Chapter 530: Each Their Own Scheme

He had been defeated by He Lingchuan at Helan Palace, leaving him feeling deeply uneasy these past few days. Challenging He Lingchuan again under the pretext of turning the tables would be pointless. Moreover, Zhongsun Mou had most likely been killed, so he no longer had a strong reason to trouble He Lingchuan. Bai Ziqi's recent words, however, ignited a spark within him.

"I just want to understand the situation, but you've missed the point," Bai Ziqi said, smiling at him and raising a finger. "First, what the Divine Emperor cares about is whether this case is related to the Elixir of Immortality. That is to say, whether He Xiao and Crown Prince Yue are investigating in the right direction, and whether Zhongsun Mou conspired with Cen Boqing to deceive the Emperor."

"Yes!" Fan Sheng lowered his head, feeling the pressure again. "This subordinate was reckless before." If he had known earlier that Zhongsun Mou was involved with something as troublesome as the Elixir of Immortality, he would never have interfered. The Elixir of Immortality was one of the Divine Emperor's forbidden topics. Now, he found himself caught in the vortex too. Fortunately, the special envoy sent from above was Envoy Bai. By cooperating well, he might still face less punishment.

"Second, the reason I'm here to investigate is that the death of the Inspector General alarmed the Emperor. Mai Xuewen is the undeniable murderer; thousands of eyes witnessed his public act beneath Chaohu Tower that day. His open crime is a direct provocation to Lingxu City." Bai Ziqi set down his teacup. "Therefore, the other key focus is to apprehend Mai Xuewen. As for Fu Shanyue, his goals align with ours on these two points."

Fan Sheng nodded with each point Bai Ziqi made, but then he paused, surprised, and after a few breaths, asked, "So, we're not investigating *them*?"

"Investigate what?" Bai Ziqi shook his head. "Your and my speculations are merely suspicions; they could easily dismiss them. If we can't capture Mai Xuewen, we'll have no evidence to press charges."

Fan Sheng had been in official circles for some time and, after some thought, understood that Envoy Bai intended to temporarily overlook these "minor" anomalies concerning the Crown Prince of Chiyan and instead focus on the two main priorities. This meant they would continue to cooperate with Fu Shanyue on the investigation. Seeing Bai Ziqi's continued frown, he clasped his fists and asked, "Envoy Bai, how may this subordinate be of service?"

"It will be difficult for Cen Boqing to recover. The next step is to investigate whether the Grand Minister of Agriculture is involved. Alas, I've truly arrived at an opportune time; all the difficult parts are yet to come," Bai Ziqi mused. "Actually, I originally came south for another important mission. Now, it seems this messenger case, which I received later, actually happened earlier. It's only a difference of a few days, and both incidents occurred within Chiyan. Could there be some connection?"

Fan Sheng was completely bewildered. Was Envoy Bai originally handling two cases?

Just as Bai Ziqi was about to speak again, Fan Sheng's personal guard suddenly rushed in from outside with a report:

"The special envoy of the Chiyan Crown Prince has successfully captured the fugitive and is ostentatiously entering the city!"

"Captured?" Bai Ziqi stood up. "Good. Commander Fan, accompany me." He then instructed Fan Sheng, "If Cen Boqing is arrested, you must immediately apprehend Cheng Yu. This person is very important! He is a human witness himself, and his spellcraft is unique, capable of dissolving into the azure void. He might have other uses later."

"Yes."

Soon after, another piece of intelligence quietly reached Cen Boqing's manor:

"The Crown Prince also brought back a mother and son from the north, keeping them under strict guard. The mother is in her twenties, and the son is only seven or eight."

Cen Boqing was drinking tea at the time. Upon hearing this news, he slammed his teacup onto the table. Fu Shanyue actually found them? Between family and his master, what would Wu Kai choose? No wonder Yang Song was arrested. Cen Boqing paced back and forth in the garden more than a dozen times before finally deciding to find Cheng Yu. Once the decision was made, he had to act quickly. Hesitation leads to defeat.

Seeing Cheng Yu's soul still sleeping in the bottle, Cen Boqing was furious. If this fellow hadn't been such a heavy sleeper, would he have ended up in this predicament? He instructed a guard to pull out the stopper directly. The lantern on the Snow Scene Bottle immediately extinguished, and a wisp of thin smoke seemed to fly out of the bottle's mouth. Within a few breaths, the spellcaster opened his eyes.

He was somewhat disoriented upon waking, but once his eyes focused, he slammed the bed and rose, pointing angrily at Cen Boqing: "You pulled my stopper?"

He spit. Before he could finish speaking, he felt dizzy and leaned over the side of the bed, vomiting profusely. Soul damage was the most difficult to heal; even for him, spending twenty or thirty days to recuperate wouldn't be excessive, yet only a few days had passed this time? Most critically, this Snow Scene Bottle could only be used once. He looked at the bottle and saw that its surface was subtly covered in cracks, appearing as if it would shatter upon touch. It was indeed ruined.

"We're surrounded by wolves; we can't wait any longer." Cen Boqing had wanted to pull his stopper for a while, but Cheng Yu's words before his retreat were too alarming: that pulling the stopper prematurely would surely bring misfortune. Considering that this fellow was a powerful spellcaster, Cen Boqing had endured for several days, missing the optimal timing. Now, looking at it, what consequences were there? He had truly been tricked by this fellow!

Cen Boqing felt a surge of frustration in his chest. "While you were sleeping these past few days, the situation in Baisha Ridge changed dramatically. The manor has already been searched by the Crown Prince."

Earlier, Cheng Yu's body and soul were separated, resting in different places, and he had only woken up after seven or eight days, his complexion looking much better. But his face almost wrinkled into a bitter gourd: "You've ruined me! In the dreamland of the bottle, I was in a scattered soul state. When you pulled that stopper, one of my souls seized the opportunity to fly away. I don't know how long it will take to find it again."

"What happens if you lose a soul?"

"I'll become mentally dull, slow in action, and sickly," Cheng Yu said angrily. "We spellcasters already have poor health. With what you've done, I'll probably have my lifespan shortened." Consorting with dark entities every day comes at a price.

Cen Boqing said coldly, "If you don't act soon, both you and I might lose our lives immediately. What 'later' would there be then?"

Cheng Yu rolled his eyes. "Who do you want to deal with now?" He now looked closely at Lord Cen: bloodshot eyes, sunken eye sockets, and noticeably thinner. Clearly, he had endured a difficult few days.

Cen Boqing hesitated before saying, "Wu Kai."

"Wu..." Cheng Yu thought he'd misheard. "Your old servant?"

"Yes."

It seemed a lot had happened while he was asleep. Cheng Yu coughed twice, his face a little pale. "Alright, I've disliked him for a long time. Where is he?"

"In the hands of Crown Prince Fu Shanyue."

Cheng Yu was startled again. "He was captured?" He also guessed that Cen Boqing wanted to silence him. "How do you want him to die?"

"As long as the cause of death has nothing to do with me."

Cheng Yu took too long to think, and Cen Boqing frowned. "Didn't you claim you could even assassinate a monarch?" In this situation, he no longer had the same respect for Cheng Yu as before. Especially since this fellow's failed assassination attempt on He Xiao had backfired, making Cen Boqing deeply doubt his abilities.

"My injuries haven't healed, and my spellcraft isn't as potent as before." Cheng Yu was dizzy at the moment but still remembered the failed ambush that night. To this day, he couldn't understand how the Hundred-Faced Nightmare could have lost to a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. How could a giant whale be choked to death by a tiny krill? What was so peculiar about He Xiao?

He said to Cen Boqing, "Prepare a few things for me: Wu Kai's birth date and time, personal belongings, hair or nails, rootless water, cinnabar, a live quail..." He rattled off a dozen items, several of which were strange and unusual. At this point, Cen Boqing only sought a quick resolution, so he ordered his people to get the items as requested.

Cheng Yu then asked, "When should we act?"

"As soon as possible, of course," Cen Boqing replied, adding, "But for safety, we need to make a move first."

"Huh?" Cheng Yu didn't understand.

"Do you remember how you entered Cen Boqing's manor?" Cen Boqing said coldly. "Commander Lu already searched this residence but didn't find you. Do you know why?"

"The intelligence just reached Cen Boqing's manor?" He Lingchuan said with dissatisfaction. "Why is it so slow?" Wu Kai was cunning, and the case's progress was two days behind schedule, which was not good; delays could lead to complications.

"Hey, the other party also needs to cooperate, alright?" Fu Shanyue said helplessly. "Now, Cen Boqing's people are short-staffed. I need to deliver messages to him in a way that makes it seem like they found it out themselves. Do you think that's easy?"

"Have the Fan brothers made any unusual moves these past few days?"

"Fan Sheng has been guarding his bear and hasn't moved much; he seems to have become docile," Fu Shanyue snorted. "They didn't show up when I surrounded Cen Boqing's manor either. They probably chickened out." The Fan brothers owed a favor to the Zhongsuns, not the Cens. Even if Cen Boqing lost his head, they wouldn't bother. At this point, he patted He Lingchuan's shoulder. "I don't think you need to go to Lingxu City anymore. Just stay in Chiyan; I'll give you a high-ranking official position."

Before He Lingchuan could reply, a guard rushed in from outside and reported to Fu Shanyue:

"Someone is requesting an audience with the Crown Prince outside, claiming to be a Duyu Envoy sent from Lingxu City, surnamed Bai. The other is Commander Fan."

Fu Shanyue was startled and exchanged glances with He Lingchuan. Both thought, "They're here." But why so early? According to Fu Shanyue's original estimation, the news of Zhongsun Mou's death would have only recently reached the imperial capital. There should have been some wrangling and secret competition in Lingxu City regarding the choice of the special envoy. Then, the envoy would depart, or be dispatched from another location. By that calculation, there should still have been more than twenty days in total. How could they be here now? And precisely at this moment. Such an anomaly surely meant trouble would follow.

Fu Shanyue's brows nearly knotted together. "Why is it a Duyu Envoy? This isn't right."

He Lingchuan heard this title for the first time. "What is a Duyu Envoy?"

"On Mount Xu there is the Celestial Palace, and within the Celestial Palace is the Star-Picking Tower, dedicated to communicating with the Divine Emperor. There are nearly two thousand attendants in the tower. Those who govern the Star-Picking Tower are the Duyu Envoys, differentiated into principal and deputy, both holding official ranks. And since he's surnamed Bai, it's likely Deputy Duyu Envoy Bai Ziqi."

He Lingchuan seized the opportunity to ask the most crucial question:

"In Lingxu City, whose faction does he belong to?"

Everyone aligns with left, center, or right. Lingxu City must have weighed its options before dispatching a special envoy. Just by knowing this person's background, status, and faction, He Lingchuan could likely ascertain Lingxu City's stance on this case. Were they going to thoroughly investigate, or just quickly quell the disturbance? Would they be impartial, or would they be mindful of the complex relationships within the imperial capital?