"Oh, please, Sister Ying, give it a rest. If you let General Song train me, I'd lose all my lives before he was done with me! That newcomer, Lian Pinghai, is alright, but it's only been a short while. He wouldn't dare push me too hard, and he'd definitely hold back in his teaching."
Cui Yuanyi quickly glanced around before whispering. The mere thought of that brute Song Duan made his whole body ache. Although he couldn't see Song Duan, Cui Yuanyi knew he was nearby. Feeling slightly more at ease, he continued whispering to Cui Yuanying.
"It's not like your situation. Commander Bao is extremely patient and meticulous. You can ask him for guidance without any worries. By the way, that Zhang Ming seems mild-mannered too, and he's not much older than us. He must be easy to talk to. Is his martial arts really as powerful as great-grandfather said?"
The moment the topic of private instruction from his guards came up, Cui Yuanyi was full of complaints. The guard assigned to him was Song Duan, who was the most prone to using brute force. The strategists like Lin Yuxing and Tong Buyou were usually with Cui Feng himself, while the steady-tempered Bao Feiyu was assigned to protect Cui Yuanying.
Hearing this, Cui Yuanying pouted. That Zhang Ming only ever followed from a distance. She had tried calling him over to ask a few questions, but the man was so taciturn she wondered if he was mute. In the end, she was left talking to herself, which was incredibly boring, so she decided to ignore him from then on.
Li Yan, trailing them at a distance, walked silently beside Bao Feiyu with a reserved expression. He would occasionally glance at their surroundings before his eyes returned to the young pair, the very picture of a diligent guard.
Bao Feiyu had no idea that the person who had been walking beside him for the past day was merely a puppet, bearing a wisp of Li Yan's Divine Sense imprint. Although Li Yan didn't possess puppets on the level of the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape, he did have a few low-level ones for simple tasks like watering Spirit Plants and cleaning his Cave Residence. With a simple illusion art, he could make one look just like him. As long as no cultivator was investigating, no mortal would ever be able to spot the deception.
At that very moment, the real Li Yan was already ten thousand li away at Green Mountain Pass, having slipped into the government's secret archives unnoticed.
Reading ten lines at a glance, Li Yan sifted through the old records. He finally found information on the successive military commanders stationed there in some historical documents. Right now, he was holding a scroll, his face a mask of astonishment.
"In the twenty-first year of the Taishi era of the Imperial Dynasty, Commander Li Yan of the 'Bright Mountain Pavilion' was stationed at Green Mountain Pass. In the eighth month of that year, he defeated General Qi Liang of the State of Meng. The following year…"
Li Yan found his name in more than one document. He also found the name Hong Linying, who had been the marshal stationed there two terms before him. Li Yan discovered that he had been stationed at Green Mountain Pass for a total of seventeen years.
'A person with the same name? But Cui Feng appeared in my dream, and he recognizes me. Doesn't that mean the person in these records is me? How can all this be explained…'
Li Yan sank into a long, deep contemplation. He had initially held onto the idea that the strangeness was entirely centered on Cui Feng. But now, it seemed the entire affair had become bizarre. The marshal named Li Yan had truly existed in the mortal world.
He continued his search in the secret archives. Three hours later, Li Yan was still without a clue.
"The best way to confirm if that person was related to me is to find a portrait of that so-called 'Li Yan.' If the portrait is identical to me, then it means a cultivator has been manipulating things from behind the scenes…"
The thought sent a chill down Li Yan's spine.
The reason was simple. If someone knew of him and had a doppelganger placed here, that would be one thing. For now, it hadn't affected him too much. He could continue to investigate their true purpose. Was it a curse, similar to the Buddhist 'Power of Willpower'?
But what he found truly unfathomable was how something that had happened in his dream had become reality. What kind of divine ability would allow someone to know the contents of his dreams?
However, Li Yan was ultimately unable to find his own portrait at Green Mountain Pass, not even in the records from when he had first enlisted as a soldier. Li Yan surmised that since he had been an insignificant soldier at the time, no portrait would have been made of him at the age of fourteen or fifteen. In truth, as a disciple of Strategist Ji who was stationed there, a portrait of him had been made, but it was later taken by Li Wei's third son.
Li Yan saw from the records that all the soldiers who had participated in the "Fallen Immortal Slope" battle were long dead. Who among them could have lived to this day on the strength of their martial cultivation, as Cui Feng had?
"There might be one other way to find out: the Grand Council in the Imperial Capital. A place like that might still have portraits of past officials, but that's only a possibility. If not, then there are only two methods left: One is to use the Soul-Searching Art on Cui Feng to get his true memories. But he might be under someone's control, and his soul could self-detonate the moment I try, leaving me with nothing. The second is to take a trip to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. Perhaps I can find some clues there."
Li Yan mapped out his plan.
Having thought it through, Li Yan did not linger. Under the cover of night, he flew directly toward the Imperial Capital.
As Li Yan flew towards the capital, that very night, on a beach three hundred li from Yuhai City, a massive, round moon slowly rose from the sea, casting its cold, brilliant light upon the shimmering waves.
The sea breeze blew, and the only sound was the crashing of waves against the reefs, creating an atmosphere of profound emptiness and tranquility.
Suddenly, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the distance. The sound of rustling clothes grew from far to near, and a figure, like a projectile, bounded across the reefs on the shore. Soon, the figure landed on the sandy beach. The person was masked in black cloth, revealing only a pair of sharp, gleaming eyes. Under the moonlight, he was clad in a tight-fitting black night-prowler's suit. As soon as he landed, he vigilantly surveyed his surroundings. The black mask concealed his face and age. After a look around, his eyebrows furrowed.
Just as the masked man in black was looking around, a voice suddenly came from his left.
"If you hadn't come soon, I was about to leave!"
The voice was extremely hoarse, as if squeezed from the throat. Hearing it in the dead of night was enough to send a chill down one's spine.
The masked man whirled around and saw a figure slowly emerge from behind a reef. By the moonlight, he could see it was a person cloaked in a blood-red cape. Under the cold moonlight, the splash of crimson was jarring, like blood spread across the darkness. Because the person had been in the shadow and corner of the reef, and because their breath-control was superb, he had not noticed their presence.
'This person's power is so profound! I didn't sense a single sound or anomaly!'
The masked man was shocked. With his level of martial arts, even with the interference of the crashing waves, he should have sensed something. Moreover, he couldn't tell if the person was male or female.
Faced with the red-caped person's question, the masked man did not speak, merely watching them warily, secretly gathering his power.
"Hehehe, Copper Eleven, you really are cautious!" the red-caped person said, their voice still hoarse. Seeing the other party's silence, they flipped their palm, and a silver object suddenly appeared. It was about a size smaller than a hand and glowed with a silvery light, looking like liquid silver in the moonlight.
The masked man looked closer and saw that the object was carved with a scaleless flood serpent. The serpent bared its sharp fangs, coiling amidst a cloud of mist. When the masked man saw the character for "six" on the serpent's head, his expression finally relaxed, and he spoke in a low, stern voice.
"Silver Six, why the urgent signal to summon me? I've only just established myself. If my absence is discovered, won't all our previous efforts be wasted!"
"Hehehe, this is, of course, the master's will. He wants us to make our move tomorrow night."
The red-caped person let out another low laugh, flipping their hand to put away the silver token. But their words made the masked man start in surprise.
"What? Move tomorrow night? Are you joking? I've only been inside for a few days, I haven't figured out the situation yet…"
Before he could finish, the red-caped person cut him off.
"The master was right. Even you are surprised, let alone that old fellow! This is the master's command. You are to be notified to strike tomorrow at the Hour of the Pig. You only need to take down your target. The others will be dealt with by someone else!"
The masked man was shocked, but the other person was right. A move this soon was completely unexpected for him, let alone for their target.
"Does that mean the master has found a way to deal with the old fellow? And didn't you say that person might be in disguise? My target might not be the real one."
"I know what you're worried about. Relax, the old fellow won't have time to deal with you! You just need to take down your target. The rest is not your concern," the red-caped person said with a wave of their hand.
"Then what's the signal?"
"There is no signal. Just the battle itself!"
"What? You plan to force your way in…" the masked man exclaimed in shock. There were many martial arts masters in Yuhai City, and the government officials were no pushovers. Once a large-scale battle broke out, they could easily be surrounded.
Seeing the hesitation in the masked man's eyes, the red-caped person chuckled.
"Hehehe… the master will arrange everything. Don't worry about other masters from the city interfering, and don't worry too much about being surrounded by soldiers. However, I must remind you, we only have the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn! Alright, that's all I can tell you. Go back and prepare!"
After speaking, the red-caped person's cape billowed out, and they shot into the air like a giant bat. Silhouetted against the round moon, the sea breeze made it seem as if they were about to merge with the moon in the sky.
"Are there any other comrades in the manor? To avoid friendly fire!" the masked man quickly asked.
"Just do your job. Anyone who does not reveal their identity token is not to be trusted!"
The red-caped person's voice drifted back on the wind. Then, with another billow of their blood-red cape, they landed on a distant cliff. With another flicker, they were gone.
…
The next night, inside the Grand Council chambers in the capital, Li Yan stood before rows upon rows of archive shelves. Looking at the sea of documents, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
If it were any other task, he could use numerous immortal arts to help, or even summon a large number of Snow Mosquitos from his Earthen Patch. But this was a search for information about "himself." Even if the Snow Mosquitos found records of "Li Yan," he would still have to verify them one by one. The difference between that and spreading his Divine Sense to check the scrolls one by one was not significant.
At dawn that day, Li Yan had arrived at the heart of the Imperial Dynasty—the capital. Though he was once a citizen of the dynasty, this was his first time here. With his abilities, he had quickly located the Grand Council.