Chapter 283: Heavenly Punishment

When Yan Jing handed these paintings of Little Birds to Fei Yu and the others, he had instructed them to release the Little Birds if anything unexpected happened.

With his current abilities, he could sense them within a radius of a few li.

Seeing that Fei Yu had released the Little Bird, he did not linger. He gave Mo Lian a few brief instructions and hurried away.

Finding a secluded corner, he switched to his persona as Luo Sheng out in the remote wilderness. After painting his face, it did not take him long to rush back to Paima County.

At the moment, Paima County still looked fairly peaceful.

Yan Jing walked briskly back to the courtyard and saw Fei Yu sitting at the entrance, looking anxious.

Upon seeing Yan Jing's painted face, a flash of joy crossed her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ushered him into the small courtyard.

After closing the gate, she spoke in an anxious tone,

"Young Master, something happened."

"What happened?"

Fei Yu promptly told him everything she had found out outside.

According to the local residents, some "officials" had arrived in Paima County and were searching the entire town for someone.

These "officials" held a portrait and were going door to door, asking if anyone had seen the person in the picture.

When two of them were questioning a merchant, Fei Yu had quietly slipped closer. Although she didn't see what the portrait looked like, she heard them say the name Luo Sheng.

Hearing this, Yan Jing frowned slightly.

Someone was looking for him.

Who was it?

The Third Lake Prefecture? Or the Ninth Lake Prefecture?

Recently, the only places he had really provoked were those two.

First was the fact that the Old Man in the Third Lake Prefecture was serving as his steward.

Second was Li Qinghe of the Ninth Lake Prefecture.

If it was the former, according to what Xiao Xin had seen, the Old Man on the Celestial Steps hadn't shown any strong opposition to the Old Man acting as his steward.

If it was the latter...

That was what he found bizarre.

How had Li Qinghe discovered his whereabouts? Was it some kind of ability?

"It's fine. Don't panic," he reassured her gently.

"It's nothing major."

"..."

Even so, the worry between Fei Yu's brows did not diminish.

She spoke up again, telling Yan Jing about the omens she had seen in the sky.

"No, I still need to leave."

Fei Yu said,

"I might be the one who brought this ill omen upon you. I have to go resolve the matter with that human."

She planned to use herself as bait to open the path to the grand Domain behind her. First, it would lure that human away, and second, it would draw the attention of the group searching for Luo Sheng.

She acted as soon as she spoke.

Having stayed in Minhu for so long, Fei Yu naturally carried the fieriness common to most girls there. She immediately turned around and strode toward the main gate.

She had thoroughly braced herself, her eyes wide with the resolve that no matter how Yan Jing tried to make her stay this time, she absolutely would not turn back.

"Make dinner before you go, Xiao Yu. I'm hungry,"

Yan Jing said.

"..."

Fei Yu pursed her lips.

Then she would make dinner before leaving.

Going hungry wasn't good anyway.

Just as she turned around, knocking sounded from outside the gate.

Instantly, Fei Yu's heart tightened. She walked over and opened the gate.

Outside stood two men wearing black Chinese tunic suits.

"Inspection. We're looking for someone," one of the men said, looking at Fei Yu and Yan Jing.

"Who is in charge of this household?"

"I am."

Yan Jing stepped forward to meet them.

"Have you seen this person?" The man took out a portrait and presented it to Yan Jing and Fei Yu.

Clearly displayed on the portrait was Luo Sheng's exact likeness.

"No—"

Before Fei Yu could finish, Yan Jing interrupted,

"I think I have."

???

Fei Yu's heart pounded, having no idea what Yan Jing was planning.

"Where?"

The man's eyes narrowed.

Yan Jing wasn't the first person to say they had seen him.

The steamed bun shop in the west of the city, the pan-fried dumpling stall in the south, and a few pedestrians had all said they had seen the Luo Sheng in the portrait, but they just couldn't clearly specify where he had gone.

"He seemed to head west, like he was leaving the city. I saw him this morning,"

Yan Jing said.

"..."

The man stared intently at Yan Jing before finally nodding.

"Alright. Don't wander around unnecessarily during this time. If anything comes up, we'll return to question you again."

"Understood, understood."

Yan Jing nodded with a smile. "Sir, may I ask what crime this man committed? If he's a murderer or something, we'd better prepare ourselves in advance."

"He isn't a murderer, but it's still a grave crime!"

The man said, "Polluting the River, and hiding corpses within it! That's why our River Department has been deployed to apprehend him."

"That serious!"

Yan Jing smiled. "I understand. Take care, sirs."

After the two men left, Fei Yu cast out a vortex of air to form a sound barrier, then asked worriedly,

"What are you planning?"

"Solving the problem,"

Yan Jing smiled.

"Xiao Yu, you mentioned earlier that New Heaven had its eyes on you. Is there any way to resolve it?"

"..."

Fei Yu shook her head, deeply moved.

She hadn't expected her young master to still be trying to help her out of her predicament, even though the Luo Sheng standing right in front of her was only at the Third Tier.

"To escape New Heaven's gaze, the only way is to leave this Domain, which is already incredibly difficult. And even if there were a channel to leave—like the one Mr. Tiger has—New Heaven would still notice me and would very likely send down Heavenly Punishment."

"Heavenly Punishment?"

Yan Jing widened his eyes. "Then why hasn't it sent down Heavenly Punishment right now?"

"..."

Fei Yu was both exasperated and amused, but she still explained patiently, "Because there's someone above it."

"Who?"

"I can't say. Once you know about that entity, it will know about you in return. For the current you, it would be a fatal disaster. You would be plagued by misfortune from then on—the kind where you could trip and die just from walking."

Fei Yu continued,

"Anyway, even New Heaven isn't without restrictions. If it wants to make any major moves, it can only do so when a massive problem arises in the Domain it governs. At that point, in order to pacify the situation, it will be allowed to use its power to intervene directly."

"For example, this can happen when a figure with an exceedingly high Tier appears in the Domain—like that person in the East Lake Prefecture."

Fei Yu didn't mention the person's name, but Yan Jing knew she was talking about the Prefecture Lord of East Lake Prefecture.

In the entire East Lake Prefecture, he was the only one whose name could not be spoken.

"Are you saying that he disappeared all these years because of New Heaven?" he asked.

Fei Yu nodded.

"You should already be aware of what happened eight years ago, but I'm not sure if you know the reason behind Huang Family Village's disappearance. It's related to what I just mentioned."

"Back then, that human—who was still only at the Sixth Tier at the time—let me go and obtained the method to advance to the Seventh Rank from me. This matter drew the attention of the people of Huang Family Village, and they prayed to New Heaven, hoping it would directly intervene."

"But New Heaven cannot intervene directly, so..."

Before she could finish, Yan Jing began to understand.

"So New Heaven told those villagers to use themselves as catalysts for a Living Human Array to open the channel leading to that grand Domain behind you."

"That way, it could temporarily gain the power to eliminate both that human and you."

Fei Yu nodded, then shook her head.

"Actually, it would only be one of us."

"New Heaven isn't as smart as you think. Or rather, it is smart, but it has too many things to deal with and is too heavily restricted. Therefore, even if it gains power, it can only handle one matter at a time."

"That was how I tricked that human. He turned on me and tried to kill me, forcing me to use the Method of Nirvana, but I also left a contingency plan."

"This is how the struggle between humans and the Inner World works. At the critical moment, we can only risk our lives. The chances of New Heaven targeting either of us were fifty-fifty."

Hearing this, Yan Jing was confused.

"But both of you survived in the end."

Fei Yu nodded.

"Yes, because an accident happened. He arrived."

Yan Jing recalled what Bi Jie had said at the time. Indeed, he had mentioned that during the Huang Family Village incident, the Prefecture Lord of East Lake Prefecture had personally shown up.

"He was extremely ambitious. He used a great divine ability right at the exact moment the Huang Family Village's Living Human Array was about to open the channel. Exploiting the weakened spatial power, he broke through the path... leading to the Surface World."

It dawned on Yan Jing.

"...New Heaven targeted him."

"Mhm."

Fei Yu nodded.

"So you see why it's impossible for me to escape New Heaven?"

"Someone always has to bear the Heavenly Punishment. Even if I used a divine ability to hide inside someone's body, it would just transfer the Heavenly Punishment to them. Although it's feasible, that person must have an extremely high cultivation level, and from then on, I would be under their control."

"..."

"..."

...

The next day.

Paima County.

Inside a tavern, Jing Huan had someone clear out the venue, then looked at his deputy, Section Chief Zhang, and said,

"How did the inquiries go?"

"They say we already have a lead."

Section Chief Zhang replied.

"Many people said he headed west."

"West... What's to the west?"

Jing Huan asked.

"The west is..."

Section Chief Zhang glanced left and right before leaning in close to Jing Huan's ear and whispering,

"It's Huang Family Village."

!!!

Jing Huan naturally knew part of the inside story regarding that incident from years ago. He immediately frowned.

"Who did you send to search?"

"The three Fourth Tiers who came have all gone, and they brought over a dozen subordinates with them."

Section Chief Zhang smiled.

"That's not enough."

Jing Huan's gaze sank. "You go personally. If anything happens, send a signal to notify me."

"..."

Section Chief Zhang froze for a moment, but ultimately nodded.

"Understood, understood."

"..."

After receiving his orders, Section Chief Zhang didn't drag his feet. After escorting Jing Huan back into his room, he immediately went out and summoned the three captains in charge.

"How far along is the investigation?"

"..." The three of them looked at each other in dismay. It was still early in the morning—how far could it possibly be?

Hadn't they already reported last night's progress last night?

"..." Section Chief Zhang's face darkened. "Too slow!!!"

"And to think you lot are all Fourth Tiers! Do you not have the slightest tracking ability?"

"He Yuan, aren't you a nose cultivator? Didn't you smell anything?!"

The man who had been singled out looked troubled.

"Well... the main issue is that we don't have a single item belonging to that person. The few things you gave me probably have scents on them from ten years ago. I really can't pick up the scent."

"Then can't you figure out a way?!" Section Chief Zhang glared at the other two men.

"And you two! What use are you besides fighting?! I would've been better off asking for a reporter cultivator!!"

After being thoroughly chewed out, the two men couldn't talk back, but they still grumbled in their hearts.

They weren't from the Patrol Office or the Inspectorate—what use did they have for tracking abilities? Besides, even in those two departments, some people lacked tracking skills.

It was simply an unprovoked disaster.

"Useless trash!"

Section Chief Zhang muttered, "I'll do it myself!!!"

He pressed his palms against the ground. Translucent threads extended from his hands and spread out in all directions.

He was a Fishing Cultivator, and this was his fishing technique.

However, he could only fish; he couldn't determine exactly who he was hooking.

Therefore, strictly speaking, this couldn't be considered a tracking method either.

However... in a situation like this, he had no choice but to rely on such a clumsy method.

"I'll hook anyone radiating Weird Energy at the Third Tier first. Station your men all over. The moment a line twitches, I'll send up a signal, and you'll go check if it's our target. If it is, send a signal immediately."

"Understood!!!"

Everyone nodded.

Thus, he fished from morning until nearly noon. Finally, just as Zhang Kai was sweating profusely from exhaustion, a flare rocketed into the sky to the west.

Receiving the signal, Zhang Kai rejoiced inwardly and immediately marched toward the west, radiating murderous intent.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing was currently standing at the entrance of Huang Family Village in his original body, manipulating the portrait of Eldest Young Master Luo to sprint madly into the village.