Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 345 Whereabouts Unknown
On the morning of the day after Yan Ciwan disappeared, the Chang'an County government received a report from a citizen that someone had found a severed arm near their home.

The severed arm was sent to the county government office and examined by the coroner, who determined that the arm's owner had been poisoned.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wang immediately took his Ninth Uncle to the Chang'an County Government Office. He immediately recognized that the poison in the severed arm came from the poison needle he had developed, and he also found a small needle hole on the back of the hand.

He guessed that the owner of the severed arm must be the Venerable Envoy, who was stabbed by Yan Ciwan with a poisoned needle and was on the verge of death from the deadly poison. In order to survive, he had no choice but to cut off his arm.

Xiao Wang found out the location where the severed arm was found, and then followed the bloodstains on the ground to Zhang's Coffin Shop in Fengyifang.

He learned from the shopkeeper that a young woman had come to buy a coffin last night with her father's body, and that she wanted to bury her father at Jiuxian Mountain outside the city. So he and Uncle Jiu left Chang'an through Yanping Gate and rushed to Jiuxian Mountain, only to find an empty coffin.

With no clues left by Yan Ciwan on the mountain, Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu had no choice but to go down the mountain and search for people in the vicinity who might have seen Yan Ciwan.

But the people coming and going here are different every day. Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu asked every passerby one by one until their throats were dry, and all they got were answers like "I don't know" or "I've never seen it before".

"Xiao Liulang!"

Xiao Wang looked in the direction of the sound and saw Du Lingzhou and Li Chengge riding towards them on horseback. Behind them was a carriage. After the carriage stopped by the roadside, a woman got off the carriage. It was Chaolu.

Xiao Wang looked at the three of them and asked, "Why are you here?"

Chaolu said impatiently, "I heard that you found out where Aci is, so I begged Li Sanlang and Du Erlang to bring me to see you. Have you found Aci?"

Xiao Wang first gave a general account of the clues he had found, and then spoke.

"After Aci left Jiuxian Mountain, she disappeared. She was pulling a cart with someone lying on it. The two of them should have been very conspicuous. If anyone in this area saw them, they would definitely remember them. So I thought I'd look around here to see if anyone has seen them."

Although it was a clumsy method, it was the only thing he could do right now.

Chaolu immediately said, "I'll help too!"

Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou also offered to help.

Xiao Wang did not refuse their kindness and arranged, "There are three roads near Jiuxian Mountain. The five of us will split up. I will stay here. Uncle Jiu, you take Chao Erniang to the east road, and Du Erlang and Li Sanlang will go to the west road. Regardless of whether we find any clues, we must return to the city before sunset."

"it is good!"

The five people immediately split up and asked passersby one by one.

They asked around all day, but as the sun was about to set and the city gates would close if they delayed any longer, they had no choice but to give up and return to the city by the same route.

Xiao Wang didn't sleep a wink all night.

The next day, before dawn, he got up, ate a few bites of food, and then went out to find Yan Ciwan again.

Xiao Wenjian was somewhat worried about how concerned Liu Lang was about Ning Ci. It seemed that Liu Lang had deep feelings for Ning Ci, but the relationship between Ning Ci and the Sage was unclear, which was always a hidden danger.

Seeing his grandfather sigh as he watched Liu Lang leave, Xiao Qu comforted him.

"Grandfather, don't worry. With Uncle Jiu by Liu Lang's side, Liu Lang is very safe."

"I'm not worried about Liu Lang, I'm thinking about Ning Ci. If Ning Ci can come back safely this time, I need to have a good talk with her."

Xiao Qu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that his grandfather was going to talk to Ning Ci about Liu Lang's marriage?
But now that Ning Ci's whereabouts are unknown and his fate is uncertain, it is really not the time to discuss marriage.

Xiao Qu said with a worried expression, "Liu Lang's poison hasn't been completely neutralized yet. Ning Ci absolutely cannot be harmed. But I've already asked people to search the entire city, and we still can't find Ning Ci's whereabouts. What should we do?"

Xiao Wenyi said, "The Imperial Guard is still searching for Ning Ci. I'll go to the palace later to see if they've found any clues."

When Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu rode their horses to the vicinity of Yanping Gate, they found that Chao Lu, Li Chengge, and Du Lingzhou were also there.

Although everyone was exhausted when we parted yesterday and no one suggested continuing to look for people the next day, we all unexpectedly gathered here again this morning.

Looking at the still-closed city gate, Chaolu muttered anxiously, "Why isn't the gate open yet?"

Li Chengge got up unusually early today, and was still yawning on horseback, looking lazy and not fully awake.

When Du Lingzhou saw Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu arrive, he deliberately spoke in an exaggerated tone.

"Oh my, you two have finally arrived!"

Xiao Wang looked somewhat tired because he hadn't slept well the night before. He said, "Sorry we're late."

Li Chengge said lazily, "It's not late, it's just right."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of drums echoed from the city gate, and the heavy city gate was slowly opened.

Just as Xiao Wang was about to spur his horse forward, he heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats behind him.

He looked back and saw Si Buping leading several thousand men rushing towards him.

The people who had gathered near the city gate waiting to leave the city retreated and made way for them upon seeing this.

When Si Buping arrived at Yanping Gate with his large army, the general guarding the city shouted from above the city tower: "Who goes there?"

"The Grand Commander of the Inner Guard is dissatisfied and has been ordered to leave the city to carry out his duties. This is an imperial edict."

Si Buping held up the imperial edict.

The general guarding the city immediately ran down from the city wall, removed his helmet, and respectfully accepted the imperial edict with both hands.

As the general guarding the city was reading the imperial edict, Si Buping caught a glimpse of Xiao Wang, Li Chengge, and others standing beside the city gate. He bowed to Li Chengge and said, "Your Highness Prince Jin, please forgive me for having important matters to attend to and being unable to dismount to greet you."

Li Chengge stepped forward and asked curiously, "What are you doing out of the city so early in the morning?"

"This is a secret and must not be disclosed. I hope Your Highness Prince Jin will understand."

Hearing him say that, Li Chengge became even more curious.

Looking around, Xiao Wang estimated that Si Buping had brought at least four thousand men with him, most of whom were from the Imperial Guard. But Si Buping was the Grand Commander of the Inner Guard. Why would the Emperor transfer troops from the Imperial Guard to him? Could it be that something urgent had happened and the Inner Guard was short-handed, so he had to transfer troops from the Imperial Guard?
Xiao Wang had a guess in his mind: perhaps Si Buping had already found the headquarters of the Five Gods Sect! The forces of the Inner Guard alone were not enough to completely annihilate the headquarters of the Five Gods Sect, so the emperor temporarily borrowed troops from the Golden Guard.

The general guarding the city confirmed that the contents of the imperial edict were consistent with what Si Buping had said, and immediately returned the edict with both hands and ordered the main city gate in the center to be opened.

Normally, people would enter and exit through the small gates on the left and right sides of the city, and the main city gate would only be opened during special periods.

Si Buping raised his whip and spurred his horse forward, followed closely by thousands of soldiers.

The sound of horses' hooves quickly faded into the distance, leaving only the gradually settling dust.

Xiao Wang urged, "Quickly, catch up with them!"

He rushed out of the city gate first, and Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou quickly followed. Uncle Jiu drove the carriage, with Chaolu sitting inside. Because the carriage was large and slow, it lagged behind.