"If there's no other way, we'll go through the cities. We can pick up anything we need while we're there," Su Jin said.
"You needn't worry too much about that," Du Wenyan said. "A bribe will get us past the city guards. Having official papers hardly matters."
"Getting your vehicle through is the difficult part. After another six hundred li, we'll reach the Wunian River. At the nearest crossing, it's nearly forty li wide. Going around would take a long time, and I doubt you'd agree to that."
Du Wenyan pointed to the vast river that seemed to cut across the whole country on the map.
Su Jin smiled. "Is the water calm?"
"It is."
"I have a boat."
"A boat?" Du Wenyan stared. "Where is it? And what about the vehicle?"
Su Jin walked over and touched the RV. It vanished on the spot.
A branch that had been caught on its roof dropped and bobbed in the air.
Du Wenyan and Yunlian gaped in astonishment yet again.
"How... how did you do that?"
"The immortal gave me these things, so I can store them inside my body. The boat's in there too. We don't need to worry about crossing the river."
"That's... astonishing! An immortal..." Du Wenyan's confidence rose, and some of the gloom weighing on her lifted.
"Good. We've discussed enough. Let's get back in and keep moving."
....
"Senior Brother! Senior Brother!"
At his junior disciple's shout, Lu Mingxuan reined in his horse and looked back.
The junior disciple rode up, horse and rider both panting.
"Senior Brother, the temple master has given an order! The Xuanjia Army is taking over the pursuit. You don't have to keep chasing them."
Lu Mingxuan glanced back toward the city walls, long since out of sight.
"I've come all this way, and now I have to turn around? Why hand it over to the Xuanjia Army?"
The junior disciple stopped his horse and smiled helplessly. "How would I know? The temple master gave the order himself. And you rode off on his Tianchuan Horse. Aren't you afraid he'll punish you? I nearly rode my own horse to death catching up."
"Hmm..." Lu Mingxuan frowned. "If the army has taken over, has a warrant gone out?"
"Yes."
"What level?"
"The highest."
"The highest?" Lu Mingxuan frowned more deeply. "The kid I ran into was capable, but does that really call for this?"
"It's more complicated than that," the junior disciple said, swallowing. "Du Wenyan escaped last night too. He and the man you met broke out together, from the same cell."
"They rescued a Suzai from the inner prison as well. Du Wenyan knows a lot of nobles, so the higher-ups suspect some new group is secretly gathering Suzai to stir up trouble. The court is in an uproar and taking it very seriously."
"They also found a strange object during the hunt last night. The temple master and several others looked at it, but none could work out what it was."
"Du Wenyan escaped too? With him? What object?" Lu Mingxuan asked in surprise.
"I don't know what it's called. I only saw it from a distance," the junior disciple said. "It's like an iron box. Press it a few times and it makes sounds. The people inside seemed to be singing in some strange language."
"The temple master is curious about it. They think catching the fugitives is the only way to learn what it is, and the Xuanjia Army can find them fastest."
Lu Mingxuan blinked in the saddle.
A strange box? It had to be the kid's. He'd been dazzled by him that night. Thinking back, what the kid had used was no Mystic Light Art.
He'd seemed to pull out some strange object that produced a similar effect.
The man's origins were a mystery...
"Wait. You said the man we pursued last night shared a cell with Du Wenyan?" Lu Mingxuan asked, an odd look on his face.
"Yes. Didn't you take Du Wenyan to his cell yourself? You should have seen him..."
"Ah!" Lu Mingxuan slapped his forehead. "I remember that bastard! I even kicked him twice. So an expert had hidden himself in the prison all along. Suyuan's been infiltrated through and through! Du Wenyan revealed himself now to join him; they're ready to make their move. The Suzai they freed must have an extraordinary ability, or they wouldn't take such a risk."
"Senior Brother, the court hasn't decided what happened yet. Are you sure that's right?" the junior disciple asked uncertainly.
"Hmph. Close enough!" Lu Mingxuan turned his horse. "This is too important to leave to the Xuanjia Army. I'll pursue them myself. Tell my master I'll catch the fugitives. I'll borrow his horse for now and give it some exercise. He hardly rides it anyway."
"Senior Brother, please stop fooling around! How am I supposed to report that?" the junior disciple cried. "The world is vast. Where can you search alone? If they keep away from the cities, even the whole Xuanjia Army might not find them. Where are you going to look?"
Lu Mingxuan said nothing. He drew a map from his robe and studied it, thinking.
A group centered on Suzai must be plotting to overthrow the court, and surely they had more than one Suzai.
Du Wenyan had made contacts throughout the city... Shen Yufeng was especially important.
Through Shen Yufeng, he could learn about the searches for Suzai.
Jiuzhao City was entirely under Xuanjia Army control, on the front line against the Demon Spring.
The army focused on the Demon Spring; Suzai were a low priority there. Jiuzhao City could well be the group's base.
Shen Yufeng had only just taken up his post there, and Du Wenyan had made his move. He must be going to join the main force, perhaps even to corrupt Shen Yufeng!
The more Lu Mingxuan thought about it, the more alarming it seemed. The corner of his mouth began to curl upward.
Shen Yufeng wasn't such a gentleman after all! If rebels had their eyes on him, he must have the makings of a rebel himself!
Du Wenyan hadn't misjudged him. He'd judged him all too well! He'd said those things to provoke me because he knew he couldn't win me over!
"Heh... Hahaha!"
"Senior Brother, what are you thinking about? Why are you laughing?" the junior disciple asked nervously.
"I'm laughing at how little sense these rebels have. Their plots and schemes—I saw through them at once!" Lu Mingxuan felt a surge of confidence.
"You mean you already know where they are?"
Lu Mingxuan looked down at the map, narrowing his eyes.
There was only one answer: they were headed for Jiuzhao City!
To get there, they had to cross the Wunian River.
The river was wide, and he didn't know exactly where they'd cross, but they'd surely choose a favorable stretch.
His Tianchuan Horse was bound to outrun them. He would ride straight to the river, survey the crossings, and lie in wait.
"Go back and report. I'm going after them! I'll return within ten days with the job done. Hyah!"
The Tianchuan Horse galloped away like the wind and vanished from the junior disciple's sight.