Chapter 511: Finding Trouble

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Jiao Yu leaned by the window, looking out. "Those two tailing us in the opposite attic don't even bother to hide," she commented. "They haven't moved an inch for a long time."

"It's not just the two of them doing this job, so it doesn't matter if they do it well or badly."

The opponents tried every possible way to place listening magical abilities or small devices in his room, but Helian Chuan held a magic mirror, which he used to detect and clear them every time.

Then he went downstairs, whistling as he walked to the "Perfume Emporium," which was actually a public bathhouse, several dozen yards away. He bathed for an hour, then returned completely relaxed to sleep.

As for the Xiayu Pavilion on the east bank of Luan Lake, he thought, 'To hell with that.' Did Mai Xuewen really think he could make him jump through hoops with just a note? He thought too highly of himself.

If they wanted to cooperate, they needed to show sincerity.

As soon as darkness fell and his eyes closed, another night passed.

Recently, the Coiling Dragon Dream realm had also been peaceful. Helian Chuan practiced his skills daily without interruption, and whenever he had free time, he would go to the Martial Arts Hall to compete in duels. He had almost returned to his initial state of obsessive cultivation, forgetting sleep and food.

After his battle with the Fan brothers, he had many insights that needed to be consolidated.

Experiencing life and death situations was the most beneficial for improving cultivation and state of mind, but it was also incredibly life-consuming.

That evening, at the Cen Residence.

Cheng Yu was still lying in his room, eyes closed, sound asleep.

He had been asleep for over ten hours with no sign of waking, but his complexion had slightly improved; it was no longer as pale as gold leaf.

It was clear that the restorative power of sleep should not be underestimated.

The guards watching over him had already rotated shifts several times. One of them now sat by the bed, yawning, occasionally glancing at the transparent conch shell on the table.

Uncle Wu had instructed that when the red lantern at the door of the small wooden house inside it went out, they were to open the conch shell's stopper.

The light had been on constantly; this person was certainly a heavy sleeper.

While he watched the man sleep soundly, he himself had to endure sitting there. The guard was silently grumbling when he heard the delicate jingle of bells outside.

*Jingle, jingle, jingle.*

He'd heard that this was a warning of an approaching sinister entity.

The guard jolted, stood at the door, and saw the bells on the west side of the rope-bell formation in the courtyard begin to jingle.

Next, that thing would be entering the room, wouldn't it?

But before he could retreat, the bells on the north side of the rope-bell formation suddenly chimed. Then, those outside the courtyard rang.

After that, the courtyard fell silent again. Had the entity left?

The guard looked back at the inner room. The bells inside the room had never rung.

What did this mean? The sinister entity hadn't entered the room; it had turned north midway? What was to the north?

He didn't dare delay and ordered someone to inform Uncle Wu.

After giving the instructions, he watched his companion's figure heading north and scratched his head:

North?

Quite a few people lived to the north, and it seemed Uncle Wu lived there too.

This incident also alarmed Cen Boqing. The next day, he ordered many exorcism artifacts to be brought in to protect the residence.

It was unclear if these artifacts were effective, but the sinister entity stopped coming.

The next day, it was still raining.

The sound of rain on the lotus leaves was very conducive to sleep, so Helian Chuan slept for an extra hour before getting up. He put on his straw hat and went to eat the locally famous sesame seed beef pancake, accompanied by two bowls of kway teow soup.

Afterwards, he took Fierce Tiger to Xiaolingshan, a local scenic spot where the "Lingshan Woven Rain" spectacle was very famous.

Jiao Yu observed his demeanor with a cold eye; he didn't look like he was investigating a case, nor did he seem like someone whose life was constantly being targeted. Instead, he appeared to be on a publicly funded vacation.

As it grew darker, she couldn't help but remind the carefree Special Envoy, "You still remember that we don't have direct evidence to convict Cen Boqing, right?" Helian Chuan shrugged.

"The Cen Residence has been searching for Fu Songhua, and it's only a matter of time before he's found. With the Fan brothers present, it'll be difficult for us to interfere, right?"

Helian Chuan, with a malt candy in his mouth, nodded repeatedly. "Right."

Last time, he relied purely on force to snatch Fu Songhua. Now, with the Fan brothers in charge, the advantage was no longer his. If Helian Chuan were to make a move again, it would give Fan Sheng an opportunity to unleash all his killer moves. That fellow's hammer really hurt when it hit people.

County Magistrate Tian had just sent a report that Fan Sheng had forty to fifty subordinates who had just arrived in Baisha Jue.

This clearly indicated they were recently summoned. It seemed Fan Sheng wasn't on official duty, otherwise, why would only the Fan brothers have ambushed Helian Chuan in the inn last time?

According to Beijia law, military generals not on official duty or active service were not permitted to lead troops; they could at most have personal guards numbering fewer than eight.

"Then why are you still so carefree?" Fierce Tiger glared at him.

This was a genuine tiger's stare; most people would have their legs turn to jelly, but Helian Chuan, having seen it for so long, remained unfazed.

"Do you already have a plan, fully formed in your mind?"

"What bamboo?" Helian Chuan asked, a blank look on his face. "What plan?"

"Hey..." Playing dumb like this was a bit much.

However, a flurry of heavy footsteps sounded outside, followed by a knock on the door, interrupting Fierce Tiger's questioning.

The two exchanged a glance. The footsteps were heavy, unlike those of cultivators.

"Who is it?"

Someone replied, "We're bringing your bathwater."

It was the voice of a shop assistant, whom Helian Chuan had recognized after hearing him for days. Yet, at this moment, his tone seemed odd. "When did I ask for bathwater?"

"Just now, sir. Have you forgotten?"

Helian Chuan felt a slight chill. With a flick of his hand, a gust of wind swept past, and the door opened. Outside stood three assistants carrying a large wooden tub.

Helian Chuan stepped aside, and they carried the tub into the guest room, set it down, and then continuously poured hot water into it. He watched from the side.

Since arriving in Baisha Jue, to avoid any plots, he had always used the public bathhouse and had never ordered a large wooden tub for his room. So what was this charade?

The others took their tips and left, but the last one closed the door and turned to face Helian Chuan.

The assistant's gaze was fixed and direct, devoid of its usual liveliness and his typical smiling expression. He walked in and spoke in an indifferent tone:

"Special Envoy to the Crown Prince?"

Fierce Tiger immediately stood up.

Helian Chuan waved a hand at it, then looked at the assistant, thought for two breaths, and asked, "Are you Mai Xuewen?"

*This fellow is Mai Xuewen, who has been lurking in the shadows all this time?* Jiao Yu was startled, then looked closely at his eyes and felt something was wrong: "Did you turn the shop assistant into a puppet?"

"I'm merely using him as a mouthpiece," the assistant said flatly. "Don't bother looking for me; I'm far away."

Helian Chuan had used his Eyeball Spider to observe Zhongsun Mou's interrogation and knew that Mr. Mai had previously planted eye mites in the eyes of the gatekeeper of Frost Dew Town to monitor his opponents.

The vast world was full of wonders, and surveillance methods were, of course, diverse. He was likely using a similar trick now, just with an added mind-controlling ability.

"You're hiding your true form; how do I know you're the real Mai Xuewen?"

The assistant immediately replied, "You got the pulp beads I hid in the painting, didn't you? Three in total, plus four ledgers, a cipher, and a red jade thumb ring I always wear."

These were indeed things only Mai Xuewen and Helian Chuan knew. This fellow truly couldn't wait any longer and had come to Helian Chuan first. Whoever couldn't sit still was at a disadvantage.

Helian Chuan immediately closed the window, then set up a barrier. "You've thrown the entire northern Chi Yan into chaos. What are you doing coming to me now?"

Everyone closes windows when bathing, so it wasn't conspicuous.

Mai Xuewen spoke: "The Special Envoy to the Crown Prince truly has courage, to be able to eat well and sleep soundly in such a perilous situation."

Helian Chuan raised an eyebrow. This fellow certainly knew his situation inside out. "Oh? Where does the danger come from?"

"Killing the Special Envoy to the Crown Prince would solve all their current troubles," Mai Xuewen said, looking at him. "You are in dire straits in Baisha Jue, with so many people wanting you dead. Of course, you already knew this, otherwise, how could the curse master invited by the Cen Residence have failed in his assassination attempt?"

Helian Chuan's heart stirred slightly. "That fellow is high-ranked?"

"He once cursed a monarch to death, gaining fame in a single battle."

Fierce Tiger interjected, "Did that country have no primal energy? How could a dignified monarch be overcome by an evil entity? Unless the nation's power was declining, almost..."

"The specifics aren't clear," the shop assistant controlled by Mai Xuewen tilted his head, also scrutinizing Helian Chuan. "It's truly surprising that you managed to escape from him."

"Let's get to the point," Helian Chuan said, pouring himself a cup of water. "You're not here to surrender, are you?"

Mai Xuewen smiled. "If I wanted to surrender, why would I have gone to such great lengths to lay out clues for you earlier?"

Helian Chuan voiced a long-standing question: "Who exactly do you work for?"

"For myself," Mai Xuewen exhaled slowly. "I have a deep-seated vendetta against the puppet masters, so I infiltrated their ranks to gather clues and evidence, then waited for an opportunity to hand them over to someone capable."

Helian Chuan pointed to himself. *Capable person, does he mean me?*

"Killing demons and taking their pearls in Zhitian Village—those were all your orders, weren't they?"

"They were," Mai Xuewen didn't deny. "If I didn't do their work, how could I gain the Cen family's trust?"

He even added, "Among the six subordinates Wu Kai manages for Cen Boqing, I have always submitted the most pulp beads and caused the least trouble."

*Well, well, a true double agent.* Helian Chuan rubbed his nose. "So, you're a model employee, then?"

Mai Xuewen shrugged. "If you're going to do something, you might as well do it best."

"You've accumulated quite a number of wronged souls under your command."

Mai Xuewen replied calmly, "Survival of the fittest has always been the unshakeable rule of Beijia. If you stay here long enough, you'll come to agree."

Those demons were killed because they were too weak, naturally becoming prey for the strong.

"So, Cen Boqing is actually killing demons and taking their pearls across the entire Beijia region?"

"That's right. But I've investigated for years and still don't know the specific members and locations of the other five groups," Mai Xuewen said. "Wu Kai is a very cautious person; he never tells me much."

Jiao Yu interjected, "What does he collect pulp beads for? Is he truly refining elixirs of immortality?"

"Before, a portion was sent to be refined into elixirs of immortality, and another portion was laundered as foreign goods, allowing for legitimate import," Mai Xuewen explained. "But recently, the demand for elixirs of immortality has outstripped supply, so I estimate they don't have extra beads to launder outside."

"Laundered?" Helian Chuan asked, surprised. "Can this kind of thing be legitimately imported?"

"Of course, as long as Beijia has a demand for it," Mai Xuewen's voice held a faint hint of sarcasm. "Otherwise, where do you think the raw pulp beads for the elixirs of immortality bestowed by the Emperor come from? Directly killing the demon populace of our own country for their pearls would easily incite public outrage if word got out. If they're imported from outside, the citizens won't complain." Those killed would be foreign demons, so the demon populace of Beijia naturally wouldn't care.