Yin Yang Soul Searcher

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

Emperor Taikang, dressed in a golden dragon robe, had a gloomy expression, clutching a report from the Yin-Yang Palace tightly in his hand. His other hand was gripping the table, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

The text details the actions of the demon race in the Great Xia Dynasty, as well as the numerous crimes committed by the mastermind Yu Haochu.

He colluded with the Four Seasons Master and an unknown Yin-Yang Master to steal mineral resources, conspired with the demon race to frame former Minister of Works Yang Yongyuan, leaked court secrets to the demon race, resulting in the theft of the auspicious beast's corpse and the near death of the eldest prince.

At his residence, various pieces of evidence were also collected regarding his acceptance of bribes and disregard for human life...

Although the dragon robe served to conceal his emotions, Emperor Taikang's furrowed brows still revealed his anger, clearly indicating that he was quite upset about the matter.

"I never expected this, I really never expected this."

"A trusted minister who had served this dynasty for over twenty years, in the end, actually stole the Great Xia's mineral resources and betrayed the country for his own selfish gain! Moreover, he colluded with the demon race to steal the corpses of auspicious beasts, and the current crown prince almost lost his life because of this!"

Unfortunately, none of the more than seventy members of the Yu family survived. Even if Emperor Taikang wanted to vent his anger, he had no one to direct it at.

Taking a deep breath, Emperor Taikang calmed himself down. When he opened his eyes again, the anger on his face had completely dissipated, and he had returned to his calm and composed expression.

"Summon the Crown Prince and the Third Prince to see me." Emperor Taikang's voice was devoid of emotion.

The eunuch standing nearby whispered his agreement and then hurriedly left.

Inside the small courtyard.

"Moyu, Xiaotang's ready for dinner." The eldest sister's gentle voice came from the kitchen.

At the dinner table...

The eldest sister, completely unlike her previous gentle and refined self, slammed her chopsticks on the table, glared at her younger brother, and demanded sharply, "You think you're all grown up now? You don't want to acknowledge me as your older sister anymore?! Where are you going? Tell me or not!"

Xiao Tang was startled by this sudden scene and shrank closer to Bai Jueming.

Judging from Bai Wanfang's furious appearance, if Bai Jueyu didn't reveal where he was going to travel today, he would definitely get a beating!

Bai Jueming chuckled inwardly. The reason his little brother hadn't pressed him for directions was because he knew his little brother wouldn't be able to get past his older sister. She wouldn't let it go if she didn't know where he was going.

"Big sister, that's not what I meant." Bai Jueyu hesitated for a moment before making up his mind and mustering his courage to retort in a low voice, "I'm all grown up now, big sister, don't worry about where I go. Besides, I won't encounter any danger. My master has already given me a few life-saving talismans."

Upon hearing the words "life-saving talisman," Bai Jueming's eyes lit up. Then, after a moment's thought, he decided against it, deciding to trick him into giving it to him. After all, he was his own younger brother. Doing so would truly be inappropriate.

Bai Wanfang's chest heaved with anger: "You brat, I think you've really grown wings!" Bai Wanfang looked around and, seeing that she didn't have a suitable weapon, was about to get up.

Unexpectedly, Bai Jueyu couldn't resist the suppression of his elder sister's bloodline. After a fierce internal struggle, he grabbed his elder sister's arm and then softened, saying, "Elder sister, I plan to go to Qingzhou to take a look."

After saying that, Bai Jueyu let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead. How could his eldest sister put more pressure on him than his master...?

In Qingzhou, Bai Jueming nodded thoughtfully.

Qingzhou is known as the granary of the Great Xia Dynasty. It is located in the heart of the Great Xia Central Plains, adjacent to Jingzhou, and further south are the border states of Lei and Wei.

My friend, you've chosen a good location. It's sandwiched between Jingzhou and Leizhou, far from the chaotic world of Shangzhou, and away from the war crisis between Leizhou and Weizhou. It's not as remote as Liangzhou, nor is it plagued by bandits like Yunzhou. It's in the heart of the Central Plains, so foreigners generally can't easily invade.

However, Qingzhou, as the granary of the Great Xia Dynasty, is naturally mostly plains with few mountains. It's not a good choice if you want to travel the world and experience the beauty of nature. Moreover, it's not a good choice if you want to enter the world and experience the various aspects of human life, since the people there live a relatively simple life, tending to their small plots of land.

"Hasn't my little brother considered these issues?" Bai Jueming looked thoughtful.

Bai Wanfang naturally didn't know as much about Qingzhou as Bai Jueming, but she knew her younger brother definitely knew more than she did. She then frowned and asked with some concern, "What do you think of this place?"

Bai Jueyu sent a pleading look to him.

Bai Jueming understood immediately, calmly waved his hand, and explained his analysis of Qingzhou to his elder sister. He then praised his younger brother, saying, "Hongfei must have considered this carefully, so you can rest assured, elder sister."

After listening to Bai Jueming's analysis, Bai Wanfang's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and her worries lessened considerably. However, she was still somewhat uneasy. Her younger brother was going out to travel the world at such a young age; if anything happened to him, how could she face her parents in heaven...?

Thinking of this, Bai Wanfang looked at her little brother with eyes full of reluctance. However, she could not delay Hongfei's cultivation any longer. Before, it was because of her selfishness and distrust of Hongfei that she caused him to delay his cultivation. Now that he has grown up, what reason do she have to stop him from developing better? Everyone has their own path to walk, and she cannot take care of them for a lifetime.

But... "Sigh," Bai Wanfang sighed deeply, grabbing Bai Jueyu's hand tightly, her voice choked with emotion. Bai Jueyu's expression became somewhat unnatural, and he guiltily withdrew his hand.

Bai Jueming's gaze sharpened as he keenly noticed this. He pondered to himself, "Little brother's expression... is he hiding something from us? Or is he lying?"

Heh, those are probably the two possibilities. Little brother's gotten smarter, huh? He's learning bad things instead of good ones. Bai Jueming didn't expose his little brother for the time being.

Bai Wanfang naturally didn't see through Bai Jueyu's little scheme, and she also wouldn't have thought that her younger brother would be hiding something from her. She just kept giving him instructions.

"After you get out, write home often to let them know you're safe, okay? If you encounter danger, get away as fast as you can, understand? Be friendly to everyone you meet and try to avoid conflicts with others, get it? If you encounter anything you don't understand, write to your older brother. He's been in the black market and has more experience handling things than you, remember that?...

Bai Jueming awkwardly touched his nose. "A hero doesn't dwell on past glories," he thought, "let's not talk about the black market anymore. I've cleared my name now. I am now the light of righteousness!"

Bai Jueyu glanced at his elder brother, then nodded earnestly, repeatedly replying, "I understand, elder sister. I get it, I'll remember it..."

I inwardly scoffed. What experience could my older brother possibly have in the black market? Besides, he's so far away. By the time I mail the letter to him, it'll be too late. When you're out in the world, you have to rely on yourself!

Seeing Hongfei nodding repeatedly in agreement, looking obedient and sensible, Bai Wanfang felt much relieved, and the family then began to eat quietly.

At the dinner table, the eldest sister suddenly remembered something and turned to Bai Jueming: "How are things going with that Miss Han? When are you going to bring her home for a meal?"

Bai Jueyu slowed down the speed at which he ate his rice.

Bai Jueming almost spat out the rice in his mouth, but quickly composed himself and said with a serious expression, "We get along quite well; she's wholeheartedly pursuing me. However, I'm still testing her. Once she passes my test, I'll bring her back to meet my elder sister."

Bai Jueyu curled his lip inwardly, thinking disdainfully, "My brother's really good at bragging. Testing that girl? He's probably the one being tested by her..."

Bai Wanfang glared at Bai Jueming and scolded, "I've told you before, don't put on such a high and mighty attitude. Young women are naturally shy, and it's already quite difficult for her to pursue you with such shamelessness. Aren't you just embarrassing her by testing her like this?"

If Han Xueshan heard this here, I wonder if she would kill me? Bai Jueming nodded to indicate that he understood.

Seeing Bai Jueming's nonchalant attitude, Bai Wanfang slammed her hand on the table, glaring at her and scolding, "Let me tell you, I think that girl is a really nice person. She's pretty, sensible, and polite. If you make her run away, I'll never forgive you! You hear me?!"

Bai Jueyu chuckled inwardly and quickly chimed in, "Yeah, big brother, it's rare to have a girl pursuing you. Why are you putting on airs? Hurry up and bring her home to your sister-in-law."

Bai Jueming glared at his little brother, "You brat, you're still stirring things up!" Then Bai Jueming put down his chopsticks and nodded seriously to his older sister: "Don't worry, sister, my test of her is almost over. I'll bring her back for dinner in a few days."

"That's more like it." Bai Wanfang slammed her hand on the table. "Let's eat!"

Only then did Xiaotang obediently shovel rice into her mouth.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

The two princes arrived together. The eldest prince strode with an imposing air, a wisp of blond hair fluttering across his forehead as he walked. The third prince, with a resolute face and handsome figure, didn't walk as arrogantly as the eldest prince, after all, he was only the third son. He walked about half a step behind the crown prince.

Upon arriving at the imperial study, the two were about to bow when Emperor Taikang waved his hand, saying, "No need."

The two brothers exchanged a glance, then clasped their hands in a fist and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor."

"Take a look." Emperor Taikang pushed the letter on the table forward, and the eunuch beside him hurriedly presented the letter to the eldest prince.

"What's this?" The eldest prince looked at the contents of the letter with a puzzled expression, then said with some surprise, "The people from the Yin-Yang Palace have already investigated the matter thoroughly?"

The third prince peeked out and joined his elder brother in checking.

After reading the letter, the eldest prince frowned and muttered, "This matter is far too complicated. So many forces are involved?"

The resolute-faced Third Prince counted on his fingers, "Three demons, the formation master and that burly man, and the unknown Yin-Yang master, who is currently on the same side as the Four Seasons Master... and finally, Yu Haochu... Chu Jiangyuan from the black market also plays an indispensable role..."

Emperor Taikang leaned back in his chair, looking at the two men before him: "What are your thoughts on the forces behind these participants?"

"The forces behind them?" The eldest prince looked thoughtful, then smoothed a tuft of blond hair on his forehead and said, "The demon race goes without saying. Their hatred for the human race has a long history."

"It's hard to guess the power behind that formation master and the burly man; the Yin-Yang Palace's report didn't go into much detail either."

"It only states that they helped the demon race take away the explosives, but it's unclear what the demon race did for them in return. Without knowing their purpose, it's difficult to guess which faction they belong to." The eldest prince shook his head, completely clueless.

Emperor Taikang turned his gaze to the Third Prince: "Tell me your opinion."

The Third Prince frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "There are no more than a handful of people in the world who can become such powerful array masters. Apart from the demon race and the barbarian race, both Beichen and Xishu have such people."