Chapter 158
The Blue Star has been relatively well off. Over the years, as houses were built, the ground has been dug up several times, leaving little behind that could be considered unclaimed. It was precisely because she had never seen the compass light up that she gradually began to ignore it.
But in Zelan... Let’s not even get into how many treasures lie unclaimed on the land of Zelan. Every time she visited, she had something to do, and time was always short. There was no way she could interrupt her plans just to hunt for treasure.
It was better to call it a day. She was already quite satisfied with acquiring the "Furious Moon."
From now on, it would all depend on fate, just like today, when luck seemed to guide her from the shadows.
Or perhaps one day, when she had the time, she could use the Turtle Jade to enhance her fortune and spend a whole day digging at the seabed.
Yu Xunge always believed her greatest strength was her self-restraint. After putting away the compass, she set off towards Yasi City with Tu Lan.
Although Yasi City was the main city of the sea demons, they also needed to interact with the other eleven races. Thus, a third of the city was dry, allowing ordinary merchants to conduct their business and live.
Back when Yu Xunge couldn’t withstand the pressure of the deep sea, she had exchanged gold coins with the gnomes in the dry area.
Thinking about the gold coins, Yu Xunge planned to finish exploring the remaining parts of the main city in the next few days and exchange all the gold she could. Once she had dealt with Hei Fei regarding Yu Xunhuan, she would inform the Special Affairs Bureau in advance about how to exchange gold for coins.
Her strength had already begun to take shape; she had passed the most dangerous and vulnerable stage. She no longer had to worry about the Special Affairs Bureau expanding its power to a level she couldn’t handle once they had enough gold coins.
She didn’t even have to worry about the Bureau using gold coins to buy skills or items that could identify S-level talents in Huaxia. Not only did she have her S-level pocket watch for protection, but even if the Bureau discovered her talent was beyond B-level or turned against her for some reason, she was confident she could retreat unscathed.
Call her selfish or cold-blooded; her core principle was always to protect herself first before considering anything else.
Her talent meant that once exposed, she would be hunted down by everyone. Even if she explained that most of her attributes were stolen from other races, it wouldn’t matter.
Explanations are often futile; sometimes, having something that others lack is the original sin.
Moreover, she had indeed taken action against Yu Xunhuan and other Blue Star people. To those unaware, how cold-hearted and ruthless would that seem?
Yu Xunge had originally agreed with the Special Affairs Bureau to inform them about the gold-to-coin exchange method a year later, in December of this year. By telling them early, not only would she leave a good impression, but she could also negotiate some terms.
She was quite satisfied with the Bureau's current attitude towards her, but this attitude was something she had carefully crafted through her repeated, either forceful or gentle, responses and her formidable strength: knowing when to yield, when to weigh gains and losses, when to be generous, and when to play dumb.
She had even been slow to claim the benefits of "Feeling Happy Again" as a subtle way to express her trust in the Bureau. Of course, the main reason was that she didn’t want to frequently go to the Bureau for face-to-face transactions; they were a bit too diligent in that regard.
Unlike her usual small dealings with Zhao Shuying, the transactions between her and the Bureau were more complex and required her to clarify everything in person, sign to acknowledge she had seen the accounts, and then sign again to confirm she had received the coins...
It always felt like the Bureau was full of traps.
The process was too cumbersome; she couldn’t just toss gold coins around in front of others.
However, taking advantage of this opportunity to inform them about the gold-to-coin exchange, she had already planned a way to withdraw everything. Keeping it all in the Bureau was risky; what if it was actually used?
In fact, being a lone wolf was the hardest path. Without any power to restrict you, it also meant there was no one to protect you; you had to face everything on your own.
Being too gentle made you an easy target for manipulation.
Being too forceful would make the Bureau think she was rebellious and overly focused on personal gain. Allowing her to rise unchecked could lead to more harm than good; they might as well use her first—like forcing her to return to teach alchemy classes. She didn’t believe the Bureau couldn’t guess she had a teacher in Zelan.
They might even use the guise of righteousness to pressure her, playing the patriotism card, which was something an individual couldn’t resist.
And it wasn’t just patriotism anymore; the biggest card now was the love for the game.
The Special Affairs Bureau was not the always-just, always-bright protagonist of a fairy tale.
And she was not a pure, kind-hearted, selfless little rabbit.
This was good because it was hard for the eternally righteous and purely selfless little rabbit to come out on top in the end.
As she approached Yasi City, with just twenty minutes to go, Yu Xunge used her skill to transform into an undead—this was the other race she understood best, aside from the Moon Fox.
She changed all her equipment and clothes, while Tu Lan temporarily returned to her pet space.
Before even entering the city, Yu Xunge sensed a tense atmosphere.
First, there was a new wanted poster outside the city gate featuring a Moon Fox named something like Frost Embroidery. It was clear she had been wronged, and Yu Xunge couldn’t bear to look at it for long.
Secondly, every individual entering the city, regardless of their race, was being thoroughly questioned by the sea demons stationed at the gate.
Moreover, the wall lamps on either side of the gate had been replaced from energy lamps to scented candles.
In the past, she wouldn’t have thought anything of the candles, but after visiting the Moon Fox library, she no longer underestimated anything that emitted a fragrance.
She took a deep look at a floating fruit near the city gate, which resembled a tomato from the Blue Star but was black and had deep and shallow stripes like a watermelon.
Even though Yu Xunge recognized over a thousand types of herbs, she couldn’t identify this one; it was something new.
This reminded her of the race that loved to cultivate all sorts of bizarre plants and use them as weapons—the Acorn Owls.
No way... When she had stolen books from Moon Lake City, it hadn’t been this strict! Back then, the eleven races had already discovered that Blue Star people were sneaking into Zelan.
Haha, surely it couldn’t just be because of a few books and a piece of mahjong...
...
In the palace of the Mist Blade Moon Emperor.
Three six-tailed Moon Foxes stood in the center of the grand hall, reporting the results of their recent searches in various main cities.
Long before the books were stolen, they had dispatched a team to the Frost Tail clan.
Not only did they find Frost Embroidery—who turned out to be just a two-month-old cub—but they also checked all the six-tails of the Frost Tail clan and discovered that none had acted alone recently; each had witnesses to confirm where they had been and what they had done.
Furthermore, they hadn’t found any trace of the so-called "Frost Embroidery" in the major cities, and all available tracking scents had been used... The Acorn Owls were also helping them search for the fox, but so far, there were no leads...
The Mist Blade Moon Emperor leaned back on her throne, her expression unreadable as she listened.
Once everyone had finished reporting, she asked, “Did we buy that potion?”
The Moon Fox in the center held up a vial of potion with both hands. “We’ve acquired it from the buyer.”
The tail behind the Mist Blade stirred, and the vial floated toward her. She reached out to grasp it, and mist enveloped the vial. In an instant, a master-level potion worth 200 gold turned into a wisp of smoke, dissipating into the air.
The Mist Blade said, “You’ll split off a small team to go to the Dark City and keep a close watch on Heqipa.”
She truly couldn’t find that audacious little thief, but she knew who in all of Zelan wanted to learn the alchemy of the Moon Fox clan the most!
Who else but that idiot Heqipa would dare send someone to steal books from the Moon Fox library?
And while stealing books, that guy had the audacity to provoke her and toy with her!
Using the potion she had gifted to sell for money!
She even suspected that her missing "Six Tubes" had been stolen by that thieving fox!
Who else but Heqipa would be so bold, so brazen, so arrogant?!
The Mist Blade fell silent for two seconds before saying, “...Also split off another small team to keep an eye on Lucia in the Eternal Day City. Don’t disturb her; just send people to watch the unfamiliar faces she interacts with.”
After a moment of silence, she added, “And also keep an eye on Taosu in the Eternal Night City, Song Hazelnut in the Four Seasons City, and the raccoon cubs in Tun Tun Mountain…”
By the end, the Mist Blade was rubbing her temples, realizing she could go on forever; there was simply too much to say.
...
In the alchemy shop of the Dark City.
Heqipa was openly sitting by the window reading a book. The cover read "Falling in Love with Alchemy is Like Falling in Love with You," but inside, it had long been swapped for Volume 85 of "Moonlight Potions: The Alchemy Key."
She glanced at the fox tail peeking out from the street corner and scoffed internally. There was no way she would make such a rookie mistake; especially during such a sensitive time, she was even less likely to go into seclusion.
That would be like directly telling the Mist Blade that she had gotten something good.
However, she truly didn’t have the energy to teach Yu Xunge lately.
Just as she was thinking about Yu Xunge, a figure appeared by the window.
A hooded undead mage looked down at the book in Heqipa's hands. “Hello, do you also enjoy this epic masterpiece?”
Heqipa used her skill to check the other’s name—[Lao Kewenla].
Heqipa: “...Get in here quickly.”
Lao Kewenla: “Sure.”
Yu Xunge immediately rolled into the shop and sat down next to Heqipa.
She said, “Teacher, I only have 20 minutes left.”
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