Chapter 412: Monitoring Heaven Department

"What did you say?" Nangong looked at the terrifying man before him with a surprised expression. Although the man's skin was gone, the copper coin mask on his face and the waist token in his hand clearly indicated his identity.

This man had come once a few months ago and then never appeared again, making Nangong wonder if something had happened to him.

He didn't expect that as soon as he returned today, this man would claim that all of the Sitou Sect members were in Shangjing.

"Erjiu, you can't just say things like that. Do you understand the gravity of your words? If this turns out to be false, you could end up in prison!" Nangong warned Li Huowang cautiously.

"Of course! Brother Nangong, it's absolutely true. Just recently, I personally met Beifeng!" Li Huowang said with a very serious expression.

If Beifeng's words were accurate and the entire Sitou Sect had arrived in Shangjing, that meant, in addition to the 108 regular members (Wanbingtiao), there were also the sixteen Four Happiness (East, South, West, North Wind) and the twelve Three Primaries (Middle, Prosperity, White). In total, that was 136 members of the Sitou Sect!

Not to mention the elusive and formidable Three Primaries and Four Happiness, even the most ordinary Sitou Sect members, when united, would be incredibly difficult to handle.

More importantly, Beifeng had said that the Sitou Sect's leader, Dice, had also arrived.

Li Huowang wasn't particularly good at playing mahjong, but he had watched his mother, Sun Xiaoqin, play it during Chinese New Year when he was a child. To his knowledge, mahjong was usually played with two dice.

Facing so many powerful enemies alone would undoubtedly be a pipe dream. He needed to get the immense Jiantian Directorate on his side to have any chance of success.

Only by doing so could he, as a lone individual, benefit from their conflict.

After going through immense hardship to join the Jiantian Directorate, it was finally time to reap the rewards.

"Brother Nangong, this matter is of great importance; how could I speak carelessly? The Sitou Sect has all come to Shangjing. They certainly wouldn't just visit and leave; they definitely have a significant plan! You know, they've even caused the downfall of entire nations just for their amusement!"

Li Huowang's words immediately resolved Nangong's hesitation. "This matter is too serious. I'll go report it. You wait here first."

With that, his brow furrowed and his expression grim, he immediately walked out from behind the wooden cabinet and hurried towards the side door on the left.

Watching Nangong leave, Li Huowang slightly relaxed. However, the matter was far from over. He knew that Nangong was just a messenger and couldn't handle such a significant issue. The key was whether he could persuade the Jiantian Directorate to intervene, and the next important figures would be crucial.

Li Huowang paced back and forth in the spacious room, constantly pondering what reasons he should use to persuade them next.

"All of the Sitou Sect has come?" A low voice suddenly came from behind the screen on the left.

Li Huowang turned his head to look at the large shadow reflected on the screen but didn't answer. He had no friends within the Jiantian Directorate.

The voice from behind the screen spoke again. "Haha... Shangjing is indeed a troublesome place now. It seems we all need to go hide in Hou Shu. Thankfully, there's still time."

The tone of the voice reminded Li Huowang of the actions of Tuoba Danqing and Jixiang. Reflecting on it now, these cunning old figures seemed to have sensed the omens earlier.

When they had captured Xinzhuo, he had previously said that after finishing that task, he planned to go to Qingqiu to avoid disaster. But in the end, he never returned.

And as for the old eunuch Jixiang, there was no need to mention it; he simply gave his house in Shangjing to Li Huowang, opting for the best strategy: to run away.

"Brother, do you know why the Sitou Sect has come to Shangjing in such force?" Li Huowang asked towards the screen.

"Haha... you don't know what the authorities are doing? It's even better if you don't know; in this world, ignorance is bliss." After saying this, silence fell from behind the screen.

Li Huowang, however, wasn't about to give up. He could see the storm gathering, but he didn't know what lay within the clouds.

But as he lifted his foot and walked towards the screen, he found no one behind it. There was only a root carving of a stout, cloth-sack monk, about the size of a human head, sitting on a low table.

The monk's upper body was jovial, with a perpetual smile and a prominent belly that looked particularly comical. However, its lower half was completely uncarved, exposing twisted, thick, intertwined black roots.

The orderly upper half and the chaotic lower half were pieced together, creating a particularly awkward appearance.

"Erjiu! Where are you?"

Hearing Nangong calling from outside, Li Huowang glanced at the monk's root carving again, then turned and stepped out from behind the screen. "Brother Nangong, I'm here!"

"Hurry and follow me! The Director-General wants to see you!" Hearing Nangong's slightly anxious words, Li Huowang's spirits immediately lifted, and he quickly nodded, following him.

He wasn't familiar with the Jiantian Directorate's organizational structure, but since this "Director-General" could handle matters concerning the entire Sitou Sect, his identity must be extraordinary.

"Here, put this on. You look indecent presenting yourself to the Director-General like this." Nangong handed a gray robe to Li Huowang, whose clothes had been burned off.

Li Huowang took it and wrapped himself, covering his body full of scars.

"When you meet the Director-General, just say what you know. Don't make anything up; he'll be able to tell."

These words startled Li Huowang. Could the other party truly see into people's minds? If he had wandering thoughts in front of him, wouldn't his identity as a 'Xinsu' be exposed? "May I ask, which sect or school does this Director-General belong to?"

"The Director-General is different from you and me. He is a Confucian scholar. Confucian scholars respect spirits and gods but keep them at a distance; they do not cultivate any supernatural powers or techniques."

"Just an ordinary person?!" Li Huowang almost thought he had misheard. A high-ranking official of the Jiantian Directorate, managing so much across the entire Daliang, was just an ordinary person.

"Do you think you can solve everything just by relying on those intangible arts? That's a limited view. Some people are born extraordinary; even without relying on such things, they can solve problems simply by understanding human nature. The Director-General has even deceived the Sitou Sect before."

Li Huowang had encountered the Sitou Sect many times, so he naturally understood how incredibly cunning and almost demonic someone must be to deceive such a group of tricksters.

As he was about to meet such a person, Li Huowang began to feel a little nervous, starting to plan how he should converse with them.

Following Nangong through the wooden underground corridor for a while, a large door with stone drums on either side appeared before Li Huowang. Two guards, dressed in their uniforms, stood silently like door gods, one on the left and one on the right.

The intense murderous aura emanating from them already proved their identity.

Following Nangong through several more doorways within the austere building, they finally stopped at the entrance of a study.

"Reporting to the Director-General, Erjiu has been brought." Nangong bowed respectfully towards the wooden door.