What a Coincidence

"I just want to swim!"

"I don't believe a high-ranking official from Chang'an would come swimming in the Huai River next to Shouchun City!"

You have to believe me!

"Something must be wrong!"

Lei Bei very bad night.

When Tian You took over the responsibility of protecting Crown Prince Liu Qian and followed the Buddha's disciple, Lei Bei also wanted to finish the tasks he was to be punished with as soon as possible.

He followed the sound of horses' hooves, but the sound disappeared into the deep mountains and forests, leaving Lei Bei no trace to follow.

When he returned dejectedly, he heard the sound of horses' hooves again. This time, Lei Bei finally caught up with the man and the horse.

The horse was the official mount of Luoyang City, bearing an official seal and document verification function; the person was Zhang Xuezhou, who jumped into the river.

"If you're not thinking about something that's making you want to die, then you must be looking for treasure here," Lei Bei said.

"How can you be so sure?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"There are quite a few people like you. Every year, some people come to the Huai River to search for the legendary underwater palace where countless treasures of gold and silver are said to be hidden," Lei Bei said.

"You also know about the Water Mansion?"

Zhang Xuezhou had a sudden thought.

He didn't ask Lei Bei "What is the Water Palace?" or "What Water Palace?" Instead, he quickly assumed the role of searching for the Water Palace.

Zhang Xuezhou is incredibly talkative, as long as the other party can get him to speak.

He didn't need to ask any further questions; he knew Lei Bei would rattle off all the relevant information about the Water Mansion, and then might try to find the Water Mansion with him, or ask him to lead the way to make a fortune. After all, Lei Bei was a big loser in the divination game and was always short of money, so he was hoping for a windfall to get rich.

"I haven't been wasting my time in Shouchun City these past few years," Lei Bei. "I've investigated almost everything about the Huaihe River Water Mansion!"

"What a coincidence!" Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "I only came to search for the Water Mansion after I had done my research!"

"You... you really can find the Huai River Water Palace?" Lei Bei questioned. "Brother, give me a hand! I want to find the Water Palace too!"

"I learned this information from the imperial court. Who provided you with this information?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I am a first-class guest retainer of the King of Huainan's Household, and I am entitled to the first-class room in the Wenying Pavilion," Lei Bei. "Those secret manuals were useless to me, so I looked around for other things and found a book called Huainan Yizhi, which records the affairs of the Huai River Water Palace!"

"Tell me, and I'll compare it with the official records from the imperial court!"

"This 'Records of Strange Things in Huainan' says..."

Lei Bei a strong desire to make a fortune by searching the Water Mansion, but after floundering aimlessly in the Huai River for a few days, he lost interest in continuing.

On the one hand, his body couldn't withstand being soaked in water for a long time; on the other hand, he still had to work with Crown Prince Liu Qian; and thirdly, Lei Bei felt that the records in Huainan Yizhi were more or less incomplete, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the Water Palace.

"So you're saying you deduced the location of the Huai River water god's palace based on past sacrificial rites?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Right!"

"The positions you derived are rather awkward!"

Zhang Xuezhou sighed slightly.

If Zhang Xuezhou had known earlier that the Huai River Water Palace held wealth, or if he had acquired the Dragon Riding Technique a little earlier, he would have asked the Great Sage Water Ape where the Water Palace once resided.

The Great Sage of the Water Ape was once appointed by the Heavenly Court as the Water God of the Huai River, and he also possessed a Water Palace.

With the Immortal Court taking control, a new Dragon King arrived at the Water Palace, and the Great Sage Water Ape also left his old lair.

When the Immortal Court was destroyed, not only did the Great Sage Water Ape disappear from the Huai River, but the Water Dragon King also vanished without a trace.

Centuries have passed, and people have developed a fascination with these water palaces that were once used to worship people, livestock, gold, and silver. Some have even come to search for these water palaces.

Lei Bei one of them.

After receiving the news, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he could also become one of them.

He can't do anything right now, and he needs to recuperate. He can't leave Shouchun City for the time being, so he might as well seek out the Huaihe River Water Mansion.

If there are favored places in the Huai River, Zhang Xuezhou thinks it is possible that they overlap with the Huai River Water Palace. After all, demons are extremely fond of places with excellent environments and would not build their water palaces in poor mountains and bad waters. These places may also fit the characteristics of favored places.

"Think about it, that water mansion hasn't been inhabited for hundreds of years, and it's been continuously battered by the Huai River, even filled with silt brought by floods and raging waves. It's either already sunk to the bottom of the river or completely blocked. You can't find the water mansion using normal methods!"

"I've discovered that you educated people really do have brains! No wonder I couldn't find it after searching along the Huai River for hundreds of miles; it turns out the underwater palace was buried!"

Lei Bei's eyes lit up as he looked at Zhang Xuezhou with envy, wishing Zhang Xuezhou could immediately find a water mansion so they could split the wealth equally.

"Brother Dongfang, you take the lead, I'll do the dirty work, let's find this underwater palace together!"

The thought of the possible location of the Huainan Water Mansion energized Lei Bei.

He was mentally prepared to be criticized and punished, and he couldn't be bothered with the aftermath of Crown Prince Liu Qian's death.

If he could find the vast amount of gold and silver treasures hidden in the Water Palace, Lei Bei felt he would be willing to pay any price to leave the King of Huainan's Household.

"Now that you are a first-class guest minister, wielding great power and wealth, and living in the most prosperous part of Shouchun City, you should at least do this kind of hard and tiring work just like me," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"I have no power, no wealth. That residence is only because I am somewhat stronger, and living nearby makes it convenient to protect the Crown Prince and the Prince's residence!"

Lei Bei shook his head repeatedly.

It may seem glamorous to outsiders, but in reality, it's just like that.

Lei Bei monthly offerings, but the amount of money wasn't as much as he had imagined; he would lose it all after playing a few rounds of divination.

Elixirs can only be obtained by accumulating merit or time.

In short, the treatment at the King of Huainan's Household was indeed very good, but the King of Huainan was not a fool who could be taken advantage of at will.

Some privileges can be reused, such as the Wenying Pavilion, which can be opened to first-class guest ministers for free on a regular basis, while the use of wealth and resources, which are limited, is subject to other regulations.

Even if Lei Bei acquire the precious sword, he would need to guard it under the protection of Crown Prince Liu Qian for three years before it would truly belong to him.

This practically binds many of the retainers to the King of Huainan's Household, and they might even become increasingly entangled in it.

When it's time to leave the King of Huainan's Household, you have to spit out as much as you've swallowed; the more secrets you know, the harder it is to escape.

People outside the city envied Lei Bei. Lei Bei had once envied the high-ranking guest advisors of the King of Huainan's Household. But after truly entering the core of the guest advisors and serving as a guest advisor for a long time, he realized that this was just a job, and that he had to put in manpower, effort, and even risk his life to do it.

This is a group of retainers capable of assimilating people; if everyone were like this, it would be impossible for him to remain independent.

When a person is bound, his sword is also no longer free.

Even though the sword he was currently wielding was dozens of times better than any of his previous weapons, Lei Bei still found it difficult to unleash the free and unrestrained spirit of his sword.