Chapter 465 - 237: Wutong God

Chapter 465: Chapter 237: Wutong God

In Zheng Xiu’s presence, Wei Chen still went by the name "Chen Wei."

Perhaps it was a habit of his to hide his true surname—that of the Wei Royal Family.

The alliance between the Incompleteness Tower and the Zheng Clan had originated from a single, simple conversation.

Wei Chen had first used the excuse of "a pair of maids" to test the waters.

After some back-and-forth, they finally had a face-to-face conversation.

During their talk, Zheng Xiu didn’t expose Wei Chen’s true identity, but he did expose the fact that Wei Chen was in league with a certain Prince.

Wei Chen was a straightforward man. Since he’d had the notion to test the waters, he naturally had an ulterior motive. There was no other reason for it; it was all for one person: Zhu.

He knew Feng Bei was by Zheng Xiu’s side, and what’s more, he knew that Feng Bei had recently been hunted by Ye Weiyang in Shuzhou.

At the time, Wei Chen had said only one thing: "Marquis, you need only promise me that on a specific day in the future, you will kill the Night Lord. Do that, and everything the Incompleteness Tower has to offer will be at your disposal."

Treasure King Cangyun had played a part in Zheng Xiu and Wei Chen’s alliance. In fact, it was Jiang Gaoyi’s ’Reading the Room’ of Wei Chen that had convinced Zheng Xiu to agree.

The answer Jiang Gaoyi had given had taken Zheng Xiu by surprise at the time, but he later came to understand.

Wei Chen saw Wang Cangyun as a father.

A father closer to him than Venerable Wei Yang.

It was precisely because he understood this that they had hit it off so quickly, leading to the formation of the Disaster Prevention Bureau’s "Can" Division.

When Zheng Xiu asked this question, Chen Wei smiled. "I don’t know."

"I know you don’t. That’s why I wanted to talk about it."

As if performing a magic trick, Zheng Xiu produced a map and spread it across an empty space on the large table.

The map depicted the territory of Daqian and its surrounding nations.

The Great Desert, the Western Regions, the East Sea, the Northern Barbarians, the Southern Wilderness Wetlands.

At this, the two blonde women served as Wei Chen’s eyes, staring intently at the map.

A hiss rumbled in She Kui’s throat.

Wei Chen chuckled and shook his head. "Snake, the Red King is no outsider. There’s no need for that."

At his words, She Kui stopped hissing, though defiance still lingered in her eyes.

Ye Kui’s eyes, however, lit up. In a gentle voice, she said, "Tower Master, the Prince’s map is marked with the locations of the Disaster Prevention Bureau’s current branches."

Ye’s finger gently traced a path across the map as she listed the current locations of the Bureau’s branches.

In just one short month, the Disaster Prevention Bureau’s sphere of influence had already spread across the north, the Shu Region, and Qiannan.

"Do you know why I made such a show of things this time?"

After a moment’s thought, Wei Chen looked at him with admiration. "Prince, this is all to lure the Night Lord out of hiding."

Zheng Xiu smiled faintly. "That’s part of it, but not the whole story. Let’s not beat around the bush. Let me ask you, do you know the Night Lord’s true identity?"

Wei Chen fell silent.

Zheng Xiu asked another question. "Let me rephrase. Do you happen to know just how long he’s been alive?"

The pupils of both Ye Kui and She Kui contracted simultaneously. A faint green light suddenly surfaced in She Kui’s eyes, her pupils narrowing into vertical slits.

Even if Zheng Xiu didn’t walk the path of an "Official," "Reading the Room" was a basic Skill for the Richest Person. He nodded and smiled, understanding at once. "Since we’re both clear on his identity," he said, "then there’s no need for me to be coy."

Wei Chen sighed. "You are a straightforward man, Red King. For years, I’ve been hiding in the Great Desert like a hunted rat. There, I unintentionally stumbled upon a clue related to ’Zhu.’"

He had switched from calling the man "Night Lord" to "Zhu," a clear sign that the conversation had become truly open. At the same time, his words still carried a probing undertone. If Zheng Xiu showed any confusion at the name "Zhu," it would prove he didn’t know as much as Wei Chen.

But Zheng Xiu’s reaction a second later made Wei Chen think, ’Just as I thought.’ After a moment of silence, Zheng Xiu asked, "You saw the stone inscription inside Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault?"

Ye Kui’s soft voice, tinged with surprise, came from behind her veil. "The Prince has actually crossed the Great Desert?"

Ye’s reaction undoubtedly confirmed Zheng Xiu’s suspicions.

’So Wei Chen really does know a lot.’

’It was all starting to connect.’

Just then, Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu exchanged a knowing glance, each reading a special meaning in the other’s eyes. Under the table, Zheng Xiu secretly walked two fingers toward Feng Bei’s hand. Once close, he pounced like a fierce tiger, snatching her small, soft hands. He quickly and skillfully slipped off her gloves, then held her hands in his own, gently kneading them.

This secret, intimate gesture under the table made Feng Bei blush to the tips of her ears, but it also filled her with a strange sense of joy.

’How thrilling!’

Feng Bei let Zheng Xiu do as he pleased with her small hands.

These days, only Zheng Xiu and the Orange Cat could freely touch her "Omen."

’He can do what he wants.’

’Besides, no one else can see.’

Feng Bei’s mind raced with such reckless thoughts, a sense of having thrown all caution to the wind.

The mention of the Great Desert reminded Feng Bei of the ten intimate years she had spent with Zheng Xiu in the World in the Painting.

Returning to the matter at hand, Zheng Xiu was multitasking, flirting with Feng Bei while talking business. He maintained a serious expression as he said, "I once saw a rare, unique manuscript called the *Secret Record of the Darkness*. It told the legend of an ancient figure from a thousand years ago known as the ’Sun Chaser.’ Zhu is this person. He might be the first ’Mystic’ in a millennium to have been recorded in a book."

Wei Chen continued, "I don’t know if Zhu unintentionally let it slip, but the inscription in Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault describes a celestial phenomenon called the ’Confluence.’ The ’Common World’ we inhabit and the unfathomable ’Darkness’ experience this ’Confluence’ once every hundred years. When it happens, Filthy Qi leaks from the Darkness and taints the Common World, causing all sorts of ’anomalies’ that defy common sense."

Zheng Xiu nodded. "The approach of the Darkness is fatally alluring to Mystics, like a poison. A thousand years ago, Zhu was in pursuit of something called the ’Scorching Sun.’ We don’t know what he ultimately saw, but it drove him to this: every hundred years, he constructs a Ghostly Realm from tens of thousands of Human Souls to attract the Darkness. Then, he uses the flesh and blood of Mystics to create ’Human Pillars.’ The moment three Mystics become Human Pillars, the Confluence can be halted, and peace is restored to the Common World."