The Pursuit

After Strategist Ji returned from the Marshal's Residence, he had remained seated in meditation in his room. Yet today, he constantly felt restless, as though something were about to happen.

Cultivators often experienced strange intuitions. Those with profound cultivation could even sense fragments of the future.

But he did not know what might happen. Li Yan and Chen An had gone into the city, something that had become common lately, so he did not connect his unease to that. He merely felt his emotions churning. Just as his uneasiness grew, he suddenly sensed something. His Divine Sense swept outward, and he discovered Chen An and Li Yin rushing into the valley. He only gave them a cursory glance and paid them no mind.

Though this had never happened before, Li Yan had often ordered Chen An and Li Yin to carry things into the valley whenever he returned from outside recently. Strategist Ji assumed they had been driven by Li Yan to hurry back and do something. Yet shortly afterward, he rose to his feet. The two had entered Li Yan's room for a while, then emerged again without saying a word, their faces filled with anxiety. Even then, Li Yan had not followed behind them. Such a sight had never occurred before.

Strategist Ji's heart sank. With a flicker of his body, he arrived at the valley entrance. He looked in every direction but saw no trace of Li Yan. Uncertain, he swept the area once more with his Divine Sense, but still found nothing. The feeling of unease immediately intensified. His figure flashed, and he silently appeared before Li Yan's house.

Chen An and Li Yin suddenly heard someone question them. The voice was incomparably familiar. Their bodies trembled, and they turned around with ugly expressions to see Strategist Ji glaring at them with a gloomy face. They hurriedly knelt and kowtowed.

"I asked you a question. Where is Li Yan?" Strategist Ji's icy voice carried not a shred of emotion. Yet on this early summer evening, it sent a chill through their entire bodies.

"M-My lord, Young Master... he... he got lost." Li Yin merely lay prostrate on the ground, biting his lip hard. Chen An had no choice but to stammer out the answer.

"Got. Lost?" Strategist Ji repeated, each word measured and distinct.

"Y-Yes. When we were in the barracks, Young Master came out first." Chen An remained sprawled on the ground, not daring to lift his head.

"Oh, the barracks? What did you go there for? To drink with Liu Chengyong? Tell me everything that happened today in detail." Strategist Ji's voice turned even colder, and Chen An and Li Yin felt as though they had fallen into a world of ice and snow.

After a long while, Strategist Ji stood outside the stone house in his black robe as night was about to fall completely. Chen An had already explained everything in detail. The two still lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to utter another word.

After standing there a little longer, the two suddenly felt the pressure upon them lessen. When they raised their heads again, Strategist Ji had vanished from before them.

Strategist Ji sped through the forest, his mind racing. He did not know what suspicious clue Li Yan had discovered that had finally made him decide to flee this place. He sorted through every event that had occurred since Li Yan entered the valley, yet found no oversight on his own part. After pondering for a while without finding an answer, he was certain of one thing: today's matter was definitely connected to Hong Linying. Otherwise, Li Yan would not have chosen the military camp so coincidentally to shake off Chen An and Li Yin. Moreover, Hong Linying had coincidentally summoned him away on business today. With so many matters converging, this was absolutely no coincidence. It was a scheme.

This showed that Li Yan had noticed something was amiss some time ago. Otherwise, how could he have come up with all these plans in such haste? What meticulous calculations indeed.

Even Strategist Ji himself had failed to notice anything at all.

As for why Hong Linying would help Li Yan, he did not even need to think about it. That martial arts fanatic surely wanted to obtain the so-called "martial arts manual" from Li Yan. As he raced onward, he thought it through, and before long, he had pieced together seven or eight parts of the matter.

Before long, he saw the north city gate in the distance. He did not choose to enter through it. Instead, as he neared the gate, he slipped into the forested mountains to its west. Once inside the woods, he darted lightly toward the ridge connected to the western side of the city wall. He intended to cross the wall from the ridge. This was something impossible in the martial world of the mundane realm. It was not that the mountain could not be climbed, but that during the descent, with such precipitous cliffs, how could one avoid making even the slightest sound? At that point, rows upon rows of powerful crossbows would come flying straight at them.

Yet Strategist Ji's figure drifted through the mountains like a ghost, elusive and unpredictable. In only a dozen breaths, he had ascended the ridge. Without pausing, he instantly descended the ridge on the other side with featherlight grace. A nearly invisible black pellet bounced between the treetops and rock walls, without dislodging a single pebble or stirring any dirt to roll down. It seemed to possess no weight at all.

A few breaths later, he had reached the city wall dozens of zhang high. With a single flash, he disappeared from atop it, while the patrolling soldiers on the wall remained utterly unaware.

Strategist Ji sped through the houses within the city. His destination was the Marshal's Residence. He believed that since Hong Linying had done this, Li Yan must be under his control. Thus, what Chen An had heard at the north gate—that Li Yan had left the city—might not be trustworthy. With Hong Linying's methods and authority, what did it amount to for him to make the gate guards tell a lie? In that case, Hong Linying would surely hide Li Yan somewhere safe. There should only be two such places: the Marshal's Residence within Green Mountain Pass, or the military camp several dozen li away.

Hong Linying would likely keep Li Yan in his own hands, right beneath his nose. Therefore, the likelihood of hiding him in the Marshal's Residence within the city was greater than placing him in the military camp. Thus, his first target was the Marshal's Residence.

He had already considered all these thoughts after hearing Chen An's account and before leaving the valley. Strategist Ji's mind was extraordinarily meticulous, terrifyingly so. In such a short time, he had worked out the chain of events to a point not far from the truth. Only, he had placed his focus on the wrong person. He had overlooked Li Yan's control over the situation. In his mind, Li Yan must have discovered something amiss, but had lacked the ability to escape on his own. Meanwhile, Hong Linying had long been seeking an opportunity to obtain the "martial arts manual." Under some unknown circumstances, the two must have agreed upon a plan, after which Hong Linying would seize the chance to bring Li Yan under his control.

His reasoning could not be called wrong. Anyone would overlook the possibility that a child of fifteen or sixteen, with no power, influence, or strength, could take the initiative.

Soon, Strategist Ji arrived at the rear gate of the Marshal's Residence. By now, darkness had fallen. He did not pause. His figure flickered, and he entered the residence as though returning to his own home.

Very quickly, he moved silently through the Marshal's Residence.

He made a circuit of the place, probing every room without finding anything unusual. This was within his expectations. If he could find someone so easily, then Hong Linying would be too foolish.

He simply did not wish to make an unforgivable mistake through carelessness. Moreover, during that circuit, he had identified several suspicious locations. All that remained was to investigate them carefully. After all, he was only at the third layer of the Qi Condensation Realm. His Divine Sense could not reach beyond ten zhang, making it impossible to scan a large area.

There were three suspicious places. First, a hidden chamber behind the main hall. Second, a secret passage in the garden by the rear gate that led to the rear gate itself. Third, a hidden chamber beneath the eastern side room of the rear courtyard. With the scope narrowed down, he began searching them one by one.

Soon, he flashed out from the main hall. There was no one in the hidden chamber behind it. After confirming with his Divine Sense that it was empty, he even entered and searched it, but found no clues whatsoever.

A few breaths later, he arrived outside the eastern side room of the rear courtyard. Concealing himself in the shadows of the corridor, he focused his mind, held his breath, and released his Divine Sense into the room. In Green Mountain Pass, he had no scruples. Over all these years, he had never encountered a single cultivator, so no one could recognize his Divine Sense. After sweeping the room, he found no one inside either. He stepped out of the shadows and slowly pushed open the door.

After entering, he quickly found the entrance to the hidden chamber. He sat cross-legged on the spot and once again extended his Divine Sense into the entrance.

His Divine Sense covered too small an area. From outside, he could only detect that there was a hidden chamber underground, but could not see its entirety. Thus, he had to confirm that no one was in the room before approaching to investigate again.

Soon, his expression shifted, and his brows twitched. A trace of a smile appeared. The hidden chamber was not large. He had indeed detected two people inside. However, his face quickly darkened. Li Yan was not among them. There was Hong Linying and another man. He knew the other man; he often pretended to be mysterious while hiding in the secret chamber of the rear hall. His aura was no weaker than Hong Linying's. He was another top martial artist of the jianghu. Strategist Ji had merely pretended not to know. Even if a few more people like that appeared, he would not take them seriously.

However, the two men were merely seated upon separate meditation cushions in the hidden chamber, seemingly cultivating their internal energy.

This left him somewhat puzzled. Hong Linying had not kept Li Yan beside him. Or had he placed Li Yan elsewhere under someone's guard? Without wasting any time, Strategist Ji withdrew his Divine Sense, rose, and headed for the rear garden.

After he left, a long while passed before Hong Linying suddenly opened his eyes atop his meditation cushion. The hand resting on his knee, half-clenched into a fist, slowly opened to reveal a small porcelain bottle. Faint knocking sounds came from within it. After glancing at the bottle, he said, "He has gone far away."

The burly man also opened his eyes and glanced at the porcelain bottle. "Senior Brother, could Ji Wenhe have come at this time because of that boy?"

Hong Linying pondered for a moment before saying, "At this time, it should be so."

Then the burly man spoke. "Fortunately, we had this thing. Otherwise, Ji Wenhe's lightness skill is too formidable. Neither of us would have noticed anything. I truly do not know how that boy placed this thing on Ji Wenhe without him noticing."

Hong Linying's expression was grave as well. He did not answer immediately. After a long while, he said, "Ji Wenhe's martial arts have reached the realm of perfection. To think that he could ultimately track down this place within such a vast Marshal's Residence—he truly is remarkable. Yet we could only judge his arrival and distance by the intensity of this object's reactions. At first, its fluctuations were slight, but they grew stronger and stronger toward the end. This showed that Ji Wenhe was using his internal energy to investigate, advancing inch by inch. In the end, he searched all the way here. Such skill is truly worthy of admiration. The reason he did not come down afterward was likely because he did not detect Li Yan here. At the same time, he believed we still knew nothing, which made it convenient for him to act in silence."

After hearing this, the burly man said with some doubt, "Senior Brother, if you say his internal energy can probe through objects and roughly discern the situation, that may still be possible. But if you say he can even determine who is inside this hidden chamber, that is impossible."

Hong Linying wore a pensive expression. After another pause, he said, "It is still possible. Once internal energy reaches a certain level, although probing through objects cannot reveal exactly who the other person is, one can still infer their circumstances through their breathing, aura, and the like."

The burly man silently nodded. "Putting it that way, it is fortunate that Senior Brother reacted quickly and held the bottle in your hand, using your internal energy to block its sound. Otherwise, he would have heard the knocking inside it. Then he might very well have noticed that something was wrong. Still, judging only by his tracking ability today, the use of this technique is truly wondrous beyond words."

Hong Linying nodded as well. "Just now, we also tried circulating this technique. Though there was no reaction, we have confirmed that it is a cultivation method for sensing the primordial energy between heaven and earth. Its methods are exceptionally ingenious, unlike any cultivation method I have ever seen. It should be genuine. But it would be best if we could obtain the complete text. Only then could we truly compare them."

"Since that is the case, shall we go there at the appointed time?" The burly man spoke with anticipation. After witnessing the wondrousness of Strategist Ji's technique tonight, he could no longer suppress the restless urge in his heart.

Hong Linying still hesitated. He took a sheet of paper from his robes—it was one of the letters Li Yan had given him. He read it over and over for a while, then slowly folded it and carefully tucked it back into his robes. Raising his head to look at the burly man, he said slowly, "Then we shall proceed as agreed. This is, after all, a good opportunity. As for that boy, after this matter is over, I will deal with him at my leisure."

The burly man's face turned solemn. "Senior Brother, with our current martial arts, we still do not have much confidence in dealing with Ji Wenhe."

He had completely overturned his former opinion of Ji Wenhe. He had only arrived here a few years ago and had never seen Ji Wenhe display his martial arts, having only heard of them. Before, he had felt that his senior brother and the many soldiers in the army had exaggerated Ji Wenhe's abilities. Deep down, he had remained unconvinced. But today, Ji Wenhe had come right up close without either of them noticing. Had they not coincidentally planted something on him, he would not even have known how he died.

Hong Linying chuckled darkly. His lips moved, yet no sound emerged. Using the secret art of voice transmission, he told the burly man something.

Several dozen breaths later, delight appeared on the burly man's face. "Senior Brother, this method of yours truly is feasible."