Li Ran yawned again. He was really bored. Today he had guard duty. He preferred patrol duty. Not that he liked doing any duty for Lingxu, but when patrolling at least he was doing something. Guard duty… he just stood there like a statue. He couldn't see the point of it.
They could just erect a barrier. That's more effective! This is useless! He yawned widely. I hope Xiao Wu gets some excitement from her patrol. He didn't know how correct he was.
Suddenly, he sensed a powerful surge of spirit energy followed by an explosion. Xiao Wu! But he couldn't just leave his post. If his seniors found out, he would be punished. He looked around, unsure what to do.
Not long after, he saw Han Zhiyuan running as fast as he could while shouting, "Luo Zixue Shijie has been murdered! Zhou Wenkai is chasing the culprits!" He dashed into the new Alliance HQ, continuing to shout and call for help from the higher-ups.
Li Ran decided to follow Han Zhiyuan to hear more.
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Han Zhaofeng and the rest of the ICEB Enforcers were waiting at the main hall for Jian Wushuan to formally welcome him and the Alliance to the new HQ. They had mixed feelings, but none of them were happy or positive.
Most were resentful of the fact that their HQ was about to change masters.
After waiting for a long time, there was still no sign of Jian Wushuan. But they did hear commotion. Han Zhaofeng extended his senses to find out what was going on. The other Enforcers noticed and waited eagerly for news.
"One of the inner disciples of Bewitching Lotus Peak was murdered. Some of them are chasing the murderer. One of them is…" Han Zhaofeng's face darkened. "Ling Yu!"
"Impossible!" Both Yan Zhen and Luo Heng denied simultaneously.
"That's what they're saying." Han Zhaofeng remained focused, straining to eavesdrop. Doing it from afar required a lot of spirit energy, and filtering for one specific voice was even harder amid the commotion.
More people began speaking at once, bombarding the messenger with questions. It became harder to discern details.
Han Zhaofeng stopped. "Too many people. It's getting harder to listen."
Yan Zhen made a decision. He saluted Han Zhaofeng. "Shengzun, allow me to go and find out what's going on. We need to help Miss Ling Yu!"
Han Zhaofeng nodded without hesitation.
But before Yan Zhen could leave, Li Ran appeared at the door. He looked relieved when he saw Han Zhaofeng.
Li Ran immediately approached and saluted. "Han Shengzun. I have a message from Xuan Tian Shengzun. He asks if ICEB is willing to help."
Han Zhaofeng nodded instantly. "Of course, we are. What's Xuan Tian Shengzun's order?"
Less than one incense stick later, Yan Zhen and Luo Heng were leading a group of Enforcers out.
Li Ran remained in the hall with Han Zhaofeng. He explained how he had met Xuan Tian Shengzun at the gate. Xuan Tian Shengzun had filled him in on the situation and tasked him to request ICEB's help.
There was no way Han Zhaofeng would miss a chance to mess with the Alliance. He even helped alter some of the wanted posters. None of them had the same face. The only thing they had in common was that not a single one bore Ling Yu's likeness.
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Back at the safe house.
"Who drew these?" Ling Yu asked.
Li Ran put up his hand while still covering his mouth with the other.
"I did. But Han Shengzun helped. In fact, out of these ten versions, seven came from him."
Shen Qingyu couldn't help his laugh anymore.
"Ha ha ha ha… I can't believe Han Shengzun was involved in drawing these!"
Chen Zhaoyun followed. "Ha ha ha ha… Da Shixiong, you're right! I thought Li Ran did all these!"
Gu Tianzhu finally laughed. "He's not going to stop messing with Lingxu. Xuan Tian Shengzun asked the perfect person for help."
Li Ran was laughing too.
Ling Yu couldn't stay mad anymore. She knew it was all to help her. And when she heard how everyone was helping her without hesitation, she was extremely touched.
After the laughter died down, Shen Qingyu turned to Gu Tianzhu. "But Shizun, I don't understand one thing."
"What is it?"
"Xuan Tian Shengzun asked ICEB to do this just to create more chaos so that Xiao Wu can escape. I'm sure he knew this was only a temporary measure."
Gu Tianzhu nodded. "You're right. So, which part don't you understand?"
"It should be very easy for Lingxu to correct the wanted posters. Why haven't they?"
Gu Tianzhu smiled. "This is another proof of Xuan Tian Shengzun's brilliant mind."
"Shengzun?" All five of his disciples moved closer to listen to his explanation.
Gu Tianzhu nodded. "From the common people's point of view, swapping the wanted posters with ten different faces will only be seen as an elaborate temporary prank."
He continued, "But try to look at it from Lingxu's point of view. If the wanted posters keep changing, how would citizens know which one is the correct one?"
"Who's to say that people won't think that the Alliance is so incompetent they can't even post the correct wanted posters?"
Gu Tianzhu exhaled with content. "If Lingxu changes the posters, I'm sure Han Shengzun will order his Enforcers to change them back. In the end, it's a battle of mind and wit, not physical strength or cultivation or spells."
He ended his explanation smiling widely. "Right now, Jian Wushuan and the rest of the Alliance must not be in a very good mood."
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Gu Tianzhu was right. Right now, Jian Wushuan was not only in a very bad mood, he was in bad condition… mentally. His face was pale, all blood drained from it. Cold sweat ran down his forehead and back. He wasn't the only one. Beside him, Su Lianhua was also in a similar condition.
But they weren't like this because of all the reasons Gu Tianzhu mentioned. All of those reasons, although important, were not currently in Jian Wushuan's and Su Lianhua's minds.
They both were at the morgue of the new Alliance HQ. Instead of celebrating their move into the new HQ, they spent the rest of the day examining Luo Zixue's corpse.
When Jian Wushuan heard the news about today's incident, he wanted to hunt down the murderers and make an example out of them.
But then he saw the wanted posters made by Zhou Wenkai. He didn't recognize the young woman, but he surely recognized the young man.
It already gave him a tremendous shock. Shengzun is here! Impossible! Shengzun has never left Qingxu Courtyard!
But when he examined Luo Zixue's corpse and saw the palm print, it was unmistakable. Xu Ming, the Head of Lingxu Sect, the most powerful Saint in the Human Realm, was here in the capital with them.
The fact that he had killed a member of Lingxu Sect didn't bother Jian Wushuan. That was a common occurrence. But the fact that he was here, unannounced, was big trouble for all of them.
It could only mean one thing: Xu Ming had lost his patience and decided to do things himself. This did not bode well for Jian Wushuan and Su Lianhua. Xu Ming was already terrifying when he was in a good mood. Now, in a bad mood… Jian Wushuan couldn't stop himself from shaking at the thought.
"Would Shengzun blame us for not welcoming him?" Su Lianhua's voice trembled. She looked nothing like her usual alluring self.
Jian Wushuan answered her weakly, "I don't know. Since when do we know what Shengzun is thinking?"
Su Lianhua chuckled bitterly. "You're right. It never happened."
She looked at Jian Wushuan. "Now what do we do?"
Jian Wushuan frowned. He was thinking hard on his next step. "Shengzun is here, but not looking for any of us. Instead, he was… at the market? And killed a disciple? It doesn't make any sense."
Then he added, "I know Shengzun rarely makes sense to us, but he always does something with a reason. Even if we don't understand them, he always has them."
Silence. They both were thinking hard.
"Maybe…" Jian Wushuan muttered to himself.
Then he raised his voice, "Maybe we can just continue doing what we're supposed to be doing as if he's not here."
Then he gestured at the corpse. "But we can't pursue this. And the posters. Whoever is messing with us is actually helping us."
Jian Wushuan sighed. "It may not be good for the Alliance's public face, but we most certainly cannot publicize Shengzun's face."
Su Lianhua nodded in agreement. "And the other person is a woman. According to the disciples' report, she was helping Shengzun. You're right. We can't pursue this. We can't publicize her face either."
Jian Wushuan nodded. "Yes. That's it."
They both looked at each other, somewhat relieved that they'd come to a solution.