Chapter 576 - Plan

A fight was about to happen when Xuan Pin raised his hands, silencing everyone in the hall.

“Enough. Don't forget that the Dragon Vein of the Liang Kingdom is still in the hands of that Shai Zi!” the Chief said sternly. Then, his voice softened as he added, “Do not panic. That Shai Zi has managed to escape, but I have a way of finding his whereabouts.”

Shangguan Yuting popped out from the Imperial Preceptor’s robes and taunted Li Huowang briefly before melting into the Chief’s body.

The Imperial Preceptor’s mustache wriggled a bit, and he couldn’t look the Chief in the eyes.

Zheng Boqiao took over the conversation, saying, “Xuan Pin can easily find that Shai Zi, and we can also easily kill him. However, it would be extremely difficult to kill Shai Zi without harming the emperor. He's our final emperor, and his death is equivalent to the death of the Liang Kingdom is dead. If the Liang Kingdom falls, the other regions will quickly follow. Even the grass in Qing Qiu has become yellow these days.”

Zheng Boqiao looked at the Ao Jing Sect and Bai Lingmiao. “Also, it seems that only Ba-Hui and the Heavenly Mater want to help us.

Sigh...

There is a catastrophe ahead of us, but everyone is still focused on their own hidden agenda.”

Li Huowang suddenly came up with a thought. “Can’t we ask the military to help us? We have many soldiers, so it shouldn't be difficult for us to capture Shai Zi with their help.”

The Liang Kingdom’s Imperial Preceptor snorted and said, “You make it sound so easy, but we don’t have the authority to do so. How are we going to do that? The military is the sword of the emperor. Not only has Shai Zi completed the succession ceremony to become the official emperor, but he’s also become the Dragon Vein. And he's a Sitting Oblivion Dao, so he excels at deceiving people. Can you really say for sure that the military won’t turn their swords on us if we involve them in this affair?”

Everyone’s face fell at the Imperial Preceptor's remark. Shai Zi was technically the emperor of the Liang Kingdom, as he had indeed completed the succession ceremony in front of the officials.

They knew that Shai Zi was the fake emperor, but those working in the imperial family would sentence the Surveillance Bureau, the Ao Jing Sect, and the White Lotus Sect for treason the moment they heard them discussing killing Shai Zi.

Li Huowang stared deeply at the Imperial Preceptor before coming up with another plan.

“Chief, there’s a dice in Gao Zhijian’s head. It should be Shai Zi’s body or consciousness. Take control of the Dragon Vein, and I will think of a way to dig out the dice.”

Li Huowang told them what he knew since they were all going to do this together.

“Easier said than done; splitting his head is one thing, but how are you going to make sure that he remains alive?” Li Huowang hesitated before telling them, “This should not be an issue. We can find a way to shove an artifact into his body that would resurrect him. For example, an artifact made from the skin of a Strayed One? I saw Prince Ren using it once when I assassinated him.”

Li Huowang had actually given that artifact to Gao Zhijian, but he wasn’t sure whether Shai Zi had discovered it yet or not.

The Chief was silent. Li Huowang was confused. He looked up and saw both him and the Chief shrinking rapidly until they were the size of ants.

Li Huowang looked up at the massive Bai Lingmiao and saw that she was listening to the others talking to each other. No one noticed that something was wrong.

However, Li Huowang didn't panic, as he knew that these changes were the result of the Chief’s illusion techniques.

“There are some things that I need to talk to you about face-to-face and by ourselves,” said the Chief. He had also become as small as an ant, just like Li Huowang.

Li Huowang looked at the Chief and found the latter familiar for some reason, but he couldn't quite understand why.

“Who are you?” Li Huowang asked about the darkness hidden in the red robes.

“I am Xuan Pin, the Chief of the Liang Kingdom’s Surveillance Bureau, but I can also be anyone. Who I am is not important; the important part here is that I need you to get past the danger later. This doesn’t concern you alone; it concerns the late Zhuge Yuan as well.”

Li Huowang frowned and looked at the others. “Only me? Why can’t we talk to each other?”

“Because I need to use your status as a Strayed One...”

Li Huowang felt his hair standing on its end. He felt naked before the Chief.

“You are cultivating the ‘Truth,' right? I can help you use your status as a Strayed One to deal with Shai Zi.”

Li Huowang managed to calm down his racing heart, but he still felt uneasy. “Why me? Is my method useless?”

“Yes, it’s useless. Because our opponent is Shai Zi. The little trick won’t fool him. We shouldn’t follow the path he made for us, or we'll be forced to get into a passive state. We should just do our own thing while he does his own thing.”

Li Huowang slowly nodded. “What’s your plan?”

“Fight Shai Zi when you meet him again, but no matter what he says, you must think of it as the truth and make it come true! Leave the rest to me.”

“What?” Li Huowang was astonished. He didn't expect to hear such a reckless plan. “But I'm not strong enough yet. I don't think I can do that."

“I'm going to help you, so don't worry about it. Just do as I say.”

Li Huowang went silent, mulling over the plan. The Chief wasn't in a rush and waited patiently for Li Huowang's answer.

“Alright, I will do it, but I need you to understand that this matter is related to the survival of the Liang Kingdom. I don’t want it to end up like the Qi Kingdom.”

“Of course. We're both going to deal with Shai Zi, so we are on the same side," said the Chief. The two then returned to their original size, but everyone didn't notice anything strange.

“I've come up with a plan. All of you, prepare yourself. I will go and collect something first. We'll go after the Liang Kingdom’s Dragon Vein in two hours,” the Chief said, and his figure abruptly scattered like sand.

Since the Chief had already come up with a plan, the rest left to prepare themselves for the oncoming war.

Li Huowang pulled Bai Lingmiao out of the hall when someone pounced on him. He pulled the skirt up to reveal Li Sui’s tentacles and dog skull.

“She’s not who you think she is! She’s just Li Sui.”

“Oh.” Bai Lingmiao nodded slightly.

“Miaomiao, what’s wrong with you?” Li Huowang asked, putting Li Sui down and holding Bai Lingmiao’s arm.