Nightwatcher-Chapter 431: Hengyuan’s Secret
# 431. Hengyuan's Secret
【TWO: It’s the middle of the damn night why are you still talking!】
Even through the Earth Book "screen," one could sense Lady Flying Swallow’s irritation. She was probably sitting at a table, draped in a robe, somewhat languid, somewhat displeased, as she checked the messages.
On the other side, Chu Yuanzhen instinctively felt that Li Miaozhen’s attitude was somewhat inappropriate. After all, Number Three, Xu Cijiu, and Li Miaozhen weren’t close enough for casual banter or reproach.
Moreover, Li Miaozhen was currently lodging at Xu manor. However, she was too accustomed to the ways of the jianghu, acting with impulsive frankness and lacking some refinement in dealing with people.
【FOUR: Eh? Master Hengyuan hasn’t responded…】
After waiting a moment longer, there was still no response from Number Six, Hengyuan. Given his earlier message about ambushes around the Welfare Hall, everyone immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Xu Qi’an sent a message: 【Hengyuan is in trouble. He’s involved in a major case. Emperor Yuanjing sent people to capture him, not just for revenge, he’s very likely trying to silence him.】
*Involved in a major case? Silencing him? And it concerns Emperor Yuanjing?!*
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society were shocked, unable to comprehend how Number Three had come to this conclusion.
Chu Yuanzhen messaged: 【THREE, what exactly is going on with Hengyuan? Did you discover something?】
He voiced the doubts of everyone in the group. No one else spoke: the impatient Lady Flying Swallow, the food-loving little dark-skinned girl, the important official Number One, and Daoist Jinlian, who was quietly watching, all waited for Number Three’s explanation.
【THREE: It’s too complicated to explain right now. The priority is to head to the outer city’s Welfare Hall and check the situation.】
【TWO: Alright!】
Immediately, Xu Qi’an set down the Earth Book, threw on a robe, and said, “I need to head out. You should come with me.”
Zhong Li nodded, got up from her small couch, and slipped on her embroidered shoes like slippers before following him out.
The rain poured down, drumming against the roof tiles, trickling down the eaves in rivulets. When lightning flashed, it looked like a curtain of pearls, swaying unsteadily. The wind swept through, scattering raindrops like shattered jade.
A shallow layer of water had pooled in the courtyard, and the raindrops struck it violently, sending up a misty spray.
Through the damp air, Xu Qi’an saw Li Miaozhen standing silently under the eaves on the far side of the courtyard, dressed in her feathered Daoist robe.
Their gazes met, and without unnecessary words, Li Miaozhen tossed out her flying sword, which hovered in the courtyard. The three of them leapt onto it.
The Heaven Sect Holy Maiden formed a hand seal, and with a whoosh, the flying sword sliced through the rain and soared into the clouds.
Flying over the capital was not an issue for them—so long as the Jianzheng permitted it, there would be no trouble.
Before long, they had passed over the inner city and reached the outer city. Li Miaozhen pushed off with her toes, tilting the sword downward toward the southern district.
She didn’t recklessly land but instead circled at low altitude. “How is it?” she asked.
“For now, it’s safe,” Xu Qi’an replied.
He hadn’t detected any hostility. Either the ambushers had excellent control over themselves and hadn’t looked up, or they had already left.
Li Miaozhen analysed seriously, “They might be hiding, lying in wait with an inescapable net, ready for us to walk into the trap.”
Xu Qi’an frowned. “That’s possible. Emperor Yuanjing knows we’re allies with Hengyuan, so we can’t rule out a ‘besiege one to lure reinforcements’ strategy.”
“Besiege one to lure reinforcements?”
Li Miaozhen chuckled. “That’s a good way to put it. As expected of you. Then you should go first, your Vajra Body is hard to break, even for a Rank Four expert’s ‘Intent’.”
Xu Qi’an nodded in agreement. “You cover me from above.”
After their analysis, they exchanged a knowing smile.
At that moment, Zhong Li softly said, “There’s no ambush below. No martial artists…”
Xu Qi’an and Li Miaozhen froze.
They had almost forgotten that Zhong Li was an arcanist, proficient in the Qi-watching technique. *Sigh, it’s her usual frail and timid demeanour, she’s given me too strong an impression of weakness…* Xu Qi’an thought to himself.
Li Miaozhen had the same realisation. She stopped circling and descended into the rain. The street below was uneven and worn, the low houses on either side appearing desolate and run-down in the downpour.
The Welfare Hall’s doors were tightly shut.
Xu Qi’an narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings. Just as he was about to say, “There are no signs of battle,” he heard Zhong Li and Li Miaozhen say in unison, “Someone has died.”
His heart sank.
The three of them leapt over the wall into the Welfare Hall.
The overgrown courtyard was pitch-dark, raindrops drumming incessantly. From the eastern hall, a dim, flickering light seeped through the window.
They moved in closer and saw a crude wooden bed inside. A body lay on it, covered by a white cloth—thin and emaciated.
At a glance, Xu Qi’an saw that it wasn’t Hengyuan, but that didn’t ease his heart.
An old clerk sat beside the corpse, head bowed in dejection. His deeply wrinkled face was lined with sorrow and resignation.
Xu Qi’an had visited the Welfare Hall many times before and recognised him. The old clerk’s surname was Li. He was a solitary elder, but in good health, so he had been assigned to work at the Welfare Hall.
“Old Li, what happened?”
Xu Qi’an deliberately made his footsteps loud to attract Old Li’s attention. Even so, the old man still flinched, his entire body trembling—he must have suffered a terrible fright.
“Si… Silver Gong Xu…”
Upon seeing Xu Qi’an, the old clerk’s murky eyes lit up with hope.
He suddenly seemed overjoyed, his frail body shaking as he stood up, voice quivering with excitement. “Silver Gong Xu, why have you come?”
Xu Qi’an grasped his hand and repeated, “What happened?”
At these words, the old clerk grew agitated again and said, “This afternoon, some townsfolk came to tell us that there were people outside searching for Master Hengyuan, carrying his portrait.
“So I told Master Hengyuan to go into hiding.
“But at dusk, a group of masked men broke into the Welfare Hall. They didn’t find Master Hengyuan, so they questioned me about him before leaving.
“Who would have thought that after nightfall, they returned! They dragged the old and the young out to the entrance and declared that if Master Hengyuan didn’t come back, they would kill one person every fifteen minutes…”
As he spoke, the old clerk burst into tears. “Old Zhang was unlucky… They slit his throat. He died in agony, writhing on the ground, blood spraying everywhere…”
"Later, Master Hengyuan returned. They took him away and left. I don’t know where they went. Whether Master Hengyuan is alive or dead, I have no idea..."
Li Miaozhen’s face had turned ashen.
"Did you see what those people looked like?" Xu Qi’an asked.
"They wore black robes and masks. Their faces were hidden," the old clerk said mournfully.
The secret agents of King Huai!
Xu Qi’an and Li Miaozhen exchanged a glance. They had anticipated this, so they weren’t surprised, only furious.
Without a doubt, if Hengyuan hadn’t appeared, everyone in the Welfare Hall would have been slaughtered.
"We all underestimated just how ruthless King Huai’s spies are," Xu Qi’an murmured.
A pack of cold-blooded beasts.
No matter what, human lives should not be treated like weeds to be cut down at will, especially not an old, lonely man.
"I’ll kill them all."
Li Miaozhen ground out the words through clenched teeth. "My master once said that those who do not respect life do not deserve to have their own lives respected."
Xu Qi’an was silent for a moment before asking, "Is everyone else all right? And... the child in the back courtyard?"
The old clerk nodded. "They were frightened, but otherwise fine. A good night’s sleep will settle them."
There would be grief and sorrow in the coming days, but no one ever cared about the pain of the widowed, the old, or the orphaned.
"We’ll stay here for the night. You’re not young anymore, go and rest."
Xu Qi’an sent the old clerk back to his room, then returned to the east hall. Zhong Li and Li Miaozhen stood in silence. The air was heavy and still.
The situation was dire.
Hengyuan had been taken by King Huai’s spies, and his survival was uncertain.
The Earth Sect’s treasure—the Earth Book Fragment—had fallen into Emperor Yuanjing’s hands, and he was colluding with the Earth Sect’s demon Daoists...
Worse still, they might force information about the Heaven and Earth Society from Hengyuan. He would never betray them, but the Earth Sect had ways of making people talk, such as summoning the souls of the dead.
And if Xu Qi’an’s identity as a fragment holder was exposed, the Earth Sect’s Daoist Leader would realise that the mysterious expert who appeared in Chuzhou was him.
Emperor Yuanjing would likely also deduce that the Buddhist-sealed object beneath Sangpo was in Xu Qi’an’s possession.
A surge of pressure crashed down on him.
Xu Qi’an wiped his face and said in a deep voice, "Miaozhen, tell them. Hengyuan has been taken, his fate unknown. The Earth Book fragment is in Emperor Yuanjing’s hands."
Li Miaozhen nodded, took out her fragment, and relayed the news to the members of the Heaven and Earth Society.
【FOUR: As expected, things have taken the worst possible turn.】
Chu Yuanzhen sighed in his transmission.
【FIVE: What do we do now?】
Even the not-so-bright Lina sensed the gravity of the situation.
No one answered her. They didn’t even know if Hengyuan was alive or dead. And their opponent was the Emperor.
During the Chuzhou city massacre, their enemy had also been the Emperor. But back then, their allies included the civil and military officials, the Jianzheng, and Zhao Shou of Cloud Deer Academy.
It had been different then; they had moved with the tide of the times, while Emperor Yuanjing had gone against it. That was why he lost.
This time, they had only the Heaven and Earth Society.
In the heavy silence, Daoist Jinlian suddenly transmitted a message.
【This poor Daoist has sensed something. Hengyuan’s Earth Book fragment is nearby.】
Xu Qi’an’s eyes lit up.
Daoist Jinlian hadn’t specified who "you" referred to, but Xu Qi’an knew it was them.
*Right. I lost my composure and underestimated Master Hengyuan. Since he was determined to exchange himself for the Welfare Hall’s safety, he would never have carried the fragment with him...*
Xu Qi’an immediately turned to the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect.
"Miaozhen!"
Li Miaozhen opened the sachet at her waist, releasing wisps of azure smoke. They curled and swayed, spreading outward with the Welfare Hall as their centre, searching for the fragment.
An incense stick’s time later, a wisp of smoke returned, wrapped around a bronze mirror. It gently set the mirror on the table before drifting to Li Miaozhen, wriggling as if asking for praise.
"I’ll give you double yin energy tomorrow."
Li Miaozhen made a promise, then opened the sachet, took a deep breath, and let out a silent scream.
In an instant, the wisps of smoke rushed back into the sachet.
"Hengyuan threw the fragment into the roadside weeds, not far from the Welfare Hall," the Holy Maiden said, before transmitting the news to the other fragment holders.
Daoist Jinlian responded:
【Good. Everyone, this poor Daoist believes we should now have a proper discussion.】
【ONE: Agreed.】
Number One replied quickly. It was clear he (or she) had been following the events closely.
Chu Yuanzhen then sent a message:
【Three, you discovered this matter. Shouldn’t you tell us the full details?】
Xu Qi’an took a moment to compose his words before transmitting:
【Do you all remember when Master Hengyuan infiltrated the Residence of Earl Pingyuan and killed him? At the time, I was the one who saved him.】
That incident had occurred last year, before the Sangpo case. Naturally, everyone remembered it.
【FOUR: Emperor Yuanjing’s actions against Hengyuan — are they related to this?】
Li Miaozhen looked up in surprise and met Xu Qi’an’s gaze.
【THREE: I learned something from a secret source. The trafficking gang that Earl Pingyuan controlled... the one they truly served was Emperor Yuanjing.】
【ONE: Impossible!】
Number One instantly rejected his statement, one word, firm and resolute.
【FOUR: I may not like Emperor Yuanjing, but I don’t believe he would be the mastermind behind the gang and human trafficking. There’s no reason for him to be.】
What kind of person was the Emperor?
He stood at the very peak of power in the court. Who could have more authority than him? No one. The Jianzheng might surpass him in strength, but in terms of power, the Emperor held the most.
He didn’t need to control commoners; even for the nobility he held the power of life and death.
Would such a supreme ruler need to engage in human trafficking?
*Look, I know it’s absurd, like imagining Jack Ma stealing electric scooters to maintain his lifestyle…* Xu Qi’an scoffed inwardly and continued transmitting:
【Brother Chu, you are a scholar, but your thinking is still too limited. If Emperor Yuanjing is doing this, there must be a reason.】
The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.
…
【NINE: What reason?】
This time, Daoist Jinlian was the first to ask, clearly curious as well.
【THREE: I don’t know the specifics, but I do know that the traffickers regularly sent live people into the palace. How long this has been going on is uncertain, but it’s definitely been many, many years.】
Without pausing, he continued transmitting messages:
【Earl Pingyuan believed he had leverage over Emperor Yuanjing, his ambition swelled, and he sought greater power and status by collaborating with the Liang Clique, leading to the murder of Princess Pingyang.
【In this case, Emperor Yuanjing knew everything, but he chose to cover for Earl Pingyuan, until the latter overstepped and attracted Wei Yuan’s attention. To keep the matter from being exposed, Emperor Yuanjing devised a plan: he used the Princess Pingyang case to silence Earl Pingyuan.】
Li Miaozhen abruptly looked up, her beautiful eyes widening in shock, clearly having realised the implications.
【ONE: You mean that Hengyuan became His Majesty’s tool to kill Earl Pingyuan.】
Apart from Lina, all members of the Heaven and Earth Society were of above-average intelligence.
Of course, Lina’s combat strength was also above average — the little hegemon of the Southern Marches, a warrior of unmatched strength.
【FOUR: So, this time King Huai’s spies are targeting Hengyuan, is it because Emperor Yuanjing wants to silence him? No, if that were the case, he would’ve been killed long ago. Why wait until now?】
【THREE: No, you’re mistaken. Even silencing someone depends on timing and necessity. Think about it—who is Hengyuan? Just a warrior monk from Qinglong Temple. In the Princess Pingyang case, he was merely a pawn, insignificant. A pawn unaware of the bigger picture, was there any need to silence him?】
【FOUR: But now, Emperor Yuanjing believes there is.】 Chu Yuanzhen sent a message.
【THREE: Exactly. So what made Emperor Yuanjing decide he had to silence Hengyuan? Think about what he has done recently.】
*Blocking the imperial guards, protecting the lotus seed in Jianzhou!*
The members of the Heaven and Earth Society were struck by the realisation.
【THREE: Hengyuan got too close to you all, too close to my elder brother. And who is my elder brother? Wei Yuan’s confidant. There’s no case he can’t solve.
【In the Chuzhou massacre case, Emperor Yuanjing actually exposed a lot. Now, seeing Hengyuan associating with you all, he’s grown wary and fearful, so Hengyuan must be silenced.
【And I suspect the real reason he wants to do so is that while searching for his junior brother Henghui, Hengyuan may have uncovered an important clue. He might not have realised it himself, but Emperor Yuanjing fears he will.】
【ONE: What you say makes sense, but I still have two doubts. First, why does His Majesty secretly abduct citizens from the city? Second, the palace is heavily guarded, with records of all movements. The palace’s power dynamics are intricate, with various spies, the Jianzheng, the National Teacher, Wei Yuan, and different factions...
【It’s impossible for the emperor to just send people into the palace without scrutiny, especially in large numbers.】
*So, the transportation method is the issue…* Xu Qi’an frowned.
At this moment, Lina sent a message: 【That’s easy isn’t it, just dig a secret tunnel.】
*That foolish girl hit the nail on the head…*
The Earth Book chat group fell silent.
*If it’s a secret tunnel, then Earl Pingyuan surely knew about it. But now that he’s dead, who else does? The small leaders within the traffickers’ organisation? If so… Duke Wei, oh Duke Wei, you’re terrifying… No, not necessarily. The tunnel must be extremely secret. How could Earl Pingyuan have let his subordinates know about it?…* Xu Qi’an pinched his brow and sent a message:
【Right now, we shouldn’t be worrying about Emperor Yuanjing’s secret—we should be thinking about what to do about Hengyuan.】
No one answered him because they all felt there was no solution.
In the silence, Daoist Jinlian transmitted a message: 【First, we must find out where he is. As for his safety, you need not worry too much. Hengyuan will not die.】
*And why are you so sure?*
Everyone in the chat group questioned in their hearts.
【NINE: This concerns a secret about Hengyuan. Without his permission, I cannot reveal it. But I can tell you this: it’s the reason I chose him as a holder of the Earth Book fragment.
【That said, we still need to find him. Just because he’s safe now doesn’t mean he always will be.】
*If that’s the case, I don’t need to worry about my identity being exposed in the short term. I don’t have to take my family and flee the capital…* Xu Qi’an let out a breath and transmitted:
【I’ll leave this to my elder brother. The Nightwatchers patrol the streets, there must be records of King Huai’s spies coming and going today.】
Daoist Jinlian added: 【Find a way to lure out King Huai’s spies and kill them outside the city. Then let Miaozhen summon their souls for interrogation.】
After further discussion, the Heaven and Earth Society ended their lengthy meeting.
…
At daybreak, Li Miaozhen and Xu Qi’an returned to the inner city. The latter went to the Nightwatchers’ constabulary, entrusting Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to check the records of yesterday’s movements in the inner city and imperial city.
After agreeing to meet at the Goulan for a show tomorrow, he finally left the constabulary.
Riding his beloved mare, Xu Qi’an clip-clopped back home. Then, he left again, changed his clothes and appearance at the Goulan, and after several detours, arrived at the residence of the widow Mu Nanzhi.
He knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no response.
After knocking for a while longer, footsteps finally sounded from inside the courtyard.
“Squeak!”
The door creaked open. The princess consort stood in the doorway, makeup-free, her hair in disarray, and her sleepy eyes barely open.
“Answering so late, have you got a lover hidden in there?” Xu Qi’an snorted.
The princess consort rolled her eyes at him.
As Xu Qi’an stepped through the door, he was suddenly drawn to a faint spiritual energy. He turned in surprise toward the water vat in the courtyard.
The water was clear, with a thin layer of sediment at the bottom. A small section of lotus root lay half-buried in the silt, its roots spreading out densely.
It… really was alive.
