Chapter 88: Turning the Accusation Back on Them

What Old Mr. Wang had guessed was almost exactly what I had imagined.

This astonishing overlap proved one thing.

That dream had not been dreamed in vain; it was the tomb’s master urging me to put the object back where it belonged.

“But what identity does this woman have? Why is she so terrifying?”

My heart leaped into my throat.

When Liu Ziqing asked that, Song Zhixing immediately covered his face and coughed twice, trying to hide his embarrassment.

As for Xiao Bofeng, he slowly sat up in Xiao Biechen’s arms, his face deathly pale, proof that Song Qingming’s palm strike had already dealt him a grave injury.

In his view, it was clearly a fusion of the souls of a praying mantis and a human being. Though he did not know how the other party had accomplished such a thing, his guess could not be far off.

Meanwhile, Chunsheng, who had been sleeping soundly nearby, seemed far happier than he was. A few wolf howls had not woken him; he remained lost in his sweet dream, drool running from the corner of his mouth down his cheek and onto the ground.

Within the billowing dust, all that could be heard were repeated slaps of palms meeting palms, and then two figures were sent flying backward.

After that, Chen Chu’s somewhat refined sweet talk, honed through “practice,” very successfully shifted Yang Qing’s attention.

Yet the feeling only became more wrong. Worse still, Chen Chu could not possibly simply leave such an unusual situation alone without trying to understand it.

Seeing Yunye’s confident expression, Yue Daoqing was overjoyed. But when he heard the words “Phantom Sea Coral,” not only he, but everyone else who heard it, froze in surprise.

Finally came the selection of officials through the civil examinations. In order to gather talent for the various levels of government posts, the Ministry of Rites would set the questions, and appointments would be made through the imperial examinations. Those who passed would be granted positions as prefectural, district, or county officials.

Gu Jinnian’s voice was very low, hoarse with strain. Yet beneath it there was a plea so heartrending it made one’s heart ache to listen to.

This made Bai Fan slightly surprised. It would be nonsense to say that such a grand ceremony had no security at all; who would believe that? Could it be that the killing of a star spirit meant nothing to the people here?

A sharp cracking sound rang out. The ice encasing him split into countless fissures, the cracks spreading as if alive, racing outward in an instant until they covered the entire block.

If Bai Fan had been there, he would surely have nodded in agreement with the man’s words. They were very good indeed; at the very least, the conclusion reached was already extremely close to the truth. But the problem was that he was not there, so there was naturally no way for him to know.

Looking again at their appearance, all of them had short military-style haircuts and dark complexions. Some still had mud on their faces. What they held in their hands were not hoes, but pitchforks, shovels, iron hammers, and even specially made earth guns—tools used for farming and hunting.

It had to be said that this tactic of diverting the enemy by besieging its ally was quite effective. For the time being, Qing’er and the others were safe, and thus the delay had stretched until now. But just the day before yesterday, we received another summons from the capital, requiring us to appear in person.

Long Ya simply sat in the chair, and together with Dong Lin he looked on with a half-smile at Bai Chenxuan, who had frozen in place the moment he saw them.

The hell hound and hell fish flapped back to Fang Xiao’s side. Fang Xiao leaped up onto the hell hound’s back, while Luo Hao jumped onto the hell fish’s back to avoid the swamp.

“Ow!”

Shen Qingzhi and Che Lixun each took a tactical board to the head, courtesy of Cui Lei and Murong Xue.

“Drunken Immortal Residence—what a lyrical name. I just don’t know whether its taste is truly as good as the rumors say.” Wang Chao led the way inside.

Just like her controlled ghosts, whose ownership no longer belonged to her, Yue Xi automatically used herself as the comparison.

Chen Hai understood the laws of space and was extremely troublesome to deal with. Wu Mo could do nothing to him, but for Chen Hai to seize the central point from Wu Mo was practically impossible.

Mou Xi Linjue paid him no mind. He swirled the wine cup in his hand, the reddish-purple liquid clinging to the inside wall as it sloshed, gathering into a bead that rolled down.