Chapter 1094: Take on a Mission - Nanshan Kingdom's Anti-Ghost Effort Fails, Qin Jinghao's Sect Is Annihilated

.......After finishing her meal, she picked up the documents beside her.

Like answering exam questions, she wrote down one by one the issues that Great Han had compiled for her to respond to.

As well as the free-form supplementary section at the end.

On the other side.

Lu Ding, having left the prison with Gongyang Qingrou, arrived at Elder Shui's office.

Pushing open the door, they found that today, once again, only Secretary Qiu was present.

Lu Ding asked curiously, "Secretary Qiu, where's Elder Shui? I didn't see him when I came back last time either."

Secretary Qiu replied, "Elder Shui has gone to the border. If we're putting on a full act, we need to do it properly. Officially, he's at the border coordinating your reception."

"For now, you're still not exposed. Everyone thinks you're still within Baoji Kingdom's territory."

"This period is perfect for you to develop steadily and adjust properly. When we can't keep it hidden anymore and need to hold a public trial for the Empress of Baoji, that's when Elder Shui will return."

Lu Ding listened and felt that made sense.

Everyone knew he had a good relationship with Elder Shui.

If Elder Shui didn't move at all, that would be the truly suspicious thing.

But during this time, he hadn't received his contribution points. The Empress of Baoji was a major matter requiring approval through the proper channels before they could be issued to Lu Ding. His account was also empty, and he didn't need to sit in meditation to cultivate - mainly because he didn't enjoy meditation either, finding it too boring.

He also couldn't return to the western region for now.

He couldn't be exposed.

He had nothing to do.

He pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Secretary Qiu, how about assigning me some work? I'm just sitting around idle anyway. You can't expect me to just loaf around here, can you?"

Secretary Qiu paused his work and thought for a moment.

"Assign you some work..."

He pondered.

"Anything too close by, you definitely can't do. The moment you act, you'll be exposed."

"So it has to be somewhere farther away..."

This "far" meant at least leaving Great Han territory.

Even if he were exposed, it would be in another country.

Considering Lu Ding's strength, as well as Gongyang Qingrou's and Wang Qingge's abilities...

For ordinary incidents, sending them would be overkill.

For major incidents, it was hard to find ones with suitable conditions right now.

Secretary Qiu pulled out a tablet: "Take a seat, give me a moment."

He began searching.

The atmosphere fell into an eerily quiet silence.

Lu Ding, Gongyang Qingrou, and Wang Qingge - three pairs of six eyes - all stared at him.

Of course.

Wang Qingge didn't understand why they had to watch Secretary Qiu.

She just thought that since Lu Ding and Gongyang Qingrou were both watching, she should too.

Time ticked by, second after second.

Secretary Qiu felt the pressure building.

Until...

"I found it, I found it. You can take this mission. By the time you finish it, things in the Demon Continent should be just about ready."

Lu Ding leaned forward. "What mission?"

On the tablet, it read:

【Nanshan Kingdom's Anti-Ghost Effort Fails - Over Half of National Territory Lost】

"Nanshan Kingdom... that name..."

Lu Ding thought of his first containment item from Brother Full Responsibility - Nanshan Stubborn Stone...

He continued, "Sounds familiar, but where is it? I don't have much of an impression."

Secretary Qiu laughed. "You've heard of it? I thought you wouldn't know. That place is far away."

As he spoke, he swiped the tablet screen.

Opening a map.

"Attack close, befriend far. To reach Nanshan Kingdom, you have to cross through the jointly administered region of Lu State and the Divine Sword Holy Land, then keep going outward."

"Nanshan Kingdom has long been supplying us with various ores from their region, which have greatly aided our country's research and development."

"You don't have much of an impression, first because Nanshan Kingdom is far away and not very large, though their economy is doing quite well."

"Second, because the cooperation between Nanshan Kingdom and Great Han is covert."

"In return, Great Han provides Nanshan Kingdom with technological support, secretly helping them develop. Previously, we even helped them repel invasions from other countries. This partnership began a long time ago."

"The current situation is that within their territory, there's a small sect. This sect normally keeps a low profile, but in reality, it was suppressing the core of the most terrifying ghost in their entire country."

"However, some time ago, a disciple from this sect got into a conflict with the direct bloodline of a God-Sealing realm powerhouse in this country."

"This led to the sect being... you understand what I mean."

"Without anyone guarding it, the ghost was released."

"Resulting in the current situation."

Lu Ding listened without hesitation: "Then I'm not going."

"This is pure karma."

"Bullying others with your power, and now that you can't handle the consequences, you know to ask for help? What were you doing before? If you're so awesome, why don't you solve it yourself?"

"If I hadn't heard the full story and went in ignorant, I'm not even sure whose side I'd be on."

"Just hearing it pisses me off. I'd chop them all down."

Secretary Qiu's personal thoughts were actually quite similar to Lu Ding's.

But...

He sighed. "We have to prioritize the big picture. From a national perspective, while Nanshan Kingdom can't really be completely destroyed, other countries are now lowballing them and negotiating terms."

"If Great Han, Nanshan Kingdom's original partner, doesn't go there first, by the time Nanshan Kingdom recovers, they might stop cooperating with us."

"Then Nanshan Kingdom's mineral resources..."

That was also a valid point.

Lu Ding originally didn't want to go. Even though the ghost that threatened half a country was truly tempting, he didn't want to go aid and abet evil.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to restrain himself from killing those people in Nanshan Kingdom.

But suddenly, Lu Ding frowned. He seemed to remember where he had heard the name Nanshan Kingdom before.

He asked tentatively, "Are there any survivors from that small sect?"

Secretary Qiu scrolled through the mission file.

"Let me check."

The file was very long. He hadn't read it carefully before, since he wasn't responsible for diplomatic coordination. It was just that the mission had been posted in this section, and he only knew part of it, not all the internal details.

Scrolling and scrolling.

Reaching the end, Secretary Qiu said, "There are. Two disciples are still out there, missing. But it seems they had made mistakes and sneaked down the mountain. Now the people from Nanshan Kingdom are looking for them, hoping they might have a way to reseal those things."

"But the timing of when these two left is suspicious. It was just a few days before this sect incident broke out. The disciple who triggered the Nanshan Kingdom incident happened to be their senior disciple brother."

"Those two disciples who ran away - one is named Xiao Jingbai, and the other is Qin Jinghao."

"Qin Jinghao... that name sounds really familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere."

This puzzled Secretary Qiu too. Why would a disciple from a small sect in Nanshan Kingdom sound familiar to him?

But he didn't notice.

Beside him, Lu Ding's expression was gradually turning cold!

No wonder the name Nanshan Kingdom had seemed so familiar - he had glanced at it unintentionally when reviewing Qin Jinghao's political vetting documents back then.