Gongsun Gui
Zhang Xuezhou's escape method differed from the new emperor's galloping attack.
Taking advantage of the brief moment Li Shaojun used to strike, the new emperor broke free from Bai Juan's entanglement. The two then quickly scaled three walls and found a courtyard to hide in.
This place is only eighty meters away from the scene of the accident as the crow flies.
The new emperor was filled with unease. He felt that Zhang Xuezhou lacked experience in escaping, and that the distance between them was too close.
He couldn't help but hold his breath and tug at the smelly, tattered blanket covering him.
Zhang Xuezhou escaped into a room where the servants lived. There was no bed in the room, and two burly cooks were sleeping on a pile of dry grass, covered with a tattered quilt for warmth.
When Zhang Xuezhou reached out and pulled, the tattered blanket was transferred to the new emperor.
The two of them lay down together.
"Sleep!"
Zhang Xuezhou murmured something, then fell silent.
Zhang Xuezhou's words were simple, but after riding for so long, the new emperor's heart was pounding and he hadn't stopped. How could he possibly sleep, especially with the murderer so close to them?
His heart was pounding wildly, and the new emperor only calmed down when Zhang Xuezhou reached out and pressed down on his heartbeat.
The wailing and hissing of the ghosts, like the slithering of venomous snakes, came from afar, accompanied by the constant echoing of heavy breathing.
"Damn it, emperors are really hard to kill; they have so many treasures on them!"
The sounds of panting were mixed with low whispers, but it was impossible to discern their direction.
Zhang Xuezhou's eyes narrowed slightly, realizing he had encountered a rather formidable opponent.
This is a ' Demonic Sound Technique '; the sound appears normal, but it's not in the correct location.
The other person's voice may still be far away, but they are likely already very close, searching.
If you are not careful at all, you will be easily discovered by the other party, which will lead to the failure of your concealment.
Without the carriage, he couldn't have escaped very far!
"He must be hiding in one of these alleyways, or in one of these houses!"
"Search every single place, I refuse to believe we can't find it!"
The voice murmured from dozens of meters away, yet it was still audible.
The new emperor's eyes darted left and right, but Zhang Xuezhou's hand, which was pressing on his chest, did not come down. This made him both startled and in need of extreme composure, so he could only hide and remain still.
The sound of footsteps approached from afar, and there were also sounds of doors being pushed open.
"Found you!"
A low voice came, making the new emperor almost leap up.
But the hand pressing on his chest tightened slightly, making it difficult for the new emperor to leap up and escape.
"So be it. Even if I'm cut in two today, at least I'll have Dongfang Shuo with me. He can tell stories out of thin air, so I won't be lonely after I die!"
The new emperor was lost in thought, but he did not feel the white silk transform into a blade and cut him in half.
"Found you!"
The low voices lingered, almost as if they were right next to their ears, but they remained safe.
One hundred and twenty breaths passed before the new emperor realized the sound had disappeared.
"They actually dodged it!"
Pretending to be asleep and lying on the ground, he managed to evade the search of a cultivator at the Sole Self Realm, which the new emperor found almost unbelievable.
But Zhang Xuezhou's hand should be pressing down on him, so the new emperor could only continue lying down.
Has he left?
Only after the hands that had been holding him down were released did the new emperor ask in a low voice.
Whether you're capable or not, just try it and you'll know.
The new emperor had previously thought Zhang Xuezhou's escape skills were terrible and had prepared himself for death, but unexpectedly he actually managed to escape.
Instead of giving arbitrary instructions, he sought opinions.
After waiting for several seconds, he finally heard Zhang Xuezhou reply.
"He's gone, but not far. Once his search exceeds the pursuit range, he will definitely come back to search again, and might even kill everyone in this area to find you!"
"These damned monks are utterly lawless!"
The new emperor murmured something, and Zhang Xuezhou jumped up and quickly followed.
Pushing open the door, the new emperor once again followed Zhang Xuezhou over the wall and headed back the same old path.
Although he didn't know why Zhang Xuezhou wanted to escape, the new emperor had no other options and could only follow along.
"Li Shaojun, did you bump into your horse?"
When the two returned to the alley, the new emperor heard Zhang Xuezhou exclaim softly, and a small light suddenly appeared in the dark alley.
"Unlucky!"
Under the light, Li Shaojun still looked like a sage, but his body was covered in blood, indicating that he had been seriously injured in the previous collision.
He was clearly very unhappy with everything that had happened tonight.
He lost two treasures, died once, and now he has to lead Zhang Xuezhou and the others to escape by car.
But having already come all the way to Chang'an City, and already suffered such a huge loss, Li Shaojun felt he would absolutely not be satisfied until he recouped his losses.
Who carried out the assassination?
As Zhang Xuezhou swiftly boarded the carriage that had struck and killed Li Shaojun, he couldn't help but ask a question in a low voice as he urged the horse forward.
Zhang Xuezhou only determined that the opponent used Demonic Sound Technique, while Li Shaojun may have actually seen the opponent in person.
Having been run over and killed by the carriage, the murderer who was chasing the new emperor would inevitably check the location of the carriage, making it inevitable that Li Shaojun would meet with the murderer.
There are very few unknown cultivators in the Sole Self Realm, and Li Shaojun has extremely broad knowledge, so there is a considerable possibility that he knows the other party.
"I couldn't see Grand Clarity from the shadows, but it seemed to be Gongsun Gui!" Li Shaojun replied.
"Gongsun Gui?"
Zhang Xuezhou hesitated, realizing it was an unfamiliar name.
Of course, before obtaining the list of cultivators within the Great Han Dynasty, he would be unfamiliar with the names of many cultivators.
However, the name Gongsun Gui was too similar to that of the great Confucian scholar Gongsun Hong, which still made Zhang Xuezhou feel somewhat emotional, as if people with the surname Gongsun often produced talented individuals.
"Gongsun Gui? How could it be him? He defied the court and was beheaded more than ten years ago. His head has been sent to Chang'an City," the new emperor said in surprise.
While it's not uncommon for ordinary people to share the same name, it's rare for high-ranking cultivators to have identical names.
The new emperor made only a quick assessment before guessing the other party's identity, but this identity was hard for him to believe.
"Decapitation?"
Zhang Xuezhou and his associates had previously staged a beheading, tricking Jin Chang into offering his own head to deceive Zou Bugui.
The probability of death by decapitation is not 100%, but there is indeed a possibility of resurrection.
If a cultivator is skilled in imitation, disguise, or other similar abilities, they could even use the head of the person being imitated to die in place of themselves.
What are his skills?
While Gongsun Gui was searching in the distance, Zhang Xuezhou and the others fled in the opposite direction, driving through the alleys, but this was far from safe.
The low growls were getting closer to his ears, and Gongsun Gui had obviously realized what was happening and began to chase after them.
"His treasure is white silk, but I don't know how much white silk he has. His white silk can transform into a wall to block people, or into a blade to cut someone in half, or even into a white-clad, skull-faced figure that pounces on people!"
The new emperor and Gongsun Gui fought for a very short time.
For the new emperor, this was an almost invincible opponent, one who wasn't even worthy of being used as a target.
He recounted everything that had happened to him when he encountered Gongsun Gui in a very short time.
However, when the new emperor frowned, he did not mention that Gongsun Gui may have successfully challenged a higher realm more than twenty years ago and killed Chao Cuo True Self Realm cultivator who was then firmly in charge of the court.
If he were to mention such a terrifying situation, the new emperor felt that no one would dare to retaliate against Gongsun Gui, including himself.
"Gongsun Gui is a great cultivator of the School of Names. The School of Names is extremely good at imitating the skills of other schools. Once they have seen and constantly sparred with the other party to become familiar with their skills, their imitations will basically have seven or eight tenths of the power," Li Shaojun added.
Whom did Gongsun Gui imitate?
"The Yin-Yang School's Fabrication!"
"He?"
The name "Zhou Xun" is not well-known.
Of course, the great cultivators of the Yin-Yang School have not been very famous in the last hundred years.
Zhang Xuezhou only learned of this name because Zou Bugui mentioned it; Zou Bugui was also Jin Chang's teacher.
However, being unknown does not mean that the Yin-Yang School lacks masters.
Zhou Xun's strength is similar to that of Jin Chang, who once entered the Sole Self Realm, making him an extremely outstanding cultivator.
"Puppet Technique, Following Like a Shadow Technique, Demonic Sound Technique!"
The Yin Yang Nine People Sect's three simple techniques are a nightmare for many cultivators.
Having figured out the other party's background and the cultivator techniques they were imitating, Zhang Xuezhou knew he would have a hard time shaking them off tonight.