Chapter 532: Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth!

Troublesome!

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

Since the theft of the Yun Xiang Ding from within Mount Hengshan city, over two years had passed. The three had traveled thousands of li, exhausting every method at their disposal, yet still had not caught so much as a single thread of a clue about the person behind it all. The Jingping Division certainly had secret arts, but if they didn't even know who the person was, how could they speak of capturing and killing them?

"Not even a single person has come out over the Yun Xiang Ding."

A murderous aura surged between Jin Jin Zhu Feng's brows. In his decades as a constable, this was the first time he had encountered such a thorny case.

"It's not entirely without gains."

Yun Jun raised his hand and grabbed. True qi transformed into a tiger's claw, lifting Brother Brother Sikong from the mud: "Just now, under my pressure, this old thief still let slip a few hints. The person behind him is an Apex Grandmaster."

"What?"

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

Apex Grandmasters — even counting those on the verge of death, there were only a little over ten in the entire world. Every one of them was the master of a great power dominating a region.

"An Apex Grandmaster?"

Jin Suifeng swept his cold gaze over the group of experts below him. The Jingping Division experts, dressed as bandits, had already retreated one after another. "Jin Jin Shengwu is on his last legs — could it be him, wanting to cultivate the Bai Shen Fa?"

"That Long Xi Xiang lives in seclusion, and he's in Mount Hengshan. That Nie Xianshan also..." "Xie Wangsun, that shouldn't be. He's the family head of the Henglong Dao Xie clan. He's always cherished his reputation — he wouldn't collude with a thief like this."

"What about Monk Master Da Ming, Xie Xie Tongzhi? They rank eleventh and twelfth on the Heroes List respectively — they could barely be considered Apex Grandmasters."

"Of those ten-plus people, a small portion are in the imperial court, the majority in sects... Could it be Chi Chi Zhuiyang, Murong Qing?"

"It can't be the two Division Heads, can it? Would Brother Brother Sikong deliberately say it that way to muddy the waters?"

"If this thief had that kind of brains, he would never have done something so stupid as stealing the Yun Xiang Ding..." In the rain, the three communicated via transmitted voice, offering various guesses and suspicions. In the distant shadows, Brother Brother Zhongli tilted his ear to listen. He had long since switched to a palm-control combination that enhanced spiritual perception. Focusing his mind, he could intermittently catch fragments of their transmitted voice.

Transmitted voice may seem mysterious, but it's actually a technique that uses true qi and internal force to vibrate the air from a distance, producing sound by someone's ear. Naturally, it can be intercepted. "Lucky mistake, after all."

Daoist Li stroked his chin. He realized that leaving Brother Brother Sikong alive had truly been a brilliant move. These people had mentioned both of his Division Heads without connecting the dots to him. But he also had to admit he had underestimated the imperial court's emphasis on Huo De Kan Zhong — three Great Constables, spending two or three years, just to catch him.

"If he even took this cauldron too, wouldn't the Emperor be furious?" Muttering to himself, Li Yuan remained unmoved. He simply focused on listening, carefully sizing up the three Great Constables in the rain. All were Zhun Sect masters at the peak of Blood Exchange, but for him at this point, they were nothing more than a nuisance — let alone capable of capturing a Grandmaster.

"Setting up such an elaborate scheme must mean there's a follow-up hidden somewhere..." Li Yuan thought to himself.

"If he used the Yun Xiang Ding to set the trap, there must be an enormous follow-up move hidden. At the very least, he can't have lost a second Yun Xiang Ding without catching the person, right?"

Judging others by himself, he would do the same. There was no reason this group of constables wouldn't understand that. "What follow-up have they hidden?"

Li Yuan held his breath and focused his mind, but couldn't help pinching the hem of his clothes — that was the Canglong Kasaya. "Dismissed."

After chatting in the rain for a while, it was still Yun Jun who spoke first. He took Brother Brother Sikong, led his subordinates, turned, and vanished into the rainy night.

Before the carriage, Sun Xiu sighed: "Although it's His Majesty's decree, if it really is a Yizun Sect master deliberately hiding, there's nothing we can do."

"I'm not willing to let it go."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's face twitched. He had even brought the Yun Xiang Ding here. If he failed to catch the person, he would certainly face censure, possibly even punishment. "In my view, handing over Brother Brother Sikong to close the case would work too. After all, he's the one who actually stole the cauldron."

Sun Xiu glanced at Yun Jun's retreating back: "We've killed so many bandits — that should at least count as redeeming our failures."

"If there's truly no other choice, then so be it."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng closed his eyes, then opened them after a moment. He walked slowly to the carriage. Through the curtain lifted by the wind, Li Yuan saw that one Yun Xiang Ding — and that was a sword. "That sword?"

Li Yuan's pupils contracted. It was a sheathed crimson sword, with golden dragon-shaped patterns flowing across it like water.

Just from its appearance, one could tell it was no Fan Pin.

But he didn't detect any weapon-light at all. "The Crimson Gold Dragon-Patterned Sword — this is the Jingping Division Head's Lingxiang."

In a flash of thought, Li Yuan silently cried lucky. If he hadn't been cautious and had charged forward in a rage, wouldn't he have taken a sword strike? A Grandmaster's Lingxiang transformed into a sword — even if he were wearing the Crimson Blood Dragon Armor, the Mirage Dragon Armor, the Canglong Kasaya... but... right?

"A single Yun Xiang Ding, and it actually dragged out a Jingping Division Head?"

Daoist Li was quite shocked in his heart, but still restrained his qi, lying dormant in the rock crevice, only gripping the Canglong Kasaya tightly.

Before the carriage, Sun Xiu and the other exchanged a glance, straightened their attire, then bowed respectfully: "We respectfully request the Division Head to appear."

Hum~ With their bow, that crimson-gold flying sword emitted a trembling hum. The next moment, it had transformed into a middle-aged man in a golden-scaled robe, with an elongated, slender build.

"Division Head!"

The two dropped to one knee, their expressions reverent. "Any gains?"

The Jingping Division Head swept his gaze over the surroundings and said calmly, "Reporting to the Division Head..."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng's face was full of shame as he reported the intelligence Yun Jun had uncovered. "An Apex Grandmaster?"

The Jingping Division Head frowned slightly: "Someone who can pin down Brother Zhongli Wang Luan isn't necessarily an Apex Grandmaster."

"The Division Head sees clearly."

Neither of them dared to raise their heads.

"Enough, continue the investigation." The Jingping Division Head paused briefly, then waved his hand: "Since this person hasn't come, he's most likely already gone into hiding. In that case, you two take the Yun Xiang Ding back to the Divine Capital."

"Yes!" Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other bowed respectfully. And that middle-aged man's figure shifted, transforming back into the crimson-gold flying sword. In a single flash, it vanished into the night rain.

"Phew!"

Wiping the sweat from his head, 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, just beckoned. The scattered subordinates had already returned one after another. Before long, the convoy had set off again.

"This rain, there's still more to come."

In the shadows, Li Yuan looked at the sky. The dark clouds hadn't dispersed — thunder rumbled, lightning flashed.

Immediately, he wasn't in a hurry. He simply watched quietly as the carriage moved away. Whizz!

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

"... That old fox, truly insidious."

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, silently crying lucky.

If he hadn't always been cautious in his actions, wouldn't he have been caught red-handed?

He lay in the rock crevice, waiting until the convoy was almost out of sight. After a slight hesitation, he followed along the shadows. Stopping and starting, a full two hours passed. Just as the rain was beginning to lighten, Li Yuan finally let out a long breath, certain that the Jingping Division Head had truly left.

Adjusting his bamboo hat, he walked out from his hiding place. "The Division Head is still magnanimous."

Inside the carriage, Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other sat cross-legged, set up a small table for a drink. Sun Xiu held his cup, easing up. "It did cost some goodwill, after all."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng was in a foul mood; he would rather have been punished. "Goodwill, this thing…"

"Drink."

Sun Xiu raised his cup.

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

"In this world there are plenty of cases that can't be cracked and thieves that can't be caught — why bother so much?"

Sun Xiu, however, let it go.

"Enough, enough."

Jin Jin Zhu Feng let out a long breath, said no more. A few cups of wine down the hatch, and he too loosened up a bit.

Just as he was raising his cup, he heard several people knocking on the carriage.

"Who is it?"

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

Jin Jin Zhu Feng first froze, then his face changed drastically — beneath that bamboo hat was a sallow, aged face. "Not good!"

The two men sipping wine had actually been on high alert; the instant they sensed something amiss, their true Qi surged up. Their long sword and long spear let out explosive roars — but they were still too slow.

Li Yuan, who had lain in wait half the night, struck out the moment he moved — truly like a flash of lightning. One hand reached forward to grab the Yun Xiang Ding, while his feet simultaneously pushed off with force.

A thunderous boom was heard — the rugged mountain path split apart, great swathes of mud, sand, and rock, along with rainwater, shooting skyward. "Enemy attack!"

A voice, both furious and shrill, exploded.

The carriage was torn apart by the blast of force. Jin Jin Zhu Feng roared in fury; his long spear left his hand, wrapped in surging true Qi, and shot forth with a thunderous crash. "Ah!"

Several Jingping Si experts who couldn't dodge in time screamed as their clothes and armor were torn apart by the true Qi, coughing blood and collapsing. Sun Xiu vaulted into the air, his long sword sweeping horizontally, sword-light whistling as it shot out several dozen zhang. The two men's reactions could not be called slow, their strikes could not be called anything less than savage — yet they were still too late. At the very instant the explosive roars of the long spear and long sword rang out, Li Yuan had already shifted several times through wind and rain, fleeing several li away.

From beginning to end, he had never paid the slightest attention to Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other.

What he worried about was nothing more than the Jingping Si Master, whose Aneng had not yet gone far. Thus, the moment he got what he wanted, he had no mind to fight at all; he activated every manner of palm-control and vaulted forth like a soaring dragon.

After a few dodges, he had flung the roars of fury far behind him. How fast was Li Yuan's speed at this moment?

Even without the augmentation of his soldier, he was confident he could hold his own against a Grandmaster-level martial artist — with the augmentation of two pairs of high-grade boots.

Even if an absolute-top Grandmaster struck with full force, he could still hold his own for dozens, even a hundred moves!

Under his full explosive burst now, even though Jin Jin Zhu Feng and the other chased like madmen risking their lives, they didn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow. "Si Master!"

From within the mountains, great shouts rang out one after another. Sun Xiu and the other were bellowing so hard their true Qi nearly broke their voices — fury!

Furious rage!

In wind and rain, Jin Jin Zhu Feng's eyes were blood-red, his fury at its peak. He leaped up onto the cliff face, stared into the distance — all he saw was swift wind and rain, billowing vapor; where could any human figure be found?

"Si Master!"

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

Whoosh!

A moment later, a crimson-gold streak of light came whistling from afar. The man had not yet arrived, but his furious roar was already echoing through the mountains: "Looking to die!!"