ASER – Chapter 27

Previously, after A’Diao saw Cui Run, while lowering her head in terror, she happened to see Zhou Yuan’s body not far away. At that moment, she immediately thought of his glasses.

These glasses were very likely a recording device. This person was cautious, wary of the Great Elder, afraid of being discarded after serving his purpose, so he had prepared a backup plan. However, he hadn’t expected what happened later… Anyway, at that time, the angle it was facing was perfect, capable of capturing everything.

Actually, A’Diao was hesitant.

If she could survive, giving up these benefits wouldn’t matter much. After all, the other party had a powerful background; they could crush her with a single finger.

But later, she observed Cui Run. At that time, he had wanted to kill her to silence her. Later, he probably sensed Chen Ran was approaching and gave up, only destroying the camera.

This was a good thing, indicating that the other party still had some scruples. But it also conversely showed that they definitely didn’t want this matter exposed. Since Chen Ran and the others had arrived, it wasn’t good to kill on the spot, so what about assassination later?

Without evidence, what did a dozen deaths matter? Given the other party’s background, such a thing was too easy to arrange.

Once the Cui family reacted, they would definitely act swiftly to resolve the mess, cleaning up all loose ends. By then, even if many people knew, without evidence, there would be no way to accuse them.

Thinking of this, A’Diao’s composure wavered a bit at that moment, but she still quickly made a decision.

So she hinted to Feng Ting and also deliberately pretended to faint.

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It turned out their acting skills were quite good. After Feng Ting played the video from the glasses using a device he had on him, just watching it themselves made them feel particularly humiliated by what happened. That dog Cui Run was especially cruel and domineering.

This video would definitely cause a huge stir.

But Feng Ting closed the video, his expression showing no joy, still cautious. “I’m afraid no media outlet would dare to take this, and officials in Jinling City wouldn’t take on such a case either. Instead, they would help suppress it.”

“Because all these people know that the Cui family isn’t the only one in the entire Tang Song Empire doing such things.”

So even if they released these videos, apart from the source of the release being found and bringing disaster upon themselves, it wouldn’t have much effect.

It was too difficult.

But they had to resist; they couldn’t just sit and wait for death.

A’Diao was also very troubled, looking out the car window with a distressed expression.

The adult and the child were both caught in a dilemma at this moment.

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When the hovercar landed in the hospital parking lot, A’Diao happened to see a colorful light banner.

She paused for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with immense excitement, “Wait, Big Brother Feng, look over there.”

Feng Ting turned his head to look, and his face darkened.

“——Cut early, heal well. Treat deficiency early. One hemorrhoid, a lifetime. Don’t be silent, be an honest warrior. Our hospital is your final blessing. Come, Kangtai Hospital welcomes you.”

He felt that this Little Sister A’Diao was too malicious; if she couldn’t deal with that Cui family brat, she’d come to tease him instead.

Was she really that happy?!

A’Diao was indeed happy. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, some scandals, we don’t need to hide them and choke on them. Honesty is precious in a person. Scraping the bone to heal the wound allows for early treatment and recovery. Short-term pain is better than long-term suffering. So, we need to use magic to defeat magic…”

Feng Ting’s expression grew increasingly unsightly. “Speak plainly, don’t make insinuations about me.”

What are you doing? I’m serious. I’m not insinuating anything about you, nor am I trying to ‘game’ you. Why are you continuously sending me +90 +190 Mental Energy?

“Alright, what I mean is, the officials on our side might be birds of a feather, but… what about other places?”

She said it very cryptically, as if she was a bit embarrassed.

But Feng Ting quickly understood.

Other places?

That’s right, magic can defeat magic.

Use a higher power to defeat power.

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Feng Ting was an official. Injured in the line of duty, he had certain advantages when seeing a doctor. Incidentally, he also registered A’Diao and got her treated along with other personnel from the local militia garrison who had arrived at the hospital around the same time.

However, A’Diao had already given him the video.

As a third-year high school student, she neither knew hacking techniques nor had that many connections; it would be very troublesome for her to handle it. Since Feng Ting had taken it upon himself, A’Diao still trusted him.

After all, they were now grasshoppers on the same boat.

However…

“Why am I lying in a hospital bed again? My school enrollment hasn’t been resolved yet!”

A’Diao looked at her leg, once again wrapped up like a zongzi, and fell into a state of deep melancholy.

But soon, Feng Ting was also in a wheelchair. His wife came to see him, a rather delicate and pretty young lady, also very gentle, who brought delicious pig’s trotter soup.

A portion for two.

One for her husband, one for A’Diao. Clearly, Feng Ting had specifically instructed this.

However, while drinking the delicious pig’s trotter soup and gnawing on a pig’s trotter, the melancholic A’Diao still secretly asked Feng Ting a question: “Big Brother Feng, do you have hemorrhoids?”

Feng Ting, who was eating pig’s trotter soup, almost choked to death. With a stern face, he said flatly, “No.”

From Feng Ting +888!

A’Diao smiled faintly. “Alright, I misunderstood. I was wondering why Big Brother Feng looked so melancholic when he saw that banner. So it wasn’t hemorrhoids.”

If it wasn’t hemorrhoids, then what was it?

How can you, a young girl, be so good at making insinuations!

From Feng Ting +666!

A’Diao, having gained Mental Energy, silently made a ‘Yeah!’ gesture in her heart~~~

Although it wasn’t entirely appropriate, for a reserved and serious person like Feng Ting, it was indeed necessary to use the right medicine for the ailment. Not only did she test that his potential far exceeded Zhang Cheng’s, but she also managed to rake in over a thousand Mental Energy.

Scored, scored! Indeed, talented people are worth ‘harvesting’.

After finishing the pig’s trotter soup, A’Diao specially went to the toilet, took out the ‘toilet’, and checked. She found that her Mental Energy had accumulated to 6500, and she was just one Small Spirit Core short of being able to upgrade the ‘toilet’.

Upgrade first, then spend this Mental Energy.

If she couldn’t get a Spirit Core right now, she would rather spend Star Coins to buy one.

A’Diao began to calculate the Star Coins she had on hand… After calculating back and forth, she had enough to buy a Spirit Core, but she still felt the pinch, so she put the idea aside.

That detestable Cui Run, causing me to lose a large sum of money and a Spirit Core. Since it’s like this… A’Diao took out the Unicom Centipede’s mutated egg, took a photo, registered it, and then contacted the world’s most awesome online sales company, TianNiu Company, asking them to come and inspect the goods.

Two hours later, the person arrived at the hospital.

Top-notch efficiency.

For such a super multinational conglomerate, a mutated egg was really nothing. Let alone a level two, even a level three wouldn’t be enough to make this conglomerate care.

Therefore, the local manager in Lingcheng was qualified to handle it. Due to client confidentiality regulations, he disguised himself as someone visiting a patient. After closing the door, he turned on the transaction recording, ensuring the transparency of the deal for both parties, fully monitored by headquarters.

This was to prevent clients from being harmed by the manager responsible for handling the project. After all, TianNiu didn’t care about such small profits, but the lower-level employees might not.

Looking at the young A’Diao with her leg in a cast like an elephant’s, the junior manager showed no superfluous emotion. He took out a device from an equipment case, scanned the egg with it, and the device undoubtedly displayed its various data, which he also showed to A’Diao.

“It is indeed a level two Unicom Centipede’s mutated egg. Judging by the embryo’s activity, it’s very healthy and can be considered a high-grade item among level two mutated eggs. However, because it’s in a dormant period, its value is slightly reduced. According to our agreed price range of 5 million to 7 million, our TianNiu Company can offer 6 million for it. What does Your Excellency think?”

There was no need to haggle with this kind of multinational conglomerate. Their financial system was very rigid, and they weren’t short of one mutated egg. But for A’Diao, it was better to agree directly than to fight tooth and nail for an extra 1 million and offend TianNiu.

TianNiu was the safest transaction method for her.

The contract was signed, the transfer completed. The simple process was finished, and the other party left directly. A’Diao, on the other hand, drooled for a while looking at the over 6 million in her account, then started searching for all information about the Cui family. She checked everything she could find and also took the time to ask Feng Ting about the Cui family.

Cui Yong was a Commander. This official position was very important, and the Cui family’s original lifeline and greatest power also lay in the military. Therefore, Feng Ting, as a military official, should be quite knowledgeable.

Given their current situation, it wasn’t strange for A’Diao to want to know more about these things, so Feng Ting told her truthfully.

After understanding these things, A’Diao occasionally looked up information and occasionally went to the library to read, seemingly focused on recuperating.

She was waiting for an opportunity.

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What happened later had nothing to do with A’Diao. But during her two days in the hospital, there were many people around. In the time it took for a young nurse to push her to the restroom, she could overhear gossip amounting to nearly ten thousand words.

To summarize, it unfolded in five stages.

First Stage:

The children were found, and the parents wept with joy. The Cishi’s Office’s publicity department struck first, overtly and covertly implying that their government office had found the children. For this, Cishi Zhao Yu’s son had even acted as an inside informant, ventured deep into dangerous territory, and ultimately suffered serious injuries to send crucial intelligence to his father.

After Cishi Zhao Yu rescued the children, he didn’t even have time to tend to his own son before starting a thorough investigation of the Lingcheng government. He believed this disaster was caused by demonic spirits, but that some people within the government were colluding with evil cultists, disrupting the people’s livelihood. Among them, personnel from the Provincial Adjutant’s Office and the local militia garrison were obstructing the Cishi’s Office’s investigation at every turn, and a case needed to be opened for investigation, and so on.

Second Stage:

The parents were grateful and were preparing to send commendation banners to the Cishi’s Office officials. However, they then heard that it was the people from the local militia garrison who had risked their lives to save the children, and that the local militia garrison and the Provincial Adjutant’s Office had cooperated fully. The Cishi’s Office was inefficient and was frantically suppressing these two departments.

The media mostly reported news unfavorable to the two departments regarding that night. For a time, the entire Lingcheng entered a state where everyone was calling for the downfall of these two departments. Especially with false news mixed in, everyone was saying that there were traitors within the two departments, and so on.

In response, the two departments remained somber for a few days and didn’t offer much explanation. In fact, they couldn’t explain it away. After all, the Cishi’s Office had been in charge of Lingcheng for many years. Zhao Yu, as an official, wasn’t very capable, but he was quite skilled in other unscrupulous dealings. The media had long been his mouthpiece. For a time, the situation for the two departments was very precarious. Even the personnel from the local militia garrison who were hospitalized were almost attacked, and they were pointed at and criticized whenever they went in or out.

Third Stage:

The Provincial Adjutant’s Office finally presented evidence—the traitor Chen Ran had led people to arrest that night was actually a core official from the Cishi’s Office. Their silence these past few days was for a surprise interrogation, to find evidence from this person confirming his collusion with the Five Elements Cult. All the details and evidence, from beginning to end, were complete, directly slapping the Cishi’s Office in the face and successfully informing the public of the truth.

As for the matter of the demonic spirits and the Spirit Gate, Chen Ran didn’t dare to speak of it, fearing it would implicate the Cui family.

This evidence was too solid. The common people immediately came to their senses and understood why the Cishi’s Office had attacked the two departments. The confessed crimes and details of the cultists were clear and distinct; it was evident that there was a problem within the Cishi’s Office itself. Furthermore, there was a mole in the Education Department who had leaked the information of their own children, leading to this disaster. Cishi Zhao Yu was so eager to shift blame because, firstly, his own office bore responsibility for the initial incident, and secondly, during the search process, they had been looking in the wrong direction and made no contribution to solving the case. To avoid being punished, they were so anxious to play the ‘thief crying stop thief’ game.

Fourth Stage:

The Cishi’s Office was drowned in criticism. In their anger, over a million citizens signed an online petition that reached the Danzhou Jinling Prefecture, and the news even spread throughout the country.

Zhao Yu still wanted to put up a desperate struggle. In a government briefing meeting, he righteously accused Chen Ran of framing him, stating that the existence of demonic spirits was a fact, that perhaps the demonic spirits were summoned by those evil cultists to capture children, and that his own investigation direction was not wrong…

To show his innocence, Zhao Yu requested that a higher department from Jinling come to investigate. He struck a good posture. So, the Jinling Prefecture naturally had to send someone, but who would they send?

Zhao Yu naturally secretly contacted people from his backing faction to arrange for his own people to investigate. Chen Ran’s side, not to be outdone, also managed to get several high-ranking officials from Jinling City to contend with them. The presence of one particular high-ranking official shocked Zhao Yu greatly. It was over!

Fifth Stage:

The investigation team arrived. Within the first hour of their arrival in Lingcheng, someone was arrested, but the one arrested was Chen Ran! Around the same time, Feng Ting from the local militia garrison was also arrested!

The reason for arresting Feng Ting was that he had disobeyed the orders of his superior, the old militia garrison commander, led his men on a risky venture, caused significant damage and casualties, and was suspected of ineffective leadership, thus requiring investigation.

It was as if an irresistible force had suddenly intervened in a chess game, directly overturning the previously clear situation, crushing the outcome, and causing one side to be utterly routed.

And this force, it definitely had the surname Cui.

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Zhao Yu’s side, having suddenly seen their fortunes reverse from extreme adversity, was naturally ecstatic. However, outwardly, he would not reveal that it was the Cui Clan, one of Jinling’s Three Great Clans, that had helped him. He only knew that when he received the call, the other party’s words, both explicit and implicit, meant—you only have value to live if you serve well as a knife, otherwise… you understand.

This knife was to first eliminate Feng Ting, then conveniently get rid of Chen Ran, who already had some indirect connections with the Song and Wang families, and finally, ensure that the Small Spirit Gate beneath the winery would one hundred percent belong to the Cui Clan.

Zhao Yu, who had initially thought he was bound to lose, naturally readily agreed to all of Commander Cui’s demands. However, he was also puzzled. He later learned that there was a Small Spirit Gate under the winery, and that Cui Run had claimed ownership of it. But a common Small Spirit Gate shouldn’t warrant Commander Cui personally contacting him to dispose of Feng Ting and the others, right?

Unless…

“That Small Spirit Gate must not be an ordinary level one Small Spirit Gate.”

After Chen Ran was taken away, the Chen family maintained a quiet atmosphere. It was just that more people resigned. The Chen family didn’t try to keep them, settling their wages according to the rules and letting them go. Therefore, while it looked deserted from the outside, it was indeed declining internally. However, both the Chen family’s old madam and the matriarch in charge managed things strictly, so even though many concubines were restless and agitated, no major trouble occurred.

Compared to the desolation at home, Chen Xun, the Eldest Young Master of the Chen family, who was studying far away in Jinling, did not panic. Instead, he took a calling card to visit his classmate’s father, who was also that high-ranking official.

He was very clear that the other party was helping his family not entirely because of his academic help to their son, but more importantly, because there was already a certain political understanding between the other party and his own father.

This father of his, a refined egoist, wasn’t much to speak of in terms of character, but he indeed had some knack for officialdom.

And that sentence just now was also the first thing the other party said to him.

“Level two?” Chen Xun was somewhat surprised. There were quite a few level one Small Spirit Gates in the entire Jinling region, numbering in the double digits, but level two Small Spirit Gates were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

The dignified man sat cross-legged on a cattail hassock, drinking tea, his expression calm and shrewd. He only said, “If it were a level two Small Spirit Gate, its aura would be very strong. The other two families have long histories and have had Forbidden Masters since the first generation, leaving behind many first-generation Forbidden Items, some of which can sense level two Small Spirit Gates. It’s impossible that they would let the Cui Clan, with the shallowest qualifications, take it. But I know Cui Yong. He looks like a military official, but in reality, his mind is sharp and ruthless. If there weren’t sufficient benefits, he wouldn’t act so cruelly, directly eliminating Feng Ting and those local militia warriors present, and even dealing with your father. The latter was definitely because of Zhao Yu’s request, plus your father saw some things at the winery that day, so the other party decided to clean everything up. Even if we all guessed the specialty of that Small Spirit Gate, by taking down your father and leaving Lingcheng for Zhao Yu to control, it means their Cui Clan has grasped this Small Spirit Gate.”

He both denied it was a level two Small Spirit Gate and said this Small Spirit Gate was the main reason.

Chen Xun’s thinking was quick. “Could it be a level one Small Spirit Gate at full capacity, but it originally belonged to level two, and was only downgraded to level one because those Five Elements Cult members failed their summoning? I’ve read some ancient books that mention that in the first generation, some Small Spirit Gates, if severely damaged or suffering special impairment, could be restored to their original level through special spirit-nurturing methods.”

“I’m afraid the Cui Clan has this intention.”

Level two Small Spirit Gates are not top-tier in the Imperial Capital and other major cities of the Tang Song Empire, but in the entirety of Jinling, you can count them on one hand.

The Jinling Prefecture itself possesses three of them. These are occupied by the imperial court, and no family dares to touch them, at least the Three Great Clans of Jinling don’t. The remaining two belong to the other two great clans respectively; only the Cui Clan has none.

But if the Cui Clan obtains one this time, then this generation’s Spiritual Energy resurgence will lead to a reshuffling. At least at the starting point, the Cui Clan, currently at the bottom, can compete with the other two great clans.

Early-stage resources are very important. Even if Small Spirit Gates, Spiritual Vessels, and Spirit Cores become more numerous later, the characters who rise in the early stages have a much higher probability of obtaining these resources than others.

Especially the young descendants of various clans; high hopes are placed on them.

“So, what Cui Yong and his son did in this situation is not abnormal; on the contrary, it’s to be expected. It’s just that many people became sacrifices.”

Chen Xun fell silent.

The other party smiled. “You’re not going to ask for my help?”

Chen Xun shook his head. “Uncle, you also have your difficulties. If the Cui Clan hadn’t yet obtained that Small Spirit Gate, it would be better; you have marital ties with the Song Clan and could speak up. But now it’s too late. The Cui Clan will not give up. My father is implicated, and you already helped with the assignment of the investigation team personnel earlier. It’s just that the Cui Clan’s murderous intent is too strong, and you couldn’t do anything more.”

He didn’t show the panic and pain expected of a son in his situation; his emotions were restrained, gentle yet resilient.

“If only my boy had a tenth of your intelligence and perceptiveness.” The man sighed with emotion, but also said, “Putting other things aside, I can definitely protect your father. After all, your father is not Cui Yong’s main target this time. He helped Zhao Yu only to let Zhao Yu completely control Lingcheng.”

Chen Xun wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He drank tea for a while before rising, bowing in thanks, and departing. After leaving, he looked at the cold moonlight, his expression gradually becoming clear.

Since his life was not in danger, what was sacrificed was merely his official career…

His official career probably wouldn’t be spared either.

For a family of officials, fortunes wax and wane like the moon. Taking one step back, there’s no guarantee Zhao Yu’s side won’t eradicate them root and branch.

After all, he had some reputation at the Jinling Academy. The other party, fearing future trouble, would definitely make a move.

Therefore…

If they couldn’t touch the Cui Clan, then preventing Zhao Yu from taking power could, to a certain extent, alleviate the situation. As for the Cui family, they could plan against them slowly in the future.

“Zhao Yu…” Chen Xun let out a soft breath of cool air, his expression calm.

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The day after Chen Ran and Feng Ting were arrested and interrogated in prison, images of Zhao Yu’s only son, Zhao Xu, indulging in extravagant and debauched revelry at a bar circulated online. The scenes were unbearable to look at. And looking at the timestamp of the video, it was clearly from before he was ‘kidnapped’.

So, where was this ‘risking his life as an undercover agent’ plan? He was simply used to pleasure and got himself captured.

If it weren’t for Zhao Yu’s previous high-sounding rhetoric, it might have been fine. After all, people were already used to the unseemliness of these officials’ children. But the problem was that Zhao Yu’s acting had been too good before, so good that it had genuinely moved many of Lingcheng’s common people. Now, suddenly discovering they had been fed shit, how could they not be furious?

It backfired.

The Zhao father and son were cursed like dogs. Even Zhao Xu’s hospital room was blockaded.

Whether Chen Ran was muddle-headed or not, the common people didn’t really care. After all, he was just a Provincial Adjutant, managing only one district. Zhao Yu, however, was the top leader of the entire Lingcheng. With him collapsing like this, the calamities of Lingcheng were naturally his sins.

If only he had been a good official, Lingcheng wouldn’t have suffered this disaster—of those 23 children, only 10 survived; 13 children ultimately didn’t make it.

Public resentment was boiling. For Zhao Yu to continue governing Lingcheng was simply a fool’s dream. Not being beheaded at the Meridian Gate would be considered smoke rising from his ancestral graves.

Or perhaps… the Cui family could exert more effort?

Probably not. The other two great clans had already seized the opportunity to get involved.

It was still unknown who that Spirit Gate belonged to. If Zhao Yu, this ‘parent official,’ was removed, whatever the Cui family had swallowed, they would have to spit out!

With the two great clans exerting pressure, the Cui family also had a headache.

Zhao Yu panicked and had no choice but to seek help from the Cui family again. The Cui family was angry at his incompetence but was unwilling to abandon Zhao Yu, because if Zhao Yu were removed, there was no guarantee that the next one to take his place wouldn’t be from the Song or Wang families.

Helplessly, the Cui family could only mobilize many connections again to wrestle in the officialdom, and the source of these videos was also thoroughly investigated.

The situation reached a stalemate.

A’Diao and Feng Ting, in their respective different places, both had the same first reaction: Was it him/her?

But they both quickly dismissed this possibility.

Then who was it?

A’Diao suspected it was someone behind Chen Ran. But regardless, this was beneficial to them, providing a certain buffer.

At this moment, A’Diao was still staying in the hospital. She looked at the date on her phone calendar, her brow slightly furrowed.

It was only a few days until enrollment. Although she had made a fortune, she hadn’t settled her school registration, and she didn’t dare to leave the hospital, fearing being silenced by the Cui family. Her situation was worrying.

“I don’t know what arrangements Feng Ting made, why hasn’t he acted yet… He himself was arrested, so he must have arranged for someone else. Is this person trustworthy?”

A’Diao didn’t know the specific situation and could only wait patiently, occasionally ‘farming’ Mental Energy from doctors, nurses, and patients in the hospital.

Finally, when she finished breakfast, a doctor glanced at his phone and suddenly said indignantly, “It’s the Cui Clan again!! They’ve lost face all the way to other countries!”

Oh ho, it’s finally here.

Magic, magic from other countries!

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