Chapter 1819: Is He Bamboozling Me?
"The Saint Scripture longevity celebration, Zanglong City, Chaoxian Tower?" Old Fei was stunned for a moment, a strange look appearing on his face. "What kind of intelligence is this? You didn't even mention who would appear there."
Pei Buliao laughed. "Do I really need to say it? Naturally, it's Half Saint Fang."
Old Fei's face darkened. "Half Saint Fang? What kind of joke are you playing? You are a mere pawn. How could you possibly know the whereabouts of Half Saint Fang? If I report this piece of news upward, I will be laughed to death. You are trying to make a laughingstock out of me."
"I told you, but you simply choose not to believe it. Besides, this piece of news will be known to the entire world in about another half a year." Pei Buliao smiled faintly. "You might be a laughingstock now, but when the time comes, everyone else will realize your immense merit."
"Why? What do you mean by that?"
Pei Buliao asked indifferently, "How long is it until the Saint Scripture longevity celebration?"
"Let me see...."
Old Fei seemed to be seriously crunching the numbers.
Fang Chen had also heard about this event before. It was the anniversary of the day the supreme Qingming Alliance created the Saint Scripture. Every ten thousand years, a grand longevity celebration would be held, during which various races would host ceremonies and rituals to celebrate together.
"There are still thirty years left," said Old Fei.
"Correct, it's roughly about that much time." Pei Buliao smiled faintly. "On that very day, Half Saint Fang will ascend to the Saint Realm at Chaoxian Tower in Zanglong City."
Old Fei sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, staring blankly at Pei Buliao with a trace of sheer disbelief flitting across his eyes.
Half Saint Fang... is about to ascend to the Saint Realm?
"Impossible! How could a mere pawn like you know such critically important news? Any Half Saint attempting to ascend to the Saint Realm will inevitably seek out a thoroughly secure location, precisely out of fear that other Saints might come to obstruct them. Saints of the same race might show a level of restraint. After all, gaining another Saint will bring immense benefit. But what if foreign races find out about this? What if the Flame Race learns of it?"
Old Fei's gaze fixed upon Pei Buliao with extreme grimness. Suddenly, he unleashed a flurry of hundreds of slaps across his face.
Pei Buliao had no time to react and was instantly beaten into a daze.
"You grandmother-fucker are still lying to me, treating me like an idiot! Even if Half Saint Fang had a biological son, he wouldn't inform him of such news, let alone a piece of trash like you!?"
Old Fei cursed and swore continuously while striking him. After a long while, he finally stopped.
Pei Buliao looked at Old Fei with a flushed face, his eyes brimming with dissatisfaction. "Are you done hitting me?"
Old Fei said frostily, "I'm done. You better tell me something useful and stop trying to play tricks on me. My patience is wearing thin."
Perhaps to avoid another round of beatings from Old Fei, Pei Buliao dared not drag things out and blurted everything out in one breath. "We of the Xie Zhi have already received word long ago that Half Saint Fang intends to ascend to the Saint Realm at Chaoxian Tower in Zanglong City. In half a year, this piece of news will be made public to the outside world. When that time comes, the Nine Great Saints of the Human Race will all have the opportunity to head to Zanglong City to negotiate this matter with the Fang Clan. They will decide whether it will be war or peace between you all after Half Saint Fang ascends to the Saint Realm.
"As for why Half Saint Fang chose to make this news public, I don't understand it, nor am I qualified to ponder it. Presumably, Half Saint Fang simply has no fear of foreign Saints invading, nor is he afraid of your side stepping in to disrupt things."
Pausing for a moment, he added, "If you keep hitting me, in half a year, I will return the blows tenfold."
Old Fei's raised hand froze. He frowned and pondered for a few breaths before asking coldly, "In half a year, will this news truly be made public?"
Pei Buliao smiled faintly. "You've already interrogated me for over a dozen years. Are you really lacking this mere half a year?"
"Uh..."
Old Fei's face was a storm of shifting emotions. Eventually, he squeezed out a forced smile. "Brother Pei, for now, I can only trouble you to endure a little discomfort. If there comes a day when Half Saint Fang truly ascends to the Saint Realm, I will personally escort you out."
"Hmph."
"Brother Pei, you mentioned just now that after the news is made public, Half Saint Fang is willing to send men to hold a meeting with our people?"
"Mm."
"Excellent. I'll leave you to rest now, Brother Pei."
***
Fang Chen's train of thought returned from last night to the present.
"It's him." Old Fei pointed at Pei Buliao and said with a beaming smile. "The reason I was deployed to Lishui City is precisely because we already knew about Profound Blade Pei Buliao's alternative identity. He is a Xie Zhi pawn."
"Xie Zhi?" Fang Chen asked, playing dumb.
He was highly curious as to why Old Fei had called him over today. The piece of news he had extracted from Pei Buliao's mouth last night was already extremely useful to him.
Old Fei nodded with a smile. "Correct. The Xie Zhi Tower was founded by the Fang Clan's Half Saint Fang. Within the territory of the Nether Ruins, it's considered rather well-known, only a tiny bit weaker than our Inspection Division. Xie Zhi pawns specialize in gathering intelligence and carrying out assassinations. By relying on this, Half Saint Fang has managed to avoid falling into a disadvantage and even secure a few upper hands across several clashes with the Luoxue Alliance."
"So that's how it is. That means he holds important intelligence on his person!"
Following Old Fei's words, Fang Chen looked toward Pei Buliao, revealing the grayish-white pupils within his eyes.
Pei Buliao looked at Fang Chen with a hint of curiosity. This person had knocked him out cold with a single slap and brought him to this place, leaving him completely powerless to resist. His strength was truly unfathomable.
Old Fei looked at Fang Chen with a solemn expression. "Yes, he holds important intelligence on him, which is why I need you to verify the authenticity of this piece of information. Are you willing to accept this mission?"
Is he bamboozling me?
Fang Chen also looked at Old Fei with equal solemnity. "Is it dangerous?"
"Uh... it's not particularly dangerous. Your strength has already advanced to the ninth transformation, so you can resolve most perils on your own. Besides, the main objective of this mission is to gather intelligence, not to apprehend anyone," Old Fei said.
Pausing for a short moment, Old Fei spoke with heartfelt earnestness, "Your advancement to the ninth transformation indicates that your talent is remarkable. Your future prospects will definitely surpass mine. Right now, you simply need to establish a merit grand enough to catch the eye of the higher-ups, thereby laying the foundation for your future. I can guarantee that if you complete this mission, becoming a primary Branch Officer of a locality in the future will be a walk in the park.
"Don't go thinking that it's easy to become a Deputy Branch Officer at the first transformation like me. Take a look at Li Tingjiu. He is a powerhouse of the third transformation, yet he can only serve as a Branch Officer in a small place like this. As for me, I primarily relied on my connection to the heir. If you complete this mission, the heir might even grant you a personal audience. The benefits are massive!"
"With such massive benefits, why don't you head there personally?" asked Fang Chen.
"I have to report this matter to the heir so that the timing doesn't align," Old Fei sighed softly. "Besides, if you complete the mission, I will share a portion of the merit as well. After all, you are someone I brought up."
"So that's how it is," Fang Chen said thoughtfully, "Then what kind of mission is this exactly, and what intelligence do you need me to gather?"
"What you need to do is head to Chaoxian Tower in Zanglong City. Once there, declare your identity as a member of the Inspection Division, and someone will naturally come to find you and instruct you on what to do next," said Old Fei in a deep voice.
Fang Chen understood. The other party wanted him to act as live bait.
However, he was a member of the Fang Clan to begin with. If he could truly leverage this matter to meet that Half Saint Fang ahead of schedule, it might actually turn out to be a good thing.