Prophet

Xu Qi'an returned from his resurrection in Yunzhou, performed meritorious service, was granted a noble title, and his relationship with Lin'an and Huaiqing improved rapidly.

As for the Nightwatchers, Wei Yuan also promised to promote him to the rank of Silver Gong, ensuring a steady improvement in his future prospects, financial future, and even his love life.

It is foreseeable that in a few years, he will become a duke, marry a princess, and reach the pinnacle of his life.

The capital city has been prosperous since ancient times, with abundant resources, advanced medical care, and social welfare, all of which are at the forefront of the times. People naturally gravitate towards bustling cities, and Xu Qi'an is no exception.

He also worked as a migrant worker in Beijing back then.

It wasn't that he had no choice, he just didn't want to leave the capital.

Master, are you making things difficult for me, Fatty Tiger? Xu Qi'an frowned and asked, "Master, why do you want to leave the capital?"

Monk Shenshu tilted his head, gazing in a certain direction. "I can sense that the Western Religion is coming."

Western religion?

Xu Qi'an was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the monk Shenshu was referring to the Buddhist School of the Western Regions.

By the way, during the Sangbo case, when the monk Panshu of Qinglong Temple learned that Master Shenshu had escaped, he immediately left the temple and headed west. So, did the Buddhist School sect come to interrogate him?

No wonder Shen Shu wanted me to leave the capital. If that bald guy from the West were to discover that Shen Shu was inside my body, I might really be imprisoned under Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years.

But I don't have the Monkey King's thick and hard Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff that stabilizes the sea), so I don't even have a chance to fight back.

"So you want me to leave the capital temporarily?" Xu Qi'an's face showed some worry.

Monk Shenshu nodded slowly.

"Alright, we're in this together now. By the way, Master, I've heard that Buddhist School has a miraculous body-refining method that allows one to achieve an indestructible body without physically training. Could you teach me?"

Quickly seize the benefits.

Monk Shenshu shook his head. "I am merely a remnant soul."

I don't know if you're a remnant soul, but I do know you're trying to get something for nothing from me. Xu Qi'an's lips twitched.

A thin mist gathered, enveloping the dilapidated temple, before gradually fading and disappearing. Xu Qi'an opened his eyes and returned to his room, where he was sitting on the edge of the bed in the same position.

"It's obvious without even thinking that the Buddhist School from the Western Regions came for Monk Shenshu. More than a month has passed, and at most they'll just look at the case files and learn about what happened. They're unlikely to stay in the capital for long."

"Then my departure from the capital is only temporary; I won't be back for very long."

Xu Qi'an nodded slightly. He could accept that. He could treat it as a vacation, a chance to rest, and go to a wealthy city to experience the monotonous life of the rich for a few days.

"On the contrary, it's difficult to write a leave request. Leaving the capital without a reason is not allowed by the government system. Besides, Wei Yuan can't do without me."

"The world is so big, I want to go see it." That will definitely be rejected; Lao Wei doesn't understand my joke.

"By the way, talk to Master Jinlian and ask him to come up with any excuse, like someone in the Earth Book chat group is in trouble and needs my help."

Xu Qi'an planned to discuss with Daoist Jinlian that he wanted to leave the capital for a while, but the Nightwatchers's office had strict regulations, and it was not easy to leave the capital. The main thing was to give Wei Yuan a plausible reason.

However, before that, he still had some things to finish up, such as attending tomorrow's banquet and instructing the jailers to keep an eye on the couple, as whether Erlang could stay in the capital after the imperial examination depended entirely on them.

Another example is to test how Wei Yuan plans to take revenge on Consort Chen.

Although the case of Consort Fu has ended, a grudge has been formed. Wei Yuan is going to investigate the forces behind Consort Chen, and there will definitely be follow-up actions.

Now that the Empress has lost her only younger brother, she will likely no longer remain indifferent, and a bloody power struggle among the women in Emperor Yuanjing's harem is bound to erupt.

Xu Qi'an was concerned about how fierce their conflict would become; he didn't want to return to the capital only to hear that Consort Chen had died or the Empress had passed away.

If that were the case, Lin'an and Huaiqing would become irreconcilable enemies and could not remain sisters.

His dream of a threesome with Daming Lake for free is about to be shattered.

Just then, a servant came to the door and called out, "Dalang, Miss Caiwei from the Bureau of Astronomy has come to visit."

What is she doing here?

Xu Qi'an replied, "Understood. Let Auntie entertain her first; I'll be there later."

He stored his diary, silver, and other private items in the fragments of the Book of the Earth to prepare for leaving the capital. After confirming that no items that would be lost in the light of day had been forgotten, he breathed a sigh of relief and went out to see Chu Caiwei.

In the living room, Chu Caiwei was stuffing pieces of water chestnut cake into her mouth rapidly, as if someone was trying to steal her food.

Indeed, someone was trying to steal her food. Standing opposite her was Xu Lingyin, who was quickly stuffing a piece of water chestnut cake into her mouth with both hands. Her ravenous eating posture was clearly an attempt to snatch food from Chu Caiwei.

Between the two of them were seven or eight kinds of pastries, a wide variety and a generous quantity.

Chu Caiwei brought a large bag of food to the Xu Residence today. While eating, she waited for Xu Qi'an. Suddenly, a small child appeared out of nowhere, looking at her expectantly.

The big-eyed beauty still remembered her; she was Xu Ningyan's younger sister, a very greedy and voracious child.

"Help yourself to eat whatever you want, I have plenty here."

Chu Caiwei remembered saying that.

At first, the two foodies got along peacefully, each eating their own food, and everyone was happy. But as they ate, Chu Caiwei suddenly realized that this girl was eating faster than her.

No, that's too unfair. I have to eat faster.

Xu Lingyin noticed that this older sister had suddenly started eating very fast; she was clearly trying to steal her food. No way, that's too unfair! I have to eat even faster.

There wasn't a single word exchanged throughout, but the battle between the foodies quickly escalated to a fever pitch.

The entire battle, from beginning to climax, can be vividly summarized in two words: Euler, Euler Euler, Euler Euler Euler, Euler Euler Euler Euler.

When Xu Qi'an arrived at the back hall and saw this scene, he was stunned.

"Hey, hey, hey, you can't eat like that!"

Xu Qi'an glanced at the little girl's round belly, picked her up and moved her aside, looking around. "Where's my aunt?"

My aunt wasn't in the hall; she was probably busy arranging tomorrow's banquet, otherwise she definitely wouldn't have let the little one eat like that.

"Big brother, big brother, the water chestnut cake is so delicious!" Xu Lingyin struggled desperately, showing her eagerness. In the blink of an eye, the older sister had given her several more pieces.

"I'll eat you to death."

Xu Qi'an pointed to the pastries on the table and said irritably, "Put them away, put them away. What brings Miss Caiwei here?"

He guessed that Chu Caiwei had come to visit him. After his resurrection, he had been busy investigating the Fufei case and hadn't seen her for a month and a half.

"Given my current peak of good looks, it's not surprising that she's eyeing my good looks. "Xu Qi'an smiled.

"My teacher asked me to invite you to the Star-Gazing Tower," Chu Caiwei said, taking a sip of her tea, then repacking the remaining pastries and putting them into the deerskin pouch at her waist.

When the supervisor invited me to the Star-Gazing Tower, Xu Qi'an frowned slightly, but didn't resist too much.

Xu Qi'an couldn't guess which floor the supervisor was on, but the supervisor knew exactly which floor he was on.

The two left the Xu Residence together, each riding their horses towards the Star-Gazing Tower.

"Those pastries were bought by my fifth senior sister, but your little sister ate most of them." Chu Caiwei held the reins, looked ahead, and said sweetly:

"Xu Ningyan, you have to compensate me with money."

"Talking about money hurts feelings; the bond between us can't be measured in money."

Xu Qi'an spurred his horse and said, "Don't keep the Supervisor waiting, giddy up!"

Horse, get the hell out of here!

Upon arriving at the Bureau of Astronomy, Xu Qi'an acted as if the pastry incident had never happened, and without waiting for Chu Caiwei, he entered the building with practiced ease.

"Huh, why is the Bureau of Astronomy so deserted today?"

The lobby on the first floor was deserted except for a few scattered Healer on duty. Their expressions were not quite right, and they kept glancing towards the stairwell as if they were afraid that a monster might come downstairs.

Upon hearing Xu Qi'an's words, a Healer in white robes at the door replied, "Young Master Xu, they've all gone to the clinic to see patients."

"What day is it today?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The Healer in white gave an awkward smile and did not answer.

Xu Qi'an climbed the stairs in a daze. When he reached the seventh floor, he found that the Alchemy Chamber had been blown up, and not a single Alchemist, who were usually very active, could be seen.

We arrived at Eight Trigrams Platform smoothly.

The first thing you see is the back of the supervisor, dressed in white with his white hair flowing down, sitting on the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, facing outwards.

Then he saw a disheveled woman sitting next to the supervisor, wearing a simple linen robe, eating and drinking at the table.

The reason we could tell she was a woman was mainly because when a man is lying face down, the outline of his buttocks doesn't appear as full and round.

"Greetings, Supervisor!"

Xu Qi'an stopped a short distance away and greeted them with clasped hands.

"Not bad, the foundation is very solid," the supervisor commented.

Just then, footsteps came from the stairwell, Chu Caiwei, her skirt fluttering, came up carrying several bags of pastries.

She placed the pastries on the table and pushed them towards the woman who was engrossed in eating. The woman glanced at them and said, "So little?"

"It got eaten by a stupid child." Chu Caiwei shifted the blame to Xu Lingyin.

The woman nodded and continued eating.

Fifth Senior Sister?

At this moment, Xu Qi'an finally realized what was going on and recalled his conversation with Wei Yuan.

The Director of the Imperial Observatory has five disciples, all of whom are in seclusion year-round. Those unfamiliar with the Bureau of Astronomy Bureau of Astronomy often assume that Chu Caiwei is the only female disciple.

"It's her?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

At that moment, the supervisor's deep voice rang out. "How's this knife?"

"It works very well, thank you very much, Supervisor." Xu Qi'an said respectfully.

Meanwhile, he thought to himself: This sword was tailor-made for my Heaven and Earth One-Slash Slash, wasn't it all part of your plan? Stop talking nonsense.

"How effective is the Rebirth Pill?" the supervisor asked again.

"Very good." Xu Qi'an said carefully, "It's just that the drastic change in my appearance has caused me some trouble. I'm not as gentle and unassuming as I used to be."

"I see," the supervisor nodded and smiled, "I can help you restore it to its original state."

"Huh? It can all be turned back?" Xu Qi'an was a little stunned, and quickly waved his hand. "I wouldn't dare trouble the supervisor."

Actually, I feel more connected to the character of a man who is naturally handsome and unable to hide his good looks!

He didn't dare to say anything sarcastic in front of the prison guards, but he could only be cheeky in his mind.

The supervisor nodded slowly and said, "Zhong Li is my fifth disciple, a fifth-rank prophet. She will accompany you on your training for a period of time."

Chu Caiwei was taken aback, glanced at the supervisor, and then turned to look at Xu Qi'an.

So, a fifth-rank Warlock is called a prophet. But why do you need to train with me for a while? Xu Qi'an probed:

"Does this humble servant know the reason?"

The supervisor didn't answer his question, but called out, "Zhong Li."

The woman in the linen robe rose, bowed to Xu Qi'an, and said, "Teacher, you said I'm lucky. Following you, my bad luck will be reduced to some extent. You are my fortuitous opportunity."

The sound is quite pleasant to the ear.

Xu Qi'an stared intently at her face, but she lowered her head slightly, her messy and thick hair completely obscuring her face.

"Misfortune?" he countered.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhong Li replied sincerely, "Prophets can glimpse the secrets of heaven, but they suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Dao and are plagued by misfortune. Only by enduring three thousand six hundred tribulations can they advance in rank. If they cannot, they will die and their cultivation will be extinguished."

"Those who can withstand the backlash from Heavenly Dao are people with great fortune."

After hearing Zhong Li's explanation, Xu Qi'an immediately thought of two things. First, he finally understood why there were so many sixth-rank Alchemist in the Bureau of Astronomy, while he had only ever seen one person above the sixth rank, Yang Qianhuan.

The second thing is that the "King of Pretense" is actually a person with great fortune; it's unbelievable, unbelievable.

A prophet can glimpse the secrets of heaven? Hmm, that's a prerequisite profession for a diviner. Xu Qi'an asked curiously, "In what form does the backlash from the Heavenly Dao appear? I need to assess how terrifying this so-called backlash is, after all, I'm just an ordinary gong."

His prediction was correct; the supervisor was aware of the High Antiquity him.

Zhong Li thought for a moment and said, "Disaster comes from the mouth. Sometimes, a word I say unintentionally can turn into a real disaster, affecting those around me, including myself."

"Sometimes, an unintentional act can bring about unforeseen disasters. And the magnitude of these disasters is beyond our control; it might just be taking a step back that leads to a life-or-death calamity."

As she spoke, she took a symbolic half-step back.

With such a simple movement, an accident occurred. A dignified fifth-rank expert slipped and fell off the Eight Trigrams Platform.

"Help!

Xu Qi'an's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively shouted out.

The Star-Gazing Tower is a hundred meters high. Falling from such a height would be certain death even for Xu Qi'an himself, unless he had reached the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm.

The Warlock's physique was quite ordinary, far inferior to that of a warrior.

At the same time, a lyric uncontrollably floated through Xu Qi'an's mind:

Were you serious about taking half a step back? Such a small movement can cause so much damage.

The supervisor sighed, reached out his hand from beneath his wide sleeve, and gently grasped.

Zhong Li, who was about to fall, was pulled back up, thus escaping the fate of dying from the fall.

She lowered her head, her black hair loose, and spoke calmly, "Actually, if I had been prepared, I wouldn't have been hurt even if I jumped from the Star-Gazing Tower. But just now, for some reason, my mind was a mess, and I had no thought of saving myself."

"Yes, it won't work if someone else helps me get rid of this misfortune. Only by personally experiencing the test can it work."

Therefore, I, the lucky one, need to help you, the unlucky one, to minimize your misfortune. Xu Qi'an nodded in realization, understanding the real reason why the supervisor had invited him over.

"Feel sorry."

Xu Qi'an shook his head and refused. "I'm leaving the capital soon to take care of some important business, and it's inconvenient for me to bring anyone with me."

Suddenly, a glass of wine flew out of the air and landed in front of him.

As Xu Qi'an reached out to take it, he heard the supervisor's voice in his ear. "Drink it, and you don't need to leave the capital."

Did the supervisor know why I left the capital? He indeed knew that the monk Shenshu was inside my body. The wine was ordinary, and he had a corresponding guess about how he planned to help me. Xu Qi'an drank the wine in his cup.

Shielding the secrets of heaven!

The Warlock's specialty.

Yunzhou, thousands of miles away from the capital, is a military camp outside Baidi City.

Inside the Flying Swallow Army's tent, Li Miaozhen removed her light armor, put away her silver spear, and changed into the Daoist robe of the Heavenly Sect, just as she had when she first descended the mountain.

The paper doll Su Su directed a group of ghosts to help pack up valuables.

P. S.: I'll update this first and then revise it. It's been a while since I asked for monthly votes