Chapter 166

Cheng Guang took a few extra glances at Xu Hongfei and realized that this Xu Hongfei was much smarter than the other four, and it seemed that even just this one person was enough.

He stood up, took the documents, and walked out of the hall.

Xu Hongfei hurried to follow, trailing behind Cheng Guang, and they left the Bureau of the Lamp.

Meanwhile, Chen Qing and the other four left behind watched as Cheng Guang and Xu Hongfei departed, their faces a bit pale and grimacing as they exchanged glances.

They felt that the greatest opportunity of their lives had just been pushed away by their own hands.

Initially, they thought it was a waste of time, that searching for the crown prince was futile.

But now, they suddenly felt that the Princely Heir might still have a chance to find the crown prince.

Although this was just speculation without any evidence, it still made them feel miserable for a while.

“Sigh, don’t think too much, what’s done is done; next, we should just quietly wait for others to come and find us to complete the task.”

“It’s all because of that Xu Hongfei. We initially didn’t think about leaving the Princely Heir’s team. After all, being a Princely Heir means something, if he hadn’t mentioned it, we wouldn’t have dared to leave.”

“What else is there to say? We didn’t believe that the Princely Heir could complete the task, could find the crown prince. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“By the way, what do you think are the chances that the Princely Heir can complete the task?”

“Logically speaking, a Black Lantern Catcher and that Xu Hongfei searching together don’t stand much of a chance, but the Black Lantern Catcher is the Princely Heir, so the odds are pretty good. We hadn’t snapped out of it just now, but upon further reflection, even if the Princely Heir doesn’t complete the task, Director and the others, upon finding the crown prince, might still credit the Princely Heir with the completion of the task…”

The four of them kept discussing without end.

For a moment, they nearly turned green with regret.

At this time, Cheng Guang had already left the Bureau of the Lamp with Xu Hongfei in tow.

Lin Cheng was waiting outside and, upon seeing Cheng Guang leave the Bureau of the Lamp, promptly greeted him, “Princely Heir.”

Cheng Guang gave a slight nod, mounted his horse, “Let’s go.”

Lin Cheng quickly followed and asked, “Princely Heir, where are we heading now?”

Without answering, Cheng Guang looked at Xu Hongfei instead.

“Xu Hongfei, do you know the places where the Devil Clan has been frequently showing up recently?”

Upon hearing Cheng Guang’s question, Xu Hongfei immediately responded, hurriedly saying:

“Princely Heir, the Devil Clan has been showing up frequently near Xiaobai Village, Creek Carp Pond, six miles from Cold Pavilion, and around Nanping Village.”

As he spoke, Xu Hongfei’s brows furrowed, “Princely Heir, speaking of which, there have been more and more cases of the Devil Clan’s smuggling recently. It’s unclear where they’re smuggling from. Director previously said they were investigating, but nothing has been found out.”

“Now with the matter of the missing crown prince coming up, I fear everyone will have even less time and energy to investigate where the Devil Clan is smuggling in from. As long as those devils show themselves, we’ll just need to quickly head over and exterminate them.”

By the end of his speech, Xu Hongfei’s face showed some doubt as he looked toward Cheng Guang.

“Princely Heir, why do you ask this? Does the Devil Clan’s smuggling have something to do with the crown prince?”

Xu Hongfei wasn’t too slow on the uptake and immediately realized that Cheng Guang’s question might be related to their mission.

Although he guessed that Cheng Guang’s question was probably connected to their mission to find the crown prince, he couldn’t figure out what the Devil Clan’s smuggling had to do with the crown prince.

Could it be that the crown prince was involved in the Devil Clan’s smuggling operations??

That thought crossed Xu Hongfei’s mind, but he quickly shook his head as if trying to persuade himself to dismiss the notion.

It seemed implausible, too absurd.

How could the Devil Clan get in touch with the crown prince, and even if they did, how could they cooperate with the crown prince…

The Human Race and the Devil Clan were like oil and water, archenemies upon sight.

Cooperation seemed impossible.

Xu Hongfei tried to convince himself, but he found it difficult to believe.

After all, improbable events were not impossible when it came to a desperado like the crown prince.

After asking his question, Xu Hongfei fell silent.

Cheng Guang didn’t confirm or deny it, just smiled faintly and turned to look at Xu Hongfei again, asking, “Those places you mentioned, where are they exactly, and how far are they from the canal?”

After pondering the question, Xu Hongfei responded, “Those places are not beside the canal; they are actually quite far from it.”

Hearing this, Cheng Guang’s brow quirked, finding it rather interesting.

“None of them are near the canal?”

Xu Hongfei nodded, but quickly seemed to realize something as he took out a map from his bosom, looking at it with an expression of surprise.

“Princely Heir, look.”

Xu Hongfei held the map up for Cheng Guang to see clearly.

“Princely Heir, these are the likely spots where the Devil Clan would appear, according to what I just listed. While they are not beside the canal, there are tributaries of the canal passing by them…”

Cheng Guang looked at the map and immediately came to a conclusion.

These devils weren’t entirely foolish.

They still knew not to cluster near the canal to avoid exposing their stronghold.