Chapter 369: Seeking Help

"Whimper," Tu Ba Ge whined and collapsed straight onto the ground.

Ke Lai En, with a surprised expression, looked at the Tu Ba Ge that had suddenly appeared before him and collapsed onto the ground, his gaze scanning gravely in a circle; seeing no danger, he took a few steps forward.

Ke Lai En half‑crouched, turned the fallen Tu Ba Ge over, activated his spiritual sight and examined him closely for a moment, confirming it was merely a simple physical discomfort with no injury, and felt a little relieved.

Then he reached out and patted Tu Ba Ge's face, waiting for him to clear up a bit, and asked in Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo's voice:

"Why are you here? Where's A Er?"

Tu Ba Ge lay quietly for a while, regained some spirit, then looked at the nearby Ke Lai En, still disguised as Yi Lian in a gold‑red long dress, and, though a bit weak, said in surprise:

"Hm, why are you still in women's clothing?"

"Is my cross‑dressing more important than your boss?" Ke Lai En said flatly with an expressionless face, then deepened his tone:

"How did you suddenly fall out of the spiritual realm? Where's your boss?"

Tu Ba Ge was startled, sprang up from the ground at once, but the aftereffects of the recent spiritual‑realm traversal hadn't fully faded; his legs went weak and he fell back onto the ground.

"Ouch~," he muttered as he got up again, saying:

"I hadn't even asked where to find the boss yet, and that sallow old man threw me out of the spiritual realm."

While speaking, it pulled the staff that had been pressed by the golden‑covered book, then jabbed the golden cover with the staff and said, "Speak quickly, where must I go to find the boss?"

"This is just a—" The book. Ke Lai En's words were cut off as the golden‑coated cover suddenly split into three fissures, forming a mouth and a pair of eyes, with faint yellow light flowing from the newly formed eyes.

The dazzling golden book seemed to come alive, hovering in mid‑air, instinctively about to begin praising the God of Knowledge.

Bang! Tu Ba Ge, quick‑eyed and swift‑handed, swung the staff he held and slapped the messenger book back onto the ground.

Ke Lai En looked at Tu Ba Ge with puzzlement, not knowing what he was doing.

Tu Ba Ge arrogantly pressed the book messenger down with his staff, denying it any chance to float again, and said sternly, "Answer my question quickly, or I won't let you rise. I'll stuff stones in your mouth so you can't praise the God of Knowledge!"

The messenger's split mouth and eyes twisted; it struggled for a while, finding it could not float, and that the human—gender unknown—had already started picking up stones on the ground.

It finally opened and closed its mouth, emitting a hoarse, sharp voice: "You dark, ugly, fat, spiritually twisted rabbit!"

"You heretics who do not worship the God of Knowledge!"

"Ouch! Stinky rabbit, stop pushing so hard; my cover is pure gold, you can't treat my face so roughly!"

Tu Ba Ge simply plopped his rear onto the book, brandishing his staff and repeatedly striking the messenger's cover.

"Ouch!"

"My eyes! My… mouth!"

"You dark, filthy, depraved rabbit!"

"Whimper"

"Stop. Hitting. Me. I can't speak."

Tu Ba Ge finally stood up from the book messenger, stared at the now‑silent book, and nodded with satisfaction.

Ke Lai En maintained his expressionless demeanor, standing quietly aside, idly fiddling with the stone in his hand; it seemed that whenever the golden book moved, his stone would strike its cover.

The messenger's golden‑coated cover developed many dents and pits, matching its split eyes and mouth, forming a completely twisted face.

It wobbled up from the ground, glaring at the Tu Ba Ge that had just struck it, and said, "Stinky rabbit. *cough cough*~ I can locate him via contract, he's still in this sea area, but moving away."

"His condition seems off; the link we built through the contract is tenuous." As soon as the words finished, it shook the book, dropping a pale‑yellow sheet that drifted straight toward Tu Ba Ge, while the messenger continued, "Alright, with this paper you can track him, and also use it to contact me, I will—"

Boom! Before the sentence finished, Tu Ba Ge flung his staff, struck the messenger down again, kicked his legs hard, leapt into the air, and caught the book messenger.

"Until you find the boss, you must stay here."

"Damned rabbit."

Tu Ba Ge skillfully slapped the messenger's mouth hard with his paw, and the swearing messenger instantly fell silent.

Ke Lai En's mouth twitched; he saw the golden book's split mouth being pressed in by Tu Ba Ge's slap.

I must admit, the cultivator's physical quality is indeed good. In sheer strength, even though I'm now a rank higher than him, I'm still far inferior.

After a brief sigh, Ke Lai En quickly gathered his thoughts and asked:

"Do you have gold coins or crystals that can be used for divination?"

"Hm," Tu Ba Ge looked at his two paws—one holding the staff, the other cradling the book messenger—tilted his head, and said, looking toward the left pocket of his tailcoat:

"There is a gold coin in this pocket."

Ke Lai En stepped two paces forward, reached into Tu Ba Ge's body, and retrieved the gold coin.

Fei Nei Bo Te's Jin Li Suo glanced at the gold coin; he quickly stood, steadied his thoughts, and silently recited the divination phrase in his mind: "A Er is in danger!"

After silently chanting the divination three times, he casually produced the Jin Li Suo; as he reached to catch the gold coin, a howling sea breeze blew, diverting the coin toward a distant forest.

Tu Ba Ge stared blankly as his gold coin traced a parabola in the air, turned to Ke Lai En, and asked puzzled, "How should this be interpreted?"

"Divination failed."

Sometimes, having no result is also a result. Ke Lai En mused internally, looked down at Tu Ba Ge, and said gravely:

"We'll first return to Bai Ya Mu and make some preparations; your boss should be safe for now, at least not life‑threatening. We need to seek help."

This was the conclusion he reached after analysis: the fact that Tu Ba Ge appeared before him holding the messenger‑like book likely indicates the God of Knowledge's arrangement, meaning there is still room for reversal.

Bai Ya Mu, inside a tavern in the dock district.

Ke Lai En, now restored to Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo's attire, sat expressionlessly at the desk, holding a round‑bodied fountain pen, carefully choosing his words as he wrote:

Dear Mr. A Zi Ke:

I am currently still in Bai Ya Mu; a high‑rank conflict just broke out here, involving the Witch Sect, the Storm Church, and a friend of mine, which has placed him in danger.

The matter is rather complex, and I cannot fully describe it in this letter; I hope you will understand.

I have performed some divination; relying on my own ability I cannot successfully rescue him. I think I need your help.

Ke Lai En·Mo Lei Di.

He sighed, folded the letter, then took a finely crafted antique bronze whistle from the inner pocket of his clothes, held it to his lips, puffed his cheeks slightly, blew forcefully, yet no sound emerged.

Only after his breath was spent did Ke Lai En cease the action, placing the bronze whistle back into the inner pocket of his clothing.

His inspiration was suddenly triggered, he turned his head toward the corner beside him, where countless white bones were gushing out like a fountain.

These white bones quickly gathered and formed into a tall white bone messenger with faint flames flickering in its eye sockets; the messenger shrank its tall body into the corner, appearing as if it did not want to see Ke Lai En, nor be seen by him.

(End of chapter)