Chapter 566: Endlessly Unavoidable

It's pointless to just pick any location for the button; the Celestial God would quickly realize it was a feint. The chosen place must contain verifiable information to allow the divine envoys to make extensive deductions and conduct thorough investigations.

Distant help is no match for urgent need. So for the next twenty-odd days, he would have to rely on his own abilities to get through it!

Li Qingge put away the box. Her eyes glinted, and she suddenly looked at him, smiling, "I saved your life; shouldn't you repay me?"

He Lingchuan braced himself and said, "Of course, my lord, please command me. I will go through fire and water for you." Ultimately, he suffered from a lack of trusted subordinates, so even such a crucial task had to be entrusted to an outsider.

He only hoped Li Qingge would be as effective as ever.

"Alright, you'll find out in a few days at the Dun Garden auction," Li Qingge said as she put on her gloves. "Let's go, I have other places to be."

For the next few hours, He Lingchuan wandered around the inn. He only returned leisurely after his Eyeball Spider detected that Fu Shanyue was back at the inn.

"Where did you go? You've been gone since last night," Fu Shanyue asked curiously. "Administrator Bai sent people to look for you, but I sent them away."

"Someone came looking for me right after you went to the Star-Gazing Tower last night," He Lingchuan shrugged. "I laid low for a bit and took the opportunity to explore the surroundings."

"They came looking for you last night?" Fu Shanyue's expression changed. "Nine times out of ten, it was also the Star-Gazing Tower. The Emperor didn't make things difficult for you during your audience last night, did he?"

Fu Shanyue casually set up a soundproofing barrier before continuing. "They asked about the Elixir of Immortality case. The evidence we submitted was all complete, and the Emperor first praised me, then thoroughly scolded me, asking why I hadn't collected evidence of Zhongsun Mou fabricating false testimony. Now the Zhongsun family is confidently acting out."

He Lingchuan gave a wry smile. If he could have caught Zhongsun Mou fabricating false testimony, he would have had a way to deal with that merfolk long ago. Would he still have needed to scheme to kill Zhongsun Mou?

Wu Kai's forgery was too good, directly sending Zhongsun Mou to his demise. Fu Shanyue added, "Oh, and they asked about Fu Shanji's death."

He Lingchuan glanced sideways.

"My father publicly declared that Fu Shanji died of illness. But I told the Emperor the truth: I killed Fu Shanji," Fu Shanyue said as he casually picked up a pear and took a bite. "As a result, I received a good scolding."

He Lingchuan said nothing. The fact that Fu Shanyue could sit there so relaxed indicated that the Celestial God and the Demon Emperor weren't truly angry with him.

This fellow was originally favored by the Celestial God. Now that he had secured the position of Crown Prince on his own, everyone was relieved.

"Also," Fu Shanyue said, crunching on his pear, "they already know I went to the ruins of Thousand Star City."

He Lingchuan's heart sank slightly. Just as he expected.

"The Emperor asked about my whereabouts two months ago," Fu Shanyue added. "I figured he knew, and if I kept hiding it, it would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor, so it was better to openly admit it."

He Lingchuan nodded. Fu Shanyue had passed this test without much trouble.

"The Emperor was very concerned about the second illusion scene at the Thousand Star City ruins and repeatedly questioned me about it. I think another case Bai Ziqin is investigating is probably related to it." Fu Shanyue leaned in and lowered his voice. "Remember this: I didn't mention anything I saw at the Abyss King's palace. I only said I walked around the Thousand Star City illusion a few times, and everything was peaceful and calm, nothing happened."

He Lingchuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief but asked him, "Why?"

"My father said that whenever the Twilight Plains and the Abyss Kingdom are involved, Lingxu City goes mad and becomes unreasonable, preferring to kill the wrong person rather than let anyone off. Look at what the Twilight Plains is like now, and the descendants of the Abyss Kingdom. Was my father wrong?" Fu Shanyue said. "If I had truthfully recounted the conversation between the Abyss King and his nephew, the Celestial God and the Emperor would repeatedly question why only you and I saw it. Even if I had a hundred mouths, I wouldn't be able to prove my innocence."

"Forty years ago, the year I was born, a historian compiled history. While researching Beijia's past two hundred years, he spoke two casual good words about the Abyss Kingdom—" Fu Shanyue swallowed. "As a result, the Celestial God condemned him, and the Emperor was furious, saying he was summoning the souls of the Abyss Kingdom's remnants and whitewashing traitors and rebels, a crime punishable by death ten thousand times over. Originally, his three clans were to be exterminated. Court officials pleaded for mercy, but the Emperor grew even angrier, killing three of the pleading ministers and flogging six. Finally, the historian was cut in half at the waist and left in the market for seven days. Nearly a hundred members of his three clans were hanged; not a single one escaped."

He Lingchuan was at a loss for words. "This is truly... arbitrary!"

"Whenever the Abyss Kingdom is involved, the Celestial God and the Emperor become exceptionally hateful. I'm about to inherit the throne, so I can't invite such trouble," Fu Shanyue said, staring intently at He Lingchuan. "The matter of the Abyss King and his nephew, I've already forgotten about it. What about you?" "What did you say?" He Lingchuan blinked blankly. "What nephew? What happened?"

"Exactly." Fu Shanyue grinned. "I know there were several other merchant caravans in the mountains that night. What they saw must have been largely similar to what we saw. Even if Lingxu City sends people to investigate, the testimonies they record will be the same as mine."

Only he and He Lingchuan knew about the conversation between the Abyss King and his nephew. As long as neither of them spoke of it, the matter simply never happened.

"But, the appearance of the second illusion scene truly has nothing to do with you?"

"Thousand Star City is already in ruins; how could it still recognize an individual? Besides, it was my first time in the Twilight Plains, so why would it be special to me?" He Lingchuan said gravely. "It might have been someone from another caravan, or perhaps it was Taozi who absorbed a large amount of malevolent energy in Thousand Star City."

Fu Shanyue had also considered this and nodded, saying, "It's not impossible. Just don't let it slip." "I won't," He Lingchuan replied, then asked him, "Does your father know about this?"

"Of course not!" Did they look like a father and son who were in harmony and spoke openly about everything? Both of them coincidentally changed the subject, discussing the scenery and customs of Lingxu City.

He Lingchuan couldn't help but say, "This place spends money like water; even the food is terrifyingly expensive. Humans enjoy luxury, but what about demons?"

Fu Shanyue burst out laughing. "After six hundred years steeped in wealth and luxury, do you think demons wouldn't learn to enjoy themselves?"

He pointed upwards. "The most beautiful garden on Tianji Island belongs to the Zhongsun family. Instead of living by the lakes within their territory, they specifically carved out a lake in the sky, calling it 'Half-Mountain Hidden Sea,' creating a unique underwater garden for all of Lingxu City."

"An underwater garden?"

"Exactly. It's a garden made of strange rocks, mallow grass, coral, and various fish underwater, much more interesting than those on land." Fu Shanyue spat. "These merfolk of the Zhongsun family weren't satisfied with just enjoying it themselves, so they built glass houses under the lake, allowing other nobles to come to their home and admire it as well."

"Isn't that just a giant aquarium?" He Lingchuan was speechless for a moment. "So Zhongsun Mou, instead of living a comfortable life as an official's third-generation son, came to oppose us?"

"He was just too idle for his own good," Fu Shanyue said solemnly. "I'm not insulting him. There are as many official's children in Lingxu City who are so bored they go looking for trouble as there are grains of rice."

The moon was bright that night, and He Lingchuan looked up at the sky. The silhouette of the floating island was clearly visible, a great mountain pressing down on everyone.

He sighed.

The next day, someone came looking for He Lingchuan:

"A message from the Celestial Palace: He Xiao is to proceed to the Star-Gazing Tower immediately, without delay!"

The four or five individuals stared intently at He Lingchuan. If he dared to defy the order, he would inevitably be dragged out.

This matter should have been dealt with two days ago, but He Xiao had slipped away first, which annoyed them. Today, they had finally found him.

He Lingchuan also knew that as long as he was in Lingxu City, he couldn't ultimately avoid these people. What was destined to come would always come.

But before they could finish speaking, Fu Shanyue rushed over. "Oh, what's going on?" "Administrator Bai has summoned He Xiao to the Star-Gazing Tower to assist with a case."

Fu Shanyue tightened his belt. "Alright, let's go." The individuals did not move.

Fu Shanyue asked curiously, "Not leaving yet? How long do you intend to make Administrator Bai wait?"

The leading Lamp Guard said helplessly, "Your Highness, Administrator Bai only summoned He Xiao."

"I know that," Fu Shanyue said matter-of-factly. "I, Chiyan, am also a victim and want to understand the case's progress. It's only right that I go along to assist."

The Lamp Guard was about to speak again, but Fu Shanyue glared and sneered, "What, Administrator Bai summoned my Chiyan envoy; is there something I'm not supposed to hear?"

Fu Shanyue insisted that he also needed to assist with the case, leaving the Lamp Guards helpless. It would also be impolite for Administrator Bai to question the Chiyan envoy but forbid the Chiyan Crown Prince from listening in.

It was truly a shame that the opportunity from the night before last was missed.

With Fu Shanyue stepping forward, He Lingchuan remained silent, quietly watching his performance.

The Celestial God and the Demon Emperor's apprehension about the illusion scene at the Thousand Star City ruins had drawn Fu Shanyue and him even closer. Fu Shanyue also did not want He Lingchuan to be interrogated alone, as that would easily expose secrets.

The situation reached a stalemate.

Just then, another person approached from outside, hands behind his back, with a long laugh. "What's going on here?" It turned out to be Bai Ziqin himself.

"Both He Xiao and I want to see the case's progress," Fu Shanyue said calmly. "The latter half of this case falls to Lingxu City, and my father sent me to follow up, to ensure the truth comes out."

He was using his words to pressure Bai Ziqin. The Elixir of Immortality case was divided into two phases: the first phase involved investigations in Chiyan, where He Lingchuan had already apprehended Cen Boqing. Bai Ziqin was set to take over the investigation of the second phase and continue to dig deeper for the masterminds.

However, Chiyan could not contribute much to the second phase, so it was reasonable for the monarch to send the Crown Prince to Lingxu City to follow up.

Moreover, the Chiyan monarch and other demon kings had demanded that Lingxu City deliver justice in this case and provide an explanation to the affected demon folk.

Thus, Fu Shanyue spoke with complete justification.

"Your Highness's request is reasonable and legal," Bai Ziqin said, showing no objection to Fu Shanyue's words. He then turned to the Lamp Guards, saying, "You can all return."

His subordinates bowed and withdrew.

"These youngsters are quite unreasonable. They just heard I wanted to see He Xiao and came to summon him haphazardly." All three of them smiled, knowing he was talking nonsense.

Bai Ziqin then pointed outside, saying amicably, "We're all so familiar with each other, there's no need to go to the Star-Gazing Tower. How about this: I'll treat you to a casual meal at the Golden Villa across the street?"