An Encounter with a Riddler

This sudden turn of events was completely unexpected for Chu Qing.

Even with his usual boldness, his heart couldn't help but grow cold, but he immediately understood that the guy wasn't dead!

It wasn't Chu Qing's fault that he hadn't noticed. The man's legs had been severed, his upper body clothing was covered in blood that had dried, and who knew how long ago he had been injured.

He was barely breathing, his life force incredibly weak.

Anyone who saw a person like this would never have thought he still had a breath left.

And when he saw Chu Qing, he reached out to grab Chu Qing's ankle.

How could Chu Qing let him grab him? He shifted his body and easily dodged, and the man didn't seem to mind.

He just spoke a few words with extreme difficulty:

"Tell... Green Leaf... Sword... Hilt... Heav... Heav... Heav..."

After saying these few words, his body slumped, no longer able to hold on, and he died.

"...Tell Green Leaf Sword Hilt? What's that?"

Chu Qing was a bit confused by what he heard:

"Hey, make it clear! What Green Leaf Sword Hilt? Tell who? How to tell? And what does Heav, Heav, Heav mean? Riddlers need to get out of Gotham City!"

These few words were completely nonsensical, with no beginning or end. From any perspective, Green Leaf Sword Hilt shouldn't be a person.

Or... is Green Leaf Sword someone's nickname?

Tell Green Leaf Sword, Hilt... what does that mean?

Did he mishear?

Hilt or cake? Or some other word?

Or is there a Green Leaf Sword, and there's some mystery inside the hilt?

But what does this have to do with Heav?

Chu Qing instantly thought of many possibilities, then felt a bit speechless...

A dying stranger he didn't know, and he was here analyzing his words? What the hell was he doing?

"But looking at his attire, he's definitely one of the Heavenly Dance Guards.

"Could this matter be related to the City Lord's Mansion?"

Chu Qing examined the corpse, and after a moment, his face showed surprise.

His legs were severed, and there were drag marks of blood on the ground, as well as signs of being pressed down on the weeds in the forest.

Looking at his hands, there were many broken areas, and there were bits of grass and dirt under his fingernails.

This seemed to indicate that after his legs were severed, this person had painstakingly crawled all the way here?

"Struggled to this extent just to deliver a message?

"This matter is probably no small deal."

Chu Qing pondered for a moment, then shook his head:

"However, this is so nonsensical, without a head or tail."

He shook his head and didn't move the body.

This was within the boundaries of Heavenly Dance City after all. If the matter was related to the City Lord's Mansion, people from the City Lord's Mansion would definitely come looking.

If he rashly handled the body, whether they found it or not later, it wouldn't be a good situation.

Thinking of this, he also dealt with his footprints around the area before continuing on his way.

He also paid close attention along the way but didn't see anything unusual happen.

And so, by noon the next day, Chu Qing stole a few clothes from a farmer's house outside the city, disguised himself as a country boy entering the city, and successfully blended into Heavenly Dance City.

The streets of Heavenly Dance City were bustling with people. Carriages occasionally passed by, and vendors lined the streets, their calls rising and falling.

For Chu Qing, this was his first time entering Heavenly Dance City, but memories couldn't help but surface.

This was South Street. Heavenly Dance City had a total of four streets, and the entire city was laid out in a grid pattern.

The City Lord's Mansion was in the very center, while the Chu Family was on North Street.

However, although everything he saw was as he remembered, some places had changed.

The sugar figurines he liked were still there, but the person making them was different.

The narrow alley where he used to play with his friends was still there, but now it was a different group of children playing there.

The uncle who sold steamed buns had a few more white hairs at his temples.

The mischievous child who used to fool around among the stalls now had a rag draped over his shoulder and was standing on the street corner, energetically shouting.

Chu Qing walked along the street, and unconsciously, he looked up and saw a mansion.

This was a large, prominent household, with a plaque hanging over the gate. On it were two large, gilded characters: Chu Residence.

Unconsciously, how did I end up here?

Chu Qing let out a soft breath. He didn't want to go in just yet.

His purpose for this trip was simple: to give Chu Yunfei a heads-up, warning him to be careful of the Mirror of Sin.

To accomplish this, he didn't need to meet him at all.

He just needed to find a way to sneak into the Chu Family and leave something behind... Of course, opportunities to sneak into the Chu Family weren't easy to find, but Chu Qing was confident he wasn't without options.

He turned around, about to leave, when he suddenly heard a familiar phrase from nearby. He couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound and saw it was a tea house.

The tea house was called 'Red Leaf Tea House' and was directly across from the Chu Family, though he figured it must have opened in the last few years.

There used to be no tea house or tea shop across from the Chu Family; instead, there was a security company.

That security company had quite a reputation in its early years, being the number one security company in Heavenly Dance City.

Later, the head of the company died tragically in the martial world, and the young master who inherited the business was inexperienced, had mediocre martial arts skills, and was fond of women.

It seemed he had squandered the family fortune, and even the security company had been sold.

Looking around, there was also a restaurant next to the tea house and a pawn shop on the other side, clearly all converted buildings.

After a moment of thought, he stepped into the tea house. Before he could even sit down, he heard someone ask loudly:

"Who exactly is that Night Emperor?"

"Exactly! The Seven Iron Horse Thieves aren't weak in martial arts, yet this Night Emperor killed three of them with one sword strike. Is this true or false?"

The familiar phrase Chu Qing had just heard was 'Night Emperor'. He didn't expect the news to have spread to Heavenly Dance City so quickly.

He casually found a seat and saw a man say loudly:

"Of course, this matter is absolutely true. Chu Fan, the second young master of the Chu Family, said it himself. How could it be false?"

Chu Qing was speechless for a moment. No wonder the news spread so fast.

Turns out it was Chu Fan, that loudmouth, all along.

He and that Junior Sister Wen both had fast horses, so it was reasonable that they arrived in Heavenly Dance City earlier than him.

While the waiter was bringing the tea, the group of people chattered on, saying many things.

Chu Qing found that this group didn't know much; the vast majority of it was speculation about the Night Emperor.

And there were all sorts of theories...

Some said the Night Emperor was a senior who had retired from the martial world long ago, living in seclusion under a false name, and only took action out of anger when the Seven Iron Horse Thieves indiscriminately killed innocent people.

Others said he was a attention-seeker, daring to call himself 'Emperor'. If the Great Qian Dynasty hadn't lost contact, they would surely execute his entire clan.

Some also said this person should be a young wandering swordsman who was using this incident to make a name for himself.

It was quite lively for a while.

Chu Qing wasn't interested in this. He was just thinking of having a sip of tea and leaving when he suddenly saw a traveling doctor walking by on the street, carrying a banner.

With just one glance, Chu Qing's pupils suddenly constricted.

He knew this person.

But this person shouldn't be here.

Because in his memory, this person had died a month ago.