Chapter 170

Bang!

Before dawn, the courtyard gate was kicked open.

Li Yan woke up from the bed, picked up his long saber, and was just about to jump out the window when his expression changed, and he hurriedly lowered his body.

The hilt of the saber gently lifted the window, only to see that dark shadows had already jumped onto the courtyard wall, drawing bows and arrows, aiming at all the rooms.

It was the Commandant's Office!

Li Yan frowned; what were these black dogs looking for them for?

"Which path are you from? Show your colors!"

In another room, Sha Lifei also roared through the window.

He didn't have supernatural powers, and it was pitch black; he couldn't see clearly that it was the Commandant's Office.

"The Commandant's Office is searching for rebels!"

Accompanied by a cold voice, a person walked in from outside the door; he was tall, with a dark face, sinister eyes, and was holding a long spear in his hand.

"I'll count to three; if you don't come out, you'll be killed without mercy!"

Killed without mercy?

Fierce light rose in Li Yan's eyes, and he gripped his hook-token.

Before the words fell, there was another chaotic sound of footsteps outside the alley, torches were burning, and at the same time, an angry voice accompanied it:

"Feng Han, what are you doing!"

It was Guan Wanche.

Hearing the voice, Li Yan felt slightly relieved.

Having a conflict with the Commandant's Office in Changancheng was a big trouble; although he could break out with the help of the Yin-Messenger soldiers, he would definitely be wanted.

Guan Wanche's arrival could at least allow for some maneuvering.

But looking at these two groups of people, they seemed to be at odds.

What exactly happened?

Just as he was wondering, Guan Wanche had already brought another group of Commandant's Office people and surrounded the small courtyard again.

He stared fixedly at the man holding the spear and said coldly, "Feng Han, you are responsible for the Jianghu guests from outside the city; don't cross the line!"

The man holding the spear glanced lightly, "Things are lost; this is a heaven-shaking matter. How could I sit idly by? Besides, with Battalion Commander Guo's order, naturally, we must conduct a strict investigation."

"Strict investigation?"

Guan Wanche sneered, "I think you want to kill to silence the witnesses!"

The man holding the spear's expression remained unchanged, "I am just acting on orders; I don't understand what Company Commander Guan is saying."

Beside him was also an old man, pinching a Yang-spell, his eyes scanning back and forth in the courtyard, and as he spoke, he had already released the spell and stepped forward to whisper, "Company Commander, they are not here."

"Hmph, let's go!"

The man holding the spear didn't talk nonsense, waved his hand, and left with his subordinates, crossing paths with the Commandant's Office members outside the courtyard, looking at each other with hostility, the atmosphere like water and fire.

When passing by Guan Wanche, the man holding the spear suddenly stopped and said meaningfully, "Company Commander Guan, this matter is too big; you can't bear it, and the one above you can't bear it either. Those who know the times are heroes."

Guan Wanche said coldly, "Feng Han, you are too impatient."

"Hahaha..."

The man holding the spear sneered a few times and turned to leave.

After they left, Guan Wanche strode into the courtyard and said coldly, "I know you are all awake, come out."

Creak~

Li Yan and the others came out one after another, looking at each other.

Sha Lifei wanted to complain, but seeing Guan Wanche's icy, murderous expression, he had to shut his mouth.

Li Yan asked, "Company Commander Guan, what happened?"

Guan Wanche didn't answer, but asked back, "Yesterday, Proprietress Feng Feiyan of the Fenglai Inn came to see you; what did she say?"

Related to Feng Feiyan?

Li Yan was surprised in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged, shaking his head, "Just an ordinary New Year's visit, she didn't sit for long before leaving."

Woof woof woof!

Just then, the fierce dog led by Guan Wanche's subordinate sniffed around and suddenly barked wildly at Sha Lifei's room.

Guan Wanche's expression immediately became sharp, "Search!"

Before the words fell, several Commandant's Office squad leaders stepped forward quickly, pushed Sha Lifei aside, and rushed into the room to rummage.

Li Yan's heart skipped a beat, secretly thinking it was bad.

Soon, these people brought out a paper doll and threw it into the courtyard, "Reporting to the Company Commander, it's a medicine-fired puppet."

"Hmm."

Guan Wanche's brows furrowed slightly, looking at Sha Lifei, "What are you doing with these?"

Sha Lifei smiled awkwardly, "Isn't the Lantern Festival coming up? I was thinking of setting off one of these to make it lively."

"Hmph, a useless thing for a lifetime!"

Guan Wanche scolded, but the killing intent in his eyes dissipated a lot, and he continued to ask, "Has Feng Feiyan been here since?"

"Never seen her."

"What did she say?"

"Just ordinary New Year's greetings. Company Commander Guan, what happened?"

"It has nothing to do with you!"

Guan Wanche replied coldly, then waved his hand, preparing to take his subordinates away, but halfway there, he suddenly stopped again.

He hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Something big happened in the Commandant's Office; I'm afraid Changancheng won't be peaceful from now on. You have old ties with me and also know Feng Feiyan; be careful in your actions, don't be used as a knife by others."

Having said that, he turned and left.

The courtyard returned to silence, and the three looked at each other.

Sha Lifei cursed, "Damn, inexplicable; did these black-skinned dogs eat gunpowder?"

Li Yan's heart moved, and he said in a deep voice, "Protect me!"

Having said that, he pinched a spell with his hand and hooked his little finger lightly.

Clatter!

A paper doll suddenly flew up and drilled into the night sky.

The paper doll flew with the wind, very fast.

This thing was based on Divine Gang-Qi and had no yin-evil energy, plus Li Yan's cultivation was becoming more profound, and in no time, it caught up with Guan Wanche and the others, lurking in the leaves by the road.

"Lord, what should we do?"

"Hmph, they are looking for Feng Feiyan; I estimate they failed to kill to silence the witness and are afraid the matter will be leaked." "The key is the Divine Fire Gun; as long as we find it before the imperial court investigates, there is still room for maneuver."

"The leader last night was White Tangzhu Bai Ruoxu of the tooth-brokerage; he is also a Maitreya member. You all inquire about news from the Jianghu, and see if the other party is still hiding in the city."

"I will take people out of the city to find..."

"Yes, Lord!"

Guan Wanche seemed very anxious; after giving the order, he shook the reins and galloped away with his men.

After they left, the paper doll on the tree also burned itself, turning into fly ash...

……

In the small courtyard, Li Yan put away the spell and shook his head slightly.

"The Commandant's Office's firearms are lost."

"The ones who took action were the Maitreya Sect, and that tooth-brokerage White Tangzhu Bai Ruoxu is also a Maitreya member."

"Feng Feiyan is afraid she became a chess piece in the internal struggle of the Commandant's Office, and now her life or death is unknown; I don't know where she ran to."

!.

"Hiss——!"

Sha Lifei gasped, "This is a heaven-shaking disaster; the imperial court attaches such importance to new-style firearms. Once they find out they are lost, they will definitely make a big fuss, and Changancheng is going to be in chaos."

"Really... Daoist, didn't you say everything would go smoothly this year? Why did trouble arise again?"

"Sigh~ I'm not a real half-immortal; the hexagram showed it this way, but it's all mixed fortune and misfortune, it's hard to say."

"Don't talk about this."

Li Yan looked into the distance and said in a deep voice, "The things are lost, it has nothing to do with us, but after this incident, the struggle between the two factions of the Commandant's Office is afraid it will turn to the bright side."

"We know Guan Wanche and Feng Feiyan, it's hard to avoid being used as chess pieces and involved in it."

"Also, that bastard Bai Ruoxu is a Maitreya member; now that I think about it, leading us to Xiangji Temple back then was probably also malicious."

"Changancheng cannot be stayed in. Uncle Sha, you all pack up; leave after dawn, find a place outside Changancheng to hide, and wait for my news."

Sha Lifei was anxious, "Why, you still want to stay?"

Li Yan shook his head, "I already promised Senior Wan about the Drum King Assembly, so I can't break my word, and the Huashan quota is very important to us."

"The two factions of the Commandant's Office are now on fire; as long as I hide, they won't bother to pay attention. Once the Lantern Festival is over, as long as I get the quota, I will leave immediately for Huashan."

"After buying the magic artifact, at worst, I'll go to another state to hide for a while."

"That... is also fine."

Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan sighed.

Things have reached this point, and they can only follow what Li Yan said.

…………

The three of them packed up immediately, and just as dawn broke, Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan carried their luggage, disguised themselves as merchants, and followed the crowd out of Changancheng.

And Li Yan looked at the empty courtyard, shook his head slightly, locked the door, carried his luggage, and left.

He first went to Lanling Ward, jumped into the Li mansion from the side courtyard, and told Lady Li and Li Kongqing, who were startled awake, about this matter.

Naturally, Li Yan didn't mention the firearms, only saying that the Commandant's Office was fighting internally, and they were afraid of being involved, so they could only leave.

"This... it's truly a disaster from heaven."

Li Kongqing was somewhat speechless, shook his head and said, "The Prince is very interested in the Drum King Assembly; hearing that you and the Shanzhou sorcerers organized a team, he even wanted to meet and encourage you."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "There is danger during the Lantern Festival; it's best for you all not to go out that day, and Kongqing, try to persuade the Prince."

"You all wait; when that coffin at the City God Temple is transported out of Chang'an and the Commandant's Office struggle has a result, only then will Chang'an be peaceful."

"That's all I have to say, Master, take care!"

Having said that, he bowed deeply to Lady Li.

"Sigh~"

Lady Li also sighed, "The Jianghu is like this; many things are beyond one's control. You must be careful."

"Yes, Master."

After leaving the Li mansion, seeing that there were significantly more soldiers patrolling the city on the streets, Li Yan's heart moved, and he carried his luggage into a small alley.

…………

Chang'an Ward, large mansion.

"One, two, three, lift!"

Following Guo Luquan's shout, forty or fifty men exerted their strength together, and three god-towers, one large and two small, were immediately lifted.

"Listen to my command, wind!"

"Hey-ho, hey-ho!"

Guo Luquan gave a loud roar, and the men shouted slogans, carrying the god-towers and moving forward slowly.

"Forest!"

At the command, the men tightened their horse stances and remained motionless.

These were people from the foot-porters' guild, all full of strength; under Guo Luquan's command, although they couldn't compare to real pallbearers, they were orderly in their advance and retreat.

At the same time, the war drum band in the rear also pushed large drums one by one to follow closely, the drums roaring, cooperating with everyone's rhythm.

On the other side, Manager Wan looked at the slip in his hand and shook his head slightly, "Everyone, Brother Li has other important matters and will appear on the Lantern Festival day; let's practice first."

"It's really not peaceful in the city today; where did he go?"

"Why care so much? Let's practice first..."

…………

Pingkang Ward, Jin Bao Gambling House has been sealed.

Teams of Commandant's Office personnel, along with government runners, turned the entire gambling house upside down.

"Report! A secret passage was discovered!"

"Search!"

On a window in the distance, Zhao Wanfang, the top courtesan of Qingyuan Tower, withdrew her gaze, looked at Li Yan who was devouring his food, and smiled sweetly:

"Why, do you plan to live in the brothel?"

(End of chapter)