Nightwatcher

Chapter 115: A Secret from 500 years ago

# 115. A Secret from 500 years ago

TWO: Alright, I'll give you some face, THREE, and take care of this matter. I still have some face in the region of Yunzhou. As long as Zhou Chixiong is in Yunzhou, I can find him out.

*Such a confident tone?* Xu Qi'an was more sure that Number Two wasn't from the Imperial Court. There were two reasons for his guess: First: They curse Emperor Yuanjing to go to heaven every day.

Two: Banditry was quite serious in Yunzhou right now. Refugees could be found everywhere, and the court's presence was declining as well. If Number Two was from the Imperial Court, they wouldn't have dared to make such a guarantee.

*Hiss... Not from the government, but passionate about suppressing bandits every day, Number Two should be a chivalrous person.*

ONE: Okay

A deal was concluded and the conflict was resolved.

Everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society breathed a sigh of relief. *Number Three is worthy of being a scholar, hes very skilled. Normally, Number One and Number Two would never make a deal like this.*

*Daoist Jinlian was correct to bring Number Three into the Heaven and Earth Society.*

*After Number Three joined the Heaven and Earth Society, the frequency of conversation in the Earth Book increased, and the number of people exchanging information also started to increase.*

Everyone found his presence welcome.

FOUR: Why did the Yao covet the item sealed under Sangpo? Well, I think it should have been done by the Northern Monster Tribes. Historically, No conflict has occurred between Great Feng and the Southern Marches Wanyao Kingdom.

The Northern Yao and Great Feng were like fire and water, while the Nanjiang Wanyao Kingdom held enmity as vast as the endless ocean toward the Buddhists from the Western Regions.

*Boss had said that the northern barbarians and the northern Yao have frequently harassed the border in recent years, and show signs of resuming the war. So, It is reasonable for the Northern Yao to secretly do things in the imperial capital...* Xu Qi'an felt his heart sink.

FIVE: So, What was sealed under Sangpo, for the Northern Yao to plan so much for it?

*Why so many questions, little girl? Uncle can't give you any answers, because uncle also wants to know...* Xu Qi'an lampooned.

NINE: No matter what, it should be something that can cause harm to the Great Fengs royal family. I hope it won't harm the ordinary people in the capital.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Qi'an sent a message,

THREE: Sitianjian's Jianzheng is said to be sick. What do you think? According to the secret information obtained by our Cloud Deer Academy, there is indeed a formation at the bottom of Sangpo Lake. I believe it to be the work of the Sitianjian.

TWO: As if. How could a First Rank Expert get sick?

Number Two denied it.

FIVE: Um, A First Rank Expert is an existence at the top of the pyramid, and it's impossible for them to get sick, let alone one from the Arcanist system.

The Arcanist system began as Physicians.

Number Four also expressed his own opinion:

FOUR: The attitude of Jianzheng might mean that he didn't want to participate in this matter.

*Number Four is a smart person, and he thought similarly to me as well... The Jianzheng didn't want to involve himself with this matter... What with his ambiguous attitude, Isn't his task guarding the capital?*

Xu Qi'an went silent.

ONE: I can repay part of the debt right now. Information about Sangpo, its value shouldn't be so high. Do you want to hear it, THREE?

*It isn't worth much, but you want to repay last time's debt... Isn't this a bit too much, Number One. Do you want to shave wool off me?*

Xu Qi'an was a little annoyed since he was making a loss in the transaction. But, he needed relevant information about Sangpo very much.

As the clue from Baihu Zhou was broken, he needed to find a point of attack yet again.

Xu Qi'an wrote a message, using an indifferent tone, Let me see.

ONE: I checked the records about Sangpo, and found an important point in time. Perhaps, the item sealed under Sangpo is related to it.

Number One paused for a while, before sending a message" Five Hundred Years Ago!

ONE: About five hundred years ago, the crown prince was swimming in Sangpo Lake, but accidentally fell into the water. He went insane due to the incident and drowned in Sangpo not long after. But, Another Important Event occurred Five Hundred years ago. There are few words about it in the history books, and the Ruling and Opposition both keep it secret.

I think THREE should know what I'm talking about.

*I don't, I don't know anything... No, I haven't even read the history books!*

Annoyance rose in Xu Qi'an mind, as he thought, *Why doesn't Baidu exist in this world? If it did, everything could be solved with a little search, such as the basic necessities of life, food housing, and transportation. Including illness... well, You may need more than some skills, Let's meet in your next life.*[^1]

*Um, I could find Cijiu. Cijiu has read history books thoroughly, and he is a Straight A student.*

Xu Qi'an's little brother's voice and smile appeared in Xu Qi'an's mind, and he was surprised to find that Number Four had rushed to answer: Contention for the Throne?!

Looking at this, Xu Qi'an was relieved, because he knew that one of the others would ask for his place since everyone in the group, except Number One and Number Four, were illiterates who hadn't finished nine years of compulsory education.

TWO: Contention for the Throne?

FIVE: Contention for the Throne?

FOUR: Five hundred years ago, a rebellion occurred from within the Great Feng royal family. The leader of the rebel army back then was King Pinghai, who later bceame Emperor Wuzong.[^2] Although Wuzong whitewashed his actions as removing evil from the court to cover up his act of usurping the throne, it wasn't ever a glorious act. The historians of later generations kept the secret, and only dared to write: In the years when heaven collapsed, the world was overflowing with devils, but Wuzong rose in the east to quell the chaos!

The current Great Feng royal family are all descendants of Wuzong from back then.

FIVE: What does this have to do with Sangpo?

*This girl clearly wasn't quite smart.*

TWO: Is ONE suspicious that the sealed item below Yongzhen Shanhe Temple is related to the royal family five hundred years ago?

ONE: Don't you all find it strange that the Jianzheng pretended to be sick?

*A certain important figure of the royal family five hundred years ago could be sealed under Sangpo... The past details regarding the usurping of the throne is a taboo. So, the royal family didn't want to reveal this secret. This could be why only Emperor Yuanjing knows of it... The death of the crown prince five hundred years ago might not be an accident. Was it revenge?*

*The sealed person is a member of the royal family, so the case could be considered a matter of the royal family. Did Jianzheng feign sickness because he didn't want to participate in this matter?*

*The Northern Yao should have done this to make the Great Feng capital fall into chaos, or even cause turmoil within the court. That way, they could take the opportunity to make some moves in the north.*

Xu Qi'an gasped, and his back stood upright suddenly. The Sangpo case went even deeper than he imagined.

*I should better run away. I think the risk of running away is lower than the risk of participating in this case.*

Xu Qi'an was terrified.

THREE: By the way, I forgot a thing. I found some characters engraved on the seal under Sangpo. I found them very interesting. I thought that I should share it with you all. Well, I'll share them for free.

He didn't send "Does anyone here know what font this is?". Doing so would be stupid of him.

If this was just a font from ancient times, his low level of education would be revealed, and he would no longer continue using the identity of a Cloud Deer Academy student.

So, Xu Qi'an wrote two of the curved characters on the mirror surface of the small jade mirror.

THREE: Two curved and twisted characters.

NINE: This is Buddhist script.

*Buddhist?* Xu Qi'an froze up.

FIVE: How did Buddhist script appear in the Sangpo Formation?

*It's good that there is a group member with a low IQ in the group...* Xu Qi'an smiled, and waited for some big boss in the group to explain.

FOUR: It stands that this shouldn't have happened. It's impossible for the royal family to allow the Buddhists to participate in such a secret matter.

The others also expressed puzzlement one after another.

After waiting for some time, No-one sent any message to the group, indicating that everyone had their guesses about this.

Xu Qi'an asked: THREE: It's been some time since I haven't seen SIX in the group.

NINE: SIX seems to have encountered some trouble. He has already left the Welfare Home on the east side for some time. This Daoist will try to find him.

*Is baldie a trouble magnet? Why is he always in trouble...* Xu Qi'an lampooned and waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before he confirmed that all the other group members had gone offline.

*You should inform before going offline, you guys with no morals.*

...

After blowing out the oil lamp, Xu Qi'an lay on the bed with the small jade mirror under his pillow. He looked at the dark roof, allowing his thoughts to ferment.

*If the one under Sangpo is an expert from the former royal family, This matter would be troublesome. I would definitely be beheaded for learning this secret... On the contrary, I would not be afraid of being silenced by Emperor Yuanjing if the other party makes trouble and put their identity out in the open.*

*Wei Yuan had said that other people will do the task of recovering the sealed item. I don't need to intervene at that stage. My task should be to find the spies behind the Sangpo case... But Baihu Zhou has already escaped. This clue has broken, and I can only pin my hopes on Number Two.*

*Wait, something doesn't match up.* Xu Qi'an's eyes suddenly lit up in the darkness as he found that he had ignored something.

*When discussing the case with Lyu Qing in the conference Hall during the day, We had determined that it was impossible for the nine missing people to secretly smuggle gunpowder into Yongzhen Shanhe Temple.*

*And Baihu Zhou was from the Jinwu Guard. The Jinwu Guard's task was to guard, not handle the Ancestor Worship Ceremony. That means that he had no chance to enter Yongzhen Shanhe Temple.*

*There must have been another behind-the-scenes person guiding him.*

*That behind-the-scenes person joined forces with the Yao to cause the Sangpo case and release the sealed artefact in Yongzhen Shanhe Temple.*

*My real mission should be to find that guy.*

Turning over and sitting upright, Xu Qi'an clenched his fist in excitement.

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[^1]: Poking fun at the case where Baidu sold search results to fake clinics, which gave wrong diagnoses and prescriptions. Or simply WEBMD doctors.

[^2]: