White-Robed Chief

These three people were experts at searching because they had great foresight. Their eyes would never overlook another person’s potential hiding spot.

Two Buddhist monks in gray robes were currently standing on the roof of a house nearby the Feng Residence. One monk was young and handsome while the other monk was a middle-aged man. They were actually Fa Yuan and Fa Xiang.

“Junior Brother Fa Yuan, do you think that they can escape from being captured by the secret guardians?” Fa Xiang slowly asked.

“Amitabha Buddha…” Fa Yuan shook his head and sighed. “They would never be able to escape if Brother Chu was leading the secret guardians. Unfortunately, Chen Donghai is not as skilled as him.”

“How are we going to deal with that Patrol?”

“If the Secret Guardians Hall can capture him, we’ll leave him to them as a token of goodwill from the Tempest Temple. However, we’ll take matters into our own hands if the Secret Guardians Hall fails to catch him. We can’t let him escape.” Fa Yuan calmly said, “The Holy Church of Light has become more active lately. We need to make them understand that they’re not the only ones in the Ji Dynasty.”

“You’re right,” Fa Xiang lowered his voice before he continued, “but if we launch an attack in Fairy’s Capital…”

“We’re merely lending the Secret Guardians Hall a hand. Even the Emperor can’t argue with that,” Fa Yuan leisurely said.

Fa Xiang smiled. “You’re wise, junior brother.”

The Tempest Temple’s disciples had to be extremely careful when they launched attacks in Fairy’s Capital so they could not attack as they pleased. However, it would be perfectly justifiable if the Tempest Temple only attacked after the Secret Guardians Hall made the first move. It seemed that Junior Brother Fa Yuan had managed to integrate the Buddhist Austerities into his daily life. This was worthy of a celebration.

Chen Donghai clasped his hands behind his back and sized Feng Qi up in the main hall of the Feng Residence. Chen Donghai lowered his voice and asked, “Master Feng, are you a disciple of the Holy Church of Light?”

Feng Qi’s eyes were slightly narrowed, but he was looking directly at the other man. Feng Qi showed no signs of weakness and when he heard the question, Feng Qi immediately stopped stroking his beard. “Master Chen, I’m a minister and an appointed official of the royal court, not a disciple of the Holy Church of Light! I’ve heard rumors that secret guardians do forbidden things such as frequently framing and smearing the reputations of others far and wide, but I never expected that this would happen to me as well!”

“Master Feng, don’t pretend that you don’t understand when you’re obviously aware of everything,” Chen Donghai coldly spat. “We’ve received accurate information. You’re hiding disciples from the Holy Church of Light in your house!”

“Master Chen, how dare you make these baseless accusations against me!” Feng Qi icily berated him. “I’m merely a scholar who has never learned martial arts. I don’t know anything about the Holy Church of Light’s disciples!”

“You seem truly unrepentant, Master Feng.” Chen Donghai sneered. “We’ll definitely find them if they’re hiding here. Do you really think that you can hide them from us just because you went to great lengths to conceal them?”

“Alright, I’d like to see what you can find,” Feng Qi furrowed his eyebrows and coldly retorted before he flicked the sleeve of his robe. “If you can’t find them, don’t beg for mercy when I interrogate you before the Emperor in the royal court!”

“Hmph!” Chen Donghai scoffed. He knew that it was useless to keep questioning the other man. “Let’s go to the backyard.”

Feng Qi’s expression remained unchanged as he said, “Fine!”

The two men passed the third entrance of the courtyard as they leisurely walked to the backyard. They noticed that the courtyard was terribly messy. Several secret guardians moved extremely quickly. They managed to search through every single room within a short span of time.

Feng Qi lived alone for he did not have any other family members. His subordinates were the only other people in this house and they were hiding in the corners because they were too afraid to make any noise.

The pair reached the backyard.

Chen Donghai ran toward the room immediately.

Feng Qi’s heartbeat quickened slightly for he was quite unnerved. The cellar was below that room but it was dug deep down. Patrol Li and Zhao Dahe were probably hiding inside the cellar.

Chen Donghai turned around and smiled at Feng Qi.

Feng Qi’s heartbeat quickened once more. Feng Qi could not hide this from Chen Donghai because the latter was highly skilled in martial arts.

“Messenger!” Chen Donghai yelled.

A middle-aged secret guardian fluttered over. “Centurion.”

“Search this room. Make sure you look through it properly!” Chen Donghai pointed at the room.

“Yes.” The middle-aged secret guardian had a solemn look on his face. His expression made it seem as though everyone was greatly indebted to him. The secret guardian looked emotionless when he quickly agreed to his superior’s command. He lowered his head and entered the room before quickly searching the area.

Several moments later, he approached Chen Donghai before he made a fist salute and said, “Centurion, there’s nothing wrong with this room.”

“Oh?” Chen Donghai frowned and looked at Feng Qi.

Feng Qi smirked before his loose sleeve flapped again. He turned away from Chen Donghai.

Chen Donghai loudly yelled, “Do it again!”

Another blue-robed elder fluttered over. “Centurion?”

“Something is definitely wrong with this room. Search it properly!” Chen Donghai scoffed.

“Yes,” the blue-robed elder said before he entered the room.

Moments later, the elder emerged while shaking his head. “There’s nothing wrong with it at all.”

They would be anxious if this area was spacious, but this room was actually very narrow. The room only had a desk, a bed, and a chair. It was very easy to search the room because there was nothing else besides those items. It appeared that there was neither a secret passage nor a secret room. Despite searching through every nook and cranny, the men managed to finish their search very quickly.

Chen Donghai turned around before he entered the house and meticulously searched through it again.

Chen Donghai eventually walked out of the room slowly while returning empty-handed.

There was a mocking smirk on Feng Qi’s face. “Master Chen, it seems like you’ll only be satisfied once you’ve given me a bad name. You’re making everything up!”

“Haha, why would I need to make up these things?” Chen Donghai coldly said, “You’re not worth my time!”

Feng Qi quietly said, “I need to ask my colleagues in the court about the Secret Guardians Hall’s duties. The Secret Guardians Hall couldn’t even capture a disciple of the Holy Church of Light, but you came to harass officials for no reason! The Secret Guardians Hall is filled with cowardly bullies who only fear those who are stronger than them. Everyone knows that the disciples of the Holy Church of Light are hiding in the imperial residence, so you should go and search that place instead!”

Chen Donghai’s expression darkened. Chen Donghai frowned and scanned the room before he scoffed. “Search the surroundings. The secret room might not even be inside the house.”

“Yes.” The two secret guardians agreed before they started to search the surroundings.

Feng Qi’s heartbeat quickened once again.

Chen Donghai smiled faintly as he glanced at Feng Qi. “It seems like I’ve guessed it correctly. They’re not hiding inside the house after all!”

Feng Qi sneered. His loose sleeve swept upward again as he turned away from Chen Donghai.

“Found it!” the middle-aged secret guardian quietly said.

Chen Donghai suddenly became livelier while another elder walked over.

The middle-aged secret guardian pointed at a rock before he murmured, “There’s a mechanism here.”

He slowly pulled a stone away as he spoke.

A crisp popping sound rang out from the nearby garden.

The middle-aged secret guardian stepped into the garden and tugged at the ground before a wooden plank suddenly sprang upward and revealed a hole.

Chen Donghai gleefully smirked at Feng Qi. “Master Feng, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I have nothing to say!” Feng Qi coldly scoffed. “Is it a crime for me to build a hiding spot for myself?”

“Fine, your lips are tightly sealed, but we’ll see how long you plan on being stubborn!” Chen Donghai arrogantly shook his head before he yelled, “Messenger!”

Two middle-aged men fluttered over. Both of them were Grandmasters.

“Follow me inside to take a look,” Chen Donghai said.

“Yes.” The middle-aged men nodded.

Chen Donghai went down first while the two middle-aged men followed behind. Chen Donghai’s entire body went stiff. He was ready to attack at any moment in case his enemies launched a surprise attack.

Chen Donghai was the most nervous person here because he was walking right in front. He did not sense anyone else’s presence, but he was on his guard. Perhaps his enemy was a master who was stronger than him.

Chen Donghai walked down the stairs one step at a time. Chen Donghai walked two stories down along a distance of nearly ten meters before he saw a stone room. The stone room was completely bare and there were no signs of other people.

Upon conducting a thorough search, they realized that it was truly empty.

Chen Donghai was fuming with rage. Chen Donghai hastily rushed outside before he glared at Feng Qi as though his eyes were filled with electricity. “Master Feng, you’re crafty!”

Feng Qi frowned at Chen Donghai.

“Centurion, could there be more than one secret chamber?” the blue-robed elder quietly asked.

Chen Donghai heard Feng Qi’s heartbeat quicken.