Chapter 1405: Poisonous Plot Hard to Unravel

Ye Liuyun successfully took down an auction house and then rushed to the next city.

He also thereby exposed his location.

The Martial Cultivators seeking the Empire's bounty swarmed to the next city to lie in wait for him.

However, Ye Liuyun did not follow the order and suddenly changed direction.

Along the way he had encountered Martial Cultivators blocking him, and Ye Liuyun used them to practice his skills.

So his movements were often exposed, drawing many Martial Cultivators to chase after him.

He therefore had to frequently change routes to avoid being surrounded by them.

Anyway he had nothing much to do, alternating cultivation and combat with his clone each day, wandering around and getting familiar with the local customs.

That day he slipped into a city, first went to a tavern to order some food, saw many Martial Cultivators discussing something, and casually listened.

"Lord Zhenshan colluding with a Wanted Fugitive?

I don't believe it.

Surely he's been framed!"

A Martial Cultivator said.

"Yeah, Lord Zhenshan is such a good person! He never oppresses the people! Even if he really colluded with a Wanted Fugitive, that would only prove the fugitive was wronged!"

Another Martial Cultivator echoed.

"What wrongdoing? Everyone knows Ye Liuyun is a Demon!"

Someone else objected.

"I heard that this time the Empire's Prince Consort is handling Lord Zhenshan's case.

Could someone be planting false charges?"

A Martial Cultivator said cautiously, then glanced around.

An older Martial Cultivator sighed, "A one‑month deadline, and the whole family will be executed! We'd better not discuss these high‑official matters; anyway our words won't matter. Perhaps we should wonder whether Ye Liuyun will go rescue anyone…"

Ye Liuyun heard that and was startled.

"Xie Tianqi is moving against Lord Zhenshan, why is it being linked to me again?"

So he kept eavesdropping on others to get the gist.

The Xie family's investigation of the Lone Star Auction House's destruction found three corpses left by Ye Liuyun, which were carried back to the Royal Mansion.

The Royal Mansion then disposed of the three bodies, erasing all traces.

Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun's rescue of Qu Wanying on Beast Mountain and her bringing him back to the Royal Mansion also spread.

Even Qu Wanying's purchase of large amounts of meat was uncovered, accusing her of funding Ye Liuyun's escape.

Consequently, Lord Zhenshan's entire family was arrested and the Royal Mansion was sealed.

But his 200,000 troops mutinied, demanding rebellion; they are now at a stalemate with the Empire, tensions high and war could break out at any moment.

Thus the Empire did not immediately execute Lord Zhenshan's family, instead setting a one‑month grace period.

"You're pinning this on me!"

Ye Liuyun muttered that Xie Tianqi was too ruthless.

If he rescues anyone, Lord Zhenshan's guilt becomes concrete.

If he doesn't, Lord Zhenshan is still guilty and bound to die.

Xie Tianqi, regardless, has Lord Zhenshan sealed, and has also entangled Ye Liuyun, further tarnishing his reputation!

At least the common folk near Zhenshan City will hate Ye Liuyun more, blaming him for dragging down Lord Zhenshan.

"The Xie clan really isn't simple! Xie Tianqi's scheming skill is not inferior to Xie Tianhong's!"

Ye Liuyun thought that with rumors everywhere, even if the Xie family didn't set a trap, many Martial Cultivators would gamble on whether Ye Liuyun would rescue anyone.

If he does appear to rescue, those Martial Cultivators will pounce on him.

Ye Liuyun thought for a moment and decided to first go see for himself.

So he donned the Invisibility Cloak and slipped out of the city.

On the road he directly used his flying shuttle, abandoning the Lone Star Auction House's Flying Boat to avoid leaving a trace.

Outside Zhenshan City, Lord Zhenshan's 200,000 troops were clashing with the Empire's garrison soldiers.

However, they were not assaulting the city.

Probably they were wary of harming Lord Zhenshan, fearing Xie Tianqi.

The Empire's defenders inside the city numbered only 30,000.

It seemed they also knew the attackers dared not storm the walls.

Even the city gates were left wide open.

Passersby could stroll in freely, with no checks at all, more lax than usual.

Seeing this, Ye Liuyun felt Xie Tianqi was even more formidable and required extra caution.

At a time like this, they actually fling the gates wide open, clearly having everything under control—come at me with all you've got! At the same time he knew the city walls couldn't stop Ye Liuyun, so it was better to leave them completely open.

"Probably this one‑month deadline is not only to lure me into rescuing someone, but also Xie Tianqi's window to force Lord Zhenshan to relinquish command of his army.

Not sure whether Qu Wanying has fallen into their hands."

Ye Liuyun, worried, entered the city directly to gather information.

He first rushed to Chengzhu Fu to investigate and found it already occupied by members of the Xie family.

However, around the outskirts of Chengzhu Fu he spotted many 'suspicious' individuals.

"Fan Gang?"

Ye Liuyun hadn't expected to meet him here.

Fan Gang wasn't dressed in a soldier's uniform; he was dressed like an ordinary person, sipping tea in a teahouse near Chengzhu Fu, watching the mansion's movements.

Ye Liuyun had intended to go up and ask him about the situation, but he suddenly stopped.

"This Fan Gang is simple-minded, and I don't know what his attitude toward me is."

"If he blames me for implicating his prince and princess, I'm afraid this guy will just shout and have people come arrest me!"

Ye Liuyun felt helpless, so he could only stare at Fan Gang and wait patiently.

He had already noticed that there were quite a few people keeping watch near the City Lord's mansion.

He also couldn't tell which faction these people belonged to.

Anyway, he could at least detect four or five groups of people, and even quite a few lone martial cultivators coming and going here.

After waiting two hours, someone came to replace Fan Gang and continue the surveillance, while Fan Gang headed out of the city.

Ye Liuyun then followed him from a distance, seeing where he was going.

After leaving the city, Fan Gang made a roundabout trip, then put his armor back on and rushed to the military camp.

Ye Liuyun removed his invisibility cloak, revealed himself, and called out to him.

"Young Master Ye!"

Upon seeing Ye Liuyun, Fan Gang only showed delight, with no dislike.

"What happened?"

Ye Liuyun asked him.

"The prince's family was framed by Xie Tianqi; they were all arrested and locked up in the City Lord's mansion."

"We are trying to figure out how to rescue them."

"But we have too few experts in our army! Could you help us once more and rescue the prince and princess?"

After saying that, Fan Gang was about to kneel to Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun immediately stopped him and said, "This matter also concerns me."

"If it weren't for me, Prince Zhen Shan wouldn't have been implicated."

"So I will definitely take care of this!"

"That's two different matters! The princess told me that you rescued her out of good intentions, which is not wrong."

"Those petty people want to frame the prince; even without you, they would find another excuse!"

Fan Gang said directly.