Chapter 746: Pretext

The Prince of Chun, that is to say Wang Fei, remained puzzled until he returned to his residence.

Although he vaguely felt that the process of going to the Dao Palace this time was strange, he had at least obtained a result from this risky trip out of the residence. When he descended the mountain, a Disciple from the Nine Heavens Dao Palace followed him, specifically assigned by Zhongmeng Zhenren to stand guard at the residence.

Wang Fei did not refuse. Previously, a team of Dao Palace Disciples had helped them block a disaster, and it was originally agreed that they would keep watch, but as the number of cases outside increased, the Chun Wangfu remained calm and peaceful. Those Disciples could not sit still and had to leave in a hurry to rush to other scenes, even telling Wang Fei to wait for a Disciple named Guo Mingfan, though he never arrived.

Regarding this, Wang Fei was naturally unhappy. Although the Dao Palace Disciples judged that the Chun Wangfu was merely a pretext used to cover the true purpose of the thieves and was not the real target, what if? What if the pretext was also a pretext, and it was actually the real target? With this nesting-doll-like line of reasoning, someone was bound to be unlucky; what if it was his family? If his family were wiped out, could the Dao Palace Disciples be held responsible?

Wang Fei always felt uneasy in his heart, so when Shou Wang came to invite him to break into the Dao Palace together, he agreed immediately. Even though he was nervous, that unfathomable murderer was even more dangerous.

Now that the goal had been achieved, the Dao Palace had sent a Disciple down to keep watch at the residence. As long as the thief returned, the Chun Wangfu would surely be able to receive timely rescue from the State Preceptor. This was a good result of settling for the second best.

However, he always felt uneasy in his heart; vaguely, he felt that something had gone wrong somewhere.

Was it... too smooth?

In normal times, even if there were problems, they could be analyzed slowly, but at such a moment, he was already mentally tense. Once he realized something was wrong, the pressure instantly doubled, and he felt somewhat unable to breathe.

He could only find someone to discuss it with.

With whom should he discuss it?

It must be the most reliable person. At this moment, he had a choice that others did not.

Returning to the residence, Wang Fei first asked the Disciple to sit comfortably, arranged for his family, found an excuse to slip away to an empty place, and took out a Mirror.

He did not originally have this Mirror; it had suddenly appeared in his residence two days ago. By rights, it was highly suspicious. But Wang Fei was willing to trust it, even choosing not to discuss it with his family generals at such a critical moment, but rather with the person on the other side of the Mirror.

Who else but him recognized the mark on the Mirror?

"White Jade Shines."

"Brother Tang, are you available?"

The Mirror was blurry and did not flash an image; it seemed there was a poor connection, but the voice came through: "I'm here, what's wrong?"

Wang Fei did not have time for pleasantries and hurriedly said: "Something happened here, and I can't quite figure it out. Can you help me think?" After the other party agreed, he busily told the story of the Dao Palace from beginning to end, saying, "Do you think it's strange? I think it's very bizarre."

"Hmm... where do you think it's bizarre?"

"Where..."

"Or rather, who do you think is bizarre?"

This was a line of thought, allowing Wang Fei's chaotic mind to find a thread. He could put aside the bizarreness of the event and consider the people first. Who was suspicious? "Oh, I think first of all it's Shou Wang, right? He is too bold and too proactive. Although I heard he used to have a decisive and firm character, he has been retired for many years now, hasn't he? It is said he doesn't manage affairs much anymore and is kind to others, but today he was truly very proactive. Moreover, I haven't been here long and don't feel the majesty of the State Preceptor deeply, but even in the Dao Palace, I didn't dare to breathe loudly, yet he kept talking back to the State Preceptor, as if he were certain the State Preceptor wouldn't do anything to him."

The other party said slowly: "What if that is indeed the case? What if he really is certain?"

Wang Fei was somewhat incredulous and said: "How is that possible? That is the Dao Palace! Could it be... could it be that there is some rule he knows that protects him? I have heard that the State Preceptor is sometimes unreasonable, and sometimes excessively reasonable."

The other side said: "It is also possible that what protects him is not a rule. Let's not talk about that for now; do you think his purpose in taking such a risk was achieved?"

This still did not provide a direct analysis, but it clearly inspired Wang Fei's train of thought.

Wang Fei recalled the state of Shou Wang when they returned and said with wide eyes: "It was achieved. When he returned, although he was suppressing himself, he was still very excited, very agitated. That's right, he must have wanted the Dao Palace to send someone to protect him. Moving the whole family to the Dao Palace was just a feint; what he really wanted was for a Dao Palace Disciple to follow him."

This time, without waiting for the other side to ask, he followed the train of thought himself and said: "Why? If it was for safety, wouldn't it be safer to move to the Dao Palace together? Just having a mere Dao Palace Disciple follow, even if he can summon the power of the State Preceptor, after all, human strength has its limits, and there are times when it is not timely. I cannot be entirely at ease, let alone him. It is said he treasures his life; if it is not one hundred percent safe, why is he still so excited?"

"Perhaps it is not for safety; he has other schemes. For example..."

After "for example," Wang Fei hit a wall.

The other party continued for him: "If it is not for defense, then is it for offense?"

Wang Fei immediately understood and said: "That's right, there is an active demand! He shouldn't be plotting against us; we are all hanging by a thread... wait, could it be the Dao Palace?!"

Speaking of the Dao Palace, he could not help but cover his own mouth.

Actually, this point was easy to think of, because by using the method of Exclusion, one could rule out the impossible, and whatever remained, no matter how incredible, was the truth.

But this was too incredible, wasn't it? Wang Fei had never thought that a plot could be connected to the Dao Palace.

However...

Once connected, it was as if he had cleared his mind, and everything suddenly made sense.

"What he wanted was... to have all the Disciples transferred out? Yes, originally most of the Dao Palace's Disciples had been sent out, and manpower was already stretched thin. If they had to send a Disciple to every Wangfu and imperial relative, wouldn't there be no one left?"

"Generally speaking, the guards of the Dao Palace do not rely on Disciples, so when they leave, they don't feel uneasy; they think, there is still the State Preceptor. But what if the State Preceptor also leaves?"

"If at this time, a family that had an assigned Disciple were attacked, that Disciple would certainly summon the State Preceptor. And since the State Preceptor has promised to take action, he would certainly go. Even if the action is very brief, the back-and-forth still takes time. This moment is when the Dao Palace is at its emptiest."

"If one were to lie in ambush at the foot of the mountain, taking advantage of this opportunity, one could do something, for example... enter the Dao Palace to steal some kind of treasure!"

"What kind of treasure it is, that cannot be guessed. If one must guess, it would be a treasure related to longevity. The State Preceptor should have one, right? For example, that... Auspicious Omen?"

Wang Fei thought of this and suddenly shivered, saying: "That's right, it's very possible. Such an Auspicious Omen treasure either does not appear in the world, or if it does, it should be in the most secure place. Isn't the Dao Palace such a place?"

"It has always been said that the Auspicious Omen is in the Northeast. Many people guessed it was in the Northeast of Shenzhou, heading toward Yunzhou, but is the Northeast not that far? Isn't Zijin Mountain also in the Northeast of Jingcheng? It's just that ordinary people don't dare to think about it. Perhaps it was always talking about Zijin Mountain! That old thing Shou Wang has gone mad; for the sake of longevity, he actually dares to break ground on the State Preceptor's head!"

He muttered, gritting his teeth: "To achieve this strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain, one must have full control over the affairs in Jingcheng. That is to say... is the mastermind behind these cases Shou Wang? The bastard! Actually harming his own kin for his own benefit, killing so many people! They are all surnamed Yuan! A beast of an old thief!"

He cursed loudly, and after cursing for a while, he said: "Brother Tang, is my analysis correct?"

The voice of Tang Zhao from the other side drifted over leisurely: "I cannot judge right or wrong, but my analysis is about the same as yours. There is only one point, and that is the motive. You suspect he is plotting something in the Dao Palace, but perhaps you could think more boldly?"

Wang Fei swallowed his saliva and said: "We are already plotting against the Dao Palace, how much bolder can we get?"

"Could it not be..."

Before the words were finished, Wang Fei was suddenly stunned. He felt his hair stand on end, his Spirit preceding his thoughts. Snowflakes rose from the soles of his feet, and in an instant, snow began to cover him from the feet up. The snow pile rose higher and higher, burying him entirely. In an instant, only a round-headed, simple-looking snowman remained on the spot.

Swish—

A Sword Light slashed down from above, slicing the snowman's head off!

The moment the head hit the ground, it turned into snow powder and dissipated. At the same time, Wang Fei burst out from the snowman's body, fleeing in a sorry state.

According to the volume of the snowman, this blow would certainly have sliced off the head of the person hiding inside, but this Sword Art of Wang Fei's was used to save his life; as long as the snow had not melted away, the person would not die.

He emerged from the snow, his face as pale as paper, clearly having suffered heavy injuries. But at this moment, he could not care about anything else. Supported by a huge desire to survive, he ran forward, shouting: "Help! State Preceptor, help!"

Wang Fei felt both angry and hateful in his heart—he already knew these murder cases were to lure the State Preceptor out, so in the end, there would certainly be one more case as the final bait. But he never expected that it would be him!

Damn it... why is it me again?

Last time they used me as a pretext to lure people, this time they are using me as a pretext again. Do I look like a restaurant? Hanging a pretext every day!

Wang Fei hated the old thief Shou Wang to death. He ran forward all the way, shouting "Help!" He sensed a cold light chasing him from behind, like a maggot on a tarsal bone, about to make his neck part ways with his head!

"How bold—"

A streak of Thunder Light descended from the sky; Wang Fei only felt a flash of light behind him, and a scorched smell wafted over.

He rolled on the ground, rolling out a few steps, and happened to roll behind the arriving Dao Palace Disciple, only then scrambling up in a hurry.

He saw that the thing pursuing and trying to kill him from behind was a tall humanoid figure; calling it humanoid, its face was blurred, the features could not be seen clearly, and it was hard to say if it was human. The humanoid's hands were long like sword blades, just as if a mantis had mounted swords on its hands.

This is...

A Heavenly Demon?!

Just as this thought flashed through Wang Fei's mind, he suddenly felt a wave of trembling.

Before he was attacked just now, there had also been a momentary premonition, but that was only danger, and he had reacted in time. But this time, the trembling arose from the bottom of his heart; it was a shock coming from the depths of his Soul, and he could not move even a single finger.

Nothing but to stand still and let it be dealt with!

The State Preceptor has descended!