“This is only my guess, of course.
After all, we’re merely observing from the past as bystanders—we’re not actually there in person.
So we can only see the forms, not sense the forces at play.
On top of that, the Smoke and Fire Register has recovered less than ten percent of its power.
If it were at full strength,
no matter what heaven-concealing art that person used,
I could easily drag them out.”
“I see.” Lu Chen nodded. “So there’s more hidden behind the Zhao Residence? The Underworld… hah, isn’t that right in my line of fire?”
“Does my young friend plan to take down the Zhao family along with them?”
Lu Chen shook his head. “Kitchen God, after seeing all this, it’s already quite clear.
The Zhao family’s young master planned from the very beginning to use Qiu Qianluo and Ma Shilong as disposable pawns—that’s why he hid himself so deeply.
But he calculated everything except that you, Kitchen God, would be willing to expend the Smoke and Fire Register’s spiritual essence for my sake.”
The Kitchen God nodded, not denying it. “Indeed. If not for the debt I owe you, young friend, simply using the Smoke and Fire Register to uncover Qiu Qianluo and Ma Shilong—these two pawns—would have been the limit.
I would never have gone this far at the cost of spiritual essence.
Of course, part of the reason I did so lies with the Smoke and Fire Register itself.
If it weren’t so close to you, it wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to reconstruct the cause and effect.”
He paused briefly, his voice deep as a tolling bell. “So you see, no matter how carefully one calculates in this world, something always slips through. The more painstakingly you scheme, the more holes tend to appear.”
Lu Chen agreed wholeheartedly. “That’s why I plan to hand over Ma Shilong first. He’s already exposed. As for the Zhao family… even with the heaven-concealing clues, it may not count as ironclad evidence to bring them down.
Revealing them rashly now would only alert the enemy.”
His gaze grew cold. “And then there’s what you said, Kitchen God—that the transmission jade tokens have Underworld origins… It seems a traitor has emerged within our own Underworld.
This must be handled with extreme caution. That traitor might be watching me in secret right this very moment.”
The Kitchen God said, “My young friend seems to already have a suspect in mind?”
Lu Chen took a deep breath. “I just feel that too many things don’t add up. Now that I think about it, something’s off everywhere I look.”
“Feel free to speak plainly. I may be able to offer some insight.”
Lu Chen then recounted everything in detail. “At first, I sought an audience with the Four Timekeepers, but was turned away at the door.
Later, City God Li of Jiangdu assured me he would handle the matter personally—it would just take some time.
I figured waiting passively wasn’t the best approach, so I turned to you, Kitchen God.
But wouldn’t you know it—the very night I agreed to help my lord with the consecration, I received word from City God Li saying Qiu Qianluo had already been captured.
Using a secret City God technique.
Then today, right after the consecration was completed, Ma Shilong’s thread came to light.
But Ma Shilong is clearly not the mastermind—the real hand behind it all is the Zhao family’s young master.
And now, as I dig further, I’ve stumbled onto the Underworld’s shadow…”
Lu Chen looked up, his eyes sharp as blades. “Kitchen God, don’t you think all of this is just a bit too coincidental?”
The Kitchen God pondered for a moment. “You suspect City God Li? But that doesn’t make sense. He’s already paid the price of using a secret City God technique—if he were truly the one behind it, what would his motive be?”
—Motive!
That single word struck like lightning, suddenly splitting apart the fog in Lu Chen’s mind.
“I understand now!” His eyes blazed with insight. “The Prefectural City God… the roll call!”
“The Prefectural City God? How did the Prefectural City God get involved?”
“Kitchen God, you may not know this, but some things have happened recently…”
In the quickest way possible, he briefly explained the matter of City God Street.
The Kitchen God was taken aback. He first gave Lu Chen a long, deep look—clearly not expecting this young man to have stirred up such a commotion.
Then, understanding dawned on him.
“If you put it that way, it does make sense.
This Zhao family’s young master and City God Li are very likely closely connected—perhaps even this corpse-liberation method has City God Li’s shadow behind it.
The reason for sacrificing pawns to protect the king is probably to ascend to the prefectural position and gain the authority of the roll call.
That way, there’d be no need for these dark arts—it would all be a matter of a single thought.”
Lu Chen nodded firmly. “At least it’s logically airtight.
But I can’t figure out—what leverage does the Zhao family hold over City God Li that would make a dignified City God go to such lengths to help them? That really defies common sense.”
The Kitchen God sighed softly. “It’s a pity the Smoke and Fire Register has so little spiritual essence left. Otherwise, if we looked into that Zhao young master further, we might find more clues.”
With a wave of his sleeve, the two returned to the farmhouse in the fields.
Lu Chen noticed that the divine light on the Smoke and Fire Register was noticeably dimmer than before. Knowing the cost had been considerable, he cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, Kitchen God. I wouldn’t dare ask for more. Knowing about Ma Shilong and the Zhao family’s young master is already enough.
As for whether City God Li is truly the one behind it… I’ll investigate quietly on my own.
I won’t jump to conclusions without solid evidence.”
“Reasonable. Now that you have a lead, with your intelligence, following the trail to the end is only a matter of time.” The Kitchen God paused, then added, “Young friend, I need to nourish the Smoke and Fire Register for a while. How about this—come find me again in a day, and I’ll have a proper reward for you.”
Lu Chen quickly waved his hand. “You’re too kind, Kitchen God. I already have the remaining pages of the Smoke and Fire Register—that’s more than enough benefit.”
He suddenly remembered something. “By the way, if I write the Zhao young master’s name into the remaining pages, could I break through the heaven-concealing barrier and monitor him?”
“Given the Register’s current state, I can’t guarantee it, but… it’s worth a try.”
The Kitchen God smiled slightly. “As for the reward—I’ve given my word, so how could I go back on it? Just wait a moment, young friend.”
“This…” Lu Chen didn’t decline further. He gave a solemn bow. “Then I’ll accept it with gratitude. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Good.”
White light swept over them once more.
Lu Chen had just opened his eyes when a large face appeared almost nose-to-nose with his own.
“Holy crap!” He stumbled back two steps in fright before recognizing Yu Feng.
“Boy, you’re finally back! How did it go—any news?” Yu Feng knew Lu Chen’s consciousness had been drawn into the Kitchen God’s sea of awareness and had been waiting anxiously.
Lu Chen shot him a look, then his expression turned serious. Using voice transmission, he told Yu Feng everything about Ma Shilong.
Yu Feng’s expression indeed changed, his eyes turning grave. “You’re sure you saw it with your own eyes?”
“Why would I lie to you? His father has a piece of black jade in his mouth—find it and you’ll know everything.”
“Good! I’m going now!”
“Mm, I won’t come along—no point in getting caught in the crossfire when you make your move.”
“Don’t worry, your part is done. Leave the rest to me!”
As soon as the transmission ended, Yu Feng’s aura surged violently, killing intent spreading around him like something tangible.
“Follow me!”
He was the first to transform into a fiery cloud and shoot into the sky, a host of personal guards following close behind.
“President Lu, are you alright?” Zeng Rou stepped forward, her face full of concern.
Lu Chen shook his head and was about to speak when a thunderous boom erupted from the other side of the northern district.
—The battle had begun!
But Lu Chen had no heart to watch. Instead of feeling relieved that the case was solved, he felt even heavier.
If he hadn’t happened to visit the Kitchen God, if he hadn’t happened to accumulate this opportunity by performing the consecration for the Smoke and Fire Register, he might never have known that the mastermind was the Zhao family’s young master—and that City God Li, who seemed so upright but was actually unfathomably deep, might also be the true culprit.
Though he couldn’t figure out why.
But if he had truly helped City God Li ascend to the prefectural position,
then he really would have been a complete fool, used as a weapon by someone else.
Thankfully, there was still time.
There was still room to maneuver and investigate.
Even so,
Lu Chen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “Dark. Fucking dark.”
He took a deep breath, adjusted his mood, and said, “You head back to the factory first. I’ll wait here for Yu Feng.”
“Yes, President Lu!” Zeng Rou didn’t waste words and left first.
Lu Chen took off his Daoist robe and packed up his things.
He planned to wait until the battle over there was finished, then find Yu Feng to sign off and close the task first.
After all, the Zhao family’s young master and City God Li would have to be investigated slowly.
“Your clothes are quite interesting.”
Just then, a voice spoke up coldly from behind him.
Lu Chen turned around and saw three unfamiliar men standing behind him—he hadn’t noticed when they’d arrived.
One was tall, one was burly, and in the middle stood a young man of exceptionally refined features.
In that young man’s hands was the very Daoist robe Lu Chen had just folded and placed in his box.
“Listen, buddy, if you want to look, at least say hello first. Not saying a word—isn’t that a bit impolite?”
Someone touching his Daoist robe naturally annoyed Lu Chen.
Without another word, he snatched the garment back from the other man’s hands.
“Hm?!”
The tall, burly man gave a cold snort.
Only then did Lu Chen realize these three were strange. He frowned warily. “You three… who are you? I don’t think I’ve met you before.”
“You haven’t met us, but we’ve heard about you for a long time.”
The refined young man’s smile was exceptionally clear.
“Boy, I hear you call the King of Hell your godfather. So what do you call me?”
