"Check Shui Yuehan’s home!" The crown prince was enraged.
"Crown Prince, there is nobody at Shui Yuehan’s place. There are also no traces of things being moved about, we believe he hasn't been back yet."
"Go out and find him!"
"Yes!"
"Head over to the Plethora Gem Tower and see if Fu Guansan has returned!"
"Yes!"
At that point in time, the Plethora Gem Tower was also submerged in chaos. A prison break was not a trivial matter. The Board of Justice tightened its hold on the Plethora Gem Tower at once, subjecting all its occupants to an interrogation.
The Board of Justice did not dare to offend the three noble families and the crown prince’s residence but the Plethora Gem Tower was only an organization in the martial arts world – it was unthinkable that they would be involved in such a caper. Under the circumstances where no one else could be offended, someone had to be placed on the chopping board.
Otherwise, what justice was there if the Board of Justice did not take any action?
With a single command, the Plethora Gem Tower was sealed and all its men held in custody; all of them were taken to the prison!
All these had happened within a single morning.
…
"Cough, cough, cough…"
It was dawn when Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan heard the news. He was drinking water from a bowl but spat it out immediately when word reached his ears. He managed to choke himself, coughing and wheezing for quite a while.
"Cough, cough, cough…"
"Cough, cough, cough…"
"Cough cough… mm… cough…"
Everyone in the marshal’s residence looked at the old marshal in shock.
What was going on?
They had never seen him coughing so badly before during the early hours of the day.
Even Sir Wang who had come to report this was dumbfounded. the Board of Justice’s incident was not a small matter but it certainly wasn't severe enough to cause one to lose their composure.
"Cough cough cough…" The old marshal had finally stopped coughing, his face flushed from the exertion.
I knew those children had something up their sleeves!
Shui Yuehan escaped from the prison? Your father wouldn’t believe it even if he was beaten to death! He must have been taken away secretly. I knew they would have a plan but isn’t this too underhanded? Using the nation’s body to do your dirty work?
"Yes, duly noted…" The old marshal said in a collected manner, "Simply a case of a few martial artists breaking out of prison by force. At most, someone from the crown prince’s residence was involved. So what about it? Did you have to come all the way just to report such a petty incident to me?"
The corners of Sir Wang’s lips twitched in irony.
Such a petty incident? Really?
Did you think that I didn't see you almost wheeze yourself to unconsciousness just now?
Yet Sir Wang replied in a stoic manner, "Yes, this matter is not worthy to be reported indeed but it involves the crown prince’s residence and Plethora Gem Tower. It’s expected to cause some commotion, we should still practice some degree of caution."
"Hmm, this is a problem." Old Marshal Qiu stroked his beard and said, "Tell the Board of Justice to release them when it’s about time. It wouldn't be a good idea to involve unnecessary people. The Plethora Gem Tower is one of the ten organizations in the martial arts world of Tianxuan Continent. We still need to pay them their due honor. Besides, the others might not even know what Fu Guansan did!"
Sir Wang agreed to his words and left immediately yet he was thinking, "Old Qiu is… a little strange … When has he ever cared for the dignity of these martial artists?"
The Board of Justice was in chaos, the crown prince’s residence was in bedlam, the entire Tiantang City was buzzing with excitement, the three young masters’ lives were also a mess and even Yun Yang himself faced some tumultuous days.
Fu Guansan had been seized but Yun Yang realized something amiss.
Once he applied some persuasion, the Keeper Fu was already in agony, almost reporting all the details of his ancestors.
"What happened to your cultivation base?" Yun Yang was slightly befuddled, almost losing faith in his own judgment.
"I cultivated to the fifth peak…" Fu Guansan was teary-eyed. "Then I lost it all."
Yun Yang was jolted with surprise. "But I saw you take action in Cirrus House."
"That’s the effect of the Dream Dust Pill…" Fu Guansan was shaking all over from pain. "When I need to fight, I’ll take one Dream Dust Pill and the cultivation base I once had would return temporarily… it could only last one hour though… Once the effect wears off, I’ll feel weak but it won’t be anything serious…"
Dream Dust Pill…
Yun Yang had heard of this medicinal pill before. It was said that an alchemist had found fault with an individual and had hunted the person for thousands of miles just to destroy the person’s cultivation base. However, he realized afterward that he had wronged an innocent man.
Deep in remorse, the alchemist searched for spiritual medicine all over the world to concoct this Dream Dust Pill but it was only suitable to be consumed by people who were lower than the seventh peak mystical Qi cultivation base.
Experts with a destroyed cultivation base higher than the seventh peak could only unleash a seventh peak power when they took the Dream Dust Pill – this was the limit.
In Tianxuan Continent, however, the Dream Dust Pill had another well-known moniker – Repentance Remedy!
Yun Yang looked to the heavens, somewhat at a loss for words.
If I had known that you were consuming Repentance Remedy, why did I even need to use Immortals’ Odium? I’ve practically wasted it! I’m probably the first in the universe to use the precious Immortals’ Odium against useless trash.
"Why did you go to Cirrus House?"
"I… I... fancy... the Lady Zuiyue…"
"I want to hear the truth!"
"This is the truth. I am really besotted by the Lady Yun!"
Yun Yang was speechless.
"Why are you matchmaking for her if you like her?"
"I’ve been asked for a favor, good relations make wealth for a businessman. I’d naturally take the advantage to advance where Young Master Qiu failed."
Yun Yang was tempted to slap this fellow to his death.
However, it was lucky that he asked another question. "Asked for a favor? Qiu Yunsan asked for your favor? Do you even have enough qualifications for Young Master Qiu to ask for your favor?"
"It wasn't Qiu Yunsan." Fu Guansan’s face was twitching from the pain. "Keeper Mi’s the one who asked for the favor to help Young Master Qiu. How can I afford to offend Keeper Mi?"
"Although I’m unwilling to matchmake for others, Keeper Mi promised me that when Young Master Qiu has gotten her, he will figure a way to also let me be in on it!"
A murderous intent set itself on Yun Yang’s face. He forcefully suppressed it and said, "Who is this Keeper Mi?"
Fu Guansan watched Yun Yang’s expression carefully and said, "Keeper Mi is Mi Kongqun!"
"Mi Kongqun!" Yun Yang blanched. He had thought of all the shopkeepers in Tiantang City with the family name Mi but he had missed this one.
An Inner Court Attendant!
The one who had control over the entire palace’s purchasing. Some would say that he was the Minister of Imperial Household! Someone who stood by His Majesty the Emperor’s side!
No wonder everyone regarded him highly.
Influential and powerful indeed!
Even as Yun Yang felt enlightened, he was also deeply worried.
"Keeper Mi! No wonder he has been called Keeper Mi. His task is to oversee the inner court."
"From Eunuch Wuhan who had previously attempted to assassinate me to this Keeper Mi… how deeply has the palace been infiltrated?"
Yun Yang frowned.
He had never figured out who the ninth and eleventh of the first month Wu Wenyuan spoke of were; was the crown prince’s aide mentioned by Chu Tianlang Shui Yuehan or was it somebody else?
He could only confirm that Tie Zheng of the Empire of Yutang’s five greatest generals was not the mighty general mentioned too; then who was it among the four? Perhaps he was someone lower -ranked?
He could not be anyone ranked higher because if one were to go up in the military, there were only two people left.
Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin.
The saber and sword duo, guardian marshals of Yutang!
These two would never ever be from the Four Seasons Tower.
As for the palace, he knew at least two suspects now – Eunuch Wu and Keeper Mi. Was there anybody else?
His actions this time was to borrow the official’s power to eradicate Fu Guansan and Shui Yuehan directly, what would the enemy do next?
Who could the mysterious Supreme Lord Spring Frost, who possessed such a wicked blood curse, be?
It would seem that he had entirely destroyed the other party’s scheme this time round but was this really true? Would they still go after Cirrus House?
Yun Yang fell deep into his thoughts, an elegant yet mysterious aura on his face under the dim light.
Fu Guansan looked at his face and had a sudden thought that this face did not seem to belong to the human realm but more to the eerie underworld! As he kept his eyes on him, he actually shuddered helplessly.
"Young master… you-young master…" Fu Guansan was trembling like a leaf. "I’ve told you everything I know. Can you… can you let me go? I dare not do it again…"
Yun Yang raised his head slowly, his emotionless gaze finally falling on Fu Guansan’s face.
Fu Guansan grew even more terrified and said, "I-I… This lowly one is only the keeper of Plethora Gem Tower, my power is limited… Young master, young master… my brother-in-law is the person in charge over there for Plethora Gem Tower… Please have mercy… I shall repay your kindness…"
Yun Yang looked at him quietly with a tilted head, a few stray strands on the side of his face added to the depressing aura he carried in the gloom.
Sha!
The bright gleam of a saber flashed through the darkness.
Before Fu Guansan could say another word in his defense, his head had already landed on the floor.
It was clean and direct cut.
Yun Yang picked himself up slowly and headed out the door. It was only a while after he had exited the secret chamber that Fu Guansan’s headless body collapsed to the floor.
His head rolled about, coming to a stop with his face facing upwards.
The last expression that remained on his face was not of fear, only of endlessly inexplicable questioning.
Even unto his death, he could not understand why he did not kill him outright but had only struck when he spoke of his background, his brother-in-law’s influential status, his organization, and how he would repay him.
A saber that rendered him into two halves!
Why was this so?
…
Yun Yang went back to his bedroom, a place which had become an escape for Yun Yang.
It was his bedroom… but it contained too many things for him. Wind, Flame, Blood, Thunder, Cloud – other than Supreme Flame’s will that he had destroyed himself, the others’ letters, including his own, were all here
Among the documents were his brothers’ cultivation methods. Pearl of Mystique Wind, Pearl of Fiery, Pearl of Cloud, Pearl of Crimson Soul, Pearl of Divine Thunder.
Looking at these five pearls that were filled with mysterious forces, Yun Yang sat down silently. He first poured a goblet of wine and smiled. "Older brothers, do you all know? Our enemy is unimaginably mighty. As my investigation continues, I realized that the Four Seasons Tower’s reach is impossible to be estimated. I don’t know if you fellows have ever thought about this before."
"Perhaps we’ve never had to think of it in this seemingly peaceful world, but the undercurrents are actually vigorous and utterly frightening!"
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