Chapter 232: 225 Luck

Xun City Garrison Commander's Office.

The headquarters of the Land Inspection Division in Xun City was empty and quiet; an old man with white hair and beard was sitting on his seat with his eyes closed, his breathing so heavy it sounded as if he had fallen asleep.

"Town Guardian!" someone shouted loudly.

The old man lifted one eyelid, saw his vigorous Deputy Envoy, and felt only a headache, saying, "Deputy Envoy, what is it again?"

Deputy Envoy Mai could not hide her excitement and said, "I know the specific location where the Demon Cave will descend."

The old man's eyes lit up, and he straightened his body, saying, "Oh? Have the two Doctors calculated it?"

Mai Shiyu curled her lips and said, "By the time those two idiots calculate it, the Demon Cave will have already caused a great disaster. I found out from somewhere else."

The Town Guardian's eyelids drooped, and he said, "Cease your wild talk. Besides Qingtian Temple, who else could know the location of the Demon Cave?"

Deputy Envoy Mai said, "Locations are all calculated; besides them, is there no one else who knows the Heavenly Derivation Moon-Viewing Technique? Today, outside, a mysterious person gave me a note telling me the location of the Demon Cave."

The Town Guardian said, "You believe it just because of a random note?"

Deputy Envoy Mai said, "Why wouldn't I believe it? It has the Derivation Number Moon Disk calculation on it. This is the Heavenly Derivation Technique mastered by Qingtian Temple; I may not have eaten pork, but haven't I seen a pig run?"

The Town Guardian said, "Bring it here for me to see."

Mai Shiyu handed over a note. The Town Guardian lowered his head to look, and sure enough, besides a place name, there was a dense table of derivation numbers. It looked roughly correct, but suddenly he lowered his eyes, squeezed his hand, and then released it; the note turned into fly ash.

Mai Shiyu's expression changed, and she blurted out, "Town Guardian—what are you doing! Why did you destroy the note?!"

The Town Guardian glared at her, fierce light gleaming in his slanted triangular eyes, and said, "Privately learning the Heavenly Derivation Technique is a crime punishable by the destruction of one's family and clan, do you know that?"

Mai Shiyu's momentum dropped. Back then in Tang Zhao's courtyard, Jiang Shenyi had said the same thing. As an official, she naturally knew this early on and had even lectured Tang Zhao because of it. However, now that the Town Guardian said it so solemnly, the meaning was different. She could only say, "I know. It is in the Dajin Law. Therefore, I will not tell anyone outside that someone is learning the Heavenly Derivation Technique. Let's find other excuses; we won't talk about it, we will just do it."

Speaking of this, she smiled and said, "Aren't the crimes of the Imperial Court just like that? If you shout them out, everything is a great crime; for example, raising sword slaves is also a capital offense. And now? Just muddle through it."

The Town Guardian said sternly, "How can sword slaves be mentioned in the same breath as the Heavenly Derivation Technique?! No one manages sword slaves, but the Heavenly Derivation Technique is managed! Do you think this rule was set by the Imperial Court? It was set by the State Preceptor! The State Preceptor is still here! Do you think that with the protection of the Marquis's wings, you can do whatever you want? If the State Preceptor takes action, the Heavenly Thunder will shake in rage, and even the Marquis cannot contend with it. You still dare to keep evidence of such a great treason; are you trying to stir up a major case in Xun City?"

Deputy Envoy Mai's breathing was heavy, clearly very agitated, but she finally suppressed it and said, "I understand. Let's pretend this note never existed. But since I know the place, I definitely have to investigate..."

The Town Guardian asked urgently, "You have already investigated?"

Deputy Envoy Mai said, "I took a detour to confirm it, but I didn't look closely."

The Town Guardian shook his head and said, "Impulsive! Why didn't you come to tell me first? Your behavior is abnormal; if it falls into the eyes of the two Doctors, won't it arouse suspicion? They have long been dissatisfied with you. Before, you had reason on your side, so they couldn't do anything to you, but now that you have handed them a handle, are you complaining that there isn't enough trouble?"

Deputy Envoy Mai said, "If I reported it to you, would you send someone to investigate?"

The Town Guardian said flatly, "How could I do such an absurd thing?"

Deputy Envoy Mai suddenly sneered, "Then can I still manage you all? At most five days, at least three, the Demon Cave will descend! The Empty-Type Demon Cave descends silently, yet it can stir up a Space Storm; who knows how many commoners will be harmed! Do you know where this place is? It's in the southern part of Xun City, the residential area! The people living there are all commoners, row upon row, all thatched huts, very fragile. If it's triggered even slightly, how many families will be broken and destroyed! I trusted our Land Inspection Division's Town Guardian, which is why I came to report to you. As for those two straw-bag Doctors, let them think whatever they want! After nearly a month of failed calculations, are they still in the right?"

The Town Guardian shook his head and said, "Young person, you are truly impulsive. You won't turn back until you hit the southern wall. Is the wall of Qingtian Temple something you can hit? If you hit it alone, so be it, but are our hundreds of brothers in the Land Inspection Division to be implicated with you?"

"Are we just to let thousands of innocent commoners lose their lives?"

"People die, no one wants that..."

"Town Guardian!" Deputy Envoy Mai's voice turned sharp, "Don't mention any Heavenly Derivation Technique, I know to keep quiet about it, but please first arrange for the commoners there to take refuge!"

The Town Guardian touched his forehead and said, "Under what pretext?"

Deputy Envoy Mai gritted her teeth and said, "Just say I had a dream revelation, and someone told me in my dream..."

The Town Guardian sighed and said, "Deputy Envoy, don't truly take the people of Qingtian Temple for fools. Their admission is harder than that of an Imperial Academy student."

Deputy Envoy Mai said, "They are just some arrogant fellows who are lazy and ignorant of the five grains. Perhaps they have some skill in studying, but they don't understand human affairs at all."

The Town Guardian said, "In short, don't do stupid things. And don't underestimate others. If you really insist on evacuating the commoners, just make up a name and evacuate them slowly. How can you not find an excuse for the commoners of a few streets? You could even throw them all into jail. By the way, you are not allowed to use the brothers of the Land Inspection Division, so as not to implicate them if you are exposed."

Deputy Envoy Mai stood up and said, "Fine. Then send people to lie in ambush..."

The Town Guardian waved his hand and said, "What's the rush to ambush? The Empty-Type Demon Cave's first wave of the storm is the most powerful at most; the later harm is not great. It's fine to deal with it after it descends. As long as the people are fine, a few thatched huts destroyed is just destroyed; they can be rebuilt. The important thing is not to invite disaster!"

Deputy Envoy Mai turned and left. When she reached the threshold, she suddenly looked back and said, "Town Guardian, you really have no sense of responsibility; you are far worse than the Town Guardian I followed before."

The Town Guardian was not angry; he stroked his white beard and said, "I believe it. He must be younger than me. When he reaches my age, he will be just like me, preferring to avoid trouble rather than seek it. Life has no second youth; Deputy Envoy, take care of yourself."

Deputy Envoy Mai left in a huff. The Town Guardian sat in his seat, his expression darkened, and he muttered to himself, "It's already come to this, why look for more trouble?"

"So we really have nothing to do, only to wait for a summons?"

After staying in the small courtyard for an afternoon, seeing the sky turn to dusk, Jiang Shenyi asked Tang Zhao.

"What else can we say?"

Tang Zhao sat in the small courtyard, also looking up at the sky.

"Should we do something? I see the Land Inspection Division here has no more means; is it time for you to take action?"

"You really think highly of me; how could it be my turn to intervene? If the entrance to the Demon Cave truly cannot be calculated, there is no way to think of anything. I found a lot of information about Empty-Type Demon Caves in Jianzhou. It is said that besides pulling on the surrounding space when it is born, forming a silent Space Storm that tears everything involved into powder, they all return to calm in the later stages. Nothing can be seen from the outside, and there is even very little Yin Qi." It is said that some Empty-Type Demon Caves descended quietly in the wilderness, and no one even knew. It wasn't until later that Phantoms frequently appeared and Fierce Beasts ran rampant that it was investigated, and it turned out the Demon Cave had already existed for many years.

"Fortunately, because Empty-Type Demon Caves are discovered, their existence is less harmful than other Demon Caves. The Heavenly Demons of other Demon Caves all want to come out to harm people, seize resources, and expand the Demon Cave; they must be eliminated as soon as possible, without delay. As for the Empty-Type Demon Cave, not to mention that some Demon Caves have no Heavenly Demons, even if they do, the Heavenly Demons don't want to come out; they just stay in the Demon Cave for years, content to be local emperors. If it weren't for the constant leakage of Yin Qi causing beasts to become fierce and frequently breeding Phantoms, it could be dealt with slowly."

"According to the conjectures in books, other Demon Caves are where Heavenly Demons actively descend, but only the Empty-Type Demon Cave might be an accident. The space outside the domain and our world accidentally created an interface, causing the Empty-Type Demon Cave. Perhaps when the Demon Cave descended, the Heavenly Demons inside didn't even know they had changed worlds."

Jiang Shenyi said, "According to what you say, these Heavenly Demons are actually a bit innocent?"

Tang Zhao said, "Innocent in cause, not innocent in result. The Space Fluctuation when an Empty-Type Heavenly Demon descends might make them carry blood debts from the very beginning, doing evil even earlier than other Heavenly Demons."

Jiang Shenyi nodded and said, "I heard that the Empty-Type Demon Cave can be dragged away?"

Tang Zhao said, "There are such records. I originally only intended to cooperate with the Land Inspection Division to seal the entrance, but later when I checked the data, I saw that some large sects' own Dong Tian Fu Di were transformed from Empty-Type Demon Caves, so I had some thoughts. If I could move the space to our sect, I could use the resources within, turning harm into treasure, with endless benefits. I just wanted to try it."

Jiang Shenyi was moved and said, "You have this ability?"

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Actually, I'm not very confident. I know that sealing the entrance is the first priority; migration is just the icing on the cake. The One Hundred and Eight Springs provided me with a good method. I researched more data and had an idea. I will only try once; if it succeeds, it succeeds, and if it doesn't, I will still use the Rune Formula to seal it. I cannot take risks in a city where commoners live."

Jiang Shenyi said, "To think this way, you are worthy of yourself. But the first thing now is to confirm the location of the Demon Cave. Those two idiots at Qingtian Temple cannot be relied upon; if only some mysterious expert from outside the world would suddenly help."

"How could there be such a coincidence? Most of the experts in this world have gone to be Sword Guests; the Heavenly Derivation Technique is neither edible nor drinkable, so few experts study this, right?"

Jiang Shenyi also felt this was wishful thinking and said, "How about we go out and walk around ourselves? What if we can find some clues?"

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "The hope is slim; it's just taking a chance. Mai Jie and the others aren't blind either."

Without the Heavenly Derivation Technique, he could only think of wearing Glasses and strolling on the street to see if he could get any hints. It was just taking a chance. If Yun Xiyan were here, maybe the hope would be greater.

Jiang Shenyi said, "Taking a chance?" He lifted a red string tied around his neck, on which a Lucky Bag was tied, "Third Senior Sister's Lucky Bag is very effective; we turned danger into safety when we went to Jianzhou. Maybe if we walk around, we'll just happen to run into it?"

This actually reminded Tang Zhao, and Tang Zhao said, "That's right, one can also use Superposition on luck!"