Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 616 - 616 615 Intricate and Confusing 4

616: Chapter 615: Intricate and Confusing 4 616: Chapter 615: Intricate and Confusing 4 Lan Zaitian suffered from a heart illness.

But he could not easily disclose his heart illness to others, as there were too many concerns involved, and the relationship between him and Li Laixiang was nothing more than mutual exploitation; just as he knew what Li Laixiang was up to, Li Laixiang was also clear about his objectives, yet both parties never broke through this barrier of unspoken understanding.

Because they knew that once certain things were exposed, there would be no turning back, like true comrades on a thievish vessel, locked in by an unbreakable bond.

He did not want to provoke that excessively greedy Daoist Sect, and Li Laixiang also did not wish to be overly entangled with such native forces.

Everything had continued for many years, somewhat fragile yet persistently maintained, but now, as the new Capital Commandant took office, he vaguely sensed a dangerous aura.

Li Laixiang’s sense of danger was dulled, not due to lack of realm but because his heart realm was already filled with self-interest and was no longer pure, diminishing his perception of danger.

Lan Zaitian felt the danger too, but this feeling was too vague, with no clear direction; was his intuition correct that the recent Geng Ore robbery incident hid some particular purpose behind it, which they involuntarily became a part of?

He quietly reminded himself to be extremely cautious, for, to the ruling sect of Shan Country, the fear was these rash sword barbarians doing something reckless, for then they would find neither heaven nor earth responsive to their calls.

…Hou Niao, the Capital Commandant, sat steadily in the hall, unaware that he had already been dubbed the ‘White-eyed Commandant.’

His manners were not very refined, he was aware of this; after all, having donated all his belongings in the Northwest, it was only right to find a place to compensate, and Pingliang State could not be more suitable.

He knew he could not plunder this place peacefully, so he transformed into a ruthless enforcer…

Soon, Li Shipeng slipped in, his small eyes gleaming with a predatory light, a normal reaction when a carnivore sights its prey.

For his future, he resolutely submitted his declaration, but to speak the truth, he really had no idea how far the new Capital Commandant could go; he knew far less about this new Commandant than Su Lingyun did—in terms of status, realm, and having no background at all.

How could the events that occurred in the Sikong Mansion be known to the whole world?

He only saw something on the new Capital Commandant that resembled his own—ambition.

Only ambitious people could sense each other’s presence.

He placed his bet; for someone with his nature, this day was inevitable; then it was waiting, an agonizing wait that lasted over a year, nearly driving him to despair, thinking he might have misjudged when an incident at the Boundary River wild duck crossing suddenly excited him.

He had considered many ways to start, but it was difficult to find the most appropriate one among them, depending on many factors: the scope given by the higher-ups, the depth of the cards he held, the target vision, his style of conduct, and so forth.

Clearly, the manner chosen by the Capital Commandant was among the most decisive, seemingly also representing a kind of determination.

Hou Niao, without lifting his head, consciously or unconsciously, as when he first met Commandant Li Chuping, maintained a mysterious and eerie presence, part of the traditional atmosphere of the Sikong Mansion, like visiting a brothel was surely accompanied by festive lights and wine.

“Go check, the extraction volume of the Geng ore, the quantity of refined products, to whom all were sold, through whose influence, and where they ended up,” he ordered.

Li Shipeng’s eyes flickered with dangerous light, he had already cleared up these matters over the past ten years, all noted in his declaration, so,

“Commandant’s intention, to scare the snakes out of the grass?”

Hou Niao would not explain; it was an art of governance of those in power to maintain a sense of mysterious oppression.

“Find some people you think are reliable; you will be responsible if something goes wrong.”

Li Shipeng took it lightly; this was the Commandant testing his ability; conducting covert investigations was one skill, but choosing the right people was another, the former being merely manual labor, while the latter was managing talent.

As for where those goods were and how to find them, the Commandant did not mention, and he had no intention of asking; it was clear what needed to be done.

Watching Li Shipeng leave decisively, Hou Niao nodded secretly; this man’s unmasked ambition was genuine, competent, thoughtful, and daring enough to make a wager, a rarity even among sword cultivation sects like the Shan Sect.

The only displeasure he had with this man was his shortsightedness, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the big picture.

Did he not realize that the internal promotions he was so meticulously calculating within the Shan Sect system meant nothing to a real cultivator when the Heaven and Earth Chains were truly unlocked?

All these on the continent were just trifling matters.

Having been in Pingliang for more than a year, he focused mainly on discerning the various forces here, although these details were already mentioned in the background information provided by the Sikong Mansion; he was a man who trusted only his own judgment, and would not bother with some of the old masters’ armchair strategies at the Sikong Mansion.

If things were really well-managed, would the situation have become so dire that he needed to come and put out fires?

In the judgment of Sima Mansion, the real scourge of Pingliang State was Lan Zaitian of Mu Shuai Mansion, based on cultural and historical differences, an irreconcilable conflict.

And the Central Army Mansion was merely a coalition of merchants with Daoist Sect backgrounds, originally controlled by the Anhe Daoist Sect, but now slowly transitioning to be led by the Wu Sect.

This judgment had been the mainstream view in the three mansions of the Shan Sect in recent years, thus the proposed solutions were naturally targeted; as the saying goes, to cure a disease, one must address the root, focusing on the main conflict.

If they could successfully address the sentiments of self-reliance among the surviving nobles of the old Langzhong in Pingliang State and unite them with Shan Country, the shady dealings of the merchants would naturally resolve themselves.

Hou Niao did not follow such a thematic approach in running his office; he just watched, observed…

then stirred up trouble, and watched again, observed again.

Only by stirring the pond water could one see what fish hid beneath, and also find out which of his dogs could hunt, which merely idled around, and which belonged to someone else.

Having spent over a year, it was time to take some action; he was not interested in wasting all his time doing nothing here.

With less than ten years until the next Shan Sect annual meeting, it sounded early, but it seemed rather rushed for what he intended to do.

A position as a True Disciple, that was what he was determined to achieve, or rather, attaining Spiritual Green in Outer Space was his only current objective, even above achieving the Golden Core.

Without him, Hou Niao, involved, could it even be called Outer Heaven Universe?