Chapter 600: Dark Bridge

Madam pointed at the cannon-shaped device and said to Li Banfeng, "This looks somewhat similar to that magnetic tremor cannon we saw before, but its function is entirely different. I call it the Dark Bridge Cannon.

"I developed the Dark Bridge Cannon based on the lecture notes from Yu Yaoming and Saotizi. However, more than half of the techniques involved are my own design. I can't guarantee if it will work or not."

"Madam, to have a darling like you is a blessing cultivated over countless lifetimes!" Li Banfeng was overjoyed.

He embraced Madam and danced gracefully in the laboratory.

He was still dancing the Puppet Waltz. Madam, currently using a puppet body instead of her gramophone body, looked more beautiful, but her footwork was uncoordinated. She simply couldn't keep up with Li Banfeng's steps. After dancing for about ten minutes, Madam was panting, exhausted.

Even the lighting was out of place; the electric lights in the laboratory didn't actively create any special atmosphere.

Li Banfeng scanned the ceiling lights, about to scold them, when suddenly he heard the old teapot on the console speak up: "Little brother, don't just praise your wife! We all contributed too. I'm old and thick-skinned, so I'll be frank today: your wife is truly difficult to deal with!"

Monde also felt wronged: "When Madam conducts experiments, if things go smoothly, it's fine. But if they don't, she takes it out on us! The beatings start at twenty!"

The pendulum sobbed twice without speaking. Tang Blade sighed, "The Marshal's temper hasn't changed in all these years."

The ceiling lights flickered in unison, as if all protesting against Madam.

Zhao Xiaowan scanned the surroundings, and the room instantly fell silent. Even the lid of the old teapot trembled. They all thought Zhao Xiaowan was about to lose her temper again. To their surprise, Madam bowed to everyone and apologized: "When I'm engaged in something important, I can't control my temper. You've all worked so hard these past few days. After we go home, I'll discuss with my husband about rewarding all of you."

Li Banfeng waved a hand, "What's there to discuss? You all deserve rewards. Madam, you just make the decision."

Everyone sighed in relief, and the ceiling lights became lively again. Li Banfeng caressed the Dark Bridge Cannon that Madam had made, and kissed Zhao Xiaowan. "My dear Madam, when can we test this cannon?"

"We can't test it yet. It's missing the last component: the Lie-Root Stone."

"What is that?"

"The Lie-Root Stone is a unique spiritual artifact found only in Puro Province. Normally, it looks no different from an ordinary stone. However, if you tell it a hundred lies every day, it will take root in the soil and grow slowly.

"This stone is adept at creating illusions and fabricating lies. Its function isn't particularly powerful, but it's very troublesome to maintain, which is why it's almost extinct."

Li Banfeng opened Yu Yaoming's lecture notes. "Madam, don't worry. As long as Yu Yaoming has used this item, I can certainly find it in another province."

Xiaowan shook her head. "Yu Yaoming never used this item, nor was it mentioned in Saotizi's lecture notes or the Lavsa people's writings. This was entirely my own idea."

Li Banfeng set the lecture notes aside. "Madam, do you know where there are Lie-Root Stones?"

"As far as I recall, there's one at the Soda Kiln and another at Desong Cliff."

"Where is Desong Cliff?"

"It's the territory of the Dexiu. Over two hundred Dexiu live at Desong Cliff, each controlling more than two hundred villages—"

The mention of Dexiu made Li Banfeng nauseous. He waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "No, not there. I'll go to the Soda Kiln and bring the stone back."

Li Banfeng didn't go directly to the Soda Kiln; he went to Ma Wu's territory instead.

Feng Daiku was busy with land reclamation, while Ma Wu was comforting the newly arrived Madam Suo'e.

"You haven't been eating properly these past two days; you've gotten so thin!" Ma Wu said, carrying a bucket to feed Madam Suo'e porridge.

Madam Suo'e lowered her head and said, "I just haven't felt like eating lately. It seems I'm—"

Feng Daiku sneered, "You want to have a child with him? Dream on!"

Li Banfeng found Feng Daiku and asked about the Lie-Root Stone. Feng Daiku, feeling annoyed, was glad to see Li Qi. She quickly accompanied him to the Soda Kiln.

Although she hadn't been in charge of the territory for long, Feng Daiku had a thorough grasp of all matters, big and small, at the Soda Kiln. She quickly located the Lie-Root Stone.

"Back then, Shi Gongxing did possess a Lie-Root Stone, but it was later traded away by a merchant for two magical artifacts.

"It's said that this merchant then sold the Lie-Root Stone at a high price to the Customs and Defense Bureau, which in turn transported it to another province. As for its whereabouts after that, I have no idea."

After going to another province, where else could it have gone?

Most likely, it would have gone to the Dark Star Bureau.

But how should I bring this up to Little Shen?

If he knew I took the Lie-Root Stone, would he suspect I'm researching methods to breach the boundary?

Yue Province, Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye threw the documents all over the floor.

Chen Changrui, sitting opposite him, didn't utter a word. He knew that saying anything more now would only provoke Shen Jingye.

"I told you to send people to investigate Gourd Village, and now a deputy director is implicated! I need to provide an explanation to the higher-ups, and you're trying to fob me off with this junk?"

Chen Changrui was diligently investigating Li Qi's whereabouts, but he hadn't found any clues these past few days.

Shen Jingye rubbed his forehead. He knew this couldn't be entirely Chen Changrui's fault, especially Li Qi's disappearance, which was beyond Chen Changrui's control.

However, the current situation was truly unacceptable for Shen Jingye. Regarding Gourd Village, even doing nothing, even letting it be, would have been far better than losing a deputy director—especially since this deputy director was the most successful balancer in the Dark Star Bureau's history.

Shen Jingye's lingering anger hadn't subsided when a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

"Who is it? Come back later!" Shen Jingye yelled gruffly.

Li Banfeng pushed the door open and walked straight in. "Little Shen, come to my office for a moment."

Shen Jingye froze on the spot as Li Banfeng turned and left.

Chen Changrui pretended as if nothing had happened, sitting opposite Shen Jingye with an unreadable expression.

Since Li Qi's disappearance, Shen Jingye had been very anxious.

Now that Li Qi was back, Shen Jingye's mood became very complicated.

He gave Chen Changrui an awkward smile. "Normally, he just calls. Why did he come himself today—""Well, Director Li is here. That's good news, really good news—"

At the door of Li Qi's office, Shen Jingye repeated twice: "His return is good news. I can give an explanation to the higher-ups now, and the Gourd Village matter is largely resolved."

Shen Jingye tried his best to control his facial features, forcing a smile, and then entered Li Qi's office.

"Director Li, you're finally back! I heard them say you also entered Gourd Village!"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't enter Gourd Village. I wanted to track its entrance, but I failed because I didn't have enough tools at the time."

"Tools? Are you referring to dark energy carriers?" Shen Jingye slapped his thigh. "Just tell me what you need! Take whatever tools we have in the bureau, and I'll find a way to get you the ones we don't!"

Li Banfeng sneered, "How would I know what tools you have? You're always hiding things from me."

Shen Jingye pursed his lips. "How about this: you tell me a function you need, and I'll have someone find a few suitable items for you to choose from."

"Little Shen, I'm treating you with sincerity, yet you're always trying to scheme against me. I think the Xuan Sheng Red Lotus would be quite suitable. Can you produce it?"

Shen Jingye shook his head and laughed, "I truly can't produce that item."

Li Banfeng nodded. "That's exactly my point. You need to adapt to circumstances. Just bring me a list to look at. If you're unwilling to produce them, let's not waste any more breath. From now on, if you have a problem, you can figure it out yourself."

Li Qi was angry. Shen Jingye quickly tried to appease him: "I'm not deliberately hiding them from you; it's just the bureau's rule, isn't it? I won't say anything more. I'll have my secretary bring you the list in a moment. Is that enough sincerity for you this time?"

Shen Jingye made a call, and not long after, his secretary delivered the list.

Li Banfeng was still a bit worried whether a high-value item like the Lie-Root Stone would appear on the list.

He searched according to the catalog, and indeed, there was a Lie-Root Stone! Little Shen was very sincere this time.

The crucial point was how to get the Lie-Root Stone out. Just asking for one item would definitely arouse suspicion, so he needed to borrow several items together.

Li Banfeng's reason for wanting these carriers was to track the entrance of Gourd Village, so tracking-type carriers were indispensable.

He chose a pair of boots, a compass, a pair of glasses, a walking stick, and a Lie-Root Stone.

After reviewing the list, Shen Jingye asked, "Director Li, the other items are fine, but what do you need this Lie-Root Stone for?"

Li Banfeng replied, "Do you even need to ask? The Lie-Root Stone is skilled at creating illusions. Bringing it allows me to conceal my tracks. If I'm tracking Gourd Village and the villagers discover me, wouldn't I be trapping myself? I must use illusions to hide myself."

Shen Jingye frowned. "Can't you choose something else? The bureau has other illusionary carriers."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I've compared them. Anything too complex isn't suitable. The Lie-Root Stone is the most convenient."

"Alright then—" Shen Jingye sighed, signaling his secretary to notify the Carrier Department to bring the items over.

Not long after, the head of the Carrier Department arrived with his subordinates, bringing all the carriers. Deputy Director Chen, who was in charge of dark energy carriers, also came.

The carriers were laid out for inspection one by one. Li Banfeng wasn't interested in the other carriers; all his attention was focused on the Lie-Root Stone.

The stone was quite large, about the size of a basketball. Its shape was irregular, and its color was a deep yellow, like a steamed sponge cake. In several places, protruding bumps were covered with green spots, as if the sponge cake had molded.

Just by its appearance, it certainly didn't look like a treasure; no one would even pick it up if it were left on the street.

After confirming everything was correct, Li Qi signed, and the Carrier Department completed the handover.

The moment Li Qi signed his name, Deputy Director Chen revealed a faint smile.

Shen Jingye looked at Li Banfeng and said, "Director Li, don't use this Lie-Root Stone lightly. I'll have someone keep an eye out for other carriers that can hide your tracks."

Li Qi patted the stone and asked, "Is there something wrong with this item?"

Shen Jingye explained, "This stone has been in the bureau for many years. We've never cultivated it, so we don't know if it's still effective."

This was indeed true. Cultivating a Lie-Root Stone was extremely difficult; one had to tell it a hundred lies every day. If left unattended for a long time, the Lie-Root Stone could easily lose its vitality.

Li Qi nodded. "I'll be extra careful."

Deputy Director Chen, standing nearby, wiped his sweat. Just moments ago, he had been snickering, but in that short time, his forehead was covered in sweat.

Li Banfeng took all these carriers back to his residence, placed them in his room, and entrusted them to Xi Zhaofu and others for safekeeping. He only took the Lie-Root Stone into his Portable Residence.

The Gramophone saw the Lie-Root Stone and was very joyful. "My dear husband, you got such a rare item so quickly, and such a large piece of it—"

The Gramophone tapped the Lie-Root Stone with its needle, then sprinkled some hot water on it, observing how quickly the watermarks disappeared.

"This Lie-Root Stone seems a bit different, husband. Can I drill a hole in it?"

"Why not? This stone is ours now. You can do whatever you want with it, Madam."

The Gramophone used its needle to drill a hole in the stone, then carefully examined the fragments. "Husband, this isn't a Lie-Root Stone. It's another type of stone; only its material looks similar."

Li Banfeng was stunned. "Madam, has this stone lost its vitality due to age?"

"Husband, this isn't about vitality. This stone merely resembles a Lie-Root Stone. It doesn't possess any of the Lie-Root Stone's characteristics."

Li Banfeng recalled Deputy Director Chen's strange smile and Shen Jingye's incessant advice and reminders. The next morning, Li Banfeng summoned Shen Jingye and placed the stone before him. "Little Shen, what is the meaning of this?"

Shen Jingye first had someone turn off the surveillance cameras, then pressed down his palm. "Director Li, please let me explain slowly."

"Don't speak slowly; you'd better speak quickly," Li Banfeng said expressionlessly. "If you speak too slowly, I'm afraid you won't finish."

Shen Jingye quickly got to the point: "Earlier, didn't Big Head escape?"

"Don't drag the conversation so far!"

"It's not far. The matter revolves around him. We suspect that He Jiaqing rescued him and stole many documents and carriers from the Dark Star Bureau."

At this point, Shen Jingye paused for a moment and looked at Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng blinked and asked, "Was this Lie-Root Stone also stolen by He Jiaqing?"

Shen Jingye nodded slightly.

"That's not right," Li Banfeng recalled carefully. "You showed me a list of the stolen carriers at the time, and the Lie-Root Stone wasn't on it."

Shen Jingye sighed deeply and said earnestly, "Brother, if I had reported everything that was stolen, would I still be sitting here talking to you?"

Li Banfeng smiled. "You're concealing a report?"

Shen Jingye didn't deny it. "I'm doing this for the sake of the big picture."

"And then you came to me to balance the books?" Li Banfeng picked up the stone.

Shen Jingye quickly waved his hands. "No, brother, calm down. Please put the stone down and listen to my explanation. We are true friends. You helped me once, and I'll certainly not forget it. Don't you want the information on the two Puro Wars? I'll get it for you; there should be news in a few days."

Li Banfeng pointed at the stone and said, "Did you make this fake stone?"

Shen Jingye laughed. "It's not entirely useless. This is called a Star Yellow Stone. It's also quite rare in Puro Province. I'll give it to you as an apology."

"An apology? You make it sound so good! If you don't give it to me, how will you balance the books?" Li Banfeng threw the stone aside. "Shen Jingye, you owe me big time. First, get me a batch of reconcilers, then call the head of the Carrier Department for me. I'll ask him for a few more good items."

Shen Jingye nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, you can use them. It will certainly be justifiable on the books."

"Books—" Li Banfeng pondered for a moment. "Give me a list of the items stolen by He Jiaqing that you currently can't account for."

Shen Jingye's eyes lit up. "Brother, you have a solution?"

"Aren't I trying to help you figure it out? These items probably can't be recovered, but they should be able to be bought back."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingye nodded repeatedly. "Money is easy to find, we can make it up from anywhere. The key is that these items are hard to buy. Where would I find identical carriers?""We're about to submit our accounts. If you could help me recover one or two, it would be a huge help. But please make sure it's before the higher-ups conduct an inventory check—"

Back in his Portable Residence, Li Banfeng carefully examined the list Shen Jingye had given him.

The Gramophone asked, "Husband, have the people from the other province acknowledged it? We can't be blamed for this fake Lie-Root Stone."

"I'm not afraid of him blaming us. I'm thinking about how to get the real Lie-Root Stone back. He Jiaqing stole it, and I plan to ask him for it."

The Gramophone shook its large horn. "You can't do that! If you ask He Jiaqing for the Lie-Root Stone, you'll be telling him it's very useful. He's such a cunning person; he'll either refuse to give it to you, or he'll definitely find out its true purpose. All our hard work over this long time might end up benefiting him for free."

Li Banfeng had also considered this. "So I can't just ask him for the Lie-Root Stone alone. I'll need to ask for a few other items to mislead him."

The Gramophone still felt it was inappropriate. "You probably can't fool him. If it were me, I wouldn't give you a single item unless you told me what these items were for."

"Yes, I will have to tell him."

"Husband, please listen to me. Don't go to He Jiaqing; go to Desong Cliff instead!"

"No, absolutely not to Desong Cliff!" Li Banfeng put away the list and went to Puro Province.

He Yuxiu was still organizing land reclamation in her territory. She was too eager, and the three-headed people were starting to struggle.

Ye Jianhuang advised, "Miss He, I've never seen anyone as impatient as you. You've only taken over this territory for a few days, and you've already reclaimed over two thousand square units of land. Are you still complaining it's too slow?"

He Yuxiu laughed. "I want to get a piece of prime land soon, to gain influence there. Once I have influence, I can then gain cultivation."

Ye Jianhuang snorted. "Let me tell you, this is just Li Qi's idea. Go ask around the neighboring territories—how many local deities of new lands have toiled for over a hundred years and still haven't reclaimed a thousand square units of land?

"I'm telling you, land reclamation isn't just