The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Chapter 125 People from the Imperial Court

The fox's mind raced, and he began to understand the turtle demon's purpose.

The women in the turtle mansion are all spirits, afflicted by Yin Sha evil magic. And the Lanjiang Battle Map depicts an ancient battlefield, naturally with countless corpses submerged underwater.

The familiar methods and the same goal made Fox 90% certain that this was the work of the forces behind Chang Sheng.

When I asked Su Yincha last time, he was evasive and vague. Now that the fox has been appointed by the Lord, he can't keep changing the subject when we meet again, can he?

During these three days of free time, the fox was not idle. It reported the matter of the turtle demon to the underworld, and after consulting with the judge, it went to see Judge Lu and asked him to temporarily take charge of the affairs of Yunxi County in order to prevent any more monsters from harming people.

Judging by the time, Judge Lu should have finished his business by today, and according to the underworld's reply, there should be a result tonight.

Seeing the fox remain silent and seem lost in thought, Hu Nianshuang asked, "Sir, do you know where the location depicted on this map is?"

Mr. Xi pondered for a moment: "Although the waterway has changed, the mountain shape remains the same. This should be within the territory of Guancun."

"A village?" Hu Nianshuang frowned slightly. "A village was actually built in such a dangerous place?"

"The original riverbed must have dried up, and with the change in terrain, the battlefield was buried underground. As for why a village was built on top of it—" Mr. Xi nodded, his expression turning strange, "That village has always been peculiar. I've never understood it before, but now that I've seen this painting, I have a slight idea."

"It's not convenient to tell you right now. Firstly, I haven't confirmed it yet, and secondly, some things are only interesting when you see them with your own eyes."

Seeing his serious tone and the lack of evasiveness on his face, Hu Nianshuang assumed it was a habit he had developed from appraising treasures, and didn't ask any further questions: "Thank you, sir."

Just as the fox was about to speak again, he suddenly heard footsteps. He turned around and saw two people coming up the stairs. The one in the lead was the stall owner who had just sold the treasure bottle, and behind him was a man dressed in silk and wearing official boots.

They went into the private room next door, closed the door, and seemed to be having a secret conversation.

The fox pricked up its ears, intently listening to their conversation.

"grown ups----"

"Brother, there's no need to be so formal. Since your grandfather was from the Imperial Observatory, he must have some connection with me. I've heard Lord Guan Zheng mention him; he's a very talented man."

The stall owner's voice carried a hint of surprise: "To have caught your attention, sir! When my grandfather was alive, he often mentioned the Imperial Observatory, but life is unpredictable—"

"Yes, life is unpredictable." The man in the silk sighed. "Since that's the case, you're not an outsider, so just call me Brother Wei."

"How can this be allowed?"

"Of course, why not?" Brother Wei laughed. "I heard that your grandfather was extremely knowledgeable about celestial phenomena back then and made many diagrams, which are still in use in the prison today."

"That, I didn't know that before."

"It's quite a coincidence, my official is now in charge of celestial phenomena and divination. Perhaps he's even using the knowledge left by your grandfather?"

"This, sir, you mean—"

"Hey, just call me Brother Wei." Brother Wei's tone was full of warmth. "I just saw your Wind and Rain Balance Bottle. It's in excellent condition, even more complete than the ones currently kept in the prison. It would be a waste to give it to someone else."

"In that case, in a few days, Lord Guanzheng will arrive in Tao County. I will help you make an introduction, and your son's matter will be much easier to handle. He might even be able to inherit the family business."

"Is Lord Guanzheng coming?"

"That's for sure. Such a major event happened in Tao County before, which was simply disregard for the imperial court. As early as last month, the urgent messengers had already arrived in the capital to report. After several days of discussion, now not only my official, but also Daoist Master Feng from the Daoist Records Office and Commander Xue from the Demon Suppression Office are all coming!"

The fox and the group of spirits exchanged glances, both inwardly suspicious: "The Demon Suppression Bureau, Taoist priests? Are they here to capture demons in the fox's territory?"

Hu Nianshuang was anxious and reached out to take a sip of tea, only to find the cup empty. She picked up the teacup, but it was also empty. She could only take a deep breath: "I heard that the Demon Suppression Division kills demons on sight and their hands are covered in blood."

Mr. Xi remained calm and said indifferently, "Let's hear what he has to say."

"This...this is unbelievable!" The stall owner was clearly startled. "Would they care about a nobody like me?"

"Whether he cares or not is not for me to presume to judge, but based on my understanding of Guan Zheng, he should remember this past favor. Keep this 'Wind and Rain Balance Bottle' carefully, until—"

"Brother Wei, I have a favor to ask. Please hand over this bottle to me and present it to the officials, so that I won't offend their eyes."

"How can this be allowed?"

"Of course, why not?" the stall owner continued. "Brother Wei has influence with these officials, so he's naturally more effective than a commoner like me. If these officials take a liking to my son and are willing to give him a chance, I will definitely repay Brother Wei's kindness once again!"

"Since you trust me so much, I won't refuse. Rest assured, I will take your son's matter to heart."

"Thank you, thank you so much————"

Amidst the sounds of clinking glasses, Brother Wei departed.

Mr. Xi sighed: "This person is already in my trap."

"Hmm?" The fox was taken aback. "That sounds plausible. The imperial court hasn't sent anyone?"

"Words have roots, but people have no roots." Mr. Xi looked at it with a testing gaze, "Nine parts truth and one part falsehood."

The fox immediately realized: "First they befriend you, then they use the truth as a pretext, hiding a lie inside. If you believe the truth, you'll believe the lie too."

"No, even foxes can use this method, so why didn't they notice it at first?"

"You're not stupid, you little fox," Mr. Xi said with a smile. "But although you understand human nature and are knowledgeable about human affairs, you are still too inexperienced. Entering the world, you will inevitably have to undergo such trials. In the future, you should keep a degree of doubt in mind when you encounter problems."

The fox reflected carefully and realized that this statement was incorrect: "No, that's because the bottle didn't belong to the fox. The fox's attention was only focused on the Taoist priest and the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Mr. Xi chuckled: "You're quite stubborn. If you're not convinced, you can go to the Ghost Market in the east of the city tonight. There you'll find all sorts of people, both human and demon, a mix of truth and falsehood, much more lively than this museum."

"A ghost market?"

"While daytime transactions may be fraudulent, the goods themselves are always legitimate in origin. The ghost market is different," Mr. Xi explained slowly. "Most of the goods there are shady. These things dare not show themselves during the day, but they still need to find a way out."

"If you want to go, you can arrive at midnight tonight."

After saying this, Mr. Xi turned and left.

The fox watched his retreating figure and pouted, "Why does he seem so concerned about whether it's true or false?"

The red fish poked its head out from the full tank of tea: "It's a mirror. We're animals that have become spirits; who knows what it's thinking?"

"That makes sense."

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