Chapter 139: Astonishing Effect

The evening of the following day.

Still in the private room on the top floor of Jiuhua Tower.

Downstairs, the noise was deafening and the guests were numerous, while upstairs it was quiet and secluded, with no one to disturb them.

In the elegantly decorated, spacious private room, Chen Zhantang and his father, with different expressions, were already waiting at the table.

The person they were waiting for was, naturally, Li Liansheng, who had previously coerced and lured Chen Bolong.

After checking in with Lu Yuan, Chen Zhantang had returned to the Chen family immediately to report the situation. Upon learning that Lu Yuan did not hold a grudge, Chen Bolong felt relieved and immediately notified the men Li Liansheng had left outside Baicaotang, arranging a time for them to meet Chen Zhantang.

It did not take long.

A burst of footsteps came from the stairwell, then the door opened, and Li Liansheng, dressed in casual clothes, along with a trusted aide, walked into the private room under the guidance of a waiter.

Chen Zhantang and his father, Chen Bolong, hurriedly stood up to welcome them:

"Superintendent Li, you have arrived, please take a seat!"

Li Liansheng sat in the main seat, and after waving the waiter away, he immediately cast his gaze toward Chen Zhantang, revealing a faint smile:

"As the saying goes, a tiger father has no dog for a son; Young Master Chen is indeed handsome and a man of great talent."

"Not at all, not at all."

Chen Bolong personally poured wine for him and said with a flattering smile:

"If it weren't for Superintendent Li's timely reminder, my son and I would still be kept in the dark, colluding with the rebels without knowing it. Fortunately, he has now pulled back from the brink and turned over a new leaf. I hope Superintendent Li will provide more guidance."

As he spoke, he signaled with his eyes, and Chen Zhantang, also appearing somewhat fearful, immediately raised his wine glass and said respectfully:

"Commoner Chen Zhantang greets Superintendent Li. When I joined Guangwu Hall, I knew nothing and certainly did not intend to follow rebels. I hope Superintendent Li will forgive me for being young and ignorant."

"Easy to say."

Li Liansheng nodded repeatedly, clearly very satisfied with their attitude:

"But before that, I have some questions for you. You must tell the truth and not hide anything. Do you understand?"

Chen Zhantang said immediately:

"Please ask, Superintendent Li. I will tell you everything I know!"

Li Liansheng narrowed his eyes and said: "On the night Lu Yuan claimed to be poisoned, the Great Governor of the Niangan Office, Mankeduo, led experts to sneak in and investigate. The result is that their life or death is now unknown. Do you know about this?"

o￠o

"The Great Governor of the Niangan Office?"

Chen Zhantang gasped and feigned shock:

"I dare not hide anything from Superintendent Li. After we finished the tasks assigned by Hall Master Lu and returned to the hall, we did indeed find bloodstains and traces all over the ground, but we did not see any corpses. We had doubts at the time, but Hall Master Lu only said that they were enemies who had come to his door, and that he had already dealt with them and disposed of the bodies. He did not tell us their true identities."

Li Liansheng immediately pressed: "They are all dead? How did he dispose of the bodies?"

Chen Zhantang said cautiously: "They should all be dead. As for how he disposed of them, we do not know; we never saw them from beginning to end."

Without much surprise, Li Liansheng's face was as cold as frost:

"All dead."

Although Xici wanted him to find out whether Mankeduolugu was dead or alive, in reality, everyone knew that after so many days without any news, the chances of these two surviving were negligible. Now, it could be considered completely verified.

He looked at Chen Zhantang, his gaze cold:

"This person killed high-ranking imperial officials; he is truly heinous and guilty of terrible crimes. The imperial court is already preparing to exterminate this villain. As a disciple who receives his teachings, you should be quite valued. Do you know the background and origins of this person?"

Chen Zhantang said fearfully:

"This... we are only disciples receiving teachings, not formal disciples. The 'Guangwu Body-Forging Fist' the Hall Master taught us was even created by himself. I truly do not know about his background or origins. I ask Superintendent Li to forgive me."

Li Liansheng was not annoyed, but said indifferently:

"No matter. Since you have turned over a new leaf, I can give you one month to properly inquire and investigate. I hope to know where this person came from, what background or experiences he had before arriving in Jinjin, and even his friends and family.

As long as you can find this out, you and the Chen family will have performed a great service. I can not only take it upon myself to exempt you from all crimes, but I will also speak for you and request a reward from the Old Buddha, asking her to grant you one-third of the medicinal herb offerings from the Imperial Hospital Bureau, allowing your Chen family to leap over the dragon gate from now on. How about that?"

Chen Zhantang was immediately moved and bowed without hesitation, promising:

"Thank you, Superintendent Li! This commoner will definitely do his best to investigate this clearly and use it to atone for my crimes!"

Li Liansheng nodded with satisfaction: "Very well, I will wait."

The serious business was finished at this point.

Next, under the deliberate fawning of the Chen father and son, the banquet could barely be considered a pleasant one for both host and guest. Li Liansheng stayed for nearly half an hour before rising to take his leave, departing with his eunuch aide and the guards outside.

After these people had completely left Jiuhua Tower.

Watching the other party's carriage disappear into the dark night from the window upstairs, Chen Bolong's expression was uncertain:

"Zhantang, will Hall Master Lu blame us for this?"

Chen Zhantang smiled:

"Don't worry, Father. The Hall Master has already said that we should play along with them for now; even if we leak some unimportant information, it doesn't matter."

Chen Bolong still said with some worry:

"Then do you know how Hall Master Lu intends to deal with these people? He isn't planning to go straight to their door and kill them all, is he?"

Chen Zhantang was also unsure:

"Probably not. The Hall Master only said he would handle it properly; how he will handle it, I do not know."

Just as the father and son were discussing in low voices.

Li Liansheng, riding in his carriage, took a small detour through the city district before returning to his temporary residence.

When the carriage stopped, the eunuch aide immediately took out a stool and placed it, respectfully helping him out of the carriage.

Li Liansheng instructed:

"Xiao Guzi, since the life and death of Lord Man and the others have been confirmed, I will return tomorrow to report to the Old Buddha. She cannot be without familiar people to serve her. As for the Chen family, you keep an eye on them. If there is any new situation, report it at any time."

The eunuch aide Xiao Guzi hurriedly promised: "Yes, this servant obeys. I will definitely handle the matters you entrusted to me perfectly!"

Li Liansheng nodded with satisfaction, then returned to his room to wash up under the service of his aide, and then lay down.

As for the other eunuchs and the experts from the Niangan Office, they all resided in other side rooms of the outer courtyard, guarding his safety at all times.

The night grew deep, the residence returned to silence, and Li Liansheng on the bed soon fell asleep.

But not for long.

In a hazy state, a strange, formless power suddenly descended from thin air, causing Li Liansheng to wake up abruptly in his dream.

Yet, strangely, even though he woke up instantly and wanted to open his eyes, his entire body and even his eyelids felt as if they were being suppressed by a giant mountain; not only could his body not move an inch, but he could not even open his eyelids in the slightest!

What is going on?

Ghost pressing on the bed!?

Li Liansheng, who had lived a life of luxury, had never encountered such a bizarre situation. In the pitch-black darkness where he could not open his eyes, he was terrified to the point of despair, wanting to scream but unable to make the slightest sound.

At the same time, he suddenly felt as if a large hand had grabbed his neck in the darkness, lifting him up as if catching a chick.

Then, enveloped by a strange fluctuation, Li Liansheng managed to open a slit in his eyelids, vaguely discovering that his entire body had suddenly sunk into the ground, and then, like a fish in water, he was traveling through the soil at high speed!

Unparalleled terror swept through his body and mind; if not for the fact that he could not open his mouth, he would have already let out a terrified scream.

And just after traveling through the underground for more than ten breaths.

The scene within his slit-open vision changed abruptly; he had been lifted by the neck from underground and appeared in a cold, damp cellar.

Subsequently, the strange power that had suppressed and frozen his entire body receded like a tide. When Li Liansheng opened his eyes again, he saw a slightly familiar figure standing before him, looking him over with a half-smile.

"You, you..."

The moment he managed to see this person clearly, Li Liansheng's soul fled in terror; he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his liver and gallbladder trembling violently, and his entire face and even his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably:

"Lu, Lu Yuan..."

Lu Yuan looked at him as if he were a monkey and laughed:

"What, isn't a eunuch like you trying every possible way to probe into my situation? Today I have come to tell you myself, why aren't you happy?"

Woe is me!

In an instant, knowing that some link must have gone wrong for Lu Yuan to discover his existence, Li Liansheng wailed in his heart, yet his mouth trembled as he spoke for the first time:

"Lu, Lu Yuan, don't act recklessly. I was dispatched to Jinjin by the Old Buddha's golden decree. If you kill me, that is open rebellion and treason; the Old Buddha will certainly not let you go!"

In reality, as the Imperial Household Department Superintendent, enjoying the resource supply of the Jin Dynasty, Li Liansheng also possessed Martial Arts, and not low-level ones at that; he was basically only one step away from reaching the Six Realms Embracing Dan and becoming a Martial Arts Master.

But.

The deaths of Mankeduo and Lugu Ta, combined with the strange methods the other party had just used, left him with only extreme fear and cold dread when facing Lu Yuan directly; he could not muster the slightest thought of resistance.

"Will not let me go?"

Lu Yuan immediately sneered:

"Let me send her a gift first."

As his words fell, a ghostly light suddenly bloomed in his eyes. Under their gaze, the terrified Li Liansheng's mind instantly went blank, and he sat stiffly in place.

At the same time, various memories emerged like a revolving lantern, constantly twisting and shattering, while a voice like a great bell, as if from a heavenly god, resounded in the deepest part of his heart:

"Li Liansheng, your family was destroyed when you were young; your parents, brothers, and sisters all died at the hands of the Jin people. Thus, you have carried deep hatred since childhood, determined to avenge your family..."

"In the fifth year of Xianfeng, to ensure your bloody revenge, you sold yourself into the palace and were castrated to become a eunuch. Then, you spent a full twenty years in the palace, climbing your way up, until you finally reached the side of the Undying Demon Empress Xici."

"The Undying Demon Empress is the pillar of the Jin Dynasty. Once she dies, the vast Jin Dynasty will soon fall apart, thereby destroying the nation of the Jin people, which can avenge your blood feud. For this, you have hidden your fangs and claws, painstakingly preparing for over ten years, hoping that one day you can kill the Demon Empress..."

The mysterious voice contained unparalleled magic. Li Liansheng's eyes were hollow, but his expression struggled and shifted—anger, hatred, killing intent... all sorts of emotions were present.

After about a moment.

The ghostly light in Lu Yuan's eyes suddenly dissipated, signifying that the Nightmare Prayer Technique had been completed.

Li Liansheng remained kneeling in place, his eyes chaotic, as if he were digesting and absorbing something.

Not long after, the color of reason gradually returned to his eyes. He first looked at Lu Yuan blankly, then, as if he had remembered something, he hurriedly stood up and bowed:

"Pavilion Master Lu, how have you considered my proposal?"

Li Liansheng's current demeanor did not look at all like someone who had been forcibly abducted; it looked as if they had agreed to meet here.

Such a situation clearly indicated that the Nightmare Prayer Technique had been a complete success. Lu Yuan smiled:

"No problem, I can give you what you want. I wonder when you plan to use it?"

As if he had long been familiar with Lu Yuan, Li Liansheng's expression was solemn and revealed a murderous intent:

"The sooner the better. The information I have gathered here is enough to deal with that demon woman. I can set off to return to the Capital tomorrow. I expect that in three to five days at most, you will receive the news."

"Good. Superintendent Li, Lu wishes you success!"

Lu Yuan nodded:

? co

"To avoid your subordinates discovering any clues, I will send you back."

Li Liansheng did not say another word and immediately closed his eyes voluntarily: "I will trouble you, Pavilion Master Lu."

Lu Yuan reached out to touch his shoulder, then activated the Earth Travel technique, wrapping the other party in Dharma Power as they sank into the ground and traveled at high speed. In just over ten breaths, they returned to the room from which he had been abducted.

In the dim room, Li Liansheng immediately opened his eyes, while an object suddenly appeared in Lu Yuan's hand, which he handed to the other party:

"Superintendent Li, this item is of vital importance. The journey back will be bumpy, so be sure to keep it safe."

Li Liansheng carefully took it and bowed solemnly:

"Pavilion Master Lu, I fear we shall not meet again after this departure. I thank you for your righteous assistance. If I do not die this time, I will certainly invite you to drink and chat in the future!"

Watching the other party's impassioned expression, even Lu Yuan felt his own eyes look strange, but he said:

"Certainly, certainly. I shall take my leave now."

Subsequently, without another word, his figure sank into the ground again and left this place.

And a few breaths after he left, the sound of a door opening suddenly came from the room next to Li Liansheng's, and then a figure stood outside the room, asking softly:

"Superintendent Li, are you awake? Do you need this servant to attend to you for your nightly needs?"

Hearing the inquiry, it was clearly his trusted eunuch, and Li Liansheng's expression remained as usual:

"I just got up for the night, go back to your sleep!"

"Yes."

The trusted eunuch did not suspect anything and immediately returned to his room to sleep.

Li Liansheng, however, lay back down on the bed, clutching the object Lu Yuan had just given him, his gaze constantly shifting, becoming increasingly cold, firm, and filled with killing intent.

And at this very moment.

Lu Yuan, who had seemingly left but had actually returned to the room using the Invisibility Technique, kept his gaze fixed tightly on Li Liansheng on the bed, thinking to himself:

"Good heavens, the effect of this upgraded Nightmare Prayer Technique is actually this strong!?"

(End of this chapter)