Imperial Palace.
Lin Qiye, Gongyang Wan, and Wu Quan darted continuously through the scattered palace halls.
In this vast Imperial Palace, finding Huo Qubing was no easy task. What was more, they occasionally had to stop and kill a few counterfeit stragglers. After wandering for a long while, the three of them still found no trace of Huo Qubing.
"Did you see the Marquis after entering the palace?" Lin Qiye asked.
"I did, but only when I had just entered." Gongyang Wan nodded. "He wanted to take me to see the Emperor, so he had people put shackles on me, lock me in a prison cart, and bring me into the palace with him... Hmph, he had the Heart-Returning Gu in his hand. With a single thought from him, there was no way I could escape. There was no need for such a grand display. It was merely for the Emperor and everyone else to see."
"After entering the palace, did you keep waiting in front of that hall?"
"Yes. It seemed the Emperor was meeting someone else at the time, so he left me there and said he would send someone to bring me inside shortly... But no one has come even now."
Lin Qiye frowned, lost in thought.
Huo Qubing had brought Gongyang Wan into the palace most likely to propose establishing the Evil Suppression Department. But so much time had passed; the Marquis should not have simply forgotten about Gongyang Wan... Could something have happened to him?
Or perhaps even Huo Qubing had been replaced?
That should not be possible... Huo Qubing was a Human Apex and the Emperor of Domination. Even if that mist could create an identical Marquis of Champion, silently killing and replacing him in such a short time was nearly impossible.
"Could the