Chapter 1036: Round Table Mystery Man

The first time I heard about the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce was during the investigation into Shen Zhou's case, when I learned that he had been investigating a smuggling operation involving them before his death. However, Zu'an knew that Shen Zhou had died near the capital. At that time, he should have been on his way to report information there, making it impossible for him to be investigating any smuggling case. Furthermore, the charred corpse found in the warehouse, which was linked to the smuggling case, was not Shen Zhou. Therefore, he hadn't given much thought to the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce.

However, as the investigation progressed, the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce's involvement sporadically surfaced. Now, upon learning that the demonic expert might also be hidden within the chamber, he realized there was definitely something amiss with this organization.

"I'll go with you to investigate the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce," Zu'an offered.

Qiu Honglei was pleasantly surprised. "Won't this interfere with your main task?" she asked.

Zu'an shook his head. "It's fine; I also have some matters to look into there."

Qiu Honglei leaned her head against his arm, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled. "Ah Zu, you're so good to me," she said.

Zu'an patted her hand, and they talked about their lives since their last meeting.

Unconsciously, they arrived near the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce. In fact, many establishments in Cloud City belonged to the Chamber, which consequently covered a vast area. However, according to the information Qiu Honglei had gathered, Kong Qing was likely hiding within the main headquarters. The two strolled around the headquarters like a couple, discreetly observing the Chamber's security, noting their patrol routes, shift changes, and other details.

After their initial reconnaissance, Zu'an was secretly astonished. "Is the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce preparing for something extraordinary?" he wondered, "The security here is even more rigorous than that of the Prefect's or City Lord's Mansions."

Qiu Honglei replied, "The Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce is already massive, with branches throughout the land. Since Cloud City is their headquarters, it's naturally more heavily guarded than other locations."

Zu'an hesitated, considering whether it would be safer to call in troops for a more thorough investigation. However, deploying troops would create too much of a stir, and he lacked concrete evidence. If they found nothing, it would lead to considerable trouble later. After all, an unwarranted military search of such a significant taxpayer to the imperial court would have very negative repercussions. Therefore, he decided to investigate it personally first to assess the situation.

Soon, night fell. Qiu Honglei wanted to enter, but Zu'an stopped her. "You wait outside," he instructed. "After all, Kong Qing managed to escape from your master, so his cultivation must be very high. And given the immense scale of this Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce, it's sure to be guarded by many experts."

Qiu Honglei snorted, clearly displeased. "I am the Holy Maiden of the Sacred Cult; I am perfectly capable of protecting myself," she retorted.

"This time is truly different," Zu'an said gravely. "Not only does it involve the murder of your cult's elder, but it also touches upon a major upheaval in Cloud City's official circles. It's undoubtedly complex inside; even I must proceed with extreme caution. At that point, I couldn't guarantee your safety." With Qiu Honglei's talent and resources, she would undoubtedly become one of the world's top experts given enough time. However, she was still too young, having cultivated for merely a decade or so. How could she compare to those ancient beings who had trained for decades or even centuries? This time, they were up against a Grandmaster-level expert, and without knowing the situation inside, he couldn't risk her safety.

Hearing the gravity in his tone, Qiu Honglei thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright then, so I don't hold you back," she conceded. "How about this: I'll wait outside to provide support. If I sense you're in danger, I'll create a diversion to draw their attention." If she were alone, she might have gone in, but with Zu'an, she wouldn't risk being a burden to him—something she absolutely wished to avoid.

Zu'an smiled and gently pinched her cheek. Just as he was about to sneak in, Qiu Honglei suddenly stopped him, offering him a lantern she held. "Take this with you," she said. "This item is called the Small Ever-Faithful Palace Lantern. Once lit, it can restrain creatures within a radius of several zhang. While it may not fully incapacitate a highly cultivated opponent, it can certainly slow down their movements. Keep it for self-defense."

As she began to explain how to use the Small Ever-Faithful Palace Lantern, Zu'an gently pushed her hand back. "Don't worry," he said. "With my current cultivation, I won't need this. It's your trump card; you should keep it for your own defense. You'll be providing backup for me later, and if some experts try to ambush you, I'd feel much more at ease knowing you have this."

Seeing the calm in his steady tone and eyes, Qiu Honglei smiled faintly and ceased insisting. "I completely forgot your cultivation is far greater than it once was," she said. "Very well, then. Be careful."

Zu'an nodded and slipped inside, seizing the moment after the inner guards had completed their patrol.

Having observed the outer guards' patterns during the day, he easily breached their defenses. However, as he proceeded deeper, he distinctly felt the security become much tighter. Many concealed spots housed secret sentries who continuously monitored the entire area, ready to raise an alarm at the slightest disturbance.

"A mere chamber of commerce acting so mysterious," Zu'an muttered, his brows furrowed deeply. He felt increasingly certain that there was something amiss with the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce. Of course, with his current cultivation and the Jade Cong's ability to provide x-ray vision, bypassing these hidden sentries was no difficult feat.

However, the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce comprised so many buildings that Zu'an searched for a while without any success. He quickly abandoned this needle-in-a-haystack approach. Instead, he concealed himself in the shadow of an attic and used the Jade Cong to extend his influence, activating all the small animals within the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce to assist in the search.

Naturally, with their limited intelligence, these small animals couldn't comprehend how to locate a demonic expert. However, Zu'an didn't need them to understand; he simply needed them to feel fear. The target was a Grandmaster-level demonic figure. While these small animals were broadly considered demons themselves, they were merely low-level, unintelligent beasts. Therefore, higher-level demons naturally exerted a dominant aura over lower-level creatures like these animals. Once they approached a certain range, these small animals would perceive extreme fear, which would indicate to him the location of his target.

The small animals began rustling and exploring the various buildings of the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce, making the compound's guards quite perplexed. They wondered if something supernatural was afoot that day. However, no one paid too much attention, merely assuming the small creatures were too hungry and had come out in search of food.

The search continued, and after about a quarter of an hour, there was finally a result. Zu'an opened his eyes and gazed at a courtyard several hundred meters away. It was completely dark there, and all the small animals dared not approach; even passing cats and mice trembled with fear.

"That's you!" Zu'an murmured. He tapped his toes, and like a night owl, he silently glided towards the courtyard.

The entire courtyard was silent, but Zu'an dared not be careless. He used Concubine Bai's sachet to suppress his aura to an extremely low level, then employed "Mirror Not a Stand" to conceal even the faintest vital energy fluctuations before slowly creeping inside. Although his opponent was a Grandmaster, Zu'an had fought Grandmasters before, and even more formidable opponents. Now at the peak of the ninth rank, and possessing various secret techniques and unique skills, he knew that even in a direct confrontation with a Grandmaster, he wouldn't be at much of a disadvantage.

Along the way, he meticulously searched, wary of hidden sentries, but after quite some time, he found not a single guard. He soon understood. A top-tier demonic expert resided here; guards would be useless and might even reveal the expert's identity. He then quickened his pace and arrived at the central room.

Before he even reached it, he heard faint sounds of conversation emanating from inside.

"Huh? Could there be more than one?" Zu'an's heart stirred, and his steps faltered slightly. He could likely handle a single demonic Grandmaster, but if there were several more experts, that would be problematic. Nevertheless, his curiosity got the better of him. Since there were people talking, he might be able to eavesdrop on many secrets related to Zuo Su's murder and unravel the mysteries of Cloud City. As for facing a few more individuals, self-preservation with his current cultivation shouldn't be a major problem. Surely there couldn't be several Grandmasters in there, could there?

He moved to the window, gently poked a hole, and peered inside. No lights were lit inside, making it dim and dark. However, with his current cultivation, he could just barely make out the scene. He saw that the hall contained no other furniture apart from a single, massive round table. The round table was enormous, more than ten times the size of a regular one. Yet, very few people were seated around it; he counted only five individuals. They were seated very far apart, seemingly wary of each other. No wonder the table was so massive. Each of them was shrouded in a wide, black robe.

Zu'an mused that old TV dramas were indeed misleading. He recalled how, in those shows, masked or blindfolded figures, or even more absurdly, characters simply wearing glasses, would become unrecognizable. He used to think he could easily identify them if he were in such a situation. But now, Zu'an was genuinely baffled because their disguises were so perfect that he couldn't discern their appearances or even their genders!

"These guys are so secretive; this is clearly an illegal gathering," Zu'an thought, just as someone inside spoke.

"Why was Zuo Su killed?"