Chapter 1226: Chapter 1225: Government Office Inspection

"Why did you send him a message?"

"To add a sense of mystery."

...

Five days later, the Secret Realm opened, and the bustling Quyi County returned to its former tranquility.

Lu Yang and his companion couldn’t be bothered to join the crowd at the Four Treasures Secret Realm, as everything happening on West Mountain was visible from the yard. The dense fog surrounding the mountain couldn’t obscure their sight at all.

They saw Cultivators forming various camps, filled with personal grudges and factional disputes, complex indeed, as if they were about to start fighting at any disagreement.

However, the Cultivators kept their wits about them and held back, opting to wait until they were inside the Secret Realm before taking any action.

As for what happened inside the Secret Realm, Lu Yang and his companion couldn’t see, but it didn’t matter much—it was just a spectacle.

After all, West Mountain wasn’t in their jurisdiction, and thus not their problem.

Two more days passed, and the Secret Realm closed.

...

"Chase! While the snipe and the clam grapple, it’s the fisherman who benefits. After all our fighting, who would have thought Ji Zhong would be the one to snatch the fruit!"

"It’s obviously you who’re targeting me on purpose!" Ji Zhong retorted angrily, skillfully evading the attacks from behind.

He clutched a ripe Spirit Fruit, the most important treasure from the Four Treasures Secret Realm. This kind of Spirit Fruit matured only once every hundred years and could improve one’s Realm by a small degree when consumed by those below the Divinity Transformation Stage.

The Azure Dragon Saint Son and others were grinding their teeth in frustration—they had come to the Four Treasures Secret Realm precisely for this Spirit Fruit!

"Dare to compete with us, a mere Loose Cultivator!"

Before the Secret Realm opened, no one paid attention to Ji Zhong, the Loose Cultivator. However, after several Divine Transformation Stage Cultivators were successively defeated, everyone realized that Ji Zhong was the dark horse of the Secret Realm, or rather, a threat.

The collective targeting of Ji Zhong had backfired, and instead, he seized the opportunity to grab the Spirit Fruit.

Only then did someone reveal Ji Zhong’s background. Although he was a Loose Cultivator, he often had incredible luck, and his Cultivation progress was faster than the disciples of the Great Sects. He also had a few experiences in fighting above his level, but those victories were so coincidental that most had assumed they were due to luck.

Now, those who knew Ji Zhong realized he had been concealing his true ability!

"We must catch him!"

Ji Zhong quickened his pace and fled West Mountain, heading straight for Zhongshan County.

It was only when he reached the county town under the jurisdiction of Zhongshan County that he noticed the problem.

Deep in the night, the town was deserted. Running to and fro so conspicuously, those tracking him could easily spot his movements.

"It seems I can only hide in this county town. Is this Quyi County?"

Ji Zhong reached a corner and was suddenly bumped by someone who seemed to be in a hurry, apologized briefly, and quickly left.

Ji Zhong’s heart tightened, and he immediately checked the Spirit Fruit.

"The Spirit Fruit is still here; it seems I was overthinking it."

Ji Zhong found a run-down inn, where the innkeeper was drowsy and nearly jumped from the startle.

"Innkeeper, I need a room. Remember, don’t tell anyone I’m here, no matter who asks!"

Ji Zhong threw down ten silvers, took the key, and hid in an upstairs room.

The Azure Dragon Saint Son and others arrived in Quyi County, frowning tightly – after all, initiating a conflict in the county town could be problematic.

"He’s hiding? Search!"

"Don’t let the government office find out about us. Cover your faces!"

...

"We’ve been crouching here for several nights, how come there is not a soul in sight?" Two constables who were behind the times strolled on the street.

"Forget it, looks like there won’t be any ghosts tonight either, let’s continue checking the inns."

Lu Yang and his companion entered the decrepit inn. Upon seeing their uniforms, the innkeeper hurriedly greeted them with a smile, "Gentlemen, what brings you here?"

"You should’ve heard from your fellow tradesmen, we’re currently checking real-name registration at inns."

This was an order from the county office, stating that there were many unregistered inns in Zhongshan County that allowed people to stay just for money, and therefore all county towns were required to investigate.

"Show us the guest list for today and let’s see if you’ve registered guests according to regulations."

The innkeeper brought out a booklet, his back breaking out in cold sweat.

This place wasn’t an unregistered inn; they always registered guests by their real names. However, he was swayed by the sight of silver and rented out a room to a guest without registration. The guest also told him not to tell anyone he was here, which hardly sounded like good news.

Lu Yang noticed the subtle changes in the innkeeper’s expression and looked at him with an almost smile, "Innkeeper, if you confess now, we’ll just give you a verbal warning and let it go. But if we find something during our search, you’ll be shut down for rectification."

"Tell us, did you register anyone without following the rules?"

The innkeeper stammered in fright, "Th-there is one."

"Where?"

"Room one with the character for ’earth’."

Lu Yang and his companion went to room one with the character for ’earth’. There wasn’t a sliver of light in the room; it seemed unoccupied.

"Anyone there? Open up."

No response.

"Government office room inspection," Lu Yang stressed his identity.

Still no response.

Meng Jingzhou, growing impatient, pushed open the door and caught Ji Zhong, who was about to escape through the window.

"So it’s you who didn’t register with your real name?"

Ji Zhong was shocked. Not wanting to cause trouble and trying to escape, how could a constable have caught him?

He was a Divine Transformation Stage Cultivator!

Meng Jingzhou dragged Ji Zhong back to the room, where Lu Yang pulled out some papers, lit a candle, and began taking notes on the table.

"Name?"

"Ji Zhong."

"Produce your identification."

"Here."

"What’s your cultivation level?"

"Initial Stage of Spirit Transformation."

"Do you know it’s illegal to check in without real-name registration?"

"I do."

"Knowing that, you did it anyway?"

"I am carrying a valuable treasure. After I came out of the Four Treasures Secret Realm, I’ve been chased..."

...

The innkeeper heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that neither Lu Yang nor his companion had any intention of blaming him after they went upstairs.

Suddenly, a stout man led several people into the inn.

The innkeeper shuddered upon seeing the stout man—the Azure Dragon Saint Son from the Quadruple Sect, whom he had seen on the street a few days prior.

The Azure Dragon Saint slapped the table, causing the innkeeper to tremble with fear.

"Innkeeper, I need some information. Has anyone checked in recently and told you not to mention they’re here?"

The innkeeper was too scared to speak and could only nod in response.

"So they are here." The Azure Dragon Saint Son smiled. Ji Zhong’s Concealing Technique was really quite clever; even with Spiritual Sense, he couldn’t be found.

"Which room is he in?"

"Third Grade number one room."

"Is anyone else in the room?"

"There... there might be two more people inside."

The Azure Dragon Saint Son snorted coldly: "I knew there were accomplices!"

But the fact that there were accomplices didn’t matter to him; they outnumbered them.

Leading his followers, the Azure Dragon Saint Son stormed up to the second floor and kicked open the door of the Third Grade number one room.

"Ji Zhong, I advise you to hand over the goods obediently!"

Inside the room, Ji Zhong sat up straight, and two constables were busy taking notes.

This scene was entirely unexpected by the Azure Dragon Saint Son.

Especially when one constable stood up and sneered, "What’s this, a robbery right before our eyes?"

Constable Meng loosened his wrists and ankles; it had been a long while since he had encountered someone this brazen.

The Azure Dragon Saint Son, not wanting to get involved with government officials, attempted to flee, but before he could turn around, Constable Meng pinned him to the ground and tied him up.

His followers were tied up along with him.

"It seems you were telling the truth. You hid in the inn anonymously to evade pursuers, so we’ll overlook your offense," Lu Yang said.

"Continue. Who else is after you?" Lu Yang continued to take notes seriously, as Ji Zhong’s status had now changed to that of a victim.

"There’s someone from the Tinghai Sect..."

At that moment, the door was kicked open again by someone else, just as furious: "Azure Dragon, I heard you’re here, you won’t beat me to it—the Spirit Fruit is mine!"

The others chasing Ji Zhong took note of the odd situation with the Azure Dragon Saint Son; having been in the rundown inn for so long without leaving, Ji Zhong was definitely here!

"He’s the Eldest Senior Brother from the Tinghai Sect," Ji Zhong identified on the spot, and Lu Yang nodded, taking the information down.

Meng Jingzhou got up, tied up the Eldest Senior Brother from the Tinghai Sect, closed the door, and returned to his seat.

"Who else?"

"There’s the Sect Leader’s closed-door disciple from the Shura Sect..."

The door was kicked open yet again: "Ji Zhong, hand over the Spirit Fruit!"

"Is that him?"

"Yes."

In no time, the geniuses who had come for the Spirit Fruit were tied up one by one by Meng Jingzhou, filling the whole room.

Meng Jingzhou shook his head helplessly at the sight; taking notes on so many robbers would take a long time.

"Check the record to see if everything you’ve said is included and let me know if there are any mistakes."

Ji Zhong’s head was in a whirl—the swift change of events caught him off guard, and he couldn’t comprehend how all the geniuses chasing him had been captured?

These were all peerless geniuses, each displaying their Divine Abilities in the Four Treasures Secret Realm, favorites to claim the prize, yet not one could withstand a single move from the constables!

Still dizzy, he checked the notes and said in confusion: "There are no mistakes."

"Then sign at the bottom of each page, and on the last page write ’I have read the above notes and they are consistent with my statement.’ Wherever you write, press your fingerprint and also on the seal creases."

"Alright."

After signing and pressing his fingerprints, Ji Zhong took out the Spirit Fruit from his chest, only to abruptly change color.

It was a fake Spirit Fruit! Someone had switched the Spirit Fruit!

It was that person who had bumped into him!

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Gentlemen, I’ve lost my Spirit Fruit. May I report it missing?"