Chapter 329: Preparations

During the ensuing interrogation, Luo Binghong refused to utter even a single word. However, her subordinates weren't as firm in their conviction and quickly confessed everything, including what they had done over the past two months.

After killing all of Luo Binghong's subordinates, Chu Qiguang turned his gaze toward the tightly bound Luo Binghong. He shook his head and said, "People like you don't know how to trade stocks at all. You buy today, then sell tomorrow. You're not an investor, you're an opportunist."

Luo Binghong glowered resentfully at Chu Qiguang and spat through gritted teeth, "Who are you? Why is a martial artist of your caliber serving Wang Cailiang?"

Chu Qiguang couldn't be bothered to answer. He raised a hand, intending to signal Liu Yao to execute Luo Binghong, but then felt that killing her would be a waste.

She could prove quite useful if I can convince her to serve me. Through her, I may also be able to establish ties with the Imperial Heavenly Dao.

Yong Province, where the Imperial Heavenly Dao's base of operations was located, directly bordered Spirit Province. Therefore, Chu Qiguang would have to come into contact with them sooner or later.

Rather than killing her, it would be far better to use her to establish ties with the Imperial Heavenly Dao, or convince her to betray the Imperial Heavenly Dao and serve as his spy.

Sure, there was certainly some risk involved, but Chu Qiguang was confident in his ability to keep her under control.

With that in mind, he gestured for Maiden Thirteen to untie her, then asked, "Do you want to live or die?"

Luo Binghong remained silent.

"You can stay by my side for now," Chu Qiguang continued. "I'll give you three chances to escape. For those three attempts, I won't kill you even after I recapture you. However, if you continue trying to escape after that, I'll have no choice but to kill you."

Luo Binghong nodded in agreement with this arrangement while glowering coldly at him.

The other two generals knew of her plans to capture Wang Cailiang, so they would surely come looking for her. Although they were no match for Chu Qiguang, she was counting on them to call for reinforcements from the Imperial Heavenly Dao to rescue her.

At the same time, Luo Binghong hoped to coax some insider information out of these people and use it to recoup her losses.

After subduing Luo Binghong, Chu Qiguang continued toward Heavenly Melody Manor. Along the way, however, he instructed Maiden Thirteen to cover her face with a veil. Her stunning appearance always attracted unnecessary attention, which was something Chu Qiguang wanted to avoid during this trip.

***

Meanwhile, two generals of the Imperial Heavenly Dao were waiting inside an inn in Azure Sun County, both looking very pleased with themselves.

One of the generals was named Chen Qingyong, and he said, "I'm sure the pope will be very pleased with the ten ancient scriptures we've found in Spirit Province."

The other general looked at the enormous cloth bag on the table, then nodded and said, "Spirit Province has a long history, so it's bound to be home to many ancient scriptures. Otherwise, the pope wouldn't have sent us here."

Luo Binghong had only arrived in Spirit Province that year, whereas the two generals had come several years earlier. Their primary objective was to search for ancient scriptures related to the Imperial Heavenly Dao.

Apparently, the pope of the Imperial Heavenly Dao had been trying to recover the complete versions of Heaven Theory and Earth Inquiry. These were two Dao arts that surpassed even the Book of Humans and were said to contain incantations from the almighty Imperial High God.

Over the course of several years, the two generals had managed to secure ten important ancient scriptures related to the Imperial Heavenly Dao. During that time, they had inadvertently triggered two demonic tainting incidents and nearly been captured by the Demon Vanquishing Department.

There had also been several occasions when they had almost fallen prey to demonification, but their unwavering faith in the Imperial High God had saved them each time.

Now that they had collected the ten scriptures, they could finally return home.

Chen Qingyong pulled out a letter from his daughter, then sighed, "Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. Once I return, I'm going to retire and finally hold the wedding that I've owed her mother all these years. You can move there and become my neighbor."

The other general nodded, then suddenly asked, "Why isn't Luo Binghong here yet? Didn't she go after someone named Wang Cailiang?"

There was still no sign of Luo Binghong the following day, so the two generals immediately began searching for her.

***

In the Heavenly Melody Manor City, Chu Qiguang knocked Luo Binghong unconscious and left her with Liu Yao and the others.

Meanwhile, he was meeting with someone in a courtyard.

"Are you sure this is going to work, Chu Qiguang?" Yang Ling asked with a deeply concerned expression.

He had earned the Yong'an Emperor's favor by presenting him with Yi Siman's travel journal. Following Chu Qiguang's instructions, he had also informed the emperor about the state of the stock market in Spirit Province.

Afterward, he volunteered to travel north to gather cultivation resources for the emperor.

However, he had no confidence in any of this, and his unease was only worsened after he suffered some losses in the stock market.

To make matters worse, all kinds of factions were currently involved in the stock market, including the nine border military bases, feudal lords, and cults. It was an extremely chaotic environment, and he felt that he could easily end up dead if he wasn't careful.

"Trust me," Chu Qiguang reassured him with a smile. "Once His Majesty begins making money in the stock market, he'll view you even more favorably."

At that moment, the door swung open, and both Chu Qiguang and Yang Ling immediately rose to their feet.

Chu Qiguang bowed respectfully to the man who had just entered the room. It was none other than Zhong Shan'e.

"Oh? If it isn't the esteemed Hundred-Man Commander Chu!" Zhong Shan'e harrumphed coldly. "To what do I owe this honor? As a matter of fact, to what does our humble Shu Province owe this immense honor?"

A sheepish smile appeared on Chu Qiguang's face, but deep down, he was quite relieved.

It would've been much more troublesome if Zhong Shan'e had acted cold and unapproachable.

"Please don't tease me, Teacher," Chu Qiguang said. "I've come to Spirit Province to serve His Majesty."