Stranger Danger

Chapter 307: Conspiracy

Wang Luori smiled. “My master possesses immeasurable power, however. You may not know this, but I suffered grievous injuries before I was able to escape the Demon’s Tomb. In fact, I would’ve died if not for my master. Not only did they heal me back to full health, they even fulfilled my lifelong wish and made me a Spirit Master.”

Wang Luori’s expression turned fervent and pious when he said this.

Xue Beikun looked curious. “Oh? Tell me. How is your master going to help me conquer Luo Shui?”

Wang Luori answered, “The main reason you are unable to become the crownless king of Luo Shui are the Pacification Bureau and the administrative division, or more accurately, just the Pacification Bureau. Without their support, the administrative division wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“The two central pillars of the Luo Shui Pacification Bureau are Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang. If you control the two of them, then Luo Shui would naturally fall under your control.”

“Hah! You make it sound so easy. If Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang are so easy to remove, I would’ve conquered Luo Shui a long time ago!”

Xue Beikun scoffed, “Let’s pretend that your master is strong enough to kill Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang themselves, both powerful Spirit Masters in their own right. What do you think is going to happen when you remove the Chief and Deputy Chief of Bureau? The Pacification Bureau will never let this go. Even if they turn up with nothing, they can just send another Fang Xiaoman or Gu Suitang to command Luo Shui. In the end, I would still be under someone’s beck and call. What is the point of all this then?”

“Short of wiping the Pacification Bureau from Chu altogether, I would never be able to conquer Luo Shui!”

“You are joking, Commander Xue. My master may possess immeasurable power, but even they would be hardpressed to wipe out the Pacification Bureau from Chu.” Wang Luori shook his head.

“Hah!” Xue Beikun scoffed again. It was clear he thought that this was going to be a pointless discussion.

“Calm down, Commander Xue. I haven’t told you my master’s plan yet.”

Wang Luori remained completely confident, however. He said, “Do you remember what I said earlier? If you control Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang, then Luo Shui would naturally fall under your control.”

“You want to... control them?” Xue Beikun frowned.

“That’s right.” Wang Luori explained, “Some people are more useful alive than dead. If my master is able to convert Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang into his worshipers, then you would be free to control the Pacification Bureau as you please and avoid the scrutiny of the Tian Yong Pacification Bureau, effectively killing two birds with one stone.”

“That’s a pretty bold plan.” Xue Beikun smiled. “But you still haven’t answered my question: How is your master going to ‘convert’ Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang, both powerful Spirit Masters in their own right?”

“No worries, Commander Xue. My master has already planned everything.”

Wang Luori broke into a grin. “My fiftieth birthday will be happening in two days, and I will be inviting Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang to my birthday feast. My master will convert them then.”

“And how is he going to do that, exactly?” Xue Beikun asked.

Wang Luori answered, “You don’t have to worry about that, Commander Xue. My master will handle it. Just know that they will not be able to escape the moment they enter Sunset Hill.”

“You’re very confident,” Xue Beikun let out a cold chuckle, “but how do you ensure that Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang would attend your birthday feast?”

Wang Luori answered, “By using Ye Qing. I’ll tell them that I wish to discuss the matter regarding Ye Qing. They will definitely show up.”

Xue Beikun took a moment to think before chuckling again. “It sounds like you and your master have planned out everything. In fact, it sounds like you don’t need me at all. What is my role in all this?”

“One cannot plan for everything. My master is sure he has everything under his control, but that doesn’t mean he is infallible. That is why we need you to attend the birthday feast. If anything goes wrong, you will be there to ensure that it doesn’t.”

“Ah. And here I thought that your master is omnipotent.” Xue Beikun sneered. “Then again, your master wouldn’t need to pull such tricks if they really could handle everything by themselves.”

“Your plan sounds good, and I don’t mind lending you a hand. Before I agree to anything though, I must ask one thing: what is your goal? Wealth? Power? I don’t want to find out later that whatever you’re plotting involves my ‘unfortunate’ death, you see.”

Wang Luori chuckled. “Relax, Commander Xue. My master’s goal is loftier than that. In his opinion, wealth and power—soft power, at least—are but wisps of nothing that could melt under a ray of sunlight. No, my master’s one and only goal is to gain permission to promote their religion and be able to enlighten the people without government interference.”

“... Is that it?” Xue Beikun asked after a pause.

Wang Luori answered, “It’s that simple. I can swear an Oath of Heaven if you don’t believe me. If I break my oath, may I be smited by lightning, rejected by heaven and earth, and drowned in the Nine Nethers for eternity.”

It wasn’t an empty oath. Wang Luori literally extracted some of his heart’s blood and drew certain runes that overflowed with the air of Dao. The words seemingly communed with the surroundings for a bit before melting into Wang Luori and Xue Beikun’s forehead.

“I can’t really think of a reason to reject you,” Xue Beikun said after a moment of thought, “but I still don’t believe your master can defeat both Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang. If Fang Xiaoman escapes, you and your master are free to run to the ends of the world, but my family, assets and everything are all here. If I agree to your plan, and you fail to fulfill your end of the promise, then the only one who’s going to suffer the consequences is me.”

“You don’t believe in my master.” Wang Luori chuckled.

Xue Beikun retorted coldly, “Your master didn’t even dare to meet me in person. Why the hell would I believe a rat who’s too scared to reveal himself? Do you think I’m stupid?”

Wang Luori remained calm despite the insult. “I can’t deny the logic in your words. Don’t worry. Soon, you will see.”

“What do you mean?” Xue Beikun scrunched his eyebrows in puzzlement.

Wang Luori smiled but didn’t give him a straight answer. “All in due time, Commander Xue.”

Xue Beikun scoffed, “Whatever. In that case, you can hear my answer ‘in due time’ as well!”

“This is a serious matter. You should take your time to think things through. But I am sure that you will agree to my proposal. After all, some opportunities only appear once in a lifetime.”

Wang Luori was neither angry nor infuriated by Xue Beikun’s hesitation. On the contrary, he would suspect that something was amiss if Xue Beikun had agreed to the plan without hesitation.

“I will decide myself if the opportunity is what you say it is,” Xue Beikun said dismissively before asking another question. “There is one thing I’m very curious about.”

Wang Luori held out his hand. “Shoot.”

Xue Beikun smirked and rapped his knuckles on the table. “I am an imperial officer. Aren’t you afraid that I would divulge your plan to the Pacification Bureau the second I step out of this door?”

“Hahaha!” Wang Luori guffawed. “There is no hope for reconciliation between you and the Pacification Bureau, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, is it not? If we work together, then we both stand to gain everything. I am certain that you wouldn’t make such a stupid decision.”

“Hahaha! Well said. I can definitely feel your sincerity.” Xue Beikun smiled and rose to his feet. When he reached the exit, he added, “But as you say, this is something I need to think through. I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow at the latest.”

Wang Luori rose to his feet and bade him goodbye, “Then I shall look forward to the good news, Commander Xue.”

Xue Beikun didn’t bother looking back. “If you give me the good news, maybe.”

After Xue Beikun was gone, Wang Luori downed a glass of wine before bursting into sudden laughter. His expression was contorted with madness, and wisps of demonic qi were rising from his pores.

“Gu Suitang and Fang Xiaoman won’t escape. You won’t escape either, Xue Beikun...”

......

“You had the perfect opportunity to end Wang Luori earlier, boy. Why didn’t you do it?”

Inside the next building, the Fog Demon cackled. “Is it because you’ve switched targets to the Mara Buddha?”

“Basically, yeah.” Ye Qing rubbed his forehead while suppressing a groan. Why was it always him who ran into this shit? He couldn’t even pretend he hadn’t seen this because it involved Fang Xiaoman, Gu Suitang, and the Mara Buddha.

From the perspective of a Patrolman of the Pacification Bureau, if something were to happen to Fang Xiaoman and Gu Suitang, and the Pacification Bureau were to fall into another person’s hands, there was no way he would be exempt from the calamity that would come.

From the perspective of himself, Gu Suitang was the man who took him in during his time of crisis, saved his life, and even taught him his martial arts. He also felt good vibes from Fang Xiaoman. No matter what, there was no way he could sit out of this.

Finally, he had taken the Strange Artifact the Mara Buddha had spent much effort to create. He couldn’t sit out of this even if he wanted to.

Once again, he was reluctantly pulled into a huge mess he wanted no part of, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, Ye Qing saw this as a golden opportunity to end the lives of those who would threaten him once and for all.

Had the Mara Buddha stayed hidden, he would’ve been hardpressed to do anything against them. Hell, he didn’t even know what gender they were. But they were plotting something big and targeting those he cared about. Even better, they had unknowingly divulged their grand plan to him. He wouldn’t get a better chance than this to eliminate the Mara Buddha.

Wang Luori was probably already dead—the Wang Luori he knew would’ve scoffed at the very concept of religion, much less worship anyone—but Ye Qing was still going to take him out together with the Mara Buddha.

The reason he hadn’t killed the Hill Lord just now was because he didn’t want to draw the Mara Buddha’s attention.

It was for the same reason he didn’t command Xue Beikun to agree to the plan immediately. Although Xue Beikun was completely loyal to him, his mind was still alive and well. He would know better than him how to respond in a way that wouldn’t draw Wang Luori’s suspicion. Speaking of which, having Xue Beikun agreeing to Wang Luori’s plan too easily would certainly draw his suspicion.

If his opponent was Wang Luori only, then he wouldn’t have worried about it. Wang Luori was too stupid to save his own life. But the Mara Buddha? That was a threat he must take seriously.

“What are you going to do?” The Fog Demon asked.

“Well, Wang Luori is planning to invite us all to his birthday feast. It would be impolite to turn down his invitation, don’t you think?”

Ye Qing shot the Fog Demon a mysterious smile. “What I’m really curious is Wang Luori claiming that Xue Beikun would ‘see’ tomorrow. What did he mean by that?”

“Is the Mara Buddha planning to visit Xue Beikun in person? Or are they going to cause some trouble?”

“Why waste the brain cells thinking about something you’re going to find out tomorrow?” The Fog Demon replied lazily, “We already know what they’re planning. There is nothing they can do that can surprise us. In that case, why bother with the trifles?”

“True enough.” Ye Qing nodded. He knew exactly what the enemy was planning, and even their back-up plan, Xue Beikun, was really on his side. What could the Mara Buddha possibly do to turn the tables on him?

“The jar is empty, and the show’s over. It’s time to go.”

As Ye Qing left, a cool wind blew across the floor and swept up some dust.