Star Horn Inspection

Chapter 518 Xing'an's Interrogation

According to the historians, in the winter of the Gengchen year, an earthquake occurred in the capital, and the Imperial Academy's Jade Mountain sank 170 feet into the ground, with a red flame 800 miles wide, which was extremely magnificent. However, the historians did not record the cause of the earthquake, but only wrote a few words in the later part, saying that Qin Mu, the chief priest of the Tiansheng Academy, neglected teaching and was fined two years by the emperor, and his official rank was demoted from the fourth rank to the fifth rank.

However, according to people in the palace, the emperor was awakened by a loud noise early in the morning. He rushed to check and saw that the explosion site was Yulong Lake. Countless red dragon carps in the lake were blown to pieces. The surface of the lake was white. Yulong Lake was several times larger and deeper than usual. He was furious on the spot.

It is reported that the emperor was injured in his hand and was clamoring to kill someone's head.

At that time, the emperor was wandering around the mountain with a knife in his hand and red eyes, but he didn't find anyone. He only found the sleeping Long Qilin and the box. So he stood guard beside Long Qilin with a knife in his hand until noon when no one came. Only then did he give up.

There are also rumors that someone fled thousands of miles early in the morning. At noon, Long Qilin woke up and rode a box to chase him. It took two days and two nights to catch up with him.

There are also rumors that the emperor went to the barracks, wandered around the Sun-Shooting Cannon for a long time, and finally sighed: "The merits outweigh the faults, and the crime is not punishable by death. I'd rather be demoted and fined." Then he put down his sword, turned around and left.

Of course, these are just rumors and cannot be confirmed, and the court historians would not record these unfounded rumors.

More than ten days later, Qin Mu held a sacrifice between life and death in Xianglong City in Daxu. A long river spanned the void, and Xianglong City became the place connected to Fengdu. It was very lively for a while.

Xianglong City was originally the property of the Qin family. Most of the shops in the city belonged to the Tiansheng Sect. They transported goods from Yankang to sell to Daxu, and transported goods from Daxu to sell to Yankang.

This place is the first stop when entering Daxu. All the supernatural masters who come to Daxu for training choose to settle here. These days, the number of supernatural masters in Xianglong City has increased sharply, and prices have skyrocketed. Si Yunxiang and Hu Ling'er are also very happy.

A few days later, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue came to Daxu and said they wanted to collect taxes, but Qin Mu rebuked them and cried to Emperor Yanfeng. Emperor Yanfeng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Daxu is not in Yankang. You went to collect taxes, and he gave me face by not killing you. According to their rules in Daxu, you will be beheaded. Don't make trouble, Daxu is not our place."

"Your Majesty, the great priest Qin makes too much money. The commerce in Xianglong City alone accounts for the lion's share!"

The Minister of Revenue protested, "And this time, Your Majesty wants to build a road to connect Xitu and Yankang, passing through Daxu and Xianglong City! Qin Dajiu has planned two roads, both passing through Xianglong City! Xianglong City will surely become the most important town in Daxu and the richest in the world! I think that Dajiu must have selfish motives and borrowed money from the court to build a road for his hometown!"

Emperor Yanfeng was helpless. He looked at him deeply and said meaningfully, "He conquered the Western Territory, saving countless military pay and preventing countless soldiers from dying in battle."

The Minister of Finance said, "But most of the people who go to Xianglong City for training are from Yankang. If we don't collect taxes on the money spent there, it will become a country within a country, and Yankang's money will inevitably flow away! If this continues, what will happen? Yankang will have no money to spend!"

Emperor Yanfeng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Taoist Yuanfeng, you are a Taoist master of divination, how come you don't understand?"

The Minister of Finance was puzzled: "I am a foolish official, please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yanfeng smiled and said, "The magical people who went to Xianglong City used my Yankang Dafeng currency. If they want to spend this money, they must buy things from my Yankang, or they must return to Yankang State."

The Minister of Revenue frowned and said, "What if the Dafeng currency is circulated in Daxu and not returned to Yankang?"

Emperor Yanfeng smiled and said, "If Dafeng coins can replace gold and silver and circulate in Daxu, it will be even better! Because it is the imperial court that mints coins, and Daxu does not have the power to mint coins. In this way, doesn't the imperial court have the power to mint coins in Daxu? How much wealth Daxu has is up to the imperial court. When Dafeng coins replace gold and silver, the imperial court can use Dafeng coins to buy mines and rivers in Daxu. It will be just around the corner to unify Daxu with Dafeng coins!"

The Minister of Revenue was dumbfounded.

Emperor Yanfeng threw the memorial aside, stood up, and looked out with a far-reaching gaze: "Without spending a single soldier, we can get this rich land of Daxu with Dafeng currency. What a good deal! You are still too stubborn. You think that it is a bad thing for Yankang's money to flow into Daxu, but you don't know that unification with money is the best way to attack. In governing a country, you don't have to care about the gains and losses of a penny. You have to look far ahead, look at decades and hundreds of years later. The high priest wants to make money, and those are just small money. I want to make money, and I will make the country, without bloodshed, to help the people and unify the economy!"

The Minister of Finance was completely convinced: "Your Majesty's words can serve as a warning to future generations."

In Xianglong City, Qin Mu looked at the bustling crowds of magical practitioners coming and going in the city, and the endless stream of caravans. The magical practitioners and caravans from Yankang Kingdom made Xianglong City doubly lively.

“If the Imperial Master led the female gods from the Western Land to pave the road here, connecting the Western Land and Yankang, the people of Daxu would not be so miserable.”

Qin Mu calculated that after more than a month, National Master Yankang led the people from the Tiangong Hall of the Ministry of Works to the Western Land, and they should have almost turned the desert into an oasis. This could be achieved with the Azure Dragon Pearl, one of the four great spiritual treasures of the Western Land.

Opening rivers and bringing water from snow-capped mountains into the desert can allow vegetation to grow lushly.

If Tiangongtang could chisel open the mountains in the southern part of the desert and draw clouds from the South China Sea to the north, the desert would have an endless supply of water and there would be no need to worry about precipitation or snowfall.

In just a few years, the Flaming Desert will become history.

Once the roads are paved, Xitu, Daxu and Yankang will be connected, the roads will be unobstructed, trade will be carried out, and commercial towns and cities will be set up along the way. The people of Daxu will become prosperous as a result.

"Dr. Qin, I heard you are from Daxu."

Xing An stood behind him, interrupting his thoughts and said, "You are from Daxu, but you brought the power of Yankang into Daxu. You are a sinner of Daxu."

"There is no country in Daxu, so how can there be criminals?"

Qin Mu was puzzled and said, "The people of Daxu have always lived off the land and water. There is no ruler here. Even if Yankang comes, the people of Yankang are still the people of Daxu. They will not become the host. They must follow the rules of Daxu. Here, the rules of Daxu are more effective than the emperor's laws."

Xing An shook his head: "I have not met Emperor Yanfeng very often, but I can see that he is a man of great talent and strategy. In the future, he will definitely unify Daxu. By the time the enemy is at the gates of your city, it will be too late for you to regret."

Qin Mu smiled and said, "If the emperor uses military force against Daxu, then his throne will not last long. You should know how terrifying Daxu is. These stone statues..."

He pointed at the temples in Xianglong City and said leisurely: "They are waiting for the call of resurrection. When they are resurrected, the world will be turned upside down. Yankang will never be the master of this land. The master of this land is someone else."

His eyes flickered, and he smiled, "I drove the Minister of Revenue away, and the emperor didn't want to be unlucky with me. I know his plan very well. But his ideas are all fantasy. If the emperor's achievements can surpass those of Emperor Kaihuang, there is still a possibility. Otherwise, it's all flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water. I'm going to visit the grave. Brother Xing'an, do you want to come with me?"

Xing An looked at the box running towards him with several legs, then retracted his gaze and said, "Wherever you go, I will go there. I will not leave you until I find the person I am looking for."

Qin Mu frowned and said, "I will go to the grave after your matter is resolved."

The address of the Human Emperor Palace is a secret, known only to successive Human Emperors. Xing'an follows him, preventing him from going to the Human Emperor Palace. Otherwise, if Xing'an is lured there, the location of the Human Emperor Palace will be revealed by him, which will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, who knows whether Xing'an will dig out the bones of the emperors of all generations and keep them?

Ten days later, the imperial court, Tiansheng Sect, Taoism, the Great Leiyin Temple and other places collected information on people born at midnight on the eighth day of the twelfth month of the Chou month of the Jiazi year, and the number of people born at that hour reached 30,000.

The official from the Ministry of Revenue who delivered the data said, "There is still data on the grasslands, ice fields, and western lands that have not yet been completed."

Xing An looked at the files of 30,000 people and felt overwhelmed. After a moment, he said, "The person I'm looking for is a man. Sort out the men and women in the files."

The official from the Ministry of Revenue immediately gave orders, and when the sorting was completed, he said, "There are 17,000 males, of whom only 8,000 are still alive, and many died in wars and disasters."

After a while, Xing An said, "Eliminate those who are not supernatural beings."

The Ministry of Revenue officials sent another order, asking the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to sort out the information and report back: "There are 400 people with supernatural powers left."

Xing An was silent for a moment, then said, "Check whether these four hundred people had any unusual signs when they were born, and whether there were any supernatural beings wearing jade pendants when they were born."

The Ministry of Revenue officials then ordered an investigation into these four hundred people.

Qin Mu was suspicious when he saw this. He thought, "Every time Xing'an gave an order, he would hesitate for a moment. It didn't seem like he took the initiative to give orders, but was just following orders from others. Yes, Xing'an jumped off the Naihe Bridge in Fengdu and drifted to Youdu. Youdu is much more dangerous than Fengdu, with many monsters full of resentment. How did he come back from Youdu? Could it be that..."

His eyes flashed, and a Chengtian Gate suddenly appeared behind him. When the gate was formed, Qin Mu's body turned into a human body with a snake head. A vertical eye between his eyebrows opened and he looked towards Xing'an.

Xing An noticed it immediately, turned around, and with a divine light in his eyes, he blocked his gaze and said calmly: "Dr. Qin, there are some things you'd better not know."

Qin Mu laughed loudly and dissipated the form of Zhenxingjun, but he was inexplicably shocked in his heart. Just now, he took advantage of Xing'an's unpreparedness and used Zhenxingjun's divine eyes to see a terrifying eye hidden in Xing'an's life and death treasure!

Just now, that scary eye also noticed his gaze and immediately looked towards him, but was then interrupted by Xing An and their sight was cut off!

At this time, an official from the Ministry of Revenue came to report, saying, "We have not found any supernatural person who was born with a jade pendant. After all, people born with jade in their mouths are just myths and legends."

"That person was not born with jade in his mouth."

Xing An was silent for a moment, then took out a picture and said, "That jade pendant is used to suppress his evil nature. This is the pattern of the jade pendant. Since we can't find the supernatural being born at that time, hang up the pattern of the jade pendant and post it in every city and county to find the whereabouts of the jade pendant! Doctor Qin, order people to copy this picture a thousand times!"

Qin Mu took the picture and his eyes fell on the jade pendant pattern in the picture.

"Has Doctor Qin seen this kind of jade pendant?" Xing An asked when he saw that he was looking at it carefully.

Qin Mu shook his head: "I've never seen it."

Xing'an's eyes flickered, and he took out a mirror and suddenly asked, "I forgot to ask, how old is Doctor Qin?"