Journey to the West: The Mountain Shaker

Chapter 94 The Expedition

July 25th, morning, Huaguo Mountain.

"The portal isn't open yet, but a group of people were let in yesterday. They were Heavenly Court inspectors." Guo Xiqin handed over a token. "The one leading the group was the Eastern Route Inspector—Li Xiangtian."

The talisman depicted a middle-aged cultivator in a black Taoist robe. After examining it, the old dean nodded: "It's about time."

When the demon monkey appeared, the three Golden Immortals and two Bodhisattvas came to check the magic array and stabilize people's hearts. As for Aolai Island, they were unable to enter due to the barrier, so the Nine Heavens naturally had to send someone else to investigate.

The Eastern Route Inspector is also a sixth-rank official position, but the inspector is one rank higher, which puts him and Zhao Shizuo in a superior position.

After all the reports were finished, Guo Xiqin remained standing still, and the old dean also remained silent, flipping through the official documents on the table. The office fell silent for a moment.

After a moment of silence, the old director finally spoke, asking, "Did you bring everything?"

"The Soul-Binding Talisman has already been put into use on Cai Fei; all his equipment, talismans, and pills have been equipped according to the highest standards for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators; in addition, Lord Zhao gave a pot of monkey wine that can replenish Qi in time, Teacher Fang gave two third-tier healing talismans, Elder Long gave two top-grade leopard fetus pills, and I brought two third-tier elemental shields myself..." Guo Xiqin reported the preparations one by one.

"Remember to mention the academy's name. They might not be convinced, but they'll at least have some reservations," the old headmaster concluded. "That reservation might be your chance to come back alive."

"Yes." Guo Xiqin replied, and after waiting a while, seeing that the old dean had no further instructions, he bowed deeply, held his position for three breaths, and then stood up and left the office.

The old dean resisted the urge to turn back and see him off, but his hand, which was flipping through official documents, stopped, and he didn't turn to the next page for a long time.

A quarter of an hour later, Guo Xiqin stepped out of the Water Curtain Cave carrying a large box that was more than a person long. The box was very heavy, but he carried it steadily. He stepped on his sword at the entrance of the cave and slowly flew out of the academy.

"Hello, Teacher Guo!"

"Is Teacher Guo going on a long trip?"

"Xiao Guo, where are you going?"

……

Along the way, people greeted him, and several even used their divine sense to scan the long box Guo Xiqin was carrying—of course, they found nothing. The box contained Cai Fei, whose innate Qi-gathering technique, taught by Li Zhu, was an ancient secret art. When his breath was gathered to the extreme and combined with the Turtle Breathing Technique, he was now as similar to Tu Mu.

Guo Xiqin simply smiled and returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute. Only when he encountered Vice Dean Li did he loudly reply, "Greetings, Teacher Li. The Heavenly Inspector has arrived, and I have been ordered to go and greet him."

The flying sword slowly flew out of the academy, and those who heard this immediately spread the news—regardless of whether it was related or not, the arrival of an envoy from the Heavenly Court to tour the island was always a big event.

Everyone, including Yin Lianli, returned to their offices, carefully tidying their desks and cleaning their storage bags, intending to make a good impression on the inspector.

At the same time, inside Ayuyama Ward.

Kong Fande, who was usually calm and composed, was now extremely agitated.

Everything seemed unchanged; the brothels and casinos were even doing better, because after the Chu family was besieged, many cultivators came to Sushanfang to inquire about the situation.

The Yichun Courtyard was packed with overnight guests. With the Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense activated, he could hear everything happening inside: some were already up and working hard in bed, some were calling for pimps to buy breakfast, and some were arguing and bickering over a little money...

Everything was the same as usual. The fierce fighting in Chujia Village, dozens of miles away, did not affect the people in Sushanfang from having fun.

The Silver Hook Casino was even busier. Before noon, the gourd curtains of the casino were constantly being lifted and lowered as gamblers entered one after another. By the time Kong Fande entered the casino, the tables were already crowded with people, and the air was filled with the smell of breath, sweat, and noise.

Some people noticed Kong Fande's arrival, but they all glanced at him and then buried their heads in the gambling table. Ah, that's the good thing about gamblers; once they sit down at the gambling table, they forget everything else.

Passing through the cacophony of sounds and countless greedy glances, Kong Fande entered the inner chamber. A magic array activated, isolating him from all sound.

There were already people sitting quietly waiting in the room. As soon as Kong Fande entered, the man immediately stood up and respectfully called him "Uncle". He was a withered and thin old Taoist priest, Kong Laoliu, who was in charge of the underground talisman testing office.

"Chu Zhengshan left Huaguo Mountain yesterday evening, reportedly accompanied by many cultivators. However, he didn't return to Sushan. Instead, he went for a stroll along the beach, hoping to find Boss Guifan, but ultimately failed to meet him. Then he visited Blood Hand and met with Boss Blood Hand, but left quickly, presumably without receiving a response. After that, he disappeared. The agreed time was 5 PM today, but now no one knows where he is."

Once Kong Fande was seated, the old Taoist priest began to report the intelligence.

"There's no need to look anymore. He'll definitely be there by 5 PM. It'll only take about half a day," Kong Fande said thoughtfully. "Chu Zhengshan is an old fox. You've dealt with him quite a bit in the past. What do you think he'll choose?"

"How do we choose?" The old Taoist scoffed. "This old codger has always been number one in his family, and his greatest skill is 'patience.' Expecting him to risk the lives of his entire clan to support our family's ridge? Impossible. Besides, this old codger spends all year holed up in his cave making talismans; he probably doesn't even know Little Cai Fei."

"Yes, it's impossible." Kong Fande also sighed. He himself couldn't do it, so how could he expect others to?

"I've notified all our people. There should be over forty of them available this afternoon. Uncle, would you like to bring a few?"

"We need to keep some people at home. Let's send half of them... Find experienced people who have seen life and death a few times. You're in charge of picking them."

"Yes. Also, Seventh Sister is insisting on going back, saying she wants to die with Xu Ping'an," the old Taoist said in a low voice. "She even said she'd go on a hunger strike if we didn't agree."

The "Seventh Sister" the old Taoist priest mentioned was Madam Xu.

On the very first day that the four families surrounded the mountain, Kong Fande brought Feng Meizi back to Sushanfang and placed her in the trial area to do some light work. Several children from the Xu family also came with her.

However, he did not expect that his daughter was also a sentimental person. Ever since she arrived, she had been insisting on going back, and no amount of persuasion could stop her. She kept him from having a peaceful day for several days.

Kong Fande was silent for a moment: "Take her with me this afternoon, and I'll knock her out and bring her back."

As soon as he said that, the old Taoist priest visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Kong Fande's lips curled into a sneer. "What, you thought I was going to risk my life?"

"It's nothing... but Uncle, you've done enough for the Xu family," the old Taoist murmured.

"More than eighty years ago, when I led the Kong clan to flee to Wujia Village, you weren't even born yet... so you don't understand." Kong Fande sighed. "My son-in-law is stubborn. In the current situation, even if I wanted to save him, he would never come to harm the Kong family. All I can do is try my best to save as many members of the Xu clan as possible."

"Our brother-in-law is truly a hero!" the old Taoist priest praised.

"He's a hero, but I'm not!" Kong Fande suddenly roared, slamming his fist on the table. "Keep a close eye on the talisman-testing area, and don't let any outsiders in! Take care of those kids; anyone who dares to mistreat them, I'll break their legs!"

"Yes..." The old Taoist priest bowed deeply and retreated, asking before leaving, "That little fellow from the Chu family has arrived. Uncle, would you like to see him?"

"Hmm? Chu Zhiyin? Alone?" Kong Fande looked at the old Taoist priest with suspicion.

"Yes, they arrived in the early morning. They sent a message directly to me, and I told them to rest in the storeroom."

"Bring him up."

"Yes," the old Taoist replied, and gently closed the door.