The Prelude to the Night of the Full Moon Begins 8000

As soon as Xu Bai finished speaking, he stepped out of the room.

Qing Xue was pulled by Xu Bai Xu Bai and followed him out of the backyard.

She was completely bewildered and had no idea what was happening. She was being dragged along by Xu Bai's strength.

Qing Xue was puzzled. The puzzle was that she had only been there for a short time and was only responsible for relaying messages. How did she suddenly get involved?

Furthermore, why did she have to meet Yun Zihai, and why did she have to go with him? She was completely confused about the situation.

But sometimes, once a person becomes dazed, it can last for a while.

In the front yard, the people from the escort agency were still exercising, but when they saw Xu Bai leading a beautiful woman out of the back yard, they all showed expressions of astonishment.

It's no wonder they didn't know, after all, Qing Xue was a seventh-rank expert, and it would be very easy for Qing Xue to sneak into the backyard without anyone noticing.

So this sudden encounter left everyone present stunned.

"Train properly, what are you looking at! Is the head of the escort team any of your business?" Liu Er shouted, brandishing his long sword.

What a joke! How could they possibly concern themselves with Master Xu's affairs? It's not like they're the ones hiding one woman; even hiding ten or a hundred would be perfectly normal.

The bodyguards quickly shut their mouths and said nothing more.

On the way to Yun Zihai's location, Xu Bai told Qing Xue some things, including Yun Zihai's purpose.

After he finished speaking, Qing Xue was completely bewildered.

This dazed state only lasted a moment before I came to my senses.

She wasn't stupid, and she quickly analyzed the cause and effect of the matter. However, she had a new idea.

"Why did you drag me over there? I'm just a messenger!"

To be honest, this matter really has nothing to do with her.

You two can deal with the people behind the Eighth Prince, but that has nothing to do with me.

I've already told you everything, and I've shared all the clues I know, so why are you still dragging me into this?

This was Qing Xue's truest thought, and indeed it was.

But soon, Xu Bai gave an answer that made her fall into deep thought.

"I need a helper, so I'll just say so directly. But I know that if I'm looking for a helper, it won't be for nothing. If you get involved in this matter and it succeeds, His Majesty the Emperor might develop a liking for the Ninth Princess."

He likes things to be straightforward, without any pretense, and he dislikes roundabout ways of doing things.

Do what you're supposed to do, there's no possibility of being scammed.

He definitely needs an assistant, to put it bluntly, because the more assistants he has, the more stable things will be.

He also knew very well that there was no such thing as a free lunch, so he told Qing Xue about some of the benefits, and whether or not to go was entirely up to Qing Xue to decide.

It's a fair and aboveboard transaction where everyone shares a common goal, and there's no deception involved.

If you're willing to go, then we'll go together; if not, then Xu Bai will let go now.

Upon hearing this, Qing Xue fell silent.

She originally wanted to report to the Ninth Princess and see what Ninth Princess would do.

But upon further reflection, I realized that this matter was already on the verge of being resolved and had to be addressed.

Once the report is submitted, it will inevitably take time. If we wait back and forth, what if Xu Bai and Yun Zihai have already dealt with these matters by then? Wouldn't that mean all the good things will be wasted? After thinking it over, Qing Xue finally made her decision. She remained silent, which was taken as her tacit agreement. Xu Bai then pulled her toward the County Office.

Qing Xue is loyal to the Ninth Princess, and she understands very well that this was His Majesty's decision.

If they could participate and help Xu Bai and the others accomplish this task, then the Ninth Princess would gain more favor with His Majesty.

For a member of the royal family, gaining the emperor's favor is more precious than mountains of gold and silver.

Qing Xue felt that she could make the decision, since the situation was urgent.

Thinking of this, she said no more.

The two continued walking, getting closer and closer to the Sheng County government office.

Before they had gone far, they were stopped by a young man in brocade robes when they approached the County Office.

"Brother Xu, you're not being fair! I've already given you the best stuff, and we agreed to be friends. Now you're behind my back, getting involved with the Ninth Princess's people again." The young man in brocade robes was furious, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

The young man in brocade was about to leave, and before he left, he wanted to see if there were any local specialties in the county town that he could take back and enjoy himself.

But he never expected that he would witness this scene during his casual stroll.

Backstab, a blatant backstab.

The young man in brocade robes had the words "You're not being fair" written all over his face.

That's not just unethical, it's downright inhumane! As the saying goes, it's only right to do things for money; it's a principle that has been around since ancient times.

Even if it costs a bit more, as long as the matter is handled properly, it's considered perfect.

However, you, Xu Bai, actually took the money but didn't do the job. Isn't that going against the code of the martial arts world?

We agreed to be friends.

Xu Bai has also agreed that Nameless Saber Scripture, he will no longer interfere in the affairs between the Ninth Princess and the Sixth Prince.

Originally, by the time he got here, it would have been a satisfactory ending, and he could have gone back to report.

But now, in the blink of an eye, you, Xu Bai, are brazenly running through the streets with the Ninth Princess's maid in hand.

What's wrong, are you two in a hurry to get married?

What kind of nonsense is this? Isn't this embarrassing him in public?

The young man in brocade robes not only felt angry, but also felt that someone was slapping him in the face.

It was a very loud bang.

Therefore, he came to seek justice. After all, everyone here is a reasonable person, and it's obvious that Xu Bai is in the wrong.

To Xu Bai's surprise, the expected thing didn't happen when he saw the young man in brocade robes; instead, his eyes lit up.

It's like a pillow coming when you're about to fall asleep, a timely help in your time of need! Smack!

Without saying a word, Xu Bai grabbed the young man in brocade robes by the shoulder and led him toward the County Office office.

The process was extremely rough.

"What are you doing? Don't think that just because you've dragged me into this and made things fair, I won't be angry anymore. Let me tell you, this is not going to happen!" The young man in brocade robes began to struggle.

What kind of situation is this?

Don't think that including me at this time means it's fair and just.

Why didn't you take me first? But before he could finish his sentence, he heard Xu Bai's voice.

"Would you like to get some capital for your Sixth Prince?" Xu Bai said casually.

The young man in brocade robes was slightly taken aback.

He was, after all, a member of the Sixth Prince's strategist group, and in terms of intelligence, he was no less than Qing Xue.

Seeing Xu Bai's impatient demeanor again, the young man in brocade chose to keep quiet and follow Xu Bai first.

Upon hearing this, Qing Xue was no longer calm.

What? This is the Sixth Prince's man? Does that mean he was involved in the assassination attempt on her before? Thinking of this, Qing Xue reached out her right hand and secretly touched the Silver Thorn at her waist.

At that moment, the hand that Xu Bai was holding suddenly tightened; Xu Bai had used his strength.

Qing Xue subconsciously looked up and saw Xu Bai mouthing something in her direction.

--cooperate.

Upon receiving this information, Qing Xue thought for a moment and then lowered her right hand.

"Miss Qing Xue, this wasn't my idea. My idea was to offer you benefits. The one who sent someone to assassinate you was arranged by another strategist. Who knew the Sixth Prince would say he wanted it all?" The young man in brocade robes hurriedly explained upon seeing the situation.

"Hehe..." Qing Xue sneered.

If it weren't for giving Xu Bai some face, she would have already taken action.

Amidst the commotion, Xu Bai entered the County Office through a hidden spot in the wall and went directly to Yun Zihai's house.

At this moment, the door to Yun Zihai's house was wide open, and Xu Bai led Qing Xue and the other person inside without saying a word.

Yun Zihai was still sitting in his chair, looking extremely troubled. Clearly, he had been suffering from headaches and fevers recently because of that note.

At that moment, he also heard a sound. When he looked up, he saw Xu Bai walking in from outside with a man and a woman.

"Brother Xu, what are you doing?" Yun Zihai was slightly taken aback, feeling completely confused.

It's really puzzling why they suddenly came to him with a man and a woman.

"Help." Xu Bai explained the abilities of Qing Xue and the other person.

After listening, Yun Zihai felt a headache coming on. "Brother Xu, this matter is very confidential."

His plan was originally intended to be extremely secretive. Before he came, His Majesty the Emperor had told him to keep it as confidential as possible.

He was able to tell Xu Bai because Xu Bai was an extremely reliable helper, after all, his junior sister Liu Xu highly recommended him.

But now that more and more people know about it, it's causing a headache.

"I know what you mean. Let her finish speaking first. Qing Xue, tell me what you know," Xu Bai said.

Qingxue stared wide-eyed. "Didn't I already tell you? You said it's the same."

"You're one of the people involved, so you have a deeper understanding," Xu Bai waved his hand.

He's lazy, and it's exhausting for him to say so many words.

In terms of personality, Qing Xue was completely outmaneuvered by Xu Bai Xu Bai had no way to deal with him, so she had no choice but to repeat what she knew.

Yun Zihai listened intently until Qing Xue finished speaking, at which point he fell into deep thought.

"Think about it carefully. Since the other party knows that your letter is likely long gone, there is no need for them to hunt you down. The clues are completely cut off, and it doesn't matter if others find out. Now, it just so happens that the two of them are also suitable experts." Xu Bai explained one by one.

Yun Zihai.

That's actually a valid way of thinking.

He was bait, and the bait was that letter.

Since the other party no longer doubted the letter, his bait had lost its effect.

What they need to do now is to hold onto the clues they have, solve the puzzle, and then take the initiative.

Turn the fish into a fishhook and hook the fish.

Since we're going to take the initiative, the fishing rod has to be thick and big, and the more helpers the better.

"Wait, the tomb you just mentioned?" Yun Zihai asked.

Qing Xue nodded firmly, indicating that she had not misheard; it was definitely the word "tomb".

Yun Zihai fell into deep thought.

At this moment, the young man in brocade robes looked completely bewildered.

To be honest, he really didn't understand what had happened.

He only quietly followed along when he first heard there were benefits.

"What's your name?" Xu Bai turned to the young man in brocade and asked, "What are your abilities?"

"Zhou Qing," the young man in brocade replied, "Our Zhou Family is a family of martial artists. I have recently learned the Zhou Family's Soaring Cloud Hand, which allows me to switch between reality and illusion, catching the enemy off guard."

The layer of mist he encountered during his previous battle with Xu Bai was the Soaring Cloud Hand he had learned.

Xu Bai stroked his chin, organized his thoughts, and began to explain the benefits of this matter.

The more Zhou Qing listened, the brighter his eyes became. After Xu Bai finished speaking, he clenched his fist.

"Let's do it!"

If this matter is successfully accomplished, it will bring many benefits to the Sixth Prince, the greatest of which is winning His Majesty's favor.

Qing Xue touched her forehead with her hand, looking helpless.

Another person has gotten on the wrong boat.

She discovered that Xu Bai was quite adept at getting people onto the boat.

Of course, what she didn't know was that all the bodyguards of the Fulong Escort Agency were brought on board by Xu Bai.

As the group chatted, Yun Zihai snapped out of his reverie.

"Brother Xu, I've thought of that note. Based on the information you've given me, it's very likely that it's not a map from the outside world," Yun Zihai said, looking up.

Xu Bai said, "I thought of that too. Speaking of the word 'tomb,' this thing is very likely a map inside the tomb."

The tombs of the Great Chu Kingdom are of many kinds, especially some of the large tombs, which have many intricate and winding passages inside.

This indirectly gave rise to a profession: gravediggers, a branch of the Thieving Sect.

Gravediggers are people who make their fortunes through this profession. However, many people find it unlucky and keep their distance.

When wealthy families in the Great Chu Kingdom built their tombs, they would leave a map for their descendants. After all, there were many burial objects inside the tombs, which could be retrieved if the descendants became impoverished.

This is quite different from my previous life.

"Brother Xu, please wait a moment." Yun Zihai said, then immediately turned around and took a very thick booklet from the bookshelf.

There were four characters written on the booklet.

—The History of Sheng County.

In short, this is a history of Sheng County, describing its Sheng County, development, and the entire process from the past to the present.

"Can anyone finish reading such a thick book?" Xu Bai asked, frowning.

"Scholars are naturally best suited to handle matters that require their expertise," Yun Zihai said with a smile.

As he spoke, under everyone's gaze, he began to rapidly flip through the thick booklet. He flipped through it so quickly that several pages were turned over in the blink of an eye.

Goodness.

Xu Bai's lips twitched slightly.

If I had this skill, I wouldn't have to worry about any exams.

It took Yun Zihai less than half an incense stick's time to flip through this large, thick book from the first page to the last.

After a moment, Yun Zihai stopped. He went back and flipped through the pages again, finally stopping at a certain page.

"Brother Xu, this place is more complicated than we imagined," Yun Zihai said with a wry smile.

Xu Bai leaned closer and looked at the written record. Then, his eyes showed surprise.

"The royal family, the Rising Dusk King?"

According to the records of Sheng County, a long time ago, an extremely powerful figure died in battle here.

Rising Dusk King the emperor's younger brother.

In that era, the Great Chu Kingdom was in turmoil, having just been established.

Great Yue Kingdom, on the other hand, is already a very mature country.

As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain.

The Great Yue Kingdom used various means to lure Rising Dusk King here, and then sent countless experts to ambush and kill him. In the end, Rising Dusk King died in the wilderness.

Of course, before he died, he killed all his enemies. Blood stained the land red on that desolate wasteland and lingered for a long time.

On that day, the Great Chu Kingdom mourned.

The emperor personally ordered the construction of a massive mausoleum in Sheng County, where Rising Dusk King's remains would be buried forever.

Since then, countless gravediggers have tried to decipher the tomb, but all of them have died inside. Over time, the tomb has become a taboo subject for gravediggers, and no one dares to mention it.

"Such an important thing, didn't you think of it before?" Xu Bai asked.

"No, we know that Rising Dusk King died in battle, but only the older generation knows the exact location where he was buried. The purpose was to prevent more gravediggers from getting close," Yun Zihai said helplessly.

"But who would have thought that the news would still leak out, and countless gravediggers were buried in the tomb. Over time, no one dared to come anymore, but the burial location was never mentioned."

"After I arrived in Sheng County, I focused on the lives of the people and never looked at this history book. I wish I had read it sooner."

Speaking of this, Yun Zihai felt ashamed.

Xu Bai stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The reason for keeping the location of the tomb a secret could be to prevent gravediggers, but since there were no more gravediggers, the location of the burial remains unmentioned. It always feels like the Emperor of the Great Chu Kingdom is hiding something.

But these are not things he should be thinking about; solving the problem is the priority right now.

"We don't have gravediggers," Xu Bai said.

This history is written very clearly, including the location of the tomb, but there is still a problem: they don't know who dug the grave.

Royal tombs, in particular, are terrifying; there might be extremely dangerous things inside.

"Brother Xu, you're right, but my idea is that we don't have it, but others do," Yun Zihai.

The implication is simple: they don't have it, but that doesn't mean the Mysterious Person don't. Since the Mysterious Person's goal is the tomb, they must have brought gravediggers with them, otherwise they would be unable to move an inch.

"Of course, the best way would be if we could eliminate them before then," Yun Zihai added.

If we can eliminate them in advance, that would be ideal. If we can't, we can only try to sabotage their operations from behind.

At this moment, the young man in brocade raised his hand and said, "If you really want to find a gravedigger, I can find one here."

Xu Bai turned his head and asked, "Who?"

The young man in brocade pointed to himself and said, "Me."

Xu Bai silently took two steps back.

unlucky.

Not only him, but Yun Zihai and Qing Xue also stepped back at the same time.

After all, there's a rumor that anyone who gets too close to gravediggers will have bad luck.

"The Zhou Family, so it's that Zhou Family." Yun Zihai was speechless. "I heard that when you first started out, you relied on this special skill to make your fortune. If it weren't for the turbulent times that followed, when all your enemies were wiped out, you would probably be facing a storm of revenge right now."

Gravediggers would never reveal their identities to others. After all, every gravedigger is engaged in the business of digging up ancestral graves, and if others found out, those whose ancestral graves had been dug up would definitely give them a heavy blow.

"After the establishment of the Great Chu Kingdom, we all retired from the trade. However, our descendants should still learn it, since it is our old profession," Zhou Qing said confidently.

"Have you mastered it?" Xu Bai asked.

"It's alright. Since then, the Zhou Family has become martial arts practitioners, but we haven't forgotten some of our unique skills. Because we've already distinguished between primary and secondary skills, when learning unique skills, we learn the ones we're interested in separately, rather than learning them all," Zhou Qing explained.

In this world, people can do more repairs, but the time cost will increase exponentially, so no one is willing to do more repairs.

The work of gravediggers requires energy. Zhou Qing raised his right hand, and a yellowish-brown light flashed on his index finger.

"What I specialize in is the ingenuity of tombs. We already know the precise location, so we no longer need to determine the burial site by divination. What we need is to guard against the traps in the tomb," Zhou Qing explained.

As he spoke, he patted his chest confidently, indicating that there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Are you sure there won't be any problems? Don't forget, that tomb is a place that strikes fear into the hearts of countless grave robbers," Qing Xue reminded her.

The tomb of Rising Dusk King is not something that can be dealt with easily.

Xu Bai patted Qing Xue on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we'll resolve this as soon as possible if we can. If not, we'll see how things go."

Their purpose in coming here was not to rob tombs.

If someone knowledgeable about mechanisms were present, they could easily trigger the mechanisms inside after the group of Mysterious Person Mysterious Person went in, burying them there, which would be considered a success.

"Let's settle on this for now." Yun Zihai looked at Xu Bai and said, "Shall we set off now?"

Xu Bai nodded.

If we have a clue, we'll head over there immediately; of course, we'll set off right away.

Qing Xue and Zhou Qing had no objection to the proposal.

Yun Zihai came to the window.

There was a pigeon hanging in the window. After taking the pigeon out, he slipped a note into its leg.

"I'll send a message to His Majesty, asking him to send experts over as soon as possible. We'll stall for as long as we can," Yun Zihai explained as he released the pigeon.

He hadn't expected that this matter would be related to Rising Dusk King; it was beyond his expectations.

Most importantly, they still haven't figured out the identities of these Mysterious Person.

After finishing this task, the group didn't linger and headed in the direction marked in the history book.

Meanwhile, in a desolate wilderness, a dozen men in black stood still, heads bowed, not daring to look ahead.

Ahead stood a man whose face was covered by a mask.

The mask had no facial features; it was smooth except for two holes cut out for the eyes.

"Ghost Sculptor!"

The masked man gave a cold, low shout.

A man in black stepped out from the crowd, head bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

The masked man threw the paper in his hand at the man in black's face, and said angrily, "Tell me, why is there a corner missing from the map?"

The Ghost Sculptor shuddered and dared not utter a word.

"Before I came out, I gave you the most important thing, but you gave me this instead. Aren't you too disappointing?" The masked man's voice was filled with murderous intent.

"Master, please forgive me. I don't know why this part is missing. Perhaps it was lost unintentionally when we escaped from there." The Ghost Sculptor was shocked by the voice, his legs went weak, and he knelt down on the ground.

The murderous intent grew stronger.

Just then, a woman's voice rang out.

"Since when has our respected Eighth Prince become so capricious?"

Accompanied by that enchanting and mesmerizing female voice, a woman with an exceptionally beautiful figure emerged from the woods.

Her figure is so captivating that one glance is enough to make you fall in love, and coupled with that enchanting voice, she is simply a bewitching beauty.

But when you look up, the flames that have already been ignited are instantly extinguished.

The reason is simple: this exceptionally tall figure is topped with a fox's head.

monster.

Fox demon!

It wasn't the fox tail that most people imagine, but rather a fox head.

A mouthful of sharp teeth and eyes gleaming with ferocity, yet these features were perfectly set into his exceptionally tall and muscular physique.

It's strange, and it suits the tastes of certain special groups of people, but most people would absolutely not like it.

"Thousand-Faced Fox, you've finally decided to come out! I've gone to such great lengths, and now it's all for naught. Give me an explanation!" The Eighth Prince's tone became even more intense, especially after the Thousand-Faced Fox appeared; he was practically about to explode.

Who knew that the Thousand-Faced Fox wouldn't give him face? When the Eighth Prince said those words, the Thousand-Faced Fox also got angry.

"The greatest price we paid was probably ours. Our most talented member of the clan was sacrificed, transformed into your likeness, to ensure your safe escape."

Speaking of this, the Thousand-Faced Fox's fox head bristled.

Their clan is best at mimicking the appearance of others.

In order to fake the death of the Eighth Prince, they even paid the price of a genius member of their clan.

The Eighth Prince continued to glare at the Thousand-Faced Fox.

"I know you are the dignified Eighth Prince, and we are all heretics and demons, but we cannot tolerate you behaving so arrogantly, because we are all helping you now." Thousand-Faced Fox continued, pointing at Ghost Sculptor: "He could live a carefree life anywhere, but to come and help you, he has to act so lowly. Who do you think you are?"

Silence fell upon those words.

After a long while.

The Eighth Prince seemed to have recovered from his rage and calmed down.

"The map I painstakingly stole from the Imperial Palace has now lost a corner. We may be in great danger, but we have no choice."

He had just lost his temper, but now that he'd come to his senses, he realized that no matter how angry he got, it wouldn't change anything.

The most important thing is to find what you want.

"Is it really worth paying such a high price just for missing such a small piece?" Thousand-Faced Fox frowned.

"The roads inside are intricate and full of traps. Without this map, it would be very dangerous, but this is the only way we can do it," the Eighth Prince said.

Everyone fell silent.

Now that we've reached a point of no return, another problem has arisen, leaving us no choice but to proceed despite the danger.

"Tonight, on the night of the full moon, is the time for us to act," said the Eighth Prince.

"Yes!"

Everyone quickly agreed.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air in this forest.

Sheng County.

At this moment, Xu Bai and his three companions were running at full speed, their destination being the location recorded in the history books.

The location marked above is still quite far from Sheng County Sheng County, situated on its outskirts.

The sun gradually set, while a full moon hung in the sky.

The moon tonight is rounder than ever before, like a jade plate hanging high on the curtain of night. When the silver light shines down, it makes the jade plate appear as if wisps of smoke are rising.

The silvery light seemed like a fairy dancing in the moonlight.

Xu Bai subconsciously glanced up at the full moon, then continued on his way.

But at that moment, Zhou Qing suddenly spoke up, telling everyone to stop.

"Wait a minute, everyone, something seems wrong!"

As soon as Zhou Qing finished speaking, Xu Bai and the others stopped and turned to look at him.

After saying those words, Zhou Qing stopped talking and instead lowered his head, took out an ancient book from his pocket, and began to flip through it.

After a moment, his hand stopped on one of the pages, and his expression changed slightly.

"On the night of the full moon, when the tomb is in peril, one must be extremely cautious to preserve one's life."

He slowly read a passage aloud.

Zhou Qing raised his head and said, "The book says that if the tomb of a person who was once elegant and noble appears on the night of a full moon, it will cause a great upheaval. Today happens to be the night of a full moon, and I suspect that the other party does not want to rob the tomb, but rather..."

"To cause turmoil for the one in the tomb."

At this point, Zhou Qing shuddered.

The one in the tomb is none other than the legendary Rising Dusk King, the emperor's younger brother.

If unrest occurs...

"Zombie resurrection?" Xu Bai asked, frowning.

"That's just one possibility. I don't know what he's planning to do, but a huge upheaval is definitely going to happen. Everyone, we may not have a second plan. We have to deal with this before they make their move." Zhou Qing put away the book in his hand and said.

The so-called second plan was that if they couldn't deal with the other party in advance, they would follow them into the tomb and then figure out another way to deal with them inside.

Or destroy the tomb and bury the other party inside, or eliminate the other party inside.

But now it seems that the situation is very wrong and must be resolved as soon as possible.

"It seems that everyone should stop holding back and stop keeping any secrets or tricks up their sleeves. This meeting will be a life-or-death struggle," Xu Bai said.

Everyone present nodded in unison, said nothing more, and continued on their way to their destination.

The moon is getting rounder and rounder, and it looks like it will soon be full.

Xu Bai and the others finally arrived at their destination, which was a vast, desolate wilderness.

The area used to be a forest, but now the forest has disappeared. All the trees have been cut down, leaving only a wooden stake standing in place.

The forest has turned into open field, which is very intuitive and allows for a direct view of the situation in the center.

In the very center of this wilderness stood a dozen or so people, all dressed in black robes, surrounding a masked man.

Next to the Masked Man stood a woman with a voluptuous figure, but wearing a fox head.