A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

"So how exactly are you going to take us to that damned Forbidden City from the Ming Dynasty?"

Ji Zuodao put all the antiques into the human skin bag, and also took the overflowing pastries with him.

He tilted his head, squinted, and looked Zhu Cheng up and down, as if scrutinizing a conman who had just been caught red-handed.

"Don't tell me you secretly built a Forbidden City in some hidden corner and declared yourself king—I'd be embarrassed if you did, I'm really short on achievements."

"Catching a rebellious descendant of the Ming imperial family, tsk tsk, that's enough credit for me to sit on the head of the General Administration for half a month."

He said this with a smile on his face and in a relaxed tone.

But his thick black veins had already silently peeked out from his sleeve, like several venomous snakes poised to strike, wriggling slightly in the shadows of his sleeve, their tips gleaming with a dark luster.

If Zhu Cheng dared to utter a single word of "yes," he would immediately execute the audacious fellow on the spot without prior notification.

Forget about dragon energy or anything like that, just kill them first, the reasons are readily available—

The plot to rebel failed, but the attempt to restore the monarchy was successful. The evidence was conclusive, and the perpetrators were caught red-handed.

perfect.

Zhu Cheng, who was walking ahead, paused for a moment.

He could feel the dragon energy around him frantically issuing warnings, and like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, all the hairs on his body stood on end.

The intensity of that warning was greater than any he had received in the past two months, as if it were telling him:

That bastard behind you is serious this time.

A vein throbbed on Zhu Cheng's forehead.

It jumped again.

He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, then took another breath, then exhaled again, repeating this three times before he could barely suppress the anger in his heart.

He just didn't understand.

He, Zhu Cheng, was a descendant of the Ming Dynasty imperial family, a true direct descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao.

From a young age, they received the best education, reading the Four Books and Five Classics, practicing archery and horsemanship, and cultivating a righteous spirit.

He is gentle and refined in his dealings with others; his words and actions are measured and appropriate.

He asked himself if he had ever offended Ji Zuodao, never uttered a single curse word, and always used a conciliatory approach, greeting him with a smile.

The results of it?

That bastard, I'll kill him whenever I get the chance.

I really wanted to kill him; it wasn't just talk.

Zhu Chengneng could sense that every time Ji Zuodao looked at him, there was a serious urge in his eyes to figure out "where to start."

He's been sending me nice things for two months now.

Candied hawthorns strung together with thousand-year-old spiritual fruits, mechanical toys crafted by skilled artisans from the Ministry of Works, and pastries made using secret recipes from the Imperial Kitchen…

One task after another, one thing after another, rain or shine, unwavering.

His shop's antiques were emptied batch after batch: blue and white plum vases, gilt bronze incense burners, white jade pendants, Chenghua doucai cups...

That bastard always comes here like he's shopping at a supermarket, he knows the place like the back of his hand, he sweeps everything up, leaving him not a single penny.

He, a descendant of the Ming Dynasty imperial family and a direct descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao, was constantly trying to curry favor with Ji Zuodao, who treated him with indifference.

Not only did the person not appreciate it, but when he leaned in, they defecated on his face.

Oh shit.

If this had happened during the Ming Dynasty, Ji Zuodao's actions would have been enough to warrant the execution of his entire family.

Anyone who dares to treat a member of the royal family like this should be dragged out and chopped off; there's no need to even write a memorial.

It's a pity, we can only dream about it.

Now it's the Han Dynasty, and Bureau 749 is in power.

If this descendant of the Ming Dynasty imperial family dared to touch a single investigator in the 749 Bureau, they could mobilize the entire nation's resources in a matter of minutes to exterminate his entire clan.

Although he is the only one left of his nine generations of relatives, this burden is still considerable.

Zhu Cheng closed his eyes and mentally cursed Ji Zuodao's ancestors for eighteen generations, doing so with meticulous care.

After finishing his greetings, he exhaled a breath of stale air, turned around, and his gentle smile returned to his face.

"Mr. Ji, please rest assured that our Zhu family is not so foolish as to establish a state on the territory of the Han Dynasty."

He paused, then looked directly into Ji Zuodao's eyes: "Mr. Ji must have heard that experts at the Divine Treasure Realm possess the power to manifest the past in the present, right?"

Ji Zuodao raised an eyebrow slightly.

Of course he knew.

He knows this stuff all too well.

Not long ago, he even impersonated his third master, Zhou Langchen, and borrowed some supernatural powers to bring the entire Lion Camel Ridge, along with the Green-haired Lion Demon, the Yellow-toothed Elephant, the Golden-winged Roc, and the forty-eight thousand demons, to Jinshan Temple.

The scene was truly breathtaking; it blotted out the sky, and the demonic aura soared to the heavens, scaring that bald monk Faming so much that his face turned green.

He also happened to catch a spectacular show: "Fahai's Battle Against the Three Demons of Lion Camel Ridge"—

Fahai's mighty dragon was sucked up by the Golden-Winged Roc in one gulp, just like sucking up noodles;

The golden alms bowl was snatched away by the blue-haired lion with one paw, and the lion immediately set up a pot to boil water, preparing to stew the monk.

It was absolutely wonderful, incredibly exhilarating, and unforgettable.

Therefore, as soon as Zhu Cheng mentioned "Divine Treasury Realm", Ji Zuodao immediately understood his meaning.

"The Forbidden City you're talking about from the Ming Dynasty, you're not going to say it's a replica created using mythological elements from the Divine Treasury Realm, are you?"

He took a step forward, narrowed his eyes, and spoke with undisguised disdain:

"That thing consumes a terrifying amount of mana; I've experienced it firsthand. How many minutes are you planning to show us today? Three minutes? Five minutes? I finally got a day off, and Qiqi dragged me out of bed at six, and this is what you show me?"

"I might as well just buy a ticket and visit the Forbidden City. At least you can spend a whole day there, and there are guided tours."

Qiqi stood to the side, holding a lotus-shaped pastry in her hand. She looked at Ji Zuodao, then at Zhu Cheng, her little face full of confusion.

She didn't quite understand why her brother and this older brother were always saying things she couldn't understand.

But she thought the lotus-shaped pastry in her hand was delicious, so she decided to continue eating it and deal with adult matters later.

As Zhu Cheng listened to Ji Zuodao's string of complaints, the veins on his forehead throbbed again.

He told himself to be polite and cultured, and not to stoop to the level of this bastard.

He was a descendant of the Ming Dynasty imperial family, a direct descendant of Emperor Taizu Gao, and a well-educated gentleman. He should not be bothered with a brute who came from a heretical background.

Take a deep breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Take another breath.

Exhale again.

Okay, you can speak now.

"Of course not," Zhu Cheng said, his voice still calm, but if you listened carefully, you could feel that his jaw was clenched tighter than usual.

"Mr. Ji, let me test you—"

He paused, then looked directly into Ji Zuodao's eyes: "What could possibly overshadow reality and exist for an extended period?"

Ji Zuodao was stunned for a moment.

With a lollipop in his mouth, his mind raced.

Overlapping with reality? Persisting in the long term? This description sounds so familiar...

Then, a word popped into his head with a "ding".

A bizarre realm.

He knows this better.

The strange domain that now covers most of the eastern part of Jinghai is under Ji Zhengdao's control, and he has managed it very successfully.

When he visited last month, wow, the Epang Palace had already been built, magnificent and resplendent, much more impressive than the replica ancient scenic spot in Xi'an.

Ji Zhengdao proudly told him that the next step was to build a Great Wall, develop tourism, and make money by charging admission fees.

Ji Zuodao was thinking at the time that this inner demon was much more business-minded than his original self.