novelraw Chapter 1001 - 563: Hunt Operation 2
Chapter 1001 - 563: Hunt Operation 2
He calculated carefully, Zhang Yan Yi nominally has six disciples, among whom "Third" and "Fourth" are likely traveling outside of Yu Country and cannot be relied upon.
Although Yu Xiu and Jin Jian are strong, they still lack someone substantial to hold the fort.
If they could enlist the assistance of "Little Heavenly Master" Zhong Pan, it would be ideal. Fortunately, the Little Heavenly Master should also be within the national borders, as far as he knows.
The carriage under Zhong Pan’s command has the ability to travel a thousand miles a day and could be summoned in time.
Zhang Yan Yi thought for a moment and said, "I can deploy Zhong Pan and three others to aid you, but not the Daoist sects of the Huai River region."
Seeing his curious expression, Zhang Yan Yi patiently explained:
"Unlike the Divine Dragon Temple, which has temples everywhere, within the borders of Yu Country, although there are also Daoist temples, they are not affiliated with the Heavenly Master Mansion. Privately lending troops to you, they should not be mobilized, nor may they necessarily respond. Besides, the cultivation of local magicians is limited, but if you need people... from the Heavenly Master Mansion in the Capital, some useful priests can be borrowed for you."
Zhao Douan, however, shook his head and said, "I will act soon, and there isn’t time to wait for the priests from the Capital to arrive at Huai River. In that case, it’s unnecessary."
He did not plan to delay.
Before returning to the Capital this time, he had already ordered Yongjia to prepare for a military action, and the court’s army would set out southward the day after tomorrow.
Zhang Yan Yi was not surprised and chuckled, "In that case, let’s forget it. However, lending you only three disciples would really make me seem stingy, so here..."
He seemed to think for a moment, then raised his hand and beckoned.
The golden banyan tree swayed, a leaf fell from its branch, twirling down.
The Old Heavenly Master pinched the leaf with his fingers, and as the light dissipated, it turned into a brocade pouch.
"This is..." Zhao Douan was momentarily stunned, instinctively reaching out to catch the thrown brocade pouch, casting a puzzled glance.
Zhang Yan Yi explained with a chuckle:
"I’m giving you a means to save your life. If you truly encounter great danger on this journey, you can open the brocade pouch. However, remember not to open it prematurely, or it will be nullified."
Zhao Douan’s eyes lit up!
A good thing!
He instinctively clenched it. Initially, he had been considering whether to request Zhenbao to seek out, from the Imperial Palace Weapon Vault, if there were any life-saving magic artifacts.
But he was hesitant, fearing that after learning about Zhao Shixiong’s past attempt to kill him, the Empress would not allow him to take such risks.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yan Yi instead gifted him this.
However, as he accepted the brocade pouch, his heart slightly sank.
Every gift has a cost; the more generous Old Zhang is, the heavier the debt probably becomes.
"Thank you, Heavenly Master," Zhao Douan clutched the brocade pouch, hesitating again, "However, I cannot take this item back to the front line."
His divine soul traverses between places but cannot carry anything!
The elder and the younger exchanged an awkward look, Zhang Yan Yi paused in silence, lightly coughed, then reached out to retrieve the brocade pouch to his hand, faintly saying:
"The elderly know, it was merely to test if you’d become complacent. You should return; I will cast a spell to have an immortal crane deliver both the brocade pouch and the orders for mobilizing Zhong Pan and others to the front line to find you; it will arrive in at most a day."
So powerful... Zhao Douan let out a breath of relief and smiled again: "Thank you, Heavenly Master. There is one more thing I’d like to ask; can the Heavenly Master divine through the Heavenly Dao if my journey will be smooth?"
Zhang Yan Yi reclined back on the bamboo chair, "Unable to divine."
Is it related to Mu Prince, difficult to foresee, or is it that he doesn’t wish to tell me? Zhao Douan glanced at the brocade pouch, pondering: "I understand, Heavenly Master. There is another matter..."
You are tedious... Zhang Yan Yi rolled his eyes, "Speak!"
"I wish to inquire if the Heavenly Master knows of any troublesome individuals within the White Clothes Sect or Divine Dragon Temple?" Zhao Douan, thick-skinned, tried to glean information.
Seeing it was just an inquiry for information, Zhang Yan Yi sighed in relief, replied irritably:
"The White Clothes Sect is filled with Sangmen Stars, the most formidable being the White Clothes Sect Master, Shi Youlian. As for the Divine Dragon Temple... there are two who are familiar with Fan Long, Dharma name Guangyuan and Kongzhu. Alright, get out."
Shi Youlian? That sounds like a woman’s name... Could the White Clothes Sect Leader be a woman?
Guangyuan, Kongzhu... there should be relevant information in the Imperial Court... Zhao Douan memorized silently and took his leave.
After he left.
The great banyan tree rustled, its fiery red and gold-speckled canopy revealed a blurry human face:
"Before, when you used the ’Heavenly Book’ to divine, did you not sense a great danger in the Huai River region that might involve him? Why not stop it?"
Zhang Yan Yi lifted his eyelids, sighing softly:
"The Heavenly Dao is difficult to predict, destiny hard to bend. Merely seeking to avoid danger can only evade immediate dangers but may lead to losing more."
The great banyan seemed to understand a little, yet asked:
"You claim that the crane will deliver the message in a day? How come I am unaware it’s that fast?"
Zhang Yan Yi blushed, got up, and waved his sleeve as he returned indoors:
"I plan to go out for a trip soon, if anyone comes, just say I am in seclusion."
...
...
Leaving the Heavenly Master Mansion, Zhao Douan, under the cover of night, did not immediately return to the palace but headed straight to the Imperial Court.
At the Imperial Court, there were people on duty even at night.
He went straight to the archive within the government office, using the "Master" clearance to retrieve some information and quickly noted it down.
Afterward, he pondered for a moment before returning to Lihua Hall.
Tonight’s duty officer was Zheng Laojiu.
"Master? How come you’ve returned? Aren’t you supposed to be at the palace with Your Majesty?" Zheng Laojiu asked in surprise, sipping tea and reading the newspaper.
"Come on, why does everyone keep asking this..." Zhao Douan was silently affected by the lingering slick touch in his palm, which made him uncomfortable. He sternly replied, "Don’t mind, let me ask you, have the officials in the Imperial Prison who colluded with the Mu Prince Manor been interrogated for anything?"
Zheng Laojiu quickly retrieved a booklet: "This is the latest progress of the interrogation and investigation."
Zhao Douan sat at the table, reviewing it by candlelight.
The booklet recorded the organized testimonies; most of these traitors were responsible for passing information to the Mu Prince Manor, while a lesser portion of the high-level traitors attempted to influence certain minor decisions within the court.