Mr. Bai looked at Chen Qing. Once the smile left his dough-white face, his expression became unreadable. He simply looked blank, like a glutinous rice ball, as he asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"
"This junior is talking about the Thousand-Faced Fox..." Chen Qing stopped beating around the bush. The patience of the man behind him had clearly reached its limit!
"The Thousand-Faced Fox? What does she have to do with me?"
"The Thousand-Faced Fox knows you, sir!" Chen Qing stared fixedly at him. "Even though she played the crown prince, this was her first time entering the palace. She couldn't possibly have been familiar with the palace's restrictions, so she couldn't have let the Ghost Horse travel freely through them-unless she had someone inside the palace helping her."
"And according to the Duke of Song, only the ten great palace sorcerers know the palace restrictions, and there is absolutely no loophole that would allow betrayal. That leaves only you, sir..."
Chen Qing pointed at the white rabbits still remaining on the ground. "You monitor the capital for the imperial family, sir. Your innate paper figures can relay all the information from outside to you, and then your origami delivers that information wherever it is needed within the palace. But to do that, they need to avoid the palace's spell formations."
"After all, your paper figures aren't spell formations, but a supernatural ability of a demonic ghost, making them especially likely to trigger the restrictions. So for your system to work, the arrangement of the palace's spell formations can't be kept from you. I imagine that whenever a new sorcerer takes up duty, the first thing they do is send you a copy of the changes to the palace's spell formations and barriers. Am I right?"
"And what if you are?" Mr. Bai asked, smiling at Chen Qing.
"Then it could only be you..." Chen Qing smiled. "The Duke of Song said the ten great sorcerers have special objects that interrogate the mind, making betrayal impossible. That leaves you as the only one in a position to help the fox demon and betray His Majesty."
Mr. Bai showed no surprise at his words. Instead, he looked at the emperor, whose presence was icy beyond compare. "Is that what you think too?"
The emperor fell silent...
His tone was exceedingly disrespectful, and that, too, reflected his standing.
Mr. Origami had served five generations of the Xiao Household!
He had joined the Xiao Household back in Xuanzong's time and had assisted them ever since. Because of him, the Xiao Household had increasingly seized the initiative back then, and because of him, the emperor had brought the court's civil and military officials under control in the newly built royal capital in just twenty years.
Over those twenty years, Mr. Origami's paper figures had played an important role in stabilizing the capital and selecting civil and military officials. The emperor deeply disliked working with demons, but he had to admit that this one... had rendered tremendous service to the Xiao Household through years of toil, and was even irreplaceable!
Even though his beloved empress had met with disaster, and even though Chen Qing's reasoning now made perfect sense, without absolute proof, the emperor still could not act against him directly!
At that thought, he looked at Chen Qing. "We did not come here to listen to your deductions. If you want to convict him, produce evidence!"
Chen Qing frowned. He had spelled it out this clearly, yet this seemingly decisive emperor still couldn't make up his mind?
But that was understandable. Mr. Origami's ability made it far too convenient for a ruler to monitor his officials. In his place, Chen Qing probably wouldn't readily give it up either...
But no matter how useful an ability was, if its owner's heart wasn't with you, it would only become a sharp blade that wounded you instead!
Chen Qing drew a breath and looked at Mr. Bai. "During Xuanzong's reign, you were imprisoned in the Palace of Vast Cold in the Heavenly Capital, Mr. Origami. You were held there for a very long time, reaching back to before the Heavenly Capital was even founded. The one who acted against you... was the last Black Tortoise sorcerer!"
At those words, Mr. Bai's expression finally changed!
Even the ruler's furious arrival had failed to move him, yet Chen Qing's words brought a look of shock to his face.
"You were imprisoned for years, and no one ever dared release you, because they knew your abilities were far too terrifying. Each generation of rulers in the Heavenly Capital exercised the utmost caution, until the previous generation's Thousand-Faced Fox entered the palace... Am I right, sir?"
"How did you know?" Mr. Bai's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Chen Qing, as though he had seen a ghost.
Everyone who knew such a secret should have died long ago. How old could this boy before him be? How did he know his secret?
And the way he had referred to her was shocking too...
The previous generation!
Demonic ghosts never told the human race this secret. He was...
Boom!
Golden flames blazed up again. The emperor looked at Mr. Bai with utter coldness. "Is what he said true? The fox demon's ancestor did you a favor?"
"Ancestor?" Mr. Bai glanced first at the emperor, then at Chen Qing, before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahahaha! Interesting, interesting! Boy, just who are you?"
Chen Qing said nothing more. He had already exposed enough today. He might even be locked up and interrogated afterward. If he said any more, he would probably be treated as a monster!
Boom!
The flames closed in, instantly surrounding Mr. Bai. The emperor walked toward him step by step, his expression chillingly dark. "You still have time to concern yourself with him? Where is the Thousand-Faced Fox? Hand her over, and in consideration of your years of toil for the Xiao Household, We will leave your corpse intact!"
"That offer isn't particularly tempting..." Mr. Bai chuckled. "We demonic ghosts aren't as obsessed with having an intact corpse as you humans are."
"Even if you die, We can still find her and tear her into ten thousand pieces!"
"Now that's just big talk..." Mr. Bai chuckled. "You said it yourselves just now: A Li brought a Ghost Horse. With the Ghost Horse and the spell formation map I provided, what are you going to catch her with?"
Before the ruler could flare up, Chen Qing spoke first. "The Thousand-Faced Fox isn't of the Yin ghost type. Staying on the Yin Road too long is just as dangerous for her as it is for us mortals. So while the ghost general driving the Ghost Horse might be able to remain on the Yin Road indefinitely, this A Li you speak of would certainly come out and hide somewhere to be safe. And your place is the safest of all!"
Mr. Bai's smile instantly stiffened, and he looked at Chen Qing again. He had heard A Li mention this strange young man named Chen Qing, who always seemed to know and understand everything. Most humans lumped demons and monsters together. Few knew that demonic ghosts were divided into different types too...
For ghosts and monsters not of the underworld type, entering the Yin Road was no different than it was for humans: it was incredibly dangerous. This... wasn't recorded in the Record of Strange Tales!
At those words, the emperor sneered. Towering flames instantly swept around Mr. Bai toward the back of the palace, clearly intending to devour every living thing hiding there!
Faced with such an aggressive move, Mr. Bai did not panic. He merely stood there quietly.
But in the next instant, the ruler's flames retreated!
The terrifying golden flames burned away the entire rear of the hall, but before they could devour the lives hidden in the rear hall, the furious ruler himself hit pause first!
Chen Qing frowned and looked over, then froze as well.
As the golden flames dispersed, they revealed women in luxurious palace attire in the rear hall, all terrified and beside themselves. From their clothing alone, Chen Qing knew these women were no ordinary palace maids. They were probably imperial consorts captured by the ghost general!
Indeed, with every route already known, the ghost general controlling the Ghost Horse could naturally roam unchecked through the palace. Taking a few hostages was only to be expected.
Chen Qing saw clearly that these consorts were all pregnant!
"Can't bear to strike?" Mr. Bai chuckled. "Of course. Your Xiao Household's Golden Crow Bloodline is overbearing, and few can inherit it successfully. All your sons born of concubines became half-crippled because they failed to inherit it. As for the young crown prince, the only one who inherited the bloodline, whether he lives or dies is now unknown..."
Mr. Bai smiled and pointed at the pregnant consorts. "If you burn these pregnant consorts too, your Xiao Household might have no descendants left!"
The emperor: "..."
"Is the crown prince still alive?" the emperor asked Mr. Bai.
"That I don't know..." Mr. Bai shook his head. "But his chances of survival aren't good. A Li took his primordial Yang, and the ghost general led him into the Yin Road. Even with a deputy general of the Thunder Elephant Bloodline protecting him, his chances of surviving on the Yin Road are very slim."
The emperor closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. A sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.
The empress was dead, the crown prince might be in imminent peril, yet he could do nothing?
"Chen Qing!"
"This student is here!"
The emperor glanced outside, then looked back at Chen Qing and said quietly, "Dawn is almost here!"
Chen Qing: "..."
"The same terms stand!" Seeing Chen Qing's ugly expression, the emperor nevertheless showed him no consideration. "Find the Thousand-Faced Fox, and We will make you Count of Loyalty and Courage and send you straight to Liuzhou as its prefect. Fail... and your nine clans will be exterminated!"
Chen Qing's face darkened completely. This old bastard-so if he can't threaten anyone else, he'll threaten me?
"It's not enough..."
"What did you say?" The emperor's eyes widened as he looked at Chen Qing. He had imagined all sorts of excuses this strange young man might offer, but never had he imagined him saying it wasn't enough!
"Your Majesty, this student wants the rank of marquis, hereditary in perpetuity without reduction, and a fourth-rank imperial title for my mother!"
"You..." The emperor froze. He really was bargaining? Bargaining with him?
"This student has no choice either..." Chen Qing bowed. "This student has become involved in the imperial family's secrets, and my chances of surviving are slim. I can only try to secure a little more for my family."
"You mean... the title is for your family?" The emperor watched him with a piercing gaze.
"Yes..." Chen Qing bowed. "My eldest brother has a son, and my mother struggled for years to put me through my studies. As her son, if I cannot attend to her in filial devotion in her old age, I can only ask for a little more security."
"A filial man indeed..." The emperor sneered. "Granted. But if you cannot find her, or cause Us to kill the wrong person..." The emperor pointed at the pregnant consorts. "If We lose even one of Our bloodline, We will take the lives of your Chen Household's nine clans!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After bowing, Chen Qing walked over to the terrified consorts in the rear. "Your Highnesses, please stand apart so that this subject may identify her for His Majesty!"