Fortunately, the true secrets of this world had been unearthed by him bit by bit.
The situation was also becoming increasingly clear.
Although the Wu family remained mysterious, they were no longer in a state of complete bewilderment.
After all, he had offended the Wu family's even more powerful civilian association. Once this current turmoil passed, he would have sufficient strength to begin investigating the Wu family's affairs.
As for Shi Boqiong, who held the key to his master's life, once he truly established a foothold in Shangjing, he would have enough confidence to start his investigation.
Li Chonglou turned back and pondered.
It had been nearly three months since he arrived from Qin Province.
The timeline he had initially set for himself was within half a year. Although it seemed this timeframe might be extended, it was completely different from when he first arrived.
Upon arrival, he had relied solely on his confidence and determination. In reality, he had been uncertain about future events, unable to even see a clear path ahead.
But now, he had seen the path clearly. As long as he proceeded step by step without any unforeseen circumstances, he was confident in uncovering the truth about both Shi Boqiong and his father.
However.
"It's best to deal with the current matters first."
More than two days had passed, and regarding the mission, unless someone opened the door within these few hours, it was doomed to fail.
Li Chonglou was not privy to the situation upstairs. According to his original plan, he would have needed at least another day to clean up the aftermath.
He was well aware of the nature of dark forces; to resolve them completely, a firm hand was necessary.
And before that, there was still the matter with the island nation.
Li Chonglou knew that the island nation had established special defenses there. Attacking and taking them down would require a considerable amount of time.
It might take half a day or even a full day.
In summary, if there was even the slightest deviation from his plan, completing the mission within three days seemed unlikely to Li Chonglou.
He had never imagined that the island nation would be completely wiped out by the General Bureau due to their carelessness.
The part that was supposed to be the most time-consuming had become the fastest step.
Even his memorial service had already been held…
Out of boredom, Li Chonglou returned to the cave entrance.
"Squeak squeak!"
Number One approached with excitement.
"It's going to give birth so soon?"
Li Chonglou was somewhat surprised that Number One indicated it might complete its birth within an hour or two.
From witnessing the pregnancy to the birth, only a few hours had passed.
Li Chonglou felt his horizons had been broadened. Since he was idle anyway, he stayed nearby, quietly awaiting Number Two's gestation.
Meanwhile, above the underground mine.
Tian Yi, dressed in white and having just attended a memorial service, returned to the top of the deep pit with a group of villagers.
Uncle Fei and his brothers stood behind him.
"Uncle Fei, it's thanks to you for taking the lead this time. Otherwise, Lord Li's affairs wouldn't have progressed so quickly."
Uncle Fei shook his head, "Alas, I only discovered after returning that my family had also received Lord Li's promise. Lord Li's death may also be partly my fault."
"Oh? What is this about?"
Tian Yi quickly inquired. Regarding Li Chonglou's affairs, he was now extremely interested in anything related to him.
In his heart, he had already regarded Li Chonglou as a saint.
Well, after all, now that the person was dead, their status had infinitely increased.
It was a harsh truth, but many famous figures in reality only received due honors after their death.
To put it bluntly, if you were not dead, you were not even qualified to be a saint…
Uncle Fei recounted everything he had heard upon returning home.
It was also a coincidence that the person Li Chonglou had been entrusted to save by the old woman was Uncle Fei.
However, upon deeper thought, it was understandable. If it were just an ordinary village woman, she probably wouldn't have dared to stop Old Mad's carriage on the street.
This was especially true when she clearly saw many foreign soldiers on board.
After all, her family was not the only one in the village without men; others wouldn't dare to do such things.
After listening, Tian Yi couldn't help but sigh, patting Uncle Fei's shoulder. "Don't think about it. Lord Li must have had this part of the reason for choosing to stay inside, as I told him about your situation."
Tian Yi also roughly recounted his previous conversation with Li Chonglou, adding his own affirmed conjectures.
In essence, the message was that Li Chonglou knew that even saving Uncle Fei now would only be a temporary solution. To achieve true peace, the people of the island nation had to be completely eradicated.
Uncle Fei sighed again, saying with great regret, "If Lord Li hadn't died, I would have certainly fulfilled my wife's promise."
Tian Yi nodded but did not fully grasp Uncle Fei's true meaning.
If not for this matter, Uncle Fei would never have handed over that secret, even if it was his wife's promise!
After all, this secret was the most precious thing he had guarded for generations. Compared to it, human lives were insignificant!
If Li Chonglou had merely rescued him incidentally, in Uncle Fei's eyes, he would still be a stranger, and the secret would never have been revealed.
But now, things were different.
With Tian Yi's promotion and subtle influence, Li Chonglou's status in his heart grew steadily. While not reaching the level of a saint, he was at least someone to whom a secret could be entrusted.
Tian Yi had, in a way, helped out.
"Alright, the toxic gas should have spread sufficiently below. We need to get back to work. There's still a lot to sort out inside."
Following this incident, Tian Yi had successfully become the true leader of the group. Old Mad had even granted him permission to reside at the mine long-term.
Of course, this also included an element of guardianship.
Previously, they had only stationed guards outside, which allowed people from Heilin to also take a share.
Now, Old Mad had not only strengthened the external vigilance but also arranged for two teams inside.
Their captain was Tian Yi.
With a wave of his hand, Tian Yi led the group into the deep pit.
During this, Tian Yi specifically emphasized one point.
"If you discover Lord Li's body inside, do not act rashly. Report to me immediately!"
"Understood!"
In Tian Yi's mind, Li Chonglou's body could only be buried or transported out under his supervision.
"It seems it's really about to give birth."
At the entrance of the underground world.
One person and two beasts stood by, surrounding the curled-up mother beast.
Number One and its son, Number Three, kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings, while Li Chonglou stood there calmly.
With this area as the center, all exotic beasts within a ten-kilometer radius had been cleared out. There was no threat coming from anywhere else.
Unless there was another sudden situation like last time.
However, standing by the cave entrance now, even if something were amiss, he was confident he could react.