The man paused for a moment before asking, "Are you sick?"

"No, mushrooms do not get sick," Xu Xiaoshou replied.

"How do know that mushrooms do not get sick?"

"Because I am a mushroom!"

"No, you are not!"

"Oh, that's right. I'm not. You are."

"I am not a mushroom!"

The man replied furiously only to realize that ever since the spiritual array had exploded, he had been talking with the person who had caused the explosion about whether or not he was a mushroom.

This...

He straightened his body, squinted his eyes, and asked, "Who are you? And how did you come to this place?"

In a similar fashion, Xu Xiaoshou stood up and said without any fear, "That's a question I want to ask you as well. Who are you? And how did you enter the City Lord Mansion? What motives do you have?"

"?"

The man seemed to be stunned and asked, "Don't you recognize me?"

"Do I need to recognize you?"

As he asked that, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly realized something was amiss.

He had already inquired about all the strong cultivators within the City Lord Mansion, but there seemed to be nothing about this man.

He knew that within Tiansang City's City Lord Mansion, there was still one weird man. That man was the mayor.

This man was someone who did not do his work. He had mysteriously disappeared a few years ago, which meant that all the affairs of the City Lord Mansion had to be settled by Fu Xing.

In the beginning, everyone thought that it was just a guise.

After all, in many organizations, the heads would use this method of handling matters from afar.

As time passed, everyone started to realize something wasn't right.

The mayor did not appear in front of anyone at all. It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.

There was a common rumor that even the servants and guards in the City Lord Mansion had never seen this man again.

It was just like he was...

Dead.

There was another myth that said Tiansang City's mayor had actually been so addicted to spiritual arrays that he was studying them day and night without coming out.

He studied them to the point that he went crazy and had to be imprisoned by the City Lord Mansion.

Regarding this myth, Xu Xiaoshou did not believe it at all.

But the spiritual array...

He glanced at the man in front of him.

Could it be possible that the man had not become totally insane but had only almost become crazy?

"Are you the mayor?"

Xu Xiaoshou directly asked the question in his heart.

The air was silent for a second.

The man let out a sigh.

"Have the people of this city really forgotten about me?"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes widened to a stare. "Are you really the mayor? Fu Xing's father?"

"My name is Fu Zhi."

His raspy voice settled in the air.

The man had his hands behind his back as he stood barefooted on the black and burned ground. His toenails were digging deep into the ground.

His scorched and curly hair moved with the breeze as if they were the movements of willows in the autumn wind.

His tattered clothes hung on his body like pieces of rags. The years of unwashed smells emanated from them and swayed with the wind.

Xu Xiaoshou could not believe his eyes at all that this person was the mayor.

'Even a f*cking beggar would be clothed better than you!'

"Say yes."

"?"

"Just say it!"

"Yes?" Fu Zhi hesitated.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the notification board. 'Is there no reaction?'

His heart skipped a beat. "Now, say no!"

"No?"

Deceived, Passive Points +1.

Xu Xiaoshou took in a deep breath of air. He wanted to squeeze out a smile, but his face seemed to be very stiff.

'What the f*ck? Did I just cause an explosion right in front of Fu Xing's father?'

'Is this the part where I apologize?'

'If I bring out Fu Xing to cover for me, will I be able to avoid this trouble?'

'But...'

'Such a deep Nested Spiritual Array was blasted just like that.'

'Furthermore, I am someone of a younger generation who accidentally entered this prohibited place...'

'No matter how I f*cking explain this, there's no way they would let me go easily!'

Xu Xiaoshou felt his heart drop.

'Calm down! I can't mess up my own thoughts!'

'I can't admit my mistake. That's right, I definitely can't!'

'If I were to admit my mistake at this time... It would definitely be just me courting my own death!'

He took in a deep breath. 'Since I can't force out a smile, then I shall not at all!'

"So, are you really the mayor?"

Fu Zhi rolled his eyes.

He couldn't decide if there was something wrong with this young man's brain or if he actually wanted to continue the conversation with this kind of person.

Taking in a deep breath of this fresh but scorched air, Fu Zhi finally regained his state of mind.

It was time to settle the problem.

He continued to look at the young man and asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"

The difference in his tone reflected the change in his state of mind.

Fu Xing's eyes exhibited a sense of interrogation.

And Xu Xiaoshou...

Even though he had already gotten confirmation of this guy's identity, Xu Xiaoshou still could not believe it.

He looked at the person from head to toe.

To be very honest, he looked very much like a convict.

He looked rough with tattered clothes. It was as if he got blasted by someone right when he got out of prison.

'Hmm?'

'Something is not right.'

'Out of prison?'

Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts stalled as he seemed to realize that he might have gotten hold of some blind spot.

'Could it be that this guy was experimenting with spiritual arrays here and made so many layers that he got himself trapped inside?'

'Did the explosion just now blast him out of it?'

'As for the tears on his face just now, were they tears of joy from finally getting freedom?'

'What the f*ck?'

Xu Xiaoshou felt that even he could not keep up with his trail of thoughts.

Looking at this person, he knew the man wanted to interrogate him.

He hardened his resolve, suppressed his impulse to retreat, and subtly encouraged himself.

'Xu Xiaoshou, you can do it!'

'You are now a spirit array master!'

'At least, you have to act like it!'

'The fact that this person, the mayor, in the face of a mere Innate Stage cultivator, did not attack at the first chance he got but chose to interact could mean something.'

'It was because the way you solved his arrays was above his understanding. That's why he could converse with you in such a peaceful manner!'

'Once you show any signs of weakness, he will definitely start to attack!'

As he thought of this, Xu Xiaoshou's momentum became more imposing. After all, he was someone who could suppress the three strong Sovereigns in Zhang Mansion.

Pretending to be someone stronger was as easy as the alphabet for him.

Xu Xiaoshou put his hands behind his back, raised his chin, and asked, "Were you trapped?"

Fu Zhi's thought of wanting to interrogate him suddenly diminished as a hint of shock flickered across his eyes.

'This...'

'How did he find out?'

'Could it be that this person was someone who could control the Divine Secret just as I had guessed earlier?'

'Watching the way of the heavens?'

'Spiritual communication?'

'That's right. If not, how could he have easily been able to use a method that I have never seen before to solve and break my Divine Secret array?'

"No!"

Even though Xu Xiaoshou had guessed the truth, Fu Zhi did not want to expose himself.

Who in their right mind would admit to such a stupid thing?

Deceived, Passive Points +1.

Xu Xiaoshou almost started laughing.

'What a bluff!'

'Let's see you continue to bluff some more!'

It seemed that the rumors spreading in the outside world were not completely groundless.

In reality, no one would dare to believe that the reason why the almighty Tiansang City Mayor Fu did not care about the affairs of the city was that he had trapped himself in the spiritual arrays that he was researching.

Or maybe, even that guy Fu Xing did not know this either.

What an embarrassing situation.

Xu Xiaoshou found it hard to imagine. If he were to encounter such a situation, he would also be speechless.

Also, this guy had such a high status, power, and identity.

Xu Xiaoshou knew the scale of things and decided not to expose him.

Everyone wanted to be spared from embarrassment. Since he was not willing to tell the truth, why not spare him from the embarrassment?

Since his guess was correct, it would make it so much easier for him to handle things from now on.

Xu Xiaoshou tried to look serious as he stared at Fu Zhi for a few breaths. He had a look of wanting to smile but not smiling as he slowly said, "I know."

Those two simple words were enough for Fu Zhi's old face to turn red.

'He… Does he really know?'

Suspected, Passive Points +1.

Xu Xiaoshou did not waste too much time on this. He needed to immediately divert attention and change the topic.

He walked away a few steps to allow for some safety distance.

The distance would also allow him to retain some level of mysteriousness.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the sky over their heads before looking at what was left of the exploded spiritual array. His heart shook a little.

'What damage this explosion caused...'

He did not show his feelings. Instead, he continued to survey the surroundings before finally looking at Fu Zhi.

This was someone who could hold his composure. He was similarly waiting for Xu Xiaoshou's next words. Even if he had guessed his embarrassing problem, he was still calm.

How Xu Xiaoshou decided to speak for the next few moments would decide his life and death.

As such, Xu Xiaoshou let out a laugh as he raised a thumb.

"Your spiritual array was rather well set up."