Chapter 674: Chaoge Nine Gates!

Huge copper horns sounded in unison, and Li Li Banfeng's heart trembled.

Li Li Banfeng had seen this kind of musical instrument on TV; the sound was low, majestic, and had a great sense of ritual.

That these copper horns could be blown to make such a big commotion truly shocked Li Li Banfeng.

The copper horns were alive; they could walk, move, and make sounds on their own. From the moment they entered the first gate of Chaoge, these copper horns replaced the welcome committee.

He whispered to Luo Shaojun: "Can these copper horns be fought?"

Luo Shaojun shook her antennae: "They can be fought. Their sound can shatter internal organs."

There were those that could run, and next were those that could fight.

This set of ceremonial equipment made Li Li Banfeng have to tighten his precautions.

This set of ceremonial equipment also confirmed Lan Qiao Yi's strength. Being able to create such a commotion in Chaoge showed that Lan Qiao Yi had a very high status in Great Shang. Inside the gate, factories stood in great numbers; this point was slightly similar to Boundless City.

In Boundless City, most of those responsible for work were Subject-People. Chaoge was different in this regard; Li Li Banfeng didn't see any Subject-People, but saw machines operating on their own.

Residential buildings.

Luo Shaojun lowered her voice and said to Li Li Banfeng: "Those factories are people; they count as commoners!"

Li Li Banfeng suddenly realized. He remembered the Rui Rong Textile Factory; the workshops in the textile factory could operate on their own, and the efficiency was surprisingly high. Passing through the second gate, the number of large factories gradually decreased, and small workshops gradually increased.

There were those making porcelain, those doing embroidery, and those doing carvings.

The small workshops were all operating, but there was no one inside; the ones doing the work were all machines.

A sewing machine was very special; it was sewing clothes while embroidering flowers, and the speed was surprisingly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had sewn more than a dozen pieces of clothing, and the patterns on them were all different.

He stared at the wall for a long time, liking this sewing machine from the bottom of his heart.

"Did you see that? This is different from what the machines in the Outer Continent embroider. These embroideries contain quite a bit of artistic content."

He said with some disdain: "What's the point of looking at this? Can that sewing machine be oiled? Can you handle it if that machine starts running?"

His shadows weren't idle either; either sticking to the walls or the ground, taking advantage of the firelight by the roadside, they observed the situation in the background while shuttling back and forth.

Who were the people working in those alleys? Were they Subject-People from Puluo Continent, or Subject-People native to Great Shang? This point was still...

The city's atmosphere had changed significantly.

Li Li Banfeng felt the buildings were denser. After walking for a while, Li Li Banfeng discovered that these buildings were not only denser, but on both sides, there were teahouses, wine shops, and restaurants. These places obviously didn't entertain ordinary Inner Continent people. Looking at the size of those teahouses, if they didn't transform, it would be difficult to even enter the door.

These places only entertained Great Shang Royal family members, that is, the three-headed people. Although the three-headed people were tall, compared to other Inner Continent people, they were far away, and the overall size of these buildings was closer to Puluo Continent.

The team turned right at the end of the road. Luo Su Lijun said: "That side is the Hanmo Garden. Although it is also a royal garden, this place is a bit lacking. It's not that the environment of Hanmo Garden is bad, it's just that Luo Su Lijun felt the level of Hanmo Garden was a bit lower."

Since he came to the Great Shang Empire as the Crown Prince of Puluo Continent, he should at least be entertained inside the Fifth Gate; he shouldn't have arranged the meeting place at the gate.

Luo Shaojun didn't think so. How good could the Fifth Gate be? How much worse could the Third Gate be?

If both sides fell out, being able to run away was the most important thing. The Third Gate had a short distance and was certainly better to walk than the Fifth Gate.

The garden was built along the lake, a royal garden. By the lake, there were peach forests, apricot forests, bamboo forests, and plum forests. Because special means were used, the four forests were green all year round. The Great Shang Royal family often came to these four forests to recite poetry and paint, making it a place where scholars often came.

They welcomed Li Qi's party at the entrance of Hanmo Garden and invited them to the Apricot Forest. A banquet had already been prepared in the forest.

"The journey was hard. We have been waiting for a long time."

Zhu Jin, Lan Qiao Yi, and Xie Gong, all three faces were full of smiles, bowing to Li Li Banfeng.

Li Li Banfeng returned the bow: "Sorry to have kept you all waiting."

He looked at Xie Gong, feeling a bit dissatisfied with Li Qi.

He said he had been waiting for a long time, but he only replied with "kept you waiting." There wasn't a single extra word of polite greeting.

He didn't care much. In the apricot forest, the apricot blossoms were in full bloom. Although the fragrance was a bit light, it won by being particularly pure, making people feel happy and allowing his tense nerves to relax somewhat.

They sat down as host and guest. On the host's side, the head seats were naturally Lan Qiao Yi, Zhu Jin, and Xie Gong, and the secondary seats were also Royal family members, all heavyweights of the peace-seeking faction. On this side, the head seat was Li Qi, and secondary and tertiary seats were also set up with chairs.

The embarrassment lay in these chairs.

Luo Su Lijun and Luo Luo Shaojun, these two large conch shells, couldn't sit on chairs.

It was obviously intentional. If Luo Su Lijun and Luo Luo Shaojun wanted to sit down, they had to transform. If the two didn't transform and just stayed by Li Qi's side in their conch shell forms, the scene would be very awkward.

Luo Shaojun was still hesitating, but Luo Luo Shaojun didn't think much, directly transforming into human form, placing the conch shell behind her, and sitting on the chair herself.

The three-headed people were still one-headed. The host and guests in this forest were all in human form, and with two conch shells here, it appeared even more awkward.

Luo Shaojun saw this and could only transform. Both sides sat down, and two cameras walked to the front on their own, one taking photos, one recording video, and there was a disc on the side, recording audio synchronously.

He spoke first: "Your Highness has not feared the hardship of the journey, but came for the sake of stopping the war. This sincerity makes Lan Qiao very respectful."

Luo Su Lijun was stunned for a long time by these words.

Wasn't this about discussing the succession of the new monarch? Wasn't this about discussing how to let the Luo family turn things around? How did it become peace talks at his place?

Luo Shaojun also didn't know how to respond; both of them looked at Li Li Banfeng together.

Li Li Banfeng nodded: "It's good not to fight."

He heard this and immediately raised his glass: "Years of war have caused the people of Puluo to suffer repeatedly. Today, having this meeting is truly a blessing for the people of Puluo."

Li Li Banfeng raised his glass and said: "It is also a blessing for the people of Great Shang."

He frowned slightly upon hearing this, dissatisfied with putting Great Shang and Puluo together.

The smile remained unchanged, and he drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

He fed the wine to the wine gourd; even if it were poisonous, the wine gourd would have a way to resolve it. His movements were too fast, and everyone present thought he hadn't drunk it. Lan Qiao Yi, according to the strategy prepared, began to count the benefits of peace, and during the period, he kept emphasizing his stance of seeking peace.

Li Li Banfeng responded calmly, as if he had also come for the sake of peace talks, and what he had prepared seemed to be just as sufficient as Lan Qiao Yi's.

Luo Shaojun kept looking at Li Li Banfeng, unable to figure out what his intention was.

Long didn't pay attention to Luo Su Lijun; he now had many things to do.

His shadows were shuttling on the ground, reporting the situation of the investigation to him from time to time.

The pen was busy in Li Li Banfeng's sleeve; he was recording the content of the conversation on the spot, preparing for the next response.

He was shuttling through the peach forest; he saw quite a few lizards, holding various weapons, and had lined up in formation in the forest.

He returned from the plum forest and met up with the shadows.

"There are also soldiers in the forest; they are bats. If they attack from the sky, we might be at a disadvantage. Only Old Jia can fly."

He said: "If we aren't fighting, why did they come here? For a spring outing? There's a big event here; don't they know?"

He said: "I'll tell Old Jia about the situation first; you guys go further away."

He said: "It's better not to go further away. We'd better keep an eye on them in the forest; I'm afraid they'll strike at any time."

Outside the garden, he walked through several streets, seeing quite a few soldiers ambushed in various alleys.

Whose troops were ambushed?

It was likely Lan Qiao Yi's ambush.

Was it to deal with Old Jia?

Could these troops be prepared for someone else?

He was full of questions, took out the map hand-drawn by Luo Su Lijun, and recorded the positions of the ambush troops one by one.

The number of people was a bit large, and the positions were very scattered. He was worried he wouldn't be able to remember them all, so he looked for his companions everywhere.

In an alley, he saw his companion listening to storytelling in a teahouse.

The storyteller was an old gentleman, about seventy years old, with a sonorous and powerful tone, humorous and witty words, and the audience below was full of laughter and applause.

It was different from the creatures of the Inner Continent. This old gentleman's appearance was the same as a human's, and he didn't know if he had become this way after transforming or if he was originally like this. His companion lay on the ground, listening with great interest.

He lay on the ground, leaned over to his companion's side, and asked in a low voice: "You're in a good mood; what did we come here for?"

He said: "I'm not slacking off; there's something in this teahouse."

"I heard the guests here discussing that this old gentleman has never been here before; today is his first time telling stories in this teahouse."

"Is this matter very important?"

He said again: "On the second floor of the teahouse, quite a few people are ambushed. They are all human-shaped like this old gentleman. This group of people is not simple."

He pondered for a moment and said: "What do you think their background is?"

He said: "I suspect they might be from Puluo Continent, and their status is similar to Chu Shaoqiang's."

It wasn't like that; this group of people couldn't be underestimated.

He whispered: "You keep an eye on this; I'll go around and take a look." He said: "Don't go around; hurry and send a message to Old Jia. This third gate is a dragon's den and tiger's lair. If they really strike, we'll be..." He left the teahouse and went back to Hanmo Garden to send a message to Li Li Banfeng, meeting his companion on the way.

He also discovered quite a few ambush troops and handed the map he drew to his companion: "You tell Old Jia the news together; I'll go take a look at the gate."

"You, be very careful."

Fourth gate, he stuck to the ground and mixed into the city gate with the pedestrians.

It was very different from the bustle of the third gate. The fourth gate was very quiet. Most of them were residences. The courtyards were very gorgeous, but the places weren't...

There were three-headed people coming in and out. The materials and workmanship of their clothes were very exquisite. This should be the residential area for the Royal family.

"His Excellency Jia has an order: the Heavenly Stem Army is to hold firm inside the garden, and the Earthly Branch Army is to scout outside the garden. You came here, but for what reason?"

This was Banfengzi.

"His Excellency Jia? Why don't you call him a pimp? I came here, but what does it have to do with you?"

This was Banfengyi.

He didn't pay attention to these two and glanced at the Fifth Gate.

There were hundreds of guards standing in front of the gate, and quite a few machines were interspersed among the guards. It was indeed not easy to mix in.

Banfengyi was still arguing with Banfengzi. Banfengzi was getting angrier and angrier, his voice trembling: "You brat, you are overstepping your authority!"

Banfengyi snorted: "I can't be bothered to grind my teeth with you. It's about time; I have to enter the city gate!"

He had the heart to argue with Banfengzi here, also because the Fifth Gate was heavily guarded and it was indeed not easy to rush in.

Just as two teams of guards were changing shifts, Banfengyi lay flat on the ground and rushed directly through the Fifth Gate.

He succeeded, but he didn't dare to move. He didn't have Banfengyi's skill.

Banfengyi had high attainments in Traveling Cultivation; when he went out to fight for his life, he could even keep up with Old Jia's speed.

His speed was far behind, so he could only go find Banfengzi to discuss: "Brother Zi, let's think of a way, brother, to see how to get past."

Banfengzi pondered for a moment and said: "The Saint said, a man should rely on his own efforts."

He was stunned. What did this mean?

The meaning was very simple: Banfengzi didn't want to help him.

The two teams of guards hadn't finished the handover yet when Banfengzi stuck to the ground and mixed into the Fifth Gate.

Banfengzi had high attainments in Residential Cultivation and had excellent talent for being ignored. He just took advantage of the chaos and mixed in.

Both of them had entered; what should he do?

Rush in or mix in?

His companion walked out from behind and snorted: "No way, right? Do you think you're any stronger than me? Just stay at the Fourth Gate; maybe you can find something out."

He looked around: "This is just a residential area; what's the use of staying here?"

Banfengzi entered the Fifth Gate; this place was indeed different.

There were many government offices here, and Banfengzi recognized some of them.

"This is the Ministry of Personnel; in front is the Ministry of Rites. Great Shang's dynasty changes quite a bit; the Three Departments and Six Ministries are also used here—"

Banfengyi leaned closer and said to Banfengzi: "You read a lot of books; what is that place called the Wenyuan Pavilion used for?"

Banfengzi looked at Banfengyi: "Why do you always follow me?"

Banfengyi was a bit angry: "What kind of talk is this? Why do you say I'm following you? Did your family open Chaoge? Each walks their own path; isn't it just a coincidence that we met?"

Banfengzi didn't want to pay attention to Banfengyi: "You are reckless in your actions; I have an important task, so don't implicate me."

Banfengyi said impatiently: "Don't worry, I won't delay your work. Just tell me what Wenyuan Pavilion is used for. If you know, say you know; if not, forget it."

Banfengzi looked at Wenyuan Pavilion. Compared to other government offices around, Wenyuan Pavilion was indeed eye-catching, with overlapping eaves and interlocking brackets.

The walls were vermilion, and the doors were carved with dragons and phoenixes, having a palace-like atmosphere.

A team of soldiers walked around Wenyuan Pavilion, including leopards, gray wolves, and jackals, all with agile figures.

Banfengzi pondered for a long time and said: "Wenyuan Pavilion is a place for storing books, but what kind of books are so precious that they require so many people to guard them?"

"What books?" Banfengyi lowered his voice. "I have to go in and see."

Banfengzi said: "What are you going in there to see? You aren't a person who loves reading!"

Banfengyi snorted: "You're the only one who knows how to read. When Old Jia was pointing things out to Zhang Zhang Xiuling, you were so anxious you were jumping up and down; you almost pressed her onto the desk."

Banfengzi said angrily: "How can you slander my innocence!"

Banfengyi carefully observed the layout of Wenyuan Pavilion and said to Banfengzi: "I just saw an old friend of ours walk around Wenyuan Pavilion several times. I estimate there's something good inside."

Banfengzi was stunned: "How old a friend?"

Banfengyi laughed: "This friend has been around for years. I'll go in and see what he's doing."

In a small alley next to Wenyuan Pavilion, He He Haiqin took three palm-sized bags out of his sleeve and shook them.

Clang! A sound rang out.

The three bags became larger; each bag could hold at least a twenty-jin watermelon.

What was inside wasn't a watermelon, but something very important. He He Haiqin had hidden them in his sleeve all the way.

The reason he took them out outside Wenyuan Pavilion was because these three bags would make some noise when they became larger or smaller, and just this little bit of noise could very likely leave He He Haiqin with no way back.

He He Haiqin had suffered a loss at Wenyuan Pavilion before, so he had to be extremely cautious this time.

Carrying the three bags, he crossed the wall and entered Wenyuan Pavilion.

There was a patrol of guards outside Wenyuan Pavilion and a patrol of guards inside. Among the two patrols, no one could discover He He Haiqin's tracks.

This was the Thief Cultivation technique "Climbing Walls and Crossing Houses." From the moment he climbed the wall, He He Haiqin's body merged with the surrounding environment, leaving no traces.

Silent and soundless.

Wenyuan Pavilion had three main pavilions, and there were more than twenty other small and medium-sized pavilions.

The small and medium-sized pavilions stored miscellaneous folk books, while the three main pavilions stored handed-down classics and royal books.

These books had extremely high value, but they weren't He He Haiqin's target.

He He Haiqin's target was the third main pavilion. This pavilion had two floors in total; the first floor stored many forbidden techniques, and the second floor stored many forbidden formations. He He Haiqin didn't want to go to either of these two floors.

What he wanted to go to was an unnameable place between the first and second floors.

The entrance to this unnameable place was behind the third row of bookshelves. Ordinary people couldn't find it. He He Haiqin had come to Wenyuan Pavilion for the first time and had squatted in the pavilion for three whole days before finding the entrance.

But he didn't need to today. He remembered the location of the entrance; the key question was to open the lock at the entrance.

He had opened the lock once before, but because he wasn't cautious enough when stealing the contract, his tracks were exposed.

Wenyuan Pavilion knew something had been lost, so naturally, they had to change the lock. He would definitely have to open the lock again this time.

Although He He Haiqin also had tools for opening locks, they couldn't compare to the bowl of the Green Water Bow. Opening this lock would take some effort.

He was quite lucky today. The lock he encountered had a very special craftsmanship, called the "Nine-Turn Throat Lock," which was a type of lock that was very difficult to open.

But it just so happened that He He Haiqin had specifically learned the mechanism of the Nine-Turn Throat Lock from Xiao Xiao Qianshou, plus the special ring he had, so it took less than ten minutes to open the lock.

After entering the unnameable place, He He Haiqin continued to maintain the "Climbing Walls and Crossing Houses" technique. This technique consumed a lot of energy, but He He Haiqin didn't dare to be the least bit slack, because in the dark dimensional space, there were two three-headed people patrolling between the bookshelves.

In the unnameable place, there were six bookshelves, each filled with contracts of the Local Deities of the New Land.

Before, it was all small jobs; now it was time for a big job.

These bookshelves were full of mechanisms. If he accidentally touched one, he might alert the two guards.

This was the time to test his skills.

He had to be fast, taking the contracts off the bookshelves at the fastest speed while the two guards were elsewhere.

His movements had to be light; he must not touch the mechanisms on the bookshelves. Once the two guards were alerted, they would seal the gate of the unnameable place from the inside, and He He Haiqin wouldn't be able to get out.

This time he had to take away thirty contracts, thirty names; he remembered them very clearly, and he also remembered the arrangement pattern of the contracts in Wenyuan Pavilion very clearly.

Before coming, he had deduced the positions of all the contracts and had specifically set up a similar book pavilion in Green Water City, where he had practiced countless times.

He used the Thief Cultivation technique "Not a Speck of Dust," taking Chu Chu Yaoxian's contract off the bookshelf in the blink of an eye.

This was truly done without a speck of dust; even the dust on the bookshelf remained in its original position, motionless.

This wasn't over yet. A contract was missing, and there was a gap on the bookshelf. He He Haiqin had been discovered before because he ignored this point, almost losing his life.

Now he had learned his lesson. He immediately put the stolen contract into the bag and took out another contract of Chu Chu Yaoxian from the bag, putting it back on the bookshelf.

This contract was forged by him. Although it didn't have the function of a contract, it was indistinguishable from a contract on the outside. The forgery had also undergone aging, and almost no flaws could be seen.

He He Haiqin also remembered the position of the fake contracts in the bag very clearly. With extremely fast techniques, he swapped three contracts in succession, all of which were placed in the first bag.

He tied the bag tightly, carried it on his back, carefully bypassed the patrolling three-headed people, and changed to another bookshelf.

On this bookshelf, He He Haiqin collected five more contracts, and after circling to the back row of bookshelves, he collected two more.

The real contracts were very heavy. The first bag had collected ten contracts and had already reached its limit; any more would burst it.

He He Haiqin tied the bag tightly, first put the first bag aside, then put down the second bag, and swapped two more contracts on this shelf.

The patrolling three-headed people were coming over soon. He He Haiqin prepared to change places when he suddenly saw a shadow on the ground holding the bag and running away from him.

What was the situation?

He He Haiqin was shocked.

A Shadow Cultivator came in to steal his business?

How did that Shadow Cultivator get in?

Was it the "Shape and Shadow Follow" technique?

He had worked so hard to get the contracts; how could He He Haiqin let someone else take them away?

He rushed up, wanting to chase the contracts back, but saw the shadow holding the bag and running toward the guards.

What did this mean?

Did this shadow not want to live?

The shadow's meaning was very clear.

If you chase me again, I'll go call the guards, and we'll both perish here! ===== CHAPTER 675 =====