People in the Imperial Music Bureau: The Storytelling Demon Child Nezha

The Master's decree: Although the King of Huai is dead, the key within the bronze coffin has awakened. Our task is to allow it to remain dormant.

The young believer was puzzled: Why not just take it?

The older priestess sneered: "Do you think the night watchman is just for show? That old fox Wei Yuan has already laid a trap. What we need to do is make the court send out the coffin themselves."

She turned and pointed southeast: "Three days later, a caravan will transport a special shipment to the capital. Remember, it must be like a grain of sand falling into the desert, leaving no trace."

The capital city, the night watchman's office.

Wei Yuan was reviewing documents when suddenly his pen paused. Yang Yan immediately stepped forward: "Father?"

Three border cities in southern Xinjiang simultaneously reported an outbreak of Gu worm infestation. Wei Yuan gently put down his brush. Seventeen unfamiliar caravans had recently appeared on the northwest trade routes. Along the coast of the East China Sea, fishermen claimed to have seen palaces emerging from the seabed.

Nangong Qianrou frowned: What a coincidence.

It's no coincidence. Wei Yuan took out a yellowed map from a hidden compartment on his desk. "Look," he said, "what do these three places look like when connected?"

Yang Yan gasped: It's... the location of the Dragon Locking Formation's core!

Someone is trying to jeopardize the dragon vein of the Great Feng Dynasty. Wei Yuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He would investigate who that Mr. Li from the Jiaofangsi had met with recently.

In the backyard of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), Li Qiye was pruning a potted Podocarpus macrophyllus.

The gentleman seemed quite relaxed. Princess Huaiqing had appeared in the corridor at some unknown time, and there were three unusual developments at the border, keeping Duke Wei extremely busy.

The scissors snipped off a branch: Does Your Majesty think these three places are truly connected?

Huaiqing stared at the broken branch: it was too obvious a diversionary tactic.

Clever. Li Qiye gently blew away the debris from the leaves, so the real killing move was in the fourth place.

He took a copper coin from his sleeve and gently pressed it on the stone table. The two characters "Tongbao" on the coin were turning blood red at a visible speed.

This is...

Blood money of the Witch God Cult.

Huaiqing stared at the copper coin on the stone table that was gradually turning red, a trace of solemnity flashing in his phoenix eyes.

The gentleman meant that when the coin turned completely red...

That would be the day the bronze coffin would be opened again. Li Qiye gently stroked the edge of the copper coin; there were still... He looked up at the sundial in the corner of the courtyard; approximately seventy-two hours remained.

Huaiqing's fingers tightened slightly within his wide sleeves: "I hereby order that the security at the Imperial Ancestral Temple be strengthened immediately."

It's no use. Li Qiye suddenly used the tip of his scissors to pick up a fallen leaf. "Does Your Majesty know why cicadas chirp the loudest before they die?"

Without waiting for an answer, he answered his own question: "Because when one is about to die, one has no scruples." The scissors snipped off the leaf stalk; the Witch God Cult was now like this autumn cicada.

Deep in the northwestern desert, a caravan is preparing to set off.

Chapter 112 The Fourth Copper Coin, Blood Sacrifice Restarted!

"Check everything carefully!" the caravan leader shouted. "This batch of silk is destined for the capital!"

In the shadows, the priestess was embedding a blood-red copper coin into the saddle lining of the lead camel. The character "通" on the coin was already mostly stained red.

Remember the route. She whispered to the cultist disguised as a worker that when they passed Qinglong Pass, the guards should personally inspect the goods.

The night watchman's office, a secret underground chamber.

Three jade slips floated before Wei Yuan, each containing detailed information about three unusual events. He suddenly reached out and touched them, and the words on the jade slips rearranged and combined, revealing a completely new pattern.

As expected. Wei Yuan lightly tapped the empty space in the center of the pattern with his fingertip; only the most crucial element was missing—Yunzhou.

Yang Yan asked in confusion: There have been no abnormal reports from Yunzhou recently.

This was the most unusual thing. Wei Yuan took out a secret letter from his sleeve. Three days ago, the Commandant of Yunzhou Zhechong Prefecture suddenly fell ill, and the person who took over was... He unfolded the letter. It was Qian Qingshu's student.

Nangong Qianrou gasped: Qian Qingshu~ wasn't he already...?

Overt intelligence is easily broken, but covert intelligence is hard to defend against. Wei Yuan held the secret letter close to the candlelight. "Let's go prepare that thing. It's time to use the contingency plan left by the late emperor."

In the Imperial Study of the Palace, Huaiqing is reviewing memorials.

"Your Majesty, this is an urgent dispatch from Yunzhou, traveling 800 li." A female official hurriedly presented a lacquered box.

Huaiqing unfolded the military report, his pupils suddenly contracting—black smoke rose simultaneously from three beacon towers within Yunzhou territory, but no enemy was seen on the border.

She suddenly remembered Li Qiye's words: the real killing move is in the fourth place.

"Summon the Supervisor." Huaiqing suddenly stood up, then stopped. "No, first go and invite Li..."

Whom does Your Majesty wish to invite?

From the shadows, a hunched figure slowly emerged. The old eunuch held a teacup, his smile kind: "This old servant has just brewed some cloud and mist tea. Your Majesty, would you like some while it's hot?"

Looking at the tea leaves floating in the tea soup, Huaiqing suddenly smiled: "Perfect timing, I also have something to ask my advisor."

With a soft clatter, a copper coin quietly sank to the bottom of the teacup.

Your Majesty's tea has a rather unique flavor.

The old eunuch squinted at the copper coin sunk to the bottom of the cup. Huaiqing lightly stroked the rim of the cup with his fingertips, a hint of coldness flashing in his phoenix eyes: "Has the Grand Eunuch ever seen this way of drinking tea in his more than forty years in the palace?"

"This old servant is dull-witted," the old eunuch said with a bow and a smile. "But the red rust on this copper coin looks like..."

It looks like blood, doesn't it? Huaiqing suddenly slammed the teacup down on the table, just like the water drawn from the well in Chuzhou thirty-eight years ago.

The old eunuch's smile froze on his face. Suddenly, the sound of orderly footsteps came from outside the hall, and a squad of golden-armored guards had surrounded the imperial study.

In the backyard of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), Li Qiye was brewing a pot of new tea.

Sir, you have a refined taste.

Wei Yuan was already seated across the stone table, unnoticed. Li Qiye didn't even look up, pushing the second teacup towards him: "Instead of investigating the strange events in Yunzhou, Lord Wei has the leisure to drink tea?"

"I have come here specifically for Yunzhou." Wei Yuan took out a bronze tiger tally from his sleeve. "Mr. Li, do you know what this is?"

Li Qiye glanced at it: the tiger tally for mobilizing troops, judging from the style... it's an old item from the late emperor's era?

"Not bad." Wei Yuan gently traced the cracks on the tiger tally with his fingertips. In the twelfth year of Yongchu, the late emperor secretly dispatched three hundred boy scouts to Yunzhou. Over the years, they have infiltrated all levels of society in the area.

The tea boiled, releasing plumes of white steam. Li Qiye suddenly laughed: "So that's why the beacon towers in Yunzhou are shrouded in black smoke..."

It was a warning. Wei Yuan placed the tiger tally on the stone table, but strangely, despite the simultaneous warnings from three hundred men, no enemy was seen on the border. Unless...

Unless the enemy is within our borders. Li Qiye chimed in, suddenly pointing northwest. "Lord Wei, why don't you check if there have been any large-scale caravans entering the pass from the northwest recently?"

At Qinglong Pass, the caravan is undergoing inspection.

Is this batch of silk to be sent to the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau)? The city garrison captain flipped through the travel documents. Recently, martial law has been declared in the capital. Wasn't the Jiaofangsi destroyed?

The caravan leader smiled obsequiously: "My lord, you are wise. This is precisely what we need for the reconstruction." As he spoke, he secretly slipped a brocade pouch to the caravan leader, saying, "I've heard that Mr. Li is moving his storytelling venue."

The captain weighed the brocade pouch in his hand, and suddenly his expression changed drastically—the gold ingots inside were melting, turning into viscous blood plasma!

Stop them!

It's too late.

The lead camel suddenly let out a shrill cry, its saddle exploded, and a copper coin that had turned completely red shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of blood that hurtled straight toward the capital!

Beneath the palace, the bronze coffin suddenly trembled violently.

boom!

The coffin lid was flung open with tremendous force, and thick black mist gushed out.

From within the black mist, the voice of the Prince of Huai rang out again: "Brother, do you think you can trap me like this?"

0 ······Requesting flowers 0 ····

Emperor Yuanjing staggered backward, only to see countless faces emerge from the black mist—all of them were victims of the Chuzhou massacre years ago!

Your Majesty, be careful!

A flash of sword light appeared, and Huaiqing held his sword to block Emperor Yuanjing.

The longsword in her hand was engraved with the exact same runes as those on Li Qiye's copper coins.

Ding--

The crimson rainbow pierced the sky and collided head-on with the sword's edge.

Huaiqing was forced back several steps, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he revealed a victorious smile: "Sir was right, they really have arrived."

Inside the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), Wei Yuan suddenly stood up: Blood Sacrifice Restarted!

Li Qiye leisurely sipped his tea: "No rush, let the bullets fly a little longer."

He slid three copper coins from his sleeve and arranged them in a triangular shape on the table. One of them had already turned completely red, while the other two were visibly stained with blood.

.... ...... ....

Do you, Lord Wei, know why the Witch God Cult chose this day?

Wei Yuan's gaze sharpened: Because today is...

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the gates of hell open. Li Qiye looked up at the suddenly gloomy sky, the perfect time for... to be resurrected.

Possession of a corpse to return to life? Wei Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. "Sir, are you saying that the Prince of Huai wants to—"

It wasn't the Prince of Huai. Li Qiye suddenly crushed the teacup in his hand, and the porcelain shards formed a star map in the air. The Prince of Huai was merely a vessel; the one who truly needed to be resurrected was the Netherworld Ancestor worshipped by the Witch God Sect.

In the star chart, the three blood-red copper coins corresponded precisely to three ominous stars. Wei Yuan suddenly realized: so all three unusual movements were for...

Location. Li Qiye pulled out a fourth copper coin from his sleeve. This one was completely black; Yunzhou was the true altar.

Before the words were even finished, a deafening roar suddenly came from the direction of the palace. A blood-red pillar of light shot into the sky, tearing a hideous gap in the dark, cloud-covered sky.

The underground of the palace.

The chains on the bronze coffin snapped inch by inch, and a ferocious phantom with three heads and six arms emerged from the black mist. The runic longsword in Huaiqing's hand trembled violently, and cracks began to appear on its blade.

It's no use. A distorted voice echoed from within the black mist; this body was already...

puff!

Suddenly, a bronze dagger pierced through the black mist from behind. Emperor Yuanjing had somehow appeared behind the coffin, holding in his hand the very same sword the Prince of Huai had used during his rebellion! IV.

Chapter 113 Teasing Huaiqing, Bloodbath in the Lower Realm

This strike is to atone for the 380,000 wronged souls of Chuzhou!

The black mist churned violently, and the three-headed, six-armed phantom let out a painful roar. Suddenly, a bolt of blood-red lightning struck down from the breach, hitting the bronze coffin squarely—

Click!

The coffin shattered completely, revealing a strange array engraved on its bottom. In the center of the array lay a pitch-black copper coin.

Yunzhou border.

Three hundred merchants dressed in plain clothes simultaneously tore open their outer robes, revealing ceremonial robes embroidered with runes of the Witch God Cult underneath. They slit their wrists, and the blood flowed into the pre-dug ditches, instantly forming a massive blood-red array.

We warmly welcome the arrival of our Ancestor!

The ground began to collapse, revealing a dark abyss below. A gigantic hand covered in scales slowly emerged...

Inside the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) compound.

Li Qiye suddenly pressed down on the black copper coin: It's time to close the net.

At the same time, Wei Yuan's communication talisman lit up, and Yang Yan's urgent voice came through: "Godfather! Yunzhou has collapsed, and unidentified creatures have appeared!"

"Just as I thought." Wei Yuan said in a deep voice, "I will now..."

No need. Li Qiye tossed four copper coins into the air; His Majesty should have already succeeded.

Four copper coins formed a complete array in the air, when the black one suddenly exploded. At the same time, a deafening roar echoed from the depths of Yunzhou—

Who dared to disturb my offerings?!

The giant hand swung wildly, but seemed to be bound by some invisible force, slowly shrinking back into the abyss. The crimson array shattered inch by inch, and the three hundred priests simultaneously coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

The underground of the palace.

The moment the black copper coin turned to dust, the array surrounding the bronze coffin collapsed. Amidst the Prince of Huai's screams, Huaiqing seized the opportunity to pierce the core of the black mist with his sword!

This sword is to avenge my mother!

Emperor Yuanjing was shocked upon hearing this: Huaiqing, you...

The black mist suddenly solidified, gradually revealing the face of a beautiful woman—it was the late Empress! She gazed tenderly at Emperor Yuanjing: Your Majesty, it's been a long time.