Chapter 00266: The Clever and Capable Lan Xiaobu
# The Clever and Capable Lan Xiaobu
Chapter 266
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 266: The Clever and Capable Lan Xiaobu
Gu Yue was stunned by Lan Xiaobu's words.
He thought to himself, "I was just asking you to take the blame, but it turns out you were the one who created this mess. How bold of you! A mere first-level Immortal Officer dares to act so recklessly. I wonder how you've managed to survive until now."
He sneered inwardly but spoke calmly, "Oh, so you must have found out something, then?"
Lan Xiaobu quickly replied, "At that time, the situation was urgent. You and the four Minor Immortal Officers were not in the Forbidden Immortal Bureau. I had to act on my own initiative. I should have reported to you immediately, but I was busy tracking Ju Xiuruo. I didn't dare to casually pass the information to ordinary Immortal Officers, so I waited until I had some leads before rushing back to report."
Gu Yue was definitely not present at the time, and Lan Xiaobu had no idea whether the four Minor Immortal Officers were there or not.
Even if he was wrong, he could always claim ignorance.
"You were tracking Ju Xiuruo?" Gu Yue frowned slightly.
Regardless of whether there were any leads or results, he wouldn't care about a small case like Ju Xiuruo's.
No matter how Lan Xiaobu tried to spin it, he was still guilty.
Lan Xiaobu answered, "Yes, it was through tracking Ju Xiuruo that I discovered her connection to the West Market case."
"What?" Gu Yue was shocked and looked at Lan Xiaobu in surprise.
"Are you saying you've found clues related to the West Market case?"
Before Lan Xiaobu could respond, a message-bearing flying sword landed in Gu Yue's hand.
He scanned it with his divine sense, and the message was brief: "The Forbidden Immortal Bureau's fugitive, Ju Xiuruo, entered the West Market and then disappeared."
Could there really be a connection? Gu Yue was ecstatic.
The Forbidden Immortal Bureau's case had been giving him a headache.
If he couldn't resolve it quickly, not only would his position as the Grand Immortal Officer be at risk, but he would also have to take the blame from his superiors.
Initially, he didn't believe Lan Xiaobu's words, but Ju Xiuruo's entry into the West Market made him think that perhaps Lan Xiaobu had stumbled upon something by sheer luck.
"Quick, tell me everything you know about Ju Xiuruo's case," Gu Yue urged.
Previously, he wouldn't have cared about Ju Xiuruo's case, whether Lan Xiaobu was playing a long game or not.
But now, if Ju Xiuruo's case was linked to the West Market, it meant they had their first lead.
Dozens of Immortal Officers and two Minor Immortal Officers had gone missing in the West Market, and as the Grand Immortal Officer, he had no leads whatsoever.
It made him look utterly incompetent.
As for whether Lan Xiaobu was telling the truth, he believed he could judge for himself.
Lan Xiaobu said, "Yes, Grand Immortal Officer Gu. When I went to investigate the prison, I noticed something off about Ju Xiuruo. There was something hidden in her eyes. So, I didn't hold back and scanned her with my divine sense. To my surprise, she had managed to unlock her chains..."
"How did she do that?" Gu Yue frowned.
Ju Xiuruo's spirit bone had been pierced by the chains, and the seals were locked.
There was no way she could have opened them.
Lan Xiaobu explained, "Although her ring had been confiscated, she still had a powerful flame. This flame was likely hidden in her sea of consciousness."
"She had a flame?" Gu Yue's eyes showed a hint of regret.
If he had obtained that flame, he would have surely advanced further.
What a pity that such a lowly prisoner had a flame.
He then felt a surge of anger.
This Immortal Officer knew about the flame but didn't report it to him.
Lan Xiaobu continued, "When I found out she had an immortal flame, I immediately wanted to report it to you, Grand Immortal Officer. A mere prisoner like her doesn't deserve to possess such a treasure. Immortal flames should only belong to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau."
Although Lan Xiaobu didn't explicitly say it was only for the Grand Immortal Officer, his meaning was clear.
Gu Yue nodded inwardly.
Good, this kind of thinking was commendable.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, "Unfortunately, you weren't there at the time, and neither were the Minor Immortal Officers. I was pondering how to handle the situation when she said, 'I've regained my immortal energy and divine sense. If you dare report this, I'll kill you on the spot.'"
Hearing this, Gu Yue decided to give Lan Xiaobu his communication bead imprint.
Lan Xiaobu said with some embarrassment, "To be honest, I was a bit afraid of dying. I was only at the early Profound Immortal stage, and she seemed to be at the same level. My cultivation was all built up through pills, so my actual strength was quite weak. I might not even be a match for a Golden Immortal at the peak. If we fought, she could have killed me in no time. Even though I was afraid, I knew that as an Immortal Officer, there were some things I had to do."
"If you had fought her then, she probably wouldn't have been your match. After being locked up for so long, her strength wouldn't have recovered that quickly," Gu Yue said.
He was quite satisfied.
Lan Xiaobu referred to himself as a junior when talking about his fear of death.
Such small details showed that this first-level Immortal Officer still had a sense of reverence and hoped that Gu Yue wouldn't hold his fear against him.
Lan Xiaobu awkwardly said, "If I had known that, I would have tried. At that moment, she took out a formation token and told me that if I let her go, she would give it to me. This token could activate a teleportation formation in the West Market, and inside that formation was another flame..."
"Another flame?" Gu Yue's heart raced.
What he lacked most was a flame.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, "Yes, she said there was another flame, but I haven't gone there yet. I've heard some things about the West Market, so I didn't dare to go alone. After gathering some information, I rushed back to report."
Gu Yue calmed down, "Go on."
Lan Xiaobu continued, "I couldn't let her go just for a flame, and I didn't have the ability to do so anyway. But then she said that even if I didn't let her go, she would still be fine. She claimed to be working for Prince Jing..."
Gu Yue frowned, "She works for Prince Jing?"
He was skeptical.
If Ju Xiuruo worked for Prince Jing, how could she have been captured by two Profound Immortal Officers from the Forbidden Immortal Bureau?
Lan Xiaobu said, "I didn't believe it either. Then she said she only answered to Prince Jing because she was cultivating a type of immortal grass for him. She wouldn't say what kind of grass it was, only that apart from her and Prince Jing, no one else knew about it. She said Prince Jing hadn't come to the Forbidden Immortal Bureau yet because he was tied up with other matters."
Gu Yue nodded, "That's true. Prince Jing has been unable to leave recently. Not only can he not leave, but he also can't send or receive messages."
Gu Yue knew this.
The largest secret realm in the Star Ascension Immortal Court had opened, and Prince Jing had entered it.
This secret realm blocked all communication.
Lan Xiaobu was about to mention that Prince Jing had sent a Great Luo Golden Immortal and Teng Yi, but hearing Gu Yue's words, he decided to skip that part.
"So that's how it is," Lan Xiaobu said as if enlightened.
"Although I was skeptical, since it involved Prince Jing, I didn't dare to handle it carelessly. She also said she had a seventh-grade Immortal Formation Flag, so I agreed to let her go and secretly followed her outside the Forbidden Immortal Bureau. Although my strength is lacking, my ability to plant divine sense marks is quite good, and my marks can track her movements..."
"Oh? Then plant one on me," Gu Yue said with great interest.
Lan Xiaobu immediately planted a divine sense mark on Gu Yue, using only a fraction of his ability.
The only advantage of this mark was that it allowed Lan Xiaobu to track Gu Yue's movements for a short period.
"Not bad, not bad," Gu Yue said as he brushed off the mark, feeling quite satisfied.
This Lan Xiaobu was a talent.
Just this ability to plant divine sense marks was enough to earn his favor.
Such a skill would be invaluable in the Forbidden Immortal Bureau.
Lan Xiaobu continued happily, "Ju Xiuruo didn't notice my mark, so I kept following her. Eventually, I discovered that she had entered the West Market. Although I didn't dare to follow her inside, I used the mark to memorize her path through the market."
"You can track her movements in the West Market?" Gu Yue was thrilled.
He had heard too much good news today.
The reason he hadn't acted was that he didn't dare enter the West Market.
Several Immortal Kings had gone missing there, and even though he was at the peak of the Immortal King realm, he was still just an Immortal King.
Lan Xiaobu confidently said, "Yes, I can definitely remember it."
"Good, let's head to the West Market now," Gu Yue said, not wanting to wait a moment longer.
Lan Xiaobu said, "I haven't finished yet."
"It's fine, tell me on the way," Gu Yue said excitedly as he led Lan Xiaobu out of the Forbidden Immortal Bureau.
This Lan Xiaobu was clever and capable, and his actions were quite seasoned.
He could be groomed as a trusted subordinate.
Many cases in the Forbidden Immortal Bureau remained unsolved.
If Lan Xiaobu could resolve the tricky West Market case this time, Gu Yue would definitely promote him beyond his current rank.
Outside the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, Jin Buqiao stared in disbelief at Gu Yue's delighted expression.
He even rubbed his eyes.
Wasn't Lan Xiaobu supposed to be thrown into the dungeon, with him preparing a report on Lan Xiaobu's unauthorized release of a prisoner?
Why did it seem like the Grand Immortal Officer and Lan Xiaobu were on good terms? Had he missed something?
Gu Yue summoned a top-grade immortal artifact flying ship.
As Lan Xiaobu boarded, he thought to himself, "So the Grand Immortal Officer of the Forbidden Immortal Bureau is no different from me, using a top-grade immortal artifact for travel. This flying ship isn't even as good as mine."
(End of Chapter)