: Who Would Suspect a Two-Year-Old Child?

2025-01-15 Author: Gu Zhenren

Since Li Leifeng had said so, he didn't hold back. He immediately reached out to take Li Leifeng's pulse, channeling his magic power into Li Leifeng's body while his golden eyes shone with divine light.

Soon, Zhu Xuanji had thoroughly assessed Li Leifeng's physical condition and was visibly shocked.

"Elder Li, you..."

Li Leifeng had held on for a while but finally couldn't suppress it anymore, breaking into a violent cough.

His aura dropped once again, falling back to the Qi Refining stage. He coughed so hard that blood appeared at the corners of his mouth, his face deathly pale.

"I am already old, my body decaying. Even maintaining my breath is exceptionally difficult."

"Even though Lord Zhu's magic power is gentle, it has still caused significant harm to this old man."

"But, let it be."

"If I hadn't had a strange encounter in my youth and consumed a longevity-enhancing Ganoderma, I wouldn't have lived to this age."

"I must thank Lord Zhu for helping this old man find release."

Zhu Xuanji sighed, his brows tightly furrowed, unable to conceal his guilt. "Elder Li, I am well aware of your contributions to the orphanage. Why must you do this?"

He was an intelligent man. After falling for the trick, he had seen through Li Leifeng's scheme.

He felt deeply troubled.

Li Leifeng smiled. "Lord Zhu, if you truly feel guilty, then properly represent the court and arrange for a good director for this orphanage. Otherwise, even in death, this old man would be unable to rest peacefully."

Zhu Xuanji looked up and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

His primary purpose for coming here was to investigate Li Leifeng.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered from the City Lord's Mansion and the three great families, Li Leifeng was the prime suspect, without a doubt.

Although Li Leifeng hadn't reached the Golden Core stage, he possessed a Thunder Spiritual Root. At his peak, while controlling the Mechanism Tower, he undoubtedly had combat power equivalent to half-step Golden Core!

Moreover, he had profound expertise in mechanism arts, recognized by the Molten Rock Immortal Palace, making him a candidate among Foundation Establishment cultivators qualified to enter the palace.

According to the records of the four great families, Li Leifeng had entered the Immortal Palace several times, gaining substantial rewards.

And these were just the recorded instances.

In reality, before the Molten Rock Immortal Palace was exposed, the summit of Fire Persimmon Mountain wasn't under strict control, and the path through the Crimson Flame Demon Molten Cave was fixed. Many cultivators could easily disguise themselves and explore the cave.

The four major powers simply couldn't record every cultivator who entered the Immortal Palace.

In other words, Li Leifeng had explored the Immortal Palace far more times than what was recorded.

Zhu Xuanji's investigation now confirmed that Li Leifeng was nearing the end of his lifespan, with little time left.

And he, a dignified Golden Core cultivator, had been outmaneuvered by Li Leifeng.

Zhu Xuanji sighed inwardly.

He had been targeted by such tactics many times before.

Whenever he appeared in public, his past experiences, personality, likes, and dislikes would be thoroughly investigated by those with ulterior motives.

Li Leifeng's move had hit Zhu Xuanji's weakness perfectly.

Small figures have their own ways of survival!

Zhu Xuanji knew that this investigation and confirmation would shorten Li Leifeng's lifespan by at least three months.

Feeling guilty, he had no choice but to promise that he would diligently find an excellent director for the Fire Persimmon Immortal City's orphanage.

Li Leifeng nodded with a smile. "Lord Zhu, after this old man passes away, there will be a bequest meeting where my possessions will be gifted to others."

"I know that you, Lord, are of royal descent, a divine constable, immensely wealthy, and hold a high position of power."

"But this old man still wishes to give you something as a token of respect."

"Naturally, this old man has no treasures that would catch your eye, but I do have a small toy I acquired by chance in my early years, quite interesting."

"Lord Zhu, please look."

Zhu Xuanji received a wooden board.

The board was as large as a chopping block, very heavy, with a pale yellow surface bearing many natural wood grain patterns. The surface was crisscrossed with various lines, dividing the board into many irregularly sized small pieces.

Zhu Xuanji himself had some knowledge of mechanisms. With just one glance, he was captivated.

He tried pressing one of the wooden pieces with his finger and successfully slid it to the side.

Just as he had discerned, these wooden pieces could be moved.

"Quite interesting." Zhu Xuanji moved his fingers rapidly, shifting many pieces back and forth, gradually discovering clues.

"This mechanism board hides some kind of information. By moving the pieces to their correct positions, we can uncover part of the information."

"Only after we obtain all the information can we piece together the complete message the board intends to convey."

Zhu Xuanji frowned. "There are so many pieces. How long will it take to move and position them all to get the full content?"

Li Leifeng chuckled. "This is just a mechanism toy, like the ones I played with in my childhood, like Yilun, Crossed Legs, or Sanmao."

"It's just very intricate, good for passing the time."

Zhu Xuanji laughed. "Time is what I need the most. How can I afford to pass it?"

Saying this, he activated his golden eyes to see through the board.

Cheating like this, he immediately obtained all the information hidden in the wooden toy. "It's just an immortal tale? And not even the complete story?"

Li Leifeng sighed. "Lord Zhu, it is just a toy."

"In this old man's opinion, it was probably made by some mechanism cultivator in his later years, while enjoying time with his grandchildren, for his younger family members."

Zhu Xuanji nodded and placed the mechanism board back. "I think this board is more suitable staying in the orphanage. Elder Li, I must take my leave now. I will keep my promise to you."

Li Leifeng said, "Lord Zhu, take care. Please forgive this old man for not being able to see you out."

Zhu Xuanji quickly waved his hand. "No, no, no. Please, just lie down. That's fine."

He was deeply afraid that seeing him out would cost Li Leifeng another portion of his lifespan.

After leaving the orphanage, Zhu Xuanji couldn't help but sigh deeply, looking up at the sky and thinking, "Heavens, why are you not more merciful to the good people of this world?"

Zhu Xuanji felt disheartened, full of regret for Li Leifeng's impending death.

As for the time he would need to spend reporting to the court and his own efforts in participating in the selection of a director for the orphanage, it would consume energy and delay his investigation.

But he was willing to do it!

Ning Zhuo didn't sleep very well in Ning Xiaoren's residence.

In fact, it was worse than at his uncle's house.

The place that truly gave him a sense of belonging was still the small courtyard his mother had left him.

Breakfast was abundant, featuring many spirit foods.

Ning Xiaoren specifically came to have breakfast with Ning Zhuo.

He关切地 asked how Ning Zhuo had rested the previous night and if the food was to his taste.

Ning Zhuo acted awkward and embarrassed, appearing ill at ease in the face of Ning Xiaoren's concern.

Ning Xiaoren, observing his expression, appropriately toned down his enthusiastic关怀.

Only then did Ning Zhuo gradually relax and start eating the spirit food. These things could enhance his cultivation!

Ning Xiaoren was surprised to find that Ning Zhuo was eating more and more, faster and faster.

He devoured most of a plate of spirit food.

Some of the spirit food side dishes were small in portion, meant to be savored for their taste. But just as Ning Xiaoren raised his chopsticks—they were gone!

"Eat, eat well. If you like it, eat more." Ning Xiaoren said with a smile.

Ning Zhuo's chewing paused slightly, again showing an awkward expression.

Ning Xiaoren laughed heartily. "Good child, good child. Eating more leads to faster cultivation and greater gains when exploring the Immortal Palace."

"Th...Thank you, Uncle Director." Ning Zhuo's mouth was full, his words mumbled and unclear.

Ning Xiaoren laughed again. "I told you, just call me Uncle Ning."

Ning Zhuo then called him Uncle Ning.

"Good. From now on, we shall address each other as uncle and nephew." Ning Xiaoren stood up. "Eat well, eat your fill. Cultivate later; don't waste the spirit food. I heard you like mechanism arts. I'll have some mechanism典籍 sent for you to read later."

Ning Zhuo immediately showed a happy expression, quickly standing up and cupping his hands in thanks.

Ning Xiaoren laughed loudly, waved his hand, and left the room.

Returning to his study, his expression turned cold. Not eating his fill was a first in his own residence. He had no choice but to order another breakfast, instructing a servant to prepare it.

Ning Zhuo翻阅着 the典籍.

These典籍 were clearly from the Ning family's secret repository, significantly higher in quality than the books in the open library.

On the surface, Ning Zhuo was focused, but in reality, his mind was elsewhere.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been thirsting for knowledge, unable to put these典籍 down.

But now, he was acutely aware of his situation.

Even though he was being treated well by Ning Xiaoren at the moment, the other party might turn hostile at any time, throwing Ning Zhuo into a private prison.

Ning Zhuo was taking a risk!

But he had no choice.

The appearance of Yuan Dasheng forced him to enter the game personally, narrowly eliminating this powerful enemy. He had almost been exposed.

Zhu Xuanji's appearance was too early; he had been investigating constantly, creating immense pressure that forced Ning Zhuo to act quickly.

"When did my situation start becoming increasingly difficult?"

Ning Zhuo traced it back to the very beginning: his decision to blow up the Immortal Palace.

Once he did that, it was like boarding a lone boat to cross turbulent waves. He had to reach the other shore to be safe.

Any mistake, even the slightest delay, would mean destruction.

He couldn't get off the boat now.

If the Immortal Palace was taken by others, they would inevitably investigate the explosion, exposing Ning Zhuo as the true culprit.

He could only move forward, constantly forward, gritting his teeth, pushing through no matter the difficulty, stubbornly advancing!

"After a long night, Ning Xiaoren is still treating me with courtesy and kindness. This indicates their investigation has yielded results."

"This is all thanks to the defenses I've been weaving since I was two years old. The many evidences I created and performed are naturally distributed throughout the trajectory of my growth."

"Once they investigate these, they will find reasonable explanations and recognize my talent in mechanism arts."

"Even if they search the underground workshop, it's fine. I've cleaned it up. And I've left behind numerous revised drafts of my research and creation of the Mechanism Blast Monkeys, as well as failed prototypes, etc."

Although Ning Zhuo was isolated and weak, he had one advantage.

He had been preparing for over ten years, deliberately leaving many traces and clues throughout his growth.

These clues and pieces of information, when collected, formed intelligence.

And this intelligence was actually a personal defense line Ning Zhuo had carefully prepared—who would suspect that a two-year-old child had been acting since infancy?

As long as his early intelligence remained undiscovered, Ning Zhuo could temporarily hold this defense line.

Of course, Ning Zhuo's love for and obsession with mechanism arts were not an act but his true nature.

"Ning Zhuo, come out." Before long, Ning Xiaohui's voice suddenly came from outside the room.

(End of )