I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 304: Chapter 166: A Conversation with a Third Realm Great Cultivator

”I saw the security patrols suddenly increase today and knew some important person must have come to our remote fishing village. I came over to take a look, and sure enough.”

The middle-aged fisherman, however, showed none of a common fisherman’s reserve. His demeanor changed abruptly. The timid, wooden expression from moments ago was gone, replaced by a playful and composed air, his gaze even carrying a hint of mockery.

As if he were returning to his own home, he casually strolled into the stone house. His eyes swept over the simple furnishings before finally landing on Yang Wenqing, a half-smile playing on his lips.

Seeing this, Yang Wenyuan tightened his grip on his gun and was about to move forward to subdue the man. But Yang Wenqing raised a hand, signaling him to remain calm, his gaze locked tightly on the seemingly ordinary middle-aged fisherman before him.

”How did you get in?” Yang Wenqing’s voice was calm and even, betraying no emotion.

”I walked in.” The middle-aged fisherman spread his hands, his tone light. ”The two young men outside are very diligent. It’s a shame they can neither see nor hear me.”

Yang Wenqing’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Which senior’s puppet are you?”

The middle-aged fisherman—or rather, the entity controlling this vessel—nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his voice. ”A good eye. But why ask what you already know? Haven’t you been looking for me all this time?”

Yang Wenqing’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained impassive as he asked, ”Senior Zhu Sheng?”

”You can call me that.” The puppet nodded. ”Of course, you can also call me Old Wu, or whatever else you like. A name is just a label.” ℯℯ𝑙.

”This whole setup today—was it a trap you laid for me, Senior? Were you trying to keep me here?” Yang Wenqing asked directly.

The puppet shook its head and chuckled. ”Keep you here? Using this body?”

He patted his chest, which produced a dull thud. ”This is just an ordinary fisherman. He just went out to sea yesterday to catch some fish. His body is still reasonably healthy, but he’s just a mortal. That young man next to you could finish him with a single shot. If I really wanted to do something to you, why would I use such a troublesome method? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just find a dark and stormy night to visit your home for a chat?”

He walked over to the table and glanced at the blinking dot on the monitoring terminal, his tone turning somewhat wistful. ”Ah, this setup... It wasn’t supposed to be like this originally. That fool Zhou Dachuan was indeed forced into a corner. And his wife’s illness... heh... that was also deliberately arranged by someone.”

”I just thought that director, the one called Du Hong, was rather interesting. So I spent a little time having a heart-to-heart with him when he passed through the fishing village. I just amplified the guilt and the urge to make amends in his heart a little. I didn’t expect him to report the matter to you, let alone lead you here.”

He turned back to Yang Wenqing, his gaze becoming serious and curious. ”However, since you’re here, and since I’m terribly bored, I really would like to have a chat with you.”

”Because your fate is very strange. Back then in Qianjiao County, the first time I sensed your presence, I found it odd. Your lifeline doesn’t seem to be your own, and yet it is. Moreover, it’s so powerful it’s nearly on par with a Third Realm Cultivator. This is interesting. Very interesting. More interesting than studying those lifeforms from the Outer Realm. Do you want to become my disciple? All the knowledge I’ve accumulated in my life will be yours.”

Yang Wenqing’s mind raced. In a low voice, he asked, ”Was the puppet in the alley back then also your handiwork, Senior?”

”That’s right.” The puppet admitted freely. ”I like geniuses. This world also needs geniuses to break some of its inherent shackles. You... barely qualify as an interesting seedling.”

”Toying with people’s lives like this, manipulating their joys and sorrows... do you find a great sense of accomplishment in that, Senior?” Yang Wenqing’s tone grew a touch colder.

Far from being angered by the words, the puppet burst out laughing. The sound echoed in the empty stone house, sounding rather eerie.

”Toying? A sense of accomplishment?” It stopped laughing and shook its head, its tone carrying a world-weary indifference. ”My young friend, to me, this is just a little game in a long, long life. Compared to the games played by the bigwigs in Wanxuan’s upper echelons, what does my paltry influence even amount to?”

He walked to the window, gazing out at the hazy moonlight on the sea’s surface as his voice dropped lower. ”A lifespan of thousands of years... watching dynasties rise and fall, watching oceans turn into mulberry fields, watching familiar faces grow old and disappear, generation after generation... If you don’t find some little games to play, some fun for yourself, and experience different ’lives,’ that’s when you’d truly go mad.”

He suddenly changed the subject, bringing up the recent turmoil in Donghai Province. ”Take what’s been happening in Donghai Province recently. Why do you think there’s conflict with the Jade Whale Sect? Border skirmishes? Resource disputes? There might be a little of that, but for the most part, it’s just an act.”

The puppet turned its head, its gaze burning as it stared at Yang Wenqing. ”The New Cabinet, in order to fund that monstrous, money-devouring war on the northern front, is preparing to thoroughly investigate Donghai Province’s tax revenues. So, the bigwigs in the Provincial Government panicked. They had no choice but to muddy the waters and create a diversion to shift the Central Hub’s attention.”

”As for the Jade Whale Sect, they just happened to be pushed out as a smokescreen. And I just happened to find it interesting, someone just happened to come looking for me, and I just happened to be terribly bored, so I thought I’d slip in and see if anything fun was going on.”

These words were earth-shattering, pointing directly to a political game at a much higher level.

Yang Wenqing was profoundly shaken internally, but his face remained calm as he processed this astonishing information.

The puppet seemed quite satisfied with Yang Wenqing’s reaction and continued, ”I know you’ve been investigating the mole recently, looking for the mastermind behind the explosion. I’m one of those masterminds, too. A pity you’ll never find me... unless you launch a war and attack the New Continent.”