Chapter 440: Fei Lianzi to the Rescue

In the interrogation room of a local police station, Shi Qianzhang, a disciple of Longhu Mountains, sat cuffed to a chair with his cultivation sealed. Dressed in casual clothes, he voiced his disdain while glancing around the room.

"Officer, I really don't get it! The woman I was with doesn't care about money or looks, doesn't play games when it comes to love, and just wants to sincerely marry despite being strangers. Out of goodwill, I gave her a few hundred yuan as a gift. What's so wrong and unreasonable about that? Isn't arresting me going too far?"

Outside, Liu Yunzhi was sprawled across a long bench, fast asleep. A policewoman had kindly covered him with a coat. That difference in how they were treated really said it all.

In the next holding room, two young women with decent looks and figures sat facing the wall as two female officers lectured them. They seemed used to this kind of situation.

Though Shi Qianzhang looked indifferent, he felt uneasy deep down.

How did things go so wrong? I was in the middle of something important when my cultivation suddenly got sealed. Less than a minute later, the police broke in. Someone has to be targeting me. Who have I offended lately? Considering they sealed my cultivation without me even noticing, their cultivation has to be extraordinary. Is it my master? Or the forefather himself?

Bang!

A stern-faced officer slammed his fist onto the interrogation table, sending a teacup flying into the air. He glared at Shi Qianzhang. "Enough nonsense! What you did is illegal! It's a clear violation of the public security code! Be honest, have you gone insane?"

Shi Qianzhang frowned, losing patience. "Insane? What makes you say that? I can even fly if you don't believe me!"

The officer laughed coldly. "Alright then, fly. Take the chair with you. If you can rise two meters off the ground, I'll strip this uniform off myself. Anyway, this guy is clearly not in his right mind and doesn't have an ID. Take him for a check-up and see if there's something else wrong with him!"

"Wait, wait! I'm fine! I just don't have my ID with me right now!"

Shi Qianzhang scratched his head in frustration. With his cultivation sealed, he really couldn't pull anything out from his storage artifact.

The officer sneered. "If you have mental issues and still did this on purpose, that's enough to land you in prison, you know?"

Shi Qianzhang twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Alright, alright. Don't scare me, Officer. Let me make a call."

The officer gestured to a young policeman, who placed Shi Qianzhang's phone in front of him. Shi Qianzhang hesitated, unsure which number to dial.

How am I supposed to explain this?

If word got out, it'd be a scandal not just for him but for his entire sect and the cultivation world.

On the police station's rooftop, Fei Lianzi and Huai Jing crouched in the shadows, struggling to stifle their laughter. Meanwhile, Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan drank tea at a nearby cafe. Mu Wanxuan didn't know the full story, only that Huai Jing and Fei Lianzi were playing a prank on Shi Qianzhang.

Wang Sheng and his group had rushed to Shi Qianzhang's location earlier. In consideration of Shi Qianzhang's reputation, Wang Sheng deliberately released his aura, which was naturally oppressive to cultivators at lower realms. Shi Qianzhang and Liu Yunzhi should have sensed them in the sky, but apparently, they didn't.

Wang Sheng wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. After all, charging down openly would have been awkward for everyone. That was when Huai Jing intoned Buddha's name, having come up with a mischievous idea. He took out his phone and dialed the local police, leading them to this situation.

In the interrogation room, Shi Qianzhang was torn.

His lips curved into a forced smile. "How about I just pay a fine, Officer? I'm sort of a public figure, you know. I used to be on TV a few years back. If this gets out, the media might blow it up."

The officer's tone softened a bit when Shi Qianzhang's attitude changed. "Looks like you still don't understand your mistake. You're pretty young. Aren't you still in college?"

"No, I'm working now."

Shi Qianzhang sighed and dialed a number. At the same time, faint Buddhist chanting briefly echoed from the rooftop. No one noticed.

When the call connected, he explained his predicament hesitantly, and on the other end, Huai Jing readily agreed to come.

A few minutes later, Fei Lianzi entered the police station in full Daoist robes. Upon seeing Shi Qianzhang, he immediately pulled out a fly-whisk and smacked him on the head, ignoring the police who tried to stop him.

"You rebellious disciple! You've just come down the mountain and you're already committing crimes! You're a disgrace to our forefather!"

Fei Lianzi apologized profusely to the officers, took Shi Qianzhang's storage artifact, and paid the fine on his behalf. Shi Qianzhang and Liu Yanzhi were finally released.

Fei Lianzi carried the drunken Liu Yunzhi in one hand and dragged the sealed Shi Qianzhang with the other. Not wanting to attract attention, he flew off on his sword toward a small forest in the suburbs as soon as they got out of the station.

Wang Sheng, Mu Wanxuan, and Huai Jing soon arrived to meet them. Fei Lianzi and Huai Jing burst out laughing, which made Shi Qianzhang finally realize that he'd been set up.

With Wang Sheng and even Mu Wanxuan also present, Shi Qianzhang's face turned beet red. He squatted in a corner and drew circles on the ground, too ashamed to speak. Powerless to argue, all he could do was accept the ridicule.

Wang Sheng's tone turned firm. "Alright, that's enough, Senior, Huai Jing. This is actually a serious matter."

The two pranksters quickly straightened up. Wang Sheng then raised his hand and tapped Shi Qianzhang on the chest a few times. Shi Qianzhang exhaled deeply as his enchanted power began to flow again, regaining his control over his Dao Body.

"Qianzhang," Wang Sheng called.

"Yeah, Brother Sheng, I know I was wrong."

"If you really can't suppress your desires, then even if it's with a mortal girl, at least pursue her seriously," Wang Sheng said earnestly. "As a disciple of the Longhu Mountains, you can't behave so recklessly. Have you already forgotten how much you suffered when your cultivation hit a bottleneck a few years back? That celestial pill I gave you was meant to make up for your losses, not fuel your indulgence.

"Our cultivation world may not be in trouble right now, but we'll be facing more dangers in the future. I don't see you as an outsider. On the contrary, I consider you my friend—my brother, even. That's why I'll be blunt with you: cultivation should always come first!"

"Yes, Brother Sheng. You're right to scold me." Shi Qianzhang sighed, then raised his hand and slapped himself twice. "I just can't control myself, can I?"

Huai Jing smiled. "

Amitabha.

Look at Yunzhi. Why do you think his will is so firm? Even when he's drunk, he won't let those girls near him."

"That's because he thinks they're ugly!" Shi Qianzhang rolled his eyes. "I spent a fortune to call out more than ten of the establishment's most beautiful girls and told him to pick one. Each was the best of the best—ah, I got a bit excited there. Anyway, this isn't all my fault, Brother Sheng. I just wanted to help him relax, but he said none of them looked as good as he did in a dress. He didn't like a single one!"

Keeping his tone stern, Wang Sheng replied, "Enough. That's your private business. We really shouldn't meddle too much."

Shi Qianzhang instantly burst into tears.

Wang Sheng flicked his sleeve. "Let's head back to Mount Hua and find a place to drink. If this spreads, Daoist Master Fei Lianzi will lose face right along with you."

Shi Qianzhang chuckled, hoisted Liu Yunzhi onto his shoulder, and leaped onto the cyan cloud that Wang Sheng had conjured.

Along the way, Mu Wanxuan, who had been watching quietly, pulled out her phone and started researching a few keywords. Before long, she looked as though she had just opened the door to a new world—one that was a bit chaotic but undeniably real and part of how the world worked.

Wang Sheng occasionally glanced at his senior sister's phone and found her browsing encyclopedia entries about relations between men and women. She seemed deep in thought, even glancing down at her own near-perfect figure. When Mu Wanxuan turned her head toward him, Wang Sheng instinctively looked away and tilted his head up to the stars.

Did this ridiculous incident accidentally awaken something in Senior Sister? Is this a blessing in disguise?

Wang Sheng's mind wandered, and his heart gradually relaxed.

Behind them, Shi Qianzhang had his arm locked around Huai Jing's neck. Having figured out who had set him up, he shook him playfully.

Laughter echoed across the azure cloud, which crackled faintly with sparks of lightning, as it streaked through the night sky toward the foot of Mount Hua.

***

Inside a Special Warfare Unit base in the eastern region of the Hua Republic.

A transport aircraft slowly landed. Below, several Special Warfare Unit instructors stood in salute as Chi Ling and two of the Special Affairs Unit's vice-captains descended the ramp.

The site was near the island where the Five Gods Cult had been destroyed years ago. It had since become a Special Warfare Unit training base, with the islanders relocated to more convenient living areas.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Zhang Zikuang stepped forward and whispered, "This way, Captain Chi Ling."

Chi Ling whispered back, "How's his mood?"

"Very calm. He already knows that all the ancient cultivators are dead. He hasn't shown any extreme behavior."

With a complicated expression, Chi Ling nodded slightly.

Soon, the group entered an elevator and descended deep underground. After passing through layers of security, they reached a well-furnished confinement chamber, where Qin Yishen was waiting.

Chi Ling knocked on the door, then stepped inside. She sat down behind a reinforced glass barrier, activated the intercom recording device, and conversationally asked, "Have you been resting well, Chief Qin?"

Qin Yishen's lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "Not bad. I used to wonder how I'd end up losing to you, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast. Shen Sui'an, Fei Yu... Have a seat, Captain Chi Ling. You can answer my question now. Where did I lose?"

"Even I failed to take Fei Yu's strength into consideration," Chi Ling admitted. "My only hidden card was the Hidden Earth Sect. You always believed that if you painted them a bright enough future and offered them enough benefits and promises, they would truly work for you.

"That might have worked on any other Daoist sect or heritage, but you overlooked a crucial factor: the Hidden Earth Sect already had deep grudges against those ancient cultivators. Cultivators as a group value inheritance and heritage teachings. They take their forebears' hatred very seriously."

Qin Yishen nodded slowly. "I was being too idealistic. Anyway, you're here because the higher-ups have decided what to do with me, aren't you?"

"No." Chi Ling gestured, and a Special Affairs Unit officer handed her a stack of documents. "I was sorting through the Special Affairs Unit's archives and found your plan to Daoists and mortals. Some of your proposals are constructive and feasible. I came to ask for your insight."

Qin Yishen's brow furrowed deeply as he fixed his gaze on Chi Ling. As though he finally snapped, he flipped the table in front of him and shouted curses. Several Special Warfare Unit elites rushed in from the adjoining door and restrained him.

"Don't touch my plan! That's my work! Mine! Ask for my insight? You're despicable, Chi Ling! You just want to steal my work!"

Chi Ling frowned slightly, shook her head, and calmly gathered the papers. She then stood and looked at Qin Yishen through the glass. After a brief pause, she turned away, leaving the room with the two vice-captains Special Affairs Unit.