The goateed cultivator thought it over and over, and the more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed.
Yet he also felt that the Five Spirit Sect cultivator had left too decisively. Whatever he had been searching for was probably not all that important.
What was unimportant to a cultivator of a great sect could be far more important to Rogue Cultivators like them.
Even now, he still wore a low-grade dharma robe and possessed no powerful weapon of slaughter.
That was why he coveted the Sword Hairpin Artifact.
So long as one wielded a Mid-grade Artifact, one would have the capital to fight above one's rank. Even with only the fifth level of Qi Refinement, he could command a voice in the Attendant Tower.
Unfortunately, all the Rogue Cultivators wanted that mid-grade Sword Hairpin, leaving it safely tucked away in the treasury instead.
Now that another clue had emerged, the goateed cultivator felt he needed to investigate it.
Even if what he found in the end proved disappointing, it would at least fulfill a long-held wish.
It would save him from being endlessly tangled up in it.
Leaving his room, the goateed cultivator headed straight for the small building where Lu Chengyi was staying.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou is a rare visitor indeed."
Lu Chengyi cupped his hands in greeting, seemingly unsurprised by the goateed cultivator's arrival.
Zhou Liang stroked his goatee and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Lu is busy. I did not wish to disturb you."
The two exchanged smiles, but neither offered further pleasantries.
After all, they were both Attendants of Great Liang and had known each other for a long time.
Anyone who could become a Qi Refiner despite beginning as an ordinary person was no fool.
Clever people were easier to deal with.
The very fact that one had come calling was enough to make many things clear.
"I wonder how Fellow Daoist Lu came to know that great sect cultivator from the Five Spirit Sect?" Zhou Liang turned the subject back to Mo Qi, hoping to pry more information from Old Daoist Lu.
Old Daoist Lu tucked his hands into his sleeves and smiled mildly. "Fellow Daoist Zhou wishes to ask what exactly Fellow Daoist Mo was looking for, does he not?"
Zhou Liang froze slightly, then burst into laughter. "As expected, I cannot hide anything from you old ox-nose."
"That's right. I want to know what that great sect cultivator was searching for, something worth dragging his heavily wounded body all the way to the Liang capital over half a month."
Old Daoist Lu shook his head. "I do not know. It should be related to the Demon Cultivator."
"We examined the Demon Cultivator's corpse in great detail. There could not possibly have been any secret hidden on it, which means it should have been an object."
He was no fool either. He voiced his own conjecture while watching Meng Liang's reaction.
Zhou Liang showed no sign of being moved; his expression remained perfectly normal.
It seemed Zhou Liang had already analyzed it himself. Even if he had not, he had at least sensed something.
Otherwise, Zhou Liang would not have come looking for him at this critical moment. He was likely hoping to obtain some useful information from him.
Or perhaps Zhou Liang himself suspected that he had taken the item.
"Could it be that you put the item away, brother?" Zhou Liang stared at Old Daoist Lu, asking what he truly meant as though it were a joke.
Old Daoist Lu offered no defense. Instead, he gave Zhou Liang a meaningful look.
At once, Zhou Liang became uncomfortable, and even the smile on his face faded considerably.
After hurriedly taking his leave, Zhou Liang headed straight for the courtyard where the Daoist boys gathered.
"Bring me the Daoist boys who received the two Attendants and the Demon Cultivator's corpse a month ago."
This matter had actually been asked once already in front of Mo Qi, but Zhou Liang felt he needed to hear it again.
The boys recounted the events of that day once more.
There were no discrepancies. And with so many people watching, Old Daoist Lu truly had not put anything away.
Of course, even if he had taken something, with Old Daoist Lu's sixth level Qi Refinement cultivation, they would not dare demand it from him face-to-face.
Since he had not even hidden the mid-grade Sword Hairpin, it meant he most likely had not taken anything.
After dismissing the boys, Zhou Liang frowned as he walked back toward his own courtyard.
He pondered over it for an entire night.
He did not sleep all night, nor did he meditate and cultivate.
He nearly plucked his goatee clean off.
Who knew how many hairs he had scratched loose from his head.
Bent over his desk, he wrote and drew, recording everything the Daoist boys had recounted.
At the same time, he listed every person who had appeared in the matter.
Then he used lines to map out their relationships.
Not until the eastern sky began to brighten and dawn glimmered did Zhou Liang suddenly slap his forehead.
Enlightenment struck.
A month ago, a battle had taken place, leaving the Five Spirit Sect's great sect cultivator wounded. Afterward, people from the imperial court had transported the corpses back.
The Storage Talismans and Artifacts on their bodies had not gone missing.
But what if, while cleaning the battlefield, someone had seen something valuable and slipped it into his own pocket?
The treasure might have concealed its brilliance, causing it to be mistaken for ordinary gold, silver, or other valuables.
Moreover, after investigating so many people, which group that had come into contact with the treasure had yet to be investigated?
Only the imperial court personnel who had transported the corpses back remained.
Having thought of this, Zhou Liang tossed his writings into the brazier and burned them. After changing clothes, he left the pavilion.
He did not head straight for the Southern Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but went to the market instead.
First, he had breakfast by the roadside and drank his fill of soup. Then he went to a teahouse for morning tea.
He deliberately delayed for a long while.
Until he had shaken off every tail behind him.
Only then did he arrive at the teahouse.
He listened as the storyteller recounted strange and marvelous tales.
Stories of immortals soaring high and traveling far earned cheers from the scattered audience.
Meng Liang smiled.
Even he, a Qi Refiner, did not understand the world of cultivators.
These so-called marvelous tales were even more often fabricated nonsense.
Most told of some poor boy who gained a fortuitous opportunity and soared into the heavens in a single bound, roaming the boundless worlds with beauties at his side.
Meng Liang flipped his hand and produced a silver needle. He pricked his index finger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and let it fall onto a yellow talisman paper.
The talisman paper immediately folded into a crude paper figurine, which he hid beneath the table.
He tossed down ten copper coins and left the teahouse.
Meng Liang looked back. He did not know who was following him, but this small trick of shifting one's aura through a substitute would be enough to hold up the cultivator behind him.
The Southern Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was currently on duty.
The plump, fair Thousand-Household Officer came out to greet him in a state of extreme alarm. "Immortal Master, please do not blame this humble one. I truly only just received the news."
"It is no matter." The tall, thin cultivator with a goatee stopped the plump officer from apologizing, then immediately asked, "Do you know who escorted the corpses of the Attendant Tower's Immortal Masters back?"
The plump officer froze, then asked quietly and uncertainly, "The incident from a month ago?"
He kept his posture extremely low.
"That is correct." Zhou Liang nodded, his eyes lighting up.
This Thousand-Household Officer actually still remembered what had happened that day. It seemed the incident had indeed left a deep impression on him.
Though that did not prove anything, any lead was good.
Cold sweat instantly burst across the plump officer's forehead. His heart quailed with fear.
Could it be because Old Xiang had escorted the Immortal Master's corpse and earned some favor?
Now that the Immortal Master had free time, was he going to punish him?
If that was truly the case, then offending Old Xiang had been profoundly unwise.
But who could have known Old Xiang had an Immortal Master backing him?
"Is there a problem?"
Seeing the plump officer break out in cold sweat, Zhou Liang could not help frowning.
This man was far too weak. He had merely asked a question, so why was the man frightened into such a state?
And he appeared to have no inner qi at all, a complete mortal.
Though terrified and even wanting to flee on the spot, the plump officer still stammered, "N-No, no. May I ask what matter the Immortal Master wishes to inquire about?"
Meng Liang found it even stranger. Not wishing to delay an important matter, he repeated himself in greater detail. "Who were the people who escorted the corpses back? Is there a roster?"
"Yes."
"Come. Bring the roster of Embroidered Uniform Guards who escorted the Immortal Masters' corpses a month ago."
With only a simple order, the Embroidered Uniform Guard beside him hurried away to retrieve the roster.
There had been twenty-five people in total. Only twenty had returned; five soldiers had died.
Meng Liang memorized the addresses of the remaining twenty. Just as he was about to leave, the plump officer called out to him.
The plump officer looked at Meng Liang nervously and asked with great caution, "Immortal Master, do you know Old Xiang and the others?"
Meng Liang gave it no further thought and instead rebuked him. "Do not seek to know what you should not know."
After the Immortal Master departed, the plump officer collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
He could not help wondering whether he had truly caused a great disaster.
Whether they knew each other or not, what if they eventually forged a connection and Old Xiang lodged another complaint? Would his little life not be finished?
Though it appeared that the Immortal Master did not know Old Xiang, one could not fear ten thousand possibilities yet fail to guard against the one that came true.