172: Chapter 172 Planning and Accumulation, Mysteries Abound

Chu Sheng stayed in the imperial capital for another day, scouting out all the necessary spots.

Inns, restaurants, tea houses, brothels, markets, government offices—he went through every street and alley.

With his current cultivation, a single sweep of his Divine Sense could cover half the imperial capital.

The imperial capital was a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons; who knew what old monsters were lurking in which gutter?

Careful sailing ensures a long journey.

Early on the fourth day, he went to the largest information bureau in the imperial capital.

Baixiang Pavilion.

Baixiang Pavilion was located on the busiest street in the capital, Heaven Street.

Two attendants at the Essence Gathering Realm stood at the entrance, their backs straight.

Chu Sheng walked in, and an attendant greeted him: "Guest, are you buying or selling information?"

"Buying."

"Please go to the second floor."

"Just one person." Chu Sheng sat at the counter and fished a few Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from his sleeve, placing them on the counter.

The shopkeeper didn't look at the Spirit Stones but looked at Chu Sheng: "Who?"

"Ye Wuhen."

The shopkeeper's expression didn't change, but his finger twitched.

"Please wait a moment, guest." The shopkeeper stood up and turned into the back hall.

Chu Sheng waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"One hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones."

Chu Sheng frowned. One hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones for information on one person was not cheap.

He didn't haggle, counted out a hundred from his Storage Pouch, and stacked them on the counter.

Chu Sheng opened the envelope; inside was only a single piece of paper with a few lines of text—

Ye Wuhen, seventeen years old, place of origin unknown, parents unknown.

Appeared in the imperial capital three years ago, making a living by sweeping the streets.

No cultivation, no Sect, no criminal record.

Had attempted to join the Tianfeng Kingdom but was rejected due to inadequate Aptitude.

—Wendao Palace.

The last three words were not written in ink but were stamped on.

Chu Sheng folded the paper and tucked it into his sleeve.

Wendao Palace.

The trail for Ye Wuhen went cold at Wendao Palace.

An information bureau that had been open for decades in the capital must have many powers behind it, yet even they feared Wendao Palace.

Chu Sheng stood on Heaven Street, watching the passing crowds, his mind racing.

Why would Wendao Palace want to protect Ye Wuhen?

What secret did Ye Wuhen really have?

In the simulation, Ye Wuhen had a Wendao Palace background, and Ye Gucheng was his uncle—he knew this.

The nephew of a Dao Palace Grand Elder sweeping streets in the imperial capital?

Who would believe that?

As he was thinking, a voice came from behind him.

"Move."

Chu Sheng turned around. A woman riding a white horse had stopped three paces behind him.

She wore a pale gold gown with a white jade belt around her waist. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, adorned only with a small pearl flower at her temple.

Chu Sheng recognized her—Jiang Haoyue.

The princess of the Tianfeng Kingdom, Prince Jiang Yan's sister.

In the last simulation, she had married Ye Wuhen.

She was still young, looking about seventeen or eighteen. Her eyes didn't yet have the steadiness and sharpness of later years, retaining some of the innocence of a young girl.

Chu Sheng stepped aside.

Jiang Haoyue rode past him, went a few steps, then suddenly reined in her horse and looked back at him.

"Are you a Cultivator?" she asked.

Chu Sheng nodded.

"What cultivation level?"

"Qi Induction."

Jiang Haoyue glanced at him and didn't ask further.

She turned her head and rode away.

Chu Sheng looked at her back and suddenly smiled.

Qi Induction. Did she believe him? Of course not.

But she didn't press him. This indicated two things.

First, she saw that he was more than just Qi Induction; second, she didn't want to cause trouble.

For a seventeen or eighteen-year-old princess to have such insight and shrewdness was not simple.

Chu Sheng turned and walked toward the other end of Heaven Street.

He decided to personally check out the Wendao Palace branch.

The Wendao Palace branch was in the northern part of the capital. It wasn't large, but it was grand.

A pitch-black gate with a plaque hanging on the lintel.

There were no guards at the door, the gate was open, and it was quiet inside.

Chu Sheng walked in.

An old man with a handlebar mustache was sitting on a stone stool, holding a cup of tea, squinting his eyes while sunbathing.

The old man's cultivation was early-stage Sea Opening.

Chu Sheng stood at the entrance of the courtyard and didn't go further in.

The old man opened his eyes and glanced at him, a sharp light flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Come in," the old man said.

Chu Sheng walked in and sat on a stone stool.

The old man poured him a cup of tea; the tea was emerald green and fragrant.

Chu Sheng picked it up and took a sip. It was high-quality spirit tea, sweet on the tongue with a long-lasting aftertaste.

"You didn't come to seek the Dao," the old man said.

Chu Sheng put down the teacup: "I came to ask about a person."

"Who?"

"Ye Wuhen."

The old man's expression didn't change, but his hand holding the tea paused for a moment.

That pause was very brief, so brief that an ordinary person wouldn't have noticed. But Chu Sheng saw it.

"Ye Wuhen is one of our Wendao Palace's people."

The old man said, his tone flat.

"I know."

"Then what are you here to ask?"

Chu Sheng looked at the old man, whose gaze was very calm.

Chu Sheng thought for a moment and changed his question: "Why is he sweeping the streets?"

The old man was silent for a while, then smiled.

"He wants to sweep them himself."

The old man said, "No one forced him."

Chu Sheng frowned.

The old man stood up, hands behind his back, and walked under a pine tree.

"That child," the old man finally spoke.

"He has a Restriction on him. A Restriction placed by Wendao Palace. It's not a punishment, it's protection. The Restriction seals his cultivation and his aura. He sweeps the streets in the capital not because he can only sweep streets, but because he doesn't want to involve others."

"You are the first person to come looking for him in all these years."

The old man asked, "What is your name?"

"Nie Zhang."

"Nie Zhang?"

The old man repeated the name and nodded.

"I will remember it. You may leave. Don't meddle in Ye Wuhen's affairs anymore. When you are meant to know, you will know naturally."

Chu Sheng stood up, cupped his hands, and turned to walk out.

When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and asked without looking back.

"Are you here to look after him?"

The old man didn't answer. Chu Sheng waited for a moment, and when no answer came, he stepped out of the courtyard.

The sunlight hit him, feeling warm, but his heart felt a bit heavy.

An early-stage Sea Opening old man, hunkered down in a branch office in the capital, sunbathing, drinking tea, and guarding the door.

Not for seeking the Dao, not for Cultivating, but to look after a young man who sweeps the streets.

Ye Wuhen, who exactly are you?

Chu Sheng walked in the imperial capital's streets, his mind in a mess.

In the simulation, Ye Wuhen was the protagonist archetype—he had the background, the Opportunities, the women, and the strength.

In this life, Ye Wuhen's situation was so deep that even Wendao Palace had to send someone to protect him secretly.

Yet he was sweeping streets, being bullied, being looked down upon, and couldn't even enter a Sect.

He was hiding.

Chu Sheng suddenly thought of a possibility.

Ye Wuhen wasn't pretending to be Trash; he was hiding.

Hiding from someone, or hiding from something.

Wendao Palace placing a Restriction on him to seal his cultivation and aura wasn't to limit him, but to protect him.

And he chose to sweep the streets because the most inconspicuous place is the safest.

Chu Sheng returned to the inn, closed the door, took the ring out of his Storage Pouch, and put it back on his finger.

Old Grandfather floated out of the ring, his phantom flickering in the candlelight.

"The old man at the Wendao Palace branch is at the early-stage Sea Opening," Chu Sheng said.

Old Grandfather stroked his beard: "On par with you."

"He said he's here to look after Ye Wuhen."

Old Grandfather was silent for a while: "Then Ye Wuhen's identity is even more troublesome than I thought."

Chu Sheng lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He now had two choices.

First, continue investigating to find out who Ye Wuhen really is and what secrets he holds.

Second, stop here, don't investigate further, and follow the original plan to befriend Ye Wuhen and slowly get closer.

The first choice was too dangerous.

Wendao Palace was not someone he could provoke; Ye Gucheng could split him in half with a single sword strike.

The second choice was actually quite good.

In another month and a half, he could happily conduct the sixth simulation.

By then, when he had power, these mysteries would be solved one by one.

Forget it, I'll think about it tomorrow.