Chapter 585: Words on the Bag

Xiang Lan'er immediately leaned closer and whispered, "Is there something important in that package?"

Feng Chi replied, "It feels like an iron box. I don't know what's inside."

She couldn't use her magic to investigate the contents of the iron box in front of Shen Moming; it was too close, and the magical fluctuations would surely be detected.

Xiang Lan'er nodded slightly, "We should report this to our superiors as soon as possible."

Feng Chi paused, looking at Xiang Lan'er as she walked away, her expression complex. She quickly followed, whispering a plea, "If Miss reports it to our superiors, they'll still want us to find out what's inside the box first. It might be better if we try to figure it out ourselves. I think it's more appropriate to report it once we know what it is..."

On a street in the Eastern Victory Royal Capital, shortly after the carriage that had dropped off the messenger by the roadside departed, the messenger, full of spirits, had only walked a short distance when someone passing by suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him away. He was pulled into a carriage that had just pulled up and stopped by the road.

The carriage immediately sped away, and the messenger abruptly vanished from the street.

The person was taken directly to a small courtyard, pulled out of the carriage, and dragged inside for immediate interrogation.

It was an effortless interrogation; the messenger quickly revealed everything he knew.

Upon learning that the supposed sender from the Myriad Immortal Sect had dispatched the item from Xiniu Juku Prefecture, one of the interrogators immediately left the scene.

At the Wu Yu Pavilion, a carriage had just left and traveled a short distance when the coachman abruptly pulled on the reins, stopping the beast.

Originally, most carriages in the Royal Capital were pulled by spirit beasts and didn't require a coachman. However, in the last two years, the demonic path's disruptions have interfered with the directions of these pulling spirit beasts, causing the profession of coachman to gradually revive.

When the carriage suddenly stopped, the coachman turned back and called out, "Sir."

The carriage curtain was pulled aside, and Young Master Nan peered out. Ahead, a carriage exuding understated luxury was blocking the road, flanked by a line of capable attendants.

The curtain of the blocking carriage was briefly pulled open, revealing the face of an old man with white hair and beard. He cast an indifferent glance their way before letting the curtain fall.

Others might not have recognized the old man, but Young Master Nan shuddered. He quickly dismounted and hurried over, but just as he was about to bow, a stern voice from inside the carriage interrupted him, "Don't make a fuss. Get in and talk."

Young Master Nan dared not disobey. He quickly climbed into the other carriage and obediently slipped behind the curtain.

"Sit," said the old man, who was seated at the head of the carriage.

Young Master Nan then humbly sat on the side seat, forcing a smile. "Why have you come in person? If there was anything, you could have just sent someone to notify me."

The old man said, "When your ancestor was still alive, I had the honor of meeting him and even received guidance from him. So, I didn't want my subordinates to make things difficult for you, which is why I came personally to ask you a few questions. I hope you won't hide anything from me."

Young Master Nan quickly leaned forward in his seat and replied, "I wouldn't dare. Please, tell me anything you wish."

The old man asked, "I hear someone just delivered a package and a letter to you. Who sent them?"

Young Master Nan's expression stiffened as he realized he was being monitored.

His mumbling lips betrayed his inner hesitation, but confronted by the old man's intimidating, sidelong glance, he immediately lost his nerve and honestly confessed, "Shi Chun had someone send them."

The old man asked, "I hear he's been causing some trouble lately?"

Young Master Nan cautiously replied, "I've heard a little."

This was the truth. Under normal circumstances, with the relevant information deliberately suppressed, most people wouldn't know about Shi Chun's current situation. However, Young Master Nan was someone who could likely guess Shi Chun's whereabouts, so he couldn't help but pay close attention to that matter. Thus, he knew something had happened, something significant enough to alarm even the Demon Empress.

If even the Demon Empress could be alarmed, then it was hardly surprising that the person before him had made an appearance.

Yet, he truly didn't know what exactly had happened or what Shi Chun and his companions were doing.

The old man then asked, "I hear you're the one supplying all the goods to a treasure shop in Juku Prefecture?"

This was clearly a warning, and Young Master Nan secretly grumbled. He hadn't expected them to have investigated even this. So, he braced himself and replied, "Yes, it was agreed that the payment would be returned. I was purely helping a friend; I truly don't know what he's involved in."

The old man's focus shifted back. "What did he send you?"

Young Master Nan replied, "Besides the letter, there was a sealed iron box. He asked me to keep it safe. I used magic to investigate it, and it seemed to contain nothing."

The old man asked, "Is it on you now?"

"Yes."

"May I see it?"

Young Master Nan's expression froze, but in the end, he honestly pulled out both the letter and the iron box and respectfully offered them with both hands.

The old man, however, turned his head and addressed someone outside, "Don't be so overbearing and block others' paths; it's not good."

The people and carriage blocking the road immediately adjusted their positions and moved to the side.

Passing vehicles could now proceed without obstruction.

The old man then reached out, took the envelope, and pulled out the letter to read it.

However, the letter's content was identical to the one Shen Moming had received, and even with the old man's analytical skills, he couldn't find anything linking it to Shi Chun.

So, the old man shook the letter in his hand at Young Master Nan, as if asking how he could be certain it was related to Shi Chun.

Young Master Nan couldn't help but offer a wry smile. "I've had many dealings with Shi Chun. This is his handwriting. You might have heard about his background; his handwriting is terrible."

The old man immediately folded the letter neatly and put it back, every movement precise, before taking the iron box to examine it.

If his handwriting was ugly, that was one thing, but even the welding marks on this box were crooked and uneven; there was really no need for further admiration.

He directly used his magic to investigate the contents and found that there was indeed nothing substantial, but there seemed to be a bag.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly moved his finger like a knife and cut the iron box open as if it were tofu.

Young Master Nan wanted to speak but hesitated, ultimately not daring to utter a sound.

Since it had already been cut open, he leaned his head slightly, curious to see what was inside.

Inside the opened box, there indeed lay a black cloth bag with its opening gathered.

As someone who had lived through the era of communication with the Netherworld, the old man instantly recognized the black cloth bag. He muttered, "A Soul-Capturing Pouch?"

His certainty grew stronger after his fingers touched it.

He picked up the bag, smoothed out its creases, and read the two vertical lines of characters written on it: "Souls contained within, do not release!"

The old man's initial thought of opening the pouch to inspect its contents was immediately halted by those two lines of text.

Young Master Nan, observing from the side, secretly grumbled, feeling that his old friend was getting involved in increasingly bizarre things. He was actually capturing souls now? What important souls would require such a convoluted and mysterious arrangement?

After some consideration, the old man ultimately decided not to open the pouch. He pointed to the letter, the iron box, and the other items. "I'll borrow these for now. I'll return them to you later."

He did not specify when "later" would be.

Young Master Nan could only swallow the bitterness in his mouth and clasp his hands, saying, "As you command."

The old man said, "Then I won't trouble you any further."

Young Master Nan, understanding the hint, then took his leave.

After walking back to his own carriage, he waited until the old man's convoy had departed before daring to climb back inside. As soon as he sat down, he slumped, sighing and muttering, "Brother, they came prepared and applied pressure personally. I couldn't resist. Don't blame me for ruining your plans again..."

Deep underground, Wu Jinliang, who had been lying down reading, suddenly sat up with a start, forcefully slapping the book in his hand.

Shi Chun, also reading, was disturbed. He looked up and said, "Take it easy. That family has guarded these books for generations. Unless absolutely necessary, they must be returned in perfect condition later."

Wu Jinliang rolled the book in his hand and waved it. "No, I still think that bag of souls isn't safe. What if they get into the Netherworld and can't get out? That would be a huge problem. That ghostly place—look at Lao Changtai; he gets that desperate just for something to eat."

Shi Chun dismissed his concerns. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to those two bags of souls. Even if there's an accident, it's unlikely both bags would be affected."

"No," Wu Jinliang insisted, scrambling over the pile of books to sit cross-legged in front of him. "Chuntian, you can't say that. Think about it: if those people can't catch us, won't they target our families or Young Master Nan? Even though the items sent were cleverly disguised, they might not withstand a thorough investigation by someone determined. If you ask me, the safest option would have been to have the messenger wait for us somewhere with the items."

Shi Chun replied, "The danger I'm most worried about is precisely the messenger themselves. That's the most uncontrollable risk. You can know a person's face but not their heart; no matter how carefully you choose, you might entrust it to the wrong person. If the messenger, out of curiosity or momentary greed, opened the package and peeked inside, then it would be over.

That's exactly why I wanted them to deliver it properly, directly into the recipient's hands. To get another reward, they would have to face the recipient's final scrutiny. This is an invisible restraint that can stifle unwarranted desires.

The reason I found someone else to go out and come back empty-handed was to see if there were any obstructions outside. Throughout the process, my concern was whether anything would happen to the messenger along the way. As long as there were no incidents en route, there would be no problem."

Wu Jinliang couldn't help but scratch his head. "Chuntian, you still don't understand what I mean. I'm saying that after the items are delivered, they might be targeted, and I'm worried they'll be cunningly seized by others."

Shi Chun, however, withdrew his gaze and calmly continued turning the pages of his book. "Once the items are delivered, it doesn't matter who targets them, because I don't care whose hands they fall into, as long as they've been sent out."

Wu Jinliang paused, seemingly understanding, but then felt something was wrong. "No, Chuntian, if someone opens it, the souls will immediately return to the underworld, and then it's over. All our hard work will be for nothing."

Shi Chun moved the book from in front of him and looked at Wu Jinliang with amusement. "Do you think those two iron boxes you crafted are protecting those two earth wolf souls? Do you think this cleverly disguised delivery method is protecting the two souls? Neither. What truly protects the souls are the two lines of characters I wrote on the two pouches.

If the items safely fall into the hands of our own people, they will naturally obey the instructions written on them and not tamper with them. If they fall into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, seeing such an elaborate transfer process and then the characters on the soul-capturing pouch, do you think they'd easily open something they worked so hard to get, especially without knowing the significance of the souls contained within?

Without confidence in controlling the souls, they wouldn't easily open the soul-capturing pouch. And if they are confident enough to open it, the souls still won't escape. So, what impact does it ultimately have on you or me whose hands they fall into?

Do I care if the Demonic Path takes them, or the Extreme Fire Sect? Why worry about that unnecessarily? Perhaps we can even use this to test the true colors of those around us.

Just relax and read your book. It's more practical to learn more about the Netherworld. By my calculations, we should be entering tomorrow. Lao Changtai and the others should have arrived by now."

Wu Jinliang, who had been looking dazed, finally grasped the full meaning of Shi Chun's words. He immediately brightened, tossing his book aside and making fists to pound Shi Chun's legs with a grin. "No wonder you're the boss! The boss is truly wise! My mind is finally at ease."