Chapter 486: Snatching Food from a Tiger's Mouth

Tricky!

Not only Jin Jin Zhu Feng and Yun Jun, but also Sun Xiu, who had just stepped down from the carriage with a long sword in his arms, now had their brows tightly furrowed.

Since the theft of the Yun Xiang Ding in Mount Hengshan City, over two years had passed; the three had traveled thousands of miles, exhausted every means, yet still found not a single trace of the person behind it.

The Jingping Bureau certainly possesses secret arts, but if one does not even know who the person is, how can one speak of capturing and killing them?

"Even the Yun Xiang Ding could not draw them out."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's brow swirled with murderous intent; in decades of hunting, this was the first time he had encountered such a tricky case.

"It is not entirely without gain."

Yun Jun raised his hand and grasped; true qi transformed into a tiger claw, lifting Brother Brother Sikong from the mud:

"Just now, under my pressure, this old thief still let slip a few words; the person behind him is a supreme grandmaster..."

"What?"

Hearing Yun Jun's retelling, the expressions of both Jin Jin Zhu Feng and Sun Xiu changed.

A supreme grandmaster, counting those old fellows on their deathbeds, totals only a dozen or so across the world, each one a master of a great power dominating a region.

"A supreme grandmaster?"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng swept a cold gaze over the surroundings; his subordinates, the Jingping Bureau experts dressed as mountain bandits, had already retreated.

"Jin Jin Shengwu is on his deathbed; could it be he intends to switch to practicing the Bai Shen Fa?"

"That Long Xi Xiang lives in seclusion and is in Mount Hengshan City; that Nie Xianshan is also there..."

"Xie Wangsun, no, that is the head of the Henglong Dao Xie family; he has always cherished his reputation and could not possibly collude with such a thief."

"Great Ming Monk, what about Xie Xie Tongzhi? They rank eleventh and twelfth on the Hero List, barely qualifying as supreme grandmasters."

"Among those dozen or so, a small fraction are in the imperial court, the majority in sects... Could it be Chi Chi Zhuiyang or Murong Qing?"

"It cannot be the two Bureau Heads, can it? Could Brother Brother Sikong be saying this deliberately to confuse the issue?"

"If this thief had such a mind, he would never have committed the stupid act of stealing the Yun Xiang Ding..."

In the rain, the three communicated via voice transmission, voicing various guesses and suspicions.

In the shadows nearby, Li Yuan listened intently; he had long since switched to a palm-control combination enhanced with spiritual perception, and with concentration, he could hear fragments of their voice transmission intermittently.

Voice transmission, though appearing mysterious, is actually a method of using true qi and internal force to vibrate the air across a distance and produce sound near a person's ear.

It can naturally be intercepted.

"A mistake turned into an advantage."

Daoist Li stroked his chin; he found that leaving Brother Brother Sikong behind was truly a brilliant move.

This group mentioned his own Second and Third Bureau Heads, yet none connected them to him.

But he had to admit, he had underestimated the imperial court's regard for the incense burner; the Three Great Captives had spent two or three years just to catch him.

"If even this cauldron were taken, would the Qian Emperor not be furious?"

Muttering to himself, Li Yuan remained unmoved, merely concentrating his listening and examining carefully.

These three divine captives in the rain were all Zhun Sect masters who had fully completed blood replacement, but to him at this moment, they were not even a trouble, let alone capable of capturing a grandmaster.

"Setting such a grand trap must hide a follow-up move..."

Li Yuan pondered within his heart.

If he were setting a trap with the Yun Xiang Ding, he would certainly hide a huge countermove; at the very least, he could not fail to catch the person and lose a second Yun Xiang Ding, could he?

Judging others by himself, he would do the same; these group of captains had no reason not to understand.

So...

"What follow-up move have they hidden?"

Li Yuan held his breath and concentrated, yet could not help but pinch the corner of his robe; that was the Azure Dragon Kasaya.

"Scatter."

After conversing for a while in the rain, Yun Jun spoke first; lifting Brother Brother Sikong, he led his subordinates and turned, disappearing into the rainy night.

Before the carriage, Sun Xiu sighed: "Although it is Your Majesty's decree, if a grandmaster truly hides deliberately, neither you nor I can do anything."

"I am not willing."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's face twitched; he had even summoned the Yun Xiang Ding; if he failed to catch the person, he would surely face consequences, even punishment.

"In my view, handing over Brother Brother Sikong to close the case would suffice; after all, he is the thief who stole the cauldron."

Sun Xiu glanced at Yun Jun's back: "Having slaughtered so many bandits, surely that should offset the crime."

"If there is truly no other way, then we have no choice but this."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng closed his eyes; after a moment, he opened them and walked slowly toward the carriage.

Through the carriage curtain lifted by the wind, Li Yuan saw that Yun Xiang Ding, and that it was a sword.

"That sword?"

Li Yuan's pupils contracted.

It was a sheathless red sword, with golden dragon patterns flowing like water on its surface; just by its appearance, one knew it was no Fan Pin.

Yet no weapon aura was detected.

"Red-Gold Patterned Dragon Sword; this is the spiritual manifestation of the Jingping Bureau Head!"

In an instant, Li Yuan secretly felt lucky; if it were not for Daoist's caution, had he rushed forward in anger, he would surely have been struck by a sword.

A grandmaster's spiritual manifestation transforming into a sword; even if he wore the Crimson Blood Patterned Dragon Armor, the Mirage Dragon Armor, and the Azure Dragon Kasaya, he probably could not block it.

"One Yun Xiang Ding, and it actually draws out the Jingping Bureau Head?"

Daoist Li felt quite shocked in his heart, yet still retracted his aura and crouched within the stone crack, merely gripping the Azure Dragon Kasaya tightly.

On the carriage, Sun Xiu and the other exchanged a glance, adjusted their clothing, then bowed deeply: "Requesting the Bureau Head to reveal himself!"

Buzz~

As the two bowed, the crimson-gold flying sword let out a trembling cry, and the next instant, it transformed into a middle-aged man in a golden python robe, with a tall, slender build.

"Chief!"

The two dropped to one knee, expressions reverent.

"Did you find anything?"

The Jingping Chief swept a glance around and asked calmly.

"Reporting to the Chief…"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's face flushed with shame as he relayed the news of the Cloud Army's discovery.

"A Grandmaster?"

The Jingping Chief frowned slightly: "One who can block Brother Zhongli Wang Luan need not necessarily be a Grandmaster."

"The Chief sees clearly."

Neither of the two dared raise their head.

"Enough, continue the investigation."

The Jingping Chief deliberated briefly, then waved a hand: "Since this person did not come, he has most likely already gone into hiding. In that case, you two may escort the Yun Xiang Ding back to the Divine Capital."

"Yes!"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other bowed deeply, and the middle-aged man's form spun, transforming once more into the crimson-gold flying sword, which flashed once and vanished into the night rain.

"Huu!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Sun Xiu let out a long breath:

"Brother Jin, if there's another thorny case like this in the future, don't come looking for me—I truly can't bear it…"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng said nothing, merely beckoned, and his scattered subordinates came drifting back one after another.

Before long, the convoy was on the move again.

"This rain will keep falling."

In the shadows, Li Yuan glanced at the sky. The dark clouds had not dispersed, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. He was in no hurry, nor did he pace.

He simply watched quietly as the carriage drove off into the distance.

Whoosh!

Before long, he heard a faint sword-chime. That crimson-gold flying sword pierced through the air, circled the convoy once, then vanished again.

"…That old fox is treacherous."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, secretly counting himself lucky. If he hadn't always acted with such caution, wouldn't he have been caught red-handed?

He lay low in a crevice between the rocks, and only when the convoy was nearly out of sight did he hesitate briefly before following along through the shadows.

Stopping and starting, a full two hours passed. Just as the rain was beginning to ease, Li Yuan finally let out a long breath, certain that the Jingping Chief had truly departed.

He adjusted his bamboo hat and walked out from his hiding place.

……

"The Chief is still magnanimous."

Inside the carriage, Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other sat cross-legged facing each other, set up a small table for a drink. Sun Xiu held his wine cup, relaxing.

"It did cost some favor."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng was in a foul mood; he would rather have been punished.

"Favor is something to be used when it should be used. Come, drink."

Sun Xiu raised his cup.

Jin Jin Zhu Feng drained his cup, finding it rather bitter: "I'm still not willing to let it go!"

"In this world there are plenty of cases that can't be solved, plenty of thieves that can't be caught. Why bother?"

Sun Xiu, however, had let it go.

"Enough, enough."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng let out a long breath and said no more. After a few cups of wine, he too relaxed somewhat. Just as he was raising his cup, he heard someone knocking on the carriage.

"Who?"

Sun Xiu frowned, lifted the carriage curtain, and saw a bamboo hat dripping with rainwater.

"Hm?"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng froze for a moment, then his face changed drastically. Beneath that bamboo hat was a sallow, wizened face.

"Not good!"

Though the two had been drinking, they were in truth highly alert. The instant they sensed something amiss, their true Qi surged up, and their longsword and spear let out explosive roars.

But they were still too slow.

Li Yuan, who had lain in wait half the night, struck like a thunderbolt. One hand shot forward and seized the Yun Xiang Ding.

At the same time, he pushed off with his feet.

With a thunderous 'BOOM—', the rugged mountain path split apart, and a great mass of mud, sand, and rock shot skyward amid the rain.

"Enemy attack!"

A furious, shrill cry exploded.

The carriage was torn apart by the blast of force. Jin Jin Zhu Feng roared in fury, and his spear left his hand, wrapped in surging true Qi, thundering forth.

"Argh!"

Several Jingping Division experts who couldn't dodge in time screamed as their clothes and armor were shredded by true Qi; they coughed blood and collapsed.

Sun Xiu vaulted into the air, his longsword sweeping horizontally, sword-light howling as he shot out several dozen zhang.

Their reactions were undeniably swift, their strikes undeniably ferocious, yet they were still too late.

As the long spear and long sword clashed with a deafening roar, Li Yuan had already shifted several times in the wind and rain, leaping several li away.

From start to finish, he had paid no attention to Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other two; what worried him was only the Director of the Jingping Office, who might not have gone far yet.

Thus, once he had succeeded, he had no intention of fighting the two, but instead activated his various command talismans, soaring like a dragon taking flight.

With a few evasions, he had already cast the roars far behind him.

How incredibly fast was Li Yuan's speed at this moment?

Even without the enhancement of the Commanding Talisman, he was confident he could contend with a Grandmaster-level martial artist; with the boost of two pairs of high-grade boots.

Even if a supreme Grandmaster attacked with full force, he could still contend for dozens, even over a hundred moves!

Now, under his full explosive release, even though Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other two chased desperately as if risking their lives, they could not even see his shadow.

"Director!"

From within the mountains came shouts after shouts; Sun Xiu and the other two surged their true qi, their voices almost cracking.

Rage!

Shock and rage!

In the wind and rain, Jin Jin Zhu Feng's eyes were bloodshot, his shock and rage reaching their peak. He leaped onto the mountain wall and gazed into the distance, seeing only the swift wind and rain and the rising mist.

Yet where could even a single figure be seen?

"Director!"

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's hands and feet were ice-cold, his whole body trembling.

Whoosh!

Moments later, crimson-gold light came whistling from afar; before the person arrived, the roar of fury already echoed through the mountains:

"You dare die!!"