The caravan was in disarray, but fortunately, no one had died. Only a few guards had suffered minor injuries.
The steward was still shaken. Seeing Qian Renxue standing with her fists lowered and her breathing steady, he hurried over, gratitude plastered across his face. "Thank you for coming to our aid, young brother!"
"May I ask your name, young brother? Are you traveling alone?"
Qian Renxue brushed the dust from her hands and replied calmly in a deliberately altered boyish voice, "My name is 'Xue Yang.' I'm heading to Heaven Dou City to find a way to make a living. It was no trouble at all. There's no need to thank me."
"Young brother Xue Yang, you're a true young hero!" The steward's eyes lit up, and his manner grew even warmer. "There's still some distance to Heaven Dou City, and the road isn't very safe."
"If you don't mind, you can travel with our caravan. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will surely reward you! Once we reach Heaven Dou City, we might even be able to introduce you to a few people."
Qian Renxue pretended to hesitate, then nodded. "All right. Then I'll have to trouble you, steward."
She had successfully infiltrated the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's caravan.
Sitting on the simple cart assigned to her as the caravan slowly made its way toward Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue closed her eyes to rest, but listened carefully to the guards and servants whispering nearby.
"...Have you heard? Something big happened in Heaven Dou City! Someone killed one of our sect's disciples and even left a message in blood..."
"Shh, keep your voice down! The steward told us not to discuss it... But I heard His Majesty was furious, and the Crown Prince has even been confined..."
"Really? But the Crown Prince has always..."
"Who knows? The royal family's affairs are complicated. We'd better be careful when we get back. The city's bound to be tense."
Qian Renxue's thoughts stirred. Heaven Dou City truly wasn't peaceful. Crown Prince Ye Yang had been confined? A disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been killed? A message in blood? These scraps of information pieced together to form a picture of undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
She touched the Thousand-Year Soul Bone she had obtained from the Nether Wolf King inside her clothes. Its cold, hard feel met her fingers. She had never absorbed the Soul Bone; she always felt the time wasn't right—or perhaps this body secretly rejected it.
"Ye Yang... Heaven Dou City..." She gazed at the towering city walls drawing ever closer. Deep in her disguised eyes, a light sharp as a blade flashed.
Whether the road ahead led into a dragon's lair or a tiger's den, she had to brave it. The secrets of this body, the stirrings of her Soul Ring, and that mysterious "Ye Yang"... Perhaps all the answers lay within that city.
The outline of Heaven Dou City gradually emerged through the morning mist, its towering walls like a crouching behemoth. Seated on the cart at the rear of the caravan, Qian Renxue calmly surveyed the imperial capital.
The inspection at the city gates was several times stricter than usual.
Armored guards carefully checked every cart and every traveler's identity papers. Soul Masters also had to briefly release their Soul Rings for registration. An oppressive tension hung in the air.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's banner earned the caravan priority passage, but the steward was still called aside and questioned in a low voice for quite some time.
Qian Renxue noticed that the captain of the guards held a list, occasionally comparing it against the faces of passersby.
It seems something really has happened in Heaven Dou City, she thought.
After entering the city without incident, they were met with bustling streets. Shops lined the roads, crowds streamed by, and hawkers called out without pause. On the surface, nothing seemed amiss.
But Qian Renxue keenly noticed plainclothes agents stationed at some alley entrances. People in teahouses and taverns would occasionally speak in hushed voices before quickly parting, and the City Defense Department's patrols were twice as numerous as in an ordinary capital.
The caravan stopped at a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect warehouse in the western part of the city. The steward graciously arranged for Qian Renxue to stay there temporarily and presented her with a pouch of Gold Soul Coins as a reward.
"Young brother Xue Yang, you saved our caravan. Please accept this small token of our appreciation," the steward said with a smile.
"If you're looking for work in Heaven Dou City, I can recommend you for a position at one of the sect's businesses. It would only be an outer position, but the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect never treats people unfairly."
Qian Renxue accepted the pouch and considered it briefly. "Thank you, steward. I'd like to look around Heaven Dou City first and get familiar with the place. If I need anything, I'll come back and trouble you."
She needed the freedom to act on her own, not to be tied down to some faction too soon.
After leaving the warehouse, Qian Renxue changed into more inconspicuous gray clothes and suppressed her aura to the utmost. Like an ordinary young wandering Soul Master, she blended into the crowds of Heaven Dou City.
She first made a circuit of the main streets, memorizing the locations of the imperial palace, the princes' mansions, and the residences of the great nobles. Then she turned into the western market district, a comparatively disorderly area where information flowed freely.
Taking a seat at a modest teahouse with few customers, she ordered a pot of the cheapest rough tea and pricked up her ears, catching scraps of conversation around her.
"...Have you heard? Something happened in the southern part of the city last night. Sounds like Soul Masters fought..."
"Shh! You can't say things like that carelessly! The City Defense Department is cracking down hard. Be careful, or they might arrest you as a suspect!"
"What's there to be afraid of? We're just common folk... But honestly, the city hasn't known a moment's peace since that incident with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. My cousin works at a prince's mansion. He says His Highness the Prince hasn't left the mansion in days, and they've tripled the guards..."
"His Highness the Crown Prince has been confined to the East Palace too, hasn't he? If you ask me, this royal family..."
The voice abruptly stopped, as though the speaker had been silenced by a companion.
Qian Renxue sipped her tea slowly as the pieces of information gradually came together in her mind: a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been killed, a message in blood pointed to the royal family, the Crown Prince had been confined, Prince Xue Xing had tightened security, and the city was under strict watch. All of it suggested that Heaven Dou City stood on the eve of a storm.
As she pondered, a commotion arose outside the teahouse.
Several lavishly decorated carriages passed by, surrounded by guards. Their curtains were drawn, but the emblem of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda carved into their sides gleamed in the sunlight. Pedestrians hurriedly moved aside and whispered among themselves.
"Those are the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's carriages! Judging by their direction, are they heading to the imperial palace?"
"It must be Sect Master Ning Fengzhi, right? I heard he's been going to the palace frequently these past few days..."
Qian Renxue watched the carriages until they disappeared around the corner. The fact that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master was personally active in Heaven Dou City meant the matter was far more serious than it seemed.
She left money for her tea, stood up, and left the teahouse, deciding to take a look near the East Palace.
Just as she was crossing a relatively secluded alley, the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring inside her body gave an entirely unexpected throb!
This time, the pulse was clearer than ever before. It was as if an unseen hand had squeezed her heart tight, then instantly released it. Qian Renxue stopped in her tracks, her face paling slightly as she quickly braced herself against the wall.
She closed her eyes and looked inward. Deep within the Soul Ring, the indistinct image of a dragon seemed to open its eyes and "gaze" in a certain direction before sinking back into silence.
That direction was... the imperial palace?
Qian Renxue suppressed the turmoil in her heart and forced herself to stay calm. Was the Soul Ring's disturbance connected to the imperial palace? Had it sensed something? Or could it be that... Ye Yang's true body was inside the palace?
Before you continue