Chapter 267: The Ning Prince Has Finally Rebelled

“Before the Heavenly Pool Dragon died, his final wish involved the imperial clan, and he entrusted Brother Chu to kill someone—so Brother believes my father’s death wasn’t just due to prolonged depression.” Yang Qianyuan processed the information Chu Danqing had provided.

“Yes, I deduced this from some intelligence. Don’t ask me where it came from—you’ll find out later.” Chu Danqing said.

Yang Qianyuan furrowed his brows, unable to make sense of it for the moment.

“Let me perform a celestial divination.” Yang Qianyuan leveraged his advantage fully.

The Omen Spider immediately cooperated with Yang Qianyuan in the divination.

The result was a vast expanse of blankness.

“Nothing. That’s strange.” Yang Qianyuan relayed the situation to Chu Danqing, yet grew even more convinced Chu Danqing’s theory made sense.

If the probe had failed or found nothing, he could have understood.

The former would mean the person truly had ties to the imperial family and was extraordinary, capable of blocking celestial omens.

Most high-ranking figures carry such protections.

The latter would mean Chu Danqing’s guess was baseless—something that doesn’t exist simply doesn’t exist.

But now there was a vast blank space, indicating the event did occur, yet had been violently severed by some immense power.

Upon hearing this, Chu Danqing’s first suspect was a Dimensional Adept or another faction’s agent.

“Stop investigating this for now,” Chu Danqing warned, fearing for Yang Qianyuan’s safety: “I have some theories, but I can’t reveal them yet—you’ll understand in time.”

Chu Danqing had heard of the Garden’s secrecy protocols.

For Adepts, the punishment is mandatory recall, automatic mission failure, and a deduction of one point from all attributes—among the harshest penalties in the system.

Upon hearing this, Yang Qianyuan naturally agreed and believed him: “Alright, I understand.”

“By the way, I need your help with something else.” Chu Danqing had been mulling it over all day at the Dragon and Phoenix Inn—his Dragon Pendant and Phoenix Pendant had given no sign.

The only confirmed intelligence was that these two mission items were highly likely inside the Dragon and Phoenix Inn.

But he couldn’t dig up the entire place—afterward, would Li Wanwu even keep her inn open?

Moreover, though the difficulty was B-rank, it wasn’t combat-oriented, so it wasn’t Chu Danqing’s strength.

Dimensional Adepts, by nature, deal in violence and killing; even their technologies serve combat, making them pure fighters.

Life Adepts are the true logistics and technical personnel.

“Brother Chu, don’t speak of ‘help’—that’s too formal,” Yang Qianyuan said happily, glad he could assist.

Chu Danqing summarized the situation and made his request: “Unless something unexpected happened, the Dragon Pendant and Phoenix Pendant should be inside the inn—but I don’t know where.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Qianyuan immediately began celestial divination.

As Chu Danqing had said, the two jade pendants were indeed inside the inn—but when he tried to pinpoint their exact location, the result was extremely blurred.

“No good. There’s celestial protection on the person.”

“Not on the pendants themselves, but on the person carrying them—covering both pendants within the shield,” Yang Qianyuan said.

Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes and said: “The person must be him.”

Upon hearing this description, Chu Danqing thought of a person with strong presence.

“Sun Dashou!” Yang Qianyuan said immediately.

“Who do you think it could be?” Chu Danqing asked: “You’re a prince—you know more about high-ranking figures.”

Though Yang Qianyuan lacked the right to establish a princely court, he still knew more than Chu Danqing.

“The Emperor—but the Emperor is on a southern tour,” Yang Qianyuan said instinctively.

He had never met Emperor Anyong, but he’d heard descriptions of his appearance.

Born with skin like polished jade, radiant as spring snow after a thaw, his imperial visage gleamed with luminous brilliance.

His stature was majestic, standing firm as five sacred peaks bearing clouds.

His bearing was noble and refined, like spring blossoms brimming with dew.

In short: his skin was flawless, his frame imposing, his aura far surpassing ordinary men.

Sun Dashou matched this description perfectly—even with severe Purple Mansion backlash, his condition was invisible unless scrutinized closely.

But there was a logical flaw: how could the Emperor possibly be here, injured so badly?

The timing was the issue—if this happened after Ning Wang’s plot was launched, it might be plausible.

From interrogating Chai Rui, they estimated the plot’s launch was still at least five days away.

They knew Emperor Anyong’s southern tour route and were still in preparation, ensuring absolute certainty.

Chu Danqing hadn’t expected Yang Qianyuan to suggest this answer.

“Honestly, if you say Emperor, I think it’s more likely these pendants are Li Wanwu’s family heirlooms,” Chu Danqing said, not believing it himself.

He hadn’t considered timing—he simply knew the southern tour’s location was nowhere near Meilong Town.

How could the Emperor possibly be here alone?

“I think so too. Let’s ask Li Wanwu first,” Yang Qianyuan agreed with Chu Danqing.

They went to find Li Wanwu, but she had gone out and wasn’t in the inn.

The two waited about fifteen minutes before Li Wanwu rushed back in, breathless.

Her expression was frantic—clearly she’d heard bad news.

“Li Wanwu, what happened?” Chu Danqing asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Wanwu gave Chu Danqing and Yang Qianyuan a glance, then led them to the back room.

She glanced at Sun Dashou, clumsily washing his clothes, and said: “Ning Wang has issued a proclamation denouncing the current Emperor as debauched and corrupt, raised an army in rebellion, and claims he seeks to restore order.”

“Dozens of prefectures and counties have already responded.”

“Upon hearing this news, the Emperor on southern tour panicked, and his entire entourage fell into chaos.”

Hearing this, Chu Danqing and Yang Qianyuan remained expressionless—they’d expected it.

But Sun Dashou froze mid-wash, his face filled with shock.

“This isn’t the worst part,” Li Wanwu said, growing more anxious: “Rumors say a rebel force is heading straight for Meilong Town.”

Meilong Town is a small place, not a military stronghold—normally, rebels would just take it on the way.

Why send troops specifically here?

The target was obvious.

“Don’t worry, Li Wanwu,” Yang Qianyuan said confidently: “With Brother here, no matter how many come, they’ll die.”

Chu Danqing said seriously: “Yang Qianyuan, be honest—what do you mean ‘die no matter how many come’?”

“I’m barely strong enough to lift a bucket of water—how could I do such a thing?”

“Besides, even if I could kill, I wouldn’t slaughter like a madman.”

Then Chu Danqing abruptly shifted tone: “But you’re right about the first part—don’t worry. Though I’m weak, I have connections.”

“Calling in reinforcements isn’t a problem. The real issue is I need to find the Dragon Pendant and Phoenix Pendant—do you know anything about them?” Chu Danqing asked.

Upon hearing the names of the pendants, Li Wanwu looked baffled and shook her head: “I don’t know them. I’ve never heard of them.”

“Though my inn is called Dragon and Phoenix, ‘Dragon’ refers to Meilong Town, and ‘Phoenix’ refers to me, Li Wanwu.”

“Meaning: the inn run by Li Wanwu of Meilong Town,” Li Wanwu said, slightly embarrassed.

“That makes sense,” Chu Danqing thought—it fit Li Wanwu’s personality.

“Why are you looking for these pendants?” Li Wanwu asked. “I can ask the guests—see if anyone knows.”

“To complete a mission,” Chu Danqing said bluntly: “I came to Meilong Town specifically for these pendants. Yang Qianyuan and the Omen Spider did a celestial divination—their location is locked to this inn, but we can’t pinpoint who carries them.”

“Inside the inn? Not one of the guests?” Li Wanwu asked the key question.

“Possibly,” Yang Qianyuan said, not certain.

“Then it’s simple—I’ll ask around,” Li Wanwu said, acting swiftly to help Chu Danqing.

But Chu Danqing grabbed her arm: “Wait—I haven’t finished.”

“If you’re willing to give them to me, I can do you a favor—or name your price,” Chu Danqing added.

“Of course, of course,” Li Wanwu said. Though fiery, she wasn’t a thief or bully.

Saying this, she hurried off.

Sun Dashou, having finished washing and now hanging his clothes to dry, ventured cautiously: “Young Master Yang—your surname is Yang, right?”

“Yes, it is. What’s it to you?” Yang Qianyuan felt a growing suspicion.

“Nothing. Just a question,” Sun Dashou replied: “If you’re Yang, and your generation character is ‘Qian,’ you must be imperial family.”

“Yes,” Yang Qianyuan said modestly: “I’ve benefited from ancestral grace—born into privilege.”

After this, Sun Dashou fell silent for a moment, then asked: “Why is Li Wanwu so panicked?”

He wasn’t foolish—he could see her distress.

“Remember when Li Wanwu was kidnapped?” Chu Danqing, for once, didn’t hide the truth—he told Sun Dashou everything.

“We have other matters—don’t disturb you further,” Chu Danqing said, then took Yang Qianyuan and left.

Sun Dashou stood alone for a while, lost in thought, then resumed his chores.

Meanwhile, Yang Qianyuan’s expression grew grave.

“Brother Chu, Sun Dashou is truly the Emperor on southern tour—my unknown cousin,” Yang Qianyuan said, then added: “The Dragon Pendant and Phoenix Pendant are almost certainly in his possession.”

Whether Ning Wang’s army was coming for Li Wanwu—the woman born at Yin hour—or because Sun Dashou’s whereabouts had been discovered, remained unclear.

“But how did he end up like this?” Chu Danqing puzzled. “Surely the southern tour didn’t go wrong before Ning Wang even moved?”

“Rather than pondering this, think about the rebel army approaching,” Yang Qianyuan reminded him.

Only after dealing with the rebels can we proceed.

(End of Chapter)