The Demonic World I designed

Wang Ye once said that the Siao Family, who now hold power in court, belong to the Golden Crow Bloodline, one of the top bloodlines, supplemented by the fortune of the Crown Prince. If the Thousand-Faced Fox has already succeeded, I fear it is already nearing its complete state!

At the thought of this, Chen Qing couldn't help but shiver.

No one knew better than him how terrifying the Thousand-Faced Fox would be in its complete form. Originally, the monster was designed to torment players, but now it seemed likely that they would suffer the consequences...

"Where is the residence of the Assistant Minister of Rites?"

"This..." Fei Jun frowned, "Do you really think that Yang Lin's daughter is... Impossible!"

"Why is it impossible?" Chen Qing quickly asked.

"Yang Lin's daughter has been involved with the Crown Prince for three years...Ahem..." Fei Jun looked at the guard in black armor beside him: "I told you not to write it down!!"

The guard dumbly glanced at him, then lowered his head to write again: (Fei Jun said: I told you not to write it down...)

Fei Jun struggled to suppress the urge to burn that paper figure, patiently saying, "Three years ago, the two were in love, a match from childhood, the Crown Prince's bloodline is pure, and that demon fox wouldn't be able to deceive the Crown Prince with illusion techniques before it had absorbed Cui Yan's essence."

"Has Minister Fei ever considered the possibility that the person who has been with the Crown Prince since their childhood might have been replaced in these past few days?"

"Impossible!" Fei Jun shook his head: "After Wang Ye reported the possibility of the Thousand-Faced Fox's involvement, the Crown Prince immediately strengthened the protection around the second daughter of the Yang family, the demon fox couldn't possibly get close."

"Minister Fei said it yourself, that demon fox isn't a lone ghost, there must be a powerful dark hand supporting it!"

Fei Jun fell silent, the atmosphere in the room becoming incredibly tense. Impatient after half a moment, Weichi Peng said, "What's there to hesitate about? Wouldn't we know by simply checking?"

"I need to ask for the Crown Prince's instructions!"

"Time is of the essence, Minister Fei!" Chen Qing frowned deeply, "Surely I don't need to explain to you what 'startling the snake by hitting the grass' means?"

"Quickly!" Fei Jun quickly walked to the window, forming a seal with his hands, and the next second, a burst of bird chirping arose, followed by a flame taking the form of a fiery red bird under his hand gesture and flew out of the window.

Chen Qing's pupils contracted, a Vermilion Bird?

No wonder at such a young age he is a Third Rank official, even more unexpectedly quick than Wang Ye, it turned out he possessed the Vermilion Bird of the Big Dipper Thirty-Six!

The Four Spirits, even among the Big Dipper and Earthly Fiends, are extraordinary; the setting being that mastery of these grants a Super First Rank Magician, and the Vermilion Bird, associated with the Southern Clear Li Fire, its techniques counter most of the yin evil in the world, and in ancient times on the side of the Human Race, it even held higher status than the Azure Dragon!

About half a moment later, the fiery bird flew back, circled around Fei Jun, then turned into a flame and merged into Fei Jun's body.

Seeing this scene, Chen Qing was even more astonished. This young Fei Jun had already mastered the Southern Clear Li Fire Body, his talent was exceptional!!

"Let's go!" said Fei Jun, looking towards Chen Qing.

Chen Qing nodded, and they quickly left the Weichi Residence, mounted fast horses, and sped towards the residence of the Assistant Minister of Rites.

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"You fools!" In the Imperial Study, the Emperor picked up a jade seal from his desk, ready to throw it.

Liu Yu looked on indifferently and said, "Your Majesty, that jade seal is made of Ice Jade, very expensive..."

The Emperor's body stiffened, he silently looked at the seal in his hand; Ice Jade was rare, paired with special red clay, it had a very strong anti-counterfeiting effect, there were only two such seals in his newly founded palace...

"You fools!" In the end, the Emperor set down the jade seal and picked up a worthless pen holder from the desk to throw instead!

"The Crown Prince has been with someone's daughter for three years... Why has nobody reported this to me?"

Liu Yu smiled wryly; who would report such private matters?

Probably nobody who wanted to stay in the Crown Prince's good graces...

"That Chen Qing is somewhat capable, though..." Liu Yu changed the subject: "He's quickly zeroed in on the target!"

"You go there personally, we must not let the demon fox escape!"

"Yes!"

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"Doesn't the Capital have something like a Ghost Horse?" Chen Qing frowned. Although they were riding fast, there was quite a distance between the Weichi Residence and Minister Yang's residence, raising a sense of unease in him.

"There is... but it can't be used!" Fei Jun was much more amiable now, explaining as he looked back, "Using special spirit horses in the Capital requires a Royal Palace Hand Token, otherwise the barriers designed around the Imperial City will trap them. This includes Lord Weichi Peng, who would also be attacked by techniques if he flew without the Emperor's token!"

"I see..." Chen Qing nodded upon hearing this, noting that the Great Jin Dynasty seemed to value magicians highly and was very guarded against demons.

Now it was certainly too late to apply for a token. They had to rely on ordinary horses. Chen Qing, not skilled in riding, couldn't keep up with the others. In his urgency, Weichi Peng simply grabbed Chen Qing like picking up a small chicken and put him in front of himself.

It was a bit too much for Chen Qing to be embraced by such a robust, gallant man and gallop wildly. Moreover, what was key was that this fellow had a strong smell of body odor, which made for a rather poor experience!

"We've arrived!"

Finally, just as Chen Qing was about to pass out from the smell, they reached their destination, only to see an unexpected person at the entrance.

Fei Jun and Weichi Peng hurriedly dismounted and went forward to greet him: "We pay our respects to Duke Qi!"

Chen Qing also quickly got off the horse; seeing this man dressed like a scholar but addressed as Duke Qi by the others, even with his lack of experience, he could somewhat guess who it was.

"This humble one meets the great Duke…."

"Are you Chen Qing?" the middle-aged gentleman asked gently.

"I am Chen Qing. Has the great Duke come here to investigate a case as well?" Chen Qing inquired respectfully.

The middle-aged man nodded: "After receiving the message from the Paper Guard, His Majesty dispatched me here, I arrived just a moment before you…."

Chen Qing was startled, his expression suddenly darkened. Arriving a moment earlier, yet waiting outside….

"Indeed, a sharp-minded child." The middle-aged man nodded in appreciation, "It's exactly as bad as you think!"

Weichi Peng's pupils shrank upon hearing this, and he hurriedly rushed inside. Chen Qing and Fei Jun followed after paying their respects and were immediately stunned.

Hanging all over the outer courtyard of the main hall were corpses!

Maids, servants, ladies in luxurious attire, and at the very center, the man himself, dressed in the official robes of the Assistant Minister of Rites.

Not a single soul within the Assistant Minister's residence had survived!!

Fei Jun quickly walked to a spot beside the Assistant Minister, where a young maiden in a light yellow plain dress was hanging. Her features, vaguely discernible, appeared to those of a delicate and pleasant girl, now grotesquely distorted due to the excruciating death, looking terrifying beyond measure.

Fei Jun's face turned ashen. The Crown Prince's intended consort… had been killed right under their noses!!!

Chen Qing also wore a gloomy expression. All the corpses hanging were missing their hearts and livers, strung up neatly in a row; this was clearly a show of defiance!

The adversary was mocking them, showing everything was under control, and had even leisure to arrange the bodies so meticulously…

"It shouldn't be…" Fei Jun said incredulously, "The Crown Prince greatly values the second daughter of the Yang family. He even sent his trusted deputy to protect her…."

"She's disappeared," Liu Yu's voice slowly drifted in from outside, "Disappeared in a very strange manner. I can't track her with any technique; it's as if she vanished into thin air."

"How is this possible?" Fei Jun's tone became more incredulous. In the Imperial City under the Emperor's rule, with its many magical barriers, could someone really slaughter the entire family of the Assistant Minister of Rites and also make the Crown Prince's personal guard disappear without a trace?

Weichi Peng also frowned deeply. The guard under the Crown Prince that he knew of belonged to the prestigious Hong Family of Duke Qi—Hong Lie's legitimate eldest son, inheritor of the Thunder Elephant Bloodline, with formidable combat abilities. Even for him, dealing with that guard would be troublesome. Making him disappear without a trace—who could have such ability?

Chen Qing, numbly observing the surrounding corpses, thought even deeper. Theoretically, if Thousand-Faced Fox had successfully replaced the Crown Prince's fiancée, it should patiently wait for the selection ceremony, surely not causing such a significant commotion beforehand. That left only one possibility, they had somehow alarmed their adversary….

But how long had it been? It was only half an hour since he had deduced the facts. There were only two possible channels through which the message could have leaked: one was the spiritual transmission from the Paper Guard's black-armored guard's notes, and the other was the gap during the transmission of Fei Jun's Vermilion Bird Sorcery.

The thought of either situation being compromised was terrifying.

Chen Qing first looked towards the seemingly softer target….

Fei Jun was taken aback, but understanding Chen Qing's meaningful gaze, his expression immediately grew dark.

Chen Qing stepped back slightly, standing behind Weichi Peng. Even as a Vermilion Bird Sorcerer, at this distance, a Warrior with a top-tier bloodline would be stronger, and with Teacher Wang Ye outside, subduing him shouldn't be an issue.

"The Imperial Decree names you as the lead investigator, and me as the assistant. If you suspect me, General Weichi is welcome to arrest me for a thorough investigation!"

Weichi Peng furrowed his brows, while Liu Yu outside simply smiled slightly without speaking.

"Minister Fei overstates the matter," Chen Qing said with a smile, "I simply wish to ask some questions."

"Ask away!"

"Is it possible for anyone to intercept Minister Fei's Techniques mid-transmission?"

"Impossible…" Fei Jun immediately shook his head, "There are many in the Royal Capital more skilled than I, but to silently intercept my Southern Clear Li Fire, I don't believe it's possible…."

He sure is confident….

Chen Qing squinted his eyes. Such arrogance and being a relative of the Crown Prince with limitless prospects did indeed make it less likely for him to be an inside agent.

After some thought, Chen Qing turned to Liu Yu, "Great Duke, I'd like to ask, is there any chance that the Paper Guard responsible for recordings could have leaked information?"

Liu Yu watched Chen Qing and shook his head with a smile, "Very unlikely, the one controlling the Paper Guard has been with the Royal Family for many years."

Chen Qing nodded upon hearing this, but his heart grew even more puzzled. If it wasn't Fei Jun and it wasn't the Paper Guard, then who could have leaked the information? Surely not Weichi Peng? Or perhaps Fei Jun was lying, or maybe there was some powerful technique capable of extracting information from the Vermilion Bird Sorcery?

There was nothing of the sort in his memory. Fei Jun used the Southern Clear Li Fire duplicate, akin to having his own flesh outside; he would not miss any disturbance. The idea that someone could quietly steal the information was practically impossible.

But who else could it be?

Chen Qing's mind raced. With the Crown Prince's intended consort now dead, what was the enemy's next move? The Crown Prince's selection ceremony was just days away; was there enough time to reintegrate into the household of lettered children? Even if one was hastily chosen, could they ensure the Crown Prince's favor?

Considering the young prince had just suffered a significant emotional blow, his mood would be extremely unstable during the selection, making it the worst time to predict or control outcomes.

How could they ensure their ascension?

Unless… there was no need to ascend!

Chen Qing's pupils dilated sharply, a bold and terrifying idea arising in his mind….