Chapter 35: Clues

The grand hall was now in ruins, its former opulence reduced to a pile of debris.

Yu Jin, the four senior eunuchs, and Gong Lishan were severely wounded; the other guards and eunuchs also suffered serious injuries, while the rest were in complete disarray.

The gray-robed elder scanned the room once more, but ultimately did not pursue the armored soldier—he was unsure if the man had accomplices.

Given the current state of Jiguang Pavilion, if he left, the enemy might strike again, and almost no one here could stop them.

Yet no one noticed that as the armored soldier departed, Li Muxian had also quietly vanished from the hall.

…

After fleeing Jiguang Pavilion, the young armored soldier swiftly moved through a network of secluded alleys.

He condensed his Qi over his wounds to staunch the bleeding from his severed arm, all the while vigilantly watching his rear.

Seeing the gray-robed elder did not follow, the young soldier visibly exhaled in relief.

He leapt into a courtyard and began stripping off his clothes, preparing to don the garments hanging there to disguise himself.

But the noise in the courtyard drew the owner’s attention—a woman rushed out of her room to investigate.

At the sight of the armless soldier stealing clothes, she was instantly terrified.

The young soldier’s gaze turned ruthless; he immediately prepared to punch the woman dead to silence her.

Yet as he raised his hand, a young figure suddenly appeared before him.

“It’s you!”

The young soldier’s pupils shrank sharply—he recognized the newcomer.

“You’re running for your life, so why bother changing clothes?”

Li Muxian shook his head, seemingly displeased with the young soldier’s actions.

The young soldier stepped back sharply, sizing up Li Muxian with caution, and said:

“Who are you? When did you start following me?”

Hearing this, Li Muxian’s gaze shifted as he stroked his chin and asked:

“If I told you I’m on your side, that I followed you to save you, would you believe me?”

Upon hearing this, the soldier narrowed his eyes and suddenly launched a punch, sneering:

“I’d believe you if pigs could fly!”

“Ah!”

A sigh of regret sounded beside the young soldier’s ear.

Next, he saw the woman, who had been frozen in the courtyard, vanish from his sight, while the surroundings rapidly receded.

Only then did he realize he was being dragged by the collar of his armor, moving at an unimaginable speed.

The young soldier was instantly horrified and tried to resist—but only now did he realize he couldn’t move at all.

Not long after, Li Muxian dropped the young soldier into an empty alley.

“Who are you?”

The young soldier opened his mouth in shock—he found he could speak again.

Li Muxian tossed him carelessly onto the ground, thought for a moment, then cut straight to the point:

“Do you have the key to open the Tianqi Secret Vault?”

He had followed this man precisely because of his identity as a remnant of the Great Qi.

After all, the people most familiar with the Tianqi Secret Vault were surely those of the Great Qi Dynasty itself.

Such remnants, obsessed with restoring their fallen empire, might very well possess one or more keys to the vault.

“So you’re after that thing.”

The young soldier stared at Li Muxian for a moment, then grew bold, saying:

“Untie my meridians first, then I’ll decide whether to tell you.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian frowned and nodded:

“You don’t have it, then? Fine—I’ll just throw you back to Jiguang Pavilion.”

He reached out to grab the man’s collar.

Seeing this, the young soldier cried out urgently:

“Wait! If you hand me over, you’ll never get the key to the Tianqi Secret Vault!”

Li Muxian shook his head:

“I have limited time. One chance only—speak now, or say nothing.”

The young soldier fell silent.

But the next moment, Li Muxian seized him and sprinted toward Jiguang Pavilion, sneering:

“Time’s up. You’ve missed your chance to live.”

The young soldier paused in surprise, but said nothing—he assumed Li Muxian was bluffing.

Yet as Jiguang Pavilion drew nearer, he began to panic and finally spoke:

“I don’t have the key!”

Seeing Li Muxian unmoved, and now only one street away from Jiguang Pavilion, he grew even more desperate.

But soon, the young soldier fell silent again.

He realized that the more he spoke now, the less valuable he became—and the closer he was to death.

“Still stubborn, eh?”

Li Muxian moved, carrying the young soldier to the rooftop of Jiguang Pavilion’s five-story tower.

From here, he could see more Tianjin Guards arriving in the distance—soon, the entire pavilion would be sealed like an iron fortress.

But to Li Muxian, even the tightest guard formation was as open as an empty field.

“Turns out I’m not very good at interrogating people.”

Li Muxian shook his head, carried the young soldier into his Room 17, and dumped him carelessly under the bed.

The next instant, in the young soldier’s stunned gaze, Li Muxian vanished from the room entirely—leaving only the door slowly closing on its own.

What kind of terrifying speed was this?

The young soldier opened his mouth to speak—but found he could not speak again.

…

The grand hall of Jiguang Pavilion remained chaotic; some youths and a few eunuch guards were providing basic aid to the wounded.

Yu Jin, Gong Lishan, and several other experts were focused on healing their injuries through Qi cultivation.

Li Yuanling searched everywhere for Li Muxian but found no trace of him.

At first, she assumed he had fled in panic and hidden somewhere else in the pavilion, but as time passed without finding him, she grew increasingly anxious.

Yet the moment she turned, Li Muxian appeared silently before her.

“Brother Li, are you alright? Where did you go just now?”

Li Yuanling immediately examined him, and upon seeing he was unharmed, visibly relaxed.

“It was too chaotic earlier—I just wandered around to clear my head.”

Li Muxian waved his hand, distracted.

The armored soldier likely carried clues to the Tianqi Secret Vault’s key—he could not hand him over to the Tianjin Guards.

So he must seek out Cang Yin Yue; after all, that girl came from the Hidden Spy Bureau—she could pry open even the hardest lips.

“But I can’t rely on her forever. When I have time, I’ll study a martial art similar to the ‘Life-Death Mark’—then everything will be solved.”

As Li Muxian thought this, he scanned the hall and turned to Li Yuanling:

“Miss Li, this place is too crowded—let’s step aside and speak privately.”

(End of Chapter)