Chapter 1134 - 941: Trembling Liver

The convoy didn't go anywhere else, and instead queued up in front of the Xun Gate that leads to the Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture.

Judging by the congested queue, it seems like it would be a long wait.

Over a dozen guards remained highly vigilant of their surroundings. Young Master Nan's abrupt departure had unmistakably signaled them that something was up. The head guard secretly held a Mother-child Talisman, ready to send the prepared signal to Young Master Nan at any moment.

This was also the instruction given by Young Master Nan before he disembarked: to send a signal the moment anything unusual occurred.

If things had reached this point and he still wasn't aware of any situation, then he would not be fit to be the head guard.

The queue slowly inched forward, and as he looked at the pitch-dark Xun Gate ahead, the head guard felt a tinge of worry. If something were to happen inside the Xun Gate, the position would be too deep for the Mother-child Talisman to send a message out.

He immediately transmitted a message to his colleagues, instructing them to be ready to take action inside the Xun Gate.

The guards protecting Young Master Nan were all exceptionally skilled, as he had the financial capability to employ proficient personnel.

As the convoy moved with the surrounding crowd closer to the Xun Gate's entrance, a Heavenly Court officer hastened to the gate and whispered to the stationed troops.

The stationed troops soon made a move, with several of them casting their gaze toward Young Master Nan's convoy.

The guards of Young Master Nan's convoy, keeping a close watch on their surroundings, noticed this anomaly.

The leading officer brought a few men over, parted the queuing crowd, and shouted at Young Master Nan's convoy, "Your convoy, step out first."

The head guard, on high alert internally, smiled outwardly and said, "We are queuing as per the rules to enter the Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture. Is there a problem?"

The leading officer pointed at the queue and remarked, "Look at yourselves; your convoy is quite prominent. The carriages and mounts take up so much space that mingling amidst the crowd, you're likely to bump into people or knock them over. Step aside for now; we'll organize you to enter with other carriages soon."

The head guard replied, "Sir, we're from the Wuyu Trading House, assisting the Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture on business. We've entered and exited here many times before without any problem..."

Before he could finish, the leading officer's face turned stern and he barked, "Stop with the nonsense. I don't care which trading house you represent. Follow instructions and step out orderly, or do you need us to force you out?"

At this juncture, the head guard had no choice. They were indeed Young Master Nan's guards, but they couldn't openly resist the Heavenly Court's troops, so they had to comply obediently.

Thus, the convoy stepped out from the queuing group.

Other people in line didn't find anything odd, nor did they think there was anything wrong with the leading officer's statement. Such large carriages moving among a crowd were indeed prone to bumping into people.

There was quite a few gloating, and someone scoffed, "These wealthy folks need to be managed properly."

Young Master Nan's carriage was luxurious, even equipped with a defense array, making it impossible to discern the situation inside with spells—truly the image of affluence.

The convoy was led to a large courtyard near the Xun Field, usually used for parking carriages, but the guards entering remained highly alert.

Once inside, the gates were closed, and they couldn't act rashly.

The officer who had greeted people at the Xun Gate earlier gestured to his entourage and said, "Someone reported contraband hidden on the carriage, search it."

A group of Heavenly Court troops immediately surrounded and searched.

"Sir, what is the meaning of this? Who falsely accused us?" the head guard exclaimed.

Yet, the searching troops only retorted, "Get out of the way."

Contrary to the guards' expectation of confrontation, they found themselves quietly overwhelmed by authority, powerless to resist against the Heavenly Court's search personnel and had to step aside.

A searcher jumped onto the carriage shaft, lifted the curtain, and saw it was empty. He immediately turned back and reported, "Sir, there's no one in the carriage."

Upon hearing this, a man spying from the half-open window on the second floor changed his expression dramatically, his gaze becoming sharp.

Below, the officer instigating the search also changed his expression upon hearing this, swiftly jumping onto the carriage to search inside himself.

Finding nothing, he emerged from the carriage and searched the vehicle thoroughly again. After confirming it was empty, he turned to the window upstairs and made a slight nodding gesture.

The person behind the window upstairs poked the window with a finger, closing it, then turned to the two people behind him and asked, "How come there's no one in the carriage?"

The person on the left said, "Impossible. We arranged for people to initiate a deal at the Wuyu Inn and personally witnessed him board the carriage. We followed all the way out of the Wuyu Inn and I assure you he never got off midway."

The person by the window said coldly, "Are you sure there were no blind spots in your line of sight along the way?"

The person on the left said: "No, I'm just afraid of any unexpected incidents along the way. After mastering the direction during the journey, we arranged double cars in advance to wait at the turning points on the front road, just to prevent visual dead angles and avoid being discovered. We've been alternating support and tracking all the way..."

Suddenly, he was startled, then changed his tune: "The only place where visual dead angles appeared was when entering Xun Gate. The lighting inside Xun Gate is bad, could it be..." he said, shocked.

The person by the window coldly voiced his speculation, "If he really used Xun Gate to escape, it means he knew someone was tracking him. Based on what we know about this Young Master Nan, he usually isn't so vigilant. Did someone leak the information beforehand?"

The person on the right questioned with surprise: "It shouldn't be, right? The control of the information for this operation and the personnel deployed should all have been reliable."

The person by the window said: "Whether it is reliable or not will be determined once we catch the person. The top sent us out to catch this thing. If he manages to escape, it'll be a laughingstock, and no one will be able to explain. Enough nonsense, immediately turn back and trace at Xun Gate, uncover his escape route. Let's see where he can run, I want to see the man within a day!"

With that, the three quickly departed.

Meanwhile, the search of the convoy in the courtyard downstairs also concluded, and they were released to leave.

Among the search personnel, someone had prepared contraband for framing but didn't use it. The target wasn't in the vehicles, making it pointless to continue.

The convoy's leader, upon confirming no one was watching, picked up the Mother-child Talisman, erased the pre-warning signal prepared for emergencies, swiftly recorded the recent events in the talisman, and sent the message to Young Master Nan.

At this moment, Young Master Nan was in a speeding carriage on the main road of the Heavenly Capital, without revealing his whereabouts to anyone. In disguise, he quietly went away alone.

Though already so cautious, he still occasionally peered out through the curtain gaps to observe the surroundings.

Ye Shang and Mo Yao suddenly both mentioned the suspension of borrowing money. Two people from different Royal Courts suddenly faced the same situation. He immediately realized that the Nanshan Gong Family had identified the loopholes in the loans; usually, nobody has the authority to simultaneously stop trade within different Royal Courts.

The reason he fled immediately was purely because the sums of money involved were too large. With the Gong family's capabilities, it wouldn't be hard to guess he was the pivot of the operation.

If he were in their position, he would also prioritize addressing the core issue. Naturally, he feared the Gong family might do the same.

The so-called guilty conscience of a thief is nothing but this.

Consequently, on the way, he really discovered some possible abnormalities. Whether they truly were, he wasn't sure, but he opted for caution.

Initially, he intended to hide with Right Minister Hou Jiahuan, but once there, he'd inevitably face a problem: when Jiahuan asked for reasons, he couldn't avoid telling the truth.

Moreover, once the Nanshan Right Minister approached Jiahuan to hand him over, in a private deal, he wasn't confident Jiahuan wouldn't give him up. For survival, Gong Xuan should want to give Jiahuan due face, yet he might not be able to avoid betraying Shi Chun again.

Precisely because of this, he took the risk and didn't flee to the East Victory Right Minister's Mansion.

Along the way, he didn't dare to run amok, fearing an invisible hand might strike. Feeling watched, he sensed there was nowhere to hide in the East Victory Royal Capital.

Then, he went through Xun Gate to the Heavenly Capital. Initially planning a direct transition to Shi Chun's territory once in the Heavenly Capital, Shi Chun would surely protect him, likely capable of defending him; otherwise, how would he dare face the Gong family?

But once considering the long queue to enter the Heavenly Domain, he got scared again. If the Gong family predicted his movements, given their power, the lengthy window during the queue would provide ample opportunity for the Gong family to act.

Thus prompted his sudden decision to change disguise and leave the queue.

Currently, he dared not contact any familiar person within the Heavenly Capital for help because he knew the Gong family wielded terrifying power at their level, surpassing his imagination. Who knows what cards such figures might hold?

Like a frightened bird, he was truly a bit scared now, even slightly regretful, regretting whatever possessed him to collaborate with Shi Chun against the Gong family—wasn't this courting trouble?

Upon reflection, he suspected he relied on Jiahuan's support, knowing he wasn't easy to kill, to muster such nerve.

As soon as the convoy leader's message arrived, he glanced at the content and immediately panicked because it confirmed someone had indeed acted against him.

In such a short time, once his whereabouts were confirmed, quickly mobilizing Heavenly Court personnel capabilities indicated it was likely the Gong family.

He swiftly responded, instructing the convoy to send two teams into the Heavenly Domain Dingnan Prefecture—a team to find Feng Chi and inform about the incident.

He didn't explain the specifics because he knew Shi Chun was currently hiding; his guards couldn't find Shi Chun directly. Informing Feng Chi would ensure Shi Chun would know.

The other team rushed to Dingbei Prefecture to meet Wu Jinliang and inform them about the incident.

Previously, he had already sent someone to meet Wu Jinliang; sending another team was a precaution for security.

Meanwhile, the convoy leader went to Wuyu Trading House in the Heavenly Capital to await instructions. In two days, if no message from him was received, they were to immediately proceed to the East Victory Right Minister's Mansion, seeking Jiahuan's help to contact Nanshan Right Minister Gong Xuan for retrieval.

Although the convoy leader received orders, he was indeed startled by the news. Had the Nanshan Right Minister acted? How did they provoke such a giant entity? What enormous trouble did the Dong Family cause?

Thinking too much was useless, so he quickly arranged for the guards to split into three teams to act according to Young Master Nan's instructions.