I Can Extract Divine Power

Chapter 460: Chapter 171: Hundred Truths Remains, Divination Skill Level 4

He had originally been worried about Zhou Qing’s situation, but it now seemed Zhou Qing was doing much better than he had imagined.

Thinking back, the two of them had left Shengyun County together, and each had found their own path.

Now, Zhou Qing was enjoying a meteoric rise, while he himself had become the Prefecture Chief of Nanxing Prefecture. It was safe to say they both had bright futures ahead of them.

Having received the news, Shen Bai felt greatly relieved. He was getting ready to grind out some Skill Level to scratch an itch.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Fang Tong spoke up.

"Lord Shen, a moment."

Shen Bai frowned and asked, "What is it?"

Fang Tong scratched his head. "Landlord Zheng asked me to give Lord Shen a message. Lately, our Nanxing Prefecture Observatory has been thriving, but it seems the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office has run into some trouble. You have a good relationship with Lord Dongfang there; perhaps you should go over and see for yourself?"

Shen Bai stroked his chin. "What happened? For even Lord Dongfang to be in a bind, it must be something serious."

Fang Tong nodded. "A VIP recently arrived at the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office, supposedly from Xuanjing City, but they’ve mysteriously disappeared. This matter should have been related to the Observatory, but since the VIP was visiting the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office, the responsibility fell on them."

’Disappeared?’

Shen Bai lowered his hand. "I’ll go to the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office and take a look."

Ever since Shen Bai arrived in Nanxing Prefecture, Dongfang Li, the Prefect, had been very accommodating.

He had hosted banquets and even deferred credit for the beheading incident.

If nothing else, when someone showed Shen Bai respect, he naturally returned the favor.

It was a matter of social etiquette, something one had to understand when navigating the Jianghu.

Fang Tong shook his head. "It seems Lord Dongfang has personally led a search party. He probably won’t be back until tomorrow. Lord Shen, it would be better if you went tomorrow."

Shen Bai thought for a moment. ’It does seem useless to go now.’ He said, "Alright, I’ll go tomorrow."

Fang Tong said, "In that case, this subordinate will take his leave."

With the matter more or less settled, Fang Tong, who had been busy lately, took his leave.

Shen Bai, on the other hand, returned to his five-story building.

He carefully examined the Attribute panel before him, then temporarily set aside the idea of grinding and fell into deep thought.

’Now that I have enough Evil Qi, I suppose I can use the Observatory’s Deceitful Objects,’ Shen Bai thought.

Part of the deal for becoming the Prefecture Chief, in addition to the other conditions, was that all fifteen of the Observatory’s Deceitful Objects would belong to him.

He only had two wisps of Evil Qi before, so Shen Bai hadn’t appraised any.

Not long ago, Shen Bai had killed a Calamity Guile and obtained ten wisps of Evil Qi. In the past few days, he had used his official position to acquire another three wisps, bringing the total to exactly fifteen.

Now, he felt it was time to begin the appraisals.

At this thought, Shen Bai rubbed his hands together, his heart filled with the excitement of opening a Treasure Chest.

Without further ado, Shen Bai circulated the Qi in his body and activated the Life and Death Storage Skill Divine Power.

A fissure appeared in the empty space before him.

Without hesitation, Shen Bai took out the first Deceitful Object.

Smoke materialized and gradually condensed into text, filling the empty space.

[Peculiar Ceramic]

[Appraisal Progress: 0%]

[One wisp of Evil Qi can be used for rapid appraisal.]

Looking at the text before him, Shen Bai’s heart stirred.

A wisp of Evil Qi began to rapidly disappear...

...

While Shen Bai was appraising the Deceitful Object...

...on a main road not far from Nanxing Prefecture.

A carriage sat on the road, completely empty.

The surroundings were a wreck, covered in terrifying-looking traces of a battle.

Dongfang Li, dressed in his official robes, was surrounded by a hundred constables led by a Chief Constable, all searching for clues.

His expression was grim, his brow tightly furrowed.

The reason was simple: the person who had come this time had a very close relationship with him.

The VIP was from Xuanjing City, an expert skilled in the art of surveying.

As the Prefect, Dongfang Li was in charge of the prefecture’s livelihood and naturally wanted his people to live better lives.

To the east of Nanxing Prefecture was a mountain with vast mineral deposits, but for some unknown reason, they could not be located.

For this reason, Dongfang Li had used his connections to find the surveying expert from Xuanjing City.

This expert was someone he had known in his youth in Xuanjing City—both a friend and an old acquaintance.

But as they neared Nanxing Prefecture, they had inexplicably vanished.

Someone had shown him, Dongfang Li, respect by traveling a thousand li to help, yet he had failed to protect them. If word of this got out, he would become a laughingstock.

Worse, if a similar situation arose in the future, he would never be able to find help again.

That was why Dongfang Li had personally led his men to this nearby main road.

"This is very close to Nanxing Prefecture. We can be certain this was the work of a local Nanxing Prefecture power."

The Chief Constable said, "Lord Dongfang, why not ask the Observatory for a bit of help? You and Lord Shen are on very good terms, after all."

When something like this happens involving a Jianghu Influence, it’s normal to ask the Observatory to step in.

The Chief Constable didn’t understand why Dongfang Li had insisted on coming himself.

Dongfang Li clenched his fists. "The person who came is a personal friend of mine. Now that something has happened to them, I must be the first to act. Both for public and private reasons, there is no justification for asking the Observatory to intervene."

The Chief Constable felt a headache coming on.

’Lord Dongfang is a good man in every way, but sometimes, he’s just too fixated on the rules.’

’Even though that is indeed the protocol, if Dongfang Li went to Shen Bai, Shen Bai would probably agree to help.’

But as a mere Chief Constable, it wasn’t his place to say too much. Sometimes, saying too much only made things worse.

While the two were talking, a constable who was searching for clues suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A moment later, the constable walked up to Dongfang Li, holding a token.

"Lord Dongfang, I found something. This is the only clue," the constable said.

Dongfang Li frowned and took the token in his hand.

"This is... a token from the Feige Building! Those bastards!"