Chapter 371: Pushing One

“It couldn’t be Xu Yuan!” Gao Wanli immediately dismissed the suspicion.

Gao Wanli felt she had left no clues for Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan had no way of tracing it back to her, then leaving the city overnight to kill all the malevolent spirits.

Gao Wanli imagined herself in Xu Yuan’s place—she herself would never have figured it out.

Moreover, in this bizarre world, there are countless inexplicable methods, like “algorithms,” that can uncover the culprit even without any clues.

But Gao Wanli had used her Blood Seed to establish “isolation” in advance.

Even a fifth-rank “algorithm” would only trace the result back to the Blood Seed.

It would be extremely difficult to go further and link it to Gao Wanli herself.

Besides, if the crime had occurred today and Xu Yuan had hired someone to calculate it, that would make sense.

Yesterday, I hadn’t even activated it—what reason did Xu Yuan have to calculate it?

Gao Wanli fell silent.

After Xu Yuan’s group inspected Dongzha Village, they moved on to the next village.

Gao Wanli followed without a word.

This time, Xu Yuan did not drive her away again.

They visited all seven villages, and Gao Wanli inspected them more carefully than Xu Yuan.

All her painstaking efforts, her brilliantly crafted conspiracy, had been undone without a trace!

Her restful night’s sleep and the good mood of this morning were now utterly ruined.

Her high hopes had ended in complete disappointment.

This feeling…

It was like spending countless schemes to finally win over a handsome, refined concubine, only for him to spill right before you were about to ride him.

Gao Wanli’s face darkened, as if she could squeeze water from it.

Yet Gao Wanli had noticed certain details and kept quiet.

She realized these seven villages had not been saved by one person.

It must have been two.

One of them cultivated the “Dragon Transformation Method”!

That person only intervened when encountering malevolent spirits related to “dragons.”

There was no doubt this person was using a “baiting” method to cultivate.

And it could be concluded that this person’s “Dragon Transformation Method” was illegitimate.

Otherwise, he would not try so hard to minimize his interventions.

Gao Wanli recalled her other two missions assigned to her upon arriving at Zhan City.

If not for these two missions and the immense rewards promised by her patrons, she would have chosen another city—she could never have secured the position of “Regulating Master” in Zhan City.

Xu Yuan lightly cracked his whip: “Alright, let’s return to the city. Jia Yi, organize the case files after you get back.”

“Yes, sir.”

But Gao Wanli did not leave. She said to Xu Yuan: “Last night’s incident was major—there may be another attack tonight. We must be prepared.”

“Are you planning to stay, Lady Gao?”

“Yes. I’ll station my men in the village overnight. If trouble arises elsewhere, we can respond more swiftly from outside the city.”

Xu Yuan waved dismissively: “Then stay.”

Xu Yuan and his men departed without looking back.

Gao Wanli stared at his retreating back, her hatred fully exposed.

“I must link the Dragon Transformation Method to Xu Yuan!”

“The Fu family are narrow-minded and vengeful.”

“Even without solid proof, if they suspect the Dragon Transformation Method’s loss is tied to Xu Yuan, they’ll kill him to silence him!”

Gao Wanli stayed not to protect these commoners.

She meticulously re-inspected the villages bearing traces of the Dragon Transformation Method.

Her diligence paid off—she finally discovered the unmistakable signs Xu Yuan had left, pointing toward Ghost Witch Mountain.

Gao Wanli felt as if she had found a treasure!

She didn’t know that even without her embellishments, the Fu family would never let Xu Yuan go.

Fu Shuanghui’s death was inextricably tied to Xu Yuan.

The Fu family had not revealed all the information they held to Gao Wanli.

…

When Xu Yuan returned to the office, Miao Yu and Zhu Zhanlei came to invite him for drinks.

They chose the Baiyue Pavilion.

For some reason, Xu Yuan felt a pang of guilt and flat-out refused to go.

The two ended up dragging Shi Bading away instead.

Shi Bading frowned and waved his hands: “No, no, this won’t do…”

But his feet slipped, and they pulled him along effortlessly.

Xu Yuan had dinner with Wang Shen; his stepmother had locked herself in her room—the fourth-rank artisan artifact seemed particularly difficult.

Now, Master Xu didn’t have to wash dishes—his filial descendants from the San Niang Society handled it all.

But today, Miao Yan cautiously asked Master Xu: “Master, in a few days, our San Niang Society’s tavern opens. Would you grace us with your presence?”

He quickly added: “It’s not far from the office—just ahead on the street.”

Xu Yuan nodded: “Alright.”

Miao Yan beamed: “Thank you, Master!”

He turned to leave, but Xu Yuan called him back: “Spread rumors quietly—say the atmosphere in Zhan City has loosened. Let the Pingtian Society open another branch.”

Miao Yan burst out laughing, understanding exactly what the Master intended. He patted his chest: “Rest assured, it’s on me.”

Xu Yuan nodded: “Go.”

After Miao Yan left, Xu Yuan returned to his room to rest.

Using tactics to lure the Fu family would inevitably draw him into the conflict.

Master Xu had prepared for this.

It was unavoidable.

But he didn’t know whether the Fu family’s envoy would be fifth-rank—or even higher, fourth-rank?

…

The next morning, Gao Wanli hurried back to the city.

Those wretched villages—even the best house she requisitioned was unbearable to stay in.

She didn’t want to linger a moment longer.

Of the two subordinates she had taken out, only Master Lu returned today.

Master Jiang had vanished with Gao Wanli’s secret letter.

Three days later, a fast steamship arrived from Zhengzhou, docking at the city’s wharf.

This ship differed from the Huangming-class steamers—its design bore foreign influences.

Its speed was indeed faster than Huangming’s.

It drew a crowd at the wharf.

But no one could approach to observe, for early that morning, Hejian and Gao Wanli had arrived to greet it.

Hejian had ordered the Canal Guild to deploy hundreds of men to maintain order.

All onlookers were kept at least a hundred zhang away.

Moreover, the ship’s occupants displayed immense pomp: when disembarking, two Wu Xiu led dozens of servants who unfurled two long silk curtains on either side; spectators could only glimpse a shadow within.

The figure, concealed by the curtains, stepped directly into a four-man palanquin.

Hejian and Gao Wanli were only granted the privilege of accompanying the palanquin on foot.

The commoners at the wharf had no right to even glance at the occupant.

The palanquin was carried straight into the Canal Office, where Hejian cleared the area; only then did the occupant emerge leisurely.

It was not because of her beauty—but because she was shedding her skin!

Seven or eight tenths of her scales had fallen off; deep longitudinal cracks ran from her forehead down to her neck.

Though her features suggested she was once a peerless beauty, her current appearance was terrifying.

“Please come inside,” Hejian said carefully, bowing low, refusing to look at her.

The woman entered the hall and pointed at Gao Wanli: “Tell me what happened.”

Gao Wanli embellished her report, emphasizing Xu Yuan’s “suspicious” role.

The woman’s eyes glowed a gray-blue, unaffected by Gao Wanli’s words.

She tapped her fingers lightly on the table, thought for a moment, then ordered her personal maid: “Rongrong, take the warrant and ask Master Ruan Tian—what does it mean that He Ghost Witch Mountain harbors someone secretly practicing our Dragon Transformation Method?

For years, the Dragon King has ignored Him—now He dares to push his luck!”

(End of Chapter)