Where the red leaves ended, a stone turtle swallowed a sword.

Chen Ji had identified two peaks in his mind, but he wasn’t sure which one held the stone turtle. He would have to search them one by one until he found it.

The Wuchang soldiers aggressively pursued, surrounded, and blocked him.

Four horn calls echoed one after another, as if the Wuchang soldiers were the ones on a spring hunt, and Chen Ji was their designated prey.

As Chen Ji crossed a small stream, he suddenly closed his eyes. In mid-air, he sensed clusters of wild flames approaching. The wild flames behind him were spreading out into a net, while the two clusters at his sides were moving extremely fast, having already flanked him and closed in from the front. They were now tightening the net, accompanied by the horn calls!

By the time he crossed the stream and landed, Chen Ji reopened his eyes and suddenly darted diagonally eastward!

A short while later, two Soul-Collector Inquisitors converged. The heads they carried in their hands looked at each other in confusion. One of them demanded sharply, “Where is he?”

The other replied angrily, “You and I followed the horns; why are you asking me? Ask the one who blew the horn.”

In the nocturnal mountain forest, two bloody, headless corpses—one holding a bone banner, the other carrying a head—argued. It was an incredibly eerie sight!

When the centurion arrived, he asked in a grave tone, “Couldn’t you intercept him?”

One Soul-Collector Inquisitor sharply stated, “It’s not that we couldn’t defeat him; it’s that we didn’t even see him.”

Wild flames flickered in the centurion’s eyes as he sensed Chen Ji’s escape path. He then said in a deep voice to the Soul-Collector Inquisitor on his left, “That boy was hiding on your path and waited until you passed before continuing north. Strange, how did he know you would flank him from the east?”

Wuchang soldiers converged from all directions in the mountain forest. The wild flames within their bone masks densely filled the forest, resembling dozens of tigers and leopards gathering, causing all other beasts to scatter!

A Mountain Hunter whispered, “We’ve been chasing him from morning till night. This boy always manages to evade our searches, effectively leading us in circles. The last time, he used Shi Chang’s hand to shoot a whistling arrow, then waited on the path where Jiang Ming and others were coming, killing all three who came to reinforce. It was as if… as if…”

The centurion calmly said, “It was as if he knew in advance where Jiang Ming and the other two would come from!”

The Mountain Hunter nodded, “Yes!”

The mountains are vast, and the Wuchang soldiers traverse them, coming and going over peaks and ridges without a fixed path. Setting an ambush is not easy!

One hillside alone is hundreds of meters wide. Even if Chen Ji knew reinforcements were coming, how could he accurately ambush them on their path? A slight deviation in the ambush could mean a difference of several meters!

In such an environment, who could possibly hide exactly beside a tree the Wuchang soldiers would pass?

Yet Chen Ji not only managed to ambush precisely but also knew the exact encirclement path of the Soul-Collector Inquisitors, as if he possessed a divine eye!

The centurion hesitated slightly. “Baldy’s Divine Eye isn’t right. The Assassin’s Divine Eye is about stillness and death. Lin Moniang’s Ocean-Gazing Eye doesn’t fit either; it has no connection to this boy. The Haotian Mirror isn’t right; if this boy truly had the Haotian Mirror, he wouldn’t need to run. Who else could it be?!”

At this moment, the wild flames in the centurion’s eyes flickered. “Never mind how this boy is doing it. Spread a net and catch him. Don’t let him slip through any more gaps. Go.”

The silvery moonlight was like a layer of frost. The deeper the night, the colder the mountain forest became!

Chen Ji led dozens of Wuchang soldiers in circles. The cold mountain was damp and chilly, yet his sweat drenched his hair!

As he ran wildly, beads of sweat dripped from his hair to the ground, mixing with the soil!

Chen Ji felt the wild flames relentlessly pursuing him. He looked down at the wound on his wrist, which had already closed into a red line. Perhaps it would be fully healed in another half an hour!

Just hold on for another half an hour!

By this time, Chen Ji had reached the foot of West Mountain!

He climbed up the slope, wanting to see if the stone turtle Xuanyuan mentioned was at the summit!

If not, he would have to go to Incense Burner Peak!

But just as he reached halfway up the mountain, Chen Ji suddenly saw a flickering light at the summit!

He subconsciously thought it was the Wuchang soldiers’ wild flames, and that they had already blocked the mountain.

But he quickly realized that wasn’t the wild flames in the Wuchang soldiers’ eyes, but a bonfire someone had lit!

The Wuchang soldiers’ wild flames were still at the foot of the mountain!

Who else would be in these mountains?

Chen Ji continued climbing stealthily, crouching low. As he got closer, he gradually heard someone say, “Rest assured, Your Highness, Chen Ji has no chance of surviving the pursuit of those ghostly beings. And Prince Fu won’t make it back alive either. We have our people at Fengtai Post Station and on the main road. It’s just a pity about Miss Zhang Er!”

Chen Ji recognized the speaker: Mr. Liao.

He crawled to the summit, hid behind a large rock, and cautiously peeked out!

He saw a bonfire burning inside the West Mountain Clear Snow Pavilion. The Crown Prince, wrapped in a white greatcoat, sat in the pavilion, holding a bronze hand warmer. His cheeks were illuminated orange-red by the bonfire!

The rock he hid behind was precisely five paces from the West Mountain Clear Snow Pavilion, so close that Chen Ji could clearly see the lotus vine patterns on the Crown Prince’s greatcoat!

Beside the Crown Prince, Mr. Liao stood quietly in a brown robe!

Outside the pavilion, over twenty men stood with hands on their swords, vigilantly observing their surroundings!

Chen Ji recognized one of them; it was none other than one of the escorts from the Fengtai Post Station. So, that entire escort agency was comprised of Eastern Palace assassins!

At this moment, the Crown Prince was heard saying softly, “Miss Zhang Er is certainly important, but now we can’t be concerned with that! It seems I am ultimately fated not to be with Minister Zhang’s daughter. It’s a pity about Minister Zhang’s talent for governing!”

Mr. Liao thought for a moment and said, “If Miss Zhang Er is no longer an option, Miss Qi Er is graceful, well-educated, and reasonable; she could be a suitable match!”

The Crown Prince gazed at the bonfire. “The Qi family…”

Mr. Liao comforted him, “Your Highness, rest for a moment. When dawn breaks, I will go investigate. Then, I will have the assassins create the illusion of a fierce battle here, so we’ll have an explanation when we return!”

The Crown Prince sighed, “These assassins have been trained for years, and I fear we’ll have to use them all this time! Afterward, Mr. Liao, arrange for them to go to the northwest. They should travel through Guyuan to Shengzhou in Jing Dynasty to lie low, using our businesses there to conceal their identities. They are not to return to Ning Dynasty without my summons!”

Mr. Liao glanced at the assassins outside the pavilion, then was silent for a moment before saying, “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. This old subject has already prepared an escape route for them!”

The Crown Prince nodded. “That’s good!”

Chen Ji had no desire to listen further to their conspiracy. Feeling the wild flames getting closer behind him, he quickly scanned the mountaintop, checking for the stone turtle!

But as he looked around, apart from Mr. Liao, there wasn’t even an object that resembled a “turtle”!

This isn’t the place!

Just as he was about to slip away quietly, he discovered that the Wuchang soldiers had already spread a large net behind him, with one person every five paces, advancing towards the summit!

Running to the other side was blocked by Mr. Liao!

Chen Ji’s expression became calm. He silently pondered a countermeasure!

The next moment, he unslung the horn bow from his back, suddenly charged out from behind the rock, and drew an empty string, aiming it at the Crown Prince. “Die!”

Mr. Liao’s heart jolted. “Who?!”

When he saw the drawn bowstring in Chen Ji’s hand, he instinctively flicked his sleeve, donned a red-faced, fanged mask, transformed into a puff of black smoke, and flew away with the Crown Prince, stopping only when they were ten zhang away from Chen Ji!

But when Mr. Liao looked again, he saw Chen Ji run through the West Mountain Clear Snow Pavilion, toward the opposite slope, and in a flash, he leaped down the slope and vanished without a trace!

Mr. Liao grew more and more uncertain and bewildered, unsure what Chen Ji was doing.

“How is he still alive?”

The Crown Prince softly said, “Mr. Liao, we cannot let this man return to the capital!”

Mr. Liao immediately cupped his hands and bowed, saying, “Rest assured, Your Highness, this old subject will go and take his head at once!”

Before he finished speaking, over thirty assassins suddenly drew their swords, looking towards the West Mountain Clear Snow Pavilion, slowly retreating to stand beside the Crown Prince, tightly encircling him!

The Crown Prince looked up and saw, with a shock, dozens of wild flames flickering in the darkness, like a dense pack of wild wolves gathering!

The centurion, holding his long saber, slowly led the Wuchang soldiers out of the darkness, standing beside the West Mountain Clear Snow Pavilion!

He turned his head to look at the bonfire, then at the Crown Prince!

The Eastern Palace assassins gripped their sword hilts tightly, sweat forming in their palms!

Mr. Liao said in a deep voice, “This is His Highness, the Crown Prince of Ning Dynasty. We have no intention of being your enemies…”

The centurion burst into laughter. “Crown Prince? What damned Crown Prince? Countless years ago, we dared to surround and kill even the world’s co-ruler. What are you, a Crown Prince? We spared your lives earlier, yet you dare to linger in these mountains, and you’re still not satisfied? Get lost, now.”

Mr. Liao pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, “We also wish to kill that boy who just passed through! If you are willing, we can lend you a hand and kill this rogue together!”

The centurion raised his long saber and pointed it at Mr. Liao from afar. “What are you? Get lost, or I’ll chop off your heads!”

Mr. Liao slowly retreated with the Crown Prince, going down the mountain path, leaving the Wuchang soldiers to continue pursuing Chen Ji!

As they descended the mountain, the Crown Prince suddenly said, “Mr. Liao, I don’t know if these ghostly beings can kill Chen Ji. Please verify it with your own eyes: I want to see him alive or his corpse if he’s dead!”

Mr. Liao stopped, and after a moment’s consideration, said, “Rest assured, Your Highness, this old subject will lead men there at once! If these ghostly beings cannot kill him, I will personally end Chen Ji’s life!”

Having said that, he selected twelve men, bowed deeply to the Crown Prince, then turned and quietly trailed behind the Wuchang soldiers!

The Crown Prince stood silently in the mountain forest, watching Mr. Liao depart!

The Wuchang soldiers chased Chen Ji down the mountain!

However, at this moment, the centurion suddenly stopped. “The scent of blood and living soul has vanished!”

He looked up at the moonlight. There was only one hour left until dawn!

A Mountain Hunter said, “The scent of blood can disappear, but the scent of a living soul cannot be severed, no matter where one hides, unless the wound heals! But he was only injured a few hours ago; how could it have healed? Did he carry those Daoist priests’ medicine with him?”

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. “If he had Daoist Court medicine, why didn’t he use it earlier?”

“Perhaps the injury wasn’t serious before, and now that he realized we were tracking him by his wound, he used the medicine.”

“No, that’s not right. We didn’t smell any medicine along the way. Even if he had just used it, he couldn’t have recovered immediately! Besides, didn’t you notice? The scent of blood has been fading all along; he’s healing himself.”

The head carried by one Soul-Collector Inquisitor suddenly spoke, “Wait, I know someone who can not only heal wounds quickly but also knows our movements like the back of his hand!”

All the Wuchang soldiers were startled.

The centurion sneered, “Shut your trap, or I’ll rip your mouth open! Is that boy even worthy of comparison?”

The Wuchang soldier who had spoken earlier grumbled, “I was just speaking my mind. Now, to catch him, we’ll just have to rely on the Mountain Hunters to slowly search for clues!”

The centurion looked at the mountain terrain, and after a moment of deep thought, suddenly used his long saber to draw the mountain’s contours on the ground. “An ordinary person fleeing wouldn’t go up a mountain; it expends energy, offers no escape, and they might encounter cliffs. So most would stick to the valleys! This boy deliberately climbed this mountain; he must have a purpose!”

The centurion looked up, gazing at the distant mountains, then raised his saber, pointing it towards the distant Incense Burner Peak. “Search over there!”

But he remembered what the Soul-Collector Inquisitor had just said, and felt a hint of hesitation!

The events of this night had already been far too bizarre!