"Zhao Lan, if you confess now, perhaps I can still argue for a lighter sentence for you," Pei Su said.
"What are you talking about! What in the world are you talking about!" Zhao Lan's voice was frantic as he stared directly at Liu Zhi.
"My lady! How could you conspire with him to set me up!"
"Hmph! When dealing with a scoundrel like you, no method is too despicable!" With Pei Su by her side, Liu Zhi was fearless, shouting sharply.
"My feelings for you are true, I—"
"Enough! The moment you learned the Heir had arrived at the provincial capital, you rushed off to inform on us to your Xiao Bo! Don't think I didn't know!"
"I..." Zhao Lan was at a loss for words. He then looked at Pei Su. "What about my Xiao Bo?"
Pei Su, still smiling, raised an eyebrow. "You've studied martial arts and blade techniques under him for so many years. Do you really not know his true identity?"
Zhao Lan froze.
Xiao Bo's true identity?
A quick look at will leave you more fulfilled.
Just who was Xiao Bo, to have attracted the attention of someone like the Heir of Northern Marquis!
"Then let me tell you. That old blacksmith who taught you the art of the blade for twenty years is, in fact, a former member of the Imperial Guard, the Deputy Commander of the Left Yulin Guard, a captain personally commissioned by the Emperor."
Zhao Lan's legs gave out, and his mind went blank.
He had suspected Xiao Bo's origins were extraordinary, but he never imagined they were this monumental!
The Imperial Palace's Yulin Guard!
Those were men who served right beside the Emperor, the most elite and extraordinary force in the world. And Xiao Bo was their Deputy Commander twenty years ago?!
A trusted confidant of the Emperor... even a provincial governor like Liu Gongyun would have to treat him with courtesy. No wonder Xiao Bo had been so dismissive of the imperial inspector from the Imperial Capital.
"And there's an even bigger surprise. He's also the traitor who stole the Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow and fled twenty years ago. Tell me, isn't your foster father a bold one?"
Just as a sliver of clarity returned to Zhao Lan, his mind exploded once more.
What had he just heard?
The Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow!
The theft of that divine weapon twenty years ago didn't just shock the Imperial Court; it sent tremors through all seventy-two provinces of the realm.
That was the Imperial Court's ultimate treasure, the Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow! It was stolen while being transported to the north. Every righteous hero in the Martial World was incensed, vowing to slay the thief with their own hands. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
He and Xiao Bo were both blade masters. He had even mentioned the incident to Xiao Bo on more than one occasion, his face filled with indignation.
How could it be?
How could Xiao Bo possibly be the thief who stole the Dragon Sparrow?
"Impossible! I don't believe it!" Zhao Lan screamed.
Though Xiao Bo was always strict and cold with him, he could see that the man was no scoundrel. He had the heart of a true hero, filled with a desire to serve his country!
"You can know a man's face, but not his heart. There's no need to make excuses for him."
"Xiao Bo! Xiao Bo! Don't you dare come out!" Zhao Lan yelled, his expression frantic.
Seeing this, Pei Su shook his head.
Zhao Lan's wits were leagues below his foster father's.
It made sense. One was a former Imperial Guard Commander, over seventy years of age; the other, a poor boy, not even thirty.
"There's no need to shout. Your foster father isn't here, so how could he possibly answer?"
Zhao Lan's voice died in his throat. He spun around, eyes wide as he stared at Pei Su.
"Then where is Xiao Bo?"
Pei Su smiled without a word, then began to speak slowly.
"By the time my investigation led me to your foster father, Xiao Lin, he had already vanished. This wasn't surprising. With the vigilance of a former Imperial Guard Commander, he was bound to be alarmed the moment he learned the Heir of Northern Marquis was here...
"What did surprise me, however, was that he was living right here in Lin'an County, the capital of Bingzhou, and not in some remote forest or wandering the Martial World as everyone assumed. Could it be that Lin'an County is more secluded than anywhere else?
"At the time, I merely suspected that there might be a secret chamber within the county, perhaps some kind of formation that concealed one's presence. And you, as his adopted son, seemed like a potential lead."
Hearing Pei Su's words, Zhao Lan's fists clenched. He understood in an instant.
So... Liu Zhi had been in league with Pei Su all along!
Pei Su paid him no mind and continued, as if talking to himself.
"Things went even more smoothly than I'd imagined. You actually revealed the location of a secret place. But in the next moment, a doubt arose. A man of Xiao Lin's intelligence... how could he leave behind such a glaring vulnerability as you?
"Unless... he did it on purpose."
At these words, Zhao Lan was completely dumbfounded. He saw a mocking smile spread across Pei Su's lips.
"With Deputy Commander Xiao's power, the only ones in all of Bingzhou who could kill him are likely from my Pei Family. To escape our pursuit, he decided to play along, turning our own plan against us. He allowed us to investigate and track you, leading us to this place... a place completely cut off from the outside world."
Pei Su glanced at the nearby peach grove and the sky, which was veiled in mist.
"And this gives him the perfect opportunity to break through the county pass. By the time we realize we've been tricked and get out of here, he'll be long gone, as free as a bird in the sky. Capturing him then would be nearly impossible." You are reading on NovelPing, the official source.
Zhao Lan was dumbstruck. He never imagined Xiao Bo was capable of such a scheme.
But wait... wait! If that was Xiao Bo's plan, then the Heir of Northern Marquis standing before him had just... laid it all bare...
That meant Xiao Bo...
Pei Su glanced at the sky.
"By my calculations, Old Wu should be meeting with Deputy Commander Xiao at the county pass right about now. A pity... I won't get to see the look on his face..."
******
At the Lin'an County pass.
High above, two figures faced each other, their transcendent auras so powerful they sent the clouds scattering in alarm.
The figure on the left was shrouded in a black robe, emanating a terrifying, deathly aura that chilled the soul.
The figure on the right wore simple linen, straw sandals, and a battered, gray-stained hat. The face beneath the hat was dark and grim.
"The Young Master saw right through you. So this is all the great Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard amounts to..." The black-robed elder's laugh was hoarse and grating, yet every word was a dagger to the soul.
"You're not from the Imperial Court. You're... one of the Pei Family's deathsworn!" Xiao Lin said, each word deliberate. When he mentioned the Pei Family, a flicker of deep-seated fear appeared in his eyes, as if recalling something terrible.
"Hmph!" The black-robed elder snorted, offering no reply. He extended a withered hand and thrust his palm forward.
Instantly, the winds howled between heaven and earth, and the clouds churned like a monstrous tide.
Xiao Lin's expression turned grave. With a flick of his sleeve, he retreated nearly ten steps, a sharp pain stabbing at his chest. The residual force of the blow rippled outward, snapping countless trees and shaking the very earth.
Below, the guards stared blankly, as if witnessing a legend unfold.
"Who in the world are they?!"
"Such terrifying power! They must be among the absolute strongest in the entire Great Jin Dynasty!"
"To think we'd witness a battle between experts of this caliber in our little Bingzhou!"
The captain of the guard, clad in black armor, stared dumbly at a peculiar stone in the compound that was now erupting with a dazzling, arcane light.
He muttered under his breath, "Two... two Heavenly Palace Realm masters?!"
And they weren't just any Heavenly Palace masters. Twenty years ago, Xiao Lin was already at the Eighth Heaven of the Heavenly Palace Realm. Though he hadn't broken through to the Ninth Heaven in the two decades since, his aura had grown far more condensed.
As for the black-robed elder, Pei Su had said he was invincible beneath the Heavenly Being Realm. This was because he had once been a Heavenly Being, but had fallen to the Half-Step Dharma Form Realm after being grievously poisoned. Regardless, he had once briefly set foot in the Dharma Form Realm. Within the Heavenly Palace Realm, he was simply unmatched.
Proofreader: Peter Pan