Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 648 No good banquet
The purpose of letting Ming Shanzong and his group go was actually to let Wu Jinliang go, since everyone knows that Wu Jinliang has a good relationship with Young Master Nan.

And that was indeed the case. Those people from Mingshan Sect, like Shen Moming, didn't really have any connection with Young Master Nan, and he didn't care much about their lives.

This is a way of implicating Wu Jinliang by claiming that everyone else in the Mingshan Sect is unrelated to the case.

Nan Gongzi understood the meaning with a slight change of perspective. Although he still wanted to plead for Shi Chun, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Those hundreds of royal guards of varying ranks, who among them doesn't have relatives and friends in the royal court? You, Shi Chun, are innocent, but aren't the others innocent too? If someone pleads for Shi Chun and he's released, what if someone of a higher rank than Young Master Nan comes out to plead for him later?
The reason why the royal court wanted to kill those guards was obvious. No matter who among you had a problem, everyone present had an inescapable responsibility. You were guarding the central government of the royal court, and you didn't even know that someone had broken into the queen's room to steal. For the duty of guards, how could this be a small matter?

If a number of people don't die this time, and if all the palace guards aren't put on high alert, do you think something similar will happen again?
Of course, the reason that Young Master Nan could think of was only one of the truths. Jia Huan, who truly knew what had appeared in the Queen's room, knew the other reason. He knew that the case would continue to be investigated, but he would deal with some immediate matters first.

In short, Young Master Nan has truly backed down this time and is no longer running around trying to find someone, knowing that with his connections, it's useless to ask anyone for help.

He first went to the prison and released the Mingshan Sect gang, some of whom had already been imprisoned twice in the capital of Dongsheng.

When the Mingshan Sect members asked about the current situation, Young Master Nan shook his head and refused to answer, telling them to take Fengchi to heal his injuries first.

Feng Chi was seriously injured. Last time, his arms were broken by dislocated tendons and bones, and several bones in his body were also broken. He had not received treatment while he was imprisoned, and now he could no longer stand up. However, his disheveled face still had a fierce look that seemed to want to bite someone. He said fiercely to everyone, "Don't worry, the boss won't be so easily defeated!"

Her fierce spirit after the injury overshadowed her good looks, making her a completely different person from the brothel madam who used to greet customers with a smile.

Nan Gongzi did not respond to this, but simply waved for everyone to go back and rest.

The group had really been through a lot lately, and with nothing to do, they could only go home and rest first...

Inside the ancient pavilion, Alan approached the woman in red who was sitting cross-legged and reported calmly, "Your Majesty, there is news from Dongsheng. Shi Chun has been sentenced to death and will be publicly executed in three days. There are many people to be killed, including the Bai clan and Jihuo Sect members handed over by the Phoenix Clan, as well as hundreds of derelict royal guards."

The woman in red slowly opened her eyes. "Is this already public information?"

Alan quickly replied, "It was just decided, it hasn't been made public yet."

“Three days later…” the woman in red muttered, then continued, “It’s a bit of a rush. I’m afraid some people don’t even know he’s been arrested. We should help spread the word.”

Alan: "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."

“Not now,” the woman in red interrupted, rising to her feet. “It seems I should return to the capital to host a banquet.”

Before leaving, she went to the library to ask for leave, saying she needed to go home for a few days.

Soon, an invitation from the royal court of Xiniu Hezhou flew to various places. The Demon Queen was going to hold a private banquet, saying that she had acquired a treasure and invited some discerning people to appreciate it.

Those who receive an invitation feel deeply honored and proud; many people would love to attend but don't have the chance.

Anyone with eyes to see knows that those who are invited are people of considerable status and position, and some of them are even people Shi Chun knows, such as Miao Dingyi and his wife, and Mu Lanjin, etc.

Inside the majestic main hall of the Refining Heaven Sect, Sect Master Luo Yan looked through the exquisite invitation, stroked his beard, smiled and nodded, then turned to arrange the itinerary with the sect members.

After the sect leader was sent away, all affairs of the Refining Heaven Sect continued to operate smoothly as usual.

However, not long after, bad news suddenly came from Xiniu Hezhou. When appreciating the treasure, Sect Master Luo Yan used magic to manipulate the treasure and ended up breaking it. The Sect Master denied that he broke it. The Demon Queen asked who broke it.
No one admitted it.

What should have been a joyous occasion turned into a disappointing one. As a result, all the guests who came to have their treasures appraised were detained by the enraged Empress, who said it wouldn't be too late for them to leave until the treasures were repaired.

The disciple who returned with the news brought back the sect leader's words, saying that the Demon Queen's treasure was a bit strange, and asked Situ Gu to help repair and deal with it.

This is understandable; one should definitely seek out an expert in this field.

The senior members of the sect immediately sought out Situ Gu.

Although Situ Gu was usually aloof, he felt obligated to do this kind of thing, so he could only agree to go. After making some arrangements for the affairs of Liangqiu Mountain, he left under the escort of the sect members and rushed to Xiniu.

With the Xun Gate at the Lian Tian Sect, a few convenient transfers led to the Western Bull Capital, and then straight to that place with its enchanting scenery.

As soon as the group landed outside the magnificent palace and finished negotiating passage with the royal guards, they saw an inverted wave of light appear in the sky.

Situ Gu looked up and frowned, muttering, "Disorderly Spirit Array."

Upon hearing this, a disciple accompanying him asked suspiciously, "Within the Chaotic Spirit Array, the Mother-Child Talisman cannot communicate with the outside world. Does this mean that if the treasure cannot be repaired, it cannot be contacted with the outside world?" Situ Gu didn't pay much attention to this and continued on his way.

With his weapon-refining skills, he is confident that he can repair any magical artifact that he can currently refine, provided he has enough materials.

However, he did not estimate the time it would take to repair it.

Just after the distinguished guests at the banquet lost contact with the outside world, a rumor quickly spread throughout the cultivation world that the Eastern Victory Royal Court would publicly execute Shi Chun and his gang in two days.

A theft has occurred at the Dongsheng Royal Court. The suspects and those responsible for dereliction of duty will all be executed!
The news spread like wildfire.

When Ming Shanzong and his gang found out, they were frantic, like headless flies. All they could think of was to find Young Master Nan, but what good would it do? It would only make them feel more guilty.

Lan'er was even more worried than everyone else; she had to ask everyone not to let Feng Chi know about this.

Because she knew all too well how blindly Feng Chi supported Shi Chun, to the point of almost betraying him. If Feng Chi found out, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause.

At the same time, she was asking the demonic cultivator behind her to help her rescue him, but the demonic cultivator refused.

Because the demonic path sensed something unusual—there had just been trouble at the Phoenix Clan's sacred mountain, and according to reports, Shi Chun had also caused trouble there—the demonic path behind her suspected it might be bait to lure them in, so they had to be cautious.

Not only did the demonic path dare not rescue people, but they also kept a close watch on the Mingshan Sect, just like Lan'er, to see if Wu Jinliang had any contact with them.

Fearing that Wu Jinliang might resort to desperate measures, or that he might betray the demonic path in order to save people.

In short, once Wu Jinliang shows any signs of rising to prominence, he must be taken down immediately to avoid any further complications.

Meanwhile, Wu Jinliang was in a small house in a courtyard by a stream on the outskirts of the city, munching on fruit by the window and listening to a few people washing their feet by the stream after finishing their work.

They were talking about Shi Chun's impending execution. Wu Jinliang didn't take it too seriously because he knew Shi Chun's plan very well. In addition to clearing himself of suspicion, he had also made a series of backup plans to prevent any accidents. He wasn't going to be executed so easily.

After finishing eating, he took two steps back from the window, held the fruit pit, and gazed into the distance. With a forceful swing of his arm, he flung it far away, then turned back and strolled around the house with his hands behind his back, feeling extremely lonely.

Not wanting to be in the public eye too much, and knowing that height is sometimes a disadvantage, they can only try to stay out of the spotlight.

Knowing that Young Master Nan had betrayed them, he didn't dare to contact him. Young Master Nan, on the other hand, contacted him first, saying that he was alright. How could he easily believe that? The leader had put him in jail after saying that turning himself in was fine. He wasn't going to follow in that footsteps, and even pretended not to see it, making no response whatsoever.

He didn't contact the Mingshan Sect either. They sent messages saying everything was fine and that he had been released, but he didn't believe them. Even if he did, he was wary that it was a trap waiting for him, and he wouldn't dare to go back rashly even if you beat him to death. So he didn't contact them either.

He now only believes one thing: if Shi Chun is the culprit, then he is the number one accomplice. If Shi Chun cannot be innocent, it would be strange if he got away with it. He wants to arrest me? No way!
If it were him, he wouldn't even turn himself in like Shi Chun did. Wouldn't it be better to just occasionally rob someone, then go back to the underworld and enjoy himself? There's no need to take such a risk. As for the future, thinking too far ahead leads to too many unexpected events, which are not something that can be easily controlled by human power.

Therefore, he only adheres to one principle: he can only show himself safely if Shi Chun gets away...

In the capital of Nanzhan, Miao Yilan, who had asked for leave, returned home but could not find her parents. She went to Bowang Tower to look for her father, only to learn that her parents were temporarily trapped in Xiniu.

She came because she had heard rumors that Shi Chun was to be executed, and she came to find her father, hoping that he could help get him out of trouble.

Putting everything else aside, Shi Chun surrendered herself because of the mother and daughter. They trusted them so much, and she would feel really guilty if she were killed because of that trust.

Unexpectedly, the parents encountered an accident and did not even know when they would be rescued.

The people at Bowang Tower reassured her that everything was alright, since her father had the Heavenly Court behind him, and the Demon Queen wouldn't dare to act recklessly without evidence; at most, she would only cause some trouble.

Miao Yilan had no choice but to ask Gong Shaoci for help. However, Gong Shaoci's intervention was useless. His influence was nothing in front of the Dongsheng Royal Court. His only use was to contact his grandfather, the Right Assistant Marquis of Nanzhanbuzhou.

Gong Shaoci didn't actually want to save Shi Chun, but for Miao Yilan's sake, she still had to bite the bullet and go to her grandfather. In the end, she couldn't even see her grandfather. She sent someone to deliver a message, but her grandfather's message was just three words: "I can't help!"
In the Heavenly Star-Gazing Pavilion, a beautiful figure in white, as white as snow, emerged from the gate. It was none other than Mulan Qingqing, who had emerged in a state of forlornness.

This was her first time coming here to find her father, for the same reason as Miao Yilan. Shi Chun trusted her to turn himself in, but ended up in such a state. Unable to get over it, she had to bite the bullet and come to her powerful father for help.

Just like Miao Yilan, her father was also detained in Xiniu. The people from the Star Gazing Pavilion told her that the Heavenly Court was already negotiating with Xiniu and that everything would be alright.

Unlike Miao Yilan, Mulan Qingqing's grandfather was also trapped in Xiniu. This was because her grandfather had also received an invitation from the Demon Queen to attend a banquet. She came to the Star Gazing Pavilion because she couldn't find her grandfather and had no other choice. Only after arriving did she discover that her father had also been detained.

Looking around outside the Star Gazing Pavilion, I felt utterly lost...

(End of this chapter)