Chapter 1407: The Three-Roars Saber Reappears

For the realm controlled by the seven Sacred Venerables, secretly mobilizing manpower to handle a matter like this was nothing at all.

The great battle had only just ended. The Ghost Doctor and his two disciples intended to seize this opportunity to find suitable eyeballs for transplantation. Corpses would become unusable if left too long, so they had to move quickly.

Wuxin left Yan Baoru and Guo Man behind to guard the courtyard.

They had already contacted the people at the All-Under-Heaven Money House, so in theory no one on the rebel side should dare force their way into this small courtyard. Even so, leaving the two women behind was a precaution against the unexpected.

Near dusk, people from Misty Pavilion suddenly came calling. They had only one purpose: they took Shao Liuer away directly.

Hao Zhen and the others were uneasy. They had no idea what Misty Pavilion could want with Shao Liuer at a moment when the Qi capital was undergoing such upheaval.

Wuxin, meanwhile, was busy at one of the places in the city where corpses were being cleared away. Later, a letter reached him. Its meaning was simple: he was not to publicize the fact that Shao Liuer had been taken away. If he did, he could wait to collect her corpse. They would contact him again.

The letter repeatedly warned him that if word leaked out, the only Shao Liuer he would see again would be a corpse.

Wuxin dropped what he was doing and ran off on the spot, right under the eyes of the Ghost Doctor and Wuxiang.

He hurried back to the small courtyard to confirm what had happened.

...

Night stretched vast and dark. On a mountain peak, Niu Youdao stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the dim, scattered lights of the Qi capital in the distance.

Yun Ji stood quietly beside him, listening to the chorus of insects rising and falling through the mountains.

They had arrived around dusk and discovered that the fighting was already over. Rebel troops were tightly guarding the walls on every side of the capital, making entry and exit difficult. Search operations were also underway throughout the city, and anyone wearing a false face would have trouble bluffing their way through the inspections.

Neither of them could afford to reveal their true appearance, especially Niu Youdao.

In the end, Yun Ji had no choice but to slip into the city alone. She found one of the Wuliang Mountain agents stationed in the Qi capital and had him investigate Yuan Gang's whereabouts.

They waited. And kept waiting.

Around midnight, a man finally came flying over. He paid his respects to Yun Ji and ignored Niu Youdao. Outside, Niu Youdao was still presenting himself as Yun Ji's attendant.

Yun Ji said, "No need for formalities. Tell me. Have you found anything about Yuan Gang?"

The man replied, "We have. I found some old acquaintances among the rebels and made inquiries. Master Yuan of Maolu Villa apparently appeared when the rebels broke into the imperial palace. He fought shoulder to shoulder with Commander of the Imperial Guard Huyan Wei..."

He gave them a detailed account of everything he had learned.

Yun Ji glanced at Niu Youdao's reaction. Seeing him give a slight nod, she immediately waved to the messenger. "Good. We understand. You've worked hard. Go back for now. We'll contact you again if we need anything."

"Yes!" The man quickly departed.

Once he was well away, Yun Ji sighed. "Your judgment was right. From the description of his appearance, and that foolhardy streak, it couldn't have been anyone but Monkey. He really did come here. And he actually got one of his arms cut off. That bastard was far too reckless."

"Hmph! Losing an arm is nothing. He's lucky he managed to keep his life." Niu Youdao's words came through clenched teeth, his frustration and anger unmistakable.

Yun Ji looked puzzled. "Who could that person dressed as a common soldier have been, the one who rescued Yuan Gang?"

Niu Youdao gave a short laugh. "Who else? Someone who could walk into a rebel army and casually rescue him from a group of Supreme Elders of the former State of Wei's Three Great Sects? Nine times out of ten, it was Lü Wushuang herself. Other than her, I can't think of any expert who would have stepped in at a time like that."

Worry surfaced in Yun Ji's eyes. What they had feared had happened after all. If it truly was Lü Wushuang, then things were going to be troublesome. "If he really fell into Lü Wushuang's hands, I doubt we can get him out the way we did last time. We have no proof. If she simply denies taking him, who can do anything about it?"

Niu Youdao took a deep breath and said heavily, "Let's go!"

Yun Ji was startled. "Where?"

Niu Youdao slowly replied, "What else could she want Yuan Gang for? She should have gone to the Boundless Desert."

Before long, a flying mount rose from deep within the mountains. Carrying the two of them, it departed beneath the moonlight.

...

The rebels were restoring order in the capital and reorganizing the city's defenses. They worked through the night, preparing for the arrival of the forces coming to suppress the rebellion.

With their appearances disguised, Wuxin and Yan Baoru went up onto the city wall. Using the name of carrying out a task for Yuan Se, and with an employee of the All-Under-Heaven Money House quietly smoothing the way, they were allowed through by the defending soldiers and cultivators. Yan Baoru caught Wuxin by the arm, flew down from the city, and vanished into the boundless night.

A village a dozen-odd li outside the city had long since emptied because of the war. The common people had all fled elsewhere to avoid the fighting.

At the village entrance, someone appeared and stopped Yan Baoru. She was told to wait there. Only Wuxin would be allowed into the village.

Yan Baoru was somewhat worried, but Wuxin signaled for her to stay.

Someone then led Wuxin into the village and took him inside the largest residence there.

Under the lamplight, a man sat quietly beside a table. Seeing Wuxin enter, he smiled. "Well, well. I didn't expect you would actually come."

Wuxin's face tightened. "Who exactly are you people?"

The seated man smiled. "It's only natural you don't recognize me. Under ordinary circumstances, I'm not someone you could meet simply because you wanted to. Allow me to introduce myself. Lan Ming, former Pavilion Master of Boundless Pavilion."

Wuxin's pupils contracted sharply. Surprise flashed across his face, followed by even greater confusion. "Mr. Lan, why did you seize the Princess Consort?"

Lan Ming rose and walked to Wuxin's side. "A small figure like you naturally wouldn't understand how people like us do things. There are some matters you don't need to know too much about. You only need to do as you're told..."

He leaned close and murmured in Wuxin's ear for some time.

Shock gradually spread across Wuxin's face.

...

At the village entrance, Yan Baoru was waiting under watch. When she saw Wuxin return safely, she finally relaxed and hurried forward to meet him. "Sir, are you all right?"

Wuxin shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's go."

Yan Baoru took him back toward the capital. They returned to the same place as before, where people from the money house were waiting to receive them. Once the two had been brought back inside the city, the two sides separated.

When they returned to the small courtyard, Hao Zhen was waiting anxiously. Wuxin went forward and reassured him. "Your Highness, don't worry. I have already confirmed the situation for you. The Princess Consort is safe for the moment. Misty Pavilion merely wants to verify a few things with her. They will send her back afterward."

Hao Zhen did not understand. "What could she possibly be involved in that would make Misty Pavilion 'invite' her away?"

Wuxin replied, "You'll know naturally when the Princess Consort returns. Your Highness, you should know Misty Pavilion's rules for handling affairs. Don't make a commotion or speak carelessly about this, or you may invite trouble."

Hao Zhen could only nod helplessly. "I understand."

Wuxin left him and went into the medicine room at the back.

The Ghost Doctor was inside preparing various medicines. Seeing Wuxin approach in silence, he glanced sideways at him. "Where did you sneak off to?"

Wuxin had not dared tell him earlier because the other party had warned him not to, and he had feared something would happen to Shao Liuer. Now, however, he had no choice but to speak. He needed his master's help. "Master, Shao Liuer was taken away..."

He explained how Shao Liuer had been taken by people claiming to be from Misty Pavilion.

The Ghost Doctor stared at him in surprise. "Why would Misty Pavilion seize her? Is there something else about her that we don't know?"

Pain showed on Wuxin's face. "Disciple dragged her into this."

The Ghost Doctor set down what he was holding and frowned. "What do you mean, you dragged her into it? How did you get involved with Misty Pavilion again? Explain yourself clearly."

Wuxin said bitterly, "The people who took her weren't actually from Misty Pavilion. Someone was using Misty Pavilion's identity as a disguise."

The Ghost Doctor's voice sank. "Who has that kind of nerve?"

"Lan Daolin's son, Lan Ming. Disciple just went outside the city and met him."

"Ah!" The Ghost Doctor was badly startled. "That fellow has already turned against his own father. When did you provoke someone like Lan Ming?"

"It wasn't that I provoked Lan Ming. He has taken an interest in what Master is doing now. He wants one of the eyes of Consort Yuan, Yuan Se's trusted aide..."

With a face full of distress, Wuxin recounted his meeting with Lan Ming and what Lan Ming had demanded.

After hearing him out, the Ghost Doctor said heavily, "Are you joking? You should know that the struggle between people at that level is not something we can involve ourselves in. Once we get dragged into it, and such a huge piece of leverage falls into someone else's hands, we'll never be able to free ourselves again. It isn't that your master refuses to help you. I cannot, I dare not, and I will not help you with this."

Wuxin's body dropped. With a thud, he fell to his knees. "Disciple knows he was wrong. I regret not listening to Master's advice. Not only did I fail to help her, I dragged her into danger instead."

He kowtowed to the floor. "I beg Master to help me. So long as Master is willing to act, Disciple will return with Master to Medicine Valley and devote himself to studying medicine in seclusion!"

The Ghost Doctor's jaw tightened. He said nothing, only stared at the beloved disciple repeatedly kowtowing before him.

...

The first pale light of dawn appeared along the horizon.

At the edge of the endless Boundless Desert, a figure descended from the sky onto a rocky hill.

The newcomer casually tossed someone to the ground. It was Yuan Gang, one arm severed.

The bleeding from his stump had already been stopped by sealing his acupoints. Supporting himself slowly into a sitting position with his remaining arm, Yuan Gang remained silent. Despondency still clouded his face. He had not yet recovered from the despair of failing to save Huyan Wei and his wife.

"Was it worth it?" The common soldier who had rescued him suddenly spoke in a woman's voice, her gaze resting on his severed arm.

A woman? Yuan Gang froze, then came back to himself and looked up. "Who exactly are you?"

The soldier reached behind herself, seized a cloth-wrapped object strapped across her back, and tossed it into the air.

It fell straight down.

Clang!

The object stabbed into the ground, its metallic hum echoing around them. The cloth wrapped around it shook loose and slipped away, revealing a bright saber blade in the dawn light. Three tiger ornaments adorned its spine.

Yuan Gang stared at the saber for a while, then slowly raised his eyes to the masked soldier. A moment later, he abruptly looked back toward the boundless desert.

The soldier lifted off her leather helmet. Long hair poured down like a waterfall. She casually threw the helmet aside, then slowly pulled away the cloth covering her face and let it go. The wind carried it away.

A cold, exquisite face was revealed. Long strands of hair streamed in the wind, bathed in the dawn light. Dressed in the clothing of a common soldier, she possessed an entirely different sort of allure.

She was Lü Wushuang, one of the seven Sacred Venerables still living in the world.

Yuan Gang slowly climbed to his feet. He reached out, gripped the hilt of the Three-Roars Saber, and stared at her.

Lü Wushuang tilted her head and looked back at him. A trace of complicated emotion lingered in her cold eyes.

She had received word after Yuan Gang appeared in Luo Zhao's army and had immediately rushed over. Because of the distance, she had still arrived too late.

Hidden among the rebels, she had personally watched Yuan Gang charge in alone to save people. She had also witnessed him, powerless to reverse the situation, cremate Huyan Wei afterward.

What happened next had surprised her even more. Yuan Gang had not fled. Instead, he charged straight into the army and fought desperately, intent on killing Gu Yuanda to avenge the dead.

When she later saw Yuan Gang fall into danger, she wanted to intervene, but acting in full view of everyone was simply too inconvenient. Only when it became clear that Yuan Gang was about to lose his life did she have no choice but to hurriedly conceal her face, step in, and carry him away.

She had brought him here.

[End of Chapter 1407]