Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 2550: Chapter 2551: Calculated Every Step

”Think carefully, is there anything unusual that might help us find Gong Feng?” Bai Ruozhu encouraged.

”Right, I vaguely saw him, his eyes seemed pink. They weren’t like this before, they were as black as mine.” said Yanzhi.

The Astrologer pursed his lips, ”That’s a sign of being refined by a Demon. When the pink completely turns red, the refinement is complete, and he will no longer have his own thoughts.”

Yanzhi swayed, ”Let me think more, there must be something else.”

No one urged further, everyone stood quietly by the side, while Yanzhi mumbled to herself.

”Seems like it’s in the City West? No, that doesn’t seem right either.”

”There seems to be a fragrance of flowers.”

”And there seemed to be birds chirping...”

Everyone listened and frowned; these clues were not distinctive enough to pinpoint any location.

Suddenly, Bai Ruozhu turned and left. Jiang Yichun was surprised and hurriedly caught up to ask, ”What’s wrong, Ruozhu?”

”I’m going to the hall to look at that map on the wall.” Bai Ruozhu said this and walked even faster.

Everyone realized something, quickly following. Ruozhu seemed to have thought of something.

Yanzhi also came out of the Magic Array and followed them to the Main Hall.

There was a huge map of Kyoto City hanging on the wall, convenient for emissaries when traveling.

Bai Ruozhu pointed to a location and asked, ”This is Yinfeng Garden, right?”

The Astrologer, who was more familiar with Kyoto, looked carefully and said, ”Yes, that’s it. Do you suspect it’s in Yinfeng Garden?”

Bai Ruozhu did not rush to answer but casually took Jianqi’s long sword, did not remove the scabbard, and pointed at several points on the map on the wall, saying, ”If these points resonate, is it an Array concealing fortune?”

She then pointed to the location of the Imperial Palace, ”I remember the Crown Prince’s palace is at this point, and it perfectly resonates with Yinfeng Garden.”

”You mean Gong Feng is in Yinfeng Garden, and the Crown Prince is refining a Demon to set up this Array? Why would he want to conceal his fortune?” The Astrologer asked, puzzled.

At this point, Bai Ruozhu felt it was hard to hide the truth, so she explained as conveniently as she could.

”It’s heard that before a Fusang prince can become the Emperor, he must be tested by a mysterious sect to see if he is the type deemed unfit to be Emperor according to ancestral rules. The Crown Prince perhaps knows this rule, that’s why he concealed his fortune.”

The crowd was a bit confused hearing this, and the Astrologer pressed on, ”How do you know this? Where is this mysterious sect?”

”I happen to know them, but I’ve promised to keep their secret, so I can’t say more.”

Bai Ruozhu didn’t elaborate more, mainly considering Master Puru’s safety, and once the matter spreads, the next abbot of Zhaoti Temple may face a similar plight as Puru, and the next abbot might be Luan Xin. She couldn’t bring trouble to Luan Xin.

”Let’s hurry to Yinfeng Garden, maybe we can find Gong Feng.” Jiang Yichun said.

Bai Ruozhu arranged for Yuan Licheng and Fo Lanying to guard the home, and immediately brought the others to Yinfeng Garden. To avoid drawing attention, they dispersed before going and then climbed over the garden’s back wall.

Quickly, the group gathered near an artificial hill, and Yanzhi suddenly exclaimed, ”It really seems to be here, I feel something familiar!”

She had never been to Kyoto; for it to feel familiar meant she’d been here during the time she had lost.

”It should be here, let’s search carefully.” Bai Ruozhu said happily.

Suddenly, she raised her eyebrows and said in a low voice, ”Someone’s coming, everyone hide first.”

Everyone immediately scattered and hid, moving slowly with Bai Ruozhu towards the source of the sound.

”The master said there’s an anomaly, quickly, go get the item out, don’t delay the big event.” A man dressed as a guard said to his companion.

”I’ll go activate the mechanism, you go get the item. Once I reach the place, I’ll signal you. Act immediately when you see the signal.” said the other guard.

”Alright.”

The two went east and west respectively, Bai Ruozhu signaled Gao Zhou and the Astrologer to follow one, while she and Jiang Yichun followed the other.

Upon reaching the place, Bai Ruozhu realized the Crown Prince was very cautious; the mechanism and where the item was hidden were far apart. Once this mechanism was opened, the item must be taken out immediately; otherwise, the mechanism couldn’t be reopened for three days, and forcing it would cause it to self-destruct.

This was also something she learned from her aunt about Mechanical Technique. By seeing the setup at the opening site, she understood this.

And it was fortunate the Crown Prince sent two people here, if they searched by themselves, not only would they have wasted time, but a single oversight could have blown Gong Feng to pieces.

The guard here sent the signal, then opened the mechanism, while the other guard quickly pressed a hidden button, taking out a jade-black gourd.

Just then, Gao Zhou and the others acted, rushing to seal the acupoint of the guard and snatched the jade-black gourd.

”You, you...” The guard was still in shock when a talisman’s luminous shadow entered his head, causing him to scream in pain. If not for being immobilized by acupoint sealing, he would have rolled on the ground in pain.

”Speak, what does the Crown Prince plan to do by hiding Demon refinement here?” The Astrologer asked sternly.

”I, I don’t know, he never tells us. We just do as he orders.” The guard said in agony.

The Astrologer made a gesture with his fingers, causing the guard to sweat from pain.

”Speak the truth, if you keep hiding, you’ll only suffer more.” he said again.

”I really don’t know... Ah...” The guard cried out miserably again.

”Don’t play tricks with me, what are you not telling?”

The guard’s face turned ashen, drenched in cold sweat from pain, finally unable to bear it, he said, ”I accidentally overheard the Crown Prince say that thanks to this item, he temporarily got past the hurdle, and once Demon refining is complete, he would deal with anyone who dares to defy him.”

Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun had already captured the other guard. Hearing this, they understood the Crown Prince’s ”temporarily got past the hurdle” meant deceiving Master Puru.

Because of this, even Bai Ruozhu herself had been misled; she couldn’t understand many things for a while. Now thinking about it, this Crown Prince was indeed calculated at every step.

She fed the other guard a pill; that guard experienced no pain and honestly confessed all he knew. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was prudent, and the subordinates knew very little, merely following his orders.

Shanhu glanced at the guard tortured by the Astrologer to near-death, then at the one controlled by Bai Ruozhu’s pill, feeling relieved she was on their side. These were indeed two ruthless people.

Finally, the Astrologer decided to kill the two and dispose of their bodies. Bai Ruozhu understood his identity couldn’t be exposed, so she left it to him to handle.

The Astrologer only gave a couple of orders, then returned with Bai Ruozhu and the others to the Posthouse.