Chapter 300 - 117: Exposed (Part 2)

Chapter 300: Chapter 117: Exposed (Part 2)

A flicker of pity crossed Zhen Daoji’s face.

Zhen Yi noticed but didn’t try to dissuade him. He simply said, "Dao Ji, it’s not too late to stop."

"We’ve come this far. How can we possibly give up now?"

Zhen Daoji spun around. "Let’s begin!"

「A moment later.」

BOOM!

A brilliant pillar of light shot into the sky as the Eight-Nine Origin Tracking Extreme Yin Array activated. Billowing black mist enveloped the young boys and girls.

"I feel so sick!"

"Mister, save me!"

"When I die, you have to remember to send me home!"

...

One by one, the children died bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. An overwhelming wave of negative emotion surged forth.

"Dragon Pearl Origin, go! And... the Decree!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhen Yi sent a sheet of bright yellow square silk into the air. It was made of an unknown material, neither gold nor jade. As it burst with golden light, a colossal, phantom-like figure of a divine spirit materialized above it before flashing into the Eight-Nine Origin Tracking Extreme Yin Array.

VMM! VMM! VMM!

Translucent gray ripples, invisible to the naked eye, spread outward. They swept through the area like gravitational waves, causing two spots within Huaiyin Prefecture City to glow with red light. One spot was exceptionally bright; the other, much dimmer.

"We have a result! The Yang Attribute Dragon Pearl is no longer in Huaiyin Prefecture City. However, by sensing the Dragon Ball Energy, I’ve tracked it to two locations where it lingered."

Riding the Red-Feathered Golden Eagle, Zhen Yi looked down, his eyes glinting with a jade-green Spiritual Light. "One location is Mochou Lake—that must be where the Dragon Pearl was originally. The other... is the Peach Blossom Garden?!"

...

"Sir, the results of the investigation on Fang Rui are in."

Earlier that day, after discovering the ruins of Fang Rui’s secret base in the Peach Blossom Garden, Zhen Daoji had expressionlessly ordered a full investigation into Fang Rui. He then returned to his estate, where he waited without eating, drinking, or saying a single word.

When Fang Rui was first hired, he had naturally been vetted. It was a simple process; his background was merely listed as ’migrated from an outlying state.’ They had also used the Truth-Discerning Skill to confirm that he wasn’t a wanted man and harbored no ill intentions, so he was approved.

After all, he was only a Sixth Grade Silver Seal Chief Constable who had just barely crossed the threshold into the Court’s mid-level ranks. It wasn’t as if they would mobilize massive resources to trace his ancestry back eighteen generations.

But now that Zhen Daoji was taking it seriously, things were different. The full apparatus of the Great Yu Court, combined with the power of the Zhen Family, formed a terrifying, two-pronged dragnet that quickly yielded results.

"Oh? Bring it here, quickly!"

In a rare display of losing his composure before his subordinates, a sharp glint flashed in Zhen Daoji’s eyes. He snatched the report and began to read it, poring over every single word.

"Let me see, too."

Zhen Yi was also quite interested in Fang Rui, though he wasn’t as desperate as Zhen Daoji. His was the detached curiosity of an observer. He leaned in to read along.

And that’s when he discovered that the drama he’d come to watch was about his own family!

"This... Migrated from the Three Southern States... Changshan County..."

An expression of utter horror washed over Zhen Yi’s face. He tore out a few strands of his beard without even realizing it. The floodgates of his memory burst open, and he instantly made the connection: this was the disruptor from the long-distance magical battle in Changshan County.

「After a long moment.」

He finally composed himself. Looking at the torn-out whiskers in his hand, he sighed with a wry smile. "Well, that’s... It’s been a long time since I’ve lost my composure like that."

"The younger generation is truly something to behold. I was blind, I truly was! I thought my assessment of our young friend Fang Rui was already high enough, but I never imagined I had still underestimated him so badly."

Zhen Yi analyzed rationally, "From this data, this man’s breakthroughs are incredibly rapid. He likely already possesses the power of the Second Grade. Talent like that... it’s on par even with you, Dao Ji..."

"Second Uncle, you don’t have to spare my feelings. A prodigy of such breathtaking talent is far beyond me!"

At that moment, there wasn’t a trace of anger on Zhen Daoji’s face. Instead, it was eerily calm. He was even smiling. "Fang Rui, oh, Fang Rui... you’ve really given me a massive surprise. Truly... how could I possibly repay you for this?"

"Dao Ji, you..." Zhen Yi trailed off, shaking his head.

He understood his nephew. This was Zhen Daoji’s true state of fury: a calm that came from rage pushed to its absolute limit, like a dormant volcano on the verge of eruption.

’And it made sense!’

’A man like Zhen Daoji, from a great and prideful family, had genuinely offered his friendship, only to be played for a fool. How could he possibly accept that?’

"At the banquet, I asked Fang Rui everything about the Dragon Pearl."

Zhen Daoji recalled the conversation. "Fang Rui’s first words were, ’All the secrets I have learned about the Dragon Pearl from outside sources.’ Looking back, he was telling the truth—a carefully edited version of it. And it completely fooled me."

"And then there was his farewell a few days ago. I was foolish enough to go see him off... It’s a complete joke, thinking back on it now. The other Dragon Pearl I was so desperately searching for... it must have been in his carriage right nearby, wasn’t it?"

"How ironic."

He murmured, his voice as cold as ice, "Destroying the Yin Corpse, taking the Dragon Pearl, the power of the Second Grade... and on top of that, such cunning, such an act... Fang Rui, oh, Fang Rui, you are just full of surprises."

"No! For Fang Rui to have the power of the Second Grade at his age... this can’t be explained by talent alone. He must be hiding an even bigger secret!"

Zhen Yi asked, "Dao Ji, what are you going to do? Issue a warrant for his arrest?"

"No. My ’dear friend’ is an exceptionally clever man. That would only tip him off."

Zhen Daoji paused, then said decisively, "Mobilize every intelligence asset at my disposal to pinpoint Fang Rui’s location. Once he’s found, I will commit all my forces to ambush and surround him!"

"In the meantime, we can get things moving here. We can’t let a single piece of intelligence about him slip through our fingers."

"If I remember correctly, Fang Rui may be gone, but he left behind a mistress... and quite a few maids, didn’t he?"