The guests who had been "asked to leave" the hall were now in a side hall of the Royal Mansion.

The deafening explosion was only a wall away. Thick smoke billowed into the sky, seemingly sealing off the starry heavens.

The Shu King had already been escorted away. At the sound of the explosion, the Yongling Temple Monk, the Annam Monk, and the Wude Army Guards stationed in the side hall all changed their expressions and rushed towards the main hall.

Only those with pale faces were left behind, looking at each other in dismay.

What on earth had happened inside the hall?

Song Shuqing paid no attention to others; he swiftly walked to the courtyard wall, took out a brush from within his robes, and painted a crude door on the wall.

As he finished the last stroke, a wooden door suddenly appeared on the brick and stone wall. With a gentle push, the door opened to reveal the street outside the Royal Mansion's back courtyard. Across the street, on a stone horse-tying post, two horses were still tethered by two ropes.

Song Shuqing turned around and, steadying his expression, spoke to the dignitary who had invited him to the Royal Mansion feast, "My lord, this way."

The dignitary was startled. "What is this?"

"Lvzhou is in chaos; it's better to escape as soon as possible."

Song Shuqing urged, "Inside the Royal Mansion, it is now the most dangerous place."

He didn't actually know the specifics of what happened in the hall, or who had the upper hand. But now that the White Lotus Cult and the Wude Army had officially turned against each other, fighting over the Auspicious Beast, it would be a death wish for him, a man without a faction or family, to get involved.

The sound of buildings collapsing outside the courtyard walls continued. The dignitary, without wasting words, quickly stepped forward, passed through the door, and ran towards the horses that were already prepared.

Some of the guests who had come to the banquet urgently called out the dignitary's name, pushing and shoving towards the wooden door, fleeing the Royal Mansion.

Song Shuqing stood by the wooden door but did not stop others from passing through. Only after the dignitary had mounted a horse did he step through the door, looking back at those "guests" of varying expressions who were still in the courtyard and seemingly had no intention of leaving.

These people had all come to snatch the Auspicious Beast. Even if they couldn't take it directly from the jaws of the White Lotus Cult and Wude Army, they could still take advantage of the chaos in Lvzhou to fish in troubled waters and seize benefits for themselves.

"We'll meet again if it's meant to be; until then, farewell," Song Shuqing cupped his hands together in salute, his figure disappearing to the other side of the gradually closing wooden door.

「 」

COUGH. COUGH.

Beneath the main hall, Xing Qianhu of the Xijishi Factory, Yu Qingqiu, covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, suppressing the cough caused by inhaling dust.

He found himself in what appeared to be a tunnel. It was dim and lightless, but not too low; Yu Qingqiu, with his tall stature, could walk normally without stooping.

SWISH. Yu Qingqiu took a small green bamboo tube from his waist. As he pulled out the string at the end of the tube, a swarm of fireflies immediately flew out from the small hole at its front.

These fireflies, long and red in body with an orange-red glow at the tail end, lit up the dark tunnel.

In the cold light, Yu Qingqiu noticed the tunnel's cross-section was a more regular circle than he had imagined, with edges smoother than expected. Yellowish-grey plant roots peeked out along the edges, and various unnamed insects crawled through the cracks in the soil.

There was something not quite right about this place...

Yu Qingqiu, still covering his mouth and nose, narrowed his eyes toward the darkness ahead.

The fireflies from the bamboo tube were rare, unusual creatures cultivated by the spy agency. They usually illuminated up to ten meters away. But here, their light barely reached three or four meters ahead and did not extend further.

This tunnel seemed to be devouring the light.

Yu Qingqiu touched the edge of the tunnel. He discovered that the coarse-looking soil and rock surface was covered with a layer of thick, slippery, transparent substance. It was like the mucus on fish scales, just without the strong fishy smell.

Legend had it that a lineage of tomb robbers known as "Mountain Mover Taoist" could domesticate creatures called Digger beetles, capable of digging through sand and rock to construct tunnels without a trace.

But Digger beetles supposedly don't leave this kind of slime...

Yu Qingqiu slowly exhaled a turbid breath. The entrance through which he had entered had already collapsed and closed. Even if the Labor Officers from the Xijishi Factory above wanted to dig through the surface to rescue and support him, it would take a long time. Furthermore, the strangely acting White Lotus Cult zealots were blocking the way.

He thought, Enough of this. I need to find the Auspicious Beast first.

For this banquet, Yu Qingqiu had already conspired with Li Yushan to lay a trap in Lvzhou, at the Shu Palace. They had intentionally revealed a loophole to catch all those coveting the Annam Auspicious Beast in one fell swoop.

The plan had been full of promise, but reality was grim. Who could have expected Bai Yongyan to appear out of nowhere? No, that definitely wasn't Bai Yongyan, but some 'thing' wearing Bai Yongyan's skin...

Yu Qingqiu took out a Short dart from within his robes and inserted it into the side of the tunnel as a marker to inform his subordinates of his whereabouts.

As Xing Qianhu of the Xijishi Factory, he was tasked with the important mission of escorting the Auspicious Beast to the capital. The Auspicious Beast's disappearance was entirely his fault, a result of his incompetence and dereliction of duty.

I have to find the Auspicious Beast, no matter what.

"Hmm?"

After placing the Short dart, Yu Qingqiu took a few steps forward. He found the tunnel winding, sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards. Three branch tunnels blocked his way, and above the fork, a line of characters was written: "The Faqiu Seal, the Grave Robbing Talisman, Mountain Moving and Ridge Removing Arts, and the Dragon Seeking Formula?"

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