The War is Approaching

Fu Qing stayed at Wang Hua's residence for a day. After confirming that Wang Hua wouldn't take any further actions, he returned at night to meet up with Hua Ge and Zheng Tao. 

"How did it go?" Hua Ge and Zheng Tao, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately asked as Fu Qing arrived. 

Fu Qing nodded and began, "I have some findings. Today, Zhang delivered seven volumes of martial arts manuals, sixteen slabs of pork, thirteen strings of pearls, and six second-grade pills." 

"Wang Hua threw the items outside: two volumes of the martial arts manuals were knocked over, ten slabs of pork landed face-up, six face-down, five strings of pearls broke, and all six pills were opened." 

"Moreover, when he returned to his study, he took out a book called 'Records of Tianxuan,' specifically the seventh volume. Afterward, he closed his eyes and appeared to meditate with a peculiar expression." 

Fu Qing's detailed account covered all the changes he observed. 

Hearing this, Zheng Tao and Hua Ge were pleased. 

"After Zhang returned, he also took out 'Records of Tianxuan,' but he looked at the second volume!" Hua Ge said excitedly. 

On the way back to Zhang's residence, Hua Ge and Zheng Tao had followed him. 

With their Martial King-level cultivation, tracking Zhang the Benevloent, a grandmaster with basic martial arts skills, without being noticed was a piece of cake. 

Following him into his room, they saw Zhang take out a book from his bookshelf and start reading it. 

They observed carefully and found that it was indeed the second volume of 'Records of Tianxuan.' Hearing Fu Qing say that Wang Hua was also reading 'Records of Tianxuan,' they were convinced of the connection. 

"In that case, I'm pretty sure their code for exchanging information is 'Records of Tianxuan'!" Hua Ge said confidently. 

"Yes, exactly. The number of martial arts manuals indicates the volume number! Zhang gave Wang Hua seven volumes, so Wang Hua looked at the seventh volume. Wang Hua knocked over two volumes when he threw the items, so Zhang looked at the second volume!" Zheng Tao added, slapping his forehead. 

"Quick, get 'Records of Tianxuan'!" Fu Qing said excitedly, his figure flashing as he retrieved the second and seventh volumes from the library. 

The three of them stared at the two volumes, unsure of the next step. 

What do the pearls represent? What about the pills? And the pork? 

They were at a loss. 

Hua Ge asked seriously, "Fu Qing, did you see which page Wang Hua stopped at in his study?" 

Fu Qing shook his head, "I didn't dare get too close. He was very cautious and flipped through every page. I was afraid of being discovered and couldn't see clearly." 

Hua Ge felt frustrated but couldn't blame Fu Qing. 

Fu Qing could have risked getting closer without being detected, but they couldn't afford that risk. After finally getting a clue, being discovered could ruin everything. 

Zheng Tao suddenly said, "I remember Zhang stopped at the tenth page!" 

The three of them now realized that the pork represented the page number. 

Zhang deduced the tenth page from the ten slabs of pork facing up. 

Following this logic, Wang Hua should have stopped on the sixteenth page! 

Zheng Tao's meticulousness paid off as the three of them hastily opened the tenth page of the second volume and the sixteenth page of the seventh volume. 

The second volume recounted a story from the tenth year of Tianxuan, about the crown prince's wedding. 

The seventh volume detailed a plague outbreak in Tianxuan in a certain year, with corpses strewn everywhere. 

"What does this mean? Is our crown prince getting married?" Fu Qing wondered. 

But that didn't make sense. Even if Tianxuan had a crown prince, a royal wedding would be a national celebration, not a secret. 

The plague didn't make sense either, as Tianxuan had been peaceful and prosperous in recent years, with no major outbreaks. 

It must have nothing to do with the stories. 

Hua Ge frowned deeply, "Fu Qing, recount the situation when the gifts were delivered again." 

Upon hearing this, Fu Qing recounted the situation once more. 

Hua Ge's expression changed unpredictably; his brows furrowed deeply! 

Suddenly, he broke into a smile, "I understand now!" 

"You figured it out?" Fu Qing and Zheng Tao immediately crowded around. 

Hua Ge pushed them aside, approached the scrolls, and pointed to a specific spot in the book. "Look, what are the units of binding for a book?" 

"Volumes! Pages! Lines! Words!" Without waiting for Zheng Tao and Fu Qing to answer, Hua Ge stated each word deliberately. 

Since the martial arts manuals were represented by volumes, and the pork could be flipped, representing pages, what could be the representation for lines? 

Their eyes lit up, "Pearls! Each string is a line!" 

Yes, only the pearls came in strings! 

And the pills, each individual, correspond perfectly to words. 

"Additionally, Wang Hua destroyed five strings, leaving eight. The destroyed ones are not considered lines, so it's the second volume, tenth page, eighth line, sixth word!" Hua Ge pointed to a word on the second volume. 

It was the character "莫" (Mo)! 

"Mo! Who does it refer to? Mo Qingkuang?" Zheng Tao, the most sensitive of the three, quickly deduced that this 'Mo' likely referred to Mo Qingkuang. 

Hua Ge remained silent; his brows still furrowed. One character alone couldn't reveal much. 

So, he began to arrange and rearrange, reading horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, but still couldn't find a satisfactory answer. 

After much thought, he was still stumped. 

Fu Qing, the most impatient, picked up the book and started flipping through it, "This is just one word, what can we make of it? How about we just drag that old man here and interrogate him? We have enough evidence anyway." 

"No, the evidence is not solid yet! We can't act rashly!" Zheng Tao immediately objected. 

However, Hua Ge, upon seeing Fu Qing's flipping motion, suddenly grabbed the book. 

He turned to the eleventh page and found the eighth line, sixth word. It was "輕" (Qing)! 

Hua Ge was overjoyed and continued flipping through to the last page. 

Starting from the tenth page, he took the eighth line, sixth word from each page and eventually formed a somewhat incoherent sentence. 

"莫, 輕, 體, 靈, 帝, 疑, 慎." 

After some thought, the three intelligent men deciphered it. 

It referred to recent events: Mo Qingkuang achieving the Wind Spirit Body, the Empress beginning to suspect Wang Hua, and Wang Hua advising caution! 

The three exchanged glances and quickly turned to the seventh volume of 'Records of Tianxuan,' finding the sixteenth page, thirteenth line, sixth word. 

It was "戰" (Zhan)! 

They continued to decipher, and eventually formed a line: "戰, 近, 防, 關, 歸!" 

After some contemplation, they gasped in shock! 

The message translated to: "War is imminent, prepare Tianxuan's defense information and checkpoint details, then find a way to return!" 

The Blue Flame Empire was about to launch a war against Tianxuan!