Chapter 589: Excitement

Inside the room, besides the recently discarded soul-capturing bags, Wu Jinliang had initially intended to take the male corpse as well, but Shi Chun stopped him. It was then that he realized Shi Chun had deliberately stripped the male corpse, removing any trace of Underworld attire. Leaving the body behind must have had some purpose.

When they landed again, they were in an underground cave in the Underworld. Shi Chun released his control over the pile of golden threads, and the passage between the two realms immediately dissipated.

Only then did Wu Jinliang find a moment to ask, "Why did you leave that male corpse?"

Shi Chun pointed upwards, gesturing for them to leave, and replied, "Only by using the 'Death-Shedding Incense' to revive the corpse can we prove that the souls seized by the King's Court were not captured by us, because we are still confined to Juku Prefecture. Remember, we have always been confined to Juku Prefecture and have never sent any soul-capturing bags to Shen Moming or Young Master Nan."

Wu Jinliang looked bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning for a moment. He asked, "What do you mean?"

Shi Chun said, "Don't worry about what it means for now. Let's go outside; we still need to hurry and find a new location to try sending that message to Shen Moming."

Wu Jinliang immediately pulled out the 'Ice Sheep' and took two deep breaths before activating his Earth-Tunneling Art to surge towards the surface. He grumbled, "Later, if that message to Shen Moming and the bags we just threw can't escape the King's Court stronghold, and we can't return to Juku Prefecture to prove we're still there, what's the point of all these tricks? I just don't understand why you didn't leave us a retreat to Juku Prefecture."

Shi Chun shot a glance at the complaining fellow and retorted, "Who said I didn't leave a retreat to Juku Prefecture? What did you think I asked you to keep that wolf corpse for, the one you brought to the Underworld for experimentation? You didn't throw it away, did you?"

"Uh..." Wu Jinliang looked surprised. "You told me to keep it, so it must have some use. Of course, I kept it..." As he spoke, he seemed to realize something important.

Shi Chun simply replied, "The one you brought into the Underworld for the experiment – I was outside, attempting to cast a spell to control its soul, preventing those golden threads from drawing it away."

His Earth-Tunneling Art paused its ascent. Wu Jinliang's eyes widened, and he slapped his chest, exclaiming loudly, "Chun Tian, you scared me to death! If you had a backup plan, you should have said so earlier! All that talk made me so anxious!"

Shi Chun said, "Did I ever say I didn't have a backup plan? You were just grumbling and frightening yourself."

"No, wait..." Wu Jinliang suddenly blurted out, "If you had a backup plan, why did you still use the 'Death-Shedding Incense' at the King's Court?"

Shi Chun pointed upwards again, gesturing for him to ascend first. "The soul-capturing bag in Young Master Nan's possession has already fallen into the King's Court's hands. Our unauthorized soul-capture this time has alarmed them. Clearing our names is one thing. Then there's the Phoenix Clan; we still haven't settled the score with them for colluding with the Extreme Fire Sect against us. They're powerful, and I'm unsure how to provoke them. I never expected to mistakenly enter the Eastern Victory King's Court. I wonder if we can get them to intervene. If there's no disturbance at the Divine Mountain, we might not get a chance to acquire the 'Big Dipper Spirit-Repelling Formation'."

Wu Jinliang was left speechless.

Afterward, both emerged from the ground, and after determining their direction, they swiftly darted away.

Meanwhile, back at the sprawling jade palaces from which they had escaped, the plain-robed elder, who had been pursuing the souls with the black-clad man, was intercepted by the leader of the accompanying King's Court guards. The leader flashed forward, extending a hand to stop him, and declared, "Right Saint, you cannot trespass further!"

The elder glanced at the magnificent main hall where the King's Court officials held their discussions. Beyond this hall lay the inner court, the resting place of the Holy King and his family – indeed, not a place outsiders were permitted to trespass.

Guards stationed in the inner court also ran over, inquiring about the situation.

The black-clad man dared not trespass either, only watching helplessly as the white, glowing souls darted into a magnificent building ahead. He then approached the elder, pointing at the imposing structure, and said, "Right Saint, look! A large amount of yin energy is seeping out of that room, in broad daylight! This is highly unusual. Someone must be causing trouble in there; we should move quickly to secure it."

The elder cast a dismissive glance at him and said blandly, "That is the Queen's chamber."

The black-clad man's expression froze, and he felt immediate shame. Indeed, the Queen's chamber was not a place anyone could trespass. Even the Right Saint, let alone unauthorized entry, probably wouldn't dare to even peer inside.

Nevertheless, the elder still flashed over to the guards, pointed at the Queen's chamber, and communicated with them.

Although no one dared to trespass, it was permissible to secure the surrounding area first to prevent anyone from escaping.

Seeing that yin energy was indeed seeping out, the guards did not hesitate and quickly dispatched personnel to cordon off the area.

Concurrently, someone flew to the tall steps behind the main hall.

The tall steps, flanked by jade pillars, led up to a clear blue sky with no visible structures—only emptiness. However, those in the know understood that these steps concealed the entrance to another blessed realm, the true location of the royal palace, which remained invisible unless activated.

The elder watched as the person who had flown up communicated there, then vanished into a ripple of distorted space.

Before long, the messenger returned, accompanied by several women dressed as palace maids.

The palace maids carried the Queen's decree, granting the Right Saint permission to investigate the Queen's external chamber.

The group hurried to the chamber's entrance, finding the entire building already heavily surrounded by armored guards.

As a palace maid pushed open the door, the yin energy trapped inside immediately surged out, chilling and eerie.

"Ah!" The palace maid who entered first suddenly gasped.

Those behind, unsure what had happened, quickly surged forward. What met their eyes was a stark naked male corpse. This...

Everyone who entered froze. The Right Saint's scalp tingled, and his eyes nearly bulged. What exactly was he seeing?

A corpse itself was not the issue. The problem was that he had personally led this investigation, only to discover a naked male corpse in the Queen's chamber. If this news got out, the Queen's reputation would be impossible to salvage; who knew what rumors would spread.

To encounter something so bizarre—what kind of situation was this?

He immediately turned and instructed those beside him that no one else from outside should enter.

A palace maid swiftly departed to report the news back to the royal palace.

The other entrants largely began searching, though there was little to find; both the inner and outer rooms were barren, with hardly anything present.

The Queen's chamber was actually this simple? The elder, entering it for the first time, couldn't help but inwardly marvel. This resting place — did it not even have a chair? Did the Queen usually sit on the floor?

Thinking of the floor, he couldn't help but glance at the stark naked male corpse, attempting to curb his wild thoughts and convince himself it couldn't possibly be related to the Queen.

His gaze then fell upon the soul-capturing bags on the ground, his eyes wide with surprise and doubt. As he slowly paced over to examine them, he also beckoned to the black-clad man, "Check if there's anything inside those bags."

The black-clad man, whose gaze had been wandering, was also surprised by the simplicity of the Queen's chamber. When called back to attention, he quickly complied.

"Where are the Queen's clothes?"

"The clothes rack is gone too."

"Oh, where's the daybed?"

"Where's the writing desk?"

"Where was the dressing table moved to?"

"The mirror is gone too?"

"And the beaded and gauze curtains—where did they go?"

Several palace maids began exclaiming loudly.

In fact, it was precisely because the beaded and gauze curtains separating the inner and outer rooms were missing that the intruders could see the male corpse in the inner room at a glance.

It was also due to the palace maids' exclamations that the elder and the others looked around in bewilderment, only then realizing that the Queen's chamber originally contained many furnishings. Had they been stolen?

Someone could actually sneak into the Queen's chamber and steal things? Regardless of the audacity involved, how could such a thing even be possible? While the Queen's belongings were undoubtedly valuable, this was a heavily guarded King's Court area, especially to steal everything so thoroughly.

This thief even stole the partitioning gauze curtains? What kind of destitute thief could infiltrate the King's Court, let alone the Queen's chamber, to steal things?

What was initially a straightforward matter now felt complicated to the elder. He walked to the corpse, and after personally examining it, he beckoned a palace maid over and asked, "Do any of you recognize him?"

Disregarding the fact that it was a naked male corpse, they each stepped forward to look, then shook their heads, indicating they did not recognize him.

Why would an unknown person appear in the Queen's chamber? The elder subconsciously observed the palace maids' reactions, thinking, *It's best if they're not lying. If these people are untruthful about this, then I absolutely do not wish to investigate this matter further.*

Just then, footsteps approached. Everyone turned to look and saw a woman dressed in blue and white gradient casual attire walk in, accompanied by the palace maid who had gone to report the news earlier.

The woman was not particularly stunning, but her demeanor was dignified. The intimidating aura she exuded with a cold, sidelong glance made everyone present bow respectfully and greet her, "Your Majesty."

The newcomer was none other than the Queen of Eastern Victory Divine Continent, named Xin.

The Queen ignored everyone else, merely nodding slightly to the elder. She then walked directly to the corpse, unabashedly and frankly examining the stark naked male corpse from head to toe before tilting her head and asking, "Who is this person?"

The elder replied, "We don't know who this person is; we're still investigating."

The Queen slowly turned, surveying the room and each person within it. Her cold, stern gaze suddenly shifted, fixing directly on the elder's eyes. "I hear Right Saint came rushing directly here. How did Right Saint, from the Right Auxiliary Marquis's estate, know there was a disturbance in my chamber?"

"This..." The elder hesitated.

The Queen immediately swept her sleeve and instructed the others, "Alright, you may all withdraw." She then glanced at the corpse on the ground. "Take this eyesore away as well."

Thus, everyone else, including the corpse, was cleared from the room.

Once the room was clear, the Queen cast a cold, sidelong glance. "I presume the Right Chancellor will not conceal anything from me."

The elder gave a wry smile. "This matter truly is a long story, beginning with the recent developments in Xiniu Juku Prefecture..."

The Queen's response was blunt: "Then make a long story short."

"Because the activity in Juku Prefecture alarmed the Demon Queen, I had people keep an eye on everyone associated with Shi Chun. As a result, we discovered that Young Master Nan Wuyu received a letter from Shi Chun..." The elder systematically recounted the general course of events.

After listening, the Queen looked around. "Are you suggesting this matter is related to this Shi Chun, that Shi Chun stole the items from my chamber, and he even left a stark naked male corpse there to humiliate me?"

The elder also looked around and sighed, "Alas, given Shi Chun's background and character, stealing the chamber so thoroughly does seem like something he would do. Ordinary thieves who could infiltrate here wouldn't be so greedy. However, precisely because of this, it seems almost too obvious. Furthermore, breaching the King's Court stronghold also exceeds their capabilities, and they still appear to be confined within Juku Prefecture."

The Queen, however, remarked, "For the Right Saint to personally appear and seek out Young Master Nan, this Young Master Nan must have considerable influence."

The elder gave a wry smile. "In earlier years, his ancestors had shown me kindness. If I appear personally, he'll cooperate willingly and avoid unnecessary trouble."

The Queen asked, "Young Master Nan chose to settle in the Eastern Victory Royal Capital; is that due to the Right Saint's patronage?"

The elder gave another wry smile. "Perhaps."

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside, with someone shouting, "It's alive! It's alive!"

The Queen pushed open the window and saw the male corpse, which had been carried outside and covered with a cloth, actually sitting up, causing quite a stir. Yet, she said calmly, "Whether this is related to Shi Chun or not, judging by speculation is useless. There are many possibilities; we must eliminate them one by one. I only want the facts. Since Young Master Nan is directly involved right now, let's start by apprehending him and working from there. Is this convenient for the Right Saint?"

The elder did not hesitate. Cupping his hands, he stated decisively, "It shall be done as Your Majesty wishes."

He knew that Her Majesty had been provoked.

The Queen glanced back at the chamber. "Since someone entered, they will surely leave traces. Bring two magic eyes to discern the scene."

"Understood," the elder affirmed.

"I appreciate your efforts, Right Saint." After a slight nod of acknowledgment, the Queen turned and departed directly.

Meanwhile, the search personnel had thoroughly examined both the interior and exterior but found no suspicious individuals, nor anyone hiding.

The guards, however, were the first to suffer. They were swiftly brought under control and began to be interrogated one by one.