Chapter 117 - 96: Prince Qi is Dead, But I Didn’t Kill Him?!

Chapter 117: Chapter 96: Prince Qi is Dead, But I Didn’t Kill Him?!

"So?" Bai Ziqing touched his hair and looked at Zeng Anmin. "I’m a scholar, as you know. You definitely have to be the one to do this kind of thing."

Zeng Anmin looked at Bai Ziqing as if it were a matter of course.

"No way!" Bai Ziqing shook his head firmly. "If this gets exposed, both of us will die."

"It won’t. Even if Prince Qi dies right now, no one will care. He has been throwing his weight around the capital and has enemies everywhere. No one will suspect us." Zeng Anmin’s expression was dead serious. When it came to business, he never joked about his own life.

"Still no." Bai Ziqing’s gaze was exceptionally resolute. He took a deep breath and advised, "Prince Qi has fallen from power, and the officials tied to him will be brought down sooner or later. He’ll never have a chance to turn things around in this lifetime. Why make unnecessary moves? It might just expose us instead!"

"Because he might have Emperor Xi’s Map on him," Zeng Anmin thought. "Even if he isn’t carrying it, I can definitely find clues through him.

"If he’s allowed to travel far, the secret of Emperor Xi’s Map will very likely be exposed.

"Then my identity in the Celestial Dao Alliance would be exposed too.

"When that happens, the secret of the Dragon Inspection Map will likely be exposed as well.

"How could I take that gamble?!"

Zeng Anmin took a deep breath. His gaze grew solemn as he said, "Actually, I have another method that can make a full head of hair incredibly straight and smooth, flowing like an immortal’s..."

The room fell silent.

Bai Ziqing’s gaze froze for a moment. He pursed his lips with great difficulty and shook his head. "No, doing this would cause too much trouble..."

Zeng Anmin directly cut him off. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I heard you ran into a troublesome case.

"As long as you help me with this job, rest assured that I can definitely help you solve that case. You know I don’t know how to do anything else, but I excel at solving cases!"

Looking straight into Bai Ziqing’s eyes, Zeng Anmin continued, "Moreover, even though Prince Qi has fallen and the position of Imperial City North Governor is vacant, if you don’t have a convincing achievement to show for yourself, there’s still a risk that you might not get the promotion! The risk isn’t huge, but it’s still there!"

These words struck right at the core of Bai Ziqing’s heart. Currently, all ten Directors of the Imperial City Department had a chance at the position. His expression lost its previous firmness and began to show hesitation.

"What are you still hesitating for? Think about it—when pursuing an enemy, you slowly descend with a head of flowing, straight hair, softly chanting..."

Zeng Anmin paused to ponder for a moment, and then his eyes lit up. He directly demonstrated it himself, picking up the Fountain Pen from the desk to use as a Three-foot Cyan Blade, and recited loudly, "With sword in hand, I laugh aloud, and travel the four corners of the world! My ambition swallows the universe, my chivalrous bones withstand the wind and frost!"

He recited the poem with great charm, lightly brandishing a sword flourish with a disdainful gaze. "Imperial City North Governor Bai Ziqing is here to politely request your death!!"

After speaking, he looked up at Bai Ziqing. "That’s way better than you dryly shouting about being an Imperial City Department Director right now, isn’t it?"

At this moment, Bai Ziqing’s face was flushed red. His eyes were wide open, his lips trembled, and he murmured, "With sword in hand, I laugh aloud, and travel the four corners of the world! My ambition swallows the universe, my chivalrous bones withstand the wind and frost...

"My ambition swallows the universe, my chivalrous bones withstand the wind and frost..."

"PANT PANT..."

His breathing became incredibly heavy. He abruptly raised his eyes and looked at Zeng Anmin. Without saying another word, he took a deep breath and unexpectedly bowed deeply to him.

"Uh... what are you doing..." Zeng Anmin’s brain short-circuited for a moment.

"Did I really just con him into believing this?" he wondered.

Bai Ziqing’s gaze was incredibly passionate. He looked up at Zeng Anmin as if he were looking at a rare treasure, his voice even trembling. "My parents gave me life, but the only one who truly understands me is Quan Fu!

"This poem is indeed a perfect match for me!

"For me, Bai Ziqing, to have found such a kindred spirit in Quan Fu in this lifetime, I would have no regrets even if I died!"

Uh.

Zeng Anmin certainly hadn’t expected his little act to move Bai Ziqing to such an extent...

"Brother Bai, you mustn’t say such things! Back in Jiangnan, if you hadn’t been willing to trust me and bring me before His Majesty for a chance to defend myself, I fear Quan Fu would already be a skeleton in the grave!

"Anmin will never dare forget this kindness for the rest of his life!"

"I should probably show some emotion appropriately at a time like this," he thought. "I can’t let him put on a one-man show."

Sure enough, as soon as those words were spoken, a hint of redness faintly welled up in Bai Ziqing’s eyes. He reached out and firmly gripped Zeng Anmin’s shoulders.

"Quan Fu!"

"Brother Bai!"

That night.

Two pitch-black silhouettes headed toward the west. One of the figures moved with extreme elegance, like a Banished Immortal from the heavens. The other... looked rather pathetic, dangling from the Banished Immortal’s grasp.

As Zeng Anmin felt the surrounding buildings rapidly receding, a flash of memory passed through his eyes. Back when he had first transmigrated to Liangjiang Commandery, it was exactly like this—Bai Ziqing carrying him, allowing him to finally narrowly escape death.

Now, he was being carried again. Time felt as though it were a cycle. The only difference was that back then, Bai Ziqing had long, silver-white hair. But now, it had turned into blonde, wavy curls.

Times had changed, but it was not something to be shared with outsiders.

"No one will find us here." Bai Ziqing carried Zeng Anmin to the corner of a city wall, his voice low. "This is the most weakly guarded spot during the Imperial City Department’s night patrols. Slipping out of the city from here will be very safe."

"Yeah, I trust you, Brother Bai." Zeng Anmin looked up at the wall, which was dozens of feet high, and felt a twinge of doubt for a moment.

"It’s so high. Can we really vault over it?" he wondered.

The next moment, he felt a wave of dizziness.

TAP TAP TAP!!

The sound of toes tapping against the wall rang out three times. When Zeng Anmin opened his eyes again, they had already reached the highest point. They were level with the top of the city wall.