Minglong

Chapter 255 Mysterious Bandit
I don’t know how much time passed.

Faint howls of beasts and even the cawing of crows drifted from afar:

"Gaa gaa—"

"Ouch..."

As Lü Yan's consciousness gradually awakened, a splitting headache entered his mind. His once surging Qi Sea was completely locked by an unknown technique, making it difficult for him to break free from the restraints around him.

Realizing something was wrong, Lü Yan instantly snapped back to reality. His first thought was that he had been captured by an unknown demonic master who wanted to refine his soul and seize his body.

But he is the number one person under the sect leader. Even the sect leader's senior brother couldn't just ambush him and take him away without a sound...

Who on earth did this...?

Could it be that the Corpse Ancestor has emerged from seclusion...?

……

Although he was terrified, Lü Yan quickly calmed down and realized that his energy channels were locked. He could only use an ancient method of investigation—listening carefully.

clap~
In the distance, there was the sound of a bonfire burning, and the aroma of roasted meat could be faintly smelled through it.

What kind of place is this...?

Could it be that one of these groups is a den of sorcerers, roasting people alive...?

The unknown powerful figure who had captured him had clearly noticed his movements, and soon voices rang out from nearby:
"woke up?"

The voice was hoarse and androgynous.

Lu Yan could hear the voice, but couldn't sense the other person's presence at all, and his heart sank:
"Who are you, sir?"

"Who I am is not important. As long as you answer the questions honestly, I won't do anything to you."

"..."

Lu Yan had been captured by this man at will, his life entirely in his hands. He wouldn't believe such nonsense. After thinking for a moment, he coldly said:

"Kill me if you want. I've slain countless demons in my life, that's enough. Trying to extract information about the righteous path from me? No way."

The other party chuckled a few times and replied:
"You're just a second-in-command of the Divination Sect, what information could you possibly know that concerns the survival of the righteous path? I'm not asking anything else, I just want to know, why were you in Lizhou the night before last?"

"?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Yan frowned.

After all, he and Xie Jinhuan had a heated argument about this during the day, but he didn't say it explicitly, and Xie Jinhuan couldn't force him to reveal it. Then, that night, he was beaten up and had a sack put over his head...

Could it be Xie Jinhuan's doing...?

No wonder this kid is such a master at catching criminals. He's so ruthless and unethical in private, how could he not find any clues?

However, Xie Jinhuan certainly doesn't have that much ability...

After a moment's consideration, Lü Yan asked:

"Are you Xie Jinhuan's master from the Hidden Immortal Sect? A dignified elder of the righteous path, yet you commit such a despicable act in private. Do you dare to introduce yourself? My senior master is True Man Huang Lin, you must know him..."

Huang Lin Zhenren was a Taoist immortal on par with Qixia Zhenren, and even someone as powerful as Shang Lianbi wouldn't dare to disregard him.

But the visitor seemed unfazed and responded directly:

"I've already said, who I am isn't important. Answer my questions truthfully, and I'll leave immediately without making things difficult for you."

Lu Yan frowned slightly, thinking that the other party must be a giant with extraordinary abilities to be able to subdue him so easily and not even care about the name of Huang Lin Zhenren.

But what kind of mountain hermit would come up with such an outrageous method as ambushing someone with a sack? Isn't that just the tactic of a street thug?

After a moment's consideration, Lü Yan asked:
"What if I don't tell you?"

"If you don't tell me, I'll have to use the Soul-Dismantling and Visualization Technique to examine what you've seen in the past few days. You know the consequences of this technique; it's very difficult for a person's soul to recover from damage."

"According to the rules of the righteous path, this technique can only be used on stubborn and unrepentant demonic cultivators, Your Excellency..."

Huhu~
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of energy flowing could be heard outside the sack, and he could feel a strange power stirring his soul.

? !
Upon realizing it was indeed a soul-dismantling technique, Lü Yan's expression changed drastically, and he quickly and honestly replied:

“I have absolutely no connection with the evil cultivators. The reason I went to Lizhou the day before yesterday was because I suffered a loss in Fire Phoenix Valley and I specifically discussed this matter with my senior brother, the sect leader. Our dynasty has spies in the south, and my senior brother found out that Xie Jinhuan came to the north, but he didn’t know the exact location. That’s why I went to Lizhou to search for his whereabouts.”

Lu Yan's words were not false. Upon returning from the Southern Frontier, his first stop was Huanglin Temple to tell the sect leader about his experiences there. The sect leader didn't say anything at the time, but soon sent him news of Xie Jinhuan.

The reason the sect leader was able to find out was, in his view, because he must have used the intelligence resources of the Northern Zhou court. However, this was a case of abusing public resources for private purposes, and he certainly wouldn't have brought it up in public if he hadn't been kidnapped.

The person outside was silent for a moment, and it was unclear whether they agreed with this statement, but then they suddenly asked:

"Have you investigated the Red Witch Cult before?"

Lu Yan looked slightly puzzled, but after thinking for a moment, he replied:

"The Court of Imperial Sacrifices has investigated, and all the clues point to Empress Dowager Guo and Lady Guo, but the higher-ups say this is a smear campaign, and there are no clues in other directions. The matter has not yet been clarified."

Do you think Empress Dowager Guo has any problems?

"..."

Lu Yan fell silent in response to this.

Empress Dowager Guo was parachuted in many years ago, entering the capital as the eldest daughter of the Guo family to become Empress Dowager.

Although the Guo family, the maternal relatives, accepted this claim and presented considerable evidence, given Empress Dowager Guo's abilities and status, she would not have remained unknown for more than a decade or so.

Empress Dowager Guo simply explained it by saying that she learned her skills from a reclusive master. The various government departments did not dare to break the taboo and investigate Empress Dowager Guo's childhood. Therefore, Empress Dowager Guo's background was indeed somewhat problematic.

The fact that the Red Witch Cult framed Guo Taihou is also believed by many because Guo Taihou's background is indeed mysterious.

However, Lü Yan did not believe that Empress Dowager Guo was a spy planted by the sorcerers. After all, Empress Dowager Guo had been in power for many years. If she were a member of the sorcerers, Northern Zhou would have collapsed long ago and would not be showing signs of revival as it is now. "Empress Dowager Guo's background is indeed suspicious, but it should have nothing to do with the sorcerers."

"A hundred years ago, the female warrior goddess of the Northern Zhou Dynasty passed away peacefully, leaving behind a large amount of treasures for the Guo family and the imperial court. Are these things hidden in the Heavenly Pavilion?"

"?"

Lu Yan felt that this unknown giant outside was jumping around in his thoughts, asking questions in a disjointed and haphazard way.

But being at a disadvantage at this moment, and since the question wasn't too taboo, Lü Yan could only respond:

"To prevent the theft of national treasures, all the important national artifacts are indeed stored in the Tiange Pavilion of Yongshou Palace. However, that place is heavily guarded by the Imperial Guards, and Chen Chi is stationed in the capital. If you have any designs on our dynasty's national treasures, you are thinking too much. Our Great Zhou is not without elders to guard it."

The people outside remained silent for a moment, then a sound came from above:

Wow…

Then the whole world fell silent, and it was difficult to hear any sound anymore.

? ?
Lu Yan was stuffed into a sack and had no idea where he was. He could only ask:

"Are you still there? Hello?...Hello?"

There was no further response from the surrounding area...
-
The next day.

As dawn broke, the morning light shone on the window paper.

Inside the west wing of the Princess's residence, Lin Wanyi stood before a bronze mirror, helping Xie Jinhuan straighten his robes. A blush lingered on her cheeks behind her gold-rimmed glasses, but her eyes held a hint of curiosity.
"You spent half the night at the Flower Girl's place yesterday?"

Xie Jinhuan went to teach Bu Yuehua the kung fu yesterday afternoon. After shrinking, there weren't many incidents. As night deepened, he said goodbye and returned home.

Seeing that Wanyi had started gossiping about their master, Xie Jinhuan didn't want to say anything out of line, so he thought for a moment and explained:
"I just went to visit them and taught them some martial arts techniques; that's all."

Lin Wanyi felt that her master's reckless behavior of concealing his identity was bound to cause a major incident sooner or later, but since nothing was certain yet, she couldn't say anything. After tidying her robes, she urged:

"Alright, hurry up and go out. Her Highness the Princess is waiting. Zisu is going to Yanjing Academy today, and I have to go with her to keep an eye on her, lest she cause trouble everywhere and then I won't accompany you to visit the Temple of Heaven."

Xie Jinhuan chuckled softly, straightened his robes, lowered his head and gave a quick kiss on the lips before leaving the room.

It snowed last night, and this morning the yard was covered in white. On the snow, you could still see many bamboo-leaf-shaped footprints, which must have been left by Coal Ball wandering around all night and running over to play.

Xie Jinhuan arrived at the nearby courtyard and saw that Momo had already tidied up and gone out. There was no one in the courtyard, but there were several small snowmen.

Two snowmen stood side by side. One of them had two small wooden sticks stuck in his waist as weapons, and a small snowball at his feet. Unsurprisingly, it was him, Momo, and Meiqiu, a family of three.

But what's rather strange is that not far away, there's a snowman lying down with its chest squeezed out really big, and there's even a little bed built underneath it, which probably refers to some big-breasted neighbor who only sleeps...

?

Xie Jinhuan found the scene amusing and thought that if Wanyi saw the snowman later, she would definitely confront Momo.

But he couldn't touch the snowman that Momo had built. After taking a few glances at it, he went to the front house.

Today's plan is to follow the envoy's procession to the Temple of Heaven to observe the sacrificial activities of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The landlady is still getting ready, while the entourage is already prepared and waiting by the luxurious carriage at the entrance.

Linghu Qingmo, dressed in a dashing white dress, stood before the group, sword in hand, listening intently.

Fiji stood at the bottom of the steps, holding a knife and looking quite serious, as he spoke:

“After Jin Huan went to the Taichang Temple yesterday, Her Highness the Princess asked me to keep an eye on the movements of the Northern Zhou Daoist sect. As a result, I discovered this morning that many Daoists were going in and out of Lü Yan's residence, all with furrowed brows and keeping their mouths shut. If I'm not mistaken, Lü Yan has a grand plan, and it's possible that it's specifically targeting Jin Huan…”

Yang Dabiao, dressed in the red robe of the Crimson Guard, was half-believing and half-doubting upon hearing the voice:

“Monk Jibei, it’s not that I don’t believe in you, but are you sure you can see through the movements of the divination school?”

Fiji pointed to his eyes, very certain:
"Don't you know my eyes? One glance is enough to tell what's going on. There's definitely something wrong with the Northern Zhou Daoist sect..."

Linghu Qingmo knew that Fiji had excellent eyesight, so after thinking for a moment, he asked:

"Can you discern what Lü Yan's plan is?"

Fiji shook his head at this.

"I don't know. These people are extremely tight-lipped, and Lü Yan hasn't shown his face at all. I don't know if he's too skilled and sneaked out, or if he's staying home, but something big is definitely going on..."

Xie Jinhuan overheard these things as he walked, and was quite puzzled.

After all, Lü Yan and he were both prominent figures, and they had already reached a solution with the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Why would Lü Yan suddenly make a move behind the scenes? Wasn't he handing him a knife?
Moreover, given Lü Yan's level of skill, how could Uncle Fei possibly uncover even the slightest clues about his clandestine schemes?

This is not to say that Uncle Fei is incompetent, but rather that as the second-in-command of the Northern Zhou Daoist sect, Lü Yan's Daoist cultivation and status are incredibly high. If they really wanted to take action against him, how could they be so careless in their methods...

So something else must have happened...

Since it didn't concern him, Xie Jinhuan didn't pay much attention and walked up to him with a smile:
"Let's focus on our own business first. We'll deal with whatever comes our way. If we act openly and honestly, Lü Yan won't resort to underhanded tactics unless he wants to give others cause for criticism."

"Oh, Jin Huan's here..."

"Have you had breakfast yet? There's a place at the street corner that sells gourd head soup; it's absolutely delicious. I ate seven big bowls this morning, which stunned the shopkeeper, and he just gave me my meal for free..."

"is it?"

……

Linghu Qingmo, standing to the side, noticed Xie Jinhuan approaching but didn't respond. Instead, she adopted a cold and aloof demeanor, looked away, and let out a soft hum.

Xie Jinhuan understood this, after all, when he came back last night, Lin Wanyi hugged him and wouldn't let him leave as soon as he entered the house, and he didn't even see Momo.

At this moment, Xie Jinhuan noticed that Mo Mo was unhappy. After greeting her, he came over, looked around, and tried to take Mo Mo's hand.

Stab~
The result was like touching Pikachu, giving me a jolt of electricity...

Xie Jinhuan didn't mind, and shamelessly held her hand to help warm it.

As it turned out, Momo was indeed quite shrewd. When she realized she couldn't pull it back, and fearing being discovered in public, she didn't dare to make any big movements. After secretly pinching his lower half, she let him hold it, even carefully looking him over from side to side, exuding a strong sense of illicit pleasure...

(End of this chapter)