Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 166 Tracking
Changfeng reacted quickly and parried with his knife.

"What are you doing?" Changfeng roared. "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Although I have a grudge against him, we still have a friendship from so many years ago. Even in death, he must be given dignity! Besides, he also instructed me not to go too far, otherwise how will we clean up the mess?"

The man in black remained silent, glanced at Changfeng, then turned to look at Rong Wanyin and Moyun, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

“This has nothing to do with them. The grievances have their perpetrators, and the debts have their debtors. You can’t kill them!” Changfeng saw through his intention and quickly placed his body between the two, blocking the black-clad man’s path.

The man in black looked Changfeng up and down with disdain in his eyes, snorted coldly, put away his knife, and ultimately did not make another move.

With a wave of his hand, the man in black had two subordinates swiftly carry Yan Mingzhang away.

Rong Wanyin groaned in pain, looking up at Changfeng and the others, only to see them glance at them coldly before disappearing into the twilight with their companions, leaving behind only scattered arrows and crushed red date cakes.

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Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun lay on the ground for an unknown amount of time, making sure that the group of people were really gone, before slowly getting up and brushing the flour off their bodies.

"Changfeng, you've sprinkled way too much flour, is it free?" Mo Yun complained as she patted the table.

"Oh dear, hurry up! The medicine for the master will only last for two hours. If he wakes up before we find him, it'll be a real problem! Changfeng can't handle this alone!" Rong Wanyin brushed the flour off her clothes and urged him on. When she looked up, she saw Mo Yun's face, which looked like a grotesque mess of red blood, white flour, and black dirt. Rong Wanyin burst out laughing. "Mo Yun, your face!"

Mo Yun glanced at Rong Wanyin's face and knew his own face must be quite a sight, so he quickly wiped his face with his sleeve and mocked, "Don't just laugh at me, you're no different!"

Rong Wanyin then realized that her face should be just as spectacular, so she quickly took out a white handkerchief and wiped her face clean.

"Let's go!" Rong Wanyin quickly tidied herself up and headed in the direction Yan Mingzhang and the others had gone.

Rong Wanyin closed her eyes and smelled the air: the scent of earth, decaying leaves, and a faint, sweet fragrance. It was Yan Mingzhang's improved version of the Hundred Passion Pill from the Medicine King's manual. The original Hundred Passion Pill had a rich, long-lasting fragrance; the improved version had a milder scent, but its duration was longer, perfectly suited to Rong Wanyin. Since obtaining the Medicine King's secret manual, Yan Mingzhang had spent a long time researching and creating many strange pills, including the small gray pill he had just eaten—the Breathless Pill, which could induce a state of suspended animation.

Rong Wanyin opened her eyes, pointed to one of the paths, and said firmly, "Let's go this way."

Mo Yun knew Rong Wanyin had an exceptionally keen sense of smell, but he still couldn't quite believe it. He took a deep breath, but couldn't detect anything special. What kind of magic pill was this? Mo Yun muttered to himself, "What could you possibly smell?... Hey, wait for me."

The two followed the scent until they reached an inconspicuous mansion, by which time night had fallen. They crouched on a wall, using the shadows of the wisteria blossoms to conceal themselves.

Mo Yun asked, "Miss Rong, where is the master?"

Rong Wanyin sniffed it and said, "No, the fragrance of the wisteria is too strong, it's overpowering the scent of the passion fruit pill. I need to go downstairs to smell it. Let's go!"

Rong Wanyin stood in front of the white wall behind the artificial hill, her brows furrowed, and said to Mo Yun, "It's here. The fragrance stops here."

"It's broken?" Mo Yun panicked. More than an hour had passed, and if they couldn't find Yan Mingzhang soon, it would be dangerous. "But this is a white wall! How could it be broken? Did they pass through the wall?" "A secret room!" The two exchanged a glance and guessed.

"Find it quickly!" Rong Wanyin practically pressed herself against the white wall, using the faint moonlight to search for clues. "There must be one, the door to the secret room!"

Mo Yun also stepped forward to help, tapping the wall with her knuckles. One spot produced a particularly different sound, muffled and echoing: "Miss Rong, here!"

Rong Wanyin also noticed a tiny crack, deeper than any on the wall—it was the door to the secret room!
The two quickly knocked and banged around, hoping to find the entrance switch, but dared not make too much noise.

Footsteps are approaching in the distance. Someone is coming!

Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun exchanged a glance and quickly hid in the crevices of the artificial hill.

"Lord Sun, this way please, everyone is inside..." A middle-aged man dressed in casual clothes, with thinning hair and a few strands hanging in front of his forehead, bowed with a fawning smile on his face as he spoke.

Mo Yun tilted her head, somewhat puzzled, wanting to see more clearly.

Rong Wanyin looked at him, her eyes questioning.

Mo Yun lowered his voice and said, "The man who is speaking is Wang Can, the prefect of Chanzhou. Back when the current emperor was the military governor of Chanzhou, he was the prefect, and he is still the prefect now. Everyone says that his official career is not going well, but our master said that it is precisely because he is one of the few confidants of the current emperor that the emperor placed him in such an important position in Chanzhou, after all, it is so close to the capital."

"What kind of person is this other person? Why is Governor Wang so obsequious?" Rong Wanyin was a little confused. This small villa was actually full of hidden talents.

Mo Yun shook his head. The other man was tall, slightly plump, and had a fair complexion. He wore an indigo-blue casual robe, and although he wasn't in official attire, the imposing demeanor between his brows exuded the air of an official. There were too many officials in the capital; a falling brick could kill several of them. Although Mo Yun had followed Yan Mingzhang for many years, he spent most of his time inspecting the provinces and hadn't spent much time in the capital. Therefore, he didn't recognize the man immediately, only knowing that his surname was Sun.

"Lord Sun, rest assured, all the people are safely locked up inside. The path inside is slippery, so please be careful." Governor Wang turned a small stone on the wall, and the hidden door in the wall opened with a click.

"Understood." The man surnamed Sun nodded and entered the secret room expressionlessly.

Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun glanced at the scene from afar. Behind the secret room door was a staircase leading down. The two people soon turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

The door to the secret room slowly closed, and Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun took the opportunity to squeeze in.

The steps were wet, and the two dared not light a lamp, so they walked down in the dark. After walking for a long time, they finally saw light and heard people talking. So they stopped against the wall and used the shadows to cover themselves.

"Why hasn't this person woken up yet?" It was the official surnamed Sun who spoke.

"I just had a doctor come to check on him, he should wake up soon. Why don't you go see those bandits first?" Governor Wang bowed obsequiously, even though he was much older than this Lord Sun, old enough to be his father, yet he addressed him with the utmost respect.