Jing Hengbo finally couldn’t hear the family of three’s nagging, breathed a sigh of relief, lay down, and was just about to sleep and relax her mind when she suddenly sat up abruptly, feeling like there was something extremely important she hadn’t done.

She stared straight ahead thinking for a long time, then slapped her forehead hard.

That fake Gong Yin!

She still hadn’t removed his mask!

All this mess had made her forget everything!

She sprang up and rushed out the door. Before reaching the Ziwei Master’s room, she suddenly heard a bang – the door to the Ziwei Master’s room was kicked open. That fake Gong Yin emerged from within, carrying Yélu Xunru under his arm.

Seeing this scene, Jing Hengbo made an “uh” sound – how was this possible? Yélu Xunru had been taken hostage by that fake Gong Yin?

Yélu Qi and the others rushed out one after another. The Ziwei Master also emerged from somewhere, saw the situation from afar, was stunned for a moment, then shouted: “Oh my, you’ve taken that dead girl hostage? Excellent, excellent! Kill her quickly – this old man is sick to death of her!”

Yélu Tan glanced at him coldly, his eyes not hiding his disgust, and said to Yélu Qi: “Fast horse. Provisions. Don’t pursue, don’t play tricks. Otherwise I’ll kill her.”

“Just don’t hurt my sister.” Yélu Qi agreed readily, immediately having people prepare horses and provisions. The innkeeper came running with his staff, and a servant shouted from afar with outstretched hands: “Honored guests, please be merciful, don’t break anything in our small inn. We’re just a small business…”

When the horse and provisions were ready, Yélu Qi was about to lead them over when Yélu Tan said: “Not you.” He casually pointed to the group of workers repairing the wall: “The one on the outside, come down and bring them over.”

Yélu Qi had the innkeeper notify that person. The man hesitantly came down, and only after Yélu Qi gave him a silver ingot did he reluctantly lead the horse over, accompanying them all the way to the inn entrance while the others had to follow step by step.

Yélu Tan mounted with Yélu Xunru as hostage. Yélu Xunru hadn’t spoken the whole time, only smiling before mounting: “Don’t pursue – I’m just going for a stroll and will be back.”

“Sister, be careful.” Yélu Qi cautioned, glancing at Yélu Tan’s feet and frowning slightly.

Yélu Tan gave the Ziwei Master a cold look, spurred his horse, and galloped out of the street.

Seeing his figure disappear, Jing Hengbo moved to follow but was grabbed by Yélu Qi.

“What?” She looked at him questioningly.

“Don’t act rashly – if we alarm the other party and sister gets hurt, that would be terrible.”

Jing Hengbo frowned. She suddenly felt something strange about today’s events. The Yélu siblings were too calm. Though they were used to storms and being calm was normal, this kind of peaceful acceptance of the situation made her feel odd.

A gust of wind passed overhead. Looking up, she saw a flash of purple.

The old codger didn’t care what Yélu Qi said and pursued them.

The strange feeling in Jing Hengbo’s heart grew stronger.

“Look,” she said slowly, “the old codger actually cares deeply about sister.”

“When true feelings are sufficient, naturally one won’t remain unmoved. Don’t you think so?” Yélu Qi gazed at her intently.

Jing Hengbo heard the hidden meaning in these words and felt any response would be inappropriate. Just as she was about to laugh it off, the innkeeper suddenly approached, flicking his large towel and interrupting Yélu Qi’s affectionate gaze.

The innkeeper said solemnly to Yélu Qi: “This guest, the door of Tianzi Room Number Three was just kicked down. The damage fee and repair fee comes to ten taels of silver, thank you.”

“How can one door cost so…” Yélu Qi almost said “expensive” but glanced at Jing Hengbo and changed his words with a smile: “That’s reasonable, please wait a moment.”

But Jing Hengbo was already staring and shouting: “What? Ten taels of silver? So expensive? Is this door made of gold or silver? Yélu, this is a crooked inn – don’t give it to him!”

“Miss, you speak incorrectly!” The innkeeper immediately turned to her, saying even more seriously: “This door is made of deep-sea ebony, solid and durable, worth a thousand gold – ten taels of silver is not excessive at all.” He paused, then added: “Of course, if you really have no money, our inn allows credit, but we’ll need to keep someone here as collateral.”

“Though I’m not wealthy, I still have this much silver.” Yélu Qi smiled and reached into his sleeve pouch, then suddenly paused.

“Fat-headed and big-eared, profit-seeking, covered in grease, sucking marrow from bones!” Jing Hengbo continued muttering curses at this short, fat, disgusting-looking innkeeper. Seeing Yélu Qi’s action, she couldn’t help but freeze.

Yélu Qi searched his sleeve pouch, then his chest, then his waist. The more he searched, the more embarrassed his expression became. Jing Hengbo watched this scene – why did it look so familiar?

“You… you wouldn’t… really… not have…” She made a money gesture.

Yélu Qi smiled awkwardly and nodded. His money pouch was gone. He just remembered when it had disappeared, but it seemed too late.

Jing Hengbo quickly searched her own pockets, sneering: “It’s just ten taels of silver – I’ll pay!”

She searched and searched and searched…

The innkeeper crossed his arms watching coldly without rushing.

Jing Hengbo searched slower and slower…

Yélu Qi sighed – this stubborn child, didn’t she think that if he had been tricked, could she escape?

“No money, right? Why act rich when you have no money?” A servant beside the innkeeper sneered: “Looks like you gentlemen can’t even pay tonight’s room fee, can you?”

“The one who left has money! Pay you when he returns!” Jing Hengbo was certain the Ziwei Master absolutely wouldn’t be tricked, so she responded somewhat defiantly.

“Fine.” The innkeeper smiled coldly, pointing to the servant: “Please escort these gentlemen inside. Until the room fee and door fee are settled, please don’t wander around outside. Of course, if you have martial arts and intend to skip out on the fees, our small inn can’t stop you. You decide.” With that, he flicked his sleeve and walked away.

Jing Hengbo was so angry smoke came from her seven orifices. She really wanted to leave in a huff, but the more it was like this, the more she couldn’t leave. Though she could rob and plunder, she wouldn’t be shameless toward common people struggling to make a living – she still had that principle.

She had to stay in the room. Fortunately, she didn’t need to worry about Yélu Xunru’s situation since the Ziwei Master had pursued them. If the Ziwei Master couldn’t handle it, no one in the world could.

She was escorted back to her room by the servant. The innkeeper still had food delivered, but it was all vegetarian, as if afraid they couldn’t pay later. Jing Hengbo felt even more depressed, ate carelessly, and jumped into bed to sleep.

On Yélu Qi’s side, there was also a plate of vegetarian dishes, even worse than Jing Hengbo’s. At least she had three or four clean, neat vegetarian dishes. He had just one plate, and it was spoiled.

Yélu Qi glanced at it, pushed the plate away, rolled up his sleeve, wiped his arm, and suddenly peeled off a golden leaf. He called over Xiao Dou: “Go buy some wine and meat, clean and refined.”

Xiao Dou agreed, then said: “Why not have the innkeeper deliver?”

Yélu Qi smiled with slight mockery – innkeeper deliver? That would probably have knockout drugs.

He thought for a moment: “Yi Kingdom is treacherous, everyone skilled at disguise, truth and falsehood hard to distinguish. Be careful not to be deceived.”

Xiao Dou agreed and left with the money. After a while he returned carrying wine and food.

The bag of food and wine gave off a fragrant aroma. The closer to the inn, the stronger the fragrance became. Xiao Dou, being a wine lover, couldn’t help but open the bag and take a deep sniff. Immediately he closed his eyes in intoxication: “Just smelling it makes me dizzy – truly good wine!”

His head really was a bit dizzy. He covered his forehead and walked forward unsteadily. On the way he encountered the group of workers who had finished repairing the wall and were returning. His steps were unsteady and he nearly bumped into someone, but a worker kindly supported his shoulder and turned his body, saying: “Brother, be careful.”

Xiao Dou thanked him, stood in place, identified his direction, and walked back to Yélu Qi’s room. Yélu Qi was still waiting in the room without lighting a lamp, his silhouette like a statue in the dim twilight.

Xiao Dou delivered the food and wine, giggling: “Didn’t encounter any suspicious people on the way, not even anyone who spoke to me. Look, is Xiao Dou still Xiao Dou?”

Yélu Qi smiled and patted his shoulder: “Of course it’s you – how could a fake be so similar? Help me carry the food and wine to find that lady.” His chin pointed toward Jing Hengbo’s room direction.

Xiao Dou giggled and praised: “I knew the young master was thoughtful.” He picked up the food box and followed Yélu Qi out to Jing Hengbo’s place.

Jing Hengbo had slept for a while but couldn’t fall asleep. Her heart was in chaos. After sleeping briefly, she kicked off the blanket and cursed angrily: “Dead Gong Yin! Stinking Gong Yin! Ever since meeting you, sister hasn’t encountered a single good thing!”

“It’s fine, meeting me will bring good things.” Suddenly a voice outside the window responded: “Open the window.”

Jing Hengbo leaped out of bed in one bound, rushed to the window, and before arriving, smelled an enticing aroma. Opening the window, she saw no one, but a plate of fragrant, tender white-cut chicken slowly rose from below the window.

The chicken skin was snow-white, gleaming with slightly yellow oil – quite beautiful. Jing Hengbo hadn’t eaten enough at dinner and now had no resistance to this aroma. Her mood immediately improved greatly. She laughed heartily: “Indeed, the food arrives before the person. But Yélu Qi, where did you get the money?”

Yélu Qi sat slanted by the window, braiding several grass stems. His fingers were nimble, and his outline in the night was clear and beautiful as a painting – those eyelashes so long even Jing Hengbo couldn’t help but sigh.

Without looking up, he casually braided grass while saying: “People who roam the martial world don’t only have money in their pouches.”

“Then why didn’t you take it out earlier?” Jing Hengbo laughed heartily, tore off a chicken wing, and another plate appeared like magic – steaming glutinous rice red-heart dumplings. Xiao Dou’s round black eyes gleamed brightly behind the white-and-red dumplings as he said in his high-pitched voice: “Red-heart snow dumplings, Your Majesty please enjoy.”

Xiao Dou’s voice was very distinctive – a metallic sound with seven or eight turns, naturally comical. Jing Hengbo felt his voice was too recognizable – no one in the world could imitate it. Hearing this voice made her want to laugh. She grabbed a dumpling and heard Yélu Qi say lightly: “No need to let petty people triumph.”

“Yes, yes, exactly right.” Jing Hengbo held a chicken wing in one hand and a dumpling in the other, laughing: “How come your sister hasn’t returned yet? Could there be danger? Should we go provide support?”

Logically they should rescue Yélu Xunru who had been taken hostage, but seeing Yélu Qi’s manner, he didn’t seem worried. She didn’t know what he was planning.

“To avoid alerting the enemy and angering the other party, we shouldn’t pursue openly. I’ve already sent people to secretly follow and report back. Besides, sister is clever and has the Master’s protection – you needn’t worry too much.”

“Alright.” Jing Hengbo glanced at Yélu Qi. He remained sitting by the window in a casual posture, a vague side profile in the darkness. Under starlight and moonlight, he had the hazy, graceful beauty of a dark-robed young gentleman.

She suddenly felt uneasy – this was Yi Kingdom, a magical land of ever-changing disguise techniques. Could she be certain every person she met was genuine?

But perhaps she was being too paranoid? Suspecting him just because of Yélu Qi’s pretentious posture? Xiao Dou beside him was definitely authentic – Xiao Dou’s appearance and voice were extremely distinctive, and as a minor character, no one could imitate him perfectly in such short time.

Having suffered losses in Yi Kingdom, she had ultimately become more cautious. She held the chicken wing and dumpling she was about to bite but didn’t put them in her mouth. The thin beef slices Yélu Qi had personally cut for her – she picked up a piece and examined the beautiful light patterns on the natural grain of the meat repeatedly, praising it endlessly, but just wouldn’t eat.

Yélu Qi looked at her. She smiled: “Dieting.”

Yélu Qi didn’t urge her, casually taking some for himself. Xiao Dou served food while also eating, his mouth full of oil. Jing Hengbo watched them eat with such relish, her stomach rumbling back and forth, gluttons emerging, but she was too embarrassed to eat anymore, secretly regretting being overly cautious and deserving to go hungry.

Starving herself while watching others feast was simply torture. Jing Hengbo had to find conversation, remembering the incident of the two Mr. Mus in Daimao, so she asked Yélu Qi: “Back then when that someone impersonated you, how did you agree to it? You’re not usually such a good-natured person.”

Yélu Qi’s grass-braiding hands paused, then he smiled: “After all, it was an opportunity.”

This was vague, but Jing Hengbo immediately understood. Mr. Mu was ultimately an opportunity to get close to her. Yélu Qi didn’t expose him, naturally having his own intentions and difficulties – ultimately still related to his feelings for her.

Queen Jing was flirtatious but only superficially so. With unfamiliar handsome men, she could run over to touch and squeeze them, purely appreciating beauty and teasing, but once she determined which handsome man truly had feelings for her, she immediately became proper – taking advantage was fine, but playing for real was not.

At this moment, as soon as Yélu Qi showed signs of confession, she immediately played dumb. With an “oh” sound, just as she was thinking how to change the subject, Yélu Qi suddenly reached out and placed something on her head, smiling: “Does it look good?”

Jing Hengbo was startled and reached up to touch – there seemed to be a grass ring on her head, slightly prickly. She became interested and laughed: “Didn’t expect you knew how to do this.”

Yélu Qi smiled: “Look in the mirror – it’s prettier than your queen’s crown.”

Jing Hengbo laughed and went to look in the mirror. There was a not-very-clear bronze mirror on the table. She vaguely saw there was indeed a grass ring on her head, even decorated with tiny yellow flowers. Quite charming. She smiled at the mirror, adjusting the grass ring while saying: “In this winter weather, where did you find these little yellow flow…”

She suddenly stopped, her fingers freezing at the grass ring’s edge.

Why was there suddenly some astringent numbness in her mouth?

Also, in the mirror, why did that face seem to be changing?

Her mouth grew larger and larger, her face wider and wider, the flesh on her cheeks more and more, like a balloon being slowly inflated. The mirror was blurry, making this expansion seem slow and hazy, adding an eerie mystery.

The small yellow flowers on the grass ring suddenly fell, crumbling into yellow powder beside her now mountain-like cheeks. Her face also turned reddish-yellow.

The person in the mirror was strange yet somewhat familiar, but no matter how she looked, it wasn’t herself.

What formidable methods!

She had been cautious enough, hadn’t ingested anything, hadn’t gotten close to anything, yet hadn’t expected the real trap wasn’t in food or drink, but in that grass ring braided before her eyes.

Her heart was shocked. She wanted to call out but could no longer make sound, wanted to move but could no longer budge.

Behind her, “Yélu Qi” finally flipped in from the window, walking lightly toward her.

But at this moment, from not far away in Yélu Qi’s room, suddenly came a door-crashing sound, followed by the swift sound of robes in the wind approaching rapidly.

Jing Hengbo’s eyes filled with tears of joy – someone must have noticed! Come quickly!

…

When “Yélu Qi” was by the window giving Jing Hengbo food and braiding the grass ring, the real Yélu Qi was in his room waiting for Xiao Dou to return.

But Xiao Dou wouldn’t return. The moment he smelled the wine, he was drugged, briefly unconscious, then turned around and dazedly walked into another room in the back. In that room, another “Yélu Qi” was waiting for him.

All rooms in the inn had identical layouts except for location.

Xiao Dou wasn’t fake – Yélu Qi was.

Someone had set up a trap right under Yélu Qi’s nose.

But people experienced in storms have intuitive premonitions about danger. When Xiao Dou hadn’t returned within the calculated time, Yélu Qi was already uneasy and got up to look toward the door.

He suddenly stopped and turned around.

By the window stood an additional person wearing ordinary clothes with a towel draped over his shoulder – this look was quite strange on him.

Yélu Qi looked carefully and frowned: “Gong Yin, since you’re already here, why act mysteriously?”

The innkeeper-disguised Gong Yin had removed that short, fat appearance, keeping only the clothes and towel. He looked at Yélu Qi lightly: “Your sister’s diversion was quite skillful.”

Yélu Qi remained silent. He naturally knew today’s captured fake Gong Yin was Yélu Tan. After all, he was from the Yélu family – naturally they had ways to identify him.

He had no good feelings toward Yélu Tan, but his sister wanted to protect him, even willing to divert Jing Hengbo’s attention. He could only acquiesce. He just needed to ensure Jing Hengbo’s safety.

But Gong Yin wouldn’t allow a fake Gong Yin to confuse matters and bring danger to Jing Hengbo, so Gong Yin would definitely move against Yélu Tan. In this incident, their positions conflicted.

“Don’t try to deceive Jing Hengbo,” Gong Yin said. “I won’t allow it.”

“Yes,” Yélu Qi smiled, “in this world only you can deceive her – others are not permitted.”

“Of course. How could miscellaneous people have such qualifications?” Gong Yin answered righteously, actually making Yélu Qi so angry he nearly fell backward.

“Be careful – deceive too much and you might become miscellaneous people yourself.” Yélu Qi smiled slightly, his smile mocking. “You’ve come, why not show yourself?”

“Yélu Tan remaining in Yi Kingdom must have purpose. I want to secretly observe and understand. I’ll pursue and retrieve Yélu Tan. I came here to notify you, hoping you’ll persuade your sister to let go early to avoid conflict.”

Yélu Qi frowned slightly. He knew Gong Yin usually attacked whoever he wanted without special notification and discussion. This time was purely because Yélu Xunru held a different position in Jing Hengbo’s heart, and Gong Yin didn’t want their conflicting positions to make things difficult for Jing Hengbo.

Yélu Qi similarly didn’t want to make things difficult for Jing Hengbo, but worried Yélu Xunru would insist on rescue, finding the situation quite troublesome.

The two men silently contemplated. When encountering their own affairs, both could resolve things in minutes, but facing these two women’s matters, they felt they couldn’t be too light or too heavy.

After thinking for a while, Yélu Qi suddenly felt something was wrong and quickly went to the door to look. “Eh?” he exclaimed.

Gong Yin raised an eyebrow and immediately asked keenly: “What?”

With Xiao Dou still not returned, Yélu Qi knew without asking that something had happened. Without time to answer Gong Yin’s question, he crashed through the door.

Seeing his expression, Gong Yin knew there was definitely a situation and rushed out without a word.

Both headed straight for Jing Hengbo’s room.

…

The sound of robes in the wind was surprisingly fast. Jing Hengbo could tell that in two or three blinks, the person would be in the room. It was probably Yélu Qi coming. Since he had already discovered the situation, for this person to carry her away from under Yélu Qi’s nose was truly impossible.

Her heart settled somewhat, but she didn’t give up self-rescue. Her fingertips could still move slightly. With a finger movement, she knocked the makeup box from the vanity toward the person behind her. That person dodged, but the box opened mid-air, scattering rose powder everywhere. The person inevitably got some on himself.

Sneezing from the fragrance, the person raised his hand, covering Jing Hengbo with a bundle of clothing – a colorful dress that looked somewhat familiar.

At this moment Yélu Qi and Gong Yin had reached the door. Yélu Qi had already discovered the unconscious Xiao Dou under the window. The two exchanged glances, separated – one leaping onto the roof, one charging through the door.

Hearing both men’s footsteps with superb martial arts, Jing Hengbo was overjoyed. Now this fake would either flee quickly or be captured – taking her away was impossible!

The person behind her suddenly crashed into her, grabbed her waist belt, shook his hand, and threw her out the window.

“Bang.” She crashed outside the window but didn’t make brutal contact with the ground. Beneath her was a soft human body. Looking down, it was actually Season Girl’s father.

Under Season Girl’s father was another person – light yellow silk dress embroidered with intertwining flowers. It was Season Girl.

While her mind was still dazed, she felt a shadow flash overhead. That fake Yélu Qi had also rushed out, and the real Yélu Qi on the roof immediately pursued.

Gong Yin was the one who charged through the door. He saw a figure cross the window and disappear, pursued through the window, and then saw three people stacked on the ground.

The colorfully dressed fat woman was on top, the pedantic scholar in the middle, and Season Girl who had been thrown out first at the bottom.

The formation and posture were identical to when he had thrown them out earlier.

These three people would be able to free themselves after being thrown out for a while. Since Gong Yin had thrown them himself, he naturally knew best. He just glanced lightly and leaped over the three, pursuing that black shadow.

As he leaped, he stepped precisely on the fat woman’s buttocks, using that thick muscle’s elasticity to gracefully fly up.

His figure flashed in the sky and disappeared.

Below, the fat woman Jing Hengbo could see but not shout or move, watching helplessly as two great rescuers came and two great rescuers left. The first one ran off without even seeing her, the second simply used her buttocks as a springboard to fly away.

To see rescue in extreme danger brought extreme joy, then in extreme joy to encounter extreme disappointment – from hell to heaven to hell again.

No greater misery exists in life.

She was almost crying from anger.

She watched Gong Yin’s back disappear with teary eyes, her mouth wide open but only eating a mouthful of dirt from his shoe soles.

In her heart, ten thousand grass mud horses galloped by – what was happening? Couldn’t they see three living people outside the window? Didn’t Gong Yin, such a meticulous person, know to look down and see what was wrong with these three?

She had only gotten a fat face and gained over a hundred pounds – even with her butt facing him, shouldn’t he recognize her!

Was this still true love!

After roaring ten thousand times in her heart, she had to dejectedly admit – actually he really couldn’t recognize her. She wouldn’t recognize herself either.

This damned transformation was more troublesome than disguise.

She swore she would never forgive this cursed Yi Kingdom. She would definitely seize Yi Kingdom’s royal power and issue a decree: from now on, all people in Yi Kingdom were absolutely forbidden from changing their appearance!

…

After quieting for a while, she gained hope again. The assassin ultimately couldn’t take her away. She was thrown here – perhaps in a while Gong Yin might figure it out. When he returned, wouldn’t she be saved?

Thinking this way, she suddenly heard footsteps again.

A pair of boots approached, walking determinedly this way without any surprised sounds. Her heart sank.

Ah ah ah, the assassin had accomplices!

Those boots stopped before her. A pair of hands scooped her up, carrying her on his back unhurriedly, crossing rooftops and mountains, disappearing into the night.

…

Gong Yin ran through the night wind.

The assassin ahead consistently couldn’t shake off Yélu Qi. The two ran across the dark city’s rooftops like wind scraping over the dreams of common people below.

Gong Yin suddenly stopped.

He discovered the person ahead seemed to be going in circles.

Then somehow, he thought of the three people stacked under the window earlier.

When people see familiar things they caused themselves, they subconsciously overlook them, but he suddenly discovered a problem.

The room where that “family of three” rested was next to the room next to Jing Hengbo’s.

That row of rooms had windows facing a row of flower bushes. When he threw people from the three’s rest room window, though they might also land near Jing Hengbo’s window area, following subconscious choice, since he didn’t want to alarm Jing Hengbo, he couldn’t have thrown them close to her.

Then how did those three appear behind Jing Hengbo’s window?

That fat woman!

He suddenly turned and rushed back!

Faster than when he left!

In just a few leaps, he had returned to that row of flower bushes. Under the window, the pedantic scholar and Season Girl still lay quietly, but the fat woman on top was gone.

Gong Yin stood stunned in the night wind. Such a cold person suddenly had eyes like sharp lightning. With a crack, emerald leaves around him were covered with snow, ice shards flying, a large expanse of snow color spreading, with fine ice crystals falling everywhere with crackling sounds.

The King’s rage!

…

Jing Hengbo was carried on someone’s shoulder, traveling in the opposite direction from where that assassin had disappeared.

During this travel, the person continuously emitted mist around his body. In the mist, her mountain-like fat figure slowly diminished, the fat on her face also receding, her whole person continuously shrinking past normal body type and still shrinking. Finally she shrank to a thin little girl, about ten pounds thinner than her original appearance.

Jing Hengbo was very worried this expansion and contraction would affect her normal skin.

Then that person carrying her jumped down from the rooftop, calmly entering an ordinary house below, opened the door, entered the room. Another person dressed identically came out carrying a mountain-like fat woman. The two didn’t look at each other, passed by each other – one carried Jing Hengbo into the house and placed her on the bed, one carried the fat woman out the door and jumped onto the eaves.

Jing Hengbo felt deep powerlessness.

This was truly a long-planned, seamless abduction.

Even if Gong Yin had now discovered something wrong and pursued, his target would definitely be the mountain-like fat woman. Who knew the fat woman had been switched again.

Below was a residential area with identical houses. After the lights were extinguished, Jing Hengbo couldn’t think of any way Gong Yin could find her.

Wind whooshed overhead.

…

When Gong Yin leaped back onto the rooftop, he saw a distant figure flash ahead, seemingly someone carrying a very large bundle running.

He immediately pursued, but his brow furrowed slightly.

This assassin had gone to such trouble to deceive him, so shouldn’t continue running so conspicuously on rooftops. He should have jumped into the alleys below and disappeared randomly. With this moment’s delay, it would be very difficult to catch up again.

The previous methods were all clever, yet he made one foolish mistake. Then this mistake wouldn’t be a mistake, but a trap.

He stared at that back while pursuing, but his eyes also scanned below. Sure enough, after chasing not far to a densely built area, the person ahead suddenly emitted mist around his body, making that large figure immediately unclear.

He pursued a bit further. The mist suddenly thickened, making the figure indistinguishable. He stopped on that rooftop.

He paused slightly, staring from afar. Shortly after, the mist moved again, slowly dispersing while moving, revealing a figure carrying a large bundle.

He swept over but didn’t pursue downward.

He stopped where the mist had previously lingered, looking around at the environment.

The mist’s pause must have had reason. What happened in that instant? A switch?

There must be something fishy below.

Below were almost identical civilian houses – no deep courtyards or large mansions, all single rooms or small courtyards with narrow yards and low buildings, dark and lightless, everyone peacefully sleeping.

He raised his hand, ice beads exploding from his palm. The ice beads flew flashing, scraping past those civilian houses’ window frames and eaves, creating crackling explosive sounds.

Almost everyone was awakened. Windows were pushed open with clapping sounds, various heads poking out – rubbing eyes, cursing, drowsily muttering – voices creating a din.

His gaze swept like lightning across all windows.

…