"To live off the mountains, one lives off the water." These words have always been true, sounding like a feast of delicacies, but their meaning is far more grim. Proximity to mountains meant mountain bandits, and proximity to water meant river pirates. Neither were good people, specializing in preying on travelers.
However, these bandits were not fools. They knew better than to act when soldiers were present. Firstly, soldiers were not to be trifled with in combat, and secondly, provoking them could lead to their own demise. Therefore, Li Zhenli knew that their journey would be uneventful. She invited Shen Feng into the cabin for tea.
But Shen Feng preferred the open air. Although it was midsummer, sailing on the Yangtze River brought a cool breeze in the mornings. The cold wind helped to temporarily clear Shen Feng's mind.
Li Zhenli did not insist and soon returned to the cabin, instructing the soldiers to refer to the masked individual on board as Lord Fuyao. The soldiers had already heard rumors of an ability user on the ship, and they were both surprised and curious, eager to know what kind of person lay behind the mask.
Shen Feng's mind was a mess. He was contemplating one thing: "Would Senior Sister really like another man? If she truly changed her mind, what would be the point of snatching her back?"
Although Shen Feng had decided on his next course of action – to forcefully take her back – he was now hesitant. He knew that matters of the heart could not be forced. If Senior Sister fell in love with someone else, even if he managed to get her back, he wouldn't be able to win her heart. This made Shen Feng indecisive.
All of this was merely Shen Feng's speculation; the truth remained unknown. Shen Feng had already prepared for the worst. If the marriage incident was true, Shen Feng wouldn't know what to do!
By noon, Shen Feng and his entourage arrived at Yuzhou. Traveling by water was indeed fast. On the city walls of Yuzhou, the number of sentry soldiers had increased significantly compared to before. Soldiers at the city gates were also constantly questioning passersby.
Witnessing this state of heightened alert, Shen Feng became suspicious. Why were there suddenly so many soldiers on guard? Had something major happened in the city?
Upon entering the city, Li Zhenli directly revealed her identity: "I am Li Zhenli, from Wanzhou, here to attend a wedding. These people are my retinue."
A soldier pulled out documents and began to compare them. Once they confirmed she was who she claimed to be, they quickly granted passage and continued to question those behind her.
Returning to the long-lost city of Yuzhou, Shen Feng felt a sense of familiarity. Hearing the familiar voices around him, his emotions stirred. The thought of this being his home filled him with emotion. The streets were almost unchanged, with people walking about, chattering idly.
"You all go to the guild hall first. I'll take a walk around the city and meet you later!" Shen Feng said to Li Zhenli and Shan Zhengming beside him.
Neither of them objected to Shen Feng's suggestion. They immediately led the soldiers towards the guild hall.
Shen Feng began to walk through the city and found a teahouse with a good view. It was a five-story building offering a panoramic view of the city, attracting many patrons.
Shen Feng walked in, sat down, ordered a cup of tea, and settled into a corner. He was no longer concerned with the beautiful scenery; the good seats were already occupied. The corners of the teahouse were the least conspicuous places.
Shen Feng sat in the teahouse, listening to others talk. Wearing a mask, it was difficult for him to drink tea. He asked the waiter for a straw. The waiter looked at the masked individual with suspicion. It was the first time someone had come to the teahouse to drink tea with a straw. He could have simply taken off his mask, but he refused to do so. The waiter couldn't understand.
The waiter dared not ask further. In these times, it was better not to know certain secrets. The more one knew, the more miserable their fate would be.
Shen Feng chose to sit in the teahouse for a reason. If he wanted to gather information in Yuzhou, the teahouse was the place. Many people, with nothing better to do, enjoyed bragging. Outside, under the scorching sun, no one would be in the mood for idle chatter. Thus, the utility of teahouses and coffee shops became apparent. In these places, one could enjoy a drink while sheltering from the sun, and boast with friends. It was truly wonderful!
Moreover, those who could afford to drink tea in teahouses and coffee shops were generally people with some disposable income, or what were called white-collar workers. Manual laborers had no time to sit in teahouses; they were either moving bricks or hoeing fields.
Therefore, the people in the teahouse were likely to possess a lot of information. Gathering information here would allow him to learn more.
Shen Feng sat in the corner, silently listening to the conversations. Currently, the most talked-about event in Yuzhou was the impending marriage of the Vice City Lord. This was the most sensational news. Although it had only recently surfaced, more and more people knew about it and were discussing it, as it was a major event that would determine the future of Yuzhou.
"I truly feel it's unfair for Lord Fengshen. His bones are barely cold, and his wife is about to remarry. It's truly lamentable!"
"More than that! I heard that the Vice City Lord will also be bringing the treasure tree from the laboratory as part of her dowry!"
"What treasure tree?" someone asked, confused.
"You don't even know this? Of course, it's the treasure tree that continuously produces evolution base in the laboratory! I have a friend who had the chance to go inside with Professor Niu. He said that at the time, he was there to clean. According to him, bodies were brought into the laboratory and placed in transparent cages. They would soon be decomposed, and then the factory would produce evolution base. Afterward, it would be packaged!"
"Is that so? Then this tree must be very precious?"
"Nonsense, of course, it's incredibly precious! You must understand that the only place in the world capable of mass-producing evolution base is Yuzhou. Others can only dream of it. This is the only treasure tree in the world. I heard the laboratory named it the Nine Deaths Returning Soul Tree!"
"With such a major event, has no one tried to stop the Vice City Lord? If she marries, won't we have to follow these people from the Heavenly Dragon Bureau?"
"Of course, someone tried to stop her. I heard that Guo Pinming, one of the three leaders of the army, went to persuade her and was directly imprisoned. If they treat meritorious officials like this, what hope is there for others? Who would dare to try and stop her now?"
Shen Feng listened to these conversations and was at a loss for words. From their dialogue, it seemed Chang Jianyi was determined to marry. She was even willing to offer the Nine Deaths Returning Soul Tree as a dowry, and she had imprisoned Guo Pinming. Such actions were disheartening.
As Shen Feng listened, he continued to pour himself tea. As a sixth-tier ability user, Shen Feng's five senses were incredibly sharp. He could clearly hear the discussions of everyone in the room, no matter how quietly they spoke.
At this moment, other patrons at different tables spoke up: "Actually, we shouldn't be too harsh on the Vice City Lord. After all, who can remain a widow forever? Now that the City Lord is dead, we can't stop the Vice City Lord from pursuing happiness, can we?"
"That's true, but who is this Su Liuying? I've never even heard of him. He's going to marry the Vice City Lord right away. Can that convince people? And will the Fengshen Palace also have to change its name?"
"Right, has Madam Chaoyan made any moves recently? Will she also marry and go with them?"
"It's hard to say. I heard the two ladies have a very good relationship. If your guess is correct, that would truly shock the world!"
"Alas, the Eldest Young Master hasn't been flying in the sky these past few days. I don't know what his stance is, and we can't inquire about the truth of the matter."
Shen Feng sat in the teahouse for an hour and heard quite a bit of news. However, it was all hearsay, with no accurate sources. But one thing was certain: the marriage incident had become common knowledge throughout the city.
Afterward, Shen Feng left the teahouse and went to the guild hall. He found Li Zhenli and Shan Zhengming and said, "Tonight, I'm going to Fengshen Palace. You two create a diversion for me. Make sure nothing goes wrong!"
Li Zhenli and Shan Zhengming quickly nodded. After dinner, as dusk fell, Shen Feng began his action. He had heard many shocking pieces of news during the day, but Shen Feng couldn't believe they were true. Now, he just wanted to enter Fengshen Palace to investigate thoroughly.
The night in Yuzhou was quite quiet, with very few pedestrians on the streets. Shen Feng deliberately chose deserted paths to move forward. The terrain in Yuzhou was quite complex, making it easy to avoid detection.
Upon reaching the main entrance of Fengshen Palace, Shen Feng suddenly saw a familiar figure. Lin Yue was standing at the main gate, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, but his ears were constantly twitching, indicating that Lin Yue was using his ability to listen to everything around him.
On the palace walls of Fengshen Palace, there was a soldier every five steps, all fully armed and guarding Fengshen Palace tightly. Compared to the defensive strength of Yuzhou's city walls, the security here was even more formidable.
"With Lin Yue here, I can't enter Fengshen Palace stealthily. It seems I'll have to find another way!" Shen Feng thought to himself.
Lin Yue's ability was to control sound waves. As long as there was a vibration, it would emit sound waves. Some sound waves could not be heard by humans, but Lin Yue could clearly hear both ultrasonic and infrasonic waves, thus pinpointing the enemy's location. Shen Feng was not confident he could enter Fengshen Palace undetected.
Since the main entrance was impassable, there was a back door. Shen Feng detoured to enter through the back. However, as he approached, Shen Feng discovered an even more troublesome individual there – Lu Xian. This guy's ability was thermal sensing, allowing him to detect infrared rays emitted by people and thus locate enemies.
"Damn it, these two are guarding the two doors, one at the front and one at the back. Do I have to enter through the side walls?" Shen Feng was exasperated by the situation. One detected sound, the other detected body temperature, and their detection ranges were vast, covering a radius of one to two kilometers. Entering Fengshen Palace was proving to be extremely difficult.
Shen Feng immediately felt a sense of difficulty. When dealing with his former companions, he realized how troublesome they were. He had intended to enter Fengshen Palace to find Chang Jianyi or Chu Chaoyan to question them directly, but now, Shen Feng found it impossible.
As Shen Feng was struggling, someone suddenly fired a shot from the distant city wall. Lu Xian heard the gunshot and cursed, "Damn it, they're here again! If I don't catch you sneaky fellows today, I'll be too ashamed to show my face!"
With that, Lu Xian rushed towards the direction of the gunshot. Seizing this rare opportunity, Shen Feng immediately charged out. His speed was so great that it surpassed human perception. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. With extreme speed, he dashed directly into Fengshen Palace, while the soldiers on the wall only felt a gust of wind passing by.
Once Lu Xian left the back door, the side would immediately have a gap. Shen Feng knew the range of his ability, so he only needed to advance at this opportune moment to evade Lu Xian's detection.
Successfully entering Fengshen Palace, Shen Feng immediately headed towards Fengyi Tower, where Chang Jianyi resided. He moved along the way, avoiding surveillance cameras. Fortunately, as the master of Fengshen Palace, Shen Feng knew exactly where the surveillance cameras were located.
Upon arriving at Fengyi Tower, Shen Feng did not find Chang Jianyi.
Subsequently, Shen Feng walked towards Chaofeng Pavilion, intending to find Chu Chaoyan. Unfortunately, he did not find her either.
Shen Feng was puzzled. Could these two be living within the castle? Thus, Shen Feng proceeded to the castle, thinking, "Even if I find Chang Haojie and Zhang Xixi, I can still clarify the truth of the matter!"
During normal times, Zhang Xixi and Chang Haojie would reside in the castle. However, Zhang Xixi lived in a large room with a spacious bed and a tall full-length mirror, with other furnishings being elegant. Chang Haojie lived in a tower, a relatively small space, and there was no staircase leading to his room; entry was only possible by air.