A faint smile appeared on Fang Qingyu's face.
"He was once commended by the imperial court. The Six Gates wanted him to join, but he refused."
"Why? The Six Gates is a great place," Huang Tairen asked, puzzled.
"With those eyes of his, who knows how much he could accomplish?"
"Hmph. Sometimes it's best to be blissfully ignorant. Knowing too much rarely ends well."
Huang Tairen immediately understood.
"You have a point."
"My uncle's investigation revealed that several strangers recently appeared at Fei Yangming's home."
"Once they went in, they never came out."
"He's highly suspect. I don't know how many people the Government Office still has at its disposal."
Huang Tairen's expression darkened slightly. "Can we find out where the remaining few hundred people are?"
"We did. They're scattered across more than a hundred locations."
"They're hiding in temples, merchants' homes, inns, ordinary households, brothels, and gambling dens."
"There are twenty or thirty people in each location, disguised as all sorts of people."
"They've greased the right palms with silver, so no one's paid them any attention."
"Even when someone noticed, they didn't investigate further. There are always a few strangers around."
"I've recorded all the locations."
"We'll need the Demon Extermination Hall to act. The Government Office has only a hundred people—nowhere near enough to handle this."
"The Garrison has six thousand elite soldiers. Wang Jie now controls the water transport, too, and there are another three hundred soldiers stationed there."
"We're at a clear disadvantage. We can only rely on cultivators to turn the tide."
"But Wang Jie is a disciple of the Military School. He can gather the soldiers' vital energy and turn it into Military Baleful Intent."
"Though he's only at the peak of Foundation Establishment, with the power of his Military Baleful Intent, he can stand against someone in the True Law Realm without a problem."
"And as far as I know, that True Disciple of the Blood Demon Sect, Young Master Blood Spirit, is probably hiding in Wang Jie's camp."
"We'll be facing two True Disciples."
"I can hold off one of them, but I can't handle Wang Jie."
"And the Blood Demon Sect has many other experts who've infiltrated the city. There are at least ten people at the Human Tribulation level."
"This won't be an easy fight. If we make a move, Jade City will descend into chaos."
"If we don't, things will only get worse."
"We have two choices."
"First, hold our position and report the situation to request reinforcements."
"Second, outwit Wang Jie and lure him into a trap. If we fail, Jade City will immediately descend into chaos."
Huang Tairen's expression darkened. Their situation was dangerous.
With two True Disciples and all those Blood Demon Sect experts, their forces were nearly a match for the combined strength of the Demon Extermination Hall and the prefect.
"Reinforcements probably won't arrive in time."
"Our actions over the past few days have already tipped them off."
"The people Fei Yangming found were bait they threw out."
"The point was to make us let down our guard."
"If I were Wang Jie, I'd probably strike without warning in the next couple of days and seize Jade City."
Fang Qingyu furrowed his brow at this and let out a deep sigh.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Tomorrow, you'll host a banquet and invite Wang Jie to Yellow Flower Pavilion."
"I'll bring the Ten Shadow Division's experts and have them lie in wait inside."
"The moment Wang Jie arrives, we'll move in and capture him."
"If he dares resist, kill him."
Fang Qingyu frowned. "That's too crude. He might not fall for it."
"Then find a pretext he can't refuse."
Fang Qingyu nodded. "All right."
"If he still refuses to take the bait, then we'll have to meet on the narrow path, where the brave emerge victorious." A cold glint flashed in Huang Tairen's eyes.
Schemes were afoot, and Jade City seemed to be teetering on the brink.
At that moment, Li Qing silently used Shadow Art and slipped away.
He left by way of the underground passage. He knew someone might be watching outside.
For the past half month, he had secretly kept watch every day.
He discovered that his watchers were always concealed in the darkness, using an art that let them blend into the shadows.
Whenever he used Shadow Art, he could spot them.
Every night, one of them stood guard outside his room.
They changed the guard every day, apparently taking turns watching him.
Tonight, Li Qing had something he wanted to do.
He quietly left his room, traveled underground to the streets outside, and headed into the distance.
He easily evaded his watcher.
When he appeared again, he had already arrived at Hundred Gates Alley.
The place had reopened, and quite a few cultivators had gathered there.
Li Qing went straight to a shop called Ten Thousand Treasures Hall.
Inside, the shop was only about three yards square. A spacious reception room held several chairs.
At the far end, a man in a green robe sat behind a desk.
When the man saw him enter, he stood with a smile.
"Welcome, honored guest. I'm Tang Yiqiu, the shopkeeper of Ten Thousand Treasures Hall."
"May I ask what sort of treasure you're looking to buy?"
Li Qing smiled and sat down nearby, then took a box from his robes.
When he opened it, a black sphere appeared inside.
"How much would you say this is worth?"
The moment Tang Yiqiu saw what was inside the box, he hurried over.
He examined it from every angle, surprise showing on his face.
"This is a Thunderbolt Fire Bead from the Gongshu Clan. It's incredibly powerful."
"Once it explodes, it can cover a three-yard radius and pulverize everything within it."
"Even a high-level cultivator could have their body destroyed if they were struck without warning."
"It's worth a fair amount. You'd need at least five Curse Rank Essence Stones to trade for it."
Li Qing heard this and felt a weight lift slightly from his heart.
He had come to find out whether the thing was real or fake.
The turbulent situation in Jade City had made it impossible for him to trust anyone anymore, even Elder Huang.
He considered it. This thing is ultimately just an external tool.
And it's single-use. Either it works, or you're done for.
He looked up at Tang Yiqiu. "If I wanted to trade this for century-old medicinal herbs, how many could I get?"
Tang Yiqiu thought for a moment. "This thing is indeed powerful, but it has a few drawbacks."
"You can only use it by throwing it, and it has to hit something to detonate."
"If your opponent is prepared and uses some ingenious art to dissipate its force, it'll be completely useless."
"It's mainly used to catch people off guard, and cultivators at Foundation Establishment use it the most."
"Against someone in the True Method Realm, it'll most likely fail."
"So it isn't actually worth as much as you might think."
"It could be exchanged for two century-old medicinal herbs. That's the limit of its value."
Li Qing couldn't help frowning when he heard this.
He had originally hoped to trade it for four herbs and cultivate the first step of Humanity's Overview Technique.
It looked like that wouldn't work.
He sighed softly. "All right, then. I'll come back another time."
As he spoke, he tucked the treasure into his robes, turned, and left Ten Thousand Treasures Hall.
Watching him walk away, Tang Yiqiu suddenly realized what had happened and stamped his foot.
"Damn it, I've been had. This guy came here to get a free appraisal!"
"I've hunted geese all my life, only to have one peck my eye out."
Tang Yiqiu's expression shifted back and forth. He waved his hand angrily.
"Damn my luck."
Outside Ten Thousand Treasures Hall, Li Qing smiled to himself. He really had just come to get a free appraisal.
A thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. It'll probably happen within the next few days.