Zanxing and Gu Baiying exchanged a glance, both looking uncomfortable. After all, flattering the old king with some praises about his heroic deeds didn’t really serve any purpose.
As the king spoke, he began to cough.
Seeing this, Zanxing thought for a moment before politely saying, “Currently, the shark demon in Li’er Country has not been found. Your Majesty must be anxious, but please take care of your health.”
“It’s nothing,” the king smiled. “It’s an old ailment of mine, been like this since birth. I heard that even Father Emperor was the same. In severe cases, he coughed up blood every day. That’s why the palace storerooms are always stocked with medicinal herbs. The herbs used by Senior Brother Rong, it’s really nothing special.”
Zanxing looked at him. The king of Li’er Country indeed lacked any sense of majesty. In fact, he seemed somewhat frail and delicate. She asked, “Forgive my impertinence, but does Your Majesty resemble the old king?”
Seemingly surprised by Zanxing’s question, the king was briefly taken aback before laughing. He replied, “Correct. I do indeed resemble Father Emperor more.”
Zanxing had seen Princess Lizhu before. Despite her age, Princess Lizhu exuded a strong and vibrant aura. This king, on the other hand, bore no resemblance to Princess Lizhu whatsoever. He was more like a jar of medicine.
After chatting for a few more moments, the king ordered the breakfast to be removed, and Zanxing and the others left the main hall.
Rong Yu had to return to take care of his Senior Brother, so he left first. Zanxing and Gu Baiying walked into the courtyard, and as they walked, Zanxing said, “Senior Uncle, did you notice something strange?”
“What do you mean?” Gu Baiying asked.
“Yesterday, we looked at a total of eight case files about the shark demon, and they were all very similar. They portrayed the old king as extremely brave, a strong man capable of lifting thousands of kilograms. And in the end, he perished along with the shark demon because the demon was too cunning,” Zanxing said, facing Gu Baiying as she walked forwards and pondered aloud, “But today, according to the king, the old king’s health is not very good, and he often coughs up blood, like a weak jar of medicine.”
Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow, indicating for her to continue, “So?”
“This is quite contradictory,” Zanxing continued, “Do you remember the golden statue we saw at the seaside? The old king depicted on that statue was handsome and brave, showing no signs of illness whatsoever.”
“Royal family members often embellish their own image,” Gu Baiying remarked.
“Exaggerating a bit is fine, of course, but for a physically weak person to defeat a ferocious shark demon, it shouldn’t be an easy task. How did the old king manage it? Solely relying on a demon-slaying formation? But there’s nothing written about a demon-slaying formation in those files,” Zanxing said. “So, I think there might be something fishy going on.”
As she was speaking, she stepped on a rock, nearly stumbling. Gu Baiying grabbed her arm and steadied her, disdainfully saying, “Could you please walk properly?”
Zanxing regained her balance and smiled, “Alright, Senior Uncle, what do we do now?”
“Although you’re talking nonsense, I also suspect that there’s something wrong with the old king,” Gu Baiying said, pulling at the corner of his mouth with a cryptic look in his eyes. “So, I’ve decided to personally search for clues.”
Zanxing asked, “What clues?”
“I’ve heard that the case files of every king are kept in the Tianlu Pavilion. We may not find anything related to the shark demon in the case files, but there might be something related to the old king there,” Gu Baiying explained.
“The Tianlu Pavilion?” Zanxing shook her head. “I’ve heard of it too, but it’s all classified. Besides members of the royal family, outsiders are definitely not allowed in, and cultivators are no exception. The king won’t allow it.”
Gu Baiying chuckled, “Who said I need his permission?”
“What Senior Uncle means is—”
“For a cultivator to be pondering over entering a mortal king’s palace, I see no future in that. It’s better to quit cultivation altogether,” he interrupted, striding forward. “Whether it’s the Tianlu Pavilion or the Dulu Pavilion, I’ll go wherever I want.”
With that, he left Zanxing with a confident silhouette.
Zanxing hesitated for a moment, then made a quick decision and hurried to catch up.
In every royal family, there are secrets they don’t want outsiders to see.
After all, even though they’re kings, they’re still human at their core. And humans make mistakes. Members of the royal family, in order to maintain their authority and image among the people, wouldn’t want outsiders to see their ‘faults.’
And perhaps, these ‘faults’ could be found in the Tianlu Pavilion.
The Tianlu Pavilion of Li’er Country looked somewhat like the book repository tower of the Taiyan Sect, but it was much smaller. Downstairs, there were guards in light armor standing watch. Gu Baiying cast an invisibility spell, concealing himself and Zanxing, and they entered the tower directly.
Once inside the tower, Zanxing was somewhat dumbfounded.
The case files concerning the royal family of Li’er Country were all compiled in identical volumes, with the same thickness. In other words, all the volumes looked exactly the same, neatly stacked on the shelves. Unlike the Taiyan Sect, where each volume had its own cover and title printed on the spine, making it easy to identify.
These volumes were probably managed by dedicated servants on normal days. For strangers entering the Tianlu Pavilion, faced with these seemingly identical volumes, finding what they were looking for was like finding a needle in a haystack. If they had someone familiar with them, it would be fine. But if they had to find it themselves, they might not find it even by nightfall.
Zanxing leaned in close to Gu Baiying and whispered, “Senior Uncle, setting guards downstairs here was completely unnecessary. Even if someone else comes in, it’s not easy to find anything.” It would probably take them three to five days to go through all these volumes. However, they were about to enter the secret realm in a few days. Originally, they came to the Tianlu Pavilion to investigate the truth about the shark demon case. They couldn’t afford to delay here for a few more days. After all, if they didn’t find the culprit within a day, there would be another victim in Li’er Country.
Gu Baiying frowned deeply. He probably didn’t expect that the royal family of Li’er Country would be so meticulous. Without someone who was very familiar with this place, it would be impossible to find the correct book at a glance.
While lost in thought, Zanxing felt movement from the Qiankun bag at her waist. Before she could react, Mimi had already leaped out from it.
Mimi was a spiritual beast that usually stuck close to Zanxing, but due to its chubby size, Zanxing couldn’t carry it around easily. Sometimes, she would just toss it into the Qiankun bag as if it were a pet carrier.
Now, it seemed Mimi had been cooped up in the bag for too long. It leaped onto the bookshelf and, being restless, took a few steps before swatting a volume of records off the shelf with its paw.
The volume nearly fell to the ground, but Zanxing managed to catch it just in time, letting out a sigh of relief. If it had made a noise, it wouldn’t have been good if someone noticed.
As she was about to put the volume back on the shelf, she suddenly noticed two characters written in the bottom right corner of the cover: Shengning.
Shengning was the title of the old king.