Chapter 154 The Key to Breaking the Situation

As I put down the phone, Lao Liu gently placed his own mobile down as well, "My Lord! Sigh, it's hard to explain in a few words!"

Wang the Butcher, who was sitting beside him, asked in confusion, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Lao Liu explained, "My Lord, when deliberating on the task concerning the Book Ghost, I also repeatedly pondered over the task itself. It's right that my Lord doesn't want to compromise with Qiao Gongliang."

"Qiao Gongliang has been resisting the Netherworld's pursuit. However, he can't guarantee he'll succeed every time. Therefore, he needs a Yang Jian Jie Ming Ren to trade with him."

"If I were in Qiao Gongliang's position, I would also try my best to make my opponent feel invincible. Then, I'd offer certain benefits to make the opponent withdraw from the task and help me lie to the Netherworld about the military situation, so as to avoid entering the Netherworld."

"Once my Lord compromises with Qiao Gongliang, it's equivalent to handing over a handle to the other party. Next time, Qiao Gongliang will repeat the same trick, but he won't offer any benefits then, because he knows the consequences of a Jie Ming Ren violating the Netherworld's iron rules."

"At that time, my Lord will fall into an infinite cycle of death. It's like drinking salt water to quench thirst, the more you drink, the thirstier you become, until you die of dehydration."

"Therefore, my Lord will never make any deals with him."

Hearing this, Wang the Butcher couldn't help but sit up straight, "Does Li Po have a way to break the situation? I think..."

Lao Liu smiled, "You think my Lord can't break the situation? Indeed, on the surface, this dead end is unsolvable, because any clue could be a trap set by the Book Ghost Qiao Gongliang. He has been planning for nearly a century, which is equivalent to secretly controlling the entire provincial capital."

"Don't say that the legends in the provincial capital might be stories he wrote, even the living practitioners of the arcane arts might be his puppets."

"A storyteller is like a ghost or deity sitting in the clouds, looking down on the whole situation. From the moment the prey falls into his story, it can never jump out again."

Lao Liu said with a half-smile, "So what if Xia Mengying found flaws in the pages? Who can be sure that that's not Qiao Gongliang's next story?"

"Qiao Gongliang's story is an unavoidable dead end, the only way is to make him jump out himself."

"However, people who are good at writing stories tend to have a bit of arrogance. They will leave a clue in the story, or a foreshadowing. That inconspicuous clue may be the key to reversing the plot."

"My Lord, if you keep fighting the Book Ghost with the mindset of fighting ghosts and gods, you will never win. But, if you change him into a reader, guessing the author's thoughts, or the loopholes in the story, then he will have the key to win this game."

Lao Liu stood up and said, "The reason my Lord called me is because the key to breaking the situation that he thought of is *The Evil Coffin Manual*."

"The key to Qiao Gongliang's secrets being seen through by my Lord lies in the fact that his story is half true and half false. Perhaps, his secret method is like this: only things that have actually happened can trigger his secret method and bring people into the story."

"If we put the stories of Du Fei and the Horned Dragon Tomb together, we will find a hidden clue."

"In the story of the Horned Dragon Tomb, Qiao Gongliang is looking for something. The story of Du Fei mentions that if you want to join the group, you must meet a condition: find *The Evil Coffin Manual*. Because that book is equivalent to an invitation letter."

"Looking at it this way, can we assume that Qiao Gongliang is not the author of *The Evil Coffin Manual*, but that he is looking for *The Evil Coffin Manual*."

Only then did Wang the Butcher say, "What does this have to do with Li Po calling you?"

Lao Liu said, "Because my Lord came to a conclusion, that is, *The Evil Coffin Manual* did not fall into the hands of ordinary people, but into the hands of someone. That person must be a figure in the arcane arts of the provincial capital."

"This is why Qiao Gongliang can feel that *The Evil Coffin Manual* is in the provincial capital, but he can't find it."

Lao Liu said, "It's actually easy to find *The Evil Coffin Manual*, that is to put pressure on the arcane arts community and force them to hand over the thing."

"With the current status of Liangjie Tang (Two Worlds Hall), as long as we issue a hero's invitation and gather people in one place, such as Yuehai Tower. Whether it is an open magician or a hidden master, they must give this face. Then, I have a way to force out the whereabouts of *The Evil Coffin Manual*, such as letting Yun Chang use poison."

"However, in this way, Liangjie Tang will be equivalent to offending the entire provincial capital. If we want to continue in Liaodong, we have to make them all submit. Liangjie Tang will also embark on the road to hegemony from then on. My Lord doesn't want to see this!"

Lao Liu couldn't help but sigh here, "My Lord, what can I say about him?"

Wang the Butcher glanced at Lao Liu, "You should be glad you followed Li Po! If you followed a real Jianghu (martial world) overlord, based on your current thoughts, you would have died several times."

"It is my luck and my destiny to be under my Lord's command!" Lao Liu said with a smile, "Master Wang, I need your help to find someone. Only this person can find *The Evil Coffin Manual*."