sinovels Chapter 846 Surrounded by Attendants
Chapter 846 Surrounded by Attendants
Chapter 846 Surrounded by Attendants
Without any special instructions from Gong Mengbi, Chun Jing Shu arranged the carriages and horses according to her usual travel routine.
She was a messenger of the wealthy landowner, and although the title was that of a demonic examiner, it was a self-appointed title by the demonic examiners and not part of the official staff. However, since she was a messenger of the demonic examiners, she naturally followed the regulations for a sixth-rank messenger.
In the course of cultivation, the sixth rank is the transition from the lower to the middle rank, cultivating into a spiritual being, capable of divine travel, and has already begun to attain the wonders of immortals and gods.
The same applies to the sixth-rank celestial officials. They are no longer low-ranking celestial officials confined to one place. They have regulations for traveling, can ride in cloud chariots, and have servants and drivers to accompany them.
Chun Jing Shu summoned a carriage and horses, along with two drivers and six servants. The carriage was a cloud-patterned chariot, carved with cloud and wind patterns and decorated with pearls and gemstones. The horses were two ferocious blue dragons, bound and tethered.
Before getting into the car, Gong Mengbi summoned Su Zhenzhen and Chun Minwen and said, "After you finished your shifts yesterday, I was reviewing the files in the office, but I found that the files were not properly organized, the information was unclear, and there were many omissions. I'm afraid this is not a long-term solution. During the time I'm away, you two need to reorganize the files of the Demon Examination Institute, categorize them by time, create new registers, and fill in any gaps."
Su Zhenzhen's expression immediately turned sour—she had always been in charge of managing the files of the Demon Examination Institute.
Gong Mengbi didn't look at her, but his tone was extremely stern: "If the files are still in such a mess when I return, I will have to punish you."
Su Zhenzhen was full of resistance and struggled to say, "Your Excellency, although the Demon Examination Institute was established a little later, its files are complicated and there are many secret documents involving the Heavenly Palace. We cannot entrust them to others. It is definitely impossible for the two of us to finish sorting them out in ten days or half a month."
“It’s alright.” Gong Mengbi had already made up his mind. “I will leave my five subordinates to help you organize the files. They are my close attendants. With the five of them helping you, that will be enough.”
Su Zhenzhen racked her brains but couldn't find another excuse. Gong Mengbi didn't allow her to ramble on any longer and just said, "Go quickly and don't delay."
He turned and got into the car, with Chun Jing Shu behind him. As she got into the car, she exchanged a glance with Su Zhen Zhen, revealing a bond of sisterhood forged in adversity.
Going out to the Demon Trial with Gong Mengbi was certainly difficult, but staying home to sort through those piles of old papers was by no means an easy task either. Gong Mengbi sent his five subordinates to sort through the files, and his intentions were already quite clear.
However, Chun Jing Shu herself was in danger. Today, during her duty report, she was the only one who had investigated the matter most thoroughly, naturally because she had learned some inside information beforehand. If she was not careful on this trip, she might end up getting herself into trouble.
Chun Jing Shu held a golden book in her arms and shared a carriage with Gong Meng Bi. The carriage was very spacious and carried six servants.
These six servants, three men and three women, were all eighth-rank fox spirits. It was unclear whether they were descendants of a collateral branch of a noble family or wild foxes from the mountains. The three men and three women served Gong Mengbi and Chun Jingshu respectively, burning incense, brewing tea, fanning, and serving water.
Chun Jing Shu felt uneasy and asked, "Envoy, who should we go to first?"
Gong Mengbi said, "Take a look at the golden book, and go to whichever one is most urgent."
Chun Jing Shu opened the golden book, her heart pounding like a drum, but she forced a smile and said, "The Qin Clan's Demonic Trial is coming up soon."
"Then let's go and meet this Celestial Master's relative first."
The news about Qin Shi was personally reported by Chun Jing Shu. She learned of Qin Shi's situation after returning to the manor yesterday, when an elder from the clan personally sent someone to inform her, intending to test Gong Meng Bi. Now, even she has been drawn into this.
The two azure dragons rode the wind, heading south. However, these two azure dragons were clearly bred and raised using strange techniques. They only had the shape of a dragon, so calling them dragon beasts would be more appropriate. They were not faster than when they flew on their own, and were even slower due to the weight, which made Chun Jing Shu suffer even more.
Gong Mengbi closed his eyes and concentrated until the dragon beast was exhausted. The coachman then asked, "Your Excellency, the dragon is tired. It would be best to stop and feed it for a while and let it rest for an hour."
Gong Mengbi has no problem with it.
As the dragon-shaped chariot descended from the clouds, six attendants spread out mats, sprinkled fragrant flowers, lit incense burners, and presented delicacies, fresh fruits, and spiritual spring water for Gong Mengbi and Chun Jingshu to rest temporarily.
Chun Jing Shu had no appetite and waved for them to leave.
Gong Mengbi glanced at them and asked, "Aren't the cloud chariots and dragons in the courtyard all under the control of Yan Jun of the Jade Palace? Why do these ones look like they belong to the Bureau?"
“Since the Lord of Yan serves in the Jade Palace, it would be inconvenient to disturb the Jade Palace if he summoned a carriage. It would be better to keep some dragon-shaped cloud chariots in the office so that they can be used on a regular basis.”
Chun Jing Shu had a hint of smugness in her voice as she said, "Only our Ju Xia Division in the courtyard has such an ability. In the future, wherever you need to go, just summon us."
Gong Mengbi just smiled and didn't reply.
Gong Mengbi remained silent, and Chun Jing Shu began to feel unwell. Fortunately, the coachman quickly fed the Azure Dragon, and the spiritual liquid he poured into its mouth soon took effect, allowing them to resume their journey.
The Azure Dragon landed again, which was the place of demonic testing designated by the Golden Book.
The name of the Qin family in the golden book glowed faintly. The time for the Demon Trial had arrived, and the place of the Demon Trial was here; the golden book naturally sensed it. Unless one used some extraordinary power to evade the golden book and prevent it from finding them, they would inevitably face the test.
Since Qin Shi did not have such abilities, Gong Mengbi and Chun Jing Shu, with their entourage, found Qin Shi's location under the cover of night.
This is a magnificent mansion with a spacious courtyard, interwoven buildings, four waterways flowing into the main hall, and a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) formation. Just one glance is enough to tell that the owner of this house must be an extremely wealthy family.
Chun Jing Shu asked, "Envoy, shall we make our move now?"
Gong Mengbi shook his head and said, "No rush. Let's find a place to stay first and make plans tomorrow."
Chun Jing Shu then instructed, "Hurry up and go."
Several servants went out to search and eventually found a decent place to stay at a Zen temple in the city. After paying the temple for the room, they moved into the meditation hall in the back courtyard of the temple.
Gong Mengbi and Chun Jingshu disguised themselves as a wealthy young master and young lady, with servants attending to them, frightening the monks of the Zen temple so much that they dared not come to inquire.
The fact that one can easily stay in this temple suggests that there are no highly accomplished practitioners there. Only a few monks who are well-versed in Buddhism have cultivated a certain demeanor and possess some supernatural abilities that are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, yet their actions remain unseen.
Chun Jing Shu didn't want to bother with these ordinary people, but Gong Meng Bi ordered his servants to prepare fruits and spring water, and invited the monks from the temple to talk and recite scriptures.
Chun Jing Shu had no interest and did not attend the banquet. She heard the laughter and conversation outside while in the meditation hall, which made her feel irritated.
Several bald men and a fox spirit sat in the hall, discussing doctrines, reciting scriptures, and laughing heartily—it was utterly nonsensical. She ordered her servants to raise the gauze curtains to shut out the noise from outside, finally bringing her some peace and quiet.
After nightfall, Gong Mengbi escorted the monks back, but they were reluctant to part and wanted to talk with him all night.
After seeing the guests off, Gong Mengbi returned to his meditation room. Passing by Chun Jingshu's room, he saw the cloud-like gauze peeking out from the crack in the door, flowing like smoke.
A servant stood quietly at the door, waiting to be summoned.
Gong Mengbi asked, "Did you hear me discussing scriptures with several Zen masters just now?"
The servant nodded and said, "The messenger's words were brilliant; they all were stunned."
"It seems you understood some of it, better than the one in the room."
The servant looked terrified, immediately knelt down and lowered his head, no longer daring to listen.
Gong Mengbi didn't make things difficult for her. From her lowered perspective, the pair of black boots gradually disappeared into the distance.