the sea."

"Hahahahahaha." Qu Zhu laughed loudly, "Does Brother Sui also want to walk so high?"

"..." Sui Zaihua lowered his head and smiled, "Look at the opportunity."

"I want to walk up." Qu Zhu said softly, looking at the heavy rain falling from the deep, his half-side face under the wet hair was expressionless.

Sui Zaihua knew long after that this was Yu

He was not surprised; the relationship between the man and Yu Zhaocai was indeed as close as uncle and nephew. When he was at his lowest, it was Yu Zhaocai who gave him a path, and in the unfamiliar officialdom, this elder was almost his beacon. And the childless Yu Zhaocai indeed liked this young man; it was said that he often kept him to rest at his home at night, and the two would talk foot-to-foot while listening to the sound of rain.

And in those years, Yu Zhaocai was also one of the most promising figures in the local officialdom.

He was upright in character, tenacious in work, and clear-sighted. Stationed in a remote prefecture, he never eagerly sought advancement, but steadily achieved political achievements here that made the prefecture city look sideways. As early as three years ago, the talk of Magistrate Yu's promotion had already appeared in the compliments during meetings.

Now it had finally arrived.

And it was almost a sudden rise; a single official document: "Promote Bowang Inspector Yu Zhaocai to Junior Minister of the Ministry of Works, concurrently holding the post of Supervisor of the Instrument Bureau, to take office immediately."

This was the third year Sui Zaihua had come to Bowang City, and it was also the seventh year Qu Zhu had come to Bowang City. Yu Zhaocai had long since submitted documents for the two of them, intending to take the two close juniors with him to take office.

One month before departure, Qu Zhu temporarily bid them farewell.

"What is the matter?"

"I am returning to the west for a trip first. Today is my master's death anniversary."

Only then did Sui Zaihua know that he came from a sect.

"In those days, I felt he had some vaguely strange dealings. Once I bumped into him standing with an outsider, discussing matters of 'heading west'." Sui Zaihua paused, turned his head to look, and the sound of cutting on the stone wall stopped. "It's a pity I didn't pay much attention—take a look at this first."

Wu Dong nodded, and the two stood up. The withered palms pressed onto the stone wall, and as the Mystic Qi was released, the orange-petal-shaped stone collapsed, revealing the space inside.

Wu Dong, who stepped in first, raised an eyebrow slightly and walked in without stopping.

Sui Zaihua followed behind, raised his eyes to look, and the hall was empty, with only a withered skeleton lying in the corner, and an unsheathed long sword lying on the ground, without a trace of rust.

——

Mount Kongdong.

Pei Ye opened his eyes and frowned tightly. He raised his hand to rub his forehead, only feeling the throbbing pain of exhaustion biting into his brain.

"You have been using your mind too much these past few days." The black cat pressed on the back of his neck and handed over some coolness. "And you have rested too little. Sleep a while longer; you will be fine when you wake up tomorrow."

". It is not the time." Pei Ye said in a breathy voice, "The period when he returned to the Hushanjian Sect later. the things he experienced are very important. I was just telling you about the Star Sequence."

"Jianglou, Daliang, Shichen, corresponding to the seven mansions of Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, Bi, Zi, and Can of the twenty-eight mansions. In the field division, it covers the west of the earth." The black cat said softly, "And it is called 【The Tomb of Buried Stars】. We said before that the starry sky has been a symbol of the orthodox mandate of heaven since ancient times. I remember you said that Qu Zhoufu once said to wait for the master of the Western Court to come and take all this away."

". Yes." Pei Ye propped himself up and splashed his face hard with cold water. He picked up the jade pendant and aimed it at that pupil again to look inside.

The familiar Hushanjian Realm.

Seven years had passed. At dusk, crows returned to their nests, and that figure walked into this valley from the darkness again.

(End of chapter)