Wang Beiwang turned around. The man who had spoken was dressed in plain hemp clothes, his temples frosted with gray. Looking closer, his appearance had clearly been doctored.
His eyebrows were thickened with charcoal, a thin layer of gray dust dusted his cheeks, and the scar on his left cheek appeared to be part of the disguise rather than a real wound.
A wanted fugitive? Experienced as he was, Wang Beiwang suspected the man's identity was problematic—either a wanted criminal or a spy from the Northern Dynasty.
With the two dynasties at war, it was standard wartime protocol for the Northern Dynasty to dispatch spies into the imperial capital to gather intelligence and stir up covert trouble.
Elder Xu had served in the military during his youth. While learning swordsmanship from him, Wang Beiwang had occasionally listened to him recount stories from his soldiering days.
"Yuanshi Tianzun?" the man asked again.
Given Wang Beiwang's usual temperament, he would have thoroughly probed the man's background. Right now, however, although he was not an official fugitive, his status was even more precarious than one.
Better to avoid trouble whenever possible. Wang Beiwang turned on his heel to leave, but then he remembered the foolish emperor's instructions. He wheeled back around and said, "That's right. I am Yuanshi Tianzun."
Then, the two stood staring at each other with wide eyes, with no follow-up whatsoever.
Wang Beiwang waited for him to ask, "Where is Yuanshi Tianzun?" but the man simply refused to open his mouth.
Amidst the quiet silence, the man with frosted temples muttered, "Looking as dim-witted as you do, how could you possibly be Yuanshi Tianzun? Who coached you to say that?"
Wang Beiwang scoffed coldly. "Your Excellency has the face of a sneaky rat and the head of an elk. You hardly look like someone who could be associated with Yuanshi Tianzun either."
Having fired back, he scrutinized the man, thought for a few seconds, and said, "Follow me."
He finally understood: the bizarre lines the foolish emperor had taught him were a secret recognition code.
Only the emperor's contact could comprehend them.
The gray-templed man stepped forward to follow. Wang Beiwang led him back along the path he had come, and after half an hour, they returned to Hongxiu Pavilion.
The brothel attendant at the entrance barred them, eyeing Wang Beiwang with distaste. "Go, go, off with you! Beg somewhere else!"
Wang Beiwang kept a low profile. "You go on in. Turn left at the door, straight to the back."
He gestured for the middle-aged man to enter while he remained at the entrance, peering inside. He saw the man with gray-dusted temples enter the main hall, completely ignore the madam's greeting, and march straight toward the foolish emperor's table. Faintly, he heard the young girl, Jingwei, call out in delight, "Brother Red Chicken!"
Inside the hall, Zhang Yuanqing watched Brother Red Chicken wolf down food and asked, "Why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"
He had ordered an entire table of dishes, yet Xiao Yuan and Auntie had not arrived.
"Don't know!" Brother Red Chicken replied. "I didn't see them."
"Didn't see them?" Zhang Yuanqing instantly knitted his brows. "According to the plan, you should have met up last night."
"I couldn't go at all," Brother Red Chicken said between bites. "That damned pair of shoes you gave me nearly cost me my life! After escaping the palace that day, it clung to me and forced me to dance. It wanted me to dance along with it! Dammit, I don't know how to tap dance! I tried all night without getting it right and took a whole night of kicks. Seven or eight of my ribs were broken! When I really couldn't take it anymore, I ran, and it chased. I couldn't escape it no matter how hard I tried... Er, is there any fresh-boiled congee? Have the cook bring me a bowl."
"None. Keep talking," Jiang Jingwei said, listening with keen interest.
"The chicken is leftover, not fresh at all, and it's not even white-cut chicken..." Brother Red Chicken forced himself to swallow a piece of chicken before continuing, "There's a curfew at night with city defense troops everywhere, and drawing attention during the daytime is even worse. Having no other choice, I had to bite the bullet and pay the penalty. I fled into a residential house, knocked the master unconscious, and then got put through military boot camp by that pair of damned shoes in the courtyard.
"*Pokai*, it drilled me for two entire days! I used up three or four vials of Life Source Fluid. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally managed to finish a tap dance and collapsed unconscious. The moment I woke up, I rushed over here."
*I guessed the beginning, but never this ending...* Zhang Yuanqing marveled, "Your talent for dancing is truly goddamn awful."
Brother Red Chicken flared up angrily. "Is that the point?!"
Jiang Jingwei asked, "Was that family knocked out for two days straight too?"
Brother Red Chicken grew even more furious. "You can't grasp the point either! The point is that I was put through boot camp by a pair of damn shoes for two days and almost died!"
He gulped down the plain congee in noisy drafts, then said, "I injected them with a bit of Life Source Fluid. They won't die."
"Give me back the Red Dancing Shoes. That item is a divine tool. Young man, you can't handle it." Zhang Yuanqing was eager to retrieve the item.
Brother Red Chicken hurriedly opened his inventory and tossed the Red Dancing Shoes aside like a hot potato.
Zhang Yuanqing scooped up the Red Dancing Shoes and solemnly put them into his inventory. "If it had been by my side, I wouldn't have suffered so much these past few days. Eat quickly. Once you're done, come with me to handle something."
On the way to Hongxiu Pavilion, Wang Beiwang had already discovered that the three hundred young boys and girls were being held in the dungeons of the Ministry of Justice.
Only the Ministry of Justice's dungeon was large enough to hold so many people.
This was hardly a secret. Asking around among the city defense troops or gate sentries easily yielded the information, and even the common citizens in the city knew about it. After all, whose family didn't have a few members working for the government?
Feasting hungrily, Brother Red Chicken asked indistinctly, "Aren't we waiting for the Palace Mistress and Xiao Yuan? *Pokai*, Sun Miaomiao and Guan Ya haven't been found, Queen is missing too, and our numbers are dwindling..."
Zhang Yuanqing pondered briefly before saying, "We can have Wang Beiwang make a few more rounds outside. Perhaps Xiao Yuan and the Palace Mistress are looking for us as well."
Brother Red Chicken then asked, "Who's that fool?"
"An NPC," Jiang Jingwei replied.
"He is a righteous swordsman," Zhang Yuanqing corrected.
Brother Red Chicken gave an "Oh," his gaze sweeping across the corridors on the second floor. He chuckled, "Nice place. If we aren't in a rush, I'd like to listen to some music here."
Zhang Yuanqing said with regret, "Brothels aren't open during the day."
Brother Red Chicken's face also showed disappointment.
Outside the door, Wang Beiwang squatted on the ground, fiddling with a chipped bowl. From time to time, he observed the passersby, awaiting the foolish emperor's orders.
*Tsk, how did I end up becoming the foolish emperor's subordinate? I ought to be killing him. Hmph, it's all for Xiu'er that I'm putting up with him for a few days.* Wang Beiwang rubbed his stiff stubble, convincing himself that this was the sole reason.
Just then, he saw three robust men dressed in short tunics approaching from the distance, their eyes gleaming. Their objective was clear: they were heading straight for Hongxiu Pavilion.
One had a lean face and sharp, bright eyes; one was thickset, looking honest and plain; one had a full beard, eyes like bronze bells, and an unmistakable agitation written across his brow.
They carried weapons wrapped in cloth strips on their backs, their strides firm and forceful.
As a swordsman of modest renown in the martial world, Wang Beiwang narrowed his eyes, instinctively feeling wary and hostile.
He could tell all three men were martial artists, and highly skilled ones at that.
Among them, the lean-faced man seemed to sense something. He cast a glance at Wang Beiwang squatting by the entrance, then promptly retracted his gaze, paying no further heed.
Watching the three stride into Hongxiu Pavilion, Wang Beiwang stood up.
"Honored sirs, is this your first visit to Hongxiu Pavilion, or do you have a familiar lady in mind?" The brothel attendant stepped forward obsequiously, delivering his standard greeting.
The three robust men ignored him. Their gazes swept across the hall, passing over the handful of patrons, and finally locked onto Brother Red Chicken and Zhang Yuanqing.
As their eyes met, Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed abruptly.
Suddenly, the lean-faced man snapped his fingers together like a sword and thrust forward as swift as thunder.
With a sharp whistling sound, a slender, piercing stream of sword qi struck straight for Zhang Yuanqing's face.
*A swordsman?* Zhang Yuanqing tilted his head to dodge.
The lean-faced man quickly unslung the weapon from his back, shook off the cloth wrappings, and drew a longsword gleaming with frigid radiance. In a flurry of rapid strides, he swept the blade toward the three at the table.
A crescent-shaped wave of sword qi howled forth.
Before the man could unleash the arc, a half-meter short knife had already appeared in Zhang Yuanqing's hand, its hilt shaped like a hideous demonic face embedded with two red gems.
Dropping into a lunge, he chopped downward with the knife.
The sword qi shattered against the blade, disintegrating into hair-thin needles of concussive force that sputtered violently in all directions, blasting dense pits into the floor and tables.
Weak in strength, Jiang Jingwei failed to dodge. The spray of force pelted her chest, shoulders, and face, turning her into a bloody mess in an instant.
The skin between Zhang Yuanqing's thumb and forefinger tore open, blood streaming down freely. His heart tightened in shock.
*A Level 5 swordsman?!*
Wang Beiwang rushed into the main hall from the entrance to lend aid. Seeing this sight, he quietly retreated back outside.
*An elder-level powerhouse!*
Inside the hall, the thickset, dull-faced man unwrapped his weapon—a heavy black iron mace. With a deep roar, he charged forward with thudding steps that shook the entire floor of the hall.
*This one is an Earth Monster—no, a Mountain God!* Zhang Yuanqing seized Jiang Jingwei by the shoulder and shoved her aside, sending her sliding more than ten meters away.
Then, before the black iron mace could crash down, he dissipated into starlight.
*Crack!*
The round table and tableware shattered into splinters under the crushing blow of the mace.
Zhang Yuanqing reappeared on the second floor, looking down at the hall. He saw Brother Red Chicken and the agitated burly man clashing with flame sabers. The two blazing blades exploded into thousands of scarlet embers, scattering everywhere and setting the surrounding tables, chairs, and window frames on fire.
"What vile scoundrels dare attempt to assassinate me?" Zhang Yuanqing yelled.
Simultaneously, he secretly manipulated the Fire Specialist's emotions.
The Fire Specialist snapped his head up toward Zhang Yuanqing on the second floor and bellowed, "Foolish emperor! Back then, the Empress Dowager murdered General Wu and slaughtered the warriors of the Shenrui Army! Today, you shall pay that debt!"
With that, flames converged and took shape in his palm, compressing into a crimson spear that he hurled straight at him.
The swordsman and the Mountain God launched themselves into the air, leaping up to the second floor.
"Get Jingwei out of here!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted. He leaned aside to dodge the incoming flame spear, and as if anticipating the future, he slashed outward right as the burst of fire flared up.
Seeing this, the Fire Demon was forced to abort his Fire Traveling skill.
Meanwhile, the swordsman landed lightly on the railing of the second floor and pounced at Zhang Yuanqing with his blade, attempting to drag him into close-quarters melee combat.
The Mountain God shattered the railing, ramming forward like an armored vehicle.
Zhang Yuanqing dissipated into starlight once more, reappearing a few meters away. He stowed the short knife, slipped on the Gale Gloves, and unleashed two wind blades.
The swordsman dodged nimbly, while the Mountain God charged right through the wind blades, entirely ignoring the translucent edges capable of slicing metal and severing jade.
Zhang Yuanqing did not use the Star Escape Technique again. Instead, he slipped directly into Night Roamer invisibility, using the updraft of the wind blades to glide in a half-arc behind the Level 5 swordsman. Summoning his short knife, he thrust it savagely toward the man's back.
*Clang!*
The tip of the blade struck the spine of a sword. The swordsman was still facing away, yet his weapon had shifted behind his back the very moment the sneak attack arrived.
"Hmph. An assassin must keep his mind as calm as still water. With killing intent this glaring, Your Majesty cultivates power without cultivating the mind—truly an inferior display!" the swordsman sneered, whirling around in a fierce counterattack.
After taking two sword cuts, Zhang Yuanqing used Star Escape to break away from melee range, continuing to tangle with his two foes. Downstairs in the hall, Brother Red Chicken and the Shenrui Army Fire Demon were locked in a duel, setting fires indiscriminately.
The dining patrons in the hall scattered in panic, while the guests in the private rooms cowered inside, trembling and not daring to emerge.
Wang Beiwang seized the opportunity to dash into the hall, hoisted Jiang Jingwei onto his back, and ran. Just as he burst through the entrance of Hongxiu Pavilion, he saw a detachment of city defense troops rushing toward them, armor clanking, sabers at their waists, bows on their backs, armed to the teeth.
The dozen or so mounted riders leading them carried a chilling aura, clearly elite experts.
*The city defense army got here so fast?!*
Wang Beiwang quickly lowered his head, carrying Jiang Jingwei as he sprinted away into the distance.
The lead cavalryman pulled his reins, drew his sword, and shouted, "Execute all rebels inside Hongxiu Pavilion! Men, women, old, or young—leave none alive!"
The soldiers behind roared their acknowledgment and swarmed inside.
Rushing into the hall, the soldiers took in the scene. A portion of them drew their bows and loosed arrows toward the combatants on the second floor, while another group cast two silvery nets toward the two Fire Demons.
Seeing this, the Shenrui Army Fire Demon used Fire Traveling to evade the nets. The blood-crazed Brother Red Chicken, reckless like a newborn calf, slashed his blazing saber directly at the silver net descending over him.
The scalding flame saber failed to cut or incinerate the silver net. Unable to dodge in time, Brother Red Chicken was caught underneath.
Half a dozen brutal soldiers charged forward with raised sabers, hacking away wildly.
A roar of flames erupted outward, tearing the silver net to shreds and blasting the soldiers away—Brother Red Chicken had activated his Rager skill.
On the other side, arrows rained down in a continuous thudding barrage, their fletchings vibrating as they embedded into the doors, windows, and walls of the second floor. City defense soldiers brandished their steel blades and swarmed up the stairs.
Keeping his eyes and ears open to everything, Zhang Yuanqing witnessed Brother Red Chicken's plight and immediately shouted, "The military in this era can slaughter cultivators! Don't engage head-on—retreat!"
With that, he draped on the Yin-Yang Robe, vanished into starlight, and reappeared on the rooftop, where he pinched a fireball into being.
*Boom!*
The fireball expanded, and Brother Red Chicken materialized from the surging scarlet flames.
The two bolted across the rooftops, alternating between Star Escape and Fire Traveling as they fled into the distance.
A resounding crash echoed from the roof of Hongxiu Pavilion as the Shenrui Army Fire Demon and swordsman broke through the tiles, giving tight chase.
The Mountain God sprinted along the street in hot pursuit, followed closely by the city defense army.
Civilians on the street fled in panic, scrambling out of the way.
*Didn't you claim your strength surpassed Tuoba and your intellect rivaled the Imperial Preceptor? Even as an emperor, you love bragging this much!* Wang Beiwang muttered inwardly. Holding Jiang Jingwei close, he melted quietly into the crowd and slipped away.
Brother Red Chicken leaped across a roof ridge, glanced back at the two factions relentlessly pursuing them, and said at once, "You go first! Don't worry about me!"
The enemy had a Fire Demon too; if he used Fire Traveling, it could easily serve as a springboard for the enemy to close in. But without Fire Traveling, he couldn't outrun either group, since both sides had Scouts and swordsmen skilled at tracking.
Yuanshi Tianzun had to leave first.
*If I'd known, I would have collected a few more night-wandering items...* Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts raced. Escaping was no problem for him; after all, whether an Illusionist or a Night Roamer, both were as slippery as loaches.
Whatever didn't kill him only made him run faster.
Brother Red Chicken, however, would find it nearly impossible to escape the Saints from both the city defense army and the Shenrui Army.
This battle had erupted out of nowhere. The Shenrui Army was clearly gunning for him, and they knew his identity. Even the Zheng family hadn't figured out where he was hiding, so how could the Shenrui Army know?
No, the Zheng family might know as well, because the city defense army had arrived with suspicious speed. Over the past two days, Zhang Yuanqing had spent all his time dodging them and had become very familiar with their patrol patterns, troop distribution, and response times.
They had arrived far too quickly.
If this was a trap, there were likely multiple detachments of city defense troops nearby. Once the encirclement closed, Brother Red Chicken wouldn't survive even with ten lives.
A thought struck Zhang Yuanqing. "Follow me to the Ministry of Justice!"
Chapter 863