Stolen Goods!?

This Moon Lake is truly peculiar! But why did the Precious Lotus Scripture not issue a warning!? Just now, when Brockman launched his sneak attack, it was inner strength, Primordial Spirit, and sacred artifacts that gave simultaneous alerts!

His battle-hardened mindset, growing steadily with his power, now took effect. After a momentary startle, Du Chen narrowed his eyes, fixated on the incoming silver light, deducing its trajectory. He urged his Precious Lotus Scripture to shift, dodging sideways!

Suddenly, another beam of silver light shot forth from the lakebed.

A third, a fourth...

In an instant, Moon Lake seemed to Detonation with countless silver light projectiles, 'shrapnel' raining down from all directions, leaving Du Chen nowhere to hide! Even his Precious Lotus Scripture, currently no bigger than a mosquito, offered no escape!

He braced himself!

His Lotus Azureveil Shield fully unfurled, enveloping him in an impenetrable defense. A newly comprehended Secret Technique was instantly deployed as well: drawing upon the power of Moon Lake's waters, thousands of water arrows shot forth from Du Chen, deflecting the incoming 'shrapnel' and alleviating the pressure on his Lotus Azureveil Shield!

However... an exceedingly bizarre scene unfolded before Du Chen's eyes.

One of his water arrows met a 'shrapnel' piece. The 'shrapnel' gleamed with dazzling silver light but seemed to possess no substance; it passed straight through the arrowhead, shot directly towards Du Chen, and then... pierced through the Lotus Azureveil Shield, through the Lotus Pedestal, and through... Du Chen's very body!

The 'shrapnel' seemed to encounter not the slightest resistance, flying straight towards Moon Lake's surface!

This one piece of 'shrapnel' behaved thus, and the others were no exception; they too passed through the lake water as if incorporeal!

“What in the blazes!?” Du Chen stared at his unharmed body, utterly flabbergasted. It was impossible! Countless tiny 'shrapnel' pieces had just passed through him; he should have been sliced into a thousand pieces!

Then there was only one explanation...

These 'shrapnel' pieces were all illusions! They simply didn't exist!

That's why the Precious Lotus Scripture hadn't warned him!

Du Chen's heart churned with doubt and surprise. No more 'shrapnel' shot up from below. He looked up at those above him, and only then did he see clearly: all the silver 'shrapnel' shared a single form — like a crescent moon, dazzling and exquisitely beautiful!

Countless tiny crescent moons gradually converged as they neared the lake surface, rising together. Upon reaching the surface, they coalesced into a true silver moon, one brilliant enough to rival the radiant moon in the starry night sky!

Looking at the sky, it was now the Fish-Belly White of dawn, light about to break yet still dark, and the moon had already set early!

“Do you know why Moon Lake is revered as one of the Three Continents' wonders? It's because when there's no moon in the night sky, a moon appears in its waters, illuminating the Eye of Heaven Forest!”

Du Chen recalled Mas's words, “During the last and first few days of each month, when there’s no moon in the sky all night, the moonlight from Moon Lake shines brilliantly for an entire night! At this time, Moon Lake's ability to absorb battle qi reaches its peak, which is why the Five-Battle Pact’s arena was chosen here...”

Gazing at the sky, Du Chen gave a wry smile. “Damn it, it's only mid-month right now, which is why I chose Moon Lake as my escape route. But I never expected Moon Lake to have such peculiarities even when the sky hasn't brightened but the moon has already set! What wretched luck!”

Leaning over the Lotus Pedestal to peer into Moon Lake's depths, the cerulean water deepened in color the further down he looked. At the very bottom of his visible range, there was a profound, inky blackness, revealing nothing. It gave him a genuinely unsettling feeling from the depths of his heart — this Moon Lake truly had no bottom!

“Heh heh, perhaps Andy would like this place?”

The scene of the lake reflecting a silver moon reminded Du Chen of Andy's past, that laughable tale of “moonlight flashes, food delivered”! But just because Andy might be interested certainly didn't mean Du Chen would be!

Moon Lake's strangeness was undeniable. But to blindly venture down to investigate would be asking for trouble! If he wanted to investigate, he needed to gather more intelligence beforehand!

He turned back and ascended to a height roughly a man's length above the lake surface, pressing himself against a rock face to observe the external situation!

By this time, the entire Eye of Heaven Forest had descended into utter chaos. Colossal dragons shrieked in the sky, Black-armored Warriors of the Papal Curia conducted a carpet search through the woods, and every so often, the furious roars of the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys could be heard!

“Damn it! Damn them all! The Cloud Banner, Divine Servants, offerings... all gone! Our god will flay us alive!”

From a distance, Du Chen saw that the Dragon Clan and the Papal Curia's armies had already set up camps on the northern and southern shores of Moon Lake, respectively. The thoroughly cleaned-out Aqua Envoys' Camp was also cordoned off by numerous Soldiers. Seven or eight individuals, led by a Godfather from the Papal Curia, were inspecting the lake's edge.

It seemed Brockman had not yet been caught; this 'Father of Tyran Beasts,' this most 'elegant artist,' truly had some tricks up his sleeve!

After waiting a moment longer, for the chaos in the Eye of Heaven Forest to reach its peak, Du Chen, seizing the opportunity, flew out of the water low to the ground, hooked himself onto a Papal Curia warrior's belt, and followed him back to the Papal Curia's encampment!

Cautiously taking a roundabout path back to his tent, Du Chen hadn't even entered when he caught a pungent whiff of alcohol. Peeking through a slit in the tent, he saw his daughter, Beibei, standing amidst two piles of wine jars, one hand pinching her nose, the other pointing. “Forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine... Uncle Aliza, you drank fifty jars, two more than Uncle Mas! Hee hee, Uncle won!”

Aliza's face was flushed crimson; he could barely sit upright. Drowsily, he grinned wide. “I won, haha, Mas, you lost!”

Mas stared blankly at Aliza, completely unresponsive... *Thud!* He toppled over, utterly drunk, lost to the world.

Beibei bravely leaped over the wine jars, then cheekily extended her hand to Aliza, smiling sweetly. “Uncle, you're the best at drinking! You won, Beibei will testify for you, hee hee...” Her smile was mischievous! But utterly charming! Truly, utterly charming!

Just as she was about to speak, *thud!* Aliza also pitched forward, collapsing. Beibei clutched her head in mock anguish. “Oh no! Beibei hasn't even asked for her red packet yet! Uncle Aliza, please wake up... Huh? Daddy's back!”

The little one, using her extraordinary Spiritual Power, sensed Du Chen standing behind her. Her curious eyes widened, and she rubbed her tiny hands, giggling in a sweet, affected voice, “Daddy...”

“You mischievous girl! I brought all your toys back, and your sisters too!” Du Chen bent down and gave the adorable little one a hearty kiss. “You play with your old toys first, I'll give you these after Daddy organizes them! Be good!”

Beibei's big eyes lit up. Grabbing her pigtails, she dashed out. “Then Beibei will go keep watch for Daddy, so Daddy can organize his toys in peace... Oh, Mas is completely passed out; he wouldn't hear thunder!”

Hopping onto Andy outside the tent, the little one began to keep a lookout, eyes darting slyly...

But Andy was having a tough time; he was still carrying two large sacks of Beibei's favorite toys on his back!

“Dus, stop pretending to be asleep!” Du Chen roused his clone, explained everything that had just happened, and frowned. “Brockman suddenly appearing, and all for some map – this is definitely not simple! What's your take on it!?”

“Too little intelligence, no opinion!”

“Moon Lake is indeed very peculiar. I suspect there's something fishy going on inside, just like Mount Tianshan! What do you think?”

“You'll have to ask Mas about that!” Dus replied indifferently.

Such an intractable temper from his Fifth Brother. Du Chen frowned slightly, then concealed him back within himself. A glance at the stolen goods inside his Precious Lotus Scripture, and his brows smoothed out.

He had vaguely overheard earlier that this pile of items included tributes from various major powers to Margaret!

It made sense. Take the Pontiff, for instance; besides sending a few young girls, that cunning old fox would certainly have to 'show his appreciation' to the Divine Envoys. Moreover, Margaret only exchanged messages with him once every decade. In such circumstances, even if he didn't want to curry favor, simply out of social etiquette, he'd have to send Margaret some gifts!

When the Pontiff made a move, could the gifts be insignificant? And it wasn't just the Papal Curia sending presents!

“Just now, in the dark, I grabbed everything I saw without really distinguishing... Heh, now...” Du Chen reached into Donna's travel backpack and pulled out a fist-sized sculpture. “It seems Margaret likes art! This kind of thing isn't easy to fence!”

He placed the sculpture back into the Precious Lotus Scripture, then put all the 'toys' Beibei usually liked into the cabinet inside the tent — his daughter had too many toys and they were too messy; a father had to toil and tidy up for his child! Afterwards, only the true stolen goods remained within the Precious Lotus Scripture, which he began to organize within the sacred artifact!

Before categorizing them into 'fencible,' 'fencible with delay,' and 'unfencible,' Du Chen absolutely would not remove the stolen goods from the Precious Lotus Scripture!

Haaa... snore!

Mas's snoring boomed like thunder nearby. Aliza's snores were like muffled claps of thunder!

Beibei and the guards, dozens of steps away outside, heard it. Bairu, who was just arriving with Deboning, heard it even more clearly! He apologized, “Mister Brook, Mas is truly disgraceful, getting so drunk in Godfather Francis’s tent!”

Deboning nodded coldly in response. He was seething internally. His young master, to completely distance himself from the situation, had sent him to chat with Bairu all night about the glorious history of the Papal Curia. Yet, Bairu was evasive and indirect, constantly trying to fish for information. Spending an entire night matching wits with someone he could obliterate in a single move... what wretched luck!

Bairu smiled, his grin widening when he saw Beibei. He purposefully tried to amuse the little one, stepping forward to bow. “Godfather Bairu greets Her Royal Highness Princess Newin! My, little princess, your toys are all so valuable!”

Beibei was currently using a string of 'Azure Star' diamond necklaces as a whip, urging Andy to run faster. Seeing Bairu approach, she giggled. “That's right, Daddy loves Beibei the most! Brook, Daddy just woke up and was looking for you! Uncle Bairu, do you want Beibei to show you my toys!?”

‘I’ll keep Bairu occupied; you go inform Daddy.’ Deboning naturally understood this to be the young miss’s true intention. He nodded and entered the tent.

Beibei’s harmlessly adorable smile didn’t arouse Bairu’s slightest suspicion. He watched, beaming, as the little one pulled toys one by one from Andy’s back, displaying them before him: diamond rings, necklaces, sculptures, and a small painting, only eight or nine inches, depicting a young girl...

Wait! A painting of a young girl!?

A storm surged within Bairu's heart. He covertly scrutinized the painting of the young girl. Indeed, a nine-inch canvas depicting the lingering glow of a seaside sunset, with a small girl in a red dress, her back to the beach, running swiftly towards the golden sea beneath the setting sun. Had he seen this little girl somewhere before? How could that be? Ah, yes, this must be 'Young Girl at Sunset'...

The entire painting unconsciously evoked a profound, heartfelt affection in the viewer, as if one were lounging on a beach chair, watching their beloved daughter run joyfully, reveling in familial bliss!

Looking at the signature in the corner of the canvas... there was no signature, only the seal of a Double-pronged Iron Hook!

Indeed, this was the genuine work of the Painting God, nicknamed 'Heavenly Canvas,' a priceless treasure virtually impossible to acquire! It was also the most admired style and painter of Goddess Margaret, who possessed exceedingly high artistic cultivation, and moreover...

Bairu's expression remained unchanged as he smiled. “Little Princess, this painting is so beautiful! Where did your Daddy buy it for you? Uncle wants to buy one too!”

Huh? This guy's spiritual fluctuations are so intense! But he's still smiling so broadly; he definitely isn't good news!

Heh heh, this painting is an old toy; she's had it for over a year and grown tired of it! And Daddy is currently organizing the *stolen* toys; once he finishes, Beibei will have new ones!

But since Bairu wasn't good news, Beibei definitely wouldn't tell him the truth!

The little one's smile was so sweet it melted hearts, making Bairu want nothing more than to heartily kiss her tiny Dimples. Casually tossing the painting of the young girl into a sack on Andy's back, she chirped, “Beibei has too many toys, I don't remember! Uncle Bairu, would you like to play chess with me?”

Bairu shook his head. “That won't do, Uncle still needs to go to His Holiness the Pontiff to receive a mission! Perhaps another day?”

He turned to leave. Once he was a good distance away, he waved a guard over and whispered, “Covertly blockade Francis's tent, but do not approach, and absolutely do not let him realize it!” He shot the guard a fierce glare. “You are not privy to the reasons why! Go now! Also, go invite Godfather Cullen, and instruct him to keep Zigurd absolutely entangled, ensuring Francis cannot find Zigurd to seek help!”

Having said his piece, he strode with a somber expression into the Pontiff's Golden Grand Tent!

A moment later, Pontiff Sama IX received a piece of news: “Your Holiness, the genuine work of the Painting God you presented to Goddess Margaret, 'Young Girl at Sunset,' which was stolen last night, has appeared in Francis's adopted daughter's hands!”