Chapter 2667 – Lu Yin"s Solution
It seemed that it was finally time for Lu Yin to visit the place where Zi Jing had originally been studying sequence particles. He had learned of the location through Chen Le, and he also learned that, apparently, Cloudflow was still being held captive in that same facility.
At this moment, Lu Yin received a message.
Upon accessing his communication crystal, the display showed Zuo Yu.
“Xie Wu sent me a few more names: Tu Ke and Bai Qian,” Zuo Yu relayed.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Ever since he had saved Xie Wu and told him to return to He Shu, the young man had been randomly sending messages to Xuan Qi through Zuo Yu. Most of these messages meant nothing, as they concerned He Shu. However, Zuo Yu still made sure to pa.s.s along everything to Lu Yin whenever he visited the Transcendent Universe.
Lu Yin did not pay the messages much heed. Xie Wu had no way of knowing which information might be relevant or not, so he simply sent over anything he regarded as potentially important.
Lu Yin had actually intended to ask Zuo Yu to have Xie Wu stop sending messages, as there was a risk that He Shu might find out.
Xie Wu was not a significant p.a.w.n. Lu Yin had saved the young man out of nothing more than pity, and having even a minor p.a.w.n so close to He Shu was rather convenient. Thus, Lu Yin had quickly become accustomed to it.
However, this latest message proved to be an unexpected boon for Lu Yin.
He sent Luo Lao"er back before quickly contacting Bai Qian with a wireless jincan.
The wireless jincans continued to demonstrate their usefulness in the Sixverse a.s.sociation. While they were unable to pa.s.s messages between parallel universes, they allowed the holders to secretly communicate while in the same dimension.
This method of communication was also only available to members of the Heavens Sect.
This was the first time that Lu Yin had used the wireless jincan to reach out to Bai Qian in the Transcendent Universe.
Bai Qian stared at the wireless jincan as it cycled through the specific code. She was surprised to see something, as this was her first time using a wireless jincan after being shown how to use it by Lu Yin.
"What’s your relationship with Tu Ke?" Lu Yin first sent a question.
Bai Qian sent back, "He’s one of the few members of the Ruling Council who supports me."
"I received a message from a contact close to He Shu. There were only two names: Tu Ke and Bai Qian."
Bai Qian was surprised. "You"ve been keeping tabs on He Shu?"
"You can say that."
"Just two names isn’t enough for me to gather very much, but I’m planning to meet with Tu Ke in three days’ time to discuss winning over another member of the Ruling Council."
"So either he knows about your meeting and wants to sabotage it, or there"s something wrong with Tu Ke. What can I do?"
Bai Qian replied, "Do what you can to make sure the meeting doesn’t happen."
No matter which option was true, Bai Qian could not proceed with her planned meeting. After all, if He Shu was aware of it, then it meant that He Ran knew as well.
Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away while thinking back to earlier in the day when He Shu had arrived with Shao Qingfeng to meet with He Ran. Could the message from Xie Wu have something to do with Shao Qingfeng’s visit?
That did not seem very likely, as how could Shao Qingfeng interfere in the internal affairs of the Transcendent Universe? He simply had no authority to do so.
So Lu Yin needed to do what he could to sabotage the meeting? Well, his greatest advantage for the moment was the Bureau.
Two days later, Lu Yin, Xu Ji, Boss Guan, and others from the Bureau descended upon a planet in the Transcendent Universe known as Fortune Star.
Lu Yin also had the authority to mobilize the members of the Transcendent Universe"s Bureau, but those people were all members of the You family.
People from the Bureau surrounded the Tu Ke family, and their arrival shook Fortune Star.
Tu Ke was a member of the Ruling Council, which was a very high position in the Transcendent Universe. Because of this, his Fortune Star was a famous location in the universe.
Fortune Star would not simply sit there and allow people to surround the Tu Ke’s home, regardless of how Tu Ke himself reacted.
There was not a word of communication sent before the planet’s defenses started attacking the intruders.
Boss Guan’s voidforce energy swept out in a flood that easily brushed the attacks aside and suppressed all of Fortune Star.
How could a single planet’s defenses hope to overcome Boss Guan? He was a peak Void Brillium, which was the equivalent to a peak Envoy.
White energy shot upwards from Tu Ke’s home, and Lu Yin arched a brow at the sight. Tu Ke was the only member of the Ruling Council to openly support Bai Qian, and he was fearless of even He Ran"s retaliation. This was because the man was capable of using a white energy converter, which made him the Transcendent Universe’s version of a Semi-Progenitor.
Semi-Progenitors were far from weak, and not even He Ran could easily go after such an expert.
White energy shot straight at Boss Guan.
Just beneath the clouds, but still in the sky, Boss Guan"s expression grew solemn. Against the equivalent of a Void Morphora, he quickly brought out a voidforce puppet, which allowed him to utilize several times his own energy reserves to block the attack. The puppet proved st.u.r.dy enough to temporarily block the attack.
Boss Guan was only a step away from becoming a Void Morphora himself. After harnessing several times more voidforce energy, he was just barely able to hold off Tu Ke. After all, an attack powered by a white energy converter was the same as a brute-force attack from a Semi-Progenitor.
One man used voidforce energy, while the other used an energy converter. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, both of them were only equal to the weakest Semi-Progenitor. Any Semi-Progenitor from the Fifth Mainland could easily defeat either man.
However, once Boss Guan broke through and actually became a Void Morphora, things would change. At that point, the man would be capable of suppressing quite a few Semi-Progenitors with just the voidforce energy that he could wield.
"Who are you people? How dare you attack me?" An angry middle-aged man shouted sternly as he glared at the sky. He looked like an angry, rampaging beast, and he was none other than Tu Ke.
Boss Guan stared down at the man. "The Bureau."
Tu Ke was startled, and his hand instantly lowered and the white energy dissipated. "You’re from the Bureau?"
All around, countless eyes watched from a distance, fearful of getting caught up in the commotion.
Lu Yin stepped forward. "I am the Bureau"s acting Bureau Director, Xuan Qi. Senior Tu Ke, it’s a pleasure to meet you."
Tu Ke turned to look at Lu Yin. "So you"re Xuan Qi? What brings you here?"
Lu Yin chuckled. "What makes the Bureau take action, Senior? Why do you think we’re here?"
"You suspect me of being a spy?" Tu Ke was aghast.
Lu Yin shrugged. "It"s merely a suspicion, though it would be best if you didn’t resist and allowed us to proceed with our investigation, Senior."
"This is outrageous! I am a member of the Ruling Council! How dare you slander me!" Tu Ke shouted angrily.
Boss Guan immediately rebuked the man. "The Bureau’s duty is to investigate anyone who is suspected of being a traitor. Resist, and you will be judged to be a spy. Then, no mercy will be shown."
Tu Ke laughed out of anger. "This is ridiculous! You are merely the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe"s Bureau. Here in my Transcendent Universe, our Bureau Director is Senior You Fang. If Senior You Fang sees fit to investigate me, then I won’t say a word. But you, Xuan Qi? Get lost!
"We all know what happened to Tu Ying. Unless you have some evidence, don’t bother me. If you continue, you can’t blame me for being impolite."
Tu Ying had been another member of the Ruling Council, and he had been suspected of being a spy. After being arrested, he had been taken to the Ziyou Realm to be questioned. Despite no proof of the man’s guilt, he was still forced to step down from the Ruling Council. The Ruling Council would not tolerate any of their members being suspected of being a spy.
If Tu Ke were investigated, there was a very high chance that He Ran would seize the opportunity to force him out of the Ruling Council.
However, that was not what Lu Yin was hoping for. After all, he was not certain if Tu Ke was genuinely supporting Bai Qian or not. If Xie Wu"s good intentions instead caused Bai Qian"s sole supporter to be ousted from the Ruling Council, it would be a disastrous loss for her.
"It appears that Senior Tu Ke does not intend to cooperate with us. Very well, in that case we shall simply wait. The Transcendent Universe and Three Monarchs Universe"s branches of the Bureau are already seeking the truth of this matter.
“Honestly, Senior, I do hope that you are proven to not be a spy. For this reason, I will merely ask that you wait here for the time being, Senior," Lu Yin said.
These words allowed for Tu Ke"s expression to improve slightly. His greatest fear was that the Bureau would push forward and demand to search his home. That would greatly complicate things for him.
Instead, he was allowed to simply wait. As long as no evidence was brought against him, he would not be arrested and interrogated, and no one would be able to touch him.
Being investigated by Xuan Qi had far different implications than being investigated by You Fang.
He Ran had forced Tu Ying to step down mostly because the You family had arrested the man and led the investigation. She had no longer been certain where his loyalties lay, and so he had been discarded.
For the moment, Lu Yin had already achieved his goal. All he needed to do was wait. As long as just a single day pa.s.sed, Bai Qian would not be able to make her meeting.
As for what would happen after that, it all depended on who became more desperate.
The following day was the day for Bai Qian"s scheduled meeting with Tu Ke.
An unexpected, yet also not entirely unexpected, a visitor arrived at Fortune Star. It was He Shu.
However, the sight of He Shu did not particularly surprise Lu Yin. "Why are you here?"
He Shu replied, "I just came to take a look. Brother Xuan Qi, are you certain that Tu Ke is a spy?"
Lu Yin lowered his voice, "Of course not. I’m just trying to stir up some trouble for him."
He Shu was taken aback. "Stir up trouble for him? Why?"
Lu Yin’s voice suddenly turned cold, "The man openly supports Bai Qian. Why shouldn’t we give him some trouble?"
He Shu stared blankly at Lu Yin. "Is this why you"ve surrounded his home?”
Lu Yin led He Shu aside and whispered, "You should already know that I offended Sister Ran a few days ago. I lost my temper and did not speak to her properly. I’ve probably made her angry, so I thought that I"d try to make things up to her. I just learned that Tu Ke supports Bai Qian, and isn’t she Sister Ran"s greatest enemy? So, by making trouble for Tu Ke, Sister Ran will have an excuse to kick him out of the Ruling Council. This is really just my attempt to do something for Sister Ran."
He Shu listened in stunned silence as he stared at Xuan Qi in a very conflicted manner.
"Why are you giving me that look?" Lu Yin found the reaction strange.
He Shu coughed lightly. "It"s nothing. So, how do you plan to deal with Tu Ke?"
A troubled look came across Xuan Qi’s face. "The man has a white energy converter, so we can’t just force our way in. On top of that, I am technically from the Voidforce Universe, which means that it would be best if Senior You Fang moved against Tu Ke, just like when Tu Ying was arrested. If I try to do this on my own, it will cause many people to be upset with me, right?"
He Shu was speechless. "Then why did you bother surrounding his home?"
"Well, I didn"t expect him to have a white energy converter… If I had known that, I would’ve planned for it before doing anything. I intended to charge in and arrest him, even if there was some backlash. For Sister Ran, I’m willing to shoulder such things. Unfortunately, this has become rather difficult, and I’m stuck in a position where I can’t press forward, but I also can’t retreat. What do you suggest?"
He Shu"s face twitched, and his voice grew dark. "I don"t know."
Lu Yin stared at the young man. This reaction essentially confirmed that there was a problem with Tu Ke. If Tu Ke truly supported Bai Qian, then He Shu should be trying to find a way to help Xuan Qi. There was no reason for He Shu to look so troubled.
The man’s expression made it obvious that Lu Yin had done something counterproductive for He Shu and He Ran.
This also meant that there would be trouble if Bai Qian had visited Tu Ke for the scheduled meeting.
However, what could the problem possibly be?
Lu Yin continued to focus on Tu Ke"s home.
As He Shu stared at Xuan Qi, his expression grew increasingly conflicted. This young man had disrupted their plan, but He Shu could not say a word about it. Even so, the plan was not one that He Shu wanted to see carried out. Thus, his emotions were incredibly conflicted at this moment.
News of the matter quickly reached He Ran.
In a very rare showing of He Ran being stunned, her expression perfectly mirrored He Shu"s. Neither of the two knew how to react to the current situation.
He Ran could not openly a.s.sist Tu Ke. Xuan Qi had gone after Tu Ke, which had actually thwarted He Shu"s plans, but Xuan Qi had taken action in an attempt to help He Ran. The woman was absolutely furious, but she had no idea where to direct her anger.
As for Shao Qingfeng, he wished for nothing more than to completely destroy Xuan Qi. Once again, the d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.d had ruined things at the very worst possible moment.
"Xuan Qi, your actions here are pointless and will only serve to scare Bai Qian. There"s no need for you to concern yourself with Tu Ke anymore," He Shu told Xuan Qi. The man was following He Ran"s instructions and trying to persuade Xuan Qi to withdraw the Bureau’s forces.
However, how could Lu Yin possibly leave? "Absolutely not! The guy supports Bai Qian, so I need to make an example of him to show everyone else the consequences of going against Sister Ran. You don"t have to bother yourself with this any longer. Even if I can"t directly do anything to the man, I"ll at least make it impossible for him to leave his house without ruining his reputation."
He Shu retorted, "But that’s pointless!"
Lu Yin declared, "Just consider this my way of letting off a bit of steam for Sister Ran."
He Shu felt helpless, and thought to himself, My sister would rather strike you dead with a slap! Of course, he did not dare to utter such words out loud.
There was no way for He Ran or He Shu to force Xuan Qi to leave at this point in time, as doing so would undoubtedly make Bai Qian grow suspicious. They could only wait.