Chapter 042: You're Quite Brave Too

In the Divine Nation, various states, counties, and cities have Taoists traveling about, and the common people do not take notice of this.
Hua Qingkong has been running around the Divine Nation following the news from the Xuanling Box, having slain dozens of vine spirits, yet he still has not found the vine root he had previously cut off.
He returned to Shouxia Mountain to retrieve his magical tools. As soon as he reached the mountain gate, he received a letter from his master, stating that the Hidden Spirit Old Daoist had discovered that the Xuanling Box was last used near Tiandu.
“It’s time to go back.” Hua Yuanshan said to Hua Qinkong, standing at the top of Shouxia Mountain.
```html“Hmm.” Hua Qingkong had a troubled expression.
“My master ordered me to accompany you to Tiandu; there's a surge of demonic and yin energy nearby, so there might be anomalies,” Hua Yuanshan said.
“Alright, I'll go ahead and wait for you in Tiandu; you know where to find me,” Hua Qingkong said.```
“Have you thought it through?” Hua Yuanshan stopped him, for if he didn't extend his hand, this fellow was about to open the Universe Door.
“Mm.” Still the same reply.
“No matter what you want to do, I'm right behind you.” Hua Yuanshan said firmly.
“Hmm.” Hua Qingkong opened the Qiankun Gate and directly arrived at Tiandu.
It was late at night, and he quietly stood in front of "Joy on the Eyebrows." The shop had already closed, but the pink and blue colors still looked completely different from the other buildings in the night.
He turned into a small alley named "Joy on the Eyebrows" and walked towards the Wangfu direction. Unexpectedly, he saw someone sneaking into a storage room in the back building.
Hua Qingkong passed through the wall, hiding behind a shelf, wanting to see what was going on.
As expected, this was a warehouse for storing raw materials. That person poured a bag of unidentified powder into the starch tank. Hua Qingkong intended to stop him but was already too late.
So, he simply did not intervene and followed the person through a few more streets. At the end of one street, he took off his black clothing and walked into an underground gambling den. Gambling is not allowed in the five cities of Tiandu, but there are still some underground venues.
Hua Qingkong realized that there was no point in pursuing this further, as this person had clearly already pocketed the stolen silver before resorting to poison. So, he went back to being "overjoyed" and planned to leave a note on the jar as a reminder.
“Xiao Qi, up!” Liu Huanxi's voice rang out behind him. He thought to himself that it wasn't good and hurriedly turned around to call out to her, only to see Bai Lie darting towards him like a white flash of lightning.
“It's me!” he had no choice but to call out first. Bai Lie paused for a moment; after all, his eyesight was good, and he could see clearly who the person was in the darkness. He changed direction and landed on the ground.
When Liu Hanxi heard the sound, she stopped her feet but didn't stop her hands. She poured a whole basin of flour onto Hua Qingkong without missing a single grain. Although he tried to block it with his hand, he still ended up covered in flour.
“Hua... Tianshi?” Liu Hanxi asked as she threw the basin in her hand.
“Exactly!” Hua Qingkong yelled in anger.
At this moment, chaotic footsteps came from outside, and Liu Hanxi's voice attracted the employees living in the backyard and Lou Fengzhi; the lights in the room were also turned on.
Everyone saw Liu Hanxi covered in flour, the black-clothed person covered in flour, and Bai Lie who was shaking off his fur beside them.
“Quick! Catch them first and then report to the authorities!" Lou Fengzhi instructed.
“Liu Hanxi!” Hua Qingkong blurted out, calling the full name directly.
“Ah, no, no, no, it’s a misunderstanding! You all should leave first, this person is a friend!” Liu Hanxi hurriedly stopped them.
“七小姐，这大晚上的，您……”楼凤至有些不放心。
“没事没事，真认识，熟，特熟！明天我再跟你解释，你们都去睡吧！”柳寒兮将他推出门去，给他的蓝衣上留下了两个白白的手掌印。
Bai Lie also went out the door; in this room, he was either a third wheel or a scapegoat, and he didn't want to do that!
Liu Hanxi closed the door and turned around to find Hua Qingkong shaking the flour off his clothes. She hurried over to help, using a cloth to wipe his face.
“I can do it myself, you don't need to help.” Hua Qingkong pushed her hand away. She held back her laughter but ultimately couldn't resist, squatting down and laughing uncontrollably.
“You still have the face to laugh!” Hua Qingkong chided softly, unable to hold back her own laughter, “You're really brave! Letting Bai Lie charge in is one thing, but you rushing in yourself—how many can you actually fight?”
“It's not a ghost or a monster, what is there to be afraid of?!” Liu Hanxi replied.
“Just charge ahead! What’s with throwing this flour?! Is it useful? Can it kill someone?!” Hua Qingkong shook off the last bits of flour from her hair.
“This way, if they can't be caught, they'll be chased down quickly!” Liu Hanxi felt quite reasonable about her logic.
“You!” Hua Qingkong was once again left speechless, just like before, only able to express her exasperation with a single word: you.
```html“But, Master Hua, how did you end up in my storeroom?!” Liu Hanxi asked with a smile.
Seeing that there were still some leftover powder on his brows and eyelashes, she tiptoed to help him wipe it off and softly asked, “Did it get into your eyes?”```
“Nature is blind; otherwise, it would be completely lost.” Hua Qingkong shook his head, noticing that her face was almost pressed against his, hurriedly taking a step back.
Liuhuanxi was taken aback, pulling back her hand, the smile on her face fading: “I’m sorry, I forgot to keep my distance from you.”
She also took a step back.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I don't need to ask to know why you're here. It’s because you sensed my presence and are worried there’s something fishy going on, right? At this hour, you should be in the warm bed of Prince Zhen instead, shouldn't you?” Liu Hanxi scoffed.
“No.” Hua Qingsky stepped forward to explain.
“Alright, whether it is or not, just take a look and leave! I’m only here because I noticed someone tampered with the food 'Happy on the Eyebrow' a few days ago, so I’ve been keeping watch for a few days.” Liu Hanzhi replied.
“Just now I... passed by and saw someone putting something into this jar. I wanted to leave a note to remind you, and then you came.” Hua Qingkong also spoke the truth; he didn’t mention that he wanted to see you.
“Thank you very much.” Liu Huanxi bowed to him and turned to leave.
Hua Qingkong wanted to call her back, but instead went straight through the wall in the opposite direction.
Outside the door, Lou Fengzhi and Bai Lie looked at her cold face and did not dare to ask.
She told Lou Fengzhi that someone had poisoned the jar and asked him to check what kind of poison it was.
“You too, such matters should be handed over to us to handle, no need to come here specially. Thankfully, nothing happened. What if something had happened?” Lou Fengzhi complained.
“I’m just afraid that if more people know, they won’t be on guard anymore.” Liu Hanxi shook her head at him, indicating that it was fine, “It’s a pity we didn’t catch them. Feng Zhi, you should first see what was put in that jar, and then find a few people to pretend they ate something problematic based on the symptoms. We’ll see who comes forward to pull me down, and that will be our suspect.”
“Okay, I understand. I'll find a few reliable people.” Lou Fengzhi nodded.
“Find people from different social strata. I want to see how much energy the other party has.” Liu Hanzhi winked at Lou Fengzhi.
“Alright, that's doable,” Lou Fengzhi replied. Having already built some connections while working as a steward for the Liu family, she had done a lot for Liu Hanzhi and established more interactions in both the business world and the government. As a result, she had met more people.
After the two discussed, Lou Feng insisted on escorting her back to the Wangfu, and Liu Hanyi had no choice but to agree.