Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Captain?” Both of them stared at him.
Chu Li gestured with a wave of his hand and said, “You two can go back first.”
“Should we try to chase after Minister Counsellor Zhou then?” they asked.
Chu Li shook his head. “We’ll see about that.”
“Alright…” The two of them peered at him in disappointment. They hoped that he could change his mind.
By then Chu Li had already turned his head away and was looking at the distance thoughtfully. His empty gaze indicated that he was already in his own world.
They sighed heavily and exchanged a helpless look. All they could do now was to leave, albeit in an extremely reluctant manner.
Leng Qiu and Leng Qing did not care about it and continued to train with their swords. It was a repetitive regime, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. What a tempting sensation it was to experience the heat rolling throughout one’s body which would make one feel exhausted and inexplicably comfortable at the same time.
After a moment, Chu Li left the courtyard and disappeared. He then reappeared in front of a house.
He carefully investigated the house. The house looked gloomy and desolated, and the courtyard seemed as if it had been shrouded by a green mist that had the strong stench of death.
Inside the courtyard hung many corpses. None of the corpses were without any missing limbs. The sight was enough to make one’s heart stutter in fear. Those who were not brave enough would probably faint at once. Those who were braver would still feel their stomachs turning and be overwhelmed with the urge to throw up.
Chu Li looked through the Omniscient Mirror and confirmed his thoughts. He disappeared immediately.
Following his intuitions, his figure disappeared and reappeared in flashes repeatedly. He was trying to catch that one clue. It felt like some time has passed when he stopped.
He was guided to this place by the knife, so the owner must be near.
It was now around dusk and the sun was setting.
Three people were eating in a gazebo by the roadside. One of them was wearing a blue shirt, while the other two were wearing embroidered uniforms. They looked worn out.
“They’re so incompetent!” the handsome middle-aged man in the uniform said with a helpless expression. “They still can’t catch up to us after so long. What if they still haven’t caught up to us when we returned to the Li Dynasty?”
“How about we try to slow down our pace?” a short and fat guy wearing the uniform spoke. He seemed friendly.
“Don’t need to. We’ll move as planned,” the teenager in the blue shirt said as he shook his head.
He looked charming, but his eyes were cold and his pronunciation was imprecise.
“Yes, yes. The best thing to do is to follow the plan,” the short and fat man said.
“They’re useless!” the middle-aged man scoffed. “I never imagined that they’ll be so incompetent!”
“Brother He,” the teenager said, “we cannot underestimate them. They have quite a few martial arts masters.”
“So what?” the middle-aged man replied. “If they are really that powerful, they wouldn’t have let us escape the Fairy’s Capital so easily!”
“They really don’t live up to their name.” The shorty nodded in agreement. “I was so cautious and careful with my every move at first. It’s true that you’ll only know the truth when you have experienced it yourself. The Ji dynasty is really crumbling. I believe if our Li dynasty just tried our best, we can take them over!”
“Hopefully.” The teenager swept his eyes across their faces and shook his head.
He was not as optimistic as the other two men.
Chu Li frowned for a moment. He disappeared in a flash and returned to the Imperial Residence of King An.
He took the items from the stone table and went out of the imperial residence to the Secret Guardians Hall.
Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande were in the main hall but so was Ma Kun who had started the revolt not long ago.
Ma Kun was reporting his progress to the two men.
When he saw Chu Li entered, he knotted his eyebrows and glared at him. His face darkened as well.
Chu Li gave a fist salute and spared Ma Kun an unperturbed glance.
“So, Young Chu, have you taken a look at the minister counsellor’s residence?” Fu Mengshan asked with a smile.
Chu Li replied calmly, “Commander, Commander Xu, I have something to report in private.”
Ma Kun face darkened further. “Chu Li, do you mean you want me to leave?”
Chu Li nodded. “I hope senior Ma can forgive me, but my information cannot be leaked.”
“What? Do you think I’ll leak the information? I’m the insider, is that it?” Ma Kun yelled at him. “Chu Li, you’re getting ridiculous!”
Chu Li frowned and glanced at Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande.
Fu Mengshan waved his hands and said, “That’s enough, Elder Ma. Shut up and listen to what Young Chu has to say!”
He smiled again and said, “Young Chu, Ma Kun is a senior here. He’s very careful with what he says. You can go ahead with what you planned to say.”
Chu Li sighed. “Commander, if Senior Ma is here, I’m afraid he’ll interrupt me while I speak. It’ll take quite some effort to pass the information on clearly!”
“If that’s the case, Senior Ma, don’t you dare interrupt!” Fu Mengshan said with a grin.
Ma Kun made a noise of disbelief and glared at Chu Li.
Chu Li said, “Commanders, I’m afraid this is all a trap.”
“A trap?” Fu Mengshan was surprised by his words.
Xu Huande immediately said, “What do you mean by that? Go on!”
Chu Li continued, “My conjecture is the minister counsellor is already dead. The person who betrayed and escaped the country is not the minister counsellor himself but an imposter.”
“Impossible!” Ma Kun shouted.
Chu Li looked at him and then turned towards Fu Mengshan.
Fu Mengshan quickly waved his hands at Ma Kun to shut him up, but his eyes remained staring at Chu Li. “How could you have such an idea! … I don’t think that’s possible?”
Chu Li replied, “Then who has actually seen the minister counsellor himself? The Ning brothers have yet to catch him, right? How sure are we that the minister counsellor was the one who ran away?”
“But a month ago the minister counsellor said his family…”
Chu Li said, “What if his family really fell sick?”
“But they…” Fu Mengshan paused and rubbed his eyebrows. “We really have no way to know about it for sure!”
They never saw the minister counsellor’s family, but the minister counsellor had only been gone for these past two days. Maybe it was true that his family members had fallen ill and went into seclusion. That might be the reason why they had not seen them at all.
Chu Li continued, “Commander, you know I have the skills to track people down.”
He placed four items on the table.
“These three items belong to the minister counsellor.” Chu Li took away the knife and pointed at the rest of the items. “I can’t sense the presence of their owner, but this knife belongs to someone else, and I can sense its owner.”
“How sure are you that these three items belong to the minister counsellor?” Ma Kun could not help but ask. “The whole house was burnt to ruins. How did you find these things?!”
Chu Li replied, “This jade was found among the ruins, buried in the ground. The other two items were given as gifts by the minister counsellor to his best friends. They were kept by the minister counsellor for many years. Since they were his for many years, I should have been able to detect the counsellor with them. Unfortunately, he’s dead.”
“Are you sure your tracking technique works?” Ma Kun questioned.
Chu Li ignored him and looked at Fu Mengshan. “If I’m right, the minister counsellor is dead, and the one running away is an imposter!”
“Why?” Fu Mengshan asked in bewilderment. “Was this just to target the Secrets Guardians Hall?”
Chu Li lowered his voice and said, “What I’m worried is that they’re trying to distract us! …the Holy Church of Light.”
“You think these were all done by the Holy Church of Light?” Fu Mengshan asked.
Chu Li nodded slowly.
Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande exchanged a glance. Their expressions were solemn.
Ma Kun frowned but remained silent.
He saw how both the commanders had taken in what Chu Li had said. Considering their intelligence, it would be difficult to try and trick them. It was obvious that they really believed in Chu Li’s tracking technique.
If that was the case, then his group of people was a literal joke. They were being fooled around with! How absolutely shameless that was!
“How sure are you about this?” Fu Mengshan asked. “Young Chu should know that this is a very important matter.”
Xu Huande continued, “If we make a mistake and let the real minister counsellor escape, we’ll all be dead!”
Chu Li answered, “I’m quite confident! The Ning brothers should be able to catch up to him. By then, we’ll know the truth!”
“Ma Kun, you have seen the minister counsellor before, right?” Mengshan asked.
Ma Kun nodded hurriedly. “Yes, we have a good relationship.”
“You go and take a look!” Fu Mengshan ordered. “Hurry up and look closely!”
“Yes, sir!” Ma Kun said.
The situation was dire as it involved the lives of the secret guardians and himself. It cannot be delayed.