Chaotic World Book
Chapter 232 - 227 Betting

Chapter 232: Chapter 227 Betting

Wei Zicai was quite surprised, "Honored Envoy, you don’t know about this matter?"

Zhao Changhe pointed to his mask, "Do you see what this is?"

"Pig."

"That’s right, is it strange that I don’t know?"

"Pfft..." Wei Zicai had hardly reacted before Vermilion Bird behind him burst into laughter, bending over.

Wei Zicai’s expression twitched, and after a long while, he said, "The Honored Envoy really knows how to joke... Well, not knowing this matter, you must have recently taken office? Actually, this matter is not so complicated, first of all, His Majesty doesn’t want to monopolize all the Ancient Secret sites, allowing everyone to seek their own fortunes..."

Zhao Changhe raised his hand, "I do know about this part; His Majesty is indeed magnanimous."

Vermilion Bird glanced at him, her look one of amused skepticism.

Ordinary people would indeed conclude that Xia Longyuan was magnanimous, but Vermilion Bird didn’t see it that way. She preferred to think of it as Xia Longyuan setting up a proving ground, inciting factions to scramble over a secret from Ancient Times for the sake of it.

In Vermilion Bird’s eyes, the chaos of the era was largely due to Xia Longyuan’s manipulations.

Otherwise, had he married the White Tiger Saintess and secured the Four Symbols Sect, perhaps the sect wouldn’t have rebelled and could have become an important ally. But his actions destroyed this possibility, forcing a sect that could have been an ally into becoming a Demon Sect, intent on throwing the world into disorder. What disgusted Vermilion Bird the most was that Xia Longyuan probably intended this, and yet they would still proceed as he expected.

Wei Zicai hesitated for a moment, then answered, "There are many powerful individuals or sects that don’t care about other matters, only interested in uncovering Ancient Secrets. Places like Ancient Sword Lake, rumored to contain such secrets, often have multiple factions permanently exploring nearby, exactly leading to mutual restraint, and no one able to dominate. Many years ago, Ancient Sword Lake had already been the site of many major battles, even involving individuals from the Heavenly List."

This time, Zhao Changhe arrived at a judgment similar to Vermilion Bird’s. It seemed Xia Longyuan was using these Ancient Secrets to provoke factions into chaotic wars, "And then?"

"The factions fought disastrously, not even knowing whether there was anything in Ancient Sword Lake, appearing quite foolish. Thus, they held meetings and eventually agreed not to station themselves like the Cui Family or Four Symbols Sect did, just coming by every now and then to check; whoever finds it, owns it, no interference. But everyone was still worried about others secretly monopolizing, so they supported subordinate gangs to watch over nearby towns, thereby leading to a complicated system of power distribution. Our Demon Suppression Department just plants undercover agents to monitor the situation, which led to the unique circumstances in Sword Lake City. In fact, similar places are not rare in the world; Sword Lake City is just a prime example."

Zhao Changhe scratched his head, discerning from the part the whole, suspecting that, beyond formal Imperial rule, there might be countless ’Sword Lake Cities’, territories dominated by gangs.

Usually that would be fine, but once chaotic times arrive, these places might evolve into centers of local power, with messy ’City Lords’ sprouting up everywhere like bamboo shoots after the rain, becoming local warlords.

Sure enough, Wei Zicai continued, "After many years of evolution, these forces probably don’t care about what’s in the lake anymore. At first, we knew the Four Symbols Sect took something from the lake, but the local forces probably didn’t know, showing they had strayed from their original purpose of stationing themselves here. Instead, they’ve divided territories, competing for gains, especially now as the age of chaos approaches, the struggle over who commands the gangs in the city has become more apparent. With Tianyi Gang being incorporated by Pinghu Association, Yan Lianping of Pinghu Association is beginning to dominate this city, and we are just waiting for the department head to decide whether we should withdraw."

Zhao Changhe nodded, "Two questions. What are Yan Lianping’s capabilities, and what are the forces behind him?"

"Yan Lianping, Mystical Gate Eighth Layer..."

"So he needs to join forces with others to handle Han Wubing?"

"Because Han Wubing has also reached the Mystical Gate Seventh Layer, and his swordsmanship is peerlessly fierce. In a true solo fight, Yan Lianping is likely truly no match for him."

"Damn, how is that guy progressing faster than me... Then? What forces are behind Yan Lianping?"

Wei Zicai was somewhat embarrassed, "Well... we don’t know what forces are behind him."

Zhao Changhe was astonished, "Really? Isn’t this something that should have been clear a long time ago?"

Wei Zicai cleared his throat, "In theory, Pinghu Association should have belonged to the Four Symbols Sect, but we discovered that last time the White Tiger Saintess was here, she had no contact with them. There are two reasons for this non-contact; one is that the White Tiger Saintess knew we were monitoring, and she didn’t want to expose herself by interacting with Pinghu Association. The second is that Pinghu Association may have already parted ways in spirit with the Four Symbols Sect, and the White Tiger Saintess no longer trusts them."

Zhao Changhe glanced at Vermilion Bird, his pig-faced mask obscuring his expression.

This matter was intriguing. Things were coming full circle, involving the young lady by his side, including previous rumors, and now even connecting with him, Zhao Changhe, no longer just concerning Han Wubing alone.

What a timely visit.

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Changhe asked, "Why speculate the second reason? Has Pinghu Association shown any behavior that made you think so?"

"He Lei from the Taishan, injured, left and passed by this place, quietly staying at the Pinghu Association to recover from his wounds. We believe that the Pinghu Association might be colluding with the barbarians, but we don’t know whether the Four Symbols Sect is aware of this situation or what their stance towards the barbarians is—it’s difficult to analyze."

"I understand." Zhao Changhe felt much more at ease, smiling as he patted Wei Zicai on the shoulder. "Good, the information is complete and well organized. I’ll speak a few words with the chief on your behalf."

Wei Zicai showed a look of delight. "Thank you for your support, sir."

"One last question."

"Please go ahead, sir."

"Where did Han Wubing find out people were spreading rumors about Zhao Changhe?"

"Kangle Gambling House. Han Wubing was passing by and heard someone loudly talking about it in the gambling house."

"Whose influence does Kangle Gambling House belong to?"

Wei Zicai showed a puzzled expression. "I haven’t figured that out."

Zhao Changhe stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled. "No worries, no one can be omniscient and omnipotent. Just keep up the effort in the future."

Wei Zicai sighed in relief and chuckled. "Wishing the envoy a safe journey."

Leaving the Wan Hua Building, Zhao Changhe suddenly stopped, turned his head, and looked thoughtfully at the bamboo building.

"What are you thinking about?" Vermilion Bird asked curiously.

"Based on the theory that all families should have subordinates stationed here, it’s impossible for them not to know who’s behind Kangle Gambling House. It doesn’t make sense. And if it’s being intentionally hidden, this matter by itself shouldn’t be related to Kangle Gambling House at all. I just casually asked that, so why the need for secrecy?"

Vermilion Bird spoke slowly, "Kangle Gambling House came later, not among the initial factions. It’s not strange if they aren’t discovered, but to have no suspicions at all isn’t right. Our Holy Sect suspects that it was Ying Wu’s people."

Zhao Changhe’s heart skipped a beat. "The Eighth on the Heavenly List!"

"Correct... but this matter doesn’t seem to be related to them, does it?"

"What’s your view on the Pinghu Association matter?"

"Yan Lianping is Wei Yueyan of the Twenty-Eight Constellations. Chichi didn’t contact him, simply to avoid revealing that he’s our man. But it was unexpected that the Demon Suppression Department was already aware..." Vermilion Bird said, her tone turning somewhat frosty. "We also had no idea he was connected with the barbarians; Demon Suppression Department indeed did us a favor."

Zhao Changhe chuckled. "A traitor has emerged?"

Vermilion Bird’s tone relaxed again. "Which family doesn’t have a few traitors? It’s good to discover them early. But we can’t take the Demon Suppression Department’s word as the truth just yet; I still need to do some investigation."

"What’s on your mind?" Zhao Changhe asked.

"We’ll act separately. I’ll openly search for Yan Lianping, you do what you need to do, and tonight I’ll discreetly come to find you at the inn."

As Vermilion Bird spoke, she suddenly smiled. "This is truly unusual. Initially, I was purely looking to interact more with you and to protect you from being killed by the Wang Family. I never expected that it would become related to me, turning into our cooperation."

Zhao Changhe laughed heartily. "Even the heavens don’t want me to owe the Four Symbols Sect a favor... perhaps on the contrary, this might end up with you owing me a favor."

"Cut it out." Vermilion Bird scoffed. "You? A man at the Sixth Layer of Mystical Gate? Or are you thinking of using the clues from the Demon Suppression Department as your favor?"

Zhao Changhe hummed, "How about a bet? If you end up helping me more, from now on I’ll call you elder sister."

Vermilion Bird’s beautiful eyes flickered, and she chuckled. "And if I lose, shall I call you elder brother?"

"If you lose, from now on in front of me, can you take off your mask?"