343 Will There be a Miracle?
Yanwang: You aren't paying me those merit points. It's the law of nature; it's Karma! And no one is allowed to break that balance!
Chen Xiaobei: Is this really non-negotiable?
Yanwang: It's absolutely non-negotiable. To save her, even the Prime of Tongtian has to pay the full amount of merit points.
Chen Xiaobei: Fine! I'll send you the merit points!
"I don't care anymore. I'll just pay the fifty thousand merit points to rescue her. I won't let Queen Wen's soul get destroyed! That would not do!" Chen Xiaobei thought as he transferred the required merit points to Yanwang.
Ding!
[You've just spent some of your merit points! You are now downgraded to Philanthropist the Second! Your current merit points are 252000! You will need another 48000 merit points to go to next level! (Charm: 25200. Luck: 25200)]
"Damn it! And I just leveled up moments ago… Now I'm back where I was." Chen Xiaobei was visibly upset.
He turned around to Queen Wen's direction – where something miraculous happened. The malevolence of her spirit had vanished completely, while she turned into a lady adorned in ancient, traditional robes.
It seemed that Yanwang was efficient at his job, at least.
"My… My sins have been washed away?! Thank the gods, I'm no longer an evil spirit!" The spirit rejoiced excitedly before turning around to thank Chen Xiaobei. "Young man! Thank you so much… Thank you… What's your name? I must repay you!"
"My name is Chen Xiaobei, but I don't expect any recompense!" Grinning widely, he gave her his blessing. "Go in peace and find your lover. He is waiting for you in the underworld realm!"
"Yes! He's there, waiting for me! I know it…"
Queen Wen beamed blissfully as her spirit slowly vanished.
With her matter settled, it's time for Chen Xiaobei to do a little clean-up.
First, he stuffed the Demonic Dragon Blade, Emperor Yan's Unwavering Body Fortifying Skill Book and Emperor Yan's body into his own treasure chest. He then ran off to find a Copper Soldier that was in excellent condition and dressed him in the Emperor's outfit to act as a dummy.
While he did so, he also took care to avoid touching the treasures around him. He required witnesses and evidence to calm the situation down, as per Luo Puti's plan.
For that, the five factions around Green Vine Province would serve as perfect witnesses, while the treasures in this room were the best evidence. Chen Xiaobei had already pocketed the most valuable treasure in this tomb after all; he could not care less about these menial riches lying around him.
"Okay… I think it's time to wake Luo Puti, we need to discuss how we're going to fool the others perfectly." Chen Xiaobei smiled and glanced towards the still-unconscious woman.
Luo Puti woke up immediately after Chen Xiaobei pressed on a couple of her acupuncture points.
She was shocked and awed at once, unable to figure out how he managed to defeat all those opponents that were much more formidable than he was. What's more, he did not even take a single scratch!
She was wallowed in such prolonged disbelief that Chen had to make something up to calm her down. Then they finally went down to business.
...
It was three in the morning, but the light in Elder Han's office in town hall was still lit.
He was feeling anxious but not quite able to inhale deeply to compose himself.
"Another Emergency… Another Emergency… And another Emergency…"
Cao Zhenyang was holding a special cellphone and was showing every update to Elder Cao. He was nervous as well and kept throwing glances at Elder Cao in hopes that there would be an answer to the situation.
"The discovery of Emperor Yan's tomb has brought terrible chain reaction! Every faction in Jianghu – regardless of size – are moving to Green Vine Province! Things might get ugly, a war is already boiling!"
"The storm has come… It's impossible for us to stop it…" Elder Cao shook his head. Though he was always calm he could not just sit quietly anymore; and yet all he could do right now was pace up and down in the office.
"Elder Cao… Forgive me for speaking my mind…" Elder Han asked nervously. "With Six Doors Organization, Thunder Kirin, and all the other special departments taking actions, wouldn't that be enough to stop the war?"
Elder Cao shook his head. "You are not in Jianghu. You have no idea how serious this matter is! Special departments can only exert pressure on certain facets, but when it comes to the entirety Jianghu there is nothing they can do to influence things! Furthermore, it's really difficult to pressure the top factions in Jianghu!"
"If that's the case… Tonight… Should be the silent night before the storm hits us…" Cao Zhenyang, who rated twenty thousand in combat power, gulped. Fear showed in his eyes, and he appeared extremely agitated.
"Will there be a miracle?" Elder Han clenched his fist; cold sweat dripped down his palm.
"Miracle… I don't think that's possible…" Elder Cao sighed.
*Ring*
Elder Cao's cell phone rang. He took a glimpse and saw that it was Chen Xiaobei. Thinking about dropping it at first but after remembering the gift that young man has presented him, he decided to pick up the call out of politeness.
"Mr. Chen. I'm really occupied right now. I shall contact you another day!" Elder Cao said in a deep voice.
"Elder Cao! Listen to me first!" Chen Xiaobei cut to the chase immediately. "The Emperor Yan's tomb incident has been solved!"
"What?! How's that possible?" Elder Cao was taken by complete surprise.
"I have given the tomb keys to Luo Puti, senior inspector of the Six Doors Organization! She's taken over matters!" Chen Xiaobei continued. "You need to send in the cavalry now! Also, announce to all Jianghu that the government is officially taking control, and tell them that there are no secret skill books inside the tomb. I believe those facts alone should be calm the entire Jianghu!"
"This…"
Elder Cao was stunned but remained doubtful. "Even if Luo Puti did take control over the tomb, nobody will trust anything told by the government!"
"Don't worry." Chen Xiaobei quickly replied. "There are five factions from Green Vine Province standing outside the tomb right now, so you will have around five hundred witnesses! They are all from Jianghu, and they will spread the news to everyone! In the end, all Jianghu will believe in your words!"
"Great! That's great, Mr. Chen! You have done something monumental this time! I would like to thank you on behalf of our country!" Elder Cao was so excited that he leapt in his seat, startling Cao Zhenyang and Elder Han.
"Elder Cao… I think that there is some misunderstanding here…" Chen Xiaobei continued calmly. "It's all thanks to Luo Puti this time. She's the one who came up with this plan! You guys should reward her, I'm just the messenger!"
"Okay! I understand! I will definitely reward Inspector Luo generously! Thank you so much for this call too, it saved millions lives!"
After putting his phone down, Elder Cao sighed.
Now, he could finally relax.
Inside the tomb.
Luo Puti gave Chen Xiaobei a guilty look. "You were the one who solved this matter, I didn't do anything at all! And I'm supposed to claim all your contributions…"
"I don't really care about fame or contributing! I'm the kind who keeps a low-profile! Hehe…" Chen Xiaobei smiled. "You can go ahead and claim all the rewards; you just have to make sure that Murong Xiaoyao and I are safe and sound! The true reward is that everyone is still alive after this incident!"
Ding!
Chen Xiaobei's cell phone rang all of a sudden. It was a message from the Red Envelope chat group.