Chapter 52: 50 Is Someone Trying to Harm You?
Chapter 52: Chapter 50 Is Someone Trying to Harm You?
The Bureau of the Lamp is located near the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, neither particularly close nor far from Duke Zhen’s Mansion.
Cheng Guang mounted his Dragon Horned Horse and arrived at the place in roughly half an hour.
The Bureau of the Lamp was immense; the exterior was a tall and exquisite, majestic and solemn tower, and within it were many courtyards, with huge humanoid statues on both sides of the pathways paved with black jade.
There stood statues of successive generations of the Bureau’s mighty warriors holding Ever-bright Lamps, symbolizing the carving of a new path for the Human Race.
Although it was already February and temperatures had started to gradually warm up, being close to the Bureau of the Lamp still involuntarily made one feel a chill enveloping their whole body.
Cheng Guang dismounted from his Dragon Horned Horse, handed it over to Lin Cheng, and went straight into the Bureau of the Lamp.
Inside the Bureau of the Lamp, mighty experts were as common as clouds, and any person casually passed by was beyond the league of the current Cheng Guang.
Yet, these experts, who were many times stronger than Cheng Guang, narrowed their eyes with respect and hastily stopped to salute when they saw him; they only slowly stood up and exchanged looks after his figure had vanished from their sight.
They thought to themselves why the Princely Heir came to the Bureau of the Lamp all of a sudden today.
As Cheng Guang walked within the Bureau, after roughly a quarter-hour, someone came to greet him; they stopped from a distance upon seeing Cheng Guang, bending forward to salute him.
“Princely Heir.”
This person had a dignified appearance, a rugged face, and looked no more than forty years old, with the Bureau’s black and gold-edged uniform making him look exceptionally neat and tidy.
Despite the terrifying aura shrouding him, he looked at Cheng Guang with a spring breeze’s gentleness.
Cheng Guang glanced at the man before him and recognized him immediately; this was Cheng Zhihai’s deputy, Qian Siyuan.
Qian Siyuan was second only to Cheng Zhihai in the entire Bureau of the Lamp in terms of strength, and his Martial Cultivation had also reached the extraordinary level of Eighth Rank; he was an existence incomparable to ordinary people and was also a butcher with a fearsome reputation throughout the Capital city.
No one knew how many high-ranking nobles and powerful families had been personally eradicated by this seemingly gentle middle-aged uncle before them.
“Uncle Qian.”
Cheng Guang did not dare to act arrogantly, even the true Princely Heir had to be well-behaved in front of this man.
Cheng Guang greeted him.
Qian Siyuan nodded slightly, his gaze briefly sweeping over Cheng Guang.
At this moment, Cheng Guang was still clad in brocade clothes, with a handsome and refined, yet profound face; every move he made was filled with a noble air, yet without a hint of overbearing pride, rather he was entirely modest.
He truly was a fine young man.
Even Qian Siyuan felt that Cheng Guang’s looks were a few points better than those of Director Cheng Zhihai.
It was as if he didn’t seem like a biological son.
After sizing up Cheng Guang, Qian Siyuan then asked, “Princely Heir, what brings you to the Bureau of the Lamp so suddenly today, would you be looking for Director Cheng?”
Cheng Guang replied, “Pretty much, I have a matter to deal with.”
Qian Siyuan sighed, “Director Cheng is currently in a meeting; there seem to be traces of the Devil Clan appearing all over Great Zhou, and no one knows how they’ve been smuggling themselves in. Director Cheng is quite troubled by this.”
“If you had been a little later, Director Cheng might have already left the Capital.”
“Come with me to the side hall and wait a while.”
Cheng Guang thanked him and followed Qian Siyuan’s lead.
However, his mind was weighing on the words Qian Siyuan had just spoken.
“Traces of the Devil Clan appearing all over Great Zhou?”
“Smuggling in??”
“Could this matter be related to Bai Shuxuan, or the person behind Bai Shuxuan?”
“Bai Shuxuan was clearly one of the Devils who had smuggled into Great Zhou from the Eight-layered Devil Realm, only his identity and status were incomparable to that of an ordinary Devil…”
Cheng Guang’s eyes flickered, suddenly feeling that the organization behind the assassin poised to kill him might also be involved in the Devil smuggling incident.
Cheng Guang didn’t know about other Devils, but at least Bai Shuxuan’s arrival in the Great Zhou Dynasty must have involved their help.
Guided by Qian Siyuan, Cheng Guang arrived at a side hall and entered a tea room within it.
The tea room was simply furnished, with only a wooden chair and a desk.
On the desk were arranged several tea sets.
Upon entering the tea room, Qian Siyuan poured Cheng Guang some tea and let him wait there, then he turned and left.
After waiting for a little while,
the door to the tea room was pushed open.
Cheng Zhihai, with furrowed brows due to some vexing matters, entered through the door, but when he saw Cheng Guang sitting quietly inside, his brows eased and a doting smile appeared on his face.
“Guanger, what brings you here today?”
Cheng Guang immediately stood up, foregoing any pleasantries, and got straight to the point, “Father, someone is trying to harm me.”
Cheng Guang didn’t hesitate at all.
If Cheng Guang only needed to survive the assassination attempts of those killers, perhaps he wouldn’t have to seek the help of Cheng Zhihai’s power.
However, if he wanted to capture all those assassins alive, relying solely on the bodyguards secretly arranged by Cheng Zhihai was not enough.
To be on the safe side, Cheng Guang simply went straight to Cheng Zhihai for help.
When Cheng Zhihai heard Cheng Guang’s words, he was initially stunned, but didn’t overthink it.
“Someone is trying to harm you?”
“Who would dare?”
Cheng Zhihai thought Cheng Guang was merely having a rivalry or jealousy issue outside and had come to him to complain.
Such instances had not been uncommon in the past.
However, Cheng Guang’s next words caused Cheng Zhihai’s expression to change dramatically.
“The Saintess of the Fox Devil Clan from Green Hill, Bai Shuxuan.”
“She has backers, and in a few days, they will likely send people to assassinate me.”
Cheng Zhihai felt his eyes twitch at just one sentence from Cheng Guang.
“The Saintess of the Fox Devil Clan from Green Hill, Bai Shuxuan?”
“The Devil Clan?”
“Where is this Devil Clan? How could she possibly come into contact with you?”
Cheng Zhihai had arranged many guards around Cheng Guang; the slightest disturbance would have immediately been reported to him. How could he have failed to notice the appearance of the Saintess of the Fox Devil Clan near Cheng Guang?
Indeed, had Cheng Guang not informed him, he would still be in the dark about the presence of the Devil Clan infiltrating the Capital city.
Cheng Guang’s expression remained unchanged, looking straight into Cheng Zhihai’s eyes, “This Saintess of the Fox Devil Clan from Green Hill, Bai Shuxuan, is currently the Oiran at Wanhuatower. She intends to bewitch me, to control my mind.”
“But for some reason, I was not influenced by her.”
“I inadvertently overheard her conspiracy; in a few days, she will have me dismiss all my bodyguards, making it easy for someone to assassinate me.”
Upon hearing Cheng Guang’s words, Cheng Zhihai took a deep breath, his mind racing with thoughts, and the recent issues with the Devil Clan encountered by the Bureau of the Lamp slowly began to make sense to him.
“So that’s it, it’s actually like this. These people have such audacity, daring to target my son.”
“If it weren’t for Guanger’s early detection, I would probably have left the Capital by now to investigate the Devil Clan’s smuggling. Looking at it now, it’s a scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain…”
Cheng Zhihai murmured to himself, suddenly feeling a sense of fear, and quickly grasped Cheng Guang’s hand, examining his body.
“Guanger, are you alright? Has that Fox Devil affected your body in any way?”
Cheng Guang shook his head, “I’m fine.”
“She doesn’t know that her identity has been exposed to me yet.”
“So, I plan to use her own scheme against her, draw the snake out of its hole, and capture her along with all the assassins and killers she brings out in one fell swoop.”
Cheng Zhihai nodded, a smile flickering at the corner of his mouth, for he found that Cheng Guang’s body was unaffected.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
It had to be said, Cheng Guang’s visit this time provided him with many clues, and was of great assistance.
The frequent occurrences of the Devil Clan smuggling recently made it not hard to guess that their goal was to draw him away from the Capital.
And to facilitate the actions of the person behind it all.
Their target was to assassinate Cheng Guang.
They thought their plan was perfect, but how could they have anticipated that my son had detected their plot beforehand?
He saw through the Fox Devil’s scheme at a glance.
He did not alarm the enemy but instead actively came to him, adopting a counterplan and subsequently laying a trap to capture them all in one fell swoop.
This realization made Cheng Zhihai emotional; Cheng Guang had truly grown up a lot, no longer the immature boy he used to be.
Feeling gratified yet also slightly frightened in his heart, he worried about Cheng Guang’s health, fearing that his son might inadvertently fall victim to that Fox Devil.
A chill emerged in the depths of Cheng Zhihai’s eyes.
No matter who it was, anyone daring to target his son, must die.