Chapter 1196: Yan Feifan Makes His Move, Elder Shui Has a Problem

Lu Ding saw the message.

By now, he had more or less extracted all the Spiritual Energy from these people's bodies. He said to Shen Lingfeng beside him, "Go help Secretary Qiu take over the assets of these factions, and protect him."

"I still have some things to deal with, I need to go take care of them first."

Feeling the terror of Lu Ding's aura, Shen Lingfeng forced himself to reply, "Yes!"

There was a booming sound.

Lu Ding vanished.

At the same time.

Elsewhere.

New City, inside the office.

Lu Ding appeared.

Yan Feifan cast him a look.

Lu Ding understood instantly.

He immediately formed a hand seal, sealing off the entire room.

After ensuring no one could eavesdrop, Lu Ding nodded, and only then did Yan Feifan speak.

"Brother Lu, I feel like Elder Shui is a bit off."

"And it's not just a little off, the more I think about it, the more wrong it feels."

Lu Ding sat down, and Yan Feifan brewed him some floral tea.

Lu Ding took a sip, then asked, "Tell me what you're thinking."

Yan Feifan continued, "Here's the thing, Brother Lu."

"Combining how you and Elder Shui met, got to know each other, up to now, along with the access I gained to Elder Shui's files thanks to your influence and my raised clearance."

"I've found that whether it's Elder Shui's personal growth trajectory, or his later appreciation and help toward you."

"It all feels too smooth."

"And smooth in a very strange way."

"It's like, it's like Elder Shui is playing a second playthrough."

"Or perhaps, he knows the future."

"No, it's not a second playthrough."

Yan Feifan said, then vetoed himself: "Zhan Tingzhou is someone playing a second playthrough, but he's nowhere near as adept as Elder Shui."

"I think it's more likely Elder Shui knows the future."

"Or rather, I lean more toward..."

Lu Ding looked at him: "Lean more toward what?"

Yan Feifan said very seriously: "Elder Shui has some kind of method for sorting through timelines. He can find the best one from countless chaotic timelines and push the actual development along the best path."

"Or rather, Elder Shui is just like a protagonist, with that kind of simulator thing, the kind written about in novels. He can simulate future developments, work backward from good outcomes to make results even better, and work backward from bad outcomes to avoid things deteriorating to the worst."

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"I've looked up information about the Martial Path of the Fierce God."

"I found that cultivating this thing is a dead end leading to Heavenly Retribution. Although Great Han's situation was indeed difficult back then, it wasn't so desperate that Elder Shui, the most brilliant genius Great Han had ever seen, would need to cultivate the Martial Path of the Fierce God to break the deadlock."

"Moreover, although the files hid it well, I still managed to find clues from the smallest traces that Elder Shui's Martial Path of the Fierce God very likely began cultivation from the Third Circle. His battle records are too exaggerated, practically matching yours."

"Where it came from is another question. Under such exaggerated performance, Elder Shui abruptly cut off his Martial Path of the Fierce God, as if he was waiting for you."

"There's one more thing, Brother Lu. Let me put my defenses up first, I really didn't mean to pry into your details. We've been together for so long, there are some things about you I might know, but I don't pay too much attention to you, yet I still noticed."

"Brother Lu, you should be able to ignore a lot of things, right? Like curses, the effects of negative statuses, and arrays, and so on."

"And now you're the Son of Heaven. Under such circumstances, Elder Shui could still find this kind of True Method of Feeding the Divine to boost you..."

Lu Ding listened, silent, then took a sip of floral tea: "I don't quite understand what you mean. Is Elder Shui trying to scheme against me, or..."

Yan Feifan shook his head: "It shouldn't be scheming. I feel like it should be that he needs you to break the deadlock, or perhaps he needs your help later, so he's waiting for you."

"I'm only saying this so you can have some mental preparation, Brother Lu."

"It might not be accurate, but I have some confidence in it."

Lu Ding now had a rough idea. He looked at Yan Feifan: "Feifan, I actually sometimes want to ask, especially now."

"You... are you really you? Are you really the you I see?"

Feifan had helped him enormously. Even if his cultivation couldn't keep up, every single detail was managed by Yan Feifan.

If not for him, Lu Ding would never have gotten this far so easily.

Yan Feifan said seriously: "Brother Lu, I dare swear to the Heavenly Dao, I am me, I am only me, I have always been me. I am the Yan Feifan you see, the Yan Feifan you know. I will always be your assistant investigator. You brought me to this height that doesn't belong to me."

"I will always be loyal to you, and I guarantee that among all people, I will be the most loyal to you."

Lu Ding suddenly smiled: "Don't be so serious, I was just saying. I judge people by their actions, not their intentions."

"As for Elder Shui's matter, I'll ask him personally. If there really is something, then we'll lay it all out on the table. I'm a member of Great Han, and the fact that Elder Shui helped me get through my development period safely is real."

Yan Feifan smiled along: "I have to be serious, Brother Lu. You're the one who let me witness scenery that I would never have seen in my entire original life."

"Without you, there would be no me today. If you didn't trust me and started having doubts about me, that would truly be worse than killing me."

Lu Ding stood up: "Alright, what are you talking about."

As he spoke, he felt the layered power within his body.

He pulled out his phone.

And called Elder Shui.

Some things, once you have doubts, need to be asked. Misunderstandings are something that need to be confirmed and clarified. Keeping your mouth shut will only breed suspicion.

Besides.

The current Lu Ding wasn't without the confidence to back it up.

Soon.

The other side picked up.

Elder Shui's voice came through: "Xiao Lu, are you back in Great Han?"

"How about the surprise I prepared for you? Satisfied?"

Lu Ding said with a smile: "Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied, Elder Shui. Where are you? How about we do a video call and I'll come over? I have a small matter I need to ask you about."

Elder Shui: "Then call me on video. I'm at the front lines, just finished up."

On the other side, Elder Shui walked toward his office as he spoke, took out his best tea leaves, brewed them, and waited for Lu Ding's video call to come through.

The moment he connected.

There was a boom.

Lu Ding appeared directly in the office.

Elder Shui said, "Quick, quick, Xiao Lu, try this tea we just confiscated. I haven't even had a sip myself, I was waiting to taste it with you."

As he spoke.

Elder Shui picked up his own teacup and took a sip of the confiscated tea.

His expression was one of pure enjoyment.

Lu Ding also took an appreciative sip. The fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth, perfectly balanced. The aroma was exquisite, bitter at first but sweet in the aftertaste. It was, without a doubt, the best tea he had ever drunk in his life.

He set down the teacup.

Lu Ding spoke, and with the confidence of his own strength and the values of his various skills, he didn't hold anything back: "Elder Shui, I'm saying maybe, just maybe, is there anything you might be hiding from me?"

Hearing this, Elder Shui, who was still drinking his tea, immediately had his hand tremble.

He looked up.

Meeting Lu Ding's gaze, Elder Shui spoke: "You noticed?"

He had no intention of hiding it, he just didn't know how to say it.

Hearing those words, Lu Ding could basically determine that Elder Shui meant him no ill will whatsoever.

He immediately leaned back: "I have a bit of an idea, but I want to hear it from you. If there's anything, we can lay it all out. You've watched me grow to where I am today. You should know my character. If I can help, I definitely will."

Elder Shui set down his teacup: "Tragic, so tragic..."