At this time, Yinzi City was crowded everywhere. The streets were so congested that the carriage moved very slowly.

Grand Tutor Lu had waited for a long time without leaving the city. As the carriage swayed, the fatigue of recent days rushed over him. After all, he was a ninety-year-old man with limited energy, and he soon dozed off in the carriage.

He didn’t know how long he had slept when his grandson Lu Hongyuan gently shook him awake: “Grandfather, we’ve arrived.”

Helped down from the carriage by his grandson, he saw a row of farmhouses before him, with only one of them lit by a dim yellow light. Behind the houses was a forest. On this night, there was no wind, and it was so quiet that even the chickens kept in cages didn’t bother to flap their wings.

Grand Tutor Lu walked forward a few steps, then suddenly stopped and asked: “Where are the people?”

The light was on inside the house, and the commotion of their arrival had not been small. Why had no one come out to greet them?

This scene, tranquil as a painting, somehow made one’s skin crawl in the cold night air.

Lu Hongyuan also felt uneasy and said to his grandfather: “You go ahead first. Let me bring some men to check…”

Grand Tutor Lu snorted: “We’ve come all this way—there’s nowhere to run now.” He strode forward, taking the lead.

Lu Hongyuan was utterly helpless against his stubborn ancestor. He waved his hand backward, and the dozen or so subordinates who had followed them rushed ahead to scout, dispersing to each farmhouse.

Naturally, most went to the lit house—four men in total.

Although Grand Tutor Lu had a tough temperament, he wasn’t foolish. He slowed his pace at this point. Sure enough, after about ten breaths, the men who had searched the houses began to emerge, making a gesture indicating safety.

There was no one in those dark houses.

Conversely, the four subordinates who had entered the lit house hadn’t come back out.

No sounds of fighting, no shouting—just an eerie silence.

This voiceless eeriness was what made people most anxious.

Lu Hongyuan tilted his head, and the remaining men moved toward the house, their steps much more cautious.

But before the first man could touch the door, a voice came from inside:

“Grand Tutor Lu, chance meetings are better than planned ones. Come in for a cup of tea, shall we?”

The man’s voice was melodious and clear, like the clinking of jade, quite pleasant to hear. But as soon as Grand Tutor Lu heard it, his eyes bulged with rage, and he shouted fiercely: “It’s you, it’s you!”

From Lu Hongyuan’s perspective, the muscles on his grandfather’s face suddenly contorted, and his eyes were bloodshot. Grand Tutor Lu had always had a bad temper, but such explosive anger was rare—the older he got, the more he valued careful self-preservation, and it was extremely rare for him to lose control like this.

Lu Hongyuan tried to reach out to support him, but Grand Tutor Lu shook him off and strode toward the house.

“Grandfather!”

Everyone rushed forward, surrounding Grand Tutor Lu in the center, and entered the house this way.

Inside, corpses were strewn across the floor, scattered in all directions, taking up almost all the space. Lu Hongyuan swept his gaze across and counted eight bodies in total—in addition to the four subordinates who had rushed into the house earlier, four others had also already breathed their last.

The space inside was small, and the furnishings were simple. Apart from a small bed, there was only one table and two wooden chairs.

Now, someone was sitting in one of the chairs with his legs crossed, looking perfectly content. He was very handsome, like an immortal who had stepped out of a painting—the kind untouched by worldly affairs—completely out of place in this scene of carnage.

On the table beside him sat a chubby infant, with a tiger-like head, large bright eyes, and a prominent nose, playing with his sleeve.

Lu Hongyuan’s pupils contracted sharply as he raised his full alert: “Who are you!”

Among the men they had sent in was a cultivator, yet he too had been silently killed. Unless some other method had been used, this person’s cultivation must be terrifying. Lu Hongyuan was about to lead his grandfather out the door when Grand Tutor Lu snorted: “You don’t recognize him? He is the State Preceptor of the Kingdom of Wei!”

Lu Hongyuan’s mind instantly buzzed with shock.

The person before them was none other than the mortal enemy of all Yao people—State Preceptor Yun Ya of Wei!

Lu Hongyuan finally understood why his grandfather was so enraged. This man had used treacherous schemes to kill the Yao King and his son, led the Wei army to bloody Yinzi City, and even the Wei King had issued an order to massacre the entire city! If the Queen of New Xia hadn’t intervened, Yinzi City would have become a ghost realm long ago.

For debts and grievances, everything could be traced back to Yun Ya.

Yun Ya smiled and said: “I’ve admired your reputation for a long time. Today, I’m fortunate to meet you. May I offer you a cup of tea instead of wine as a sign of respect?” He raised the teacup on the table and flicked it toward them.

He had the ability to make the teacup fly smoothly and slowly as if it were being handed to Grand Tutor Lu. The tea inside was still steaming hot, without spilling a single drop.

How could Grand Tutor Lu dare to drink the tea offered by him? He knocked it away with his cane and shouted angrily: “This is all you’re doing!”

“Refuse kindness, invite punishment.” Yun Ya picked up the cup beside him and took a light sip. “What a waste of fine tea.”

Lu Hongyuan rushed forward a couple of steps, but Yun Ya placed his hand on the child’s head: “Come any closer, and I won’t be so polite. Those two by the window, pull back as well.”

Though his hand appeared as elegant as jade, one press could shatter the skull of a grown man, let alone a two-year-old child. The Lu family members immediately halted their movements, but Grand Tutor Lu’s eyes flickered: “Nonsense, this isn’t even the real young prince! The Miao bloodline was long ago rescued by the Queen to Yanhu Manor.”

“You don’t know?” Yun Ya seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. “Hasn’t Miao Hansheng been in your hands all along? If you don’t know, who in this world could know?”

Grand Tutor Lu said with a grave face: “This old man has no idea what you’re talking about!”

Yun Ya made a tsk-tsk sound: “Fine then, if he isn’t Miao Hansheng, there’s no use keeping him.” His five fingers curled over the child’s head, about to squeeze down with force.

“Stop, stop immediately!” Grand Tutor Lu panicked. He knew this villain killed without blinking an eye and wouldn’t hesitate regardless of whether the target was a child.

Yun Ya smiled: “Now, are you sure he is Miao Hansheng?”

Grand Tutor Lu sighed deeply, suppressing his anger, and finally asked: “What do you want?”

Since the young master beside Princess Hanyue was fake, the real Miao Hansheng must be here, in Yun Ya’s hands. The possibility that this one was also a counterfeit couldn’t be ruled out, but what if he was genuine?

The dead cannot be brought back to life—Grand Tutor Lu couldn’t take that risk.

“I should thank you for stealing the child from Yanhu Manor. It’s much easier to kill him here.” Yun Ya shrugged. “Look, I just realized, that if I kill Miao Hansheng, the Miao Yao bloodline will be severed forever, and your cherished dream of restoring the nation will vanish like smoke.”

This two-year-old infant was the only surviving bloodline of the Yao royal family, with natural authority. With him alive, Yao had hope for restoration; if he died, the Yao nobility would be scattered like sand, never to unite again. Even if there were changes in the future, it would be very noble for themselves, dividing the land into countless small states.

This was what Grand Tutor Lu feared most.

He stared intently at Yun Ya and asked: “What does the Kingdom of Wei want?”