Star Trace Gate

Chapter 957 Separate Actions, Return Tonight

Inside the hall, Ren Ye listened to Master Chu's words with a completely bewildered expression, stammering, "Holy crap, are you sure about this?!"

“Sure.” Master Chu frowned and nodded. “Liu Wei told me this. Niu Dali’s personal guards finalized the specific personnel to accompany him back to Tianzhao Temple last night, and this morning they went to the garrison headquarters to pick up the young marquis. He is currently in the governor’s office and will depart at noon.”

"I asked Liu Wei to find out about Niu Dali's situation. He worked very hard and investigated in great detail. That's how he learned from a friend at the Martial Monk's Mansion that the young marquis was going to be taken away."

"……!" Ren Ye was completely bewildered after hearing this, his expression one of utter speechlessness.

After pondering for a while, Master Chu carefully analyzed, "I think the reason why Niu Dali insisted on taking him away is related to what the young marquis said that day. He claimed that he knew the exact whereabouts of the successor of the Human Emperor, which is naturally very important to Tianzhao Temple. Therefore, Niu Dali, who is now desperate, may feel that this is a great achievement. If he can take the young marquis away with him and find out the whereabouts of the successor of the Human Emperor, he may be able to offset some of his misdeeds and atone for his sins."

"Serves him right, serves him right for living like that." Ren Ye gritted his teeth and cursed viciously when he heard this. "Let him spout nonsense everywhere. Now look what happened. They're going to take him directly to the enemy's headquarters. Now he's completely satisfied."

"…!" Master Chu sighed, unusually speaking up for the young marquis, "It can't all be blamed on him. Given the circumstances that day, only revealing this information could save his life; otherwise, Niu Dali would have killed him outright…!"

"You two are related by blood?!" Ren Ye was so angry that he lost his composure and retorted with a sidelong glance, "I can see that you feel sorry for him. No way, you go to Tianzhao Temple with him."

"I do feel some sympathy, but let's skip going to Tianzhao Temple together." Master Chu waved his hand and said, "If he encounters any misfortune, I can make the trouble of going to Dongdeng Prefecture in Jiuli to inform the old Marquis of his death!"

"...!"

Ren Ye plopped down in a chair, looking dejected and annoyed. He rubbed his face and sighed, "Niu Dali is leaving at noon? Now... damn it, there's no time to even snatch him back. Even if I disguise myself as the gray-robed woman and tell Wang Anquan to put pressure on Niu Dali, I probably still won't be able to get the young marquis back."

“Just like you said… Niu Dali has already regarded him as a great achievement that can defy fate, so there is absolutely no possibility of him being released. Therefore, having Wang Anquan intervene now will only alert Niu Dali and make him more wary.”

“As long as Niu Dali hasn’t left, he hasn’t lost control of the Imperial Guard. If we clash with him now, not only will we not be able to save the young marquis, but we might also get ourselves into trouble.”

"Damn it, this place of migration is really the young marquis's nemesis. Ever since he came here, not a single day has gone smoothly for him."

"...!"

Despite his swearing, the mischievous boy never stopped thinking. Because in his heart, the weight of his close friends in the park was more important than any job.

People definitely need to be saved, but how to save them is extremely difficult.

Master Chu naturally understood Ren Ye's character, so he stopped teasing him and said solemnly, "There's no other good way now, we can only try to get him back. But... but I think this matter definitely can't be done in Beifeng Town."

"Hmm." Ren responded, then slowly raised his head and asked, "After the relocation site reopened, many of the Heavenly Dao's rules changed, and I'm a bit confused. The real-world relocation site has long since collapsed and shattered into countless secret realm star gates, but in the year 251, it was still intact, with interconnected lands forming a vast continent. So... when Niu Dali returned to Tianzhao Temple, logically speaking, there were no longer any connecting roads between cities in reality. How exactly will the Heavenly Dao evolve?... Could it be that Niu Dali was directly teleported to Tianzhao Temple after leaving Beifeng Town?"

Master Chu frowned at him and explained softly, "I do know something about this. I specifically inquired about it when I was in the bustling city of West Tower in Tiandu. Because Beifeng Town is a city within the Tiandu Secret Realm, and they are connected, there was an official road when we came here... But after leaving the Tiandu area, travelers who want to enter other cities need to travel through the official road recreated by the Heavenly Dao."

"In other words, the migration route from Tiandu to Tianzhao City in 251 years is the same route we will take now, with all the cities and roads along the way being identical. However, the route itself has been evolved by the Heavenly Dao, perhaps to enhance the realism of the 251-year timeframe and ensure the accuracy of the time spent on the journey, allowing it to align with the timelines of various major real events. That's why the Heavenly Dao has evolved it this way."

"To put it simply, if you set off from Tiandu, the official roads you pass through may be a repeat of the Heavenly Dao, and you will spend the same amount of time traveling. Then, when you arrive at a certain city, you will be teleported into that city."

He explained it in great detail, and the little rascal understood it immediately.

“Oh, I see. So that means Niu Dali is very likely to be teleported into a city under my control along the way?” Ren asked. “After all, the migration area in 251 was a war-torn place, and the cities under the control of the Divine Court and Tianzhao Temple were intertwined.”

“Theoretically, it is possible.” Master Chu thought for a moment: “But I think there are many official roads, and Niu Dali only has twenty people with him. So, for safety’s sake, they will probably take a ‘detour’ and only travel through the cities controlled by Tianzhao Temple.”

Ren thought about it carefully: "Then I have no way to get the help of the Fulong Pavilion's spies, I can only...!"

"Only what?" Looking at his expression, Master Chu felt a very bad premonition.

"I can only send you, the strongest person in the park... to take action." Ren Ye solemnly praised him to his face.

Upon hearing this, Master Chu waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Alright, alright, please don't flatter me. This is even more terrifying than telling a joke to my senior, White Chicken."

"I can't leave now. I hold an official position. If I suddenly disappear, it will definitely arouse suspicion." Ren Ye looked at Chu Daoye and gritted his teeth, saying, "Niu Dali only took twenty men with him. And that number of men... is like a small meeting in Kalami to you, not worth mentioning!"

"...!" Master Chu looked at him with a speechless expression.

“Brother, I’ll confirm the return time with Wang Anquan in a bit, and then I’ll tell you the detailed plan. You go alone, secretly follow Niu Dali, and according to the return time, seize the opportunity to rescue the young marquis. You don’t need to kill anyone, nor do you need to confront Niu Dali head-on. Just make a sudden move, rescue him, and leave.” Ren Ye thought for a moment and replied, “Take some extra pills with you. After you succeed, immediately feed them to the young marquis. As long as he can recover some of his supernatural powers, the two of you working together will have a high chance of successfully escaping.”

"Furthermore, once the rebellion begins in the city, I will only help Wang Anquan with his son's affairs before I immediately go to catch up with you and welcome you. If anything unexpected happens, the three of us will be much safer."

"…!" After thinking for a long time, Master Chu knew that this was the only feasible solution at present, so he said helplessly, "Damn it, if I am captured, I will have no choice but to go to the enemy's headquarters with the young master."

"It's not impossible. You two are both incredibly intelligent and brave; who knows, you might even become twin spies hiding within the chaos to maintain order," Ren Ye added, offering another compliment.

"What the hell is Gemini?" Master Chu said helplessly, "Fine, who told me to get to know you? I'll take this job... Damn it, the young marquis won't thank me with a mountain of gold afterward, he's not even a human being."

“Oh, right, when you go there, you must conceal your appearance, so you need to tie two red strings on your right hand... This is the secret code between Fulong Pavilion and the young marquis. He will know you are one of us as soon as he sees it.” Ren Ye gave a special reminder: “Remember this, the young marquis can be exposed and rescued, but you are one of my people. You must not reveal your true appearance, or we will all be doomed.”

"Understood." Master Chu nodded solemnly.

"Also, do you have any Shrinking Earth Talismans? At least the kind that can travel a hundred miles in an instant," Ren Ye asked seriously.

"What are you going to do?" Chu Daoye was inexplicably already feeling the pain in his heart.

"If I were to chase after you, the faster the better. Give me some Shrinking Earth Talismans, and I'd be able to catch up much faster." Ren Ye spread his hands: "Of course, if you don't think it's necessary, then forget it. I'll walk, and I should be able to catch up with you by next spring...!"

"Damn it all, I'm constantly losing money." Master Chu cursed through gritted teeth. "Fine, I'll give you ten bills, that should be enough. But you'd better use them sparingly. After this trip to Beifeng Town, I'm afraid I'll come back fully loaded but go home penniless. You can't squeeze me too hard, after all, we have another job to do... Don't you think so...?!"

"Don't play the victim with me every day. You haven't shared those treasures Wang Anquan gave me yet, have you?" Ren replied honestly, "Let's not talk about who's who. From now on, it's destined to be a contest where everyone uses their own unique abilities to compete..."

"What treasure? I have no idea what you're talking about." Daoist Chu rolled his eyes. "You should ask the young marquis later; maybe he's the one who took it...!"

Ren's eyes lit up, and he immediately said solemnly, "Neither of us has much money left, so we really need to find a way to successfully rescue him. He has money!"

"If you bring this up... then I'm not afraid to risk my life." Master Chu agreed wholeheartedly.

The two sworn brothers chatted and scheming for a while before finally finalizing their plan to rescue the young marquis. Master Chu would leave first, and he would give Ren Ye a string of personal dzi beads. These beads were connected to his soul; if they suddenly emitted a surge of energy, it meant Master Chu was facing a life-or-death crisis while rescuing the young marquis, and Ren Ye would have to immediately use a teleportation talisman to get there as quickly as possible to help him.

However, if the dzi bead flickers gently three times, it means that Lord Chu has successfully rescued the young marquis and recognized him. The situation is currently safe, and there is no need for Ren to rush over.

After their conversation, Ren suddenly realized that his team's communication methods were too primitive, making it impossible to communicate in emergencies. The spirit communication jade disc from Tianzhao Temple, on the other hand, seemed much more advanced and useful. Therefore, he planned to immediately go to his master, Yingyingying, after completing his mission and ask the Ministry of Works of the Guardians to custom-make a treasure for their team that could bind souls and enable timely communication within the same secret realm.

Alternatively, we could let the genius craftsman Apu make his own system, but it must have private and group chat functionality. After it's finished, we could give him a name, like "Apu Communications" or something similar.

……

Niu Dali set off at noon with twenty people in his entourage, including the young marquis who was inexplicably taken away.

When he learned that he was about to be escorted to Tianzhao Temple, he almost burst into tears. At the same time, he was also feeling very aggrieved and muttering to himself, "Damn it... During my years of cultivation in Jiuli, everything went very smoothly, you could say I had a smooth journey all the way... But I don't know when, my luck started to turn around, and I started to have bad luck with all my might... What's wrong with me? Waaah... I really can't figure it out...!"

As soon as the news that Niu Dali had left Beifeng Town was confirmed by various forces, Yu Tiange and Wang Anquan prepared to make their move, choosing the beginning of Xu Shi (7-9 PM) tonight.

Why were they in such a hurry? It was actually the result of careful consideration. Niu Dali received the notification from Tianzhao Temple last night, and he left at noon today. Therefore, this was undoubtedly very sudden for many of the generals of the Martial Monk's Mansion, and many of them were not prepared at all.