The Long Journey to Immortality

"If this matter cannot be resolved amicably, then that dead duck is doomed!"

"Hahaha."

Raising his glass and drinking heartily, Lü Zhi's laughter came from the bottom of his heart; it was a joyful laugh that he could finally let out after suppressing his feelings for some time.

Chapter 852 Catching Shadows

At the banquet, Lü Zhi acted extremely arrogantly, overjoyed at this "unexpected" good news, and recklessly celebrated this "unexpected" victory.

It seemed as if "Young Master Lü," who was once quite active in the social circles of cultivators on Dragon Head Islands, had returned on this day.

This straightforward removal of the cover exposes the truth that had been hidden.

In just half an hour, the news reached the ears of Young Master Lanya, who was troubled and worried about this matter, through word of mouth among several people.

"What? That idiot Lü Zhi actually said that?"

A chill ran through him, and Lan Ya Gongzi's voice became even higher and higher, showing signs of losing its voice.

The cultivator who came to deliver the news quickly summarized what he had heard in just three sentences, and at the end asked curiously, "Brother Lanya, is this really true?"

For the major merchant guilds and trading companies that are well-known and ranked in the East China Sea, it has been more than three hundred years since they have encountered the "rumored" robbery.

Upon hearing this, even though it came from Lü Zhi's mouth, the cultivator who came to deliver the message couldn't help but doubt the authenticity of this major event.

There's no reason for someone to confess without being asked.

Although things had deteriorated to this point, Young Master Lanya still comforted himself that there was still room to downplay the situation. Naturally, his answer at this time was a lie.

“Brother Jingtang, I don’t know where you heard that idiot Lü Zhi say such stupid things. It’s completely fabricated and made up out of thin air.”

"But thank you for coming to deliver the message."

Speaking at an extremely fast pace, after bidding farewell to his usual acquaintance and friend in just a few words, Young Master Lanya immediately issued a paper sword and summoned his two advisors and confidants to discuss countermeasures and analyze the situation.

Not long after the paper swords were unleashed, two middle-aged cultivators, both at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage but appearing to be "cunning and shrewd," strode into Young Master Lan Ya's residence on the Dragon Head Islands.

The two advisors hurriedly arrived after putting away their paper swords, not knowing much about the matter, while Young Master Lanya only knew the general outline.

After briefly explaining the situation, the three sat facing each other, staring at each other, unsure how to analyze the situation or devise a countermeasure.

Fortunately, although the two advisors usually helped Young Master Lanya with business matters and personal affairs, they also showed great leadership qualities when facing crises.

By sending out paper swords and using Lan Ya Gongzi's personal information network on the Dragon Head Islands to gather information, the three of them learned everything that had happened at Lü Zhi's gathering with his friends in just a quarter of an hour.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Yu, what should we do now?" Young Master Lan Ya asked his two advisors, with whom he had worked for nearly thirty years, for help.

The two exchanged glances, and Mr. Lin, who was more senior, spoke first, asking, "Young Master, is this matter true or false?"

When Young Master Lanya encountered this matter before, the situation was urgent, and he did not consult with the two of them at all.

Being asked this question at this moment, I was naturally a little embarrassed to answer.

He nodded slightly; the elegant young master was sparing with his words.

Upon seeing Young Master Lanya nod, both advisors secretly thought, "This is bad."

The matter was urgent, and the two, who were upset that Lan Ya Gongzi hadn't told them the truth sooner, didn't have time to complain to their "employer."

After a moment's hesitation, Mr. Lin spoke first.

However, he didn't talk about how to solve the problem; instead, he focused his attention on Lü Zhi.

"Young Master, this matter is so secretive, how did Lü Zhi know about it?"

"This..." Young Master Lanya hadn't even considered this question. "I don't know either, but the most crucial point right now is to figure out how to suppress this news, or come up with a few good excuses to respond directly..."

Halfway through the conversation, Young Master Lanya's gaze sharpened, and he repeated, "How did that idiot Lü Zhi know about this?"

Young Master Lan Ya immediately offered a conjecture, muttering to himself, "Could it be that Lü Zhi is actually an outsider colluding with the mole, and that he orchestrated this robbery to get revenge on me?"

This idea enraged Young Master Lanya. In just three breaths, the answer that he had initially thought to be only half a possibility had rapidly expanded.

“This must be the truth. If so, then I can shift most of the blame,” Young Master Lanya looked at his two advisors and asked, “Mr. Lin, Mr. Yu, do you think my guess is right or wrong?”

Mr. Yu said, "I don't know either; there's too little information available at the moment."

Mr. Lin followed up on Lan Ya's idea, saying, "It's quite possible. That Lü Zhi and the young master are mortal enemies. He fell for my scheme before and was humiliated in front of the young master. Maybe this is his way of getting revenge and retaliating."

The two of them talked back and forth, clearly regarding Lü Zhi, who knew the truth, as the culprit.

Mr. Yu felt a little embarrassed listening to this, and finally found an opportunity to interject, "Lu Zhi is, after all, a cultivator who is very likely to take charge of the Immortal Pavilion in the future, and should be able to control the Immortal Pavilion's intelligence network."

"Perhaps, it was a secret leaked by a cultivator during the search for the lost resources, which he then learned through various means?"

That makes sense. Even Lan Ya Gongzi, who had already vented his anger on Lü Zhi, could not ignore this most likely possibility.

Just as he was about to speak, a paper sword suddenly flew into Young Master Lanya's room.

As he unfolded the text, Young Master Lanya's already terrible expression became even more unpleasant.

This paper sword was sent by the person in charge of the Dongweng shops in the Dragon Head Islands.

Needless to say, just by reading the words, Young Master Lanya could imagine the scene of that cultivator, who held a high position in the Chamber of Commerce, roaring and raging at him.

However, when the other party sent him a paper sword summoning him to a meeting, he didn't have the courage to refuse or pretend nothing had happened.

Feeling that he was already standing on the edge of a cliff, Lan Ya Gongzi regarded the possibility that "Lu Zhi was the culprit" as his last straw for self-salvation.

After a hurried exchange with Mr. Lin, who shared the same view, they pieced together non-existent clues to create a plausible story before he rushed off on his way.

Without any hindrance, the "big shot Lan Ya Gongzi," who had been frequently visiting the key areas of the branch in recent days, easily met the important figure who was already sitting in the office waiting for him.

With a forced smile, Young Master Lan Ya cautiously inquired before taking the initiative, saying, "Vice President Chai, I have made a new discovery regarding the theft of materials."

Chapter 853 Watertight

Upon hearing this, Vice President Chai, who had initially intended to slam his fist on the table and unleash his fury on Young Master Lan Ya, and then shift all the blame onto him, suppressed his anger slightly.

He said in a deep voice, "What, have you found something? Have you found traces of those lost resources and magical artifacts? Tell me quickly."

He only got halfway through his sentence, and Vice President Chai, already troubled and feeling considerable pressure, longed to hear some good news from the jinx, Young Master Lanya, that could turn things around.

Young Master Lan Ya sat in the seat opposite Vice President Chai and said, "I... suspect..."

After a moment's hesitation, Young Master Lanya still used the word "doubt".

"I suspect that Lü Zhi was the mastermind behind this robbery, and that it was a vicious act used to retaliate against me."

Hearing such baseless speculation, Vice President Chai laughed instead of getting angry, "Hehe, continue, continue."

He wanted to see what incredible things Young Master Lanya would do in order to survive.

To his surprise, his actions were seen as "encouragement" by Young Master Lan Ya.

Secretly pleased, feeling he had gained another supporter, Young Master Lanya quickly explained all the speculations he and his advisor, Mr. Lin, had made based on hearsay.

“I had a conflict with Lü Zhi of the Immortal Pavilion a while ago. He holds a grudge and has a motive to take revenge on me.”

“The Immortal Pavilion is also a business, and the security measures they use are not much different from those of our Dongweng Shop. If he were to collude with someone from the inside, it would indeed be very likely that they could easily open that storage bag full of magical treasures and resources, thus creating the current situation.”

"This matter is extremely confidential, known only to a very small number of people, but Lü Zhi has revealed most of it today, which is quite unusual."

……

After listing seven or eight points, Young Master Lanya stopped and reiterated the conclusion that "Lu Zhi is the culprit." He then immediately paid attention to Vice President Chai's reaction, hoping to get one of the few good news of the day from his face.

Hearing Lan Ya Gongzi's basically unfounded speculation, Vice President Chai snorted and said, "You, buddy, your business skills are so-so, but your storytelling skills are quite good. Why don't you go and be a storyteller in a hotel or brothel?"

Lan Ya was a little confused by these words. He hurriedly said, "Vice President Chai, my speculation is reasonable and well-founded. If you are willing to send a few people to investigate, you might be able to find some clues or evidence."

"If the Immortal Pavilion launched the attack, we could not only escape responsibility, but we would also gain leverage over the Immortal Pavilion."

"If this gets out, it will definitely ruin the reputation of the Immortal Pavilion. Maybe this will be the opportunity for our Dongweng Shop to overtake us, turn the tables, and dominate the East Sea."

As Lan Ya Gongzi spoke with excitement, his words became increasingly erratic, and in a short time he even managed to "turn things around for the better" and "turn losses into profits," painting a grand picture of the future.

Vice President Chai sighed, shook his head, and tried his best to remain calm as he pointed out the flaws in Young Master Lan Ya's arguments one by one.

"You say Lü Zhi holds a grudge against you and wants to take revenge on you using these methods? Who do you think you are? Is this thing specifically targeting you?"

"Does the Immortal Pavilion know how to break our security measures? That's pure fantasy, completely baseless. Do you know how to unlock the seal on the storage bags the Immortal Pavilion is escorting? If you don't, then don't spout nonsense in front of me."

……

"besides……"

"The secrecy surrounding this matter was only due to the pursuit of resources and magical treasures. With so many people mobilized at once, who wouldn't know that something big was happening? Not to mention that many people already knew the truth while they were involved. In fact, Lü Zhi only found out the truth by bribing one of the escorting protectors with a large sum of money."

After saying that, Vice President Chai took out a jade pendant and threw it into Young Master Lanya's arms.

Lan Ya Gongzi hurriedly picked up the jade tablet, and without any prompting, he knew to take a look at what was finally inside.

The jade tablet contained a confession, which was given by the escorting protector who accompanied Young Master Lanya to the "checkpoint" for investigation that day.

In his confession, he admitted that he had revealed the whole story to a cultivator in exchange for two thousand spirit stones.

That cultivator happened to be from the Immortal Pavilion and was a confidant of Lü Zhi.

Upon reading the information on the jade tablet, Young Master Lanya's heart sank to the bottom.

The mere information contained in this jade pendant proved that the starting point of Lan Ya Gongzi's series of conjectures was wrong.

This was obviously a deliberate smokescreen launched by Lü Zhi.

Two thousand spirit stones is a bit expensive for a known piece of information, but knowing the target's location before firing is a sure way to achieve something and cover up his conspiracy. Lü Zhi is willing to spend the money.

In this way, he completely deceived Vice President Chai, exonerated himself from the already minor suspicion, and handled the instigation matter flawlessly.

The jade pendant slipped from his hand, and Lan Ya Gongzi murmured, "It must be Lü Zhi, there's no mistake, there's no mistake."

“So,” Vice President Chai pointed at Young Master Lanya and said, “you should stop looking for scapegoats. Tomorrow, come with me and go to apologize to the president before the news reaches him.”

"If you have a good attitude, I'll help you out, and maybe I can even keep you working in the Chamber of Commerce."

"As for punishment, there's probably no escaping it. However, admitting your mistake is better than being summoned to headquarters for punishment later."

"Perhaps the supplies can be recovered. If we do this, you might still have a chance to survive."

Patting Young Master Lanya on the shoulder, Vice President Chai didn't want to waste any more words with this early-stage Golden Core cultivator who was destined to leave the core circle in the future.

"Alright, alright, go back and pack your things. Don't forget this important matter tomorrow."

With a heart full of despair, Young Master Lanya said dejectedly, "Yes, I hope that, as Vice President Chai said, there will be a turning point."