Chapter 1629: Extraordinary Organizations and Supernatural Methods

Dawn had broken. Bai Ziqi woke as if from a dream, raising his arms to stretch languidly.

The attendant immediately stepped forward to clear away the leftover tea. While waiting for the water to boil, he carefully asked Bai Ziqi, "Lord Commissioner, have you realized something?"

Having accompanied Bai Ziqi for a long time, he could tell from the Commissioner's expression that he had gained some insight. Lately, Bai Ziqi had often been lost in thought, sitting for half a day at a time. The attendant had never seen the Lord Commissioner struggle so much with a case. The Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds was truly a cunning opponent. Lord Bai had been tirelessly working for so long, yet still couldn't unmask him.

"Every target the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds eliminated was extremely wicked," Bai Ziqi said slowly. "And after every killing, he left behind a verdict. I think I'm not the only one on the Shanjing Plains trying to understand the purpose of his actions."

What troubled Bai Ziqi most was the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds' motives. What exactly did the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds want to achieve? Bai Ziqi wanted to know, the State of Yao wanted to know, and every faction on the Shanjing Plains wanted to know.

"But ordinary commoners don't have this problem," Bai Ziqi told the attendant. "I've asked several commoners what they believe the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds is trying to do. Do you remember how they answered?"

The Lord Commissioner was testing his memory again! The attendant tried hard to recall: "The old woman from the State of Peng said he was just beating up bad guys for the common people. They couldn't defeat the villains, so the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds helped them. The merchant from the State of Pei you questioned said he wasn't sure either, but after the local tyrants were eliminated by the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds, they could conduct their business normally."

"Is it possible that the answer has been right in front of us all along, but we've been blind to it, while illiterate commoners have hit the nail on the head?"

The attendant thought for a long time but still had no idea. He could only honestly reply, "Sir, I don't understand."

"What if the action itself is the purpose?"

"Huh?" The attendant still didn't understand; it sounded too profound.

"Since we are tracking this person, every word and action of his deserves careful scrutiny. The Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds has repeatedly stated countless times that his actions are for executing justice on behalf of Heaven and punishing evil. What if... what if his actual purpose is precisely that?"

"Huh? This?" The attendant was incredulous. Had he not been facing his master, his next words would have been: "Who would be so unbelievably foolish?"

"Everyone judges others by themselves, always assuming he has ulterior motives. That's why his methods always seem detrimental to others and without benefit to himself. That's why no matter how we speculated, we couldn't understand. But what if the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds' purpose truly is to execute justice on behalf of Heaven and punish evil?" He declared his intentions every single time, and every elimination was a clear declaration of his purpose. Yet the world refused to believe him. So, should we blame him for being deliberately mysterious, or ourselves for being too shallow?

The attendant's eyes widened. "Are there really such people? Is such a thing possible?" If the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds were to fail or be exposed, his fate would be worse than death. What kind of person would defy the world's conventions, daring to disregard life and death, just to uphold such a seemingly trivial phrase as "executing justice on behalf of Heaven"? Let alone in the chaotic Shanjing Plains, even in Beijia or Lingxu City, he had never seen such a thing.

Bai Ziqi turned his head, gazing at the rising sun in the east. He said softly, "There is a belief called a 'Grand Vow.' Do you understand?"

The attendant thought for a long time, then shook his head. He didn't understand. If what Lord Bai said was true, what exactly was the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds aiming for by doing all this? Why eliminate evil for others? Why punish villains for others? What benefit was there for himself?

"Are you wondering what benefit he gets from doing this?" Bai Ziqi said with a hint of emotion. "People in this world are obsessed with gain, believing that all the bustling activity of the world is solely for the pursuit of profit, and none are an exception. That is due to their narrow vision and dull minds. For those with a 'Grand Vow' in this world, if you simply try to understand them through the lens of personal gain, you will never comprehend them."

The attendant couldn't help but ask, "Could such a person truly exist?"

"Why not?" Bai Ziqi replied casually. "A hundred and eighty years ago, the State of Yuan rebelled. Official records of that history describe King Yuan as a madman, claiming he was insane, plunged his nation into chaos, and brought about Yuan's ruin. But I've read the true accounts; he was a person with a 'Grand Vow' in his heart."

"Are you saying he's comparable to King Yuan? Another big problem?"

"When we judge a person, we must observe if their words and actions are consistent," Bai Ziqi asked him. "Since the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds appeared, which of his actions has not aligned with his proclaimed ideals?"

The attendant thought for a long time, then shook his head.

"To practice something once or twice isn't difficult. To do it a dozen or twenty times isn't difficult either. But what about hundreds of times? What if he continues to do so indefinitely?" Bai Ziqi said earnestly. "He will become exactly the person he claims to be, without deviation."

The attendant blurted out, "A reincarnation of the Dragon God?"

"Legend has it that the Dragon God fell for the sake of all living beings in the world. If the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds truly believes himself to be the reincarnation of a true dragon, then his current actions would be entirely reasonable."

The Dragon God's greatness was undeniable even to the Celestial Gods. The Heavenly Palace even dedicated a temple to it, the Dragon God Temple. But this temple was not on the main peak, nor did it have any sculptures. It only housed a spiritual tablet. For centuries, few people had visited it. Most tourists ascending the mountain weren't even aware of its existence.

"You must understand that every action and every thought will have a resonance. A Grand Vow is no different."

The attendant whispered, "If, as you say, the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds simply wants to execute justice on behalf of Heaven, and you've deduced his motive, what's the next step?"

What would Lord Bai do next? The water was boiled. He quickly poured the tea.

"Knowing his purpose makes it easier to predict his actions." Bai Ziqi raised his cup and took a light sip. "The Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds has always claimed he wants to punish evil. So I ask you, what is the greatest 'evil' on the Shanjing Plains? Or rather, in the eyes of the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds, and in the eyes of the entire Shanjing, where does the greatest 'evil' lie?"

Uh... The attendant thought for a long time, then shook his head. He wasn't very familiar with the Shanjing Plains.

Bai Qi stepped over the threshold and entered. He happened to overhear the last sentence and immediately asked without thinking, "The State of Yao?"

The attendant turned his head and retorted: "As we've traveled, haven't the commoners in those regions always had their eyes light up with envy whenever the State of Yao was mentioned, wishing they had been born there to be superior people? How can that be considered 'evil'?" He added, "Besides, even though the State of Yao is a small country, it's not something one person can fight against!"

Bai Qi, however, said, "What do commoners understand?"

Bai Ziqi took another sip of tea. What he wanted to say wasn't the State of Yao, but it wasn't wrong for his subordinates to assume so for now.

"Then it would make sense for him to stir up trouble and create various incidents in the State of Yao."

Bai Qi: "Are you referring to He Xiao?"

Attendant: "Are you referring to Regent Qingyang?"

The two of them spoke in unison, but the names they asked about were different. They exchanged glances, both with strange expressions. Bai Qi said, "Lord Commissioner said the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds has a Grand Vow! Does Regent Qingyang seem like someone who acts on behalf of Heaven?"

The attendant retorted, "Does He Xiao seem like it then? He's just a merchant! In Tianshui City, he's adept at every kind of shady dealing, from business deals to brokering, extorting, and demanding bribes. Do you think such a person would make a Grand Vow?"

"Neither of you is entirely wrong. Even at this point, both of them remain suspects," Bai Ziqi said slowly. "What I spoke of as a 'Grand Vow' is merely a hypothesis. Aside from the Heavenly Palace, I've never encountered such a person anywhere else." If the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds truly had a Grand Vow, he couldn't be Qingyang. But the problem was, Bai Ziqi couldn't confirm the premise of this hypothesis.

"Considering the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds' objective alone, if he intends to overthrow the State of Yao, then Qingyang—" He didn't finish his sentence, but nodded. Hadn't Qingyang and Miaozhantian's conspiracy reached this very stage? He Xiao had said one thing correctly: The Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds was backed by an extraordinary organization, one that surely employed supernatural means. This perfectly matched the description of Qingyang. How many unfathomable supernatural powers did Beijia's oldest former Grand Tutor possess? If the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds was a persona created by Qingyang, what would she want to do after the State of Yao's downfall? Was she even more ambitious?

There was one more thing Bai Ziqi dared not even utter in front of his trusted confidants: Were Qingyang's actions truly at the Emperor's behest? Was the black dragon mark left by the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds truly identical to the black dragon mark from the State of Yuan and Panlong Ancient City back then? After all, that mark only lasted for three days; no one could possibly compare the two! What if, what if the black dragon mark was connected to the Emperor? The Emperor was originally a descendant of the Dragon God. Wouldn't it be natural for him to create the black dragon mark, implying he was a reincarnation of the Dragon God? Furthermore, when Zhongwu led his army to exterminate the fox demons, it coincided precisely with the emergence of the Rakshasa Armor. On the day Xue Zongwu was murdered, Zhongwu was in Zhuo'an, not far away. All these coincidences were clues. The King of Yao had always suspected that the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds and the Black Armored Army were Qingyang's forces, and it wasn't entirely without reason.

"This isn't a government office investigation; we don't need irrefutable evidence. If there's suspicion, we can apprehend him," Bai Ziqi said earnestly. "Once we return to Tianshui City, and the Goddess's plan is set in motion, no matter what happens in Tianshui City, we will seize He Xiao immediately!"

Whether Tianshui City was peaceful or chaotic, good or bad, he didn't care. If the Goddess and Qingyang wanted to stir up immense waves, let them; it had nothing to do with him. For now, his only target for apprehension in Tianshui City was: He Xiao.

None of the attendants asked why they weren't apprehending Qingyang. The answer was obvious: even Lord Bai couldn't easily touch Qingyang. The nearly two-hundred-year-old former Grand Tutor carried unknown mysteries and taboos of Beijia. Therefore, Bai Ziqi would definitely deal with He Xiao first. Once captured, he would be interrogated. Ideally, He Xiao would be the Great Emperor of the Nine Underworlds. If not... Then it would be troublesome. He would not only have to report to the Heavenly Palace but also get past the Demon Emperor. That was a major problem he couldn't get involved with.

The wrinkles on Bai Ziqi's brow didn't smooth out all day. Fortunately, good news kept arriving. The next day, Bai Sixteen's message arrived again. Bai Ziqi had long mastered the art of concealing his emotions, but after reading the note from Bai Sixteen, he couldn't help but pound the table three times and burst into laughter. "Excellent, excellent, excellent!"

What was so excellent? The attendant and others waited for the explanation.

"Bai Sixteen found the Black Armored Army!"