Mutated Tao

Chapter 630: Daoist

Chapter 630: Daoist

The sound of horse hooves faded gradually as Li Huowang looked up at the oppressive city wall.

It took them an entire day, but they finally reached Yinling City.

It wasn't Li Huowang's first visit to the city, as he had come here when Hong Da had vouched for him to enter the Surveillance Bureau.

The city was second only to Shangjing when it came to prosperity and liveliness.

It was evening, so the city gates were being closed.

Fo Yulu saw the closing gates and picked up the pace.

The horse raised up its forelegs and flung the door open. “Surveillance Bureau! Open up and let us through!”

Li Huowang pulled Li Sui closer to him as he followed closely behind Fo Yulu.

Li Sui had returned to wearing straws. No matter what Li Huowang said, Li Sui refused to wear another human skin again.

Meanwhile, their plan remained unchanged, which was to find Blind Chen at the City God Temple.

However, there was an informant near the city gates. They had just entered Yinling City when they were intercepted by the informant.

The informant was dressed like a Daoist apprentice. They leaped down from a nearby roof and landed on Fo Yulu’s carriage.

The informant then whispered something into Fo Yulu's ears before turning around to leave.

Fo Yulu pulled the reins and moved in a direction that was completely opposite of the City God Temple.

“I thought we were going to look for Blind Chen? What's up with the change of plans?” Li Huowang chased after Fo Yulu and asked.

“That’s because Chief Zheng is looking for us. He has decided to personally oversee such an important matter. He’s also stronger than Blind Chen.”

“Chief Zheng? Who is that? Where will we be meeting him?”

“Inside the city. I thought you were a Surveillance Bureau member long ago? There's a secret entrance to the Surveillance Bureau in Yinling City. Don't tell me that you don't know where it is..."

Unfortunately, Li Huowang had no idea, as he dared not go there without the spindle made out of the Muddled One’s hair.

he didn’t want to expose his identity as a Strayed One, so he maintained a safe distance from anything related to the Surveillance Bureau.

“Where is it?” Li Huowang asked, sounding annoyed. He hated Fo Yulu's tendency to beat around the bush.

“At the Exquisite Pagoda.”

Li Huowang stared at the Exquisite Pagado in the distance. He recalled that it was the specialty of Yinling City. The prostitutes with the blue porcelain tattoos could only be found here as well.

Li Huowang frowned, asking, “Is the Exquisite Pagoda part of the Surveillance Bureau’s businesses?”

He could still remember how they used the women of the Exquisite Pagoda. In order to prevent any information leak, they'd use deaf and mute prostitutes.

However, Li Huowang wasn't convinced that they'd find girls born deaf and mute.

“Hoho. Do you really think that the Surveillance Bureau will stoop so low? I really am surprised to know that you were once part of them.”

Li Huowang relaxed a bit until Fo Yulu explained, “The Exquisite Pagoda’s boss would pay tribute to the palace. He’s also a merchant who belongs to the royal family. So to be precise, the Exquisite Pagoda is the royal family’s business.”

“Fuck.”

Li Huowang looked at the Exquisite Pagoda with a complicated look on his face. He never thought that the human-eating pagoda belonged to Gao Zhijian!

Just then, Li Huowang ran past a bookshop. He jumped down and grabbed a brush from a scholar before writing down a letter.

After penning the letter, he chased after Fo Yulu and saw that she was dragging He Xinlai toward an inn next to the Exquisite Pagoda.

Li Huowang glanced at the girls inside the pagoda before chasing after Fo Yulu.

The mission was more important, but he still wrote a letter to Gao Zhijian. He wanted Gao Zhijian to deal with the Exquisite Pagoda.

The inn wasn’t large, but the security inside was tight. Li Huowang felt three sets of gazes looking at him the moment he entered the place.

They walked past the rooms and soon found an open door with a bronze mask that symbolized the Surveillance Bureau.

They walked down the steps, and Li Huowang noticed that the Surveillance Bureau here was also built underground just like Shangjing's Surveillance Bureau.

“Is Chief Zheng better than me at interrogation? Who is he?” Li Huowang asked as they walked down the spiral corridor.

Fo Yulu didn’t say anything when He Xinlai spat coldly. He was still feisty, even though he had become a human stick.

“Palace dogs! Stop dreaming about trying to get information through me! I have the protection of God Yu’er, and we'd rather die than concede to you!” He Xinlai exclaimed.

“Really? You'd rather die? Then why did that shortie run away? Wasn’t he from the Dharma Sect, too?”

The fearless He Xinlai scowled and resentfully said, “Taishan Shi is not loyal to God Yu’er! He will never go to where God Yu’er is after his death! He'll go down to Hell and be boiled in a pot of burning oil for eternity!”

Fo Yulu extended her hands and placed several Buddhas the size of her finger into He Xinlai's mouth.

“You'll when you see him, and I think you'll find him familiar," Fo Yulu said.

“Really?” Li Huowang was confused. He combed through his memories and found nothing.

However, Li Huowang soon understood the meaning behind Fo Yulu's words. It turned out that Chief Zheng was the Chief of Si Qi’s Surveillance Bureau, Zheng Boqiao.

It was the same Daoist who placed the lotus root on his head last time. Zheng Boqiao was sitting on a cushion as he faced the three statues in front of him with his eyes closed.

“Chief Zheng! We caught one of the grand witches of the Dharma Sect,” Fo Yulu said before doing a quick recount.

However, Zheng Boqiao didn’t even look at her. He remained seated, just like the statues depicting different deities around him.

Zheng Boqiao was patient, but Li Huowang was not. “What are you doing? Stop wasting time! The Dharma Sect of the Qi Kingdom has arrived in the Liang Kingdom! Do you want this place to end up like the Qi Kingdom?”

Zheng Boqiao opened his eyes and gulped. He took his horsetail whisk and turned around to stare at Li Huowang. “Daoist Li, we're from the same discipline, so why can't you hold in the Six Angers? Your cultivation is lacking.”

Li Huowang didn't respond, but Zheng Boqiao was not angry at all. He turned to the Abbot of the Righteous Monastery without sparing He Xinlai even a single glance.

"Abbot, it must've been a difficult journey."

“Amitabha. We had a pleasant journey.”

“I’m sure that you need some time to adjust to the Liang Kingdom. I mean, this is your first time here, right? If you need anything, just tell us. The Surveillance Bureau will do its best to accommodate you. Anyway, I know an unoccupied place with decent Feng Shui. Why not rebuild your temple there for now?”