Chapter 22: Hunter

“So I was right all along.” Li Muxian seemed unsurprised.

“The Wu’an General’s Mansion secretly sought the lost Seventh Imperial Prince, while the two of them forged identities and deliberately got caught, so they could follow the General’s men to Shangyang City.”

Cang Yin Yue spoke, glancing at the ugly woman on the ground.

At that moment, the woman tore her gaze from the dead scholar’s body, her eyes filled with terror, and hurriedly said:

“Everyone in the martial world knows about the Seventh Imperial Prince of the Da Li court. My younger brother and I only wanted to try—see if we could fool our way through. We thought if we succeeded, wealth and honor would be ours forever.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian’s face lit up with understanding.

“Indeed, the finest hunters often appear as their prey.”

Cang Yin Yue’s gaze shifted, then she suddenly asked:

“You seemed to know this scholar was suspicious from the start. How did you figure it out?”

Li Muxian rubbed his chin and said:

“This scholar’s disguise was poor. Whether walking this steep mountain path or being chased by the Blood Bath Alliance, he feigned exhaustion and weakness—but in truth, he was completely at ease.”

“He had not a single wound on him, and after a full day of this torment, he still looked perfectly fine. That’s unnatural.”

“Of course, when his senior sister was being chased by the Blood Bath Alliance, he may have unintentionally revealed a trace of his Qi out of concern for her—and that confirmed he was suspicious.”

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue nodded thoughtfully.

After listening to Li Muxian’s words, the ugly woman suddenly dropped her head and murmured:

“I knew my younger brother couldn’t be heartless toward me… We grew up together. He even said as a child he’d marry me.”

“If I hadn’t been disfigured by practicing poison arts, I might have thought myself worthy of him… Perhaps we’d already been husband and wife…”

The ugly woman’s gaze fixed on the scholar’s mangled corpse, then she suddenly laughed:

“My younger brother once said that once he became the Seventh Imperial Prince, he’d have the palace’s best physicians restore my face…”

Here, the ugly woman fell silent for a moment.

Then, tears streaming down her face, she slowly lifted her head, her eyes cold and vicious as she glared at Li Muxian:

“You killed my younger brother. I know I won’t survive tonight—but even in death, I’ll make you pay.”

With that, the ugly woman suddenly bit down on something, then let out a venomous laugh:

“Our master will avenge us!”

Visible to the naked eye, her face began to rot and melt from within, spreading across her entire body.

In a few breaths, her skin, flesh, and bones all dissolved into black sludge and thick smoke, releasing an overpowering stench that drifted upward into the mountain forests.

Seeing this, Cang Yin Yue’s face darkened:

“She did this to send a special signal—she’s informing the Wu Xiang Old Man.”

Li Muxian waved his hand, frowning:

“Too stinking. Let’s keep moving.”

Cang Yin Yue turned to look at him:

“Aren’t you worried at all?”

Li Muxian glanced at the scholar’s corpse, then leapt onto the mule and chuckled:

“The disciple didn’t give me anything—so the master came all this way to deliver it. How thoughtful of her.”

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue stared at Li Muxian in silence for a moment, her delicate brows knitting unconsciously:

“You killed this scholar—so you must be at least a Martial Dao Grandmaster. I know I shouldn’t pry into your affairs…”

“But I suspect you’ve had some great opportunity—one that countless martial world cultivators would kill for. Otherwise, how could someone so young possess such astonishing cultivation, and that rare skill of pinpointing meridians from afar?”

As she spoke, a complex expression flickered in Cang Yin Yue’s eyes:

“Still, I must warn you: before your imperial prince identity is confirmed, don’t reveal your strength unless absolutely necessary.”

“The imperial capital is far more complex than you imagine. Until the dust settles, anything can happen—and you could die at any moment.”

“Also, once we reach Shangyang City, don’t trust anyone—not even me.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian’s expression changed, and he asked curiously:

“Why?”

“No reason. That’s all I’ll say. Remember my words tonight—I won’t repeat them.”

With that, Cang Yin Yue turned and walked into the valley, personally severing the heads of the three severely wounded Blood Bath Alliance masters.

Undoubtedly, these three were also on the court’s purge list.

Then, Cang Yin Yue glanced at Meng Shan and Yuan Mei, but ultimately did not act. She returned to the mountain path and leapt lightly onto the mule.

“Let’s go.”

She called out calmly and led the way along the mountain trail.

Li Muxian shrugged. All she’d said earlier went in one ear and out the other.

He patted the mule beneath him and set off along the mountain path under the night sky. The moon now emerged, illuminating the forest ahead with quiet, radiant clarity.

The mule moved farther from the valley littered with gruesome corpses, as if leaving behind two entirely different worlds.

…

Two days passed. Cang Yin Yue and Li Muxian encountered no further obstacles and entered Jingzhou without incident.

Upon entering Jingzhou, Li Muxian immediately sensed it was unlike any other province of Da Li.

Its cities were orderly, agriculture and commerce thrived. Though martial artists with swords and blades were not uncommon, he saw not a single fight or killing along the way.

The martial sects here seemed to have changed their nature—greeting government constables with polite deference.

Even on the road, they encountered a large contingent of government troops marching to clear mountain bandits, many of whom were joined voluntarily by martial heroes along the way.

“Cang Miss, Jingzhou seems quite peaceful. If the imperial capital is this good, how could Shangyang City be as bad as you say?”

Since that night, Li Muxian had tried speaking to Cang Yin Yue on the journey, but she rarely responded, lost in thought.

Li Muxian suspected the root cause was his killing of the scholar—and the slight display of his strength.

That night, Cang Yin Yue had spoken to him at length. Though he hadn’t taken her words seriously, he’d noticed the shift in her attitude toward him—the Seventh Imperial Prince.

This girl is hiding something from me.

Li Muxian watched Cang Yin Yue’s back, lost in thought.

At that moment, Cang Yin Yue suddenly turned around and said:

“Jingzhou is indeed peaceful—if you were just an ordinary civilian, you could live out your life here in safety.”

“But you’re not. Besides, who among tigers and venomous snakes reveals their claws and fangs lightly?”

“When they do reveal them, it’s because they’re about to devour. And in Shangyang City, there are too many tigers and venomous snakes.”

(End of Chapter)