Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Chu Li's expression turned dark as he exhaled sharply and said, “Let's go. We can continue this conversation inside!”

 “Understood.” Zhe Liang struggled to catch his breath as he felt an immense, mountain-like pressure suddenly weighing down on him. His legs trembled as he felt as though he would fall on his knees at any moment, so he desperately forced himself to withstand the pressure.

 He followed Chu Li into King An's Imperial Residence, and they quickly went into the main hall.

 “Where did the Ning Brothers go?” Chu Li took a seat in an armchair and gestured toward the armchair across him while frowning and asking, “The Secret Guardians Hall isn't investigating any cases at the moment, right?”

 “We don't have any cases right now.” Zhe Liang sat down across him and shook his head as he said, “I'm not sure where they've disappeared to. I haven't seen any of them over the past few days. After asking around about them, I found out that no one else has seen them either. It's as if they've gone missing.”

 “Did they not give any prior notice before leaving?”

 “No,” Zhe Liang replied and shook his head. “If they don't show up tomorrow, the commander is going to issue a red notice and announce to the public that they've rebelled against the Secret Guardians Hall!”

 “Nonsense!” Chu Li exclaimed with a huff.

 Zhe Liang said helplessly, “They've been missing for seven days now, and they didn't give us any prior notice. It's indeed quite suspicious that they left so quietly all of a sudden… The commander sent me here to notify Head Chief about this.”

 “I'm not working for the Secret Guardians Hall anymore, so the commander can go ahead and do whatever he wants,” Chu Li replied coldly.

 Zhe Liang groaned inwardly.

 The situation would become harder to deal with if Head Chief kept responding in this way. The commander would be starting a huge feud with Head Chief once he issued that red notice. All of them were aware of Head Chief's capabilities. While there was no need to worry about Head Chief standing against the Secret Guardians, they were afraid that he would simply look on and do nothing if they needed to request his a.s.sistance during crucial moments.

 For instance, the ma.s.sacre of Minister Li's family had caused a sensation in Fairy's Capital, and the Emperor had given them a deadline to solve the case. If Head Chief had not come to their help, the Secret Guardians Hall would not have been capable of solving the case on their own. If that had happened, they would have left a bad impression on the Emperor and caused him to think that they were slacking in their work.

 Accompanying the Emperor was like accompanying a tiger since it was hard to tell what was going through the Emperor's mind. After two or three failures, the Secret Guardians Hall would probably have to undergo major reforms, during which most of them would have to suffer.

 Zhe Liang looked embarra.s.sed as he said, “Head Chief, the commander means to request for your help again. Please try and see if you can find out where they are and inform them.”

 Chu Li frowned at him. “The commander means to say that I'm the one who put them up to this, right?”

 “Certainly not!” Zhe Liang anxiously waved his hands in denial.

 Chu Li exhaled sharply. “I'll give it a try. I'm not sure if I can actually locate them, so don't get your hopes up.”

 “I'm sure Head Chief won't face any problem with this,” Zhe Liang replied with a grin.

 Chu Li said, “You can wait here while I try to locate them.”

 “Understood.” Zhe Liang gave a fist salute.

 Chu Li went back to his courtyard and took out a small box containing a few strands of hair from his cupboard. Then, as he used the All-Seeing Divine Technique to sense the whereabouts of the Ning Brothers, his expression gradually became grave.

 He could not sense their presence at all. It was as though the three of them had completely vanished from this world.

 Chu Li refused to give up and tried to sense their presence again but his efforts were in vain.

 There were only two possible explanations for this. The first was that they were carrying some item that could suppress divine powers, or they could be somewhere near a rare treasure with such suppressive effects, such as places like t.i.tanium Temple and Tempest Temple. The second possibility was that they were already dead.

 He returned to the main hall and found Zhe Liang drinking a cup of tea while patiently waiting for him.

 “Head Chief?” Zhe Liang hurriedly rose to his feet and gave a fist salute when he saw Chu Li enter the main hall.

 Chu Li wore a grim expression as he shook his head and said, “The situation doesn't seem good. I can't sense their presence at all. It's either they've gone to some special place, or they're dead… Your commander should just forget about issuing a red notice and send some people to look for them instead!”

 “Well…” Zhe Liang gave a helpless smile.

 He knew that the commander was not a forgiving and broad-minded man. The Ning Brothers had been refusing to take orders from him, so the commander resented them very much and would never let go of this opportunity to punish them as a warning to others.

 Chu Li said, “Just convey my message to the commander. It's up to him whether or not he decides to follow my suggestion.”

 “Understood.” Zhe Liang sighed in relief.

 Chu Li waved a hand and said, “You may return to your affairs now.”

 “I shall take my leave then.” Zhe Liang quickly gave a fist salute and left.

 After Zhe Liang's retreating figure had disappeared from his sight, Chu Li paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and circled the main hall a few times. In the end, he summoned Chief Zhu over and instructed him to send someone to find Yang Zongwen.

 Yang Zongwen soon came over. He was dressed in a blue tunic and seemed to be in great spirits.

 “Centurion.” Yang Zongwen bowed to him respectfully.

 “Let's sit down and talk.” Chu Li waved a hand while sitting in an armchair. “What happened to the Ning Brothers?”

 “The Ning Brothers?” Yang Zongwen was just about to take his seat in the armchair opposite to Chu Li but drew himself up again when he heard Chu Li's question. “The three of them have received orders from the commander to track down a Tempest Temple disciple.”

 “A Tempest Temple disciple?” Chu Li frowned and asked, “Has a disciple from Tempest Temple been stirring up trouble again?”

 “The commander said that Minister Li's case might be connected to Tempest Temple, so he sent the Ning Brothers to go and take a look,” Yang Zongwen replied.

 Chu Li's expression turned grim as he laughed coldly. “Commander Gu is impressive indeed. What a clever trick!”

 Tempest Temple would never show mercy to the secret guardians from the Secret Guardians Hall and would directly cripple their martial arts before dumping them somewhere unknown to anyone else for them to spend the rest of their lives there. Tempest Temple had done this to Qin Jin and the others before and had left them to waste their lives away as normal people with no martial arts skills.

 If Chu Li happened to find out that the Ning Brothers had met such an end, he would definitely fly into a rage and start a fight with Tempest Temple.

 Gu Yu probably believed that Chu Li would be no match for Tempest Temple and might even end up being crippled of his cultivation by them. Thus, he would suffer the same fate as Qin Jin and the others. This plan to get rid of Chu Li with a borrowed knife was indeed very clever.

 What a superb commander Gu Yu was. While he might not be capable of carrying out his duties well, he was quite good at making mischief!

 Chu Li huffed and muttered, “The commander said that the Ning Brothers have gone missing without cause. Since they seem to have rebelled against the Secret Guardians Hall, he's planning to issue a red notice!”

 Yang Zongwen was dumbfounded. “How can that be? They were personally dispatched by Commander Gu!”

 Chu Li scoffed and said, “It seems like he despises Mei Er Courtyard and is intent on removing this thorn in his side!”

 “Indeed, we've been disregarding his orders, but he doesn't have to go so far as to use such trickery, does he?” Yang Zongwen asked with a frown. “He has gone too far with his tricks. This is too terrifying!”

 “He's doing this as a warning to everyone so that none will dare disobey him!” Chu Li laughed humorlessly. “Even if the Emperor finds out about this, he won't say anything!”

 Yang Zongwen frowned and paused to think for a moment before saying, “Our top priority right now is to get the Ning Brothers to return as soon as possible! … Centurion, you're the only one capable of doing that.”

 Chu Li shook his head and replied, “I can't even sense them! … How about this? You pay a visit to Mercy Temple… Forget it. I'll personally make a trip there. You should head back first!”

 He waved a hand and disappeared abruptly.

 A moment later, Chu Li appeared in front of Mercy Temple outside Fairy's Capital and saw two novice Buddhist monks outside the temple, so he went to them and asked, “Little Masters, is Fa Yuan here? I'm Chu Li.”

 Mercy Temple looked unusually lively and was bustling with people as streams of Buddhist pilgrims and wors.h.i.+ppers were busily moving in and out of the temple.

 Chu Li stood with his hands behind his back at the bottom of the stairs outside the temple. He was not afraid of Gu Yu issuing the red notice but was worried about the Ning Brothers' lives.

 One of the novice Buddhist monks ran into the temple while the other studied him curiously.

 Fa Yuan soon appeared looking tall and handsome in his gray cowl, which was fluttering in the wind. He appeared to be in high spirits as he stepped out of the temple and descended the stairs before joining his palms in reverence. “Brother Chu!”

 Chu Li smiled and said, “I've come to trouble you again.”

 “Brother Chu never comes without a reason. Let's continue this conversation in the Buddhist hall,” Fa Yuan replied with a chuckle.

 Both of them entered Mercy Temple and went around the main hall before coming to a quiet and secluded Buddhist hall at the rear of the temple. The serene atmosphere of this Buddhist hall contrasted greatly with the bustling excitement in the main hall, so it seemed as though these two halls were entirely different worlds.