Chapter 124: Chaos Erupts at the Liu Estate

"What is this holy relic? What kind of object is it?"

After pondering for more than a full minute, Li Yuanjing finally collected his thoughts, fixed his gaze on Huan Keqing's eyes, and asked in a low voice.

Huan Keqing couldn't help but swallow hard; it was the first time she had seen Li Yuanjing look so terrifying. Yet, she clearly understood that this matter was of immense gravity. She wanted to resist, but she dared not. Trembling all over, she stammered:

"Master, I... I don't know either. I truly do not know..."

"I only received intelligence that our Pure Sect's Holy Beast has divined the location of the holy relic. It is here in Fengcheng County."

"Furthermore, it is highly likely located within the Liu family mansion, the seat of the Liu Trading Firm here in Fengcheng."

"Just before I came to find you, our people in the Pure Sect discovered that members of the Maitreya sect had already gathered near the Liu family mansion..."

"A Holy Beast?"

"The Liu family mansion?"

Li Yuanjing couldn't help but shudder; he felt the hair on his arms standing up, as if he had already grasped something!

After staring blankly for thirty seconds, Li Yuanjing took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. If things were truly as he suspected, then this situation was going to be massive. However, Li Yuanjing understood even more that the more critical the situation, the more he needed to remain composed. He quickly asked in a low voice:

"What is this Holy Beast? Why would it point to the Liu family mansion? Where is it? And why would it point to the Liu family mansion at this exact moment?"

How could Huan Keqing dare to lie now? She hurriedly explained, trembling:

"Master, the Holy Beast... the Holy Beast is a turtle. Both our Pure Sect and the Maitreya sect each have one. Legend says they were a pair of twins personally selected by the Little Ming King Futong three hundred years ago. They are three hundred years old."

"According to tradition, the Holy Beast awakens once every cycle—that is, every sixty years—to indicate the location of the holy relic. Then, the new Holy Child will descend, and our Maitreya faith will rebuild its glory."

"But I don't know what happened this year. It clearly isn't time for the Holy Beast to awaken until next year, yet it has awakened recently..."

"Master, our Pure Sect's Holy Beast was originally kept in the Heaven-Reaching Abyss at Huangniwa. But fifty years ago, when the Pure Sect broke away from the Maitreya sect, our Holy Beast was taken away. I do not know where it is now. However, I can be certain that the Maitreya sect's Holy Beast is definitely still in the Heaven-Reaching Abyss at Huangniwa..."

Hearing this, Li Yuanjing's brow furrowed even deeper. He looked into Huan Keqing's eyes and asked:

"If none of you know what the holy relic looks like, how do you determine whether it is indeed the relic?"

Huan Keqing quickly replied:

"Master, that is not the case. When we came, we all drank the Water of the Holy Spirit. If the holy relic appears, we can sense its location after burning incense. It has been this way for hundreds of years; it will never be wrong."

"Moreover, only those who have drunk the Water of the Holy Spirit can later receive the favor of the Holy Child, or even bear the Holy Child's offspring..."

Li Yuanjing remained expressionless on the surface, but inside, he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe! He finally began to understand! In that illustration from the erotic album, the Holy Maiden sat high above, holding a vase similar to the pure bottle of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, while countless candidate maidens knelt to the side.

So that was the reason!

At this moment, even if he couldn't be one hundred percent certain that this "erotic album" was the holy relic of the Wenxiang Sect, Li Yuanjing was at least seventy or eighty percent sure! This was truly...

"Heh."

Suddenly, Li Yuanjing let out a laugh:

"Then do you know why your Pure Sect people sent you to me, Li Yuanjing?"

"Ah..."

Huan Keqing jolted, her pretty face blushing uncontrollably:

"Master, you are now a man of great influence in Fengcheng. My sect hoped... hoped to use my connection to ask you to show mercy to the Pure Sect regarding this matter..."

Li Yuanjing looked at Huan Keqing with appreciation:

"Since you have told me the truth about this matter, even if I don't give your Pure Sect face, I will give you face!"

"However!"

"You must return immediately and tell your people in the Pure Sect that I, Li Yuanjing, have no interest in any holy relic. But today, you must not cause trouble in Fengcheng! Otherwise, do not blame me for not having warned you in advance!"

"This..."

Huan Keqing's face paled. Although Li Yuanjing's words were not overly explicit, she was not stupid; she naturally understood his meaning. She hurriedly kowtowed deeply to Li Yuanjing:

"Yes."

"Wait."

Seeing that Huan Keqing was about to leave in a hurry, Li Yuanjing suddenly called out again:

"Keqing, I want you to return alive, without losing a single hair! Otherwise, I don't care about your Pure Sect; none of you will live!"

"Master..."

Huan Keqing's beautiful eyes turned red instantly. After a moment, she nodded heavily:

"Yes!"

Huan Keqing left in a rush. Li Yuanjing wanted to go to the county office to find Zhang Zhiji immediately, but after thinking it over carefully, he abandoned the idea for the time being and quickly packed up the erotic album.

Mainly, because he and Zhang Zhiji had already arranged everything quite well yesterday. Today, both the Maitreya and Pure Sect members were on the move. According to Huan Keqing, their actions would likely be significant. Zhang Yuzhu, who had been severely reprimanded by Zhang Zhiji, must already be like a mad dog; how could he not notice the anomalies in the city? If Li Yuanjing moved rashly now, he might reveal a flaw and cause everything to fall apart.

Furthermore, that a Holy Beast could detect the presence of a holy relic was almost like something out of a fantasy novel. But Li Yuanjing quickly realized that it was highly likely the holy relic contained some substance that allowed the beast to sense it. Coming from a later age, this obviously did not stump Li Yuanjing.

Soon, Li Yuanjing used some soft bedsheets to carefully wrap the erotic album, then wrapped it in several layers of oilcloth. He then had Zhuzi bring some fine sand, wrapped the sand around the oilcloth, and then covered it again with more oilcloth and soft fabric. With this, never mind a so-called Holy Beast, it would likely pass through even modern airport security without issue.

After doing all this, Li Yuanjing pondered for a long time and finally decided to keep the erotic album with him! He would wait to see how the situation unfolded.

Just after Li Yuanjing had finished packing the album, before it was even noon, fierce shouting and fighting suddenly erupted from the direction of the Liu family mansion, not far from his inn.

Following that, fire broke out all around the Liu family mansion, creating total chaos!

Clearly, the Wenxiang Sect had made their move! They were so unscrupulous in achieving their goals that they didn't care about the lives of the common people at all!

Li Yuanjing did not wait at the inn for long. The young leader of the Yiding cavalry who had previously guarded him arrived with eighteen Yiding cavalrymen and fifty elite soldiers, bowing respectfully:

"Sir, the young master has ordered that you be taken to the Liu family mansion to oversee the situation and adapt as necessary!"

Li Yuanjing felt as if he had been granted a reprieve. He exhaled and shouted:

"Let's go!"

Soon, the group hurried toward the Liu family mansion. However... even though Li Yuanjing had seen his fair share of storms and believed he had a strong enough temperament and psychological resilience, when he arrived outside the Liu family mansion and saw the scene before him, he was stunned. A wave of nausea hit him, and he could barely stop himself from vomiting on the spot!