The swordsman in blue robes stopped smiling just as a figure suddenly appeared outside the window of his room.
“What’s the matter?” he said faintly without looking at the window.
“Sect Master has ordered me to tell Senior that the Sword Freak, Chen Wenjie, has arrived in Runan two days ago, and he asks you to be careful of the experts from the Clarity Sect and the Righteous Sect.”
The swordsman glanced at the figure and said politely, “Thank you.”
“There’s one more thing. Old Senior Ji of the Evil Sky Pavilion is likely to have arrived in Runan as well. Sect Master wants to know what your plans are.” The figure spoke in a hesitant tone, as if he were a little afraid.
“It has nothing to do with him,” the swordsman’s voice grew lower as he said.
The figure instinctively took a step back.
The swordsman smiled again as he took the kettle from the table and poured a glass of water, “You don’t have to be afraid, my friend. The wind is strong out there. If you have nothing else to do, please come in and have a glass of water.”
“This…This Junior needs to report back to Sect Master! Farewell!”
The figure blinked and disappeared into the night.
The swordsman shook his head helplessly, but he did not stay in the room for long. After a short rest, he turned and jumped into the darkness, disappearing as well.
The next morning…
As soon as Lu Zhou opened his eyes, he heard noise coming from outside his room. Then, he heard a knock on his door, which made him get up.
“Old…Old Mister…” It was the innkeeper.
Lu Zhou got out of bed and opened the door suspiciously, only to be greeted by the innkeeper and several officers.
The innkeeper’s face was covered in sweat, but before he could speak, the leading officer already cupped his fist and said, “Did you see who killed Zhuo Ping, Old Mister?”
Lu Zhou had a puzzled look on his face. Zhuo Ping was dead? He turned to look at the door of the room where the man stayed. Two soldiers were dealing with a puddle of blood on the ground there, beside which was a broken sword. Meanwhile, two other officers searched the room. The room was empty, however, so they could not find anything.
Zhuo Ping was a Divine Court expert, but he was killed quietly without putting out a fight. This proved that the murderer was most likely a Nascent Divinity Tribulation expert.
Lu Zhou shook his head to show that he did not see anything.
The officer sighed and said, “Zhuo Ping was an expert of swords. Whoever could kill him must also be an expert. It is normal for you not to see it.”
“Zhuo Ping had enmity with someone?” Lu Zhou asked.
The officer frowned and studied Lu Zhou for a moment before speaking in an unfriendly tone, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”
Although Zhuo Ping’s death had nothing to do with Lu Zhou, the fact that the murderer was an expert brought him a bad feeling. If Runan were a huge trap and he knew it too late, then it would be very difficult for him to get away.
“When I ask you a question, you just have to answer it.” Lu Zhou showed him the imperial token.
The officer glared at him and was about to lose his temper when he saw the token, and he wilted instantly. ‘He’s someone from the imperial clan!’ He trembled and dropped to his knees as he cried out, “My, my lord…”
The innkeeper was struck dumb.
Meanwhile, the other soldiers knelt without saying anything. When they saw the token, their faces froze and their heart raced as they immediately went down on their knees with the official in charge.
It was then that Little Yuan’er came out of her room while yawning and rubbing her eyes. When she saw the people kneeling in front of Lu Zhou’s room, she said, “Grandpa, do you want me to beat them?”
As soon as the innkeeper heard her say that, he collapsed and sat down.
Lu Zhou waved his hand, signaling her not to interrupt. Then, he continued asking, “Who is Zhuo Ping exactly?”
“He is an expert of swords, and he had taken the Couple Swords by killing his own brother. Due to his profound cultivation base, the local authorities could hardly touch him.”
“Then, why was he in Runan?”
“This…I don’t know.”
These people were just some low-level officers and soldiers, and they had little access to cases involving Divine Court experts. It was normal for them not to know such information.
Little Yuan’er ran to the crime scene and glanced around before running back. As if she had made a major discovery, she said excitedly, “He was killed with just one sword strike, which cut him from here to here,” she pointed at her own body. “Oh, the murderer killed him from the front.”
Lu Zhou nodded. The murderer should be an expert of swords who owned a heaven-grade weapon. In his memory, a number of people met these criteria.
The person who killed Zhuo Ping could be the Sword Freak Chen Wenjie, the Sword Genius Jiang Aijian, Luo Changqing from the Luo Sect, or his treacherous disciple, Yu Shangrong.
Just as Lu Zhou was pondering, a loud noise was heard from outside. He and the kneeling officers and soldiers all showed a puzzled expression and looked outside the inn at the same time.
“Yuan’er, go and have a look.”
“Yes.”
Little Yuan’er jumped directly from the upper floor to the ground floor before running out of the inn and coming back a short moment later.
“There’s a flying chariot outside, which belongs to the Temple of Great Emptiness,” the little girl said.
“The Temple of Great Emptiness?”
Puzzled, Lu Zhou turned and walked downstairs. Little Yuan’er followed, leaving the group of people kneeling and looking at each other, wondering whether they should get up or not.
When he came outside, Lu Zhou looked up at the sky. The huge flying chariot had flown to the edge of the city, but the bald monks flying around it were still faintly visible. Judging from the symbols on the chariot, it indeed belonged to the Temple of Great Emptiness.
“Let’s go!” Lu Zhou retracted his glance.
“Oh!”
Soon, they headed north of Runan. As soon as they were out of the city, Little Yuan’er whispered, “Master, we are being followed.”
Lu Zhou said nothing but nodded. This was why he had been taking Little Yuan’er with him. She cultivated the Supreme Purity Jade Slip, which made her perception far exceed that of cultivators at the same realm. Moreover, she was witty, and she could protect herself even if they met a strong enemy, saving Lu Zhou’s energy.
Lu Zhou had planned to ride his mount to the holy altar, but now that they were being followed, he had to deal with it first.
“Please wait a moment, Old Mister!” The stalker finally lost his patience.
Lu Zhou and Little Yuan’er turned slowly and saw a young man who looked less than thirty years old.
“What do you want?”
“I want to buy something from you, Old Mister.”
Little Yuan’er said angrily, “We’re not selling anything! Go away!”
The young man paid no attention to Little Yuan’er and just stared at Lu Zhou.
“The fact that your short sword could destroy the Couple Swords proves that it is an excellent sword. I am willing to buy it at a high price,” he said.
Lu Zhou asked calmly, “You were there yesterday?”
The young man nodded. “That’s right. I had intended to discuss this with Old Mister yesterday, but an expert was present, and I had to avoid him.”
Lu Zhou nodded and said, “You like swords?”
“I regard swords as my life, and I love them to the bone,” the man said slowly. “I was going to kill Zhuo Ping and take the Couple Swords, but I didn’t expect that someone killed him before I could do anything. It’s a pity that the expert destroyed the sword too…What a pity…” His words were filled with regret for the sword.
“Who is that expert?”
“I didn’t see him. However, his true identity is not difficult to guess. In this world, there are only three people who can use swords to such an extreme level.” For a moment, the young man seemed to have forgotten his objective as he went on, “One of them is the villainous patriarch of Evil Sky Pavilion, Ji Tiandao, who is also the one I fear the most…”
Little Yuan’er covered her smile with a hand and said, “Then you should be running right now!”