Chapter 429 - 225: "Time Demon

Chapter 429: Chapter 225: "Time Demon

Zheng Xiu sighed in relief. ’Leaving things to Qing Pi to handle really puts my mind at ease.’ He gave Qing Shisan a thumbs-up, not holding back his praise. "Well done! Your pay is doubled next month! I’ll have Second Lady put it on your account later."

"Yes, sir! The Master is generous!" Hearing about the extra money, Qing Shisan beamed, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Zheng Xiu asked, "And then?"

Qing Shisan pinched two fingers together, and the pouch of his dry pipe lit itself, letting out a faint wisp of smoke. He took a deep drag and said with a smile, "After the Ancestral Worship Ceremony, they all just vanished for some reason. Nothing happened. They left as quietly as they came."

Zheng Xiu froze for a moment. He recalled that the Crown Prince Old Wei had ultimately appointed at the Ancestral Worship Ceremony was the newborn Fourth Prince. A couple of cold sweat beads inexplicably formed on his forehead. "Damn it, don’t tell me... Incompleteness Tower was actually in league with one of the Princes?"

The smoke went down the wrong pipe, and Qing Shisan choked, coughing violently with an incredulous look on his face.

He hadn’t thought of that.

But with Zheng Xiu’s prompting, the realization dawned on Qing Shisan as well. He stared at Zheng Xiu in shock, his mouth moving slightly, but he didn’t dare say more.

Before the third day of the third month, the three Princes who had a chance at the throne had each played their hand. The Second Prince tried to assassinate the Eldest Prince, and the Eldest Prince had his own plans, but in the end, they both lost out to the Third Prince.

’The Cannibal Painting incident drew away a whole host of masters, including Upper Three Feng Bei, Upper Four Jun Buxiao, and Lower Four Gu Qiutang.’

Zheng Xiu’s mind raced.

Suddenly, he connected all the events he had recently experienced.

’The Cannibal Painting was initially in the hands of the Monk.’

’One of the Ten Greats, "Void," Chu Susu, was looking for the Monk and the painting in his possession.’

’In other words, the painting was originally in the hands of the Incompleteness Tower.’

’But by a strange twist of fate, the Monk lost his memory and ended up wandering in Shuzhou.’

’Master Dengdeng gave the Cannibal Painting to Zhu.’

’Zhu used this opportunity to continue his century-long scheme, setting his sights on Feng Bei.’

’Did Wei Chen know about this all along? Was he doing it on purpose?’

’They were using each other!’

’Using this incident, Ye Weiyang was left undefended in the Imperial City. Zhu took advantage of the situation to make his move, and the forces of the Incompleteness Tower secretly entered the Imperial City.’

’No matter which of the three Princes became the Crown Prince at the Ancestral Worship Ceremony, it could have triggered a spectacular war of succession! Rivers of blood would have flowed!’

’But in the end, with one effortless move, Old Wei turned the three Princes’ secret struggles into children’s play, making all their efforts feel like punching cotton!’

The more Zheng Xiu thought about it, the more terrified he became. He quickly pieced together the entire sequence of events and broke out in a cold sweat. None of this seemed to have anything to do with him, but the Zheng Clan’s growth was built on an era of peace and the Royal Family’s protection. If the world fell into turmoil or the throne changed hands, one could only imagine what would happen to the Zheng Clan.

He felt as if a world-destroying storm had been brewing in the Imperial City not long ago. The Zheng Clan had been in the eye of that storm, on the verge of being hit. Only after the storm had dissipated into nothingness did Zheng Xiu realize the danger, a lingering fear creeping into him.

In this storm that had nearly brought disaster, everyone had their own agenda.

Zhu was after Feng Bei.

Zheng Xiu was after the "Painter."

The three Princes were after the throne.

It was unknown what the Incompleteness Tower was after.

This chaotic drama ultimately vanished into thin air because of one decision from Old Wei.

Meanwhile, Zheng Xiu had coincidentally killed the Crow Fosterer, destroying Zhu’s "eyes" and forcing him to retreat into the shadows, leaving Ye Weiyang a hollow shell of its former self.

Unraveling the threads revealed layers of connections. This made Zheng Xiu wonder: was this outcome also part of Zhu’s plan?

’When did I become so paranoid and anxious?’

After an unknown amount of time, Zheng Xiu let out a self-deprecating laugh.

It seemed that Zhu, who had lived for over a thousand years, and the secrets Zheng Xiu had learned from Gongsun Mo’s memories were putting too much pressure on him.

Finally, Zheng Xiu spoke gravely to Qing Pi, "Keep a close watch on Wei Chen."

Qing Shisan accepted the order and left. ℯ

「A few more days passed.」

Zheng Xiu felt a bit unaccustomed to the Monk’s absence.

It seemed he had spent all these years with the Monk.

From time to time, he would enter the Heart Prison to check the "Bald Post Station’s" travel route.

Whenever Zheng Xiu was bored, he would enter the Heart Prison. Sometimes he would study the "Painter" Deceitful Object; sometimes he would poke the "Feng Bei Post Station’s" cheek to study her scale; and sometimes he would poke the Bald Post Station’s bald head, all just to pass the time.

After escaping the Cannibal Painting, Feng Bei was all alone with nowhere to go. In her own words, her home had been "smashed to bits by who knows who," so she could only stay with the Zheng Family temporarily, hoping Zheng Xiu would take her in. Every time he saw Feng Bei puffing her cheeks in anger, talking about the unknown culprit who had destroyed her home, Zheng Xiu had to try his hardest to keep a straight face, terrified he’d burst out laughing.

Feng Bei vaguely sensed that this incident had something to do with the man she loved. She even suspected Zheng Xiu had been "careless" on purpose, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of a reason why he would want to smash her home for no reason, so she had to drop it.

Then there was Yin Qingqing, the woman sent by the Great Emperor. Upon her arrival at the Zheng Family estate, Zheng Xiu had assigned her to be Feng Bei’s personal handmaiden. This should have been a move that killed two birds with one stone, but Feng Bei was not used to being around other people and didn’t interact with Yin Qingqing at all. Furthermore, Yin Qingqing seemed to know how terrifying Feng Bei was; her every word and action in Feng Bei’s presence was cautious, unable to hide the terror in her heart. This body language, which treated Feng Bei like a "monster," clearly and unintentionally poked at Feng Bei’s sore spot. As a result, Feng Bei usually didn’t keep Yin Qingqing by her side.

Yin Qingqing was effectively under house arrest in Feng Bei’s room, unable to go out all day.

After a few idle days, Zheng Xiu knew he was under a lot of stress. He decided to listen to some music to relieve the pressure.