Chapter 37: Chasing

Li Muxian extinguished the palace lantern in the room, picked up the young soldier from beneath the bed, and vanished from the chamber in an instant.

The moon tonight was brilliantly bright; Li Muxian carried the man, his figure moving at absolute speed beneath the clear lunar light, leaving not even a shadow.

Following the thread of true qi in his hand, he headed toward a certain location within Shangyang City.

The imperial capital of Da Li was vast, divided into seventy-two wards by four major streets—Qinglong, Zhuque, Xuanwu, and Baihu.

Each ward in Shangyang City was as large as Shun’an City in Wanzhou.

Moreover, the streets and alleys here were wider, the houses densely packed yet orderly arranged—far surpassing Shun’an City in grandeur, revealing the majesty and prosperity of this imperial capital.

Without spending much time, Li Muxian arrived at Lanshan Ward, two wards away.

He silently landed in a courtyard, carrying the young soldier, and glanced at the thread of true qi in his hand.

He confirmed that Cang Yinyue was inside one of the rooms, though the woman had clearly not yet noticed his arrival.

“Such a refined little courtyard—Miss Cang must be quite wealthy.”

Li Muxian glanced around the courtyard and couldn’t help but remark.

In Shangyang City, where every inch of land was priceless, purchasing a place like this must have cost a fortune.

At the sound of Li Muxian’s voice, the person inside the room finally reacted.

The window, moments ago lit, instantly went dark; a shadow glided soundlessly from the darkness and appeared behind Li Muxian in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, a slender blade flashed white under the moonlight, resting silently on Li Muxian’s shoulder.

Li Muxian turned and used one finger to push the blade aside, looking at the attacker:

“We’re old acquaintances—Miss Cang, you don’t need to greet me like this.”

Cang Yinyue narrowed her eyes slightly; her blade retracted like a living serpent into her sleeve and vanished, her face clouded with suspicion:

“How did you find this place?”

“I have my methods.”

Li Muxian smiled, but offered no further explanation; instead, he tossed the young soldier before her and said:

“Please interrogate this man carefully—see if you can extract any clues about the Tianqi Secret Treasury.”

Earlier at the Jiguang Pavilion, Li Muxian had noticed the soldier carried Beiqi Ming Qi, but he had said nothing then, intending to find an opportunity to probe him for the key to the Tianqi Secret Treasury.

Yet he hadn’t expected the man to be discovered by the Six Gates Bureau.

Fortunately, he had ultimately ended up in Li Muxian’s hands.

At this moment, Cang Yinyue glanced at the young soldier on the ground and suddenly exclaimed:

“Is this the Da Qi remnant who escaped from the Jiguang Pavilion today?”

Though the Jiguang Pavilion incident had been swiftly sealed off by the Tianjin Guard and the Six Gates Bureau, it could not hide from Cang Yinyue—she was not only a chief constable of the Six Gates Bureau but also a secret agent of the Hidden Spy Office.

“Correct—it’s him,” Li Muxian nodded.

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue looked up sharply at him, inhaling deeply:

“I heard from the Six Gates Bureau that this man not only cultivates Beiqi Ming Qi, but his martial cultivation rivals a Grandmaster of Martial Dao—today, Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan teamed up and were both severely wounded by him.”

“Had a palace expert not intervened at the critical moment, Ji Feiyun and the other would have died on the spot—how exactly did you capture him?”

Li Muxian shrugged at Cang Yinyue’s question.

But he didn’t conceal anything—he briefly recounted the events at the Jiguang Pavilion and how he had captured the young soldier:

“That’s how it happened. I thought you’re better suited for interrogations, so I brought him here.”

Cang Yinyue’s gaze flickered uncertainly; she had assumed Li Muxian had concealed his strength, and that his true martial cultivation was perhaps at the Primordial Master level.

But now, he had single-handedly subdued a warrior rivaling a Grandmaster of Martial Dao.

She knew well—even if the soldier had lost an arm and was badly wounded—he was by no means an easy target for an ordinary Master.

He must be at least a Half-Grandmaster.

Cang Yinyue speculated, suddenly filled with intense curiosity about the opportunity Li Muxian had gained.

A Half-Grandmaster under twenty—such a martial genius was among the rarest in the entire martial world.

As far as she knew, the fake imperial prince locked in the Heavenly Prison was also a Half-Grandmaster.

And she never expected this man before her might be one too.

Remember: the fake prince’s master was the Director of the Hidden Spy Office—a being whose martial cultivation bordered the divine.

Then what opportunity had Li Muxian received?

“Miss Cang, shouldn’t you get to work?”

Seeing her suddenly fall silent, Li Muxian promptly reminded her.

At this, Cang Yinyue exhaled softly, suppressing her thoughts, and gave Li Muxian a long, deep look.

Then she lifted the motionless young soldier and walked toward the room inside the courtyard.

Though Li Muxian’s claim of creating his own martial art was utter nonsense, his actual martial strength had genuinely startled her.

Clearly, she had misjudged him again!

“Give me half an hour—I’ll extract every word you want, exactly as it happened.”

As Cang Yinyue’s voice faded, the sound of a door closing echoed through the courtyard.

Seeing this, Li Muxian said, “Thank you,” then glanced around and leapt onto the rooftop.

The night was clear and crisp, the sky free of even a trace of cloud; the deep blue heavens held a full moon, its pure, snow-white light pouring over the entire capital—truly a splendid moonlit night.

With nothing left for him to do, he sat comfortably on the ridge, gazing up at the moon, enjoying the moment.

“I hope tonight yields results—otherwise, when will I find the remaining six keys?”

Li Muxian’s expression showed hopeful anticipation.

At that moment, three figures suddenly leapt up from a distant alley.

One fled ahead, two chased behind—all using true qi to perform lightness arts, leaping continuously over alley walls, rooftops, and tree branches.

Their direction led straight toward Li Muxian.

Seeing this, Li Muxian frowned slightly; his rare moment of moon-viewing had been interrupted, and he was clearly displeased.

But thinking it better to avoid trouble, he chose to ignore them.

Soon, the trio arrived nearby.

The fugitive was a masked man; the pursuers were a red-clad woman and an old man.

At that moment, the masked man noticed Li Muxian on the rooftop and suddenly changed his gaze.

He pulled a cloth-wrapped object from his bosom and hurled it toward Li Muxian, shouting:

“Young brother, this treasure is yours!”

[69] (End of Chapter)