Chapter 229: Why Are We Being Hunted?

They could only catch these two targets at night, so there was not much to do during the day. Yun Yang left casually - the day had come for him to soothe His Majesty's symptoms.

With his improved cultivation base, he could theoretically make the emperor more comfortable and suppress the poison, perhaps, dissipate it slightly as well.

...

The sudden disappearance of Shen Yushi and the subsequent mysterious discovery of a secret chamber in his house had, of course, attracted close attention from Yutang's higher-ups.

The emperor and Qiu Jianhan, however, knew all about the situation for the Nine Heavens Dictum had sent its message over.

"Shen Yushi, vice head of the Four Seasons Tower's seventh month hall; involved in Nine Supremes' incident with concrete evidence..."

His Majesty sighed deeply.

"Old Qiu, this Four Seasons Tower... what sort of organization do you think it is? How..."

His Majesty was at a loss for words, his hands trembling as he counted on his fingers.

"From Wu Wenyuan until now... how many has it been already? Officials from my imperial court... a 'thing' would be hauled before another after a few days..."

"Is this still my Empire of Yutang? This is about to become the Four Seasons Tower's sovereignty!"

The emperor was extremely fretful and irritable; he was close to hysterics. "If I found out about this myself, it would have been alright, I could've just executed these bastards in public and exterminate their families... But I didn't. If it weren't for the help from the Nine Heavens Dictum, I really don't know how long more will these people stay under the radar."

Qiu Jianhan's chuckle was devoid of humor as he said, "Your Majesty if it were to be us who found out... perhaps the trouble will be even more catastrophic."

The lines on his face seemed to have dug themselves deeper. "The matters of the martial arts world ought to be solved via the martial arts way."

The emperor scoffed and said, "What are these matters of the martial arts world that you speak of? Casting harm upon the Nine Supremes is no different than terminating the Empire of Yutang's reign. How can it still be considered a matter of the martial arts world? Wu Wenyuan, Shen Yushi and others - which one of them aren't from my imperial court? Can they be called roamers of the martial arts world?"

With a sigh, Qiu Jianhan replied, "Your Majesty, the distinction of court and underworld is no longer clear; the forces of martial arts world... have long become the dominating force in this equation."

He finished with a sigh, suddenly at a loss for comforting words.

The world's land was the emperor's land; the world's people were the emperor's officials - that was the saying. It was the basis, a foundation of a nation, the principle of a ruler. No crowned head would be happy to be provoked by the martial arts way yet for so many years now, the forces, clans, and schools in the martial arts world were growing in their capabilities; with that, came the reluctance to obey the sovereignty.

It was no longer a matter of being unwieldy but an issue of those forces being impregnable.

To the imperial power, it was a massive impediment as it was a colossal threat. At the same time, it was also an unforgettable humiliation.

War was unceasing among countries as they fought to hinder each other; there was simply no more manpower to clean up this case with the martial arts world.

Old Marshal Qiu did not fully finish his words - if such phenomenon persisted, a colossus that could manipulate the succession of imperial power, maneuver the change of a dynasty, and even steer the rise and fall of the world would definitely appear in the future.

Until then, it would be true grief for the imperial power - one that was more sorrowful than a kingdom's fall.

To remedy this situation, the reigning emperors from each nation must work together to execute imperial military examinations and absorb the world's talents as their own. With the gradual passing of time, one that could take up to generations, only then would the forces in the martial arts world be worn down bit by bit and return supervision to the imperial court.

This was the only way this plight could be alleviated, or perhaps digested completely with regards to the influence of the martial arts world. In spite of it, the current Yutang was unable to do so.

Once such a practice was carried out, civil officials would definitely make waves of objections. Even when that was not the case, to subdue or balance out the gradual increase of military martial officials then would still pose a difficult question.

After all, everything had to be changed and reformed for what was being said to be done. Right now, hope was far from reach while the possibility to do it was virtually nil.

"Old Qiu, about how many of the Four Seasons Tower's people do you think are still in the imperial court?" His Majesty switched the topic swiftly, knowing that he was only grumbling and was unable to change their current plight.

Qiu Jianhan sighed helplessly in reply. "Let's first put aside what Four Seasons Tower's ultimate goal is for harming the Nine Supremes. The trap they managed to set up and the accurate intel they could get their hands on should have already been assisted by the higher-ups among the civil and military officials. Besides, if there aren't middle ranked military officers relaying information through the process or even the participation of the royals, it'd have been impossible to execute their plan so intricately and impeccably. In addition, there must also be help from a significant number of lower-ranked men."

Old Marshal Qiu sighed, "To execute such an immense plan, the few people exposed now are still far from the total estimation, so..."

Before Marshal Qiu could finish, the emperor fell with a plop onto his chair like a deflated ball. Qiu Jianhan's words were organized and direct; not only had he highlighted what was crucial, he also gave the emperor a conclusion he was most reluctant to hear - there must be more than only a few of these people.

There were definitely more of them!

What could he have done, knowing this? Even when he knew that there were still plenty of traitors, he did not know who they were; how could he even think of wiping them out?

"Your Majesty needs only to wait now... the Nine Heavens Dictum is already making its move, I believe some targets have already shown themselves. When someone from the Nine Supremes actually appears... this issue will be close to an end."

"By then, everything will be crystal clear," Qiu Jianhan comforted the emperor.

"Could, I, the emperor, be this useless, waiting passively and be of no help at all?" His Majesty murmured.

Old Marshal Qiu could only sigh about the emperor's self-deprecation.

Help?

How?

They did not even know if their men sent to help were from the Four Seasons Tower, how could they be of help?

For a moment there, they had nothing to say to each other; it was not that they did not wish to speak, it was that they honestly did not know what to speak of - even words of comfort were woefully inadequate in this situation.

When Yun Yang arrived, it was this unusually heavy-hearted scene that greeted him. He made no comment; there were things that he, as Marquis Yun's son now, had no right to ask.

Supreme Cloud could do it, he could even strategize a decision, but Yun Yang had no stance nor eligibility to interfere!

...

Twenty thousand miles away from Tiantang City, on a steep mountain, Ji Lingxi and Yue Rulan and their guards were making their descent.

There were nearly a hundred guards that had accompanied them when they were coming back from Tiannan; however, they were left with only eighteen now. These eighteen men were nursing injuries of their own.

As for their maids who followed them closely, not a single one of them remained.

Yue Rulan was pale, her white clothes stained with blood; Ji Lingxi was huffing and puffing, her face unusually flushed.

The sound of flowing water coming from the front colored everyone's eyes with a bright dazzle.

"There's a mountain spring!"

Ji Lingxi cried in delighted surprise, licking her chapped lips subconsciously.

The team held out and made their way forward, finding a mountain stream that was flowing with clean and clear water.

With a cheer, everyone pushed forward to replenish themselves with big gulps, no longer remembering to be alert.

"I can't move anymore..." Ji Lingxi sat down, holding onto a small tree and breathing heavily.

After the drink, the momentary rejuvenation only emphasized their extreme physical fatigue.

Yue Rulan stumbled before lowering herself slowly onto a rock. Obviously, she was also exhausted.

Other than the two leaders among the eighteen guards who were holding out and ushering everyone to assemble their water pouches so they could refill them, the rest of the guards were sprawled across the ground, breathing harshly.

After resting, some of them had gone downstream to rinse their various necessities. It was unpractical to cleanse everything now so they would only wash whatever was of priority first.

Everyone was bloated with water, every step they took had them feeling the violent shaking in their stomachs.

"Sister Lan..." Ji Lingxi's mask had long been lost, the face that was exposed was the disguise of the dark face she wore when she was in Tiantang City. Only her eyes retained the same sparkle like icy snow.

"I keep feeling that something is wrong this whole journey. It's just not right."

Ji Lingxi caught her breath and continued. "Since we left to find my brother, we've left our tracks in about half of the continent for so many years down the road and we've never met something like this..."

"How can this ceaseless hunting kill be normal?"

Yue Rulan thought about it; as she was about to speak, she coughed; a string of blood hung at the corner of her lips but was wiped away swiftly like it was of no import. She replied, "Not only is it not right, there are too many things along our way that are just plain bizarre."

"Since we've been separated from our sisters, we've been hunted, assassination attempts, ambushed... all sorts of traps and setups..." Yue Rulan said.

"As for the summons of help we sent to our families... they actually aren't here yet even after so long!"

"These people who blocked our way obviously don't want to kill us immediately but... they have other intentions. It's just that we don't know their real purpose."

Yue Rulan continued. "Each time we're forced into a dead end, there must be an escape for us to charge out fleeing, but each loss we suffer is substantial."

"Every time we are fortunate enough to flee, we'll end up heading in the wrong direction."

"As long as we move towards the Tiantang City or even around it, we'll be hunted right away!"

"The repetition is definitely no coincidence."

"Someone is obviously manipulating us from the dark..." Yue Rulan suggested.

"If there aren't any other intentions, then they're just purposefully deceiving and torturing us."

An icy glow flashed in Yue Rulan's eyes. "This is very bizarre indeed!"

"Does Sister Lan mean that there's somebody who doesn't want us to go back to Tiantang City?" Ji Lingxi asked.

"That's not entirely it. Perhaps there are other reasons but we still don't know of it yet," Yue Rulan mused, worry mirrored deep within her orbs.

As she pondered, she suddenly asked, "Lingxi, that younger brother of yours, how old is he this year?"