togophonebook Chapter 852 Xiaqiu Prefecture City
Chapter 852 Xiaqiu Prefecture City
Chapter 852 Xiaqiu Prefecture City
When Chun Jing Shu woke up, the dragon carriage was already on its way to the Prince Lu's mansion.
Chun Jing Shu's face turned pale, and she was still shaken. She looked up and saw Gong Meng Bi leaning against the chair, flipping through the scriptures under the lotus lamp.
The light and shadow cast by the lotus lanterns gave the car a Zen-like atmosphere. Gong Mengbi, who was reading scriptures, had a calm expression, as if even his aggression had been smoothed out.
But Chun Jing Shu knew that this was just an illusion.
Beauty, wealth, power, and influence—those who possess these naturally attract the attention of others and exude an aggressive and threatening aura. If one cannot resist, one can easily be influenced, even succumbing to the allure of beauty, wealth, power, and influence, becoming a captive and henchman of others.
This attraction is especially evident in foxes that are practicing cultivation; if you can't see it, it means you're not far from falling into its trap.
Gong Mengbi appears calm as still water, but who knows what a bottomless abyss lies beneath that calm surface?
Chun Jing Shu gave up struggling and stopped deceiving herself, which calmed her down a bit. She asked with lingering fear, "Envoy, who exactly is this person?"
Gong Mengbi put down the book and told her about what happened after she fainted: "I don't know who the person was, but judging from his ability to control yin and yang and generate purple energy, he probably holds a divine position in the Sun Palace."
“The Sun Palace? That’s possible.” Chun Jing Shu thought it made sense: “The fox spirit I mentioned who went to Tianfu to work was mainly from the Sun and Moon Palace. If he knows the elders, he might be from the Sun Palace.”
The terms "Sun Palace" and "Moon Palace" refer to the Sun Palace and the Moon Palace, respectively. These are extremely important palaces in the Heavenly Palace. The sun and moon represent yin and yang, and if anything goes wrong in the Sun Palace or Moon Palace, chaos will ensue. Therefore, the Sun Palace and Moon Palace have the most deities, each with various duties. The number of great and small gods is countless. The responsibilities of these two palaces are broken down into extremely small parts to prevent any problem in one link from affecting others.
Huangfu Cong, the fox spirit of the Huangfu family who was tricked last time, took up the divine position of Sa Lu Lang Jun in the Moon Palace.
"If you want to know, just go back and ask," Gong Mengbi chuckled.
Chun Jing Shu shook her head and said, "I just want to stay far away from these things. The messenger first killed the relatives of Master Chang, and then prevented this old friend of the Sun Palace Immortal from attaining enlightenment. I'm afraid the Three Immortals will not protect you, and you will definitely be retaliated against."
Her implication was clear: she didn't want to get involved or be implicated.
These three demonic tests were definitely tasks that Ju Xia Si had specially taken back to embarrass Gong Mengbi. Offending several celestial beings in succession would have left most people in a state of constant fear.
If you are too timid to let them pass, you will only receive more and more missions like this in the future, and your luck and destiny will be constantly plundered. You will have to use your own blood and sweat to maintain the network of relationships of Juxia Division.
If someone is as ungrateful as Gong Mengbi, they will offend many gods and immortals, and who knows when they will be secretly retaliated against.
Chun Jing Shu wasn't truly foolish; she simply dared not think about it and refused to believe it. Now, in retrospect, she realizes that her true situation and status are far from optimistic.
"It's a pity that the Three Immortals underestimated Gong Mingfu. They didn't expect him to be so ruthless. He offends people to the point of no return. When they return, the Three Immortals will probably be the ones in the most predicament." Chun Jing Shu thought to herself, her eyes filled with scrutiny as she looked at Gong Mengbi.
Instead of being annoyed by her blunt words, Gong Mengbi burst into laughter: "That's not up to you, or even me."
Chun Jing Shu's transformation was also orchestrated by Gong Meng Bi. So-called aristocratic families are not monolithic entities, but rather intricate networks of vested interests. With enough skill, these networks can be dismantled.
Chun Jing Shu closed her eyes, her former noble demeanor vanishing completely.
The servants lying in the carriage have not yet woken up under the intimidation of that purple cloud incarnation. How much better off is she than them?
It was already dawn when the dragon chariot flew over Yanzhou, and the coachman and servants were only just waking up. They didn't dare ask any questions, carefully returning to their original tasks as if nothing had happened.
When the coachman reached the front, he realized they were already in Yanzhou. He turned around and asked, "Envoy, where are we going?"
"Go to the prefectural city."
Xiaqiu Prefecture is the location of the Prince Lu's Mansion. According to Chunminwen's research, the last person to undergo the demonic test, Daoist Cheng, was working at the Prince Lu's Mansion.
Although the King of Lu did not have the grandeur of the King of Wu who declared himself the ruler of a state, he was deeply trusted by the emperor after taking up his fiefdom in Lu.
The defenses of Xiaqiu City are different from other places. Although Suzhou has now restarted the divine way, the relationship between humans and gods is not harmonious, and there are still many loopholes to exploit. But in Xiaqiu City, the gods and humans communicate with each other, so there are fewer evil spirits causing trouble.
The closer a place is to the capital, the more efficacious its city gods and the more prosperous its religious practices become. The prosperity of the dynasty leads to the prosperity of its religious practices; this is a new initiative established after the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty.
Before a dragon-shaped chariot can enter Xiaqiu City, it must first be inspected by ghosts and gods; otherwise, the moment it lands, ghosts and gods will come to check on it.
However, Gong Mengbi didn't always want to get close to the City God, so he concealed the traces of the dragon chariot and quietly landed in Xiaqiu City, finding an inn to stay at.
Chun Jingshu said, "Xiaqiu City is heavily guarded, and it will probably be difficult for us to gather information."
"I left Master Cheng until last, not only because he's close to Mount Tai and we can go back after this, but also because he's difficult to deal with and it might take too much time," Gong Mengbi pondered. "It's not that there's no way, but it's not advisable to make a big fuss. It would be best to find a way to contact Master Cheng and avoid getting entangled with the Prince of Lu's mansion."
"Let's go out and gather some information again at dawn tomorrow. It's best to stay home at night to avoid disturbing the spirits."
Even so, after everyone had rested, Gong Mengbi left the inn alone and took a night stroll through Xiaqiu City.
Although the night was deep, it could not compare to the inky darkness of Mount Tai in the southeast.
The Si River bustled with cargo boats, its lights illuminating the night, and the faint sounds of drums echoed from the taverns. From the south to the north of the city, one could see the city within a city, the Lu Prince's Mansion.
The towering city walls separated the imperial power from the common people, and only the lights, like stars, could be seen in the magnificent palaces and temples.
Soldiers patrolled back and forth, and spirits illuminated the void; it was virtually impossible to infiltrate the Prince of Lu's residence silently. The word "virtually impossible" is, of course, because Gong Mengbi was not among them.
He concealed his presence, wielding the wondrous Heavenly Wheel Technique, connecting with the bright moon and stars above, employing the true power of the Five Sacred Mountains, and linking with the earth and mountains below. And he, a fox, was nothing more than a wisp of wind that had transformed into all things.
The wind rises and falls with the sighs of heaven and earth, and even ghosts and gods are in the world, so they cannot detect his trace.
Gong Mengbi wandered around the Lu Prince's mansion like a lost soul, listening to the servants guarding the palace talking in hushed tones and the patrolling guards clattering in their armor. Naturally, he figured out the layout of the Lu Prince's mansion.