"Are you Luo Qian?" the young Commander asked in a low voice. Luo Qian nodded, looking utterly clueless and harmless. "I'm Luo Qian. Where did that vicious man go?" The young Commander waved a hand. "I'm Xu Hu, a fifth-rank Commander of the Imperial Execution Bureau. Can you move? Good. Get up and come with me."
Xu Hu split his men into two groups. He took two with him and led Luo Qian back the way they had come, leaving the larger group to track Luo Renwang. "Just follow him," Xu Hu ordered. "Wait until I return before taking any action." With that, he left his baffled subordinates behind, mounted an auspicious cloud, concealed his movements, and departed.
Luo Qian found it strange too. Zheng Daoguang had come up with the plan and personally arranged every detail. Only he could access the Secret Investigation Bureau's most closely guarded secrets and know the flaw in Luo Renwang's Autumn Spring Formation Box.
Luo Qian was deeply moved. If the affair came to light, it would be the grave crime of deceiving the emperor. Even with the Deputy Hall Steward's protection, Zheng Daoguang would not escape death.
But the young Commander's actions bewildered him. Why was Xu Hu taking him away instead of pursuing Luo Renwang, the man the emperor actually wanted? His Majesty's order had never even mentioned Luo Qian's name. Wasn't Xu Hu abandoning the root to chase the branch?
Xu Hu's cultivation was exceptionally deep. Young as he looked, the auspicious cloud he rode was over ten zhang across, and four people could stand on it without feeling crowded. Luo Qian stole a glance at him. The Imperial Execution Bureau's youngest fifth-rank Commander stared solemnly ahead, his attention never wavering. Unable to gauge his temperament, Luo Qian thought better of