Chapter 40: Pursuit
After returning from the Marshal's Manor, Strategist Ji had been sitting quietly in his room. Today, he felt inexplicably restless, as if something was about to happen.
Cultivators often experience inexplicable premonitions. Those with profound cultivation can even sense glimpses of the future.
He couldn't pinpoint what was amiss. Li Yan and Chen An had gone to town, a frequent occurrence lately, so he dismissed it, attributing his unease to mere moodiness.
Just as his restlessness peaked, he noticed someone entering the inner valley. He quickly identified Chen An and Li Yin rushing in. He glanced at them briefly but paid little attention.
Recently, Li Yan had often returned from town with Chen An and Li Yin in tow, laden with errands. Strategist Ji assumed they were simply being hurried into the valley by Li Yan for some task.
Moments later, Strategist Ji stood up. The two men emerged from Li Yan's room after a short while, their faces pale and anxious, without a word. What struck him most was the absence of Li Yan following behind, something that had never happened before.
A chill ran through Strategist Ji. In a flash, he arrived at the valley entrance. He scanned the surroundings but found no sign of Li Yan. Uncertain, he swept the area again with his Divine Sense, but still found nothing.
The unease intensified, and Strategist Ji's figure flickered once more, silently appearing before Li Yan's stone house.
Chen An and Li Yin suddenly heard a familiar voice. They trembled, their faces paling as they turned to see Strategist Ji glaring at them with a stormy expression. They immediately knelt and kowtowed.
"I asked you a question. Where is Li Yan?" Strategist Ji's voice was icy, devoid of emotion, yet it sent a chill deeper than the early summer evening warranted.
"Y-Young Master... he... he's gone missing!" Li Yin remained prostrate, biting his lip to keep silent, leaving Chen An to stammer out the words.
"Gone... missing?" Strategist Ji ground out each syllable through clenched teeth.
"Y-yes, sir. He left while we were at the Military Camp." Chen An kept his head bowed, afraid to look up.
"Oh? The Military Camp? What were you doing there? Drinking with Liu Chengyong? Tell me every detail of today's events." Strategist Ji's voice turned even colder, making Chen An and Li Yin feel as if they were freezing in the depths of winter.
After a long silence, Strategist Ji stood outside the stone house, cloaked in black as dusk settled. Chen An had finished his account, but both men remained prostrate, shivering uncontrollably.
Strategist Ji stood silently, his expression cold and indifferent.
After a moment, the pressure suddenly lifted. When the two men looked up again, Strategist Ji had vanished.
Strategist Ji sped through the dense forest, his mind racing. He couldn't figure out what Li Yan had discovered that made him decide to flee.
He reviewed everything that had happened since Li Yan entered the valley, searching for any oversight on his part. But he found nothing, leaving him utterly perplexed.
One thing he was certain of was that today's events were connected to Hong Linying. Otherwise, Li Yan wouldn't have conveniently chosen the Military Camp to shake off Chen and Li.
Moreover, Hong Linying had summoned him on urgent business today. All these coincidences happening at once couldn't be mere chance, Hong Linying must be working with Li Yan.
Everything that had transpired today pointed to one conclusion: Li Yan had suspected something was amiss for some time. How else could he have devised such a hasty plan?
"What a cunning scheme! Even I remained completely unaware."
As for why Hong Linying would help Li Yan, the answer was obvious. That martial arts maniac undoubtedly wanted to obtain the so-called "secret martial art" from Li Yan.
Strategist Ji raced through the forest, his mind racing through possibilities. In moments, he had pieced together the general outline of the situation.
Soon, he spotted the North City Gate in the distance. Instead of approaching it directly, he veered west into the mountain forest as he neared the gate.
Once inside the forest, Strategist Ji nimbly darted toward the ridge connecting to the western city wall, intending to scale it.
Such a feat was unheard of in today's martial world. It wasn't just about climbing the mountain; how could one descend such a steep cliff without making a sound? Any disturbance would alert the crossbowmen stationed along the wall.
Strategist Ji moved like a ghostly specter through the mountain terrain, reaching the ridge in a mere dozen breaths.
Without pausing, he effortlessly descended the opposite side. A barely visible black figure bounced between treetops and rock faces, leaving no dislodged stones or falling debris in its wake, as if weightless.
Moments later, Strategist Ji stood atop the towering city wall, dozens of zhang high. With a flicker of movement, he vanished into the city, leaving the patrolling soldiers utterly unaware of his presence.
Strategist Ji raced through the city streets, his destination the Marshal's Manor. He believed that since Hong Linying had taken this action, Li Yan must be in his grasp.
Chen An's report from the North City Gate, that Li Yan had left the city might not be credible. With Hong Linying's influence and power, bribing gate guards to lie would be trivial.
Therefore, Hong Linying must have hidden Li Yan in a secure location. There were only two such places: the Marshal's Manor within Great Qing Pass City, or the Garrison Camp several dozen li away.
Hong Linying would likely keep Li Yan close, under his watchful eye. This made the Marshal's Manor a more probable hiding place than the garrison camp. Thus, the Marshal's Manor became his primary target.
These deductions had formed in Strategist Ji's mind between hearing Chen An's report and exiting the valley. His meticulous reasoning, piecing together the cause and effect of events, had led him to a conclusion remarkably close to the truth.
However, his focus was misplaced. He had failed to realize that Li Yan had already taken control of the situation.
In his mind, Li Yan must have discovered something amiss, though the specifics remained unclear.
Naturally, with Li Yan's abilities, there was no way he could have escaped his control. Hong Linying, who had been eagerly seeking the secret martial arts, had somehow managed to strike a deal with Li Yan, allowing him to seize the chance and place Li Yan firmly under his thumb.
Strategist Ji's deduction was the most plausible. Anyone would underestimate a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with no power, influence, or strength, assuming he couldn't possibly take the initiative.
Soon, Strategist Ji arrived at the rear gate of the Marshal's Manor. Dusk had already fallen. Without pausing, he slipped inside with a flicker of movement, as if returning to his own home.
He quickly reached the main compound and silently patrolled the grounds without alerting anyone.
After thoroughly searching all the buildings, Strategist Ji found nothing unusual, exactly as he had expected. If locating Li Yan were this easy, Hong Linying would be a fool. Still, he needed to confirm it himself.
During his inspection, he identified several suspicious locations. Now, he would need to investigate these areas more closely. After all, his cultivation was only at the third level of the Qi Condensation Stage, limiting his Divine Sense range to less than ten zhang, making large-scale scans impossible.
There were three suspicious areas: a secret chamber behind the main hall, a secret passage in the rear garden leading to the back gate, and another secret chamber beneath the east wing of the rear courtyard.
Having narrowed down the search, Strategist Ji began investigating each location one by one.
He quickly emerged from the main hall. The secret chamber behind it was empty. After confirming no one was present with his Divine Sense, he still entered to search thoroughly, but found no clues.
Moments later, he arrived outside the east wing of the rear courtyard. Concealed in the shadows of the corridor, he immediately unleashed his Divine Sense to sweep the room. In Great Qing Pass City, he had no need for caution.
Over the years, he had never encountered a single cultivator, so no one could detect his Divine Sense.
After confirming the room was empty, he stepped out of the shadows and slowly pushed the door open.
Inside, he quickly located the entrance to the secret chamber. He sat cross-legged on the floor and once again extended his Divine Sense into the passage.
His Divine Sense range was limited. From outside, he could only sense the existence of an underground chamber beneath the room, but not its full extent.
Suddenly, his expression shifted, his eyebrows twitching with amusement. The secret chamber wasn't large, but his Divine Sense had confirmed two people were inside.
However, Strategist Ji's expression quickly darkened. Li Yan wasn't present; instead, Hong Linying was accompanied by another man, one he recognized. This man often feigned mystery, hiding in the secret chamber within the rear courtyard main hall.
His aura was no weaker than Hong Linying's, marking him as a top-tier expert in the martial world. Ji had simply pretended ignorance; he wouldn't be concerned even if several more like him appeared.
At that moment, the two men sat cross-legged on meditation cushions in the secret chamber, appearing to be cultivating.
This raised a question in Ji's mind: Why hadn't Hong Linying brought Li Yan with him? Or had he placed Li Yan elsewhere under guard? Without wasting time, Ji withdrew his Divine Sense, rose, and headed toward the rear garden.
After he left, a long silence hung in the chamber. Suddenly, Hong Linying opened his eyes. His half-clenched fist, resting on his knee, slowly relaxed, revealing a small porcelain bottle hidden within.
A faint clinking sound emanated from the bottle. Hong Linying glanced at it and said, "He's gone far enough."
The burly man beside him also opened his eyes, his gaze briefly flicking to the porcelain bottle.
"Senior Brother, Ji Wenhe's arrival at this hour... could it be because of that brat?" Hong Linying pondered for a moment before speaking.
"So that brat has truly escaped his grasp!" the burly man exclaimed.
"Luckily, there's this thing. Otherwise, Ji Wenhe's peerless lightness skill would have allowed him to approach without either of us noticing. It's truly baffling how that kid managed to place this on Ji Wenhe without being detected."
Hong Linying's expression grew grave. He remained silent for a long moment before replying.
"Ji Wenhe's martial arts have reached the Transcendent Master Realm. To be able to pinpoint this location within the vast Marshal's Manor is truly remarkable.
We can only gauge his approach and distance by the intensity of this device's reactions. The initial fluctuations were minimal, but they grew increasingly violent as he drew closer. This indicates he was probing with his internal energy, advancing inch by inch. Such mastery is truly awe-inspiring.
The reason he didn't come down was because he failed to detect Li Yan's presence. This secret chamber is exceptionally thick; we can't even sense a trace of what's inside from the outside.
Not only could he sense someone within, but he could also identify them. It's nothing short of terrifying."
The burly man listened to Hong Linying's words with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. "Senior Brother, could it be that he only vaguely sensed someone here and didn't dare to come down rashly?"
Hong Linying fell into deep thought before replying, "Given his skill, I still believe he thoroughly investigated the situation before acting."
After a long silence, the burly man nodded slowly. "Fortunately, Senior Brother acted swiftly and secured the bottle, using his cultivation to suppress any sound. Otherwise, Ji would have heard the impact and likely realized something was amiss."
"Even just this tracking ability today alone shows how remarkable his cultivation technique is," the burly man added.
Hong Linying smiled. "We also tried practicing this heart method earlier. Though we didn't sense anything, we confirmed it's a technique for sensing the primordial energy of heaven and earth."
"The method here is exceptionally ingenious, unlike any heart method I've ever seen. We must obtain the complete manual to truly compare them."
"Since that's the case, shall we go there at the agreed time?" the burly man asked eagerly. Having witnessed Strategist Ji's extraordinary skill firsthand tonight, he could barely contain his burning desire to acquire the secret martial arts manual.
Hong Linying remained hesitant. He pulled a piece of paper from his robe, one of Li Yan's letters and unfolded it, rereading it several times.
Finally, he slowly refolded the letter, carefully tucking it back into his robe. He looked up at the burly man.
"Then let's proceed as agreed. This is a good opportunity, and perhaps our last. As for that brat, I'll deal with him thoroughly after this is settled."
The burly man's face turned solemn. "Senior Brother, with our current martial arts, our chances against Ji Wenhe are still uncertain."
He had completely changed his previous opinion of Ji Wenhe. Having only arrived here a few years ago, he had never witnessed Ji Wenhe's martial prowess firsthand; everything he knew was hearsay.
Previously, he had dismissed his Senior Brother and the soldiers' exaggerated tales of Ji Wenhe's skills, harboring deep skepticism. But today, Ji Wenhe had closed the distance without him even realizing it.
If they didn't happen to have tempered with the other side's body, he wouldn't have known how he died.
Hong Linying chuckled softly. His lips moved slightly, but no sound escaped as he used the "secret sound transmission" technique to whisper something to the burly man.
After several dozen breaths, the burly man's face lit up with delight.
"Senior Brother, your method is really feasible!"
(Chapter End)