Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Asking Friends for Help

Ah Jiu, having been told off, said no more.

Wang Ping turned to Cheng Ji and asked, "Fellow Daoist, is your Foundation Establishment proceeding smoothly?"

"Very smoothly. It should happen within the next year or two," Cheng Ji replied, looking completely confident. "I’ve prepared five Foundation Establishment Pills this time. If the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Gathering Array runs out, I’ll just start taking the pills!"

Wang Ping was at a loss for words. Feng Miao, who was beside them, remarked, "You beat us to the Entering Realm, Fellow Daoist, and with the *Taiyan Talisman*, no less. When I wrote your congratulatory message, I was so tempted to try for it myself."

Cheng Ji immediately shot her down. "Weren’t you still a ways off from even reaching Foundation Establishment back then?"

"You’re misremembering!"

"How could I be? It was only seven or eight years ago, not long after Emperor Wanfeng ascended the throne, wasn’t it?"

Cheng Ji had changed a little. ’Perhaps this is his way of adjusting his mindset.’ After a brief squabble with Feng Miao, he turned to Wang Ping. "What brings you to Mozhou Road this time?"

"To investigate the case of the stolen Corpse Soldiers from the Daoist Scripture Hall," Wang Ping replied plainly.

"Ah, that case..."

Feng Miao raised an eyebrow. "I heard from my master that case..." She glanced at Ah Jiu, who took the hint, rose with a bow, and silently retreated outside the cave.

"No one could’ve taken the Corpse Soldiers from a Daoist Scripture Hall branch except an insider," Cheng Ji blurted out, finishing Feng Miao’s unspoken thought. "How did you end up taking this case?"

Wang Ping replied, "The Mozhou Road branch specifically requested that an Entering Cultivator from another region be sent to investigate. I happened to be free and was planning on visiting you anyway, so I accepted the mission."

"..."

"..."

Both of them were stunned silent for a moment.

Just then, Yu Lian looked at Feng Miao and asked, "Do you have any tea?"

"No!"

Feng Miao shot a glance at Yu Lian before turning back to Wang Ping. "A case like this isn’t that hard to handle. When you’re investigating, don’t get bogged down trying to figure out exactly who stole the Corpse Soldiers. As long as you find their whereabouts and report it, you’ll complete the mission."

Cheng Ji nodded in agreement. "Exactly. Back when we did missions for the Daoist Scripture Hall, whenever we ran into conflicts between the various sects, we’d just ignore the people involved. If we absolutely had to interact, we’d play dumb."

"Given your current strength, I obviously can’t help you with the big stuff, but I can probably lend a hand with smaller things," Feng Miao offered. "Feel free to ask if there’s anything within my power to help with."

"Actually, there is one thing. I need the records for all Entry-level Artifact Cultivators who have registered in Mozhou Road recently." Wang Ping didn’t stand on ceremony.

"Simple. I’ll take care of it."

Wang Ping looked at Cheng Ji with gratitude. "Do you know... Leng Feng, the Commander of the Imperial Guard in Mozhou Road?"

Feng Miao answered, "We used to run into him all the time when handling cases for the Daoist Scripture Hall. He’s a loyal lapdog for the Imperial Family. His every action is motivated by their interests. My master says he doesn’t even have his own emotions."

After speaking, she looked at Wang Ping. "Is he investigating this case too? In that case, you don’t need to rush. Let him take his time, and we’ll assign some undercover agents to watch his men."

Wang Ping nodded and drained his cup. He had the same idea. With the network of spies the Commander of the Imperial Guard had deployed throughout Mozhou Road, investigating minor details would be incredibly simple. For instance, any unusual activity around the Earth Cave Prison when the Corpse Soldiers were stolen, or screening the four guards’ recent social interactions.

He had a premonition that this particular Commander would seek him out. After all, by any normal logic, Wang Ping was just about the only person the man could trust and cooperate with.

The three of them went from discussing Wang Ping’s case to the current factions within the Daoist Scripture Hall. Cheng Ji, who loved the topic, eagerly explained a great deal to Wang Ping.

Inside the Daoist Scripture Hall, the most severe conflict was currently between its own cultivators and those of the True Yang Sect. The primary mission targets for the Earth Cave Sect, Lishui Prefecture, and Jinshan Temple were outside Xia Country, so their friction was less intense.

Next came the struggle between the Unorthodox Sects, the Star God Alliance, and the Five Sects of Xuanmen. These disputes sometimes ended in bloodshed. The Star God Alliance was particularly noteworthy; they were normally quiet and composed, but once they set their minds on something, they pursued it without hesitation.

Finally, there was the entanglement between the Imperial Family and the Daoist Scripture Hall. At times, bloody armed brawls would break out in some little-known places. Cheng Ji loved these stories the most, and once he started talking about them, he was unstoppable.

The three of them chatted until dusk, at which point Wang Ping rose to take his leave. Cheng Ji promised that if he found any clues, he would have someone contact him.

Leaving the main gate of White Crane Mountain, Wang Ping took out two Copper Coins to perform a divination. The reading was completely ordinary. "Let’s go, quickly," Yu Lian urged, her voice weak. "This place makes me feel awful."

Wang Ping felt the same. Being on White Crane Mountain felt like being roasted over a great fire. Ah Jiu, however, seemed perfectly fine.

’So, the mountain’s fiery spirit only targets those with a cultivation base. The higher the cultivation, the more severe the effect.’

Once they were beyond the range of White Crane Mountain’s fiery spirit, Wang Ping leaped onto a high slope. He gazed out at the distant mountain ranges, pushing the case from his thoughts and allowing his mind to clear.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept across the land, causing Wang Ping’s Daoist robes to flutter. The grayish-white Scale Armor on Yu Lian’s body bristled, as if she were stretching. She then used Tengyun to flip a few times low in the air, assimilating the surrounding Spiritual Qi into water spirits and materializing countless droplets of water out of thin air to wash over her body.

Ah Jiu watched Yu Lian cast the spell, her face full of envy. Just then, she heard Wang Ping ask, "What do you think we should investigate next?"

Ah Jiu glanced at the sky and said, "First, we need to find a place to make camp."

Wang Ping looked at the sky as well. It was already growing dark.

’It won’t be that much trouble.’ Wang Ping materialized his Daoist Scripture Hall identity token in the sky. He then formed a spell seal to channel his True Essence, swept Ah Jiu up into the air, called out to Yu Lian, and flew toward the Prefecture City.

For the duration of his investigation into the disappearance of the Corpse Soldiers, the Daoist Scripture Hall had granted him the special privilege of flying anywhere within Mozhou Road.

「A quarter of an hour later.」

The two of them flew over the Prefecture City and landed at the main gate of the Daoist Scripture Hall.

The local residents were used to such sights, and since Wang Ping had projected his identity in advance, none of the Daoist Scripture Hall cultivators came forward to question them.

"Did they arrange a place for me to stay?" Wang Ping asked.

"They did!" Ah Jiu was still savoring the exhilarating feeling of flying.

"Lead the way."

The place the Daoist Scripture Hall had arranged for Wang Ping to rest was the very same large estate he had visited during the day. He was assigned a small, private courtyard. After entering the courtyard, he picked a decent-looking room, went inside, and began to meditate.

Late that night, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled across the sky. Soon after, a heavy downpour began.

「The next day.」 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wang Ping emerged from his meditative state right on schedule. He cast a cleansing spell on himself before pushing the door open and stepping out.

The heavy rain from the previous night had stopped. Yu Lian slithered out of Wang Ping’s sleeve, used Tengyun to float over to a cluster of flowers in the courtyard, and flicked her forked tongue, taking in the floral scent as she seemed to consider whether or not to take a bite.

Ah Jiu was already up, practicing a set of blade forms in the courtyard.

Just then, a young Daoist Child appeared at the courtyard gate. Ah Jiu immediately stopped her practice, walked over to ask what was happening, and then returned to Wang Ping. "Leng Qianhu is outside and wishes to see you," she reported.