Master Ji had now reached the outskirts of QingShan Ai's city. Racing through the black night, his face was darker than the heavy darkness itself. Earlier he had searched the secret garden passage at the Marshal's Mansion—but found nothing. After combing through the Mansion several times, he was forced to accept that Li Yan was not inside. Upon leaving the Mansion, he scaled the city wall along the mountain ridge until he finally emerged beyond the gates.
His next target was the garrison camp thirty li away—a place notoriously hard to pinpoint among tens of thousands of troops. If Marshal Hong had hidden someone there, even his divine sense would have to work overtime to find that one trace (and he wasn't willing to let anyone else know). Worse, if Li Yan still wasn't found after such a prolonged search, the delay would only make the task even more daunting.
Frustration and burning anger surged within him, as if a toxic flame were coursing through his inner channels. With no time to spare, he darted into a nearby forest and quickly found a secluded spot; after about half the time of a burning incense stick, he rose abruptly—and in an instant, disappeared back into the enveloping darkness.
Time flew. By the second day following Li Yan's departure from the Strategist Valley, both Chen An and Li Yin had spent a sleepless night. Their eyes were bloodshot, and an overwhelming sense of apprehension embattled their hearts. In the valley the rest of the soldiers—and even the women—perceived that something was amiss. Ever since Master Ji's visit the previous day, he had left the Strategist Mansion in a sullen silence, and curiously, the young master Li Yan had not returned alongside Chen An and Li Yin. Now the two aides remained withdrawn in their quarters, their faces tight with worry; even the merry banter of the normally chatty soldiers had fallen mute. The atmosphere in the entire Strategist Mansion was oppressed—like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
As the oppressive mood stretched into dawn, the sun slowly crept over the distant peaks (leaning toward the West Mountain), and soon the moon gradually ascended as well, shifting its position further west.
Then, in the depths of midnight, a lone, cold voice suddenly cut through the silence outside the valley. "Now, you two—recount in full every detail of what you have said and done during your outings with Li Yan over these past few months. Leave nothing out; be as detailed, clear, and precise as possible so that I may understand!"
Under the pale glow of the moon, Master Ji—dressed entirely in black—stood motionless, his eyes as cold as ice as he fixed his unyielding gaze on the two kneeling aides.