Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

Standing at the entrance of the Shen residence, having just seen off Haojing, who was only thirteen years old, he turned around and saw Zhou Jinghuai walking towards him.

"Master Zhou."

Hao Jing bowed and noticed that Zhou Jinghuai was not dressed as conspicuously as usual today. Instead, he was wearing a low-key gray-white robe, which complemented his charming and handsome face, giving him a unique charm.

Zhou Jinghuai hurriedly waved to Haojing and strode towards the Shen residence.

"Is your family back yet?"

"He's in the study."

Haojing quickly followed behind, and the two walked together toward the study in the Shen residence.

The study was dimly lit, with the candlelight on the desk glowing softly.

Shen Mu handed the letter he had just written to the man beside him and said, "Go quickly and come back quickly."

"Yes."

The man tucked the letter into his pocket and walked to the door, bumping right into Zhou Jinghuai who barged in.

"Ouch—" Zhou Jinghuai exclaimed in surprise, instinctively covering his wound where he had been touched and falling to the ground.

On the contrary, Hao Jing, who was following behind him, looked up and saw that the person who came out of the study was actually an old acquaintance of his.

"Xie Qiao! Why are you back?"

The man named Xie Qiao was dressed in a black outfit, his skin was tanned dark, but his features were quite handsome.

"Master... Lord Shen sent me back. I have to go now, sorry."

Xie Qiao helped Zhou Jinghuai up, whispered an apology, and hurriedly left.

"you……"

Hao Jing watched as Xie Qiao left the Shen residence so quickly without even properly greeting him, and thought that Shen Mu must have assigned him a task that couldn't be delayed.

Upon hearing this, Shen Mu raised his eyelids slightly, and with a wave of his hand, calmly collected the books on the table.

"Why are you here again?"

"What do you mean, 'Why am I here again'?"

Zhou Jinghuai winced in pain, strode into the study, and sat down on a soft couch as if it were his own home. He then asked, "Have you heard that the Crown Prince has been confined to his quarters?"

“I know.” Shen Mu raised his eyebrows casually, his voice low and drawn out.

He not only knew about it, but he also personally went to the Crown Prince's house to tell him about it.

Zhou Jinghuai turned his head and saw Shen Mu's cold and aloof face in the candlelight on the table. He had a high nose bridge and an extremely indifferent expression, but he had an indescribable handsomeness.

He couldn't help but think to himself that this monster not only possessed divine power greater than himself, but was also incredibly handsome.

Unfortunately, his biggest flaw is his bad temper.

"Could it be that you really handed that clue over to the Emperor of Nanyang?" Zhou Jinghuai raised an eyebrow.

"handed in."

"Aren't you afraid of the Crown Prince's wrath?"

"Not afraid."

"Have you found out who's behind this?"

"no"

"Shen Mu, you!"

Zhou Jinghuai couldn't help but stand up. He was increasingly unable to understand Shen Mu's behavior. Just last night, Shen Mu was analyzing with him that someone was deliberately using the Embroidered Uniform Guard to deliver clues, which would offend people both ways.

Unexpectedly, I received news early this morning that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace had been confined to his quarters, only to find out that Shen Mu had still handed over the letter from Zuixianlou.

Shen Mu seemed to have anticipated Zhou Jinghuai's anger. He rested his head on his hand and said calmly.

"What's your hurry? You're not a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"The Emperor of Nanyang has ordered a thorough investigation of all merchants in the capital to find out if there are any assassins hiding there. Given this, why would that Taoist priest reappear at this time?" Zhou Jinghuai frowned.

They had already missed an opportunity to capture the Taoist priest once before, and now that the Emperor of Nanyang had ordered a thorough investigation of accomplices, they had even less chance to get close to the Taoist priest.

“The Taoist priests aren’t our focus anymore.” Shen Mu tossed him the letter that was on the desk.

Zhou Jinghuai took the letter and read it carefully, and couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.

"You want me to steal the blueprints?"

"Yes, because your father is the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."

"Is that my father?"

Zhou Jinghuai got angry just thinking about it. If it weren't for the identity Qingfeng arranged for him, would he have ended up in such a bad situation in the mortal world?

“But in the mortal realm, he is. So this matter is best left to you.” Shen Mu’s eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly smiled.

"What does that have to do with me going to the palace to burn down the Bright Moon Palace?" Zhou Jinghuai suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He had done all the dirty and hard work, so what was Shen Mu doing?

"Because no one cares what a spoiled brat is doing, and I've always been the one being watched in the open. Don't worry, I'll have someone hide the kerosene in the Bright Moon Palace."

Actually, they all fell into a trap from the start, waiting in vain for the Taoist priest to appear on his own. But who is the Demon Lord?

An ancient deity who has lived for over a thousand years, whose heart is bigger than a person's mouth.

Since the Taoist priest is hiding so well, why not set fire to the Bright Moon Palace built by the Emperor of Nanyang?

Burning down the altar that Chongming painstakingly built to bewitch the emperor of Nanyang will naturally expose the rats behind it.

"But why don't we just burn down Mingyue Palace? Why do we need the blueprints?" Zhou Jinghuai looked puzzled. He suggested that they simply burn down Mingyue Palace to solve everything.

"Burning those blueprints is the only way to get the Taoist priests to appear as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the Bright Moon Palace is burned and the blueprints are in hand, it will only allow the Emperor of Nanyang to continue rebuilding it."

Shen Muqing's cold gaze fell on Zhou Jinghuai.

The only person present who could directly obtain the blueprints for the Bright Moon Palace was Zhou Yong, the Guanglu Temple official in charge of sacrificial affairs. Unfortunately, Zhou Jinghuai happened to be Zhou Yong's illegitimate son.

Zhou Jinghuai paced anxiously back and forth in his study. It wasn't that he lacked courage, but this action would inevitably make him the first suspect, and he feared that before even luring out the Taoist priest, he would be killed.

He glared at Shen Mu, wondering how this guy could be so cunning, always making him do all the hard and tiring work.

"Aren't you afraid that the Emperor of Nanyang will cut off my head and use it as a football?"

"Who can kill Xichen's young general?"

Shen Mu picked up the teacup on the desk, took a sip of hot tea to hide his barely suppressed smile.

Seeing his master teasing Young Master Zhou like this, Hao Jing couldn't help but smile. He subtly moved back a little, trying to hide himself in the darkness of the room so that no one would notice him.

"Shen Mu, are you trying to embarrass me with that?"

Zhou Jinghuai rolled his eyes at him in anger, slammed his hand on Shen Mu's desk, and handed the letter back to him.

"As you know, one cannot recklessly use divine power in the mortal realm. Even though I am General Xichen, in the mortal realm, the power of life and death is in the hands of the emperor."

It wasn't that he was unwilling to take action, but the plan was indeed quite dangerous, and he needed to steal the blueprints by tomorrow night. Since his injuries healed at a speed no different from ordinary people in the mortal realm, this sword wound wouldn't heal in less than ten days to half a month.

Seeing that Shen Mu remained silent, he began to have doubts in his heart again.

He didn't blame Shen Mu for this tactic. The Taoist priest only appeared in the palace on the first day of each month, and they had wasted several months waiting for him without seeing any trace of him. This delay couldn't continue indefinitely.

So ultimately, Zhou Jinghuai approved of Shen Mu's arrangement, but he was truly unsure about the trip. Stealing the blueprints was one thing, but what if he were ambushed while infiltrating the palace and burning down Mingyue Palace?

He looked up and saw Shen Mu, whose face was solemn and silent. He swallowed hard, then bit his lip and said...

"It's not that I don't want to go, but you have to... find me some help. What if I run into my pursuers again with this condition?"

In order to lure out the Taoist priest, what could he do but compromise?

"I've sent Xie Qiao out, so it's just Hao Jing and me. You choose."

Shen Mu propped his head up with his hand, his eyes revealing a shrewd glint. He was certain that Zhou Jinghuai would agree to his terms.

"Is this what you call a selection, Shen Mu?!"

Zhou Jinghuai's lips curled into a bitter smile. He was clearly the one seen by the world as a dissolute and unreliable playboy, yet he always seemed to be the one suffering losses at the hands of that old fox, Shen Mu.