Was he dreaming?

Mu Nanzhi examined him closely. After a while, seeing that nothing untoward had happened, she finally relaxed.

“You little rascal…”

She reached out and lightly tapped Xu Qi’an’s scalp a few times, secretly enjoying it.

The princess consort quietly vented her dissatisfaction at being neglected throughout the journey. Although this fellow treated her decently, staying at the best inns and eating the most delicious food most of the time, except for a few occasions of sleeping in the wilderness, he was perhaps too respectful.

Aside from that slightly “excessive” incident with Sun Xuanji, he would at most hold her hand daily. Even with a different face, she was still the Great Feng’s top beauty. Was she so unattractive?

“You’re hitting Constable Xu!”

The little white fox poked its head out from under the covers. Its bright, round eyes stared at Mu Nanzhi as if discovering a big secret, and it said in a sweet voice:

“I’m going to tell him!”

Mu Nanzhi rolled her eyes and said, “At most, you can also hit him. I won’t say anything.”

The little white fox tilted its head, thought for a moment, and said, “Alright!”

It nimbly crawled out of the warm blanket, leaped off the bed, and came to the edge of the small couch. It jumped with all its might.

“Ouch!”

It couldn’t jump up, and its little belly hit the edge of the bed.

“Useless thing, and you claim to travel thousands of miles a day?”

Mu Nanzhi sneered, picking it up and placing it on the bed.

“Stealth and speed are my innate divine abilities, but they consume too much spiritual power. I’m still small, and my inherent strength is too weak,” it explained.

As it spoke, it crawled onto Xu Qi’an’s body. Its two front paws swung left and right, slapping his face while scolding sweetly:

“That’s for sleeping with Sister Ye Ji without paying, that’s for sleeping with Sister Ye Ji without paying.”

Though the force wasn’t great, its spirit was fierce.

After it finished hitting, Mu Nanzhi smiled and picked up the little white fox, saying, “Tell auntie, what do you mean by sleeping with Sister Ye Ji without paying?”

She only knew that Ye Ji was the little white fox’s sister and Xu Qi’an’s former lover.

…

In the underground chamber, Xu Qi’an, feeling oddly at home, endured the pungent smell, experiencing both pain and pleasure.

He followed the trail of corpses with their head coverings removed, crouching and sneaking along until he saw that walking corpse. “He” kept removing the head coverings from the bodies, as if searching for something.

Who was he? Or rather, who was controlling him from behind?

With these questions in mind, Xu Qi’an patiently waited and watched.

Time slipped by silently. After about half an hour, he had carefully examined all the corpses and then entered a small door.

A chamber within the chamber?

The oil lamps on the wall cast a dim yellow glow. Just as Xu Qi’an was considering whether to enter, “he” came out, gently closed the door, and turned to retrace his steps.

He’s leaving… The orange cat Xu Qi’an didn’t hesitate and immediately retreated.

It left the underground chamber before the walking corpse, leaped out of the small courtyard, and hid in the greenery outside.

Soon after, a black shadow sprang straight out of the courtyard with a “thud” as it landed.

Then, “he” silently crept towards Chai Xing’er’s quarters, eavesdropped on the sounds of lovemaking in the courtyard, and left without lingering.

This person was very familiar with the Chai residence, skillfully avoided the night patrols of the household members, and left the Chai compound without incident.

Throughout this process, Xu Qi’an followed behind “him.”

In the cold night, the walking corpse moved extremely fast, weaving through streets and alleys, avoiding the city defense patrols. This wasn’t difficult; in a small prefecture-level city like Xiangzhou, night patrols were limited.

It couldn’t be as strict as the capital.

However, due to Chai Xian’s recent killing spree, the authorities had increased patrols, and the city gates closed after dusk.

The orange cat Xu Qi’an followed the walking corpse as it wound its way around, finally arriving at a small river.

Splash…

Water splashed as the walking corpse jumped into the water without hesitation and disappeared.

Did he discover me? No, a controlled corpse doesn’t possess the supernatural abilities of its controller, unless this corpse itself was in the Spirit Refinement realm. But if that were the case, he should have discovered me long ago…

The orange cat Xu Qi’an’s gaze followed the river towards the distant, towering city walls, suddenly understanding the other’s intention.

“He” planned to submerge in the river and follow it out of the city.

The orange cat ran along the riverbank, only jumping into the water when near the city wall.

He did this because a cat’s stamina wasn’t sufficient to swim hundreds of meters underwater, and he needed to consider subsequent tracking.

The river water was ice-cold and too murky to see through. The orange cat paddled its limbs underwater, successfully passing through the city wall and emerging outside the city.

Ripples spread across the dark water surface as the orange cat swam hard to reach the shore.

Typically, rivers passing through cities would have iron nets installed underneath, but this wasn’t absolute. After all, in this era, people’s hygiene awareness was extremely poor, and they threw all kinds of garbage into the river.

This could easily cause blockages.

Therefore, whether iron nets were installed depended on the local government’s initiative.

After reaching the shore, the orange cat Xu Qi’an slightly raised its head, twitching its nose, and caught a faint scent of decaying flesh.

It shot out like an arrow, and soon, under the dim moonlight, saw the silhouette of the walking corpse.

The “person” and the cat maintained a relatively safe distance, traveling for about two hours. During this process, Xu Qi’an stopped multiple times to rest and replenish his energy.

Felines are characterized by speed but extremely poor endurance.

This long journey had severely depleted the orange cat’s stamina.

If it were a dog, Xu Qi’an thought he could accompany it to the ends of the earth without issue.

After passing through fields, dense forests, and wastelands, finally, a small village appeared ahead, nestled in the silent darkness.

To be able to control a walking corpse for such a long distance, the controller’s cultivation must be quite high… Xu Qi’an, an expert in corpse manipulation himself, thought inwardly.

At least he didn’t have this level of ability currently.

The walking corpse, familiar with the route, followed a muddy path to the courtyard gate of a household. Inside the yard were two tall haystacks.

The walking corpse raised its hand and lightly knocked on the door.

The door of the mud house opened, and someone carrying a lantern came out, bouncing along. The figure wasn’t tall, seemingly a child.

The child opened the courtyard gate, welcomed the walking corpse in, then closed the gate and returned to the house.

Then, light shone through the small window.

“Uncle Xian, did you find Sister Xiaolan?”

The voice was soft and crisp, a little girl.

“No,” replied a voice tinged with exhaustion.

The orange cat immediately leaped onto the wall, crouching to eavesdrop.

“Then what should we do? Damn, who’s framing Uncle Xian?” the girl said indignantly.

The voice didn’t answer. After a while, sounding even more tired, it said, “I don’t know. It’s late, Erya. Go to sleep quickly.”

“Oh,” the girl responded, and then the candlelight went out, and all was silent.

Uncle Xian, Sister Xiaolan, the walking corpse infiltrating the Chai residence… it’s Chai Xian!

The orange cat Xu Qi’an immediately made this judgment.

…

Inside the inn in Xiangzhou City, Xu Qi’an opened his eyes.

He sat up abruptly, startling Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox who were whispering under the covers.

“Did you two just hit me?” Xu Qi’an asked angrily.

“She (It) did it,” Mu Nanzhi and the little white fox said simultaneously, passing the blame.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Xu Qi’an muttered, then said in a serious tone, “I’m going out for a while. You two go to sleep first.”

Mu Nanzhi didn’t bother to ask. She reached out to pat the little white fox’s head; with this little creature for company, she wouldn’t be so afraid.

Xu Qi’an transformed into a shadow and left.

…

In the small village, the orange cat Xu Qi’an was about to quietly leave, waiting for his main body to arrive.

“Friend, so you’re a guest. Why the hurry to leave?”

As the voice fell, the orange cat Xu Qi’an heard movement from the haystack beside him. Four figures emerged from the haystacks.

In the hazy moonlight, the four were shabbily dressed, expressionless, deathly still, with lifeless eyes staring at the orange cat.

I’ve been discovered… Maybe if I act cute on the spot, I can charm my way out of this… He thought to himself, then spoke in human language with a light laugh:

“Chai Xian?”

The mud house door opened, and a man in plain clothes walked out carrying a lantern.

He had refined features, and stood about 1.8 meters tall, with a gentle and reserved demeanor, his brow furrowed with worry.

The moment Xu Qi’an saw this man, his mind exploded with boundless joy.

In his vision, the man was surrounded by golden light, with faint dragon shadows flowing over his body, an extraordinary sight.

A Dragon Qi host!

Compared to the county tyrant he had beheaded with one stroke, this man’s Dragon Qi was incomparably more concentrated. This was one of the nine crucial Dragon Qi.

He hadn’t noticed earlier that the other was a Dragon Qi host because his main body wasn’t present, nor was the Ground Book fragment, so there was no resonance with the Dragon Qi.

Only now, seeing the man in person, did Xu Qi’an see the Dragon Qi.

“So Chai Xian is a Dragon Qi host? After searching far and wide, it falls into my lap… If it weren’t for a sudden whim to investigate the frequent cases in Xiangzhou, I might not have stayed long in Xiangzhou at all… No, this isn’t luck, it’s the convergence effect between the Dragon Qi and me…”

Xu Qi’an was so elated he almost “meowed” out loud.

“Who are you?” the man asked.

He composed himself and responded calmly, “Just a wandering knight.”

Chai Xian scrutinized the orange cat, nodded, and said softly, “This isn’t a good place to talk. Follow me.”

Leaving the courtyard, the two came to a secluded alley. Xu Qi’an took the initiative to speak: “I’ve heard about the Chai family affair in Xiangzhou and was quite curious. So I sneaked into the Chai residence at night, not expecting to run into you.”

Chai Xian said flatly, “And so?”

Xu Qi’an spoke frankly: “I’ve already understood the course of events. Regarding your patricide, there are many doubts. I suspect it’s not as simple as it appears on the surface.”

Chai Xian seemed somewhat surprised and said with a hint of disbelief:

“Perhaps you’d like to elaborate on these doubts? Where do you see inconsistencies?”

“The biggest doubt is the ‘patricide’ itself. While there are indeed unworthy fathers in this world, the Chai family head treated you decently. Even if you were deeply in love with the Chai family’s young lady, you only needed to elope with her. Why make such a mess of things?”

“If we say you’re purely evil, determined to betray kindness with ingratitude, then having killed the man and taken your childhood sweetheart, you should have fled long ago. Why linger in Xiangzhou?”

The orange cat spoke eloquently, his thoughts clear.

Chai Xian was silent for a moment, then sighed:

“Unfortunately, there are too few clever people like you in this world. I didn’t kill my adoptive father, nor did I abduct Xiaolan. I’ve stayed in Xiangzhou to uncover who’s framing me.”

“Oh? Tell me, what have you discovered? Who do you suspect?”

The orange cat Xu Qi’an was happy to stall for time, waiting for his main body to arrive.