Chapter 906: Emerging from Seclusion

The door opened a crack and a figure quickly squeezed inside. The room reeked of alcohol.

Luo Zhao sat before a dressing table, working on a disguise. At the sound, he quickly glanced back. Seeing a man dressed as a servant, he turned to the mirror and continued fumbling with his preparations.

The man came closer and asked in surprise, "How are you still not finished?"

"I've never done this before. My hands are clumsy."

"I'll help you." The man promptly took over and began disguising him.

As he let the man work, Luo Zhao asked, "You're certain there won't be a problem?"

"Don't worry. Han and Song are locked in battle and have no attention to spare for this place. As far as they're concerned, you're no longer important. They're only keeping you under simple watch. Getting you out won't be difficult; I've arranged everything. As long as we don't alert the cultivators in the city, we'll be safe once we're outside. A flying mount is waiting beyond the city to take you straight to Qin. By the time they discover you're gone, it'll already be too late."

The words "you're no longer important" brought a self-mocking look to Luo Zhao's face.

The reason he was no longer important was simple: he would rather die than join Wu Gongling. That made him useless both to Wu Gongling and to Song's three major sects.

He knew Wu Gongling had wanted to kill him in the beginning, and that Lingxiao Pavilion, constrained by considerations of face, had stopped it. He had first been kept imprisoned. Later, only after Feng Guan'er pleaded for him again and again was he released from the cage and placed under what amounted to house arrest here.

He had thought he would sink into obscurity like this for the rest of his life. Then, unexpectedly, Xiaoyue Pavilion sent someone to contact him and managed to persuade him.

He bore an inescapable share of responsibility for the overthrow of the Mu imperial house. He had decided to preserve his useful life and join Qin, so that one day he could put every one of those traitorous ministers and rebels to death.

Once the disguise was finished, Luo Zhao quickly stripped off his clothes and changed into a servant's outfit.

As the man helped him, he asked again to make sure, "You're really not taking Madam with you? We can bring another person or two."

"No. I've left her a divorce letter."

"A divorce letter?" The man was startled.

"She has ties to Lingxiao Pavilion. It would be inconvenient for her to go to Qin." Family shame was not something to air before outsiders, so Luo Zhao offered an excuse.

The man praised him when he heard this. "Fail to cut when the time comes, and you only invite disorder. As expected of the Grand Commander-in-Chief—you know when to cut something off and never hesitate. Clean and decisive. You're truly a man who can accomplish great things."

"What Grand Commander-in-Chief is there anymore..." Luo Zhao gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Once everything was ready, he grabbed a wine jug, opened it, and splashed some wine around the room to deepen the smell of alcohol.

Then he placed a letter prominently on the table, and the two men opened the door and left.

Everything inside and outside had been coordinated in advance. Hidden inside a swill barrel, Luo Zhao was carried out with surprising ease.

At noon, Feng Guan'er saw that Luo Zhao's door was still shut and he showed no sign of getting up. After pacing outside for a while, she hesitated, then finally knocked.

She had already come once in midmorning. At the time, the room had reeked of wine, and she had assumed the man inside was still dead drunk, so she had not disturbed him.

Now there was still no response to her knocking. She was used to that. She simply pushed open the door and went inside.

She searched the room but found no sign of Luo Zhao. Then the letter on the table caught her attention. She picked up the envelope and pulled out the letter. The two words "Divorce Letter" alone made her start. After reading the rest, Feng Guan'er immediately ran outside, shouting, "Someone! Someone come quickly!"

Before long, people throughout the residence were searching inside and out. The troops stationed outside were mobilized as well, and the entire city was searched. Goldenwing messages were sent to the key roads and relay stations in the surrounding areas, ordering anyone who discovered the target to report immediately.

None of them knew that Luo Zhao was already far away, looking down over the vast land from high in the sky.

In one corner of the Maolu Annex at Zijin Cave, Yuan Gang stared silently at the message that had just arrived.

The commotion over Luo Zhao's disappearance was considerable. Large numbers of people were searching everywhere. The eyes and ears stationed there could hardly fail to hear about it, so they had sent word at the first opportunity.

"Luo Zhao disappeared?" Niu Youdao, who had read the same report, was somewhat surprised. He asked a Wuliang Mountain disciple standing before him, "Do we know why he disappeared?"

"We're not very clear on that. We never placed anyone inside Luo Zhao's residence."

"Luo Zhao isn't a cultivator. If he could avoid the guards in the residence and escape the city alone, then someone must have been helping him from behind the scenes..." Niu Youdao muttered, then looked up and asked, "How did Monkey react after seeing the report?"

"No reaction. He only ordered us to keep a close watch on Feng Guan'er and tell him at once if there is any news about her."

"Starting today, whenever news about Feng Guan'er comes in, bring it to me first."

The Wuliang Mountain disciple cupped his hands. "Yes!"

In the State of Wei, at the Grand Commandant's residence, the eunuch bearing the imperial edict departed. Grand Commandant Nan Renyu remained standing there with the decree in both hands, stunned and unable to recover for a moment.

The emperor had suddenly issued an edict praising him for his long and meritorious service and granting him some title of "Duke of Yu," while removing him from the office of Grand Commandant. It had the flavor of an open promotion and a hidden demotion. What damn use was a duke with no real power?

Whether or not to quibble over that was secondary. The real problem was that the whole thing had come from nowhere. He had detected not the slightest warning beforehand.

"Prepare the carriage!" Nan Renyu barked once he came back to himself.

A short while later, he rode straight to Tianwei Residence, intending to ask Xuan Wei what was going on.

Xuan Wei had known nothing about it beforehand. When Nan Renyu arrived and explained the matter, she was equally shocked and immediately hurried to the imperial palace.

No one in the palace dared stop her. She also possessed the privilege of entering and leaving the inner palace directly without being announced.

In the imperial study, brother and sister met. The emperor who had issued the decree was actually somewhat nervous. Now that his imperial elder sister had indeed come after him, and with anger plain on her face, his smile turned awkward.

"No need for ceremony, no need." Xuan Chengtian hurried over personally and took his sister by both arms.

"Courtesy cannot be discarded." Xuan Wei insisted on completing the formal salute before asking gravely, "Did Your Majesty issue an edict concerning Grand Commandant Nan Renyu?"

Xuan Chengtian rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Imperial Sister, your news travels quickly."

Anger showed on Xuan Wei's face. "Then it is true that you removed Nan Renyu from the office of Grand Commandant?"

Xuan Chengtian said nothing. He clasped both hands before his stomach, effectively admitting it.

Xuan Wei's voice sank. "Everything was fine. Why would you do this?"

Xuan Chengtian sighed. "Imperial Sister, he's held military power for a long time. I was worried he might come to rely on the troops under him and make himself too powerful, so I wanted to test his reaction."

Xuan Wei frowned. "Your Majesty, that you can think this way is a good thing. It is the sort of caution an emperor should possess. But is this something you can test casually? He has held the office of Grand Commandant for many years. This is no longer a matter concerning him alone. Move carelessly, and you move an entire chain of generals beneath him. If it is mishandled, there could be serious disorder. And besides, the three major sects would never agree to this. Your Majesty, Nan Renyu has been utterly loyal to our court and is entirely trustworthy. Removing him from the office of Grand Commandant for no reason will make the soldiers suspicious and shake the army's morale. I ask Your Majesty to withdraw the edict!"

Xuan Chengtian frowned. "The edict has already been issued. To issue an order in the morning and reverse it by evening would hardly be proper, would it? Imperial Sister, why don't we first see what reaction follows?"

"Withdraw it now, while almost no one knows. Once word spreads, there is no telling what may happen, and the three major sects will certainly demand an explanation from you. Your Majesty, this is not child's play. Please withdraw the edict immediately!"

Under her repeated pressure, Xuan Chengtian finally rescinded the decree.

Xuan Wei left carrying the new edict, while Xuan Chengtian returned to the rear palace with a sullen face.

Noble Consort Chang had already been waiting to receive him. After accompanying Xuan Chengtian inside and helping him settle into his seat, she cautiously asked, "Why is Your Majesty so unhappy?"

Xuan Chengtian answered gloomily, "I issued an edict. It had barely reached Nan Renyu when Imperial Sister came running over and forced me to withdraw it!"

"Ah!" Noble Consort Chang covered her mouth in shock and drew in a sharp breath. "Could those rumors outside really be true?"

Xuan Chengtian sat there with a dark expression and said nothing.

At the forbidden grounds of Tianhuo Sect, Fire Phoenix Nie Yunshang arrived carrying two food boxes.

The two disciples guarding the mountain stopped her and performed the usual inspection before letting her pass.

Tian Ren'an, seated in the pavilion and overseeing the place, greeted her with a smile. "Bringing food again?"

"Senior Martial Uncle!" Nie Yunshang came forward and paid her respects, then set both food boxes on the stone table. She pushed one toward Tian Ren'an. "This one is for you." She touched the other. "Please trouble Senior Martial Uncle to take this one to him for me."

Tian Ren'an sighed. "Time passes quickly. Ten years! In the blink of an eye, ten years are gone. By rights, that boy should be coming out by now. I don't know what he's still dawdling over." He shook his head with a sigh, feeling that Fire Phoenix had been ill-served by all this.

Over these ten years, once she learned Kunlin Shu's eating schedule during seclusion, Fire Phoenix had come once every seven days. Each time she personally cooked something good and brought two portions. One was for Tian Ren'an, while the other was entrusted to him to pass on to Kunlin Shu inside his closed-door seclusion.

Fire Phoenix turned and looked toward the pitch-black entrance in the cliff. "It should be soon," she murmured.

Tian Ren'an waved a hand. "Go back, go back. If there's news, I'll have someone notify you. I'll have the food boxes washed and sent back afterward."

Fire Phoenix continued staring blankly at the Lightless Cave.

Tian Ren'an left her alone. He opened his food box, took out what was inside, and began eating with evident enjoyment.

Lost in thought, Fire Phoenix suddenly blinked, thinking she had seen wrongly. She had not. A figure abruptly flashed out of the Lightless Cave like a ghost and landed outside, leaving her staring in startled uncertainty.

The newcomer wore ragged clothes and was filthy beyond description. His long hair not only hung over his shoulders but trailed along the ground, while a dirty beard hung down over his chest.

Sensing the movement, Tian Ren'an looked up and immediately brightened. Still chewing, he said indistinctly, "Girl, you've waited ten years. At last he's come out."

He swallowed the food in his mouth, then turned to a disciple walking over. "What are you staring at? Ring the bell!"

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The great bell tolled ten times, announcing throughout Tianhuo Sect that the man who had spent ten years in seclusion had emerged.

If Tian Ren'an had not said it first, Fire Phoenix would almost not have dared recognize him. Once she made out the familiar line of her senior brother's brows beneath the hair and beard covering his face, joy burst across her features. "Senior Brother!"

She immediately tried to run over, but Tian Ren'an grabbed her and warned, "You can't cross the boundary!"

No one was permitted to approach the Lightless Cave without authorization.

The ragged man, his long hair dragging along the ground, slowly walked over on his own. When he reached the pavilion, he first cupped his hands toward Tian Ren'an. "Senior Martial Uncle." Only then did he nod to Fire Phoenix. "Junior Sister."

"Senior Brother!" Fire Phoenix burst into tears of joy.

At the sound of the bell, people from Tianhuo Sect began arriving one after another.

[End of Chapter 906]