Chapter Thirty-Three: A Night Visit to the Kong Mansion

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Liang Yan concealed himself behind a tree, watching as the members of the "Society for the Eradication of Traitors" began to discuss the details of their plans. Inwardly, he mused, "So Chen Zhuo'an's true identity is actually the leader of this so-called 'Society for the Eradication of Traitors.' Who would have thought such a small place as Yongle Town could be so lively, tangled with both the rivalries of the martial world and the hidden machinations of cultivators."

His gaze swept across those present. He continued in his heart, "If I were those cultivators, I would certainly plant spies among the mortals of Yongle Town, watching for any suspicious strangers passing through. These people have come from all corners of the land, and they possess martial skills—could any of them be spies for the cultivators?"

As Liang Yan pondered, the group finished their arrangements, exchanged a few words, and departed separately. He waited until they had gone far before rising and returning alone to the inn.

Back in the inn, he pushed open Tang Diexian's room, only to find it empty. He sat at the table, gathering his thoughts and sorting through the clues at hand.

"Those cultivators lurking in Yongle Town are cautious indeed, but so far, it seems they have yet to realize that Tang Diexian and I, as disciples sent by the sect to investigate, have already arrived in town. Otherwise, things could not possibly be so calm."

"They also don't appear to have discovered the green-robed visitor's death last night. Otherwise, the simple fact that he was staying at the Laifu Inn would make the new arrivals in the inn prime suspects, and they would never send a lone cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining to investigate during daylight—that would be sending someone to their death. In hindsight, the fortune-telling old man from today was probably just performing his routine, inspecting his assigned area for any suspicious persons."

"But that only makes things stranger. These people all carry identical jade pendants and act in a disciplined, organized manner. Why, then, after an entire day has passed since the death of the green-robed visitor, have they still not noticed anything?"

While Liang Yan was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a creak—the window on the west side was pushed open, and a woman in white slipped in through the window. It was none other than Tang Diexian.

Liang Yan frowned, saying, "There's a perfectly good door, yet you insist on climbing through the window. For a moment, I thought you were some clueless thief."

Tang Diexian gave him a playful smack and retorted, "You're the thief here!" Then, her eyes brightened as she said, "I've found out everything. The martial expert appointed by our sect years ago has already passed away, but the one who succeeded him was a warrior named Kong Xiang."

"Oh? Where is he now?"

"Dead. He died two years ago, along with his entire family—none survived!"

Liang Yan's pupils contracted. After a brief silence, he said, "Two years ago? What a coincidence—the sect lost contact at the same time. It seems it wasn't a deliberate cover-up, but rather he was silenced."

Tang Diexian nodded. "Exactly what I thought."

"In that case," Liang Yan continued, "let's go to the Kong residence tonight. If the tragedy back then was the work of cultivators, we might still find some traces."

"I was thinking the same!" Tang Diexian replied, producing two sets of night attire and tossing one to Liang Yan. They each donned their outfits, left an oil lamp burning in the room, and slipped out of the Laifu Inn.

Moving stealthily across rooftops, a few agile leaps brought them to a large residence on the northern edge of town.

The mansion, built of red bricks and green tiles, was grand and imposing—a testament to its former prosperity and bustle, though now long abandoned, with cobwebs festooning the corners and eaves.

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They scaled the wall and entered, making their way to the inner courtyard. Along the way, they saw broken beams and shattered tiles, clear evidence of a fierce battle in days past.

After a quick inspection, Tang Diexian said, "There are traces of cultivation spells here. It was a one-sided fight—calling it a massacre is no exaggeration."

Liang Yan nodded. "These cultivators wanted control of the spirit mine; slaughtering the Kong family would make sense. Let's search carefully and see if anything remains."

Tang Diexian agreed, and the two split up to search. Liang Yan went from room to room in the main hall, searching each carefully, but aside from some furniture and decorations, he found nothing of note.

After about half an hour, Liang Yan had found no clues and had no choice but to return to the council hall. Tang Diexian was already there. Their eyes met, and each could see the disappointment in the other's gaze.

Liang Yan forced a bitter smile. "I didn't expect them to be so thorough—not a single clue left behind."

Tang Diexian, frustrated, added, "Those sly foxes! If I ever catch them, I'll make sure they pay!" Then, as if recalling something, she turned to Liang Yan. "I found these in the halls where the fighting took place. They must be remnants from the battle. Check if there's anything useful among them."

With that, she took out a storage pouch and shook it onto the ground. Instantly, several swords, sabers, and axes clattered out. Some were rusted, others gleamed coldly—clearly not ordinary weapons. The noise echoed through the empty hall.

Suddenly, Liang Yan's eyes lit up. He bent down and drew out a saber radiating a chilling brilliance, testing it against the ground a few times.

Seeing his reaction, Tang Diexian asked excitedly, "Is there a clue on that saber?"

Liang Yan shook his head. "It's not the saber that's the key—it's the ground!"

"The ground?"

Tang Diexian, quick-witted as ever, caught on immediately. "You mean there's something hidden below?"

"Exactly!" Liang Yan nodded. "There should be a secret chamber beneath us."

His senses were keener than those of an ordinary cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining. By striking the ground with the steel blade, he had already confirmed the existence of a hidden space below.

Liang Yan began searching the area. Knowing he was looking for a mechanism to open the chamber, Tang Diexian said offhandedly, "No need to trouble yourself. We could just blast a passage down with a spell."

Liang Yan looked at her and asked, "Right now, there are several cultivators at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining in Yongle Town, while there are only two of us. Do you know what our greatest advantage is?"

Tang Diexian shook her head.

Liang Yan grinned. "Our greatest advantage is that they are exposed while we are hidden. The cultivators don't know we've infiltrated Yongle Town disguised as mortals. That allows us to fish in troubled waters!"

Tang Diexian rolled her eyes. "You and your cunning schemes. Fine, I’ll help you look." With that, she began searching the room as well.

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After a while, Tang Diexian happened upon an oil lamp, which emitted a faint click—immediately caught by Liang Yan's sharp ears.

His heart leapt. He stepped up to the lamp, slowly rotated its base, and heard a series of clicks. A rumbling sounded behind the desk as the floor opened to reveal a staircase descending into darkness.

Liang Yan and Tang Diexian exchanged a glance, then descended, Liang Yan leading with his Nine-Dragon Staff, Tang Diexian following behind, casting a spell to emit a pale light and illuminate their path.

After a short descent, they came upon a stone door. Liang Yan pushed it open to reveal a stone chamber inside, furnished with a bed, desk, oil lamp, and all the necessities of daily life. There were even stores of dried meat and flatbread, and a small channel of running water, clear as crystal.

"It seems someone lived here for some time," Tang Diexian remarked.

Liang Yan nodded, walking over to the desk, where he noticed a black notebook. He picked it up and began to read.

At the first page, Liang Yan's eyes brightened. The writing read: "Li Hong, that treacherous villain, forms cliques for personal gain, deceives superiors and oppresses the people, drives out loyal ministers at court, and bleeds the common folk dry—truly a rat gnawing at the nation's roots... Old General Zhang, a pillar of the realm, fell victim to his machinations. Fortunately, I, Tang, managed to steal a false imperial edict and intended to present it at court, but the plot was discovered, and Li Hong's men ambushed me. Thanks to the desperate defense of my bodyguards, I managed to escape."

Liang Yan thought to himself, "So this diary was left by Tang Tiannan, whom Chen Zhuo'an mentioned."

He read on. The subsequent entries, though scattered, revealed that in Yongle Town there was a family of martial artists named Kong, whose patriarch, Kong Xiang, was an old friend and trustworthy. The author had sought refuge with him and used the family's secret chamber to recover from his injuries.

The diary ended abruptly at that point. Tang Diexian took the diary and read it carefully, frowning. "The diary doesn't mention the tragedy that befell the Kong family, but this place is so well hidden, and judging by its condition, those cultivators never found it. Perhaps this Tang Tiannan is still alive."

Liang Yan nodded. "That is highly likely. Tang Tiannan is probably the sole survivor of that disaster—he might know something crucial."

Tang Diexian, however, sighed in frustration. "But Yongle Town is so large—how are we supposed to find him?"

Liang Yan smiled. "Perhaps we won't need to search. Someone else might do it for us."

He then recounted everything he had overheard in the forest.

"And if Tang Tiannan is alive, he would never let a false imperial edict remain at large. If we can find the edict, we might be able to trace it back to him."

"Is that so?" Tang Diexian's eyes widened. "You mean we should secretly follow them?"

"I'm afraid following them won't be enough," Liang Yan replied, shaking his head. "When the time comes, we may have to lend them a hand."