Chapter 1095: Chapter 139: A Sheet of White Paper
When Su Mubai led the group back to Wolong Mountain Villa, he realized that the situation was much more serious than he had imagined.
The members of the Daoist Association, who had escaped from the hands of the Bronze Masked Man, did not expect that the bigwigs of the Taoists and the leaders of the demons had all disappeared overnight.
And the headquarters of the Management Bureau had already hurriedly taken over this matter.
At the Li Family camp outside the Imperial Tomb, the Purple Star Young Master from Tanlang told Su Mubai to meet shortly… Su Mubai did not expect that this “shortly” would be so quick.
That afternoon, after finding the Kun Peng Mountain Villa empty, a group led by Zi Xing received munication from the Management Bureau and rushed to Wolong Mountain Villa.
In the conference room, a man who looked very young, at most twenty-five or twenty-six years old on the outside, was expressionlessly introducing himself to the group, temporarily led by Su Mubai and Zi Xing.
“I am Yan Xiaoxi, head of the Special Affairs Department of the Management Bureau, and I am fully in charge of handling the ‘Mount Tai Case’ this time. I hope everyone can cooperate with my work.”
All the Daoists and demons in the conference room frowned as they looked at this young man speaking—because, to them, Yan Xiaoxi was truly young… But this young man was already in a high position, and he had a subdued divine light, with a faint special power fluctuation within his body.
The Management Bureau is a very special department, not a place where state figures can arrange for their juniors to gain experience. In the Management Bureau, if one does not have a certain ability, they may not be able to manage the underlings sent by various sects and demon clans for service.
“Everyone, look at the screen.”
Yan Xiaoxi had someone turn on the projector, and a set of photos began to slowly flash across the screen.
Yan Xiaoxi looked at everyone seriously and said, “This was photographed in the valley. We have named it the Jade Dragon Pillar… if you have any doubts about the Jade Dragon Pillar, please look at the documents you have. I will not say more.”
The sound of pages turning echoed softly.
Yan Xiaoxi’s voice overrode the noise below, “According to the information provided by all of you present, and the intelligence we have, the prehensive conclusion is on page seventeen of the document… the ‘Mount Tai Case’ this time is suspected to have been orchestrated by the already missing Tianxin Seventy-One. His purpose is very likely to replicate the tragedy of the Penglai Conference forty years ago… I believe many of you here have experienced that tragic event. So to prevent the tragedy from happening again, we must stop the conspiracy of Tianxin Seventy-One…”
The conference room was extremely quiet, and Yan Xiaoxi began explaining the details of the Mount Tai case to everyone present.
Time slowly passed by.
“…Based on what has been said above, there are currently two main urgent tasks we need to do,” Yan Xiaoxi put down the laser pointer in his hand, looking around at everyone present, “The first, and most important, is to locate Tianxin Seventy-One. The second is to find the elite members of the Dao and demon collaborations who mysteriously disappeared at the site of the first Jade Dragon Pillar.”
At this moment, Yan Xiaoxi paused, “Here, the Management Bureau can enlist all of you to join the temporary handling group. Before the meeting, I had already had a brief exchange with Daoist Master Su Mubai and Purple Star Young Master, and we reached a consensus that Daoist Master Su Mubai and Purple Star Young Master will temporarily serve as deputies of the group…”
“Doesn’t the Management Bureau have enough people? Then why still summon us? You usually monitor us as if we were your grandkids… Why, now that you can’t handle it, you want us to work for you?”
A discordant voice suddenly interrupted Yan Xiaoxi from the back of the conference room—everyone turned to see that it was a horse-faced man sitting in the demon seat area.
Yan Xiaoxi’s gaze also fell on the demon with the horse-face appearance, sternly saying, “It’s the New Year period, several national leaders are conducting state visits, and we need to allocate enough personnel to ensure the safety of these key figures. Additionally, four captains from the Management Bureau, along with over a hundred team members, are also missing in this incident. We truly have a manpower shortage, which is why we need to gather all of you.”
Yan Xiaoxi looked around again, “However! I must emphasize one point, this call does not solicit opinions, but is based on the content of the ‘agreement’, where both the Dao and demon realms need to put aside all grievances during major national disasters and follow orders. If any rebellious elements arise during the organized effort, applicable punitive measures from the ‘agreement’ can be enforced based on the severity of the situation…”
“Hahaha!!” The horse-faced man couldn’t help but laugh, interrupting Yan Xiaoxi again, “What a joke! After so many years, there are still fools who take the ‘agreement’ seriously! Yan Xiaoxi, is it? I, Junbo Wentian, say this here: there’s no way I’m following the orders of a snot-nosed kid like you! I don’t care what Tianxin Seventy-One wants to do, but since he dared to scheme against me, I will personally deal with that account. I won’t participate in this pointless meeting! Whoever wants to stay here and listen to nonsense can go ahead!”
With that, Junbo Wentian flung his sleeves and walked straight out of the conference room.
Yan Xiaoxi expressionlessly watched Junbo Wentian leave until he walked pletely out of the conference room, then he looked around, calmly saying, “Besides him, who else is unwilling to stay?”
“I’m used to being unrestrained… forgive me.” A Taoist stood up and left at this moment.
Shortly after, two more figures stood up, shook their heads, and walked out of the conference room—afterwards, a handful of Daoists and demons stood up and left in twos and threes.
Soon, nearly a third of the people had left the conference room.
Yan Xiaoxi waited for a moment, seeing that no one else was leaving, he then said, “Now, let’s talk about the specific matters of personnel allocation.”
Having said that, Yan Xiaoxi sat down, as if nothing had happened, as though those Daoists and demons who left didn’t exist at all.
After Yan Xiaoxi sat down, a man behind him stepped forward, “Everyone, I’ll explain to you the personnel distribution for the next steps…”
…
In a quiet courtyard of Wolong Mountain Villa.
Mr. Blind, Qingxia Zi, was quietly watching the conference through the screen with a man in Tang attire who had e from afar.
A batch of Daoists and demons who had disappeared early, escaping from Tianxin Seventy-One’s hands and returning safely, was good news for Mr. Blind—after all, he and Tianxin Seventy-One came from the same sect, and although he was later expelled from it, his affection for the Clothed Daoists could not be said to be insubstantial.
Mr. Blind had already made a grave mistake once before… It ended with the life of his master, Tianxin Seventieth Generation. This matter had been buried in Mr. Blind’s heart for forty years. Now, Tianxin Seventy-One’s scheme had plunged China’s Dao and demon realms into crisis once again, making the Clothed Daoists once more the center of the storm, how could he be at ease?
“Yan Xiaoxi?” Mr. Blind tilted his head slightly, listening more intently to the voice from the screen, “Who is he to you?”
“A disciple.” The man in Tang attire slightly smiled, “Picked him up, raised him for a few years, and tossed him out.”
Mr. Blind nodded, not asking more… However, he frowned at the moment, “Is this your higher-ups’ idea?”
“Old Blind Man, I don’t quite understand what you mean.” The man in Tang attire said calmly.
“Why not directly state that Tianxin Seventy-One’s intention is to cause a Spiritual Energy Awakening?” Mr. Blind faced the other, “But instead deliberately use the tragedy from forty years ago as an entry point?”
The man in Tang attire replied, “Old Blind Man, I don’t meddle in Management Bureau’s methods. However, there are many destabilizing factors in both the Dao and demon realms. If the spiritual energy can be revived, who knows if there will be some radical elements appearing… You should have such awareness, right? Although Xiaoxi’s mentioning of the event from forty years ago might make you unfortable, I don’t see anything wrong… Blind Man, if you can’t let go, your life will remain at this stage.”
Mr. Blind gently exhaled, looking out to the Firmiana tree outside the window, he said no more.
At this moment, a servant from Wolong Mountain Villa opened the door to deliver some hot water and brought a letter without a signature, saying it was found outside the courtyard gate and discovered while delivering water, without seeing who had brought it.
This was an envelope addressed specifically to Mr. Blind.
After dismissing the servant, Mr. Blind and the man in Tang suit simultaneously looked at the envelope on the coffee table. After a while, the man in Tang suit said, “Blind Man, the situation is a bit delicate… Let’s stick to the rules.”
Mr. Blind nodded slightly.
The man in Tang suit then directly opened the envelope, took out its contents, and upon seeing it, frowned deeply.
Mr. Blind also frowned as he could hear the man’s breathing suddenly deepen, “What does the letter say?”
“It says nothing.” The man in Tang suit said slowly, “There’s nothing written on this letter, just a blank sheet of paper.”
“A blank sheet?” Mr. Blind was taken aback. He took the sheet from the man in Tang suit’s hand, holding it, and carefully caressed it.
“Have you figured anything out?” the man in Tang suit asked in bewilderment.
Mr. Blind pondered in silence for a while and still shook his head, “I can’t make sense of it for now.”
The man in Tang suit took the blank paper back from Mr. Blind, put it back into the envelope, and then stood up, saying, “This thing was able to evade both our senses and get placed outside the door, that’s interesting. I’m going to have it examined and see how the patrol outside is working… Maybe it’s someone from inside the villa who placed it.”
Mr. Blind frowned, saying, “You suspect there’s a mole inside the villa?”
The man in Tang suit said, “I suspect nothing, I just find it odd… Tianxin Seventy-First Generation couldn’t beat you before. Even with his talents, he still wouldn’t be able to beat you even if you stopped progressing for decades. I’m not saying this lightly, your senior brother truly is mediocre and at best would only hover around the Inquiry Phase his whole life. But for him to orchestrate this plan and capture so many people without anyone knowing, it doesn’t seem like something he could do alone. Plus, before I arrived, someone tried to ambush you, didn’t they?”
Mr. Blind remained silent.
The man in Tang suit then added, “You should stay here, avoid showing yourself as much as possible. The Management Bureau’s attitude towards you is pletely different from that of the Dao and Demon Realms outside.”
“I understand.” Mr. Blind nodded helplessly.
Shortly after the man in Tang suit left, Mr. Blind let out a long sigh… He shelved those unnecessary thoughts, focusing on the matter of that blank letter.
“A blank page, a piece of white paper…” Mr. Blind frowned, “Nothingness giving birth… endless… change… plasticity? Who could it be?”
Just then, a ringing sounded in the quiet room, Mr. Blind paused… The phone was something he got after returning to the country for convenience, known only to a few.
“Hello! Is that the Blind Man? It’s Song Da!”
…
…
Earlier.
“Old Zhong, Young Master has returned!”
In the Song Ancestral Mansion, Uncle Wu hurriedly approached Song Tianyou.
This time, there were some accidents during the Imperial Tomb exploration. The Li Family later voluntarily withdrew, and what happened afterward was unclear to Elder Song, who remained in the mansion. Even though he wasn’t extremely anxious, he still seemed somewhat unsettled.
“Grandfather, I’ll help you!”
When Song Tianyou stood up with his cane, Song Ying quickly stepped forward to support him. The group hurried to the front yard of the mansion, just as Song Haoran led his people in.
Young Master Song had a habitual smile on his face — seeing this expression, Song Tianyou, who knew his son well, understood that Song Haoran not only was fine but also probably had encountered some good fortune.
“You’re back.” Song Tianyou came in front of Song Haoran, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder.
With the pat, a considerable amount of dust rose from his clothes.
“As long as you’re okay… what’s this?”
It was then that Song Tianyou noticed someone following Song Haoran, two individuals who had just walked in, Song Da and Song Er. Moreover, a bodyguard was using a stretcher to carry a woman dressed in ancient attire.
“Let’s talk inside.” Song Haoran smiled slightly, “This might be the most thrilling adventure I’ve had so far.”
Song Ying couldn’t help but roll her eyes at this, muttering, “Always showing off… one day you’re going to trip hard and get yourself hurt!”
Despite this, Song Ying’s tense expression relaxed quite a bit. Song Haoran chuckled, pinching Song Ying’s nose, causing her to bristle in protest.
“Stop messing around for now, let’s go inside, it’s cold.” Song Tianyou shook his head, stopping their playful antics, and then, with Uncle Wu’s support, led the way into the mansion.
At this moment, Song Ying suddenly peered towards the door, as if looking for someone.
Song Haoran curiously asked, “What are you looking at?”
Song Ying blurted out, “Luo Qiu? Why didn’t he e back?”
“Luo Qiu?” Song Haoran paused, glancing towards the door questioningly. After a moment he said, “Didn’t he go back to his stepmother after getting off the plane? Said he’d contact us after some time, don’t you remember?”
“Is that so…” Song Ying frowned, “Is that how it happened? It feels familiar, but when did it happen…”
She couldn’t quite recall, vague impressions in her mind as though it had happened or not. However, once Song Haoran mentioned it, she had a fleeting memory.
“Are you silly?” Young Master Song chuckled, “Oh, there’s a saying in Zhong Luochen that fits well… what’s it called… Oh yes, lovesick, right?”
“Song Haoran — go to hell!!”
Thus, this trip to the Imperial Tomb, though perilous, ended without any harm. Young Master Song, however, suffered a fierce stomp from Miss Song Ying, crying out in pain for help.
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