Chapter 173

Cheng Zhihai merely pondered for a moment before he also figured out how Cheng Guang had deduced the general area where the Devil Clan was smuggling through.

Even so, he was still shocked by Cheng Guang’s actions.

Within the Bureau of the Lamp, there were people investigating the Devil Clan’s smuggling, but the outcomes and results had not been too good.

Cheng Zhihai truly had not expected that Cheng Guang, who had only joined the Bureau of the Lamp for a mere week, would achieve such a feat.

If the general area that Cheng Guang mentioned was indeed the location of the Devil Clan’s smuggling, then this would be a great accomplishment.

Even if he did not pave the way for Cheng Guang, with just this merit alone, Cheng Guang could be directly promoted to a White Lantern Catcher.

With more effort, if he could also uncover leads regarding the crown prince from this smuggling affair, being directly promoted to a Silver Lantern Catcher or even a Gold Lantern Catcher was not impossible.

Cheng Zhihai sighed with emotion, and under the surge of his feelings, he could not help but grow excited.

“Where?”

Cheng Zhihai asked.

Cheng Guang took out a map he had prepared in advance from his chest, spread it out on the stone table, and then drew a circle at one location on the canal on the map.

“It’s right here.”

“Eh, here?” Cheng Zhihai looked at that particular spot, revealing a look of surprise and skepticism.

It wasn’t that the location Cheng Guang pointed out was too remote, but rather…

It was too conspicuous.

The location on the canal was extremely close to Crane-Crying Island and not far from the Capital city; he had even casually passed over this stretch of canal several times.

But…

He had never found anything secretive beneath this canal.

Nothing at all.

If Cheng Guang hadn’t brought it up, he might never have suspected that anything was hidden within this section of the canal.

Even less so, that the Devil Clan’s smuggling operation was so brazenly concealed right under the noses of the Capital city.

Could this be the so-called “darkness beneath the light”?

Cheng Zhihai stroked his chin, his expression turning grim.

He felt as though the Bureau of the Lamp had been greatly insulted without reason.

The planner behind this Devil Clan smuggling held great confidence, confident that they would not be discovered by the Bureau’s members, and even more confident that they could elude detection by the Bureau and the multitude of strong beings in the Capital city.

Even Emperor Zhou would be fooled.

Based on what??

Right now, Cheng Zhihai only wanted to ask one question, why was this person behind the Devil Clan smuggling so confident?

Even if this matter was related to the crown prince, the crown prince was not an especially powerful Cultivator, so how could he be so confident that the Devil Clan would remain hidden within a hundred miles of the capital and go undetected by the countless powerful beings?

Could it be that there’s more to this than just the crown prince’s involvement?

Was the crown prince not only colluding with the Devil Clan but even with the Devil Emperor??

The more Cheng Zhihai thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.

He hastily shifted his gaze onto Cheng Guang, staring at him intently and gripping his arm tightly.

“Guanger, you didn’t actively investigate, did you? That kind of place is not something you should be meddling with!”

Cheng Guang shook his head, “I didn’t investigate; after I discovered their general area, I didn’t pursue further.”

Cheng Zhihai, upon hearing Cheng Guang say this, couldn’t help but sigh with relief.

He was also worried out of overwhelming concern. If Cheng Guang had actively investigated, those Devils hiding beneath the canal would not have let Cheng Guang go easily.

If it really came to that point, it wouldn’t be Cheng Guang coming to report the matter to him, but rather he would discover Cheng Guang’s disappearance and have to find out about the situation on his own.

Cheng Zhihai furrowed his brow in thought.

The relationship between the crown prince and the Devil Clan, with the possibility of the Devil Emperor being involved, their ability to hide beneath the canal without leaving, was their goal really to draw him away from the Capital city to facilitate their assassination of Cheng Guang?

Perhaps this was part of their plans, but it definitely wasn’t the crown prince’s ultimate goal.

What were they really after??

Many doubts and mysteries now shrouded Cheng Zhihai’s heart.

For a time, he could not figure out what the crown prince and his Devil Clan backers wanted to do or what they planned to do next?

First, they attempted to assassinate his Guanger, then they caused a disturbance at the martial contest between Great Zhou and Great Wei; all their actions aimed to throw Great Zhou into chaos.

What comes next that is especially critical for Great Zhou??

With these thoughts, a term suddenly surged into Cheng Zhihai’s mind.

The Imperial Ceremony…

The crown prince’s next move was to act during the Imperial Ceremony.

It was for this reason they had chosen to situate the smuggling route within the canal, hidden beneath the surface and so close to the Capital city…

Upon reaching this conclusion, Cheng Zhihai’s scalp trembled. With the Devil Emperor’s involvement and the intention to disrupt the Imperial Ceremony, at that time the restrictions might not function effectively.

If the Devil Clan attacked during the Imperial Ceremony, strong Cultivators might be unscathed, but others with little strength in cultivation, such as Wu Yuemei and others, would probably be unable to escape.

With numerous deaths, Great Zhou would truly be thrown into disorder!

As Cheng Zhihai connected the dots, he no longer had the desire to return home to spend a tender moment with Wu Yuemei.

Even though they had not yet located the crown prince, he now knew what the crown prince was planning to do next.