Preliminary exploration

Upon seeing the message from Number One, Xu Qi'an felt inexplicably guilty and ashamed, so he didn't respond immediately.

[Two: You have a lead on Hengyuan? So fast?]

As expected of the Flying Swallow Heroine, so public-spirited and righteous! Xu Qi'an silently praised her.

At the same time, Xu Qi'an's spirits lifted. As expected of Huai Qing, and as expected of the top female scholar in Great Feng, her efficiency was simply frightening.

[One: In the process of killing the Earl of Pingyuan, Hengyuan inadvertently saw something he shouldn't have seen, this is Number Three's speculation. So, what exactly did he see? There's no way to guess, and I'm so confused that I toss and turn, unable to sleep.]

This relentless dedication to exam questions is a hallmark of top students; no wonder he's Huaiqing. If I had had this kind of ambition back then, Tsinghua and Peking University would have been beckoning me. No, that's not quite right. It's more like I never gave those prestigious universities a chance. No matter how good they were, I was still a student they couldn't have. Xu Qi'an held the fragment of the Earth Book, muttering silently.

Number One continued to deliver the message:

[Given His Majesty's suspicious nature, he would surely silence Hengyuan. Since Daoist Jinlian said he wouldn't die immediately, he must be imprisoned where His Majesty can see him at any time. However, after the Prince of Huai's spy brought Hengyuan into the inner city, he never reappeared. Where did he go?]

Huaiqing is quite cautious, always referring to him as "Your Majesty," when that's clearly your father, the Emperor. Xu Qi'an is now filled with a desire to criticize Huaiqing, and is even plotting how to lure her into a social death.

[1: Later, Number Four's speculation about Earth Escape helped me break free from my previous narrow-minded thinking. There are dragon veins underground in the capital, and these dragon veins are interconnected. If one were to use the Earth Escape technique, it would indeed be possible to teleport through these dragon veins.]

[Therefore, I investigated the Pingyuan Earl's Mansion and discovered that the mansion was bestowed by the emperor. There were specific requirements for the mansions granted by the imperial family to meritorious officials. For example, only those in extremely auspicious locations were qualified to build such mansions.]

[And in the capital, the place with the best feng shui is undoubtedly located on a dragon vein. After infiltrating the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, I found the secret passage in the rockery in the back garden.]

Number One then recounted the details of the incident to the members of the Heaven and Earth Society.

It turns out that Pingyuan Bo's Mansion really has an "underground cave" that can lead directly to the palace through a fixed earth escape formation?

Although the members of the Heaven and Earth Society were surprised, it was in line with their original reasoning, so they quickly regained their composure and were delighted with the progress of the case.

Although Number One doesn't show off, his abilities and wisdom are trustworthy. In terms of investigating cases, he is second only to Xu Qi'an. Li Miaozhen puffed out her cheeks, somewhat depressed.

Hmph! It must be that Xu Qi'an is holding back his skills and unwilling to pass them on to her, which is why her investigative and reasoning abilities haven't improved much.

From the far north, Chu Yuanzhen, aboard a warship, sent a message: [How do I open this stone disc? Is it a specific item, or a certain Mnemonic?]

[One: Specific items are needed to activate the Earth Escape Technique engraved in the stone disc. Furthermore, the Earth Escape Technique itself is difficult to master, and those who can engrave it into an array are extremely rare throughout the Nine Provinces.]

[Three: It couldn't be the Bureau of Astronomy, could it?]

When Xu Qi'an asked the question, the image that flashed through his mind was that of a mysterious group of Warlock. If it wasn't the Bureau of Astronomy, the only entity capable of setting up this formation was a mysterious group of Warlock with close ties to the imperial court.

But if that's the case, it's highly likely that the mysterious Warlock group had some connection with Emperor Yuanjing, which is hard to believe.

Did the emperor and the rebels have close ties?

The absurdity is like two rivals suddenly getting together, abandoning their goddess, and going to sleep with each other.

[Four: Hey, Xu Qi'an, you're the owner of the Earth Book now?]

There was silence within the Heaven and Earth Society.

Xu Qi'an felt as if his collection of erotic books had been publicly executed, and his scalp tingled slightly.

[Three: We'll talk about that later, let's get down to business. Number One, I'd like to know how you determined that the formation required specific items, rather than Mnemonic?]

Number One ignored him.

Well, based on my years of experience as a veteran detective, I'd say she probably sought help from Chu Caiwei. Huaiqing and Caiwei are Great Feng friends in Dafeng. Speaking of which, I've never understood how the silly fathead fish became best friends with the clever dolphin.

Number One evaded Number Three's answer and continued delivering the message: [I have fully mastered the method to activate the stone disc; the fragments of the Earth Book can complete this task.]

Upon seeing this message, of the other four, apart from Chu Yuanzhen and Lina, Li Miaozhen and Xu Qi'an immediately understood.

The formation of the Earth Book is closely related to the Mountain and River God Seal, so it is not surprising that the Earth Book can activate the "Earth Escape Technique" formation.

What puzzled the two was how Number One knew so much.

[Four: Can the Earth Book be used as an array to activate the stone disc? How is that possible?]

Even though it was just text, one could feel Old Chu's utterly astonished expression on the other side of the "screen." Xu Qi'an, who knew him well, could even imagine that he had launched into another earth-shattering imagining.

The common flaw of intelligent people—overthinking!

Xu Qi'an gave a brief explanation of the origin of the Earth Book.

[4: Oh, I see. I thought...]

In that brief moment, he did indeed connect many things to his mind, but now it seems he was overthinking it.

Seeing that no one spoke, Number One took control of the conversation again and sent a message: "[What I need is a powerful and trustworthy expert to open the stone disc with the Earth Book fragment.]"

[This is extremely dangerous, because you don't know what's on the other side of the formation; you might never be able to return.]

The Earth Book chat group fell silent again.

The most trustworthy people are those who are members of the Heaven and Earth Society.

As for those with powerful cultivation and sufficient self-defense capabilities, Xu Qi'an is probably the only one. His defense is among the strongest below the "immortal body" level.

A third-rank martial artist, also known as: an immortal body.

Xu Qi'an sighed and sent a message: [I'll go!]

Even a fourth-rank military officer might not be more suitable than him. Besides, all the trustworthy fourth-rank officers in the Nightwatchers watchman's office have gone on the expedition with Wei Yuan.

But Hengyuan still needs to be saved. This bald man is a friend, a partner, and more importantly, Hengyuan is a great person.

[Two: Be careful.]

[4: If you sense danger, turn back immediately. Take care.]

He was thousands of miles away and powerless to help, so he could only offer some dry blessings.

Number One didn't speak, but Xu Qi'an was somewhat moved and received an invitation to "private chat" from Number One.

[One: Activating the stone disc is simple. Place the Earth Book on the array and infuse it with energy. Before proceeding, it's best to obtain a Law Technique from the Bureau of Astronomy to conceal your aura, and then use the Confucian School ability of "Law Follows Speech" to mask your presence. This way, you might be able to remain silent and escape the opponent's detection.]

She fell silent after speaking, and just as Xu Qi'an was about to put away the Earth Book, she suddenly sent a message: [Everyone has their own destiny.]

What did those words mean? Were they implying that I shouldn't put myself in a deadly situation to save Hengyuan? Xu Qi'an sighed silently.

If number one is Huaiqing, in her eyes, how could a "netizen" with whom she has hardly interacted possibly be compared to him?

On the canal, a dozen or so warships sailed in orderly formation.

On a warship, Chu Yuanzhen carefully put away the fragments of the Earth Book and knocked on Xu Erlang's door.

"Cijiu, you gave that thing to Xu Ningyan, so I'll act as your informant. There are some things you need to know."

As Chu Yuanzhen spoke, he entered the room and said in a deep voice, "Yes, I understand you don't want to talk about that matter publicly. There are eavesdroppers on the ship, and we..."

He spread out the paper, picked up his pen and wrote quickly on it, then showed it to Xu Erlang.

With a hiss, flames shot up, burning the paper to ashes, which slowly drifted down.

There were too many skilled and perceptive individuals on the ship, so Chu Yuanzhen didn't continue the conversation and decisively left.

Watching Chu Yuanzhen walk out of the room, Xu Erlang was filled with questions.

What is he saying?

What is he trying to say?

Have I lost my memory?

Involuntarily, the words his elder brother had privately told him before he left flashed through his mind:

"No matter what strange questions Chu Yuanzhen asks you or what strange things he says, don't pay any attention to him. Remain indifferent. Erlang, I don't ask you to say 'My Diaochan is on my waist,' I only ask that you help me preserve my lifelong reputation."

Is this what my elder brother meant by strange things and strange questions? Xu Erlang seemed to be deep in thought.

He didn't think much of it and sat down at the table to study military books. If they traveled by canal, it would take less than ten days to get from the capital to Chuzhou, and three days had already passed, with the fourth day fast approaching.

His short journey is already halfway over, and he is about to embark on his first battlefield career.

In the widow's courtyard, Xu Qi'an sat in a rattan chair basking in the sun, while the princess sat on a small stool beside him, cracking melon seeds.

The two chatted idly for a while.

In fact, it was mostly the princess talking incessantly, recounting how she met Aunt Wang today, Aunt Li yesterday, and of course, her best friend Aunt Zhang.

It's always about trivial, everyday things, but it's so relaxing to listen to.

"The vegetables the peddler delivered yesterday weren't fresh, so I'm planning to replace them," the princess said calmly.

Actually, it was because the peddler's eyes held a hint of admiration when he looked at her. Although he hid it well, who was Mu Nanzhi? She was the most beautiful flower in Great Feng, and she had seen similar looks countless times.

Even when she wore a scarf, it couldn't stop men from developing feelings for her. As long as they spent more time with her, they would become infatuated with her as if they were blinded by greed.

The peddler came to deliver vegetables every day. Although he didn't talk much and had little contact with her, he was still influenced by her unparalleled charm. It was the right thing to do to change her as soon as possible; otherwise, it would be too dangerous for a widowed woman like herself to encounter a man with ill intentions.

"Alas, what can I do? I'm so beautiful. Being beautiful is a sin." The princess wore an air of self-admiration.

"You're the mistress of the house, you can change it if you want." Xu Qi'an nodded.

The princess immediately cheered. He always gave her the greatest freedom and authority, and never questioned her decisions. The only downside was that he always looked unhappy when eating her cooking.

"Let's eat out today," Xu Qi'an suggested.

"No, I want to eat at home," the princess said, throwing a tantrum.

"I want to eat a big meal."

Simple meals are the way to live.

"Is that just plain food? That's mildly culinary disaster!" Xu Qi'an complained wildly.

Two days have passed since the last internal meeting of the Heaven and Earth Society, and six days have passed since the army set off.

Xu Qi'an was planning to save Hengyuan, and for this, he prepared four trump cards for himself.

Trump Card One: The Sage's Carving Knife!

Yesterday I went to the Cloud Deer Academy to borrow the Confucian Sage's carving knife from Zhao Shou, but was told that the knife was not at the academy.

Our trump card is gone, but don't panic, our second trump card: the supervisor!

He turned and went to the Bureau of Astronomy, asking Caiwei to tell the director that he was going to do something important.

That's enough.

Third trump card: My aunt's talisman sword.

A second-rank swordsman's intent would injure even a third-rank martial artist, enough to save one's life in a critical moment. Moreover, in a place like the capital, all it takes to make a big commotion is to attract countless eyes, including those of the supervisor and Luo Yuheng.

Fourth trump card: Monk Shenshu.

Since returning from Chuzhou, the stinky monk has been in a deep sleep, and cannot be woken up no matter how much he is called. Whether this trump card can be used is still unknown, but it is still a trump card.

"Once Wei Yuan returns from his campaign, I will leave the capital, taking my family with me," Xu Qi'an reminded her, looking at her.

He didn't know why he kept bringing it up in front of her.

The princess gave a curt "Mmm" and said, "Good luck."

late at night.

Dressed in black, Xu Qi'an moved silently through the streets of the inner city. He had no way to conceal his movements, but the Imperial Saber Guard around him and the night Nightwatchers on the rooftops "tacitly" ignored him.

Using the Confucian School and Legalism as cover, Xu Qi'an arrived at the Pingyuan Earl's residence in no time.

Following the information given by Number One, they accurately located the artificial hill in the back garden where the underground cave was hidden.

He activated the mechanism, and once the cave entrance was revealed, he crawled inside. Holding a tinderbox, he moved quickly through the cave. There were no traps inside; Number One had already explored it.

Soon, Xu Qi'an arrived at the stone chamber at the end of the passageway and saw a stone slab with a diameter of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters).

"Such a large stone slab can transport dozens of people at a time. The Earl of Pingyuan used this to transport illegally trafficked people into the palace."

Xu Qi'an stood by the stone slab, pondered for a few seconds, took out a fragment of the Earth Book, placed it on the slab, and then infused it with his Qi.

The fragments of the Earth Book emitted a faint, somewhat murky light, which flowed like water into one incantation after another, illuminating them all.

The array on the stone slab was activated.

Xu Qi'an hurriedly stepped onto the stone slab, and the next moment, his figure disappeared into the stone chamber.

The scenery before his eyes blurred, and then Xu Qi'an appeared in a tranquil darkness, without a single source of light.

There was no sense of impending crisis.

He gripped Luo Yuheng's sword talisman tightly in his hand, and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He was currently "invisible," so he didn't dare light the tinderbox. The structure of the human eye determines that it is impossible to see in a completely dark environment.

No matter how high one's cultivation level is, it won't work.

He dared not unleash his spiritual power to explore his surroundings, so he could only move forward slowly, step by step, waving his arms as he probed the space ahead.

Fortunately, if there is a cliff or wall ahead, a martial artist's instinct for danger will provide a response.

It can be considered another form of detector.

After walking slowly for a quarter of an hour, Xu Qi'an's ears twitched and he caught a strange sound.

"Huff, huff"

From the darkness ahead came eerie sounds, like something breathing.

How big does one's lung capacity have to be? Xu Qi'an thought to himself, a chill running down his spine.

The further he walked, the clearer the breathing became, and Xu Qi'an felt cold sweat beading on his forehead.

What lies hidden beneath the palace?

Xu Qi'an tightened his grip on the sword talisman. Once he sensed danger, he would immediately activate the talisman sword without any wishful thinking.

The commotion in the depths of darkness gave him an overwhelming sense of danger; the closer he got, the more his body trembled uncontrollably.

Despite the terrifying pressure, he took nearly a hundred more steps forward, moving silently and stealthily until a faint golden light finally appeared ahead.

This golden light exuded a solemn and masculine aura, somewhat similar to the Vajra Invincible Divine Skill, yet also different.

Is that golden light from the Buddhist School Hengyuan? Was Hengyuan really brought here? What is that golden light? Is it Hengyuan's reliance, his secret? Xu Qi'an's mind wandered.

Just as he was about to move forward, a picture suddenly appeared in his mind:

He took two steps forward, and then died silently, without warning, his body withered and emaciated, like a dried corpse.

A crisis warning for martial artists!

Xu Qi'an silently retreated, then turned around, slightly increased his speed, and withdrew from the dangerous place.

In the underground stone chamber of the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, the incantations on the stone disc once again emitted a murky, faint light, and a figure appeared out of thin air.

Xu Qi'an bent down to pick up the fragments of the Earth Book, put them back in his arms, and instead of leaving immediately, lit several oil lamps.

Then, he sat down against the stone slab and silently exhaled a breath of stale air.

"After investigating that scoundrel of an emperor for so long, we've finally made progress." Xu Qi'an chuckled, unable to hide his smile.

The sound coming from the depths of darkness, like the sound of breathing, what is it?

The noise was caused by the dragon vein? Hmm, that place should be the core of the dragon vein, if nothing else.

"Hengyuan is trapped within the dragon vein, and that golden light is resisting it? Also, what is the power that could kill me silently? Is it an array?"

Xu Qi'an retrieved a fragment of the Earth Book and sent a message: "[I have already used the stone disc to teleport and made a preliminary exploration of the other side of the formation, and have gained some insights.]"

[1: Is this the palace? Is the area connected by the array the palace? Are you in any danger?]

[Two: Any findings? Hmm, you're not hurt, are you?]

[Four: Wow, that was fast! Did they rescue Master Hengyuan?]

Apart from Lina, who was fast asleep, and Master Jinlian, who was in seclusion, the other members responded to Xu Qi'an's message, seemingly deliberately staying awake to await his reply.

PS: Haha, you were able to guess Huaiqing's identity as Number One mainly because I laid a lot of groundwork and did a good job of it, such as Huaiqing's reaction when Xu Qi'an died in Yunzhou. There are many similar foreshadowings. A mature author should make readers feel, "I knew it would be like this."

If number one is a slut, you'll be cursing him out. Why? Because there's no foreshadowing, making it seem illogical and illogical.

Furthermore, the identity of Number One isn't a major bombshell or secret; it's just a minor quirk that fits Huaiqing's character.