In the world he designed, demons used all sorts of tricks against humans.
There are many ways to replace a person, such as a puppet made of human skin like Painted Skin Mister, or like an insect demon that implants itself in the brain to control the human body, or even more mysteriously, like A Li who directly replaces your memories, making you believe that he is who he is, or like the monsters in the Yin-Yang Road who devour your soul memories and transform into your appearance.
Each type of demon requires a different approach to deal with.
To ensure a decisive victory, the best approach is to uncover the opponent's weaknesses and use your knowledge of demons to set a trap.
But what exactly is the other party?
Chen Qing felt somewhat uncertain for a moment. First, he ruled out A Li and the monsters of the Yin-Yang Road; A Li couldn't possibly have escaped, and besides, she couldn't have altered the memories of so many people from so many different factions at the same time, could she?
The monsters on the Yin-Yang Road won't work either. If these monsters want to replace Minister Pang, Minister Pang must die first. Only then will they have the opportunity to devour Minister Pang's soul memories on the Yin-Yang Road and thus transform into him.
But he knew that major sorcerer families bound their important members to life tokens. Minister Pang was the head of the Pang Family. If such a person were killed, the Pang Family would be the first to know and would have sent people to cause trouble long ago. How could they let a demon imposter wander around outside with a large group of direct descendants of a noble family so calmly?
Aren't you afraid of being ripped off?
The most likely type is a demon that changes its skin.
But as the saying goes, it's easy to Painted Skin but hard to paint the bones. How could someone so powerful perfectly imitate Minister Pang's speech and mannerisms without a single flaw? What is his background?
Chen Qing kept replaying the varieties he had designed in his mind, and for a time, he had countless doubts.
"You all still have the mood to make fun of my husband, so you must be in a good mood," the Princess said with a smile. "Then let's take advantage of this good time and have a good talk. What do you think of my suggestions as the son-in-law of the Xiao Household?"
The laughter immediately ceased, and everyone turned to look at Chen Qing.
Chen Qing secretly curled his lip; this woman was no pushover, still stirring up trouble.
Openly revealing his relationship with the Xiao Household naturally aroused suspicion, especially since Chen Qing had also cooperated with the Eldest Princess for a period of time. Who knew if the two were secretly conspiring?
Sure enough, the next second, Minister Pang smiled and said, " Lord Chen, we understand your meaning. The ancient matter is of great importance, and it is indeed well-intentioned to avoid internal strife before its opening. However, the time of the ancient opening is only your side of the story, and we still can't judge it. Especially for the three of you, after the mist opened, you set up positions in Jiangnan and the West Sea for two years. How can we, the other two sides, who are thousands of miles away, know the truth?"
"To put it bluntly, what if we listen to you and temporarily cease hostilities, only to find that as soon as we return, you've activated the Ancient Era? By the time we realize what's happening, we'll be completely wiped out!"
These words not only cast doubt on Chen Qing, but also implicated the Duke of Wei, immediately escalating the tension once again.
Duke of Wei frowned. He didn't want to be used as a pawn, but what the other party said made sense.
Once they confirm their participation in this ancient expedition, they will naturally have to return to inform their respective factions to temporarily cease hostilities. Even if they agree to a ceasefire, they will still need to go back and make preparations, at least to confirm who they will bring. Moreover, exploring the ancient world is extremely risky, and if they participate personally, they will also need to go back and make arrangements for their own affairs.
This will require a lot of effort and cannot be rushed. If the opening time of the Dragon Palace that the other party mentioned is true, then we have given them enough time to make the arrangements. But what if they are lying?
Just as Minister Pang said, it was actually a play staged by the three of them?
" Minister Pang is joking," Chen Qing laughed. "If I hadn't organized this alliance, the court and the Duke of Wei would still be locked in a fierce battle. Moreover, the court's recent defeat in its encirclement of Jiangnan means it can't muster more troops in a short time. Wouldn't it be better for me to quietly amass wealth? Besides, if the three of us are conspiring, why bother with a show? Once the door is closed and the fog hangs in the air, you'll have no intelligence whatsoever. What can you do?"
Duke of Wei was taken aback. It seemed to make sense. He was doing well in the north. If it weren't for Chen Qing's invitation, he wouldn't have had time to come and find out what was going on here. With the grain from Chen Qing, he might be eager to launch another attack to take the capital.
"But Lord Chen, you must offer some guarantees, right?" Minister Pang looked at Chen Qing with a somber expression. "We lack intelligence, while you know so much. It's truly an imbalance. If you ask us to cease hostilities on all sides, what if you secretly go to the Dragon Palace alone?"
"After all, your talk of 'ten thousand dragons locking the water' sounds impressive, but the ocean is boundless, and we have no idea where the spring you mentioned is. No matter how grand the spectacle, we might not be able to see it at all."
This guy.
Chen Qing narrowed his eyes; he certainly knew how to be persistent and unreasonable.
The eldest princess looked at Chen Qing with a smile, her words intended to see how Chen Qing would respond.
"The location of the spring cannot be determined at the moment." Chen Qing frowned and explained, "Before the Dragon Palace opens, there will be great signs. At that time, we can confirm its location through certain methods, but that's not possible now."
"When will the expedition begin?" Minister Pang hurriedly asked.
Chen Qing rubbed his fingers together, roughly knowing what the other party wanted to do, but since the conversation had already gone this far, he couldn't just stop, otherwise it would only arouse more suspicion.
In the end, all he could say was, "Ten days later."
"It won't be long," Minister Pang chuckled. "We can wait ten days. To avoid any concerns for anyone, Lord Chen, why don't we wait until the positions are confirmed before finalizing this alliance? After all, it's a big deal; it's always good to be cautious, isn't it?"
Chen Qing: "."
"I think Minister Pang is right," the Princess immediately responded. " Lord Chen wants us to cease hostilities on all sides, on the grounds that we are plotting together to seize the Dragon Palace. If Lord Chen is as generous as he said before, we naturally have no objections. But for such an important matter, we should at least see some signs of progress, shouldn't we? Let's wait another ten days. Lord Chen should have no objections then, right?"
What do you think?
Before Chen Qing could reply, the princess turned to the others and Human Dao.
"Alright!" the man from the West Sea said without looking up, while drinking his wine. "Wait ten days!"
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Wei smiled and looked at Chen Qing: "I also think this makes sense. What do you say, Lord Chen?"
Looking at the friendly smiles of the crowd, Chen Qing sighed inwardly. A bunch of old foxes, indeed not easy to deal with.
If I refuse, they'll immediately realize that my barrier won't last long!
Indeed, the protective barrier around Nanming Prefecture can only last for a maximum of three days!
This is troublesome.
Had I known this would happen, I should have bestowed titles upon the door gods of Nanming Prefecture.
The reason why the title was not conferred immediately was because Nanming Prefecture was located in an important position, connecting three places and having the most external forces coming and going. Therefore, they wanted to find a demon with higher qualifications than the Old Wolf King to confer the title.
But little did they expect that this moment of greed would lead to the discovery of such a troublesome fellow.
Faced with pressure from all sides, Chen Qing could only force a smile and say, "In that case, let's talk again in ten days!"
--
"Your Highness, why did you deliberately make things difficult for Chen Qing today?" On the way back, Prince Consort Fei followed behind the Princess and asked with a frown.
Chen Qing helped his son Fei Jun resolve his inner conflict and cheered him up. He believed that the Princess at least had a good impression of Chen Qing, and that Chen Qing possessed a great deal of intelligence about the Dragon Palace. If they could cultivate a good relationship when they went to the ancient times, they might be able to gain some advantages. Why target him like this now?
What are the benefits of this later?
"How can we know his limits if we don't make things difficult for him?" the Princess said quietly. "The barrier around Nanming Prefecture can't possibly be foolproof. The longer it drags on, the easier it is for him to slip up. I'm waiting for him to lose his temper!"
"Is this really necessary?"
"Of course there is," the eldest princess said. "In just two years, Chen Qing has managed to develop such power. He must have a great secret. If we don't act now that he's not strong enough, are we going to wait until he's ready to attack us?"
"But," Prince Consort Fei looked at the enormous barrier in the sky, "We still can't figure out his true strength. What if Chen Qing still hasn't revealed anything after ten days? Your Highness can't take any more risks; after all, this is his territory!"
"Don't worry," the eldest princess sneered, "Someone is testing us."
"Who?" Prince Consort Fei asked in surprise.
"That woman from the Lu Household... she always thought her Skin-Swapping Technique could fool the whole world," the Princess said wistfully, glancing at the other side of the restaurant where Minister Pang and his entourage had booked the space. "Well, that woman has some skill. Let's use her to test what kind of person that Chen Qing really is!"