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Chapter 60 Showdown
"The monster has been captured?"

Chen Guangrui suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost blurting out the words.

His face showed undisguised astonishment. "Didn't that beast just fly away after bumping into the guards? How could it have been caught so quickly?"

Wei Zheng nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on every subtle change in Chen Guangrui's expression. He whispered, "I've got it."

Chen Guangrui's heart raced instantly, almost leaping out of his throat!
The blue-haired lion has been captured! A huge threat has been temporarily averted!
More importantly, what did Wei Zheng mean by that?
Is he... coming clean with himself? Is he finally going to admit his true identity?
Chen Guangrui forcefully suppressed his barely contained excitement, trying to make his voice sound normal, and pressed on,

"That thing... can fly, right? Lord Wei, where did you catch it? It... it didn't hurt you, did it?"

When Wei Zheng heard the words "can fly," and saw that the genuine concern on Chen Guangrui's face was not feigned, his scrutinizing gaze softened slightly.

He did not answer Chen Guangrui's question immediately, but mumbled something vaguely.
"There are too many people here, so let's go back and talk in detail."

The two said no more and quickened their pace to leave.

The small courtyard where Wei Zheng rented was still dilapidated, but it was now even more chaotic. The old steward was hunched over, struggling to tidy up the broken and scattered utensils and household items.

Clearly, the so-called "search and seizure of the mansion" a few days ago was not a fabrication.

Chen Guangrui frowned slightly upon seeing this scene.

Wei Zheng, however, paid no heed and led Chen Guangrui straight into the study. The study was also in disarray, with books and documents scattered all over the floor and the tables and chairs askew.

Wei Zheng had no interest in tidying up; he simply walked to the middle of the room and waved to Chen Guangrui to calm down.

Then, under Chen Guangrui's "blind" gaze, Wei Zheng habitually checked his surroundings, and then pulled out a seemingly ordinary gray cloth bag from somewhere. He muttered something to himself, pointed at the bag, and...
"Pfft!"

A heavy thud, followed by a suppressed, extremely angry growl!
Suddenly, a giant lion covered in blue fur appeared out of thin air and crashed heavily onto the floor of the study!
It was that green-haired lion spirit who escaped from the imperial banquet!

At this moment, it has lost all its prestige.

A rope, shimmering with a barely perceptible golden light, bound it into a rice dumpling.

No matter how much it struggled and twisted, it was helpless.

The lion stared intently at Wei Zheng and Chen Guangrui, letting out a low growl like a trapped beast on the verge of death.

The visual impact is incredible! A ferocious beast the size of a small mountain was trapped right in front of them in the blink of an eye!
"This this!!"

Chen Guangrui's face drained of all color instantly. He staggered back a step, knocking over a chair without even realizing it, his voice trembling.
"Lord Wei... what... what kind of divine skill is this?! How... how did you do that?!"

Wei Zheng ignored the growling blue lion and calmly watched Chen Guangrui's violent reaction, his eyes, which seemed to have seen through the world, piercing through his soul.

Finally, he spoke slowly, his voice deep and clear, each word like a nail in the study filled with hostile roars:

"The magic weapon that bound it is called the 'Immortal Binding Rope'."

He paused for a moment, then put away the blue-haired lion.

Then his gaze became extremely solemn, as if he were uncovering a long-buried secret, with no longer any pretense.

"I am Wei Zheng, an official in the Heavenly Court. I was appointed by the Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace of the Heavenly Court to oversee the interaction between Heaven and Man, convey the will of Heaven and Earth, and investigate lawless demons in the mortal realm."

He looked directly into Chen Guangrui's eyes and said, "This is my identity, my duty."

Chen Guangrui opened his mouth, holding his breath.

Did you just say it like that? It feels like it lacks a bit of ceremony.
He had considered many scenarios, such as Wei Zheng revealing the truth about Cao Guan to him. But in this particular situation, he felt it was still too simplistic.

Wei Zheng continued, his tone carrying a hint of deep emotion.

"Having observed your actions over the past few days, I've noticed that while you have many calculations, you also value your promises and uphold your principles. Though your actions may be risky, you possess a strong sense of justice and are willing to take responsibility. At today's banquet, you once again came to my rescue and cleared my name..."

His voice was more sincere.

"Faced with such an upright and honest person, if I were to conceal my identity from you, it would seem that I am not honest and upright enough."

Upon hearing the words "upright and honest," Chen Guangrui blushed.

Being upright in one's heart is also being upright.

"Duke Wei!"

He didn't say anything, but simply clasped his hands in a respectful bow.

An upright person doesn't need to say anything mushy.

Wei Zheng nodded, his face showing worry.

"But now, I don't know what to do with this lion monster. I've asked him several times, but I still don't know where this beast comes from."

Chen Guangrui frowned. He remembered that he had guided Wei Zheng to inquire about land a few days ago. Could it be that he hadn't asked? Or was there another hidden reason?

If Wei Zheng doesn't bring it up, he has to find a way to bring it up. He must expose the Buddhist scheme in the open, otherwise who will care about him, a nobody in the mortal world?

Now this lion is deliberately concealing the Buddha-like aura on its body, and looks like nothing more than a ferocious demon. It's really hard to guess its origin.

Chen Guangrui pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he remembered something. He tentatively asked, "When the Wei Immortal Officials captured this fiend... did they... find anything unusual on or around him? Such as a token, a mark, or a special aura fluctuation? Perhaps we can find some clues from it?"

Wei Zheng shook his head and pointed to the scattered, dusty magic treasure pouch on the ground.
"At that time, he transformed into a gust of sand and was about to escape when I bound him with the Immortal Binding Rope. He didn't leave any clues on his body."

Chen Guangrui thought for a moment, then looked intently at Wei Zheng.

"Since we can't find the answer from this demon for the time being, why don't we... trace it back to the source? Have you forgotten? When we were investigating the two thugs who assassinated me, there was a key figure... a liar! This person was clearly connected to this demon!"

Chen Guangrui spoke clearly and logically, his eyes shining brightly. He thought to himself, "Now that I've said this much, you can't still say you don't know, can you?"
However, to his surprise, Wei Zheng did not immediately agree after hearing his words, nor did he seem to want to summon someone to ask.

It seems he already knew about this.

The solemn expression on the official's face did not lessen; on the contrary, it deepened.

He fell silent and did not speak.

"……Ugh."

After a long while, Wei Zheng finally sighed, his tone leisurely.
"What I asked about that day was actually the land near Chang'an. Just like you said that day, they were afraid of my identity as a human official, so they would answer my questions."

"However, that's all they're doing is giving me a reply; whether that reply is true or not is another matter."

At this point, Wei Zheng smiled wryly, "I always thought it was difficult to be an official on earth, but now I see that it's even more difficult to be an official in heaven."

"Officials on earth experience a change in the situation every few years, at most a dozen years. But officials in heaven have very long lifespans; their reigns can last for thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

"Who would really listen to me, a newcomer to the Ministry of Personnel?"

Wei Zheng was filled with bitterness, and could only manage to mention it when Chen Guangrui asked him about it.

But then, Chen Guangrui spoke up, "This is simple, I have a way."

"You have a way?" Wei Zheng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

His sigh stemmed from the difficulties of assuming his new divine office and the complexity of the heavenly order. He never expected that Chen Guangrui would dare to agree.

Chen Guangrui appeared calm.
"Since you are a celestial official, you must have divine means to deal with the local deities and the Dragon King. However, you are currently short-handed and communication is not smooth. As a celestial official, you do not need to do everything personally. These mundane tasks of smoothing things over and leveraging power are precisely what mortals can do for you."

"Guangrui, you don't know this, that old dragon has a violent temper and is notoriously ruthless! You, a mere mortal, dare to provoke him, what if..."

Wei Zheng frowned, his worry evident in his expression.

After awakening to his position as a human official, he also remembered a lot of information. The Jinghe Dragon King had a violent temper and was definitely not easy to deal with, so he was even more worried about Chen Guangrui's safety.

"I'm just going there to make a show of it; I may not actually do anything."

Chen Guangrui waved his hand, exuding a confident and composed air.
"Since you possess supernatural powers, you might as well take a look at my methods."

Looking into Chen Guangrui's calm yet resolute eyes, Wei Zheng recalled his past calculations and weighed the options in his mind.

He has repeatedly defied common sense, perhaps... he really does have the ability?
Wei Zheng let out a heavy sigh.

"Very well! Since you've made up your mind, go for it! If you feel it's not right, back off immediately, and don't force it!"

"Rest assured, Lord Wei!" Chen Guangrui bowed in agreement, then asked, "So, what should we do with this lion monster?"

Wei Zheng thought for a moment, but still didn't reveal the background of the blue-haired lion.

“Normally, this monstrous creature should be executed on the spot. However, it did not harm people indiscriminately. Instead, it first instigated mortals to commit assassination, and then stole documents from the palace. It must have some purpose. We should start with these documents to see what this monster is up to.”

"Oh? What is recorded in that document?" Chen Guangrui immediately asked. This was exactly what he wanted to know. He wanted to figure out why this monster was so determined to steal this document from the palace and what was inside.
He figured it out; Wei Zheng probably already knew that the blue-haired lion came from Buddhism, but was still hesitant about how to deal with it because of its background.

Chen Guangrui was not in a hurry. He knew that Wei Zheng was cautious by nature and that he did not want to be enemies with Buddhism. This matter should be handled slowly.

As for the contents of that document...
"Hmph," Wei Zheng sneered.
"It's laughable! They're just old files from several years ago, recording the daily activities of Yin Kaishan and his daughter when they routinely entered the palace to pay their respects to His Majesty and Crown Prince Jiancheng. It's nothing more than when they entered the palace, when they took their leave, exchanging a few casual words, and being given some ordinary snacks and tea... as bland as water!"

"So ordinary?" Chen Guangrui frowned slightly. "Then why would it attract the covetousness of demons and monsters, who would even go so far as to sneak into the palace to steal?"

This is not reasonable.

"This is also what I find most puzzling!" Wei Zheng's eyes sharpened.
"There's nothing in the records that's taboo. If there's anything 'unusual,' it's that the records show the girl was quite young at the time, accompanied her father to the palace a few times, and her words and actions were described as 'clever and quick-witted'... That's all!"

He simply couldn't understand why this had stirred up such a storm.

Is it really necessary to go to such lengths for such a small matter? And even have to lurk in the palace to commit the crime?

If you don't make a big fuss about this, no one will pay attention. But now that you've gone to such lengths, other people are actually more interested in the contents of this document.

Chen Guangrui was filled with doubts.

The more ordinary the content of the documents, the more important the altered or concealed parts become. What could possibly be so important that warrants such a fuss?

He suppressed his doubts, knowing that he wouldn't get many answers from Wei Zheng in the short term. He needed to find a different path in the investigation and decided to look for clues himself.

(End of this chapter)