Chapter 35: Clues

The main hall was currently in a state of utter ruin; the former luxury had been reduced to a pile of debris.

Yu Jin, the four great eunuchs, and Gong Lishan were all severely wounded, as were many of the other guards and eunuchs. The remaining people were in a state of complete chaos.

The old man in gray scanned his surroundings, but ultimately decided not to pursue the armored soldier, uncertain if the man had accomplices.

Given the current situation at the Aurora Pavilion, if he left and the opponent took the opportunity to strike again, there was almost no one left who could stop them.

However, what no one noticed was that at the same moment the soldier departed, Li Musheng also quietly vanished from the hall.

...

After escaping the Aurora Pavilion, the young soldier moved rapidly through a series of remote alleys.

He used his true qi to condense around his wounds to staunch the bleeding from his severed arm, while remaining constantly vigilant of his surroundings.

Seeing that the old man in gray had not followed, the young soldier visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly vaulted into a courtyard and began stripping off his clothes, intending to change into some laundry drying in the yard to disguise himself.

However, the noise in the courtyard caught the attention of the homeowner, and a woman rushed out of the room to investigate.

Upon seeing an armored soldier with a severed arm stealing clothes, she was instantly struck with terror.

The young soldier's eyes turned fierce, and he prepared to strike the woman down with a single punch to silence her.

Yet, just as he raised his hand, a young figure suddenly appeared before his eyes.

"It's you!"

The young soldier's pupils constricted; he had clearly recognized the newcomer.

"If you're running for your life, why are you wasting time trying to change clothes?"

Li Musheng shook his head, appearing somewhat dissatisfied with the soldier's actions.

The young soldier took a sudden step back, eyeing Li Musheng warily. "Who exactly are you? When did you follow me?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng's eyes flickered. He rubbed his chin and asked, "If I said I was actually on your side and followed you to save you, would you believe me or not?"

The soldier narrowed his eyes. In the next instant, he suddenly threw a punch and sneered, "The only ghost that would believe you!"

"Sigh!"

A rather regretful sigh sounded in the young soldier's ear.

Then, he saw the woman, who had been frozen in shock in the courtyard, vanish from his sight in the blink of an eye as the surrounding scenery retreated at high speed.

Only after his senses returned did he realize that Li Musheng was grabbing him by the collar, running at an unimaginable speed.

The young soldier was gripped by horror and immediately tried to resist, but only then did he realize, with a sense of delayed shock, that he was completely unable to move.

Before long, Li Musheng dropped the young soldier in a deserted alley.

"Who are you, exactly?"

The young soldier's mouth hung open in suspicion; he realized he could speak again.

Li Musheng tossed him carelessly onto the ground, thought for a moment, and then got straight to the point: "Do you have the key to the Apocalypse Treasury in your possession?"

The reason he had followed this fellow was, naturally, because of his identity as a remnant of the Great Qi Dynasty.

After all, the people most familiar with the Apocalypse Treasury would undoubtedly be those from the Great Qi Dynasty itself.

A remnant like this, obsessed with restoring the nation, might very well be hiding a few keys to the treasury.

"So, you're after that."

The young soldier stared at Li Musheng for a moment, then became fearless. "Unbind my acupoints first, then I'll decide whether or not to tell you."

Li Musheng frowned and nodded. "You don't have it, do you? In that case, I might as well just throw you back to the Aurora Pavilion."

As he spoke, he reached out to grab the man's collar again.

Seeing this, the young soldier hurriedly said, "Wait! If you hand me over, you'll never get the key to the Apocalypse Treasury!"

Li Musheng shook his head. "My time is limited. I'll give you one chance. Tell me, or don't. It's up to you."

The young soldier fell silent.

However, in the next moment, Li Musheng simply picked him up and sprinted toward the Aurora Pavilion, sneering, "Time's up. You just missed your chance to live."

The young soldier was visibly stunned, but he said nothing, assuming Li Musheng was merely bluffing.

But as he saw the Aurora Pavilion drawing closer and closer, he began to panic and finally spoke: "I don't have the key!"

Seeing that Li Musheng remained unmoved, and seeing that they were now only one street away from the Aurora Pavilion, the soldier became visibly desperate.

But very quickly, the young soldier fell silent again.

He realized that in this situation, the more he spoke, the less value he held, and the closer he would be to death.

"Quite a tough mouth."

With a movement of his body, Li Musheng carried the soldier to the rooftop of the five-story Aurora Pavilion.

From here, one could see more members of the Sky Brocade Guard arriving in the distance; it was estimated they would soon lock down the entire Aurora Pavilion like an iron fortress.

But to Li Musheng, even the most stringent guard could not stop him from coming and going as he pleased, as if walking through an empty field.

"As expected, I'm still not very good at interrogations."

Li Musheng shook his head, carried the soldier into his own Room No. 17, and tossed him carelessly under the bed.

In the next moment, under the soldier's shocked gaze, Li Musheng vanished from the room, leaving only the door to slowly close on its own.

Just how terrifying was that speed?

The young soldier tried to open his mouth, only to find he could not speak again.

...

Chaos still reigned in the main hall of the Aurora Pavilion. Some youths and a portion of the eunuch guards were providing basic aid to the wounded.

Experts like Yu Jin and Gong Lishan were focused on circulating their internal energy to treat and recover from their injuries.

Li Yuanling searched everywhere for Li Musheng but found nothing.

Initially, she thought he had panicked and scattered, hiding somewhere else in the pavilion, but after failing to find him, she began to grow anxious.

However, just as she turned around, Li Musheng appeared silently before her eyes.

"Brother Li, are you alright? Where did you go just now?"

Li Yuanling hurriedly inspected him, and upon finding him unharmed, she breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"It was too chaotic just now. I was just walking around to clear my head."

Li Musheng waved his hand, appearing somewhat distracted.

That soldier likely held clues to the Apocalypse Treasury key; he couldn't simply hand him over to the Sky Brocade Guard.

Therefore, he could only turn to Cang Yinyue. After all, that girl came from the Hidden Intelligence Division; even the toughest mouth should be able to be pried open by her.

*But I can't rely on her forever. When I have time, I'll study a martial art similar to the 'Life-Death Talisman,' and everything will be solved,* Li Musheng thought to himself.

He scanned the hall once before looking at Li Yuanling.

"Miss Li, there are too many eyes and ears here. Let's find somewhere private to talk."

(End of Chapter)