The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of Ye Feng and Cao Yan beside him changed drastically!
Cao Yan had no idea why Li Guanqi was suddenly so enraged.
Ye Feng, who understood Li Guanqi’s temperament far better, asked in a low, solemn voice, "Boss, what happened?"
Yet Li Guanqi remained silent. Without a word, he produced a jade slip and a torn piece of cloth!
When he saw that jade slip and cloth, Ye Feng’s face shifted abruptly!
The earthy yellow patterns on that white fabric were unmistakably from the robes of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
And the two of them were intimately familiar with that jade slip—it was unmistakably an identity jade slip of the Great Xia Sword Sect!
"Tiantu Peak... Zhao Yang!"
Li Guanqi kept his eyes tightly shut. Of course he knew who this Zhao Yang was.
During the battle against Ziyang Palace, he was one of the young men who had charged at the forefront with his sword drawn; even Li Guanqi had to address him as Senior Brother Zhao.
He was also one of the disciples who had walked out of the mountain gates alongside them this time.
His cultivation was at the early Core Formation realm...
Li Guanqi glanced back once before leading the two of them flitting into a continuous mountain range.
Less than half an incense stick after they departed, several streaks of light descended near where they had stopped.
A middle-aged man with eyes blazing with fury stood there, malevolent aura surging around him.
He roared in rage, "Search!!"
"You must find those bastards for me!"
"Yes, Villa Lord!"
"Understood! Quick, search!!"
And in their hands was a portrait of Ye Feng!
Before long, Li Guanqi found an abandoned cave with an entrance overgrown with weeds.
The interior was dark and damp, the air thick with a foul stench.
Caring nothing for the foul conditions, the three hid inside. They concealed the entrance, scattering insect-repelling powder and scent-masking powder.
Sitting down, Li Guanqi leaned against the stone wall with his eyes closed, thoughts racing through his mind.
Then he looked at the two and said, "Tell me everything that happened before once more. Don't leave out a single detail."
This time, Cao Yan spoke. His spiritual power was extraordinarily strong, and he remembered every detail with utmost clarity.
Starting from when he left the stall, Cao Yan recounted the events slowly, remembering nearly every vendor and shop lining both sides of the street with perfect precision.
Once everything had been recounted, Li Guanqi suddenly muttered,
"Something's wrong... This is definitely no coincidence!"
"There must be something on us that they covet!"
Immediately after, Li Guanqi took out a jade slip and sent a voice transmission: "Master, look into Senior Brother Zhao Yang of Tiantu Peak for me... Is he alive or dead?"
***
At the Great Xia Sword Sect.
The old man currently tending to Yu Sui'an's bandages paused slightly. Halting his movements, he quickly retrieved a jade slip.
Li Guanqi's voice soon emerged from it.
Yu Sui'an pricked up her ears to listen, her small face scrunching up by the end.
"Grandpa Li, did something happen?"
"Go on, I can change the medicine myself."
Li Nanting's gaze sharpened. Hearing her words, he nodded and said,
"All right. Change your medicine carefully, Sui'an. Grandpa needs to step out immediately."
Yu Sui'an waved with a smile. Only after the old man had gone did she mutter, "Hmph, that stinky blind fellow didn't even ask a single word about me."
Having gone to great lengths to bandage herself, the little girl hopped down from the bed and ran like the wind to the back mountain, gathering heaps upon heaps of fresh flowers.
Carrying them in a small basket on her back, she dashed down the mountain. Along the way, any Tianlei Peak disciple she met would smile and say,
"Is Little Steamed Bun heading to the Sect Cemetery again?"
Strangely, there was no playful smile on the little girl's face. She merely stopped, bowed respectfully to the disciple, and said,
"Sui'an greets Senior Brother Wan."
Then she straightened up and ran off.
Watching the little girl's retreating figure, the disciple couldn't help but murmur, "She's grown up, but she isn't as cheerful as before."
Yu Sui'an arrived at the Sect Cemetery. With a solemn expression, she laid fresh flowers before each new tombstone, pressing her palms together and closing her eyes, lost in thought.
She walked along each grave, but the more flowers she placed, the harder she wept.
She understood that the deaths of many buried here were because of her.
Young though she was, her small heart was burdened with guilt.
***
Soon, Li Nanting replied in a heavy voice: "Zhao Yang is not dead, but the spiritual light of his life-bound jade slip is extremely faint!"
"Guanqi, what happened?"
Lowering the jade slip, Li Guanqi breathed a slight sigh of relief. Since he had not yet unraveled the full truth, he did not want his master to worry.
So he replied, "Master, it's nothing serious. I'll explain once I figure things out."
"By the way, how has the little girl been lately?"
Hearing that Yu Sui'an's injuries had mostly healed, Li Guanqi felt reassured.
Ye Feng spoke with a solemn expression. "Since Senior Brother Zhao isn't dead, why were his jade slip and sect robes in Fang Hao's hands?"
Li Guanqi pondered for a long time before frowning. "I don't know. But clearly, their target is disciples of our Great Xia Sword Sect, not any single person."
Ye Feng said in confusion, "Wait, that doesn't make sense. My black robes were only torn when I fought that old man."
"Before that, I never revealed my identity! No... the sect jade slip!!"
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, his mind turning over why the other party would fixate on disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
*Could they be from Ziyang Palace?*
*No... If an important direct descendant of Changfeng Villa were aligned with Ziyang Palace, they would never have spared Zhao Yang.*
*Since they didn't kill Zhao Yang, it means there is at least no blood feud between them and the Great Xia Sword Sect.*
*Then what is it...?*
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi snapped his eyes open and immediately transmitted through his jade slip: "Master! Thoroughly investigate the sect's new disciples at once, especially those who were taught the eleventh layer of the technique or know of it!"
"Find out if any of them are connected to Changfeng Villa!"
"I suspect someone leaked the information!"
When Li Nanting heard this, his entire body shuddered!
An unprecedented gravity came over the old man's face. If this were true...
If they failed to handle it properly and the secret spread, the Great Xia Sword Sect would undoubtedly face a catastrophic disaster!
The atmosphere across the entire Great Xia Sword Sect grew taut in an instant.
Lu Kangnian was also roused from his secluded cultivation and immediately began investigating every single disciple.
An hour later.
Sure enough!
Li Nanting's voice came through the jade slip, exceedingly grim and heavy.
"Guanqi, your guess was spot on."
"Among this batch of newly admitted disciples, there really is someone whose father is the biological younger brother of Changfeng Villa's Lord."
"He somehow learned that the sect obtained an immensely powerful technique."
"Zhao Yang... was he captured?"
"Hold on. The sect is dispatching people over immediately!!"
Chapter 209