"Lord Wang is indeed vigilant to detect that something is amiss so quickly. Worthy of being a disciple of Master Song!"
In the desolate outskirts, silence enveloped the area. Wang Ye silently observed his counterpart. He didn't find the man particularly bizarre when he was clad in armor, but now, as the armor was removed, the exaggerated muscles paired with a face as delicate as a scholar's made for a very bizarre appearance.
"Did that fox demon... take the place of the Weichi Residence's Old Madam?" Wang Ye asked, staring intently at the other party.
The imposter Weichi Peng's face faltered for a moment before he laughed and said, "Worthy indeed of being the descendant of the Divine Strategist, to think through the situation so swiftly... I am impressed... truly impressed!"
The corner of Wang Ye's mouth twitched slightly; he truly felt he had let his teacher down by not having the slightest inkling!
It appeared that the Thousand-faced Demon Fox not only had formidable abilities but was also skilled at manipulating the human psyche, calculating that Wang Ye would seek help from the Weichi Residence and setting up a trap in advance to wait for him!
However, thinking about it, since Wang Ye's arrival in Lyuzhou, the most powerful and friendliest to him was Weichi Peng. But how did that creature come to know these details?
To set up such a scheme in advance, they must have learned that he was in charge of the case almost instantaneously to have arranged things so smoothly.
Inside the Imperial Court... they have their own people, and their rank is not low!
"Is this the legendary Ghost Horse?" Wang Ye asked, pointing to the horse hitched in front of the carriage.
Now revealing its true form, the horse was completely different from before, standing four meters tall with a physique as robust as an elephant's. Its eyes shone with a crimson glow, and a dark aura enveloped its body, making it appear even more majestic than the Dragon Horses of the Royal City's Imperial Fleet.
It was said that Ghost Horses could travel through the realm of yin and yang and traverse thousands of miles in mere moments by using yin and yang shortcuts!
"Lord Wang is well-informed!" the fake Weichi Peng complimented again, with a gentle expression on his face. He seemed in no hurry whatsoever.
"Then this monstrous appearance of yours must be the 'Ghost Doll' recorded in the books, correct?"
Wang Ye recalled the records in the Compendium of Unusual Creatures: in the north resides the Ghost Doll, bizarre in appearance, with a physique as robust as a nine-foot-tall man but with a face as tender as a child's, possessing immense strength, and some even powerful enough to rival King Gui Xiang in a contest of force!
But the creature before him somewhat differed from the book's description; although his face was youthful, it was not exaggeratedly so like that of a child.
This time, the other party did not respond but simply smiled and took off his gloves.
With a thunderous crash, the metal gloves hit the ground, gouging a large crater into the earth!
Wang Ye's pupils shrank — those gloves must weigh upwards of ten thousand jin!
"Ah, that feels much better!" exclaimed the tall figure, with a voice full of cheerfulness, sounding more like a child. The boisterous motion and posture also resembled those of a child, yet the force behind them surely did not!
In the next instant, the Ghost Doll's eyes shone with childlike mischief as he swung his palm towards Wang Ye with incredible speed and strength. The ground beneath immediately collapsed, and although his hand was still half a meter from Wang Ye, the wind pressure from the force deformed half of Wang Ye's face!
In that exact moment, however, the Ghost Doll's palm suddenly twisted and deformed, and with the crisp sound of breaking bones, he retracted his hand as if electrocuted and let out wails of pain.
Wang Ye's expression was cold and cruel as he gently touched the face that had been deformed by the blow, pondering that if that force had truly struck him, perhaps not a single piece of his bones would have remained. But in terms of strength alone, he estimated even Weichi Peng wouldn't be able to surpass his opponent here!
"The power of The Evening Star!" Ghost Doll's voice carried a chilling lament, "Mr. Miao indeed guessed correctly, Liu Yu really did pass that thing on to you!"
"Mr. Miao?" Wang Ye looked around, took a deep breath and thought to himself, setting such an elaborate trap, how could there not be other forces besides Ghost Doll at the critical moment?
From within the shadows of the woods, a gaunt figure enshrouded in a black robe slowly emerged, standing shoulder to shoulder with the retreating Ghost Doll.
Out of the voluminous robe extended an arm as withered as deadwood, which, with a mere gentle touch on Ghost Doll's arm, started visibly restoring the limb that was previously twisted out of shape.
"One of the Thirty-Six Big Dipper forces, The Evening Star, indeed lives up to its reputation!" said the person in the black robe with a hoarse voice, "The Duke of Song has finally found a suitable successor. So young, yet able to wield The Evening Star power, remarkable, truly remarkable..."
"Senior flatters me!" Wang Ye respectfully bowed.
Magicians, one of the forbidden professions inherited from the end of the previous dynasty, of an exceedingly high level and practically capable of the Technique reversal that not even the duke knew!
He could see it clearly, the method with which the other healed Ghost Doll's wound, a sheer reversal of time, such a technique that could turn back time, could only be mastered by those top magicians of the former dynasty.
"May I know the senior's name so I could admire it?" Wang Ye probed.
"What name is there to admire for a man from a fallen country?" The other person laughed self-mockingly, "And besides, even if I told you, you wouldn't recognize it. Your master wouldn't mention us old folks to you either."
Wang Ye fell silent, with such a figure making a move, he was afraid it was going to be truly difficult for him today…
"I'm curious." The black-robed person known as Mr. Miao asked hoarsely, "You noticed something was amiss early on and used the Flying Star Technique. Why did you give the chance to that ordinary person without the Bloodline Power?"
At this moment with a gesture from the robed figure, Ghost Doll realized, the carriage that had been with Wang Ye had been shattered by the force of his own palm's wind pressure, but the person who had been with Wang Ye inside the carriage had vanished without a trace!
Wang Ye fell silent for a moment. The "Flying Star," a secret technique of The Evening Star for traversing space, was one of the supreme mysteries. With his ability, once used, it couldn't be repeated within seven days; it had been his only chance at escape just now.
But at the last moment, he gave that chance to Chen Qing.
"The Ghost Horse travels the Path of Yin and Yang; recklessly using the Flying Star is also very risky!" Wang Ye looked up and spoke frankly, "If he stays in the carriage, he is certain to die. Even if I used the Flying Star, I might not survive, so instead of that, why not switch? Maybe both of us might have a chance to live."
"Hahaha, young people sure are greedy!" Mr. Miao laughed heartily, but then said, "But it's not just that, is it?"
"What does senior mean?"
"Although using the Flying Star on the Path of Yin and Yang is risky, with your wisdom, you should have guessed that with such a trap set up, it's a nine deaths one life situation. Escaping with the Flying Star, the chance of survival is clearly greater. That kid is just an ordinary Imperial Scholar without Bloodline Power, but you are Liu Yu's student. You wouldn't show unnecessary compassion, unless…" Mr. Miao paused and let out a sinister smile, "He's very important!"
At these words, Wang Ye sighed. Truly, it was no use trying to deceive these old monsters from the former dynasty...
But he couldn't worry about that now. Whether he could survive today was already in question; he could only pray the youth didn't waste the life-risking opportunity he gambled on giving him!
---------------------------------------------
Cough, cough, cough!
Elsewhere, Chen Qing didn't know which suburb he was in as he lay on the ground vomiting profusely, unable to catch his breath for quite some time.
"Oh man, this is way more thrilling than the giant pendulum at Happy Valley!"
While throwing up, Chen Qing complained, feeling so dizzy that he even blurted out his Sichuan dialect from his previous life.
After what seemed like an eternity of vomiting, even bringing up bitter bile, he finally managed to gather some strength. With his eyes still closed, Chen Qing dared to slowly open them and take a careful look around.
He kept praying that he hadn't teleported to the netherworld path; in his previous life's closed beta testing, top players died in droves there.
Upon opening his eyes to see clear skies and white clouds, Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and, feeling reassured, continued to vomit while lying down.
That Lord Wang really meant well, leaving the chance to teleport for him in that critical moment. What a good person; if there's a chance, I must visit his grave to pay respects!
After a while, Chen Qing finally regained some energy and started to think about the whole situation.
Wang Ye got caught in the trap, probably set by Barbie, and the enemy force was huge, a precise organization, with many demons involved in the incident. Besides the Thousand-Faced Fox, there were the Ghost Doll and Ghost Horse, and there might be even other stranger things...
I've also obtained some information about the power system—it's not just the Bloodline Power, this world also has inherited Magicians' techniques!
The method Wang Ye used to teleport me involved space magic, and in my design, only Xi Xiang from the Big Dipper Masters could use space magic!
The Big Dipper and Earth Fiends are different from ordinary demons; they are terrifying entities that have died, but due to their immense power when alive, their strength persists in the world, and those who can wield it are Magicians. This was meant to be a path that players could develop, but I didn't expect NPCs in this world to have developed it themselves.
It seems there's a reason the Human Race manages to survive; how many hidden paths have they developed? And to what extent?
That's something to probe slowly in the future.
The urgent matter now is what to do next?
Feeling powerless, Chen Qing lay on the grass, looking up at the sky as the sun was just rising, sinking into a state of uncertainty.
Before teleporting me, Wang Ye told me to find the real Weichi Peng; he gave me a token, saying that the other party would escort me back to the capital upon receiving it.
But how could it be that simple?
First of all, I have never seen Weichi Peng, so they don't even need the Thousand-Faced Fox to alter my memory; they could continue to deceive me with a fake in the Governor-General's Mansion.
Secondly, that a fake Commander could impost the real one in the Governor-General's Mansion for days suggests that the real Weichi Peng might not even be alive. Even if he is, they must be able to manipulate his whereabouts to orchestrate such a scheme. Even if the real Weichi Peng is not under their control, there will be many of their people around him, and I fear I would be swallowed whole before I could even get close!
Judging comprehensively, actively seeking out Weichi Peng is a dead end...
But what if I don't go looking for him?
Should I just go straight to the Royal City?
That won't work either...
Chen Qing shook his head. The enemy set such a trap because they clearly have enough information; they must have known in advance that Wang Ye would take on this case, allowing them to arrange for the Thousand-faced Fox to wait at the Weichi Residence and to plant a fake Commander in the Governor-General's Mansion.
This indicates that the enemy has a significant influence in the Royal City!
Me, a frail Scholar with no information, rashly returning to the capital, I would die even faster.
What should I do?
Chen Qing's face grew more and more lifeless; he really wanted to sleep, to escape it all.
But he knew he couldn't, with time pressing down on him. The Imperial Royal Guard, who sent off his family to assume office, would definitely look for Wang Ye upon their return; if they couldn't find him... wait!
Chen Qing abruptly sat up, as if he had thought of something.
No, wait...
Did this group of people go to such lengths just to kill Wang Ye?
What's the point?
A Judicial Court junior official dying here and being reported by the Imperial Royal Guard would definitely cause a stir, only pushing the higher-ups to send even stronger people here!
To have such mighty power and to orchestrate such a meticulous scheme, was it all just to have a showdown with the higher-ups?
It doesn't make sense...
Chen Qing rubbed his head, thinking carefully.
Unless... they... could make a fake Wang Ye!!
With that thought, everything suddenly seemed to make sense to Chen Qing.
Is it possible?
Perhaps ordinary people would find it impossible, to create a fake Wang Ye to deceive the current emperor and all the civil and military officials?
That would certainly be madness!
But Chen Qing knew that among the monsters he designed, there was one that could accomplish this!