Chapter 328 Return of Bai Xiao Hall
This chapter is updated by Novelfree.ml
“I’ve heard stories about Bai Xiao Hall since I was a child. It’s said that they’re everywhere and know everything. They have a central headquarters that receives information from all under Heaven. There are no secrets they cannot uncover, and no person they cannot find. But, no one has been able to find the location of this headquarters." Lei Wujie stood at the entrance of a small temple in Heavenly Revelations City, a look of surprise on his face. "So, you’re telling me, this headquarters is actually right under the Emperor’s feet, and in such an unremarkable little temple?"
"Yes, but a small temple can house a big Buddha. From the door, you’d think it’s a small temple, but once you step inside, you’d realise it’s a whole other world," Xiao Se said lazily.
Lei Wujie walked forward a few steps and entered the small temple. Inside was a laughing statue of Maitreya Buddha. The surroundings were rather clean but it looked no different from small temples everywhere. Lei Wujie said in confusion, "I’ve stepped inside but there’s no other world, ah?"
Xiao Se walked further in with exasperation, raised his Wuji staff and rapped on the Maitreya Buddha's head lightly three times, then heavily another three times. Then, he stepped back.
Lei Wujie was dumbfounded. "Why’d you do that? I think if Wuxin saw what you just did, even he would scold you."
Xiao Se ignored him, and then they witnessed the Maitreya Buddha make a slow revolution and turned its back on them.
Lei Wujie completely missed the large hole that was exposed at the base of the statue. He was only staring at the Maitreya Buddha as he shouted, "Look, you see? Now the Buddha has appeared and he’s turned his back on us! We’re dead, we’re dead, we’ll receive retribution!"
"Get!" Xiao Se kicked him down.
After Lei Wujie went down, he understood what Xiao Se had meant by a whole other world. The underground level was massive, almost as vast as the entire Grand Golden Terrace! There were countless tall iron shelves filled with various ancient books and records. Other walls were covered by layers and layers of grid shelving and delicate silver locks hung on each box.
"Bai Xiao Hall has almost hollowed out the whole underground of Heavenly Revelations City. As a prince, shouldn’t you take care of this?" Lei Wujie asked in amazement.
But, the strange thing was, there was not a single person in this massive space. They could only hear a faint echoing sound from the grid shelving.
Xiao Se led Lei Wujie to continue walking deeper until they came to an iron door.
"Why are there so many layers of barriers? Are we going to knock on the door?" Lei Wujie asked.
"I have the key." Xiao Se took out the Wuji staff and inserted the tip of it into a hole beside the door. He twisted it slightly and the iron door opened slowly, revealing yet another world inside.
Six people were sitting inside, and beside each of them was a grid of boxes that opened and closed rapidly. Sometimes, there were letters which fell out of them, but other times, there were strange objects like the corner of a garment, a mirror, or even a feather. The six people took a quick glance, sometimes tossing the object into another box below, and sometimes picking up brush and paper and quickly writing something down. Sometimes, though rarely, they would ponder for a long time before putting the object into a black-coloured box behind them.
Lei Wujie and Xiao Se’s arrival seemed to have little effect on them, and they continued looking after the matters at hand. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie waited quietly without disturbing them. About an hour later, they finally finished what they were doing and looked up at the two of them. The six people were wearing iron masks which hid the expression on their faces.
Xiao Se bowed his head, showing a respectful expression on his face. "Six Iron-Masked Officials, it's been a long time."
The Iron-Masked Official sitting at the far right shook his head. "There are only four Iron-Masked Officials here whom you’ve met before. As you know, we have so many things to do every day and very few of us can live that long."
Xiao Se smiled and said, "The Iron-Masked Official is still so fond of being self-deprecating."
"You don't understand our suffering, so you treat my complaints as self-deprecating. You’re even less human than your shifu," the Iron-Masked Official on the right said with exasperation. "I was vexed all night after hearing you say you were coming yesterday. Now that I see you, I’m feeling even more vexed."
Lei Wujie blinked and asked Xiao Se, "When did you talk to them yesterday?"
Xiao Se shrugged. "Yesterday, didn't I stand in the yard and shout out loud that I was going to Bai Xiao Hall?"
"That works too?" Lei Wujie asked in shock.
Xiao Se replied matter-of-factly, "Why wouldn’t it work?"
The Iron-Masked Official coughed lightly. "But you didn't tell us your purpose for coming here."
Xiao Se eyed their surroundings. "Is there any other purpose for coming to Bai Xiao Hall?"
The Iron-Masked Officials exchanged glances. "You want information?"
"Yes, I want information. I want all the information regarding the case of Langya Prince’s rebellion," Xiao Se demanded bluntly.
The Iron-Masked Official shook his head. "We don't know this information either."
"You don't know?" Xiao Se raised an eyebrow.
"Each person in Bai Xiao Hall has their own chain of information. Eventually, all the information will be collected back at headquarters, and it’s the duty of the six of us, Iron-Masked Officials, to sort through and collect them. However, the disciple responsible for the case of Langya Prince’s rebellion never reported for duty. So, we have no information here." The Iron-Masked Official paused, then added another sentence, "We have nothing at all."
Xiao Se frowned. "Which disciple? Is he dead? If a Bai Xiao Hall disciple did not report in after a month, they’re written off as dead and someone else is sent to take over his chain of information. How could this situation have happened?"
"Because this disciple was very special."
"Why was he special?"
The Iron-Masked Official sighed. "Because the person responsible for the case of Langya Prince’s rebellion was the Hallmaster. And in the last few years, Hallmaster disappeared without a trace. Although the entire Bai Xiao Hall has remained in operation, there’s one thing even the six of us, Iron-Masked Officials, dare not make a decision lightly. And that is to pronounce the death of the Hallmaster."
"Zhu told me he’s back," Xiao Se pronounced each word succinctly.
"That’s the other reason why you’ve come, then." The Iron-Masked Official sighed. His hand pressed lightly on the table and an iron wall behind them suddenly split in half and opened slowly.
Lei Wujie exclaimed in surprise, "Is this whole underground a city of mechanisms? Bai Xiao Hall is really an eye-opening experience!"
"If this young master was not a distinguished guest, there would have been even more interesting mechanisms to welcome the young master," the Iron-Masked Official said with a smirk. "Go in, then."
Behind the iron wall, someone seemed to be sitting there waiting for them.
"Shifu…" Xiao Se murmured, his hands trembling slightly. But, he only hesitated for a moment before he hurried to walk inside. Lei Wujie also followed right behind him.
The interior was a very simple room. There was only a table, a chair, and a framed calligraphy hanging on the back wall. On it were four big words: All-Knowing Under Heaven[4].
A person stood under the words, his hands clasped behind his back. He had a head of white hair, and a long staff hung at his waist.
"Shifu!" Xiao Se's voice became a little urgent.
The person turned around and faced them.
On his face was a red-coloured mask of a ferocious ghost, revealing a sinister and terrifying smile.
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