Out of fear of death, Invest Everything into Health-Chapter 236 - 132: Path of All Things Decay

"The scope of duties for the Fuxian Bureau is quite broad... Of course, their main task is investigation. They specialize in cases related to cultivators. It seems they are here because of the presence of a demon cultivator on this Dragon Soaring Armor Type Flying Ship."

"Then... that Captain Pang is probably in for a rough time."

"Fuxian Bureau taking over the case directly from Changyun Passenger Transport certainly won't make it easy. Even if Captain Pang isn't much involved, he's likely to peel off a layer of skin; at the very least, he'll have to give up his position."

"Oh, that's so serious? What a pity."

"Serious? I guess you don't know how Great Li views demon cultivators. They'd rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one go. Anything involving demon cultivators is a major issue."

"Why?"

"I dare not say carelessly. I only know that several hundred years ago, the Great Li Dynasty nearly collapsed because of demon cultivators."

Soon, those two people from the Fuxian Bureau brought out Pang Xiangyang.

Amidst the crowd's gaze, the two took Pang Xiangming and flew toward the horizon.

Fu Manman looked over, "By the way, you haven't told me, what exactly happened at Gongyu Tower before?"

Fan Wubing said, "It was just Captain Pang leading people to fight with a few demon cultivators."

"Hey, did you make a move?"

"Do I look like someone who would make a move?"

"Alright then, let's pretend I didn't ask."

Fu Manman knew that Fan Wubing would never take action for someone unrelated to him.

In this regard, she always felt he was quite unlike a young man.

How many young men are not high-spirited, not reckless, not passionate?

But, she thought about it... If Fan Wubing were really someone easily inflamed, maybe she wouldn't be so fond of him, even to the point of obsession. What she admired was precisely his serious focus, trustworthiness, and steadfastness.

Because she lacked these qualities herself.

She couldn't help but ask, "Would you ever take action for me?"

Fan Wubing stretched a bit, "Since you asked directly, my answer is no."

"Why!" Fu Manman widened her eyes.

"Because you asked knowing the answer. So, I definitely won't give you the answer you want."

"Hey." Fu Manman laughed with her lips pursed.

"You seem to have gained weight again."

"No!"

She said no, but Fu Manman knew in her heart that she had indeed gained some weight. She didn't know why, but her body seemed to grow exceptionally fast recently, almost a month a weight.

Before boarding the flying ship, she was one hundred and five pounds, and upon disembarking, she was one hundred and ten!

She had gained a full five pounds in a month!

The worst part was, even if she ate nothing, as long as she cultivated, she would gain weight.

But she couldn't stop cultivating...

She had been worried about this, and suddenly being pointed out by Fan Wubing left her defenseless.

Fan Wubing was puzzled, she looked plumper compared to her previously skinny self. Now her figure looked great, fat where it should be, thin where it should be... Why was she so concerned?

The reason was actually quite simple.

Because Fu Manman saw no sign of her weight gain slowing down.

She was one hundred and ten pounds now, so would she be one hundred and fifteen next month? One hundred and twenty the month after?

At this rate, she would soon become a ball.

She couldn't accept it.

"Where are we going next?" she asked listlessly.

Fan Wubing answered without hesitation, "Buxu City."

"Oh."

Fu Manman didn't ask why it was Buxu City. She had gotten used to following Fan Wubing wherever he went.

And the reason Fan Wubing wanted to go to Buxu City was quite simple.

To trigger the "Heart's Desire" side quest, there were a total of three prerequisites, one of which was in Buxu City.

Great Li is vast, Buxu City is in the south-central region, still a distance away from Wangnan City, a port city by the sea.

After a brief rest and resupply in Wangnan City, the trio set off.

This time, they weren't taking a flying ship. Instead, at the Changyun Passenger Transport branch in Wangnan City, they rented two Red Flame Dragon Horses to travel along the official road.

Being new to this place, Fan Wubing wanted to experience the people and affairs of Changsheng Continent up close.

Red Flame Dragon Horses could travel ten thousand miles a day. If they encountered no obstacles, they expected to reach Buxu City within half a month from Wangnan City.

...

Great Li Imperial Capital Celestial Balance Upper City.

Fuxian Bureau.

The atmosphere in the imposing Demon Suppression Hall was very tense, with several people waiting on either side of the main hall.

Pang Xiangming stood at the far end of the right side, keeping a slight distance from the others. He huddled over, burying his head, not daring to look too much. He knew very well that any one of the people present had a status far beyond what he could ever dream of reaching in his lifetime, not even close enough to see.

One person hurriedly walked into the hall.

The tense atmosphere immediately eased a little.

The people promptly bowed, "Greetings, Crown Prince."

Pang Xiangming, knowing he had the lowest status, needed to kneel while others only had to bow. As he was about to do so, Ye Yixian waved his hand, "No need, no need."

"Thank you, Crown Prince."

Ye Yixian walked briskly to the front of the hall and sat down, getting straight to the point, "Explain the situation. Is the Demon Martial Hall emerging again?"

Pang Xiangming quickly stepped forward without daring to conceal anything, reporting everything that had happened earlier on the flying ship.

"Incorporating demons into the body… It indeed suggests the behavior of demon cultivators from the Demon Martial Hall," Ye Yixian said with a serious brow, "From what you've said, it's highly possible that demon cultivators from the Demon Martial Hall had already infiltrated and possibly entered the territory of Great Li by the previous trip?"

Pang Xiangming trembled as he replied, "The Demon-Suppressing Bell showed no reaction on the previous trip. I don't know if it's true."

"If there is a high-level Divine Technique that conceals demonic qi, it's normal for the Demon-Suppressing Bell not to react," Ye Yixian said before asking, "This time, was the reaction of the Demon-Suppressing Bell particularly intense?"

"Y-yes. Mr. Ruan Shu, who manages the Demon-Suppressing Bell, said that such a reaction must indicate either a Great Demon or over a hundred demon cultivators. However, in the end, no Great Demon was found, and only ten demon cultivators were killed."

"It's possible there are some still lurking," Ye Yixian said, "Let's take a look at the corpses of those demon cultivators first."

A person stepped forward and waved their hand, arranging the ten demon cultivator corpses neatly on the ground.

Ye Yixian frowned, "Why is the one in the middle so shriveled?"

It was the body of the Fatty Leader.

Pang Xiangming said, "I don't know. It was like this when we collected the bodies."

Ye Yixian examined it closely, "It does resemble demon cultivators from the Demon Martial Hall." His eyes grew serious, "After three hundred years, could it be a resurgence... seeking revenge, or..."

"Your Highness, should we report to the Holy Emperor?" asked Ji Wenrui, the Grand Commander of the Fuxian Bureau.

Ye Yixian pondered, "Until we confirm if it's the Demon Martial Hall, there's no need to report to my father. Notify all units and departments of the Fuxian Bureau to treat this matter seriously."

"Understood."

...

Late at night,

Ye Yixian was browsing through the files on the flying ship demon cultivator incident compiled by the Fuxian Bureau, delving into the details.

The identities of everyone on the flying ship had been checked and verified.

While going through the passenger records, he suddenly noticed a name that perked him up, making him take a closer look. After confirming he hadn't misread it, he quickly opened that file.

After reading it all, he exhaled deeply, a slight smile emerging, 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Fan Wubing, you've finally arrived."