Chapter 131: Chapter 98: Deceitful Moon and Star Deceit
There was something else Zhong Chenghuai left unsaid: ’I’m afraid I’ll embarrass you if I become your Deputy.’
In terms of strength, especially during the years his Lifebound Guardian Beast had been injured, Zhong Chenghuai wasn’t exactly insecure, but he had always lacked confidence.
Now that Zhong Yi had become a Celestial Destiny Seeker, the caliber of people Zhong Chenghuai was interacting with had skyrocketed.
This caused his insecurity, which he had never really shown before, to suddenly magnify when he heard Zhong Yi ask him to be his Deputy.
He was terrified he would tarnish Zhong Yi’s reputation.
Zhong Yi fell silent for a moment, then guessed what Zhong Chenghuai was thinking.
His tone equally serious and earnest, Zhong Yi said,
"Uncle Huai, you’ve been busy with the estate in the Central District, so you might not know, but Shen Xuan is also a Celestial Destiny Seeker."
"Right now, our household only has the five of us: you, me, Xiaolingdang, Shen Xuan, and Brother Zhao."
"I asked Sister Zhuo. A Deputy represents the Celestial Destiny Seeker to the outside world."
"Brother Zhao has to teach those twenty newly recruited Craftsman Apprentices. Other than you, there’s no one I would trust to be my Deputy."
The unwavering trust in Zhong Yi’s words swept over Zhong Chenghuai’s heart like a flood.
In an instant, it washed away all his insecurity and pressure.
Zhong Chenghuai straightened up and said with a solemn tone,
"Young Master, I know what I must do from now on."
"Many factions have already sent visiting invitations since yesterday, wanting to pay a visit."
"I’ve kept all the invitations, but I haven’t responded to any of them."
"Young Master, how do you think we should respond to these factions that have taken the initiative to visit?"
Before he had decided to become Zhong Yi’s Deputy, Zhong Chenghuai would have simply handed these invitations to Zhong Yi to let him decide personally.
But now, having resolved to be a good Deputy to a Celestial Destiny Seeker, Zhong Chenghuai was already starting to learn how to handle liaisons with the major factions in Starlight City for Zhong Yi.
"Uncle Huai, you’re only going to receive more and more invitations from now on. Let’s hold on to them for the time being."
"When we reopen the Evolution Shop, we’ll respond to them one by one."
"We’ll invite them to be guests at our estate and to patronize our Evolution Shop."
When Zhong Yi mentioned "guests," he was only referring to the garden palace section outside the Star-pointing Plum Garden. The pastoral-style area inside the Star-pointing Plum Garden was his private living quarters.
He didn’t plan on letting outsiders in, unless they were people he had a good relationship with, like Lin Zhuo and Wen Tao.
At that time, after forming a Soul Taming Seed Contract with the Sunlight Thorn, Zhong Yi would plant it along the inner perimeter of the Star-pointing Plum Garden to build a high wall of thorns.
Now that the Dragon-Brewed Immortal Mink had been cultivated, the Evolution Shop in the Central District could open for business as soon as Zhong Yi formed a Contract with the Blood Enchanting Bee Queen.
From now on, Zhong Yi envisioned the Evolution Shop in the Central District as a boutique firm that only sold rare materials.
It wouldn’t need to sell a wide variety of items, but every single item would be guaranteed to earn him extremely handsome profits.
After making thorough preparations, Zhong Yi, along with Zhong Ling and Shen Xuan, accompanied by Zhong Chenghuai and escorted by Zheng Yufeng, arrived directly at the entrance to a First Level Ice Cave Secret Realm in the North City Suburbs.
Among all First Level Secret Realms, the Ice Cave Secret Realm was recognized as one of the three most difficult to explore.
Because few people explored it, the market at the Ice Cave Secret Realm’s entrance was very small.
The First Level Ice Cave Secret Realm Zhong Yi had chosen was about to erupt into a frenzy, and the creatures within a frenzied Secret Realm would become even more ferocious.
At this point, there were basically no Adventurers left exploring this Ice Cave Secret Realm.
The only ones active near the entrance to this Ice Cave Secret Realm were the patrol squads of the Starlight Army.
Upon seeing the Guardian Beast Vehicle carrying Zhong Yi and his group, a man in a Starlight Army captain’s uniform shouted out,
"The Starlight Army just decided to lock this area down! If you want to explore the Ice Cave Secret Realm, go find another one!"
Zheng Yufeng knew that Zhong Yi had chosen to explore this particular Ice Cave Secret Realm precisely because it was about to erupt.
Although it was only a First Level Secret Realm, once it erupted, the surrounding several hundred kilometers would turn into an ice field in a short time, destroying the original landscape.
This area of the North City Suburbs used to be a key agricultural zone where Starlight City had invested tens of millions of Farmer Earthworms for land reclamation.
Although no particularly valuable crops were grown in this area, the produce here could feed at least 600,000 more residents of Starlight City’s Lower City District.
Upon hearing the shout, Zheng Yufeng immediately got out of the vehicle, preparing to negotiate.
Seeing that not only had the Guardian Beast Vehicle not turned around after his warning, but had actually stopped and someone had jumped out,
the Starlight Army captain immediately took two steps forward, his voice even louder than before.
"Leave at once! I—"
Before the Starlight Army captain could finish, he saw the man walking toward him take out an inverted crescent moon badge.
The crescent moon badge was dark red, inlaid on a pale green backplate engraved with a lunar pattern.
On the dark red crescent, there was also the engraving of a single star.
The moment he saw this badge, the Starlight Army squad captain’s expression changed abruptly.
"Our Starlight Army Squad 3714 has been guarding this place for six days, and we have not seen any Bizarre appear."
"I wonder what instructions you have for us, Sir of the Hidden Moon Division? If Bizarre really are appearing here, our Starlight Army will cooperate fully."
"If there are no Bizarre, I hope you won’t interfere with our task of driving away the Adventurers here, Sir."
Wang Xin had always detested the Bizarre, believing them to be a pack of man-eating Demons.
Even Bizarre controlled by a Deceit Holder were, in his eyes, just a pack of shackled Demons.
Usually, Wang Xin never had a good attitude when dealing with the Bizarre.
But facing Zheng Yufeng, Wang Xin didn’t dare show his resentment toward the Bizarre.
Because the badge Zheng Yufeng had shown was a Star Deceit Badge, an accessory to the Deceitful Moon Badge. Furthermore, this Star Deceit Badge had only a single star mark.
This indicated that the tall, thin, and scholarly-looking man was the first-priority Bizarre controlled by a Deceit Holder who possessed a Deceitful Moon Badge.
As a special department of the Ghost Suppression Bureau, every Deceit Holder in the Hidden Moon Division who possessed a Deceitful Moon Badge was equivalent in rank to a Commander of one of the Starlight Army’s seventy-two battalions.
Although Wang Xin hid his hostility very well, Zheng Yufeng still sensed it with ease.
Zheng Yufeng paid no mind to the Starlight Army captain’s attitude toward him. Even among the members of Starlight City’s various official departments, many still held a grudge against the Bizarre, or rather, against the Ghost Suppression Bureau’s Hidden Moon Division.
Back when Starlight City’s Hidden Moon Division was first being established, it caused a huge uproar.
It was only because Lord Star Emperor went against all opposition that the Hidden Moon Division was successfully founded.
After its founding, the Hidden Moon Division was able to smoothly integrate into the Ghost Suppression Bureau, becoming a special operations department under its command.
This was only made possible through the combined efforts of the vast majority of Celestial Destiny Seekers in Starlight City.
"There are no Bizarre appearing here. I don’t need your Starlight Army’s cooperation."
"And I’m not here representing the Ghost Suppression Bureau."
Hearing this, Wang Xin was stunned again. He subconsciously wanted to tell this Bizarre with the Star Deceit Badge to leave.
A Bizarre with a Star Deceit Badge was indeed equivalent to a battalion Commander in the Starlight Army, but they had no authority to interfere with Starlight Army missions.
Of course, if the Deceit Holder with the Deceitful Moon Badge, the one behind this Bizarre with the Star Deceit Badge, were to arrive in person, it would be a different story.
However, as far as Wang Xin knew, forget about a Deceit Holder with a Deceitful Moon Badge—
even ordinary Deceit Holders were not allowed to leave the Hidden Moon Division.
Before Wang Xin could speak, the man before him continued in a serious tone,
"I am here on another mission."
"Two esteemed individuals wish to enter this Ice Cave Secret Realm. I am responsible for escorting them here and ensuring their safe entry into the Secret Realm."
"I expect the Starlight Army to cooperate with these two individuals!"
"If you don’t have the authority, you can report this to your superiors. Have your Commander deal with me directly."
"I will wait here with the two individuals until you grant us passage."
