Chapter 578: Who Is the Chicken?

Zhongsun Ce's voice grew louder and louder. "A-Mou is missing and likely dead, yet we're still subjected to endless ridicule in Spirit Void City! Even the low-born residents from the lower city dare to point fingers at us! Do they even deserve to?"

Zhongsun Chi's hands trembled, but this time he raised his staff and hit him. "I'm asking you a question, where did you just go?"

"To teach Fu Shanyue a lesson." Seeing the old man glare, Zhongsun Ce quickly added, "I didn't lay a hand on him directly. I taught that fellow surnamed He by his side a lesson, to scare the others!" He knew that Fu Shanyue had entered Spirit Void City under orders from the Red Yan King and had important duties, so it wasn't wise to target him directly.

But that so-called "special envoy" by Fu Shanyue's side—the one who exposed his second brother's conspiracy with Cen Boqing and their false testimony at Baisha Jue—was even more hateful and deserved to be killed! If it weren't for that scoundrel interfering, his second brother would have already brought Fu Songhua back to Spirit Void City to report, and none of these subsequent complications would have happened. Killing him would also send a message to Fu Shanyue. "That He fellow caused my second brother so much trouble..."

"How can there be an idiot like you in my Zhongsun family!" Zhongsun Chi was incredulous. Before Zhongsun Ce could finish, blows rained down from his staff. One strike, poorly aimed, landed on Zhongsun Ce's nose, making it bleed profusely.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw your arrangements!" The old man was so angry and anxious, and exerting himself by hitting, that he started to gasp for breath. After all, he was old. It was Zhongsun Mou who had bought him the elixir of immortality from Qingfu Temple to prolong his life. Otherwise, his lifespan would have ended, and his decaying body would have been buried at sea long ago.

The maidservant quickly massaged his chest and patted his back, then fed him a soothing herbal paste. Zhongsun Ce stood silently, head bowed.

After a while, Zhongsun Chi finally let out a long breath. "Do you think I don't know about the ugly rumors circulating outside? But precisely at a time like this, Fu Shanyue and that He boy are untouchable! If anything happens to them, all suspicion will immediately fall on us! Inspector Bai's investigation into the elixir of immortality case is progressing slowly, and he's already watching us closely. With something happening to the Red Yan Crown Prince, do you think he'll just let us off without an investigation?"

Zhongsun Ce hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

"The Emperor has always suspected me of secretly using the elixir of immortality. What good would it do my family if we provoked his displeasure further at a time like this!" Zhongsun Chi's beard trembled with anger. "Will killing Fu Shanyue's subordinate bring Mou'er back? Are you sure that will avenge Mou'er?"

Zhongsun Ce asked hesitantly, "Great-grandfather, did you really take the elixir of immortality?" "Of course not!" Zhongsun Chi immediately denied, a chill in his heart. If that matter were confirmed, the Zhongsun family would face disaster. The Emperor might still show some consideration, but the gods were always cold and ruthless.

"But..." Zhongsun Ce swallowed the rest of his words and finally changed his tone. "I'll go withdraw the arrangements right away."

Zhongsun Chi continued, "Fu Shanyue has indeed gone too far. You can go talk to the Fan brothers later."

Zhongsun Ce's eyes lit up slightly. "Great-grandfather is right. Fan Sheng and Fan Bao were publicly defeated by that He fellow; that's far more humiliating than anything we've faced. Commander Fan certainly won't swallow this!"

"No rush, we'll plan this carefully," Zhongsun Chi urged him. "First, withdraw your arrangements. Go, hurry!" *Sigh*, if only these descendants had even two-tenths of human cunning and deviousness, he wouldn't have to worry so much.

Unable to withstand him, Zhongsun Ce bowed and walked out. But before he even exited the second gate, he nearly collided with a family servant who burst in. His face darkened. "How are you walking?" "I apologize, I wasn't looking, I'm in a hurry!" The servant apologized profusely and repeatedly, then craned his neck to look at Zhongsun Chi behind him. "Old Master, urgent news!"

Zhongsun Chi didn't have any urgent matters, but he still said, "Speak."

"An important message has come up from the lower city: the Southern City Posthouse has exploded!" The servant was still panting. "The posthouse where the Red Yan Crown Prince is staying—it, it exploded!"

"What did you say!" Zhongsun Chi abruptly stood up, not even needing his staff. "Who was killed?"

"I haven't heard of anyone dying." The servant's words made Zhongsun Chi let out a sigh of relief, but he immediately added, "But it seems some of the Crown Prince's subordinates were injured."

Zhongsun Chi grabbed his staff and, with a backhand swing, struck Zhongsun Ce. "You wretch, get on your knees!"

Zhongsun Ce was shocked. "Great-grandfather, it's not..." Before he could say "I," he remembered the servant was still standing there and immediately pointed outside. "Get out!"

Once the servant quickly scurried away, he dropped to his knees. "Great-grandfather, it definitely wasn't that!"

"Either it is, or it isn't. How can there be a 'definitely'?" Zhongsun Chi glared, his brows furrowed. "Who did you instruct to deal with He Lingchuan, and how were they supposed to deal with him, huh?"

"I hired two men from the Silver Pine Gambling House in the lower city; even if it's exposed, they won't trace it back to me," Zhongsun Ce said quickly. "But this He Lingchuan, it's said that even Cen Boqing's curse masters were countered by him, and Fan Sheng couldn't beat him. I figured he's immune to curses and has high combat strength, so I instructed them to use poison."

"Great-grandfather, you know me. A method like an explosion is too conspicuous; I would never use it!"

Zhongsun Chi snorted, then considered that his great-grandson's words had some basis. "No loose ends?"

"No, none at all!" Zhongsun Chi's eyes flickered. "Then who could have done it? The Cen family, or Yao Xingning?"

Zhongsun Ce shook his head. "Although no one died on Fu Shanyue's side, this will still teach them a lesson: don't walk around Spirit Void City with your tail in the air!"

Zhongsun Chi said grimly, "Who is teaching whom a lesson? Will Fu Shanyue simply accept this loss? You had an argument and even a physical altercation with him at Dunyuan a few days ago; do you think he won't suspect you?"

"If he suspects you, the authorities investigating the case will also suspect us!" Zhongsun Chi pressed his forehead. "Did those two men you hired from the gambling house actually do anything? Don't let them be traced back to us too!"

"I'll go ask immediately."

"If they've already made their move—" Zhongsun Chi flipped his wrist, making a slicing motion.

"Your great-grandson understands."

***

Several hours earlier, the posthouse was engulfed in flames.

In the dead of night, the explosion resonated like thunder, startling everyone nearby, be they human or demon. This was, after all, the posthouse district, bustling with foreign envoys!

The last incident in the posthouse district involved just two petty thieves who sneaked in to steal valuables. They were immediately hunted city-wide, with hundreds of officers cornering them, forcing them out through sheer numbers. Afterward, the authorities handed down severe sentences, and both men had a hand chopped off. Everyone knew not to cause trouble here. Now, a midnight explosion? The County Commandant of the Southern City Bureau, who lived nearby, was woken by the blast himself. He quickly threw on his clothes and rushed over.

When he arrived, the posthouse fire had just been extinguished. Gray smoke curled upwards from the scene, and black and white debris danced in the air, drifting with the wind into people's eyes, mixing with the acrid gunpowder smell, making everyone's eyes water and noses run.

The County Commandant was more nervous than anyone. "What happened? Were there any injuries?" An incident at the posthouse directly affected his official position.

"The Red Yan Crown Prince's special envoy and two guards were injured. The incident occurred in the eastern wing on the second floor, the room closest to the street corner," his subordinate pointed out. "It's a distance from other rooms, so no other guests were injured. Downstairs were the kitchen and woodshed, and no one was there at the time."

The County Commandant asked as he walked inside, "Was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince injured?"

"No, he was far from the explosion site," the officer replied. "We've sent people to continue searching the scene for any unexploded gunpowder."

The County Commandant breathed a sigh of relief and walked into another row of guest rooms in the posthouse. Their original quarters were no longer safe, so Fu Shanyue and his party were temporarily settled here after the explosion.

Upon seeing the Red Yan Crown Prince, the County Commandant immediately bowed and offered his condolences.

Fu Shanyue's face was grim. "I haven't been to Spirit Void City in eight years, and the public order has deteriorated to such an extent that someone dares to attack a posthouse?"

In the cold late autumn weather, sweat instantly broke out on the County Commandant's back. "Your humble subordinate will definitely get to the bottom of this!"

He went to comfort the injured. The two guards had minor injuries: one had his face scratched by debris from the explosion, and the other was knocked down by the blast wave, feeling dizzy and disoriented when he got up. But the Crown Prince's special envoy's injuries were more severe than theirs. His face was covered in blood, and he coughed up blood. The doctor felt his pulse and said he had sustained internal injuries.

The special envoy claimed that he and the Crown Prince were returning after having drinks outside. He was about to enter the room when he suddenly felt an urgent need to relieve himself and turned to walk back out. He had barely stepped out of the room, taking no more than two steps, when the room exploded. He was blown several yards away, crashing through a wall and falling into another envoy's room, startling men and women into screams. Fortunately, he wasn't at the center of the explosion and had a defensive magical artifact on him, which prevented him from being killed. But he remained dazed and suffered from a splitting headache. As he spoke, blood again flowed from the envoy's nose. The County Commandant quickly urged him to rest well.

At this moment, a subordinate reported that a witness had spotted suspicious tracks of a suspect! The County Commandant strode out.

No sooner had he left than Fu Shanyue entered, looking at He Lingchuan. "Are your internal organs really fine?" He knew how resilient this young man was. The Wind Demon couldn't kill him, Fu Shanyue himself couldn't kill him, and Fan Sheng couldn't kill him either. Could a small explosion really do the trick?

"I won't die," He Lingchuan said, gargling with water. The froth he spat into the spittoon was still red. "But that explosion was quite powerful." He also wiped away the blood flowing from under his nose.

A fierce glint flashed in Fu Shanyue's eyes. "Who do you think did it?" If the ambush had targeted him instead of He Lingchuan, Fu Shanyue didn't think he would have died either, but being targeted and plotted against always felt particularly unpleasant!

"If we're listing suspects, the list would be very long," He Lingchuan said with a wry smile. "How many people have I offended on this journey?"

Fu Shanyue patted his shoulder. "They were targeting me, just using you to make a statement." Otherwise, why wouldn't the explosives have been placed in his room? He was well aware of the subtleties involved.

Jiao Yu hopped in as well. "Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys?"

He Lingchuan glared at it. "Who's the chicken? Just because you know two idioms makes you cultured?"

Jiao Yu purred twice at him, then turned to Fu Shanyue and said, "The posthouse stableman happened to be awake for a night visit. Less than ten breaths after the explosion, he saw a black-clad figure scale the wall out of the courtyard below the special envoy's room and head towards Baishi Street. The person moved very agilely."