Chapter 869: Chapter 803: It Wasn’t Me! Although I Was Involved! _2

In the glimpse of the future I saw before, there was no sight of Crown Prince Yang Quan. Instead, I saw incarnations sent by the Outer Gods and many creations of these gods hunting down the family of Li Wude.

For some reason, Zhang San felt a surge of unease in his heart.

“Thank you. I’ve just returned from Longyou Road, and now I have to head to the Imperial Palace. If it’s inconvenient for you to stay here, would you consider staying at my place?”

Zhang San stood up, looking at Cao Demeng’s courtyard, feeling a bit pitiful.

After all, he is a dignified marquis, once the leader of the Imperial Guards under Emperor Kaihuang, yet in this vast residence, he only saw an old servant.

Cao Demeng smiled and shook his head.

“Zhang San, I appreciate your kindness, but you should know, things now are likely different from before. Although I’m down-and-out, I’m still a marquis. The money the Imperial Court gives me is sufficient. But if I move and live with you, a Duke Beyond the Law, others might perceive it differently.”

…

As Zhang San walked out of Marquis Shousui’s mansion, he glanced back at the plaque above the mansion’s entrance.

For some reason, the words “Shou Sui” seemed like a joke at this moment.

What really happened in the Imperial Palace started to make Zhang San uneasy.

Yet, having been ordered to Longyou Road, now that matters there were resolved, he had to return and report to Emperor Kaihuang.

On his way to the Imperial Palace, Zhang San could only silently pray that nothing undesirable would happen.

If something really happened, how should he respond?

Thus, Zhang San walked slowly along the streets of Daxing City, towards the gates of the Imperial Palace.

As the Deputy Chief of the Town Demon Office, directly answering to Emperor Kaihuang, the guards at the gate naturally did not dare to stop him, and after registration, invited Zhang San in.

However, just upon entering, Zhang San spotted a few familiar faces.

It was the Grand Offerers from the Offering Hall whom he had seen before.

“Congratulations, Deputy Chief Zhang. I’ve heard that at the two battles at Julong Pass on Longyou Road, you not only resolved the war with the Thirty-Six Nations of the Western Regions but also pacified the Demon Clan!”

“Perhaps soon, the ‘Deputy’ in Deputy Chief Zhang’s title will be removed.”

Zhang San cupped his fists towards them with a slight smile.

“Thank you, everyone, for your kind words.”

Saying this, Zhang San was about to leave.

However, the group approached him and whispered, “Grand Offerer Lu Qianqiu requests to see you and hopes you could meet him first.”

Zhang San felt that this group had specially come to invite him, yet they seemed not to want too many people to know about this matter.

Thus, Zhang San whispered back, “Having just finished my tasks and returned, it stands to reason that I should first meet Emperor Kaihuang. Meeting Senior Lu first is no problem for me, but what if later Senior Lu finds it difficult to explain to Emperor Kaihuang?”

“No worries. Just follow us. Grand Offerer Lu is over there, and he will accompany you to where Emperor Kaihuang is currently at Kindness and Longevity Palace. It’s way up north in the palace, it’ll take a while to get there. You can talk on the way, and to others, it would just seem like you coincidentally met and talked.”

Zhang San felt no malice from them.

Yet, he sensed a heavy aura of unease blanketing the entire Imperial Palace.

So, he bade farewell to the few Grand Offerers and walked towards the direction of a side palace.

Indeed, shortly he encountered Grand Offerer Lu Qianqiu, who was there imparting insights to a few young Offerers.

“I didn’t expect to see Grand Offerer here, truly my apologies. I recall that in June and July each year, the plum blossoms here are at their best, so I came over to take a look.”

After Zhang San spoke, he noticed that the courtyard was filled entirely with azaleas.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward for a moment.

Lu Qianqiu laughed heartily, casually waving his hand, causing all the azaleas to wither, only to have small, white plum blossoms grow out again.

The young Offerers nearby were in awe of this scene.

Lu Qianqiu chuckled, saying to the young Offerers, “Reflect well here. This is Deputy Chief Zhang who just returned from Longyou Road, having witnessed the means of All Things Path. I must chat well with him.”

From Lu Qianqiu’s words, it seemed he intended to discuss philosophies with Zhang San.

But Zhang San knew that if Lu Qianqiu took so much trouble to call him over, there must be something more.

After they met, they started with some casual talk about Zhang San’s astonishing experiences on Longyou Road this time.

After walking for some time, sensing no one else around, Lu Qianqiu switched to the main topic.

“Is something major happening with All Things Path?”

Zhang San reckoned that Lu Qianqiu might have means to sense the affairs of other paths, so he relayed the matter of the Outer Gods to Lu Qianqiu.

Lu Qianqiu was greatly shocked upon hearing it, his eyes widening.

“Senior Lu, don’t be so excited. If anything happens, your disciples might think I angered you and come after me. That wouldn’t be good.”

“Our Offering Hall had sensed that All Things Path encountered some issues, but we weren’t sure exactly what. It was a coincidence you were at Longyou Road, so I was worried that you might have dealt with and killed the Red Dust Immortal of All Things Path.”

“After all, if you indeed killed the Red Dust Immortal of All Things Path, it would mean a full-scale war between our Imperial Path and All Things Path! What… what should we do then? Fortunately, it wasn’t so! Fortunately!”

Lu Qianqiu’s words left Zhang San utterly perplexed.

“Senior Lu, let’s not even talk about my capability in the Spiritual Platform Realm, even if I had the skill to match a Red Dust Immortal, do you think I’m the type to recklessly kill Red Dust Immortals wherever I go?”

At this moment, even Lu Qianqiu felt a bit embarrassed.

Getting too carried away, he accidentally spoke his mind.

“Haha… just a joke. Of course, I know who you are, Zhang San. How could you go kill Red Dust Immortals? Just a joke, it was only a joke.”

Zhang San finally masked his displeasure before saying to Lu Qianqiu, “But when it came to dealing with the Red Dust Immortal Yan Liu of All Things Path, I did participate. But killing her, that surely wasn’t my doing. I’m too kind-hearted for such an act.”

At that moment, Lu Qianqiu wiped some sweat off again.

So you just failed to kill the Red Dust Immortal, but you were part of the act to hunt her down, is it?

Lu Qianqiu recalled the first time hearing about Zhang San, as the escort for a group of corrupt officials from Chuan-Yu Road who all ended up dead halfway.

Back then, he wondered if Zhang San had done it on purpose.

Later in the Capital, it was first an official from the Ministry of Punishment, then the Chief of Staff, and later, he even killed the brother of the Tujue Khan.

Eventually, he even killed the Crown Prince who was about to rebel successfully.

Theoretically, the next step would be to kill a Red Dust Immortal.

Now it seemed, he was mistaken.

This man truly makes progress step by step; this time, he only participated in hunting the Red Dust Immortal.

So, what about next time?

At this moment, Lu Qianqiu looked at Zhang San, unable to imagine what this guy’s future growth trajectory would be.

“Senior Lu, although I don’t know what you’re thinking, I feel your gaze upon me now is strange. You wouldn’t have any special thoughts about me, right? I warn you, I’m a decent person!”

“I’m also a decent person, okay!”

Lu Qianqiu, agitated by Zhang San, was hopping mad.

Then, he took a deep breath.

Truth be told, Zhang San appeared quite normal ordinarily, carrying the vitality and spirit typical of a young man.

It’s just…

Why do I keep feeling this sense of danger around Zhang San recently?

“By the way, Zhang San, we recently sensed that there might be changes in the Imperial Path, and from our experience, it could be a transition! So, this time, I hope you don’t get involved.”

Lu Qianqiu, for unknown reasons, felt strongly that the changes in the Imperial Path this time were deeply connected to him, hence he specially sent people to bring Zhang San over.

Zhang San looked at Lu Qianqiu with indignation.

“Why would I get involved! I’m loyal! A very loyal subject!”