They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 65 Night Trial of the Green Lion
Upon suddenly hearing the information from Chen Guangrui, Kui Mulang abruptly stopped and stared at Chen Guangrui, wanting to find out what was going on.

However, he was too anxious and couldn't control the pressure, which made Chen Guangrui's face look a little ugly. It wasn't until Wei Zheng reminded him that he returned to his previous state.

"I'm so sorry! I lost my composure. Just now... I didn't mean to intimidate you. It's just... this news is just too important to me. May I ask, Scholar Chen, what's the basis for your statement 'look west'? And why west?"

He asked urgently, yet the trace of worry in the corner of his eye still lingered.

Chen Guangrui steadied himself, his voice still slightly breathless, but his tone clear and direct.
"My lord, please forgive my ignorance. I have no profound calculations, but merely reason according to common sense. In recent years, the power of Buddhism in the Western Paradise has greatly increased. If one could be reborn there, wouldn't it be better to go west?"

He pointed out the core issue of "Buddhism becoming stronger".

Kui Mulang was stunned. He stood there, head bowed in thought.

For the first time, a complex and indescribable emotion appeared on the face of this extremely shrewd and calculating individual, a mixture of hope and worry, reason and emotion.

After a full seven or eight breaths, he slowly nodded, his movements heavy and cautious.

"Thank you for reminding."

Kui Mulang's voice returned to its usual gentle and steady tone. He bowed solemnly to Chen Guangrui, his words resounding with conviction.
"If this journey westward yields any results... I, Kui Mulang, owe you a favor I cannot repay! Farewell!"

Before he finished speaking, Kui Mulang's figure disappeared into the ground and vanished from the study in an instant, as if he had never been there.

Only Wei Zheng and Chen Guangrui remained in the study. After a brief silence, Wei Zheng sighed softly, breaking the stillness.

“Alas, Guangrui, please don’t take it to heart. Lord Kui Mulang… is indeed acting unusually today. He is always polite and extremely composed in the face of matters. It’s just that this matter is of great importance to him, which is why he is so anxious and worried.”

He explained Kui Mulang's loss of composure.

Chen Guangrui nodded in understanding. But his mind raced; now was the crucial moment to reveal his true intentions! He took a deep breath, looked directly at Wei Zheng, and spoke clearly and directly, voicing the question he had suppressed for so long.

"I understand and am not surprised that you are anxious to find me, Lord Xingjun. However... Lord Wei, there is something I do not understand!"

His tone became heavy.
"Since you already noticed it, and even captured that blue-maned lion demon yourself, and know clearly that it comes from Buddhism, why don't you immediately investigate this matter thoroughly and report it to the Heavenly Court? As far as I know, the Taoist and Buddhist sects are probably not so harmonious, are they?"

"..."

Upon hearing Chen Guangrui's words, Wei Zheng remained calm and silent, seemingly acknowledging Chen Guangrui's speculation.

After a few breaths of suffocating silence, his Adam's apple bobbed laboriously. He stared intently at Chen Guangrui, his voice so dry it was almost inhuman.
"How...how did you know?!"

He only asked this one crucial question.

Chen Guangrui knew he had made the right bet, and calmly met Wei Zheng's scrutinizing gaze, explaining logically and clearly.

"Kui Mulang Star Lord is one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations of the Heavenly Court, undoubtedly belonging to the Taoist faction. Your deep friendship with him, your willingness to meet in Chang'an and offer your assistance openly, is enough to show that you are on the same side as him! This is also why you did not hesitate to capture the lion demon despite knowing its sensitive identity, because it belongs to the Buddhist faction!"

He spoke with absolute certainty.
"I just really can't understand why, now that you've captured it and obtained irrefutable evidence that the Buddhist sect sent a demon to infiltrate the palace and steal the documents, you haven't taken any further action? You neither interrogated it, nor killed it, nor reported it to that person in the Heavenly Court? You're just hiding it like this?"

Chen Guangrui incisively pointed out Wei Zheng's contradictions and hesitations.

Wei Zheng frowned, and after a moment of deliberation, he spoke in a low voice, revealing his true concerns.
“Guangrui… things aren’t as simple as you think. I know it comes from Buddhism. But… what exactly is its purpose in coming to Chang’an? If… if it’s just a small matter like stealing some old documents, and we rush to report it to that person… he might not care about such trivial details! But I’ve really offended Buddhism badly! The risk… is too great. It’s better to stay put…” “So that’s what you’re worried about.”

Chen Guangrui immediately interrupted his concerns about the risks, saying, "Lord Wei! Want to know what the lion demon's purpose is in coming to Chang'an? That's too simple! We'll just go and ask it!"

"Ask it?" Wei Zheng looked up abruptly, his face filled with disbelief and astonishment.

"That beast is cunning and tight-lipped. I've questioned him many times these past few days, but to no avail. Are you confident now?"

"Have!"

Chen Guangrui answered decisively.

"I've just come across a crucial clue! I can't say I'm 100% certain, but it's definitely worth a try! The altered documents, along with the subtle clues about its activities within the palace... if we put them together, we might be able to catch them off guard! Please, Lord Wei, trust me this once!"

Wei Zheng's gaze lingered on Chen Guangrui's confident face for a long time. Finally, a decisive look flashed in his eyes: "Alright! Let's give it a try!"

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Zheng grabbed Chen Guangrui's wrist!

The next instant, something bizarre happened! The solid ground beneath their feet seemed to instantly transform into flowing, viscous mud! A powerful and indescribable force suddenly enveloped their entire bodies!
"Om..."

Chen Guangrui felt as if he had been forcibly shoved into an incredibly narrow, cold, and smooth pipe! What he saw was not darkness, but utter nothingness, and he lost all sense of direction and color! The unique damp and fishy smell of the soil instantly flooded his nostrils, yet he felt no obstruction or the touch of soil, as if his entire being had turned into an invisible particle.

Is this earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique)?

Chen Guangrui experienced this feeling and exclaimed that it felt really good to be an immortal.

A strong sense of falling and squeezing came from all directions, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

The process felt both fleeting and excruciatingly long!

"puff!"

I landed suddenly! The ground beneath my feet felt solid again.

All the pressure and strangeness receded like the tide.

He found himself standing in a remote, deserted mountain valley outside Chang'an City, surrounded by jagged rocks and overgrown weeds, with the majestic outline of Chang'an City visible in the distance.

Wei Zheng stood steadily to the side, as if he had merely taken a stroll. His gaze warily swept over the surroundings, and only after confirming absolute safety did he unhesitatingly pull out the inconspicuous gray cloth bag from his robes, flicked his wrist, and softly commanded, "Come out!"

"Pfft!"

A heavy thud was accompanied by a suppressed, angry growl!

The enormous blue-maned lion demon, its entire body covered in bristling blue mane and bound tightly by the "Immortal-Binding Rope" that shimmered with a faint golden light, was slammed onto the ground in front of the two like a tattered sack! Its bronze-bell-like beastly eyes burned with violent flames as it stared intently at Chen Guangrui and Wei Zheng!

"Roar!" A deafening lion's roar exploded in the mountain valley, filled with humiliation and resentment.

(End of this chapter)