Chapter 32: Demon God Crosses the Realm

About fourteen hours later, Xiang Yunye finished his mana cultivation just as the last hour ended.

Opening the chat group again, he found new messages had piled up to 99+.

Xiang Yunye was somewhat surprised and, with keen interest, flipped through the messages he had missed, discovering most were related to Su Su Haoming.

Simply put, since Su Su Haoming's return, the Chang'an Black Tea Case had seen leapfrog progress.

First, regarding the missing brides: just as Su Su Wuming had predicted, the bodies of the missing brides were indeed buried in specific locations.

He pointed casually at a spot on the map, and the county yamen dug up a full eight bodies; the constables were filled with admiration, regarding him as a celestial being, and no longer resisted his orders as they had before.

At the same time, Lu Lu Lingfeng's investigation into the Ghost Market was exposed, and many nobles who drank Chang'an Black Tea felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Crown Prince Li Li Longji and the Eldest Princess were locked in a fierce struggle and did not wish to offend these people over this, so they shifted the blame onto Lu Lu Lingfeng, using the death of Yin Vice Minister to convict him of negligence, ordering him to stay at home in confinement for reflection.

Lu Lu Lingfeng felt depressed in his heart but could only stay at home, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

Taking this opportunity, Su Su Wuming visited again to probe Lu Lu Lingfeng regarding the daughter of Vice Minister Pei Jian.

Pei Jian's daughter was named Pei Xijun, a talented woman skilled in painting; she had fallen for General Xiao Bozhao of the Mingwei Guard and was betrothed to him, but not long ago, General Xiao unfortunately died in battle in the Western Regions; when the news reached Jingcheng, Young Lady Pei was heartbroken, spending her days in deep melancholy without a smile, a fact that was no secret in Jingcheng, and Su Wuming had long heard of it.

Yet when he visited the Pei residence, he unexpectedly discovered that the beloved Young Lady Pei had painted was not General Xiao Bozhao of the Mingwei Guard, but Lu Lingfeng, the Zhonglang General of the Jinwu Guard.

Su Su Wuming realized there was a misunderstanding and used a goading tactic to test Lu Lu Lingfeng.

Riding on the momentum of alcohol and anger, Lu Lu Lingfeng finally revealed the whole truth.

It turned out he and Xiao Bozhao were cousins; back when Xiao Bozhao was appointed General of the Mingwei Guard and led troops to fight in the Western Regions, Young Lady Pei, upon hearing this, decided to host a farewell banquet for her fiancé, but at that time Xiao Bozhao was drinking with courtesans and did not wish to leave, so shamelessly asked his cousin Lu Lingfeng to meet her on his behalf.

Lu Lu Lingfeng had already disliked this cousin and originally intended to reveal everything upon meeting, letting Young Lady Pei see his cousin's true face.

But who could have expected that he would fall in love at first sight with Young Lady Pei; unwilling to see her heartbroken, he therefore went along with the mistake and continued the act.

Upon learning the truth, Su Su Wuming had a sudden inspiration and, with a late-night resurrection drama, unveiled the misunderstanding between the two.

Lu Lingfeng finally learned that Young Lady Pei had also fallen for him at first sight, and Young Lady Pei finally understood that the object of her initial affection was not the already deceased Xiao Bozhao, but Lu Lingfeng, the Zhonglang General of the Jinwu Guard.

Let us set aside the romantic thread between the two for now.

In short, after this incident, the relationship between Su Su Wuming and Lu Lu Lingfeng improved.

Coincidentally, Su Su Wuming convinced the Chang'an constables and prepared to lead them to explore the Ghost Market again, but as an official of clean integrity, his salary was meager, making it hard to reward them with heavy gold as he had claimed, so he turned to the wealthy Lu Lu Lingfeng.

Although Lu Lu Lingfeng was currently confined to his residence, he did not truly wish to stand idly by.

Under Su Wuming's instigation, he finally made a decision: since he could not openly mobilize the Jinwu Guard, he would take only three trusted confidants and explore the Ghost Market again together with Su Wuming and the Chang'an constables!

When Xiang Yunye scrolled to the bottom, he happened to catch the live text broadcast of the second exploration of the Ghost Market.

【Su Su Haoming: They're here, they're here, my brothers have arrived!】

【Xiang Yunye: So you're not by Su Su Wuming's side?】

【Fan Xian: Oh?】

【Fan Xian: Old Yun has finally surfaced!】

【Fan Xian: How is your cultivation progress?】

【Xiang Yunye: Still at the first layer of Qi Cultivation, but my mana has increased; I can probably cast four basic spells now.】

【Su Su Haoming: Four?!】

【Su Su Haoming: You've only stayed half a day longer than me, yet such a huge improvement?】

【Lin Yu: Of course; I told you, this place is a Grotto-Heaven of Blessing.】

【Lin Yu: If not for Little Yunzi wasting quite a bit of time on spells, the improvement would have been even greater.】

【Fan Xian:...】

【Fan Xian: What should I do? I'm already starting to regret it.】

【Lin Yu: @Fan Xian, no problem; you are welcome to change your mind anytime!】

【Xiang Yunye: Stop talking about me; what's going on with Old Su?】

【Su Haoming: What else could it be? My cousin is about to explore the Ghost Market for the second time; he brought nineteen constables from Chang'an County and also summoned Lu Lingfeng and three Jinwu Guards, but simply refuses to let me follow.】

【Su Su Haoming: No choice; I can only follow and assist in secret.】

【Xiang Yunye: Were you not discovered?】

【Su Su Haoming: No; I used the spell Wind Film.】

【Xiang Yunye: I see!】

【Fan Xian: What do you mean "I see"?】

【Xiang Yunye: Wind Film is a continuous spell; once cast, it forms a millimeter-thick wind film over the body, which can both weaken and block most physical attacks, and also lighten the body and blur one's form.】

【Su Su Haoming: The Ghost Market is located underground; I arrived early, and with the help of the dim surroundings, hiding was not difficult.】

【Fan Xian:... Is this really a basic spell?】

【Su Su Haoming: Yes, and no.】

【Su Su Haoming: To be precise, this is a growth-type spell; at my current level, it can at most deflect attacks of a certain degree; if the opponent possesses Lu Lu Lingfeng's combat power, breaking through the Wind Film would be no problem.】

【Su Su Haoming: Alright, let's stop talking about this; my cousins are about to come ashore.】

Unlike the previous exploration of the Ghost Market, this time Su Su Wuming had many hands; taking the secret passage entrance would easily lead to an ambush by enemies, so they chose to take the water route, landing in the Ghost Market via an underground river.

Seven or eight small boats carrying Su Su Wuming and twenty-four others silently docked at the shore.

About thirty meters from the shore, Su Su Haoming, enveloped in a blurred Wind Film, hid in the shadows of the cave wall, silently observing every move of his cousins and the others.

According to Lin Dage, the mastermind behind the Chang'an Black Tea Case was none other than Yuan Lai, the Magistrate of Chang'an County.

Under his command, besides Yin Vice Minister, there were numerous death soldiers and assassins, as well as the Youli Four Freaks who had once entered the palace to assassinate the Holy One.

The Youli Four Freaks had an extraordinary origin; they were among the few Youli clan members in the world, each possessing a unique Hardening Secret Technique.

During the Yonglong era, the four joined forces to enter Jingcheng, attempting to assassinate the Emperor; after failing, they fled into Chang'an County and were eventually captured alive under the siege of numerous experts throughout Chang'an, then imprisoned in Chang'an County Prison.

At that time, Yuan Lai was already the Magistrate of Chang'an County; taking advantage of his position, he bewitched the four freaks, turning them into his enforcers.

From Lin Dage's description, the Hardening Mi Fa of these four freaks was indeed extraordinary, truly making them invulnerable to blades and spears.

In the original work, the Four Freaks were already difficult to deal with when they appeared in pairs; if they all showed up together, could he truly protect his cousin under their hands?

Su Su Haoming felt a bit unsure in his heart; after a moment of thought, he decided to add another layer of insurance.

【Su Su Haoming: @Lin Yu, by the way, Lin Dage!】

【Su Su Haoming: After two days of chatting in the water group, I have just saved up a hundred points. Do you... want to come over and take a look?】

(End of this chapter)