For this matter, Emperor Qu Peng also felt deeply embarrassed and offered his apologies to Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei. "Huh? What's this?" The first floor of the pleasure boat had been decorated as a hall, while the second floor seemed to be where meals were served. Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei made their way up to the third floor. This was where the Dingguo Crown Prince had spent the night aboard the boat—and what Emperor Qu Peng suspected was the scene of the crime. "There's definitely something wrong here." "Then I thank Your Majesty." Looking at the boat, Tang Ruowei sighed. "Such a fine boat, turned into a floating brothel by that Crown Prince." The Dingguo official bowed to the two women and left. Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei boarded the pleasure boat. "Hmph." The man's cultivation was a little higher than Tang Ruowei's. He had launched a sneak attack, and as a water cultivator, he had the advantage of both favorable timing and terrain here on the canal. "Of course I know. I bought it for him as a birthday gift when he turned ten." With a soft whoosh, someone recalled the Flying Sword. At the same time, the windows on both sides of the pleasure boat's room shattered as people crashed through them. "Oh?" Before she was struck, Tang Ruowei heard a cold laugh escape his lips. A black Sword Light flashed and vanished. The attacker gave a muffled grunt and flew backward out the window. Even the hull had arrow slits for soldiers to shoot through. In an emergency, the pleasure boat could even become a warship. "Since Emperor Qu Peng had his suspicions, he surely would have sent people to inspect the place afterward. But they found nothing. First, because this was the Crown Prince's boat, they didn't dare tamper with anything. Second, someone must have come back and replaced something in the meantime." "A cultivator?" "Ruowei! Watch out!" Even on the broad canal running through Dingguo's capital, this pleasure boat would have been the most eye-catching vessel on the water. It was about thirty or forty meters long, with a three-story structure. Most of the hull was vermilion, decorated with gold lacquer. Clouds, dragons, and phoenixes adorned the pillars and eaves, proclaiming the owner's noble status. "Someone came in—or went out—through this window." After returning to the imperial palace and saying goodbye to Bai Qiuran, she and Tang Ruowei had immediately sought out Emperor Qu Peng. But when they asked, they learned that the guards who had been protecting the Crown Prince that day had already been questioned and then all beheaded by the furious Emperor Qu Peng for dereliction of duty. Zuo Yanfei showed no fear. She swung her weapon up to meet the masked man's attack, blocked with her spear, and sent him staggering back. Then she joined the two short spears in her hands into a single silver spear. A glint of cold light flashed as the spear shot out like a dragon, thrusting toward the fire cultivator. "Let's keep looking for other clues." Still holding that pose, she parted her little lips. Emperor Qu Peng replied, "It should still be on the canal. If you want to go, I can have someone take you there." Zuo Yanfei's face reddened. "Ruowei, let's go up and take a look first. Sir, sorry for the trouble. You can head back now." After apologizing, Emperor Qu Peng said this. What Zuo Yanfei had feared most had indeed happened. Zuo Yanfei asked, "Why do you say that, Your Majesty?" Zuo Yanfei walked to the window and pushed it open. The canal's emerald-green water flowed below. "Ahem." Both men wore masks that hid their faces. One held the Flying Sword upside down in his hand, flames coiling around him as he struck at Zuo Yanfei with his palm. Zuo Yanfei's expression turned stern. She lifted the hem of her skirt, and as her sleeves fluttered, two silver short spears appeared in her hands. "Based on what I know of my son, he might not have died in that restaurant, but somewhere else." The flames died away, revealing a small red Flying Sword within... But he had clearly miscalculated one thing. Tang Ruowei and Zuo Yanfei ran to the window and saw the fire cultivator ride his Flying Sword around to the other side of the boat, catch the water cultivator, then rise swiftly into the air and flee the canal without looking back. After searching, sharp-eyed Tang Ruowei still found a clue on the floor: a short, white hair caught in a crack between the wooden floorboards. It was so hard to see that no one would notice it without looking closely. After a few brief clashes, the flames on the Flying Sword gradually shrank. A patch of ice had formed on its blade, and was slowly spreading. Zuo Yanfei's voice suddenly rang out. Tang Ruowei felt someone tug at the back of her collar. A streak of fire burst through the window, and with a whoosh, scorched that patch of floor black. Tang Ruowei followed her gaze. Sure enough, although the vermilion paper window looked just like the one on the opposite side, a closer look revealed subtle differences. Emperor Qu Peng hesitated, then said, "My son was accomplished in both letters and arms, dutiful and dependable. He was good in every way except that he was a bit of a womanizer. Of course, I don't think that's much of a flaw in someone who's meant to be emperor. But knowing my son's habits, after watching a performance, if nothing had gone wrong, he would definitely send for whichever members of the troupe had caught his eye and take them to some place he'd prepared for a night of passion." At that, Zuo Yanfei blushed slightly. Tang Ruowei, who had been born into royalty, remained unruffled. After thinking it over, she asked, "Does Your Majesty know where the Crown Prince usually liked to take women?" Led by an official, Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei came to the canal and saw the pleasure boat owned by the Dingguo Crown Prince. As soon as she entered, Zuo Yanfei sensed something was wrong. Pointing at the window on the left side of the room, she said, "This window is too new." "But if you two are investigating this matter, I do have a theory. I don't know if it's any good, though." Seeing her opponent charge toward her with killing intent, Tang Ruowei stopped holding back. Using the dodging skills she had honed through years of tussling with the mountain's mother monkey, along with the flexibility she had gained from the Fortune Body Forging Technique, she bent at the waist at an almost impossible angle and narrowly evaded the attack. The girl crouched down, ready to pull out the hair. "A father knows his son best. I chose him as Crown Prince, so of course I know him better than anyone." The Flying Sword wheeled around and shot toward Zuo Yanfei and Tang Ruowei. With a cold snort, Zuo Yanfei swung both short spears, trailing chill as she deftly clashed with the Flying Sword. At the same time, the other masked man pounced on Tang Ruowei. Icy vapor rose from his hand. He seemed to be a water cultivator. Seeing this, the fire cultivator on the other side was startled as well. Caught off guard, he too was sent flying by Zuo Yanfei's palm strike. "What a pity." They searched the room again. It looked as though someone had put everything back in order afterward. The ornaments on the table and the bedding and mosquito nets on the bed were all arranged neatly, as if ready for the Dingguo Crown Prince to bring someone back at any moment. Compared with the rest of the room, there was far less dust on it. Tang Ruowei suggested, "Let's look around for more clues."
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