84: Turbulence arises

In the back hall of the Jiangzhou Prefecture government office, Qiao Wenbin was reviewing official documents as usual. Judge Chen stood to one side, bowing, his expression nervous.

"My Lord, I... I have failed."

Judge Chen reported in a low voice, a cold bead of sweat seeping from his temple.

He had assumed that since the plan had such a major flaw, Qiao Wenbin would be furious. To his surprise, the other party was exceptionally calm, his red brush never stopping as he continued to process matters in an orderly fashion.

"You have not failed," Qiao Wenbin said in a flat tone. "Or rather, as things stand, this plan is no longer something you or I can control."

Judge Chen did not understand at first.

This scheme had been meticulously designed by him, with Qiao Wenbin giving the final approval, and even Li Jue was a piece that had been placed long ago.

Now that the plan had changed, the Lord claimed it was a success, and even said it had nothing to do with them; he was truly confused.

"I know you don't understand."

Qiao Wenbin did not look up, but with a casual wave of his hand, a pale blue sphere of light appeared beside the table.

"Just as I didn't understand at first either."

"The person escorting Li Jue has already been replaced by my trusted aide."

"And Li Jue... at this moment, he is already an empty shell. His soul has long since been extracted and crafted into a spirit crystal. By now, it should have already been sent to the capital along with this batch's quota."

"When that carcass arrives at the place of exile, it will naturally end with 'fell ill from anxiety and died on the road'."

"As for the cause and effect of this incident, once you have viewed this memory obtained from soul-searching, you will know the truth."

Judge Chen held the blue sphere with both hands, channeled his mana, and guided it into his Sea of Consciousness.

"This... this is!"

A moment later, his eyes widened, his face filled with an expression of disbelief.

The original plan was to have Li Jue, at the crucial moment of the poetry gathering's ranking, use Zhou Yan's youth as a pretext to express admiration, then ask some tricky questions sideways to observe his reaction.

If Zhou Yan kept evading and dared not face them directly, it would mean his background was deep but his learning shallow, confirming he was Prince Kang's man.

Because Prince Kang was most fond of recruiting eccentric talents and did not prioritize their literary talent.

If he responded calmly with brilliant literary talent, then they would need to reconsider the possibility of Prime Minister Zhang's faction and plot a subsequent strategy.

With the coordination between Li Jue and Judge Chen, this plan could be said to have a lot of room for maneuver and was more subtle.

However, the actual situation was that Li Jue suddenly launched an attack midway through the poetry gathering, his behavior stiff and aggressive.

And Zhou Yan did not play by the rules, directly leading Li Jue to make wild statements, and then using his authority to quickly exile him.

Such swift and decisive methods were actually more like the style of their own nobility faction.

Zhou Yan could naturally not be the Duke's man; this must have been because Li Jue's exposure allowed him to see through this probing, and he intentionally used this method to mock them in return.

But at this moment, through this memory, Judge Chen saw a completely different truth.

From the moment Li Jue stepped onto the Flower Boat, his Sea of Consciousness had been invaded by an unknown force, constantly magnifying his desires and strengthening psychological suggestions, urging him to impatiently attack Zhou Yan.

And the source of this power was none other than the host of this poetry gathering, the Misty Rain Painted Barge.

Or rather, the Joyous Union Sect behind it!

"Didn't I ask you to go find the Truth Cult and leak some information earlier?"

Qiao Wenbin still did not look up, as if talking about an ordinary matter.

"Although this group of people doesn't have very good brains, their efficiency is not low. Once they knew Zhou Yan was here, they started their actions."

"It's just that you and I both severely miscalculated their attitude toward Zhou Yan."

"They seem to be extremely wary of Zhou Yan's identity, so they specifically used an ongoing plan as a trap, intending to deal with Zhou Yan."

"They contacted the Joyous Union Sect directly, wanting to use the hands of the Misty Rain Painted Barge to lure Zhou Yan into the trap. Li Jue was merely a piece used by the Joyous Union Sect to make contact with Zhou Yan."

"And all of this, I only know because the Misty Rain Painted Barge told me."

"We wanted to utilize the hatred of the Truth Cult, but now we have instead become the Truth Cult's pieces, without even knowing it."

On the Flower Boat of the Misty Rain Painted Barge.

The poetry gathering had already dispersed, and the guests had all left.

In Meng Ke's room, Boss Mei was tuning her zither strings, but in the end, she could not help but ask.

"My Lord, this subordinate still does not understand, why are you so polite to that Zhou Yan?"

"Even if you promised the Truth Cult to lure him into the trap, you don't need to..."

"Don't need to be so servile, is that it?"

Meng Ke gazed at the river view outside the window, her back to Boss Mei.

"As for this person, Zhou Yan, the last time I heard news of him was back in the Great Qian."

"At that time, he turned our long-cultivated goals upside down. To say I don't feel the pain would naturally be a lie."

"But if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have turned a misfortune into a blessing. Having just arrived in this Great Yu, we have already gained more than what we managed in several years in the Great Qian."

"Moreover, if he hadn't suddenly undergone this Saint trial, the Truth Cult would likely have already expelled us; how could there be any talk of cooperation?"

Meng Ke turned around, the layer of the perfect mask on her face fading, revealing a touch of wanton and genuine smile.

"Don't look at how the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven always presents itself as neutral and inactive within the four territories, as if they are too lazy to intervene as long as it doesn't endanger the entire Northern Territory."

"But when they say 'inactive', you actually believe it?"

Boss Mei still asked with some confusion.

"But right now, within the Great Yu and Great Qian territories, the secret agents and spies of various factions are as numerous as ox hair, and have long since penetrated everything until it is riddled with holes."

"Even if the situation in Great Qian was temporarily clear before because of Zhou Yan, that was the Great Qian imperial court exerting its own effort, plus a few Qingxu Grotto-Heaven Disciples whose native origin was Great Qian, spontaneously assisting from the side."

"The high-level officials of the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven did not directly intervene; isn't this just letting it be?"

"Logically speaking, they shouldn't overly protect Zhou Yan either."

Meng Ke quickly interrupted her, not letting her continue.

"Do you really think that just because the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven has a Saint system, they would be like the Liyan Holy Land?"

"Raising the Saint freely, resurrecting them when they die, and sending them out for training after resurrection?"

"When has the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven ever followed this tradition?"

"Their Saint trial is placed directly in the Northern Territory, they won't even step out of their own doorstep; how is this any different from letting a child stroll in their own backyard?"

"The life-saving trump cards on that Zhou Yan are probably difficult for even a Nascent Soul Cultivator to easily shake. This level of importance is enough to explain their attitude."

"If you really don't take this Reserve Holy Son seriously, wait until he happens to encounter real danger and resurrects again."

"Then just wait for those old fogies of the Qingxu Grotto-Heaven who protect their own to swarm out in full force to investigate and settle accounts."

"The Truth Cult only required us to lure the person into the trap, but did not limit the method."

"As for after entering the trap, whether we secretly assist when necessary, that is a matter outside of the cooperation."

"Building a good relationship now and leaving some face is better than being caught in the crossfire later."

"After all, at the end of the day, we and that 'Censor Zhou' can barely be considered to be on the same front."

Zhou Yan did not yet know that a side quest he had casually completed at the beginning had fallen into a large web, and had now become one of the bargaining chips in a multi-party game.

At this moment, he was in his own courtyard, contacting the Sect through the flying boat.

"Master, the situation is roughly like this."

"I didn't expect you to have discovered the information about this Secret Realm yourself."

"We were originally still thinking about whether or not to tell you about this Secret Realm, after all, there are too many people involved, the variables are a bit large, and no matter how much is said, it is just a Soul Transformation Secret Realm."

"But since you actively discovered it and also obtained the qualification, it means you have a predestined affinity with this Secret Realm."

"Since that is the case, go ahead with peace of mind; the Sect will make some arrangements."

A rare, steady response came from the other end of the communication.