Chapter 256: My Goods Were Stolen!
Boom!
A violent explosion sounded in the distance.
Ning Xiaohui raised her head and instinctively looked toward the western sky.
Sure enough, a crack had appeared in the barrier in the west, and three Fire-Walking Snakes penetrated through, successively crashing to the ground.
The battle on the ground immediately broke out.
Ning Xiaohui quickly turned her head back and looked at the gourd-shaped furnace in front of her.
For some time now, she had been driven nearly mad by Ning Zhuo, constantly working hard to earn merits.
At this moment, Ning Xiaohui was noticeably much thinner, her eye sockets sunken, and with large dark circles under her eyes. At a glance, it was obvious that she was both physically and mentally exhausted.
However, Ning Xiaohui's eyes were shining, her bloodshot eyes filled with a sense of madness with every movement she made.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her.
Ning Xiaohui, seated cross-legged on the ground, swayed for a moment before steadying herself.
"This is a critical moment in the refining process; I can't relax!" she quickly reminded herself, immediately pulling out a bottle of pills, removing the stopper, and pouring them into her mouth.
She swallowed five or six pills in one gulp.
As the pills entered her stomach, Ning Xiaohui's spirit instantly revived. She felt as if her exhausted body, like a deflated balloon, was being refilled with energy by the medicinal power.
"Just hang in there a little longer. Once I finish refining these materials, I'll earn another five merits!"
Ning Xiaohui knew that her early advantage would continue to diminish over time, which is why she was acting so frantically.
She exerted her full strength, using her Ice Jade Hand talent to repair all kinds of mechanical structures, big and small.
Such tasks often brought substantial merit rewards.
But the frequent use of her innate talent also took a toll on Ning Xiaohui.
So during the breaks, she would come to the gourd furnace forest to take on some refining tasks.
There were many furnaces in the Lava Immortal Palace, classified into four grades: copper, iron, silver, and gold.
The gourd-shaped furnaces were spaced at intervals, neatly arranged. From a distance, they looked like a vast gourd forest.
Unlike important places such as the medical hall, Five Elements Cannon Tower, or the Command Platform, the furnaces were open to the public.
Even outsiders without the identity of trial disciples could easily come here and take on refining tasks.
Ning Xiaohui sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, waves of hot air crashing into her, blowing her hair upwards, leaving it dry and yellow.
She stared intently at the furnace, not relaxing for even a moment.
"I already have 127 merits."
"I'm still short of thirty merits, and then I can obtain a position at the History Pavilion."
"Ning Xiaohui, give it everything you've got! Let Ning Zhuo and his people see the true power of the main branch of the Ning family."
"This time, I can only win. Failure is not an option!"
Ning Xiaohui shouted in her heart.
Ning Xiaohui had been ostracized and driven away by everyone, forcing her into the Immortal Palace.
Now, in this situation, she felt like she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff, with no retreat this time.
The past humiliations, the pressure from Ning Zhuo chasing after her, and the expectations of the Golden Core Ancestor—all these factors weighed on Ning Xiaohui, igniting the strongest fighting spirit she had ever felt in her life!
Lava Immortal Palace, main hall.
On the throne, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was pacing in circles, anxious.
Its gaze pierced through the sky, watching Ning Xiaohui and Ning Zhuo.
Seeing Ning Zhuo lying in bed, snoring away, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit complained, "Stop sleeping! Things are on fire here, and you're still thinking about sleep?"
"Look at Ning Xiaohui—how hard she's working, how desperately she's pushing herself!"
Of course, these were things it didn’t dare say directly to Ning Zhuo.
It was just talking to itself, venting its emotions.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was really at its wit's end with worry!
Perhaps it would be better not to know Ning Xiaohui's actual progress, but unfortunately, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit had been watching her closely.
Each time it saw Ning Xiaohui make progress, edging closer to the position at the History Pavilion, it was tormented.
"That old fox Zhu Xuanji is no better, secretly using Ning Zhuo to provoke Ning Xiaohui."
After pacing in circles a dozen times, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit finally couldn’t hold back any longer. Taking a deep breath, it proactively reached out to contact Ning Zhuo.
"Young Master, Young Master..." The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit lowered its voice as much as possible, pretending to call out weakly and affectionately.
Ning Zhuo, who hadn't been asleep for long, was awakened by the call.
He opened his tired eyes and said weakly, "Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, are you feeling better?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit smiled bitterly. "No, Young Master, my condition is worsening by the moment. But the situation is too urgent now."
"I have no choice but to push myself to warn you—Ning Xiaohui! She’s a massive threat."
"She’s only about thirty merits away from obtaining the lowest position in the History Pavilion!"
"Young Master, you must take her out as soon as possible!"
Ning Zhuo sighed and immediately expressed his own frustration.
"Ning Xiaohui must be stopped."
"But I have no chance!"
"The Golden Core Ancestors are nearby, and that Zhu Xuanji keeps watching me. He's suspicious of me."
Ning Zhuo comforted the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, "Ning Xiaohui still has more than thirty merits to go. She’s not there yet."
"We still have a bit of time. It’s not the final moment yet."
"Right now, we have to stay calm and find the right opportunity!"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was so anxious it was jumping up and down on the throne. "Calm? How do you expect me to stay calm? You’re driving me crazy!"
Of course, it didn’t dare say this out loud to Ning Zhuo, only venting its frustration privately.
Ning Zhuo took the opportunity to instruct the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit to closely monitor Ning Xiaohui.
At the same time, he asked the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit about the question it hadn’t had a chance to answer last time.
Left with no choice, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit confirmed Ning Zhuo's guess.
As the master of the medical hall, it was indeed possible to earn a commission from the merits of subordinates.
However, if a subordinate messed up, the hall master would also bear responsibility. In such cases, the hall master's merits would be deducted as well.
This result was somewhat different from what Ning Zhuo had originally expected.
Just as Ning Zhuo was about to ask more, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit abruptly severed the connection again.
It hugged its head, lying on the throne's armrest, sighing in despair. Every time it communicated with Ning Zhuo, it got bled for information, always taking a hit.
But it had no choice—it had to rely on Ning Zhuo to deal with Ning Xiaohui.
It was reaching its limit. Life had become too unbearable!
Ning Zhuo called out to the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit repeatedly but got no response. He let out a deep sigh and lay still on his bed.
He stared at the ceiling, feeling the weight on his heart.
Ning Zhuo not only wanted to stop Ning Xiaohui but also sought to obtain information about the History Pavilion, yet he had no opportunity.
The protection provided by the Golden Core cultivators was simply too good.
Ning Zhuo felt a lot of anxiety and unease inside.
With each passing day, the pressure coming from Ning Xiaohui grew greater.
But Ning Zhuo knew he had to be extremely cautious.
Reaching his current position had not been easy. As a small Qi Refining cultivator dealing with Golden Core cultivators, he had to be on guard every moment, keeping his nerves taut and making no mistakes!
If he couldn't bear the pressure and rashly made a move against Ning Xiaohui, he would fall right into Zhu Xuanji's trap, exposing himself.
Zhu Xuanji and the other Golden Core cultivators were using the Reconstruction Squad as bait to catch the real culprit behind the cannon attack on Mount Huoshi.
Likewise, Zhu Xuanji was using Ning Xiaohui as bait.
If Ning Zhuo acted hastily and took the bait, Zhu Xuanji would be the happiest one.
"Wait."
"Even if I have to grit my teeth, I must wait."
"Wait for the right moment."
"What is Song Fuli doing? Hasn't he realized yet that he's been robbed?"
The next day, at the City Lord's Mansion.
After being granted permission, Song Fuli entered the study to meet Fei Si.
Fei Si saw Song Fuli's dark expression and immediately felt a jolt of unease, though he maintained a smiling face as he asked Song F
uli about the reason for his visit.
Song Fuli’s words made Fei Si’s jaw drop in shock.
"What?! All the auction items you prepared have been stolen?" Fei Si’s eyes widened.
Song Fuli nodded gravely. "Such a serious matter—how could I possibly be joking with you, Lord Fei Si?"
"We only just discovered this!"
"As soon as we found out, we immediately sealed off the scene, and I came to you straight away."
"For all this time, we have strictly followed the rules while staying in Lava Immortal City. All the resources and treasures we brought were within the stipulated limits."
"We were fully capable of setting up a higher-tier formation to protect our goods."
"But because we were bound by your city’s rules, we couldn’t exert our full capabilities, leaving our protection at less than sixty percent strength."
"Now that something like this has happened, I must ask you, Lord Fei Si, to lend a hand. After all, our goods were stolen within Fire Persimmon Immortal City."
Although Song Fuli’s words were a request, his tone was anxious, and there was an underlying accusation against the City Lord's Mansion.
Fei Si dared not take the situation lightly. He immediately rose to his feet and went with Song Fuli to inspect the scene.
At the treasure vault, the shelves were lined with counterfeits.
If Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu had been present, they would have recognized that these counterfeits were all their handiwork, without exception.
Fei Si also checked the surrounding formations.
To protect Yun Merchants' goods, the City Lord's Mansion had put in effort. They had connected the city's defensive formation to the temporary formation here.
Strictly speaking, the defense here wasn’t weak.
However, the fact before Fei Si was that Yun Merchants’ goods had indeed been stolen!
"This is a troublesome situation!"
Fei Si furrowed his brows deeply.
This incident alone was already very bad.
If not handled properly, Fire Persimmon Immortal City would suffer a severe loss of credibility.
As a city, if it couldn’t guarantee the safety of the goods brought by merchant caravans, how could it ask those caravans to voluntarily limit their strength?
If this loss of trust couldn’t be restored, it would create a vicious cycle, and fewer and fewer caravans would come to Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
This would be extremely detrimental to the city's development.
Moreover, the City Lord’s Mansion was currently hoping to rely on Yun Merchants to help defend Fire Persimmon Immortal City and the Lava Immortal Palace.
"Who is the bastard that, at such a critical moment, stole Yun Merchants' treasures?"
"Damn it, they should be killed!"
Fei Si was furious. He suppressed his anger and forced himself to remain calm.
"This matter—I promise to give Brother Song a proper explanation!" Fei Si immediately assured Song Fuli, doing his utmost to appease him.
After ordering the site to remain sealed, Fei Si left Yun Market, first reporting to Meng Kui and then contacting Zhu Xuanji.
"Detective Zhu, we need your help!" Fei Si pleaded for help, disregarding his own dignity.
When Zhu Xuanji received his "cry for help," he sighed lightly, his face full of worry.
The Yun Merchants, led by Song Fuli, were indeed a strong ally.
Especially the Cloud Whale beast, which was at the Nascent Soul level.
If several Nascent Soul-level Scarlet Flame Beasts attacked at once, Zhu Xuanji was counting on the Cloud Whale to help Meng Kui share some of the burden.
"It seems I’ll need to step out for a while."
"I’ll fully investigate this case, capture the culprit, and do my best to recover the stolen treasures!"
"On that basis, I’ll try to win over the Yun Merchants as well..."
(End of Chapter)