Chapter 157: Chapter 77: The Assassin Easily Dissolves in Water

There’s nothing more satisfying than walking boldly into the most popular bathhouse in the Imperial Court for a soak after abducting an Extraterrestrial envoy.

But news always lags behind.

Throughout the journey, people have been discussing the minister who died.

Clearly, the conclusion of suicide wasn’t convincing enough, and everyone was discussing conspiracy theories—it’s the favorite topic for people surfing the internet.

The minister was merely a catalyst for expressing their own stances and political opinions, and all discussions would eventually converge on the same point—who will be the next Prime Monarch?

The old monarch’s life is drawing to a close, the competition among the heirs is fierce, and the Elder Princess, who had been missing for years, has suddenly returned to the Imperial Court, adding fuel to this topic once again.

Cracks were starting to show in the Second Prince’s control over the Imperial Court, and the minister’s "suicide" was the best evidence of that.

Everyone knew that the minister was the Second Prince’s man, one of his earliest supporters, and would’ve naturally become the national advisor had the Second Prince become the new king.

What fool would commit suicide just as they were about to reach the pinnacle of their life?

This political struggle had returned to a state of confusion, and people speculated that the minister’s death was closely linked to the return of the Elder Princess, while the usually ostentatious and iron-fisted Second Prince remained silent on the matter.

The robust man, with a cigar in his mouth and half a bottle of champagne beside him, browsed through the endless arguments online, laughing heartily.

A bunch of idiots.

The man was quite enjoying the superiority his informational advantage gave him. These people could argue all day about the news but not a single one was close to the truth, particularly the one who wrote lengthy essays, sprawling tens of thousands of words starting with the death of the minister to analyze the current situation of the Imperial Court, even garnering thousands of likes—a complete clown show.

The minister’s death had nothing to do with political struggles, nor was it a move to suppress the Second Prince.

The minister was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The owner of the emerald had promised them that no one would be in the private area above the third floor at that time, but somehow the minister had bypassed the theater’s security.

He seemed to be looking for the Third Prince, inquiring about the Fox Immortal.

The thought of the Fox Immortal made the man exhale a puff of cigar smoke, and he licked his lips with lingering pleasure.

Truly worthy to be the owner of the emerald, even managing to find a real Fox Demon.

Indeed, a beauty causes trouble.

The minister was enchanted by the Fox Demon, believing he could always get what he wanted as usual. Although it took some effort, they made sure no witnesses were left at the scene.

The man turned off his phone.

Recent days have flown by; he believed that after tonight, no one would discuss the minister’s death anymore, as those obsessed with politics would find more pressing matters in real life to occupy them.

For example, several envoys with red crystals inside their bodies went missing.

Hopefully, someone would enlighten them on how the Red Disease ravaged the Red Star, how it shattered an empire to pieces, and now only a handful of people are clinging on, having to consider the company’s demands to flee the planet.

And he, the interstellar fugitive Li De, will personally usher in a new Era.

"Hey, are you asleep?"

Li De asked, noticing his company was excessively quiet, "Don’t fall asleep here, be careful you don’t end up drowned in the bathhouse."

His companion seemed too lazy to bother with a reply, silent.

"I’m going to order another bottle of wine, do you want something to eat?"

The room was very warm, he always liked to turn the water temperature up to what most people would consider scalding, and the billowing steam blurred his vision. Half a bottle of champagne in, Li De was becoming slightly hazy from the alcohol.

He planned to order some sobering food. Until they located the red crystal in the bodies of the people from Red Star, it was vacation time.

All expenses during this period would be charged to the owner of the emerald.

But there was still no response from across the room; it seemed, as he said, his companion had indeed drowned in the bathhouse.

Li De felt that something was off; it was too quiet, so silent that even breathing couldn’t be heard. Just as he was about to get up, he noticed something drifting towards him.

"If I find out you’re trying to scare me, I’ll definitely smash your head in," he grumbled, reaching out to grab the approaching object. However, as soon as he felt a squishy sensation at his fingertips, he instantly let go.

The interstellar fugitive would naturally not mistake this sensation.

The object drifting over was a human lung.

Li De’s hairs stood on end as he stood up from the pool, but the sight that followed rooted him to the spot.

This was not a bathhouse at all.

He found himself standing in the middle of a sea.

A dark ocean, where no light could penetrate, and for some reason, he was standing on the waves, his ankles submerged in the seawater.

Something seemed to be approaching him from beneath the sea.

Li De tried to spread out a Barrier, but his Life Energy was sucked into the dark seawater, unable to stir any ripples in the vast sea.

This was an illusion.

Someone had tampered with the champagne!

Li De saw something emerge from the water and lunge at him.

"Damn, three—!"

The curse was abruptly cut off.

At the same time, the BGM echoed through the compartment.

Music from the crime scene, shrill and piercing, made one involuntarily shiver.

The urgent footsteps outside the door also confirmed the critical nature of the situation.

Now there was only...

"Ah—!"

A woman’s piercing scream.

The scream was close at hand, deafening.

"Stop screaming, and don’t connect your phone to the speaker, it’s driving me crazy!"

Duan Mingyuan felt his head had grown a size larger as he grabbed Jiuyue’s tail underwater; Jiuyue trembled all over, and the involuntary screaming abruptly stopped.

"Someone’s been harmed!"

Strangers’ voices kept coming from outside, seemingly the bathhouse attendants, who were running towards the deeper areas upon hearing the news.

"See what I told you? If a murder were to happen, it would surely be in the family area. You would have definitely missed it if you had gone to the public bathhouse," said Jiuyue, eager to claim credit.

A warm family outing is the perfect setting for a homicide.

This was the experience personally summarized by countless detectives.

"The swiftly passing seconds, the flowing mercury, the society is rife with maladies today, everyone pay attention to Jiuyue’s deduction... ow!"

"Get dressed properly in your yukata, don’t let others see everything."

Duan Mingyuan, seeing an excited Jiuyue climbing out of the pool naked, quickly pulled her back into the water with a swift move.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but admire Ruihu’s Luck.

Without any analysis or Skills, as long as one was sufficiently lucky, they could always arrive at the crime scene.

He changed into a bathrobe and as he stepped outside, he happened to encounter a running attendant, whom he stopped to ask, "What happened, who’s been harmed?"

"I—I don’t know," stammered the attendant, who was returning from the crime scene, "the person has disappeared, the manager asked me to get the list."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read