Zhan Ruyi and his two followers were still in a daze in the shop, not knowing what was going on. The smell of blood assaulted their noses, and the three of them came to their senses. They left quickly to avoid being implicated.
After catching up to Miao Yi, Zhan Ruyi transmitted his voice over and asked, "Why did you kill him?"
"A mere employee of the black market dares to extort the Celestial Emperor's personal guards?" Miao Yi scoffed.
Zhan Ruyi: "Aren't you afraid of something happening?"
Little did he know that Miao Yi was purely trying to stir up trouble. Since the young man didn't know what was good for him, he decided to bring him along. Miao Yi didn't want to serve the Heavenly Court to the death, so who would be willing to come to this damned place to carry out a damned mission? If he stirred up trouble and exposed his identity, he could just go home and not have anything to do with it. If it wasn't for the fact that it was too obvious and the Heavenly Court could see that he was rejecting this mission, it wouldn't have been as simple as killing a shop assistant. Instead, they would have directly smashed the shop.
As such, Miao Yi replied nonchalantly, "What could possibly happen? If there's no other way, I'll just reveal my identity. Let's see who dares to make a move against me in broad daylight."
Zhan Ruyi was speechless. He turned back to look at the deserted street. That shop only had a shop assistant sitting there. That shop probably didn't expect anyone to make a move on a useless assistant, right?
After walking through a few streets and avoiding the possibility of being a direct suspect, the few of them soared into the sky and flew about 20 miles away. Soon, they found the signboard of an inn. They landed at the entrance of the inn and directly walked in.
There was also a lazy waiter sitting in front of the counter. Yang Zhaoqing walked up and knocked on the counter. "Is there only one inn here?"
When the shop assistant heard this, he immediately perked up and replied, "One room can also become many rooms."
The secret code matched, and Yang Zhaoqing pushed a jade token over.
The shop assistant picked up the jade token and checked it. He got up and nodded. He walked to the side door and lifted the curtain. "Please follow me."
The few of them followed along the corridor to the innermost guest room. The waiter pushed the door open. It was not a room, but a flight of stairs leading underground. He followed the steps and went down several feet. When they came to a fork in the road, one of them turned left and the other went down.
There were two cultivators standing guard at the fork, and the shop assistant sent a voice transmission to one of them. After handing over the jade archive, he took his leave.
"Follow me!" One of the cultivators took them and led them to the left. However, another cultivator stopped Yang Zhaoqing and his entourage. "Only the two of them can go. You guys wait here."
Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi looked back, then nodded to Yan Xiu and the others. He motioned for them to wait.
The two of them followed the guide through the rooms and came to the innermost room. The guide knocked on the door.
An indifferent voice came from inside, "Come in."
Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi exchanged glances. This voice sounded a little familiar.
The guide had already pushed open the door. After inviting the two of them in, he closed the door again.
The two of them entered the room and were stunned at the same time. There was a person standing in the room, and it was none other than a stranger. It was the pale-faced scholar from before.
The pale-faced scholar took off his hat and the disguise on his face. He took off his scholarly robe and revealed a grey robe underneath. He chuckled and cupped his hands at the two, "Great Commander Zhan, Great Commander Niu, this humble one is the shopkeeper of 'There's An Inn', Gu Duogui."
Zhan Ruyi frowned. "Since you are the shopkeeper, why do you have to beat around the bush?"
"There are so many people around the two of you. In a place like this, the fewer people who know of my true identity, the better. I hope you can forgive me if I have been rude, and I hope you can keep my identity a secret as much as possible. "Gu Duogui smiled as he explained. He then extended his hand and said," Great Commanders, please take a seat. "
Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi sat down, and Gu Duogui personally poured tea for them.
Zhan Ruyi said, "Speak. The higher-ups have asked us to tell you what mission we have. "
Gu Duogui put down the teapot and sat down. "Come to think of it, this matter may have something to do with the two of you. The two of you were also involved in the incident in the Chaotic Astral Seas. The matter of those nine million Transcendence Energy Bows has caused quite a stir in the black market. Many forces are coveting that batch of equipment. Currently, the Right Division of the Overseer Department is under orders to investigate this matter. They hope to find some clues and find the White Phoenix. However, the manpower of the Right Division of the Overseer Department is limited. It is impossible for them to devote all their manpower to this matter. That is why they transferred some men from the Left Supervisory Guard to assist them. "
Right Division of the Overseer Department? As soon as he thought of that Cold Magistrate, Miao Yi felt a headache coming on. Why did he have to be transferred here? Was there a reason behind this? He asked, "Our men from the Left Supervisory Guard don't know how to investigate cases. Why did they send us amateurs?"
Gu Duogui smiled. "I said it would be assistance, not for the two of you to investigate the case. The specifics of the investigation will still be handled by the Right Division of the Overseer Department. However, the Right Division's manpower is limited. The two of you will be responsible for the Right Division of the Overseer Department. If there is a suspicious target that needs to be followed, the two of you will be responsible for it. If anything happens, the two of you will immediately inform the Right Division of the Overseer Department to move out. If there is still not enough manpower, the two of you may need to transfer some of your subordinates to make up for it. "
'So that's how it is!' Miao Yi relaxed a little. The main mission was to follow the target and not to kill. The risk factor was much lower.
Zhan Ruyi looked at Miao Yi and asked, "Why did the two of us have to be transferred here to assist?"
Gu Duogui shook his head. "I don't know about that. This is the higher-ups' wish."
He really didn't know the reason. Truth be told, the matter between Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi had caused quite a stir. He had heard about it too, but he couldn't understand why the higher-ups would send this pair of enemies.
Actually, the reason why the Left Supervisory Guard was transferred here was simple. The higher-ups of the Celestial Court were also eyeing this batch of Transcendence Bows. The Right Division of the Overseer Department didn't have enough manpower, and the local forces didn't dare to use them. Thus, it was more appropriate to use the Imperial Guards.
And the reason why Miao Yi was chosen was because Gao Guan had personally chosen him in front of the Green Lord. The reason was simple. Miao Yi had almost offended all the higher-ups of the Celestial Court. Gao Guan felt that Miao Yi would be more at ease.
This reason was indeed reasonable. After all, the Imperial Guards weren't a place where one could see the bottom of the water. When the forest was big, there could be all sorts of birds. No one could guarantee that the higher-ups of the Celestial Court hadn't infiltrated the Imperial Guards. Thus, it was more appropriate to have Miao Yi assist in this matter. The Green Lord readily agreed, which was why Miao Yi was allowed to participate. However, the Green Lord had chosen another person — Zhan Ruyi. The Green Lord wanted Zhan Ruyi to participate in this mission as well. Gao Guan was against this. He was afraid that Zhan Ruyi would expose herself as a spy of the Right Division of the Overseer Department in the phantom market due to her background. However, since the Green Lord insisted, Gao Guan couldn't do anything about it. He just couldn't understand why Zhan Ruyi was sent here despite knowing that she was Ying Jiuguang's granddaughter. He didn't know what the Green Lord was planning.
In short, this was the situation behind the scenes. Gu Duogui's position wasn't that high either. How could he know about such matters from above?
Now that they had a general idea of the mission, Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi were more confident.
Before he took his leave, Miao Yi asked, "When will this mission end? We can't let our hundred thousand troops be without a leader, can we? "
Gu Duogui shook his head again. "I'm not sure about that. I think it will depend on the progress of the mission. But don't worry. The Left Supervisory Guard will definitely make the appropriate arrangements. He won't let you have any worries. "
Zhan Ruyi asked, "When will we begin?"
Gu Duogui replied, "There's no rush. You two seem to be unfamiliar with this place. I'll give you two half a month to familiarize yourselves with the situation in the phantom market. While you're at it, arrange for your subordinates to be stationed in the phantom market. The most appropriate arrangement is to quickly transfer people to follow you from any area of the phantom market. Therefore, you need your subordinates to familiarize themselves with the route of the phantom market as soon as possible. When the time comes, there will naturally be a mission for you. However, there is one thing that you two must remember. You must pass down the order. This mission must be kept a secret. "
After some questioning and briefing, even though this was an inn, Gu Duogui didn't allow them to stay here. He was afraid that if something happened, they would be implicated. He asked them to find another inn to stay in, saying that the lodging expenses for this mission would be reimbursed by the Heavenly Court.
However, Gu Duogui did gift them a map of the phantom market.
Miao Yi and Zhan Ruyi left the room. After they went out, they led Yan Xiu and the others down.
As they walked down the stairs, Miao Yi couldn't help but touch the wall that had been excavated underground. He discovered that it was actually an ore body associated with the crystal coin mine. The wall was faintly glowing with stardust. They didn't even need a lamp to illuminate it.
The inn was several dozen zhang underground. When they walked out of the inn's underground door, it was as if they had arrived in another world.
What was a phantom market? It was a market that couldn't see the light of day. The market that was buried deep underground was indeed worthy of being called a phantom market.
The streets were filled with men and women, bustling with activity. However, most of them had either disguised themselves or wore masks. It seemed that no one was willing to reveal their true faces here. Miao Yi and the others were the same.
The street seemed to be only a hundred zhang above ground. This place was probably not suitable for flight. The twisting and turning streets didn't go through any orderly planning in the first place. Zhan Ruyi raised his head and looked at the dome that was glowing with stardust. He transmitted his voice, "If I'm not wrong, this phantom market should have been excavated from the foundation of the 'Dead Mine'."
Miao Yi nodded his head in agreement.
What was a 'Dead Mine'? It referred to a mine that had been excavated empty, or a mine that only had an ore body associated with it but no main ore material. And the streets of the phantom market in front of him were so narrow. It didn't look like it had been excavated on a large scale. It was obvious that it was the latter of the dead mines. It was born without crystal coins, and in the end, it was excavated and turned into an underground trading market.
Using the ore body associated with the crystal coin mine to excavate a place like this had its own benefits. Miao Yi had personally tested this ore body associated with the crystal coin mine. It had a natural ability to deflect force, and its ability to withstand attacks was strong. It was similar to an underground building. Even if there was a fight, it wouldn't be easily damaged. Even if it was damaged, the area affected wouldn't be too large.
Although there was natural fluorescent lighting, the light wasn't bright or natural. Many of the shops still hung lanterns of various colors. There were also lights shining from within the shops. Combined with the stardust fluorescence, this underground world had a different kind of charm.
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