CHAPTER 430: CHAPTER 211: CLUES ARE OF LITTLE USE! LEAVING IN 3 DAYS!

The residence of the Imperial Decree Department in Canglan City was enveloped by an endless expanse of dark clouds, which obscured the entire city. Snowflakes as large as goose feathers fell, blanketing the city. Behold, the heavy snowfall covered the city, and the young maid could only bow her head and stoke the fire.

A small residence, yet forces from all sides had already gathered, each with their own thoughts.

...

On the Stargazing Terrace, Song Yinghan and her father, Song Qingshan, spoke no words; they simply stared quietly in the direction of the prison, as if hoping to see what was happening inside through the land.

"What exactly did Yuchi do to Yinghan, that makes her trust him so? It’s completely unreasonable. He just told Yinghan to leave the prison, and she obediently left. Is this really the Song Yinghan I know?"

"Previously, when she was on the Stargazing Terrace, she would always follow my orders. Even when I told her not to interfere with Jiangzhou City, she simply obeyed. But at its core, it was just obedience to my commands, devoid of any trust."

"Now the situation appears similar—one follows Yuchi’s arrangement, the other mine—yet the actual circumstances are entirely different. She is now calmer than I am, as if she is certain that Yuchi could accomplish this task."

Thinking of this, Song Qingshan couldn’t help but shake his head in amazement. Ah, daughters grow up, they do grow up.

Meanwhile, there seemed to be an excellent opportunity to carefully sort through recent events.

"The incident began because I sent Yinghan to Canglan City to investigate the missing persons case at the Stargazing Terrace. She had already been in Canglan City for quite some time, with little progress, yet once Yuchi arrived, things began advancing rapidly."

"I strongly suspect the two of them are putting on a show for me."

"In any case, this affair is indeed huge, and I have no idea who could be responsible for such acts—kidnapping so many citizens and burying them in some unknown, distant place, then covering them with heavy soil? Could such an act truly be committed by a human?"

Song Qingshan now had no idea what the perpetrator intended to achieve. It was entirely illogical. Even though he was the celestial observer of the Stargazing Terrace and had lived for a century, he couldn’t decipher such matters.

"I suspect Yuchi won’t be able to garner any clues from Jia Yun. When the people from the Demon-slaying Bureau see us from the Celestial Capital Department, it’s like seeing an enemy. It might be manageable in small towns, but in large cities, it becomes outrage."

"But what does their hatred of the Celestial Capital Department have to do with us at the Stargazing Terrace? We are not funded by public taxes like them. We have our own business dealings just like other sects, transactions among various cultivators. When you criticize the Celestial Capital Department, don’t drag us from the Stargazing Terrace into it, okay!"

"It seems like everything was orchestrated by us at the Stargazing Terrace."

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Stargazing Terrace and the Celestial Capital Department are the same. But truly, from the perspective of the benefit chain, they are different.

The Stargazing Terrace does not derive gold and silver from public taxes. They have their own business dealings, thus producing disciples who eventually go to the Celestial Capital Department, just like investing in students to let them venture out."

"So, our Stargazing Terrace doesn’t look at merit or efforts? Without our Stargazing Terrace, the Celestial Capital Department would still exist, but its strength surely wouldn’t be as formidable, and thus the people wouldn’t be as stable."

"Internal strife and external troubles, which is more terrifying? They’re all the same. You at the Demon-slaying Bureau pride yourself on controlling the monster threat, and let’s say you truly achieved it. But we at the Celestial Capital Department have also nurtured a remarkable group of cultivators. They may be proud, but they have their merits."

Song Qingshan thought to himself, clearly having forgotten about Ling Huzhong, who was pasted dead to the wall.

This fellow didn’t die in a particularly honorable way.

But Song Qingshan didn’t care about such matters; being a member of the Stargazing Terrace, naturally, he spoke for the Stargazing Terrace, with his mind full of what to do next:

"Yinghan, Yuchi certainly cannot obtain clues from the mouths of the Demon-slaying Bureau. How about this: let him return to where he came from, and we will directly take the other cultivators from the Celestial Capital Department in Canglan City and head straight to the mountain you mentioned!"

Song Qingshan’s intention was clear. Since Yuchi was bound to be fruitless, they might as well let him leave. Once things calmed down slightly, he would send his daughter to another city.

Once or twice, you might not know, but after three or four times, would Yuchi still have the opportunity to continuously pursue his daughter? Just like Yuchi himself said, the reason he could come from Jiangzhou City to Canglan City was due to help from his Uncle Bei.

Next time? Would he still plead with his Uncle Bei to come and assist him? As such a powerful cultivator, would others specially send him over? Absolutely not. In the end, mortals are just mortals—regardless of longevity or overall capability, they cannot be compared to us cultivators.