Inside the luxurious inn.
Lying comfortably on the soft couch, Jiang Xuan was deep in thought:
“This is weird. Normally, the System’s scans can’t be wrong.
So why is Leng Wu Shuang, the Empress, lingering over by the city gate for so long?
Something feels off. Could it be that my whereabouts have been exposed?
Thinking back, I did make a small mistake when I registered to enter the city. I used a pseudonym for my name, but to make things easier, I filled in the Great Jiang Dynasty for my origin.
At the time, there were loads of others from the Great Jiang Dynasty on that registration sheet, and I didn’t think much of it.
No way! She couldn’t have guessed it’s me just because I’m from the Great Jiang Dynasty, right?
That’s absolutely ridiculous!
But, of course, one must always consider the worst-case scenario.
What if Leng Wu Shuang has gone nuts and started hunting down everyone from the Great Jiang Dynasty?
In that case, I’d be in big trouble! No! Just to be safe, I should change my appearance and find a different inn.
The schemes of emperors can be super complicated; better to be cautious.”
Just as Jiang Xuan was making his plans in his head, the System suddenly chimed in:
“Host, detected that Leng Wu Shuang is moving at high speed, and she’s headed in your direction.”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!”
Hearing the System’s warning, Jiang Xuan hastily tossed aside his mask, quickly changed his face with some makeup, and without a second thought, jumped out of the window to make his escape.
Just as Jiang Xuan made his getaway, Leng Wu Shuang appeared at the door of the inn.
“Is this the lead you provided? The boy in the mask is staying here?”
At that moment, the innkeeper showed exaggerated respect and said,
“Your Majesty the Empress, the person you seek recently booked a top-floor room in this inn, and he is currently resting.”
“Alright, I’ll go check it out.”
With that, Leng Wu Shuang zoomed to the top floor, flung open the door, and…
The room was completely empty except for a mask lying on the floor.
Picking it up, Leng Wu Shuang muttered to herself,
“This masked boy actually ran away. Could he have guessed that I would come here?
From the lingering aura, he just left a moment ago.
So he’s hiding from me and he knew I would come.
This lingering aura feels strangely familiar to my body.
As expected, just as I predicted, that masked boy is truly my longed-for Emperor.
But it seems like my Emperor is being a naughty boy. Now that he’s in the Cold Light Imperial City, he’s still trying to dodge me.
Oh good, I’ll see just how long you can hide!”
With that, Leng Wu Shuang vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xuan, thanks to the System’s alert, learned that Leng Wu Shuang was at the inn he had just vacated.
Feeling grateful, Jiang Xuan thought, “Phew! Good thing I ran fast. If I had been just two minutes slower, I would’ve bumped right into her!”
Now knowing that Leng Wu Shuang was in the inn, Jiang Xuan wasted no time and dashed toward the city gate.
He had to seize this golden opportunity to escape from Cold Light Imperial City.
Thanks to his enhanced physical abilities, he arrived at the city gate in just a few minutes.
However, upon his arrival, he was met with shocking news.
Cold Light Imperial City was under an emergency lockdown—no one was allowed to enter or leave!
Some powerhouses from other dynasties, in desperate need to leave, were not happy about this forced measure.
One white-clad woman displayed her Martial King strength and protested.
Watching from the side, Jiang Xuan silently cheered her on.
“Come on, big sister with the sword! You can do this! Stand against this unfairness!”
However, the next moment, Jiang Xuan went from cheering to dumbfounded.
The Martial King who had stepped forward to resist was suddenly surrounded and beaten by five or six peak Ninth Stage Martial Kings.
Moments later, the poor soul was left a wreck, pleading,
“I’m sorry! I don’t want to leave Cold Light Imperial City anymore! Please don’t hit me…”
Seeing this brutal scene, Jiang Xuan had no choice but to give up on escaping Cold Light Imperial City.
Come on! If a Martial King got turned into a punching bag, what chance does a little Martial Warrior like me have?
Of course, if Jiang Xuan were a Martial King, those Martial Kings blocking the city gate would be nothing but pushovers.
Sadly, Jiang Xuan still lacked enough time for training.
But he believed that once he made it back to Great Jiang Imperial City, everything would be alright.
At this moment, hidden in the crowd, Jiang Xuan overheard others chatting.
“Did you hear? This lockdown was ordered by our Empress.
It seems an important figure has infiltrated Cold Light Imperial City.”
“Did you not get the memo? Apparently, that person is an enemy of the Empress, and she even issued a top-level bounty for the boy in the mask.
Look! Wearing that mask and providing accurate information will net you a reward of one hundred million high-quality spirit stones.”
“No way, that’s too easy to make! We should join the hunt!”
…
These ladies chatting completely failed to notice that the very target of the highest-level bounty was standing dumbfounded right behind them.
At this moment, Jiang Xuan thought,
“This is too much! How am I supposed to play my cards? She’s convinced that the masked boy is me and even issued a bounty.
This is absurd! It’s absurd beyond measure!
Good thing I ditched that mask in time and changed my appearance. Now I look so ordinary that these people wouldn’t recognize me.
Looks like I need to keep an eye on Leng Wu Shuang’s movements. For now, I’ll just have to hide out for a couple of days, and when the dust settles, I’ll look for a chance to leave Cold Light Imperial City.”
Just as Jiang Xuan was preparing to find another hiding spot, the System chimed in again.
“Ping! Detected that Leng Wu Shuang is rapidly moving toward the city gate!”
Jiang Xuan: “!!!!!!!!!!”
Hearing the System’s feedback, Jiang Xuan hurriedly ran in the opposite direction of the city gate.
Just then, he felt someone tap his shoulder.
The next moment, an ethereal voice rang out.
“Where do you think you’re running off to, my dear Emperor…”
Jiang Xuan: “??????”
