Chapter 158 - 114: Communication Talisman? Isn’t This a Phone?!

Chapter 158: Chapter 114: Communication Talisman? Isn’t This a Phone?!

Hu Zi looked at Zeng Anmin pitifully, his mischievous eyes filled with a plea for help.

"It’s useless to look at me." Zeng Anmin kept a straight face and glared at him.

He couldn’t just easily forgive him for such a mistake. He had to let the boy know that bullying other children was wrong! And knocking a monk on the head? Was that not a sin?!

Hu Zi choked back sobs and shook his head. "I didn’t want to knock him. Liu Hao told me to. He said that the monk’s head would make a loud sound if I knocked it... I didn’t believe him, but he said he had knocked it before."

"Who is Liu Hao?" Zeng Anmin frowned and looked at Concubine Lin.

"A child of his classmate. He seems to be the young master of the Liangyou Chamber of Commerce," Concubine Lin sighed helplessly.

Zeng Anmin understood. Hu Zi had been instigated. But how could it be such a coincidence? Could it be that fellow Liu Xian’s younger brother? Zeng Anmin paused in surprise.

Concubine Lin sighed deeply. She looked at Zeng Anmin with a sorrowful expression. "Alas, Fa’an Temple is, after all, a pure land of the Buddhist Sect. It was truly wrong to do such a thing. In a few days, I will take Hu Zi over to apologize in person."

"Yes, that is exactly what should be done." Zeng Anmin glanced at Hu Zi, a trace of coldness in his voice. "In two days, I will ask for a leave of absence from the Imperial College and personally take him to apologize."

With Concubine Lin’s temperament, she would probably just go over and say some nice words. It would hardly be educational, so he had to take action himself.

After making his decision, he looked at Concubine Lin and continued, "From now on, hit this child when he needs to be hit. You cannot show mercy. You must let him know that bullying others casually is wrong!"

He did not want to raise an arrogant little hooligan who only knew how to throw his weight around and goof off.

Concubine Lin pursed her lips. She could bring herself to teach the servants a lesson, but to actually lay a hand on Hu Zi... It was very difficult for her to do so.

"Go to the study and write the sentence ’I am sorry, I was wrong’ two hundred times! You are not allowed to eat or sleep until you finish! Hand them to me when you are done!" Zeng Anmin commanded, looking very much like a strict contemporary teacher. He looked down at Hu Zi from above, his eyes full of oppression.

Hearing this, Hu Zi’s face scrunched up in misery. "Uncle," he looked up hopefully, his voice full of grievance. "I really know I was wrong..."

"Useless! Go quickly! No being lazy!" Zeng Anmin rolled up his sleeves, pretending he was about to strike. "If you dawdle any longer, my palm is going to land right on your butt!"

"I’m going, I’m going..." Hu Zi hurriedly ran toward the study.

Looking at his small back, Concubine Lin let out another deep sigh.

Late at night.

After a tearless Hu Zi walked out of the courtyard with trembling hands, his tiny back looked extremely desolate under the moonlight.

Zeng Anmin looked down at the full two hundred sheets of high-quality rice paper that Hu Zi had handed in. On each sheet, the words "I am sorry, I was wrong, I should not have hit anyone" were written in a crooked scrawl.

HMPH. He let out a soft snort and prepared to head inside. It was late, and it was time to sleep.

Suddenly, a light figure landed on the eaves of his roof.

"With a sword in hand and a long laugh, I step out to travel the world! My ambition swallows the universe, my chivalrous bones endure the wind and frost!"

Hearing this voice, the corner of Zeng Anmin’s mouth twitched. He looked up at the source of the sound.

Bai Ziqing, dressed in a white robe, held a long sword at an angle in his hand and cast his gaze downward. From Zeng Anmin’s perspective, a bright moon hung right behind Bai Ziqing. This scene was incredibly beautiful. However, at the thought of the intense pretentiousness...

"Ziqing? Why are you here?" A friendly smile appeared on Zeng Anmin’s face. Ever since Bai Ziqing had become the Imperial City Department North Commander, they had not seen each other for quite some time.

"Just came to see you." Hearing Zeng Anmin’s familiar voice, a smile appeared on Bai Ziqing’s expressionless face. He tapped his toes lightly, and his white clothes fluttered in the wind, drawing a beautiful arc in the air. The next moment, he landed directly in front of Zeng Anmin.

"I need to leave the capital for a period of time," Bai Ziqing said, looking earnestly at Zeng Anmin. "I don’t know when I’ll be back, so I came to check on you."

"Huh?" Zeng Anmin paused in surprise, then opened the door. "Come in and talk."

"Alright."

The two went inside and sat down at the table. Their eyes met. Zeng Anmin looked at Bai Ziqing’s flowing curly blonde hair, blinked, and asked, "What’s going on? Why do you suddenly need to leave the capital?"

Bai Ziqing sighed softly. "Do you still remember that Cyan Viper?"

"Naturally." Zeng Anmin nodded slowly.

Could it be... Although Emperor Jianhong did not want to investigate this matter on the surface, he surely still harbored a grudge in his heart! After pondering for a moment, he looked up and asked, "Could it be that His Majesty..."

Bai Ziqing cast a surprised glance at Zeng Anmin, then nodded solemnly. "Yes. After I temporarily took over as the North Commander, I entered the palace privately once.

"His Majesty still wants me to investigate the origins of that Cyan Viper.

"I have been secretly investigating these days. Through the Imperial City Department’s extensive intelligence network, I found out that the maid named Xiang Chun has been frequently communicating in secret with the owner of a certain courtyard over the past two years."

At this point, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, still wanting to show off in front of Zeng Anmin.

"But he escaped?" Zeng Anmin connected this to Bai Ziqing’s statement about leaving the capital. He looked up earnestly into Bai Ziqing’s eyes. Since he was leaving the capital so abruptly, he must have made full preparations. Otherwise, with the outside world being so vast, how could he just leave directly? "And you should have also found out which direction he headed, right?"

Bai Ziqing’s expression froze slightly. The profound aura he had deliberately put on instantly dissipated, and his gaze turned somewhat resentful. "I carefully searched that courtyard for a long time and discovered traces of the Eastern Sect."

"The Eastern Sect of Jiang Country?!" Zeng Anmin abruptly looked up at Bai Ziqing.

The Great Saint Dynasty was watched over by Celestial Master Xu’s Profound Array Department, while the National Religion of Jiang Country was the Eastern Sect. However, Zeng Anmin did not know much about them; he had only seen a sentence or two describing them in a certain smutty book. The Eastern Sect of Jiang Country possessed the Dream-Entering Image Record Skill, where an ounce of lifespan could be exchanged for a whole night of pleasure—a massive bargain...

"Yes. We can deduce now that this Cyan Viper could lie low in the capital for so long because it had the backing of the Eastern Sect.

"But it doesn’t matter. I have the Profound Array Department’s Tracking Bamboo, and I can track them by following the aura of the Eastern Sect’s spies."

Bai Ziqing’s mouth curled up slightly. "Besides, even without the Tracking Bamboo, our Great Saint Dynasty’s household registration laws are extremely meticulous. Along the way, he is bound to give himself away."

"Oh," Zeng Anmin nodded gently in realization. "So you’re leaving the capital just like that?"

"Just like that," Bai Ziqing nodded seriously. "Other than Quan Fu, I don’t have anyone I worry about in the capital. Take this." After saying that, he solemnly pulled out an extremely pristine white jade pendant from his clothes.

"What is this?" Zeng Anmin held the jade pendant, feeling a profound and mysterious aura the moment it entered his hand. Dense layers of runes were carved onto its surface.

"A Communication Talisman. It comes in a mother-and-child pair, and only an Imperial City Department Commander can possess them." Bai Ziqing pulled out an identical jade pendant and waved it in front of Zeng Anmin. "I have one in my hand as well."

"What use could this thing have?" Zeng Anmin frowned at him.

"As long as we are within the borders of the Great Saint Dynasty, the two of us can communicate via voice transmission through this talisman. This item is extremely precious. Across the entirety of Kyushu, the Imperial City Department only has four pairs. You must keep it safe," Bai Ziqing said earnestly.

"But wouldn’t it be better if you gave it to your subordinates in the Imperial City Department?" Zeng Anmin looked at him suspiciously. That way, if Bai Ziqing ever needed backup, he could just transmit a message over, which would be much more convenient.

Bai Ziqing coughed dryly, his face slightly flushed with embarrassment. "It’s mainly because I thought that if I encounter any unsolvable mysteries along the way, I could still discuss them with you."

Zeng Anmin’s lips twitched speechlessly. No wonder! No wonder his first reaction to such an urgent case wasn’t to chase down the culprit, but to come find him at the Minister’s Mansion! Was this a discussion? Are you sure you’re not just making me help you solve cases over the phone?!