Death or Life

The moon on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month was still bright.

Beneath the moonlight, a white figure swept across the ground, racing toward Haoran City ahead.

Lu Xiaofeng pushed all his strength to its limit, seeming to ride upon the wind itself.

Yet he still felt he was not fast enough. He wanted to go faster—faster still!

The farther he ran, the heavier Lu Xiaofeng's heart became.

That suspicion in his heart seemed to be gradually coming true.

And the suspicion itself was quite simple... Boss Qian might not have died at all!

If he said such a thing aloud, people would probably dismiss it as nonsense.

Boss Qian had personally plunged a dagger into his own heart, after which Luo Ma, Jiang Long, and Zhou Ming had each examined him and confirmed that he was certainly dead.

Perhaps one person's judgment could be mistaken, but three people... two of them experienced Gold-Clad Constables. How could they all have been wrong?

Yet the monks of Yunjian Temple had been withdrawn two days ago.

And Fourth Brother's act of stealing the corpse.

Both had turned that suspicion into a seed planted in Lu Xiaofeng's heart, where it had gradually taken root and grown!

And as he pursued them, that suspicion seemed to be turning into fact.

The reason was simple: Boss Qian was somewhat plump and probably weighed close to two hundred jin.

How fast could Fourth Brother run while carrying a two-hundred-jin corpse on his back?

Could he really keep Lu Xiaofeng, whose lightness skill was unmatched, from catching even a glimpse of him after such a long chase?

But if Lu Xiaofeng's suspicion was true, then it all made sense.

Boss Qian had never died at all. Fourth Brother therefore did not need to flee with a two-hundred-jin corpse. He merely needed to carry Boss Qian out of Yunjian Temple. Once Boss Qian woke up, he could run alongside him.

Naturally, that would make them much faster.

And with the time Lu Xiaofeng had lost to Luo Ma, Jiang Long, and Yue Qing before giving chase, it was only natural that he had still failed to catch them by now.

"I never imagined there was a method of feigning death that could let someone survive even after their heart was pierced!"

Lu Xiaofeng cursed himself inwardly. Lu Xiaofeng, Lu Xiaofeng, how could you be so stupid?! Could someone facing certain death truly refuse even to make one last desperate attempt, choosing instead to kill himself so decisively? You should have noticed something was wrong then!

But it was too late to say anything now. Judging by the time, Boss Qian and Fourth Brother might already have escaped into the capital.

There were hundreds of thousands of people in the capital. Finding them again would be like searching for a needle in the sea.

Tap!

Lu Xiaofeng suddenly halted.

He dropped down from a tree and saw two sets of clothing lying beneath it. He did not recognize one set, but the other was the outfit Boss Qian had worn earlier.

Lu Xiaofeng picked it up and examined it.

Just as he had thought!

The tear in the chest and the bloodstains were still there, seeming to mock Lu Xiaofeng's foolishness.

But at that moment, Lu Xiaofeng smiled.

So that was it. The two of them had changed clothes here?

It was certainly a wise move. After changing clothes, they would be much easier to conceal.

But they probably had not expected Lu Xiaofeng to realize the truth so quickly and pursue them.

"If we leave out the time they spent changing clothes, perhaps... they still haven't entered the capital yet!"

Lu Xiaofeng looked around and found the pair's footprints nearby.

It seemed that they believed they had escaped safely, so they had not bothered to conceal their tracks at all.

Still, they were not stupid. Their footprints led in two separate directions.

One headed toward the capital.

The other ran toward the wilderness.

Lu Xiaofeng made his decision almost instantly. He threw down the clothes in his hand and dashed toward the capital.

Perhaps because they had destroyed Jile Tower too quickly, the capital gates had not yet closed.

But it was already nighttime, and few people were entering the city.

Lu Xiaofeng approached the soldiers guarding the gate. "Brother, I am Lu Xiaofeng. I would like to ask you something."

He handed over a small piece of broken silver. The guard's eyes lit up as he discreetly accepted it. "So it is Hero Lu. I have long admired your name. What would you like to ask?"

"Within the past quarter of an hour... no, the past half-quarter of an hour, has a plump, prosperous-looking middle-aged man entered the city?"

"Half a quarter of an hour..."

The guard thought for a moment, then said, "No. Not just half a quarter of an hour—even over the past quarter of an hour, there has been no one like that."

"Really no one? Think carefully."

"Hero Lu, there are few pedestrians after nightfall. During the past half-quarter of an hour, an old man passed through first, and then him."

The guard pointed to a young man who had just passed through the city gate.

The man appeared to be only a little over twenty and wore a loose black martial outfit.

"Brother! Brother!"

Lu Xiaofeng hurried after him and asked, "On your way here, did you happen to see a plump middle-aged man? Within the past quarter or half-quarter of an hour..."

The man shook his head. "I did not."

"All right... thank you, brother."

Lu Xiaofeng sighed helplessly. It seemed he was still too slow. Boss Qian had probably entered the city long ago, blended into the crowd, and become impossible to find.

But Lu Xiaofeng was not someone who gave up so easily.

As he walked back, he considered every clue that might prove useful.

Right—the dagger Boss Qian had used to kill himself!

And the clothes they had discarded after changing disguises.

Boss Qian had also said that he had two concubines and several children outside...

"Come to think of it, that young man from earlier looked strangely familiar..."

Lu Xiaofeng stopped and looked back. The man had already disappeared into the city, leaving no trace behind.

The next day.

Pei Manor.

Qianjin Pavilion.

"Here. This is the antidote. After taking it, the poison in your body should be cleared in about half an hour. Then you can drink again..."

Lu Xiaofeng accepted the tiny medicine bottle, but sighed and set it aside. "I am in no mood to drink now."

"Oh? You have not had a drink for four or five days, and now that you finally can, you do not want to?"

Zhou Ming asked curiously, "Could it be that something unpleasant has happened again? Why not tell me about it and let me be happy for once?"

"Heh..."

Lu Xiaofeng was truly burdened with worries today. He did not even have the mood to trade barbs with Zhou Ming. Faced with Zhou Ming's mockery, he gave no response at all.

"Do you think Boss Qian really died?"

"Did Boss Qian really die? What a strange question. Could he come back to life?"

"Yes..."

Before coming here today, Lu Xiaofeng had already gone to Six Doors and asked Jiang Long the same question.

Naturally, Jiang Long had been utterly baffled as well.

Boss Qian was still alive?

How could that be possible!

His death had been jointly confirmed by Luo Ma and Jiang Long, two Gold-Clad Constables.

Even though the corpse had been stolen, his death had already been entered into the case files.

The case was even being prepared for closure.

Only Lu Xiaofeng could ask Jiang Long whether Boss Qian might not be dead at a time like this. If anyone else had said it, Jiang Long would have considered himself restrained if he merely threw them out of Six Doors and called them insane!

Still, Lu Xiaofeng believed in his own judgment.

Everything he had experienced proved that Boss Qian had never died at all!

"By the way, do you have any experts at your residence who are skilled at drawing wanted portraits?"

"Yes. What for?"

"Nothing much. I want to find someone!"