TGCFNM -Chapter 506 Movements Like Flowing Clouds and Water

Bai Su looked at the thin incense stick wedged in the edge of the door frame, slightly surprised, and turned her head back.

In the nearby courtyard, Su He was lying there, seemingly holding an empty tube in his mouth. If she wasn’t mistaken, the incense had been packed into that tube and blown over.

Chu Ling had also climbed up by then. When she met Bai Su’s gaze, she whispered, “Impressive, Coroner Su.”

Su He casually nodded, flipped over first, and then carefully probed around. Upon confirming that everyone inside was indeed unconscious, he quickly snuffed out the incense and collected the items.

Every movement was smooth and seamless, leaving the evidence completely cleared away.

Bai Su stood beside Su He, watching him put away the incense and then signaling Chu Ling to come down.

Chu Ling climbed down the wall, cautiously pushed open a small crack in the window, and peeked inside. “Everyone’s down?”

Su He looked in as well, whispering, “So strange… such a big secret meeting, and they didn’t bring any guards?”

A thought struck Chu Ling. She pushed open the door and carefully stepped inside, meticulously searching the room.

Su He also entered and began looking around.

After a while, Chu Ling paused, looked at the tip of her foot, and then tapped lightly to test it before kneeling down and pressing on it.

Su He instantly understood, fetched a small dresser from inside the room, and once Chu Ling moved aside, pressed it down to cover the area.

“There’s a secret passage under here. If they notice something’s wrong, they could take someone away immediately,” Chu Ling said, sitting on the fallen dresser, considering if they should place something else on top.

As Su He was also thinking about what else they could use to weigh it down, suddenly the commotion outside grew louder.

“No way, people are coming, right?” Chu Ling hissed, then dashed outside with Su He.

No sooner had Chu Ling stepped out than the dresser inside began shaking violently. At the same time, Zhang Dong had already driven a carriage bringing in the Imperial Guards.

Mei Gao’s subordinate’s face turned sour. Seeing someone fly out of the carriage and rush into the courtyard, he had no choice but to order his men to charge in.

The instant they rushed in, the dresser inside was overturned, and a group of people suddenly poured out.

Mei Gao’s subordinates’ faces changed, and they commanded their men to charge further.

Meanwhile, Yuan Luo, having completed his task, slipped back along the corner of the wall into the carriage, startling the two people inside.

“You’re still here?” Yuan Luo said, holding his rapidly beating heart and letting out a breath.

Chu Ling instructed Zhang Dong, “Go to the Xuanyuan Mansion. Keep some distance.”

Zhang Dong groaned but urged his steed to run.

Not long after the carriage left, Wan Sanjin arrived with Lord Lu.

Lord Lu arrived in a grand manner with a team of men borrowed from the government offices, coinciding with Mei Gao’s subordinates inside.

Mei Gao’s men immediately saluted. “Lord Lu, Xuanyuan Zheng, who should have been under strict supervision, secretly escaped and met with the Prince Qi. We don’t know what they were discussing.”

Lu Shi, wearing a terrifying and formidable expression, glanced at the chaotic scene inside, raised his hand, and ordered people to assist immediately.

With Lu Shi’s men helping, the situation was quickly brought under control. Lu Shi also entered the room and saw the passage beneath the moved dresser.

“Send people, investigate!” Lu Shi barked.

“Yes!”

At this moment, Lu Chong carefully stepped forward, glanced at Lu Shi, and hesitated, “My lord…”

“Did that monkey take the chance to escape?” Lu Shi’s eyes widened with fury. Just the thought of being awakened by someone violently pounding on his door while he was sleeping in his inner robe made him nearly see red.

Lu Chong awkwardly nodded. “He didn’t want me to say anything, then quietly ran off.”

It was the first time he had seen Lord Lu with his hair in disarray, in his inner robe, eyes half-closed with sleep, without even his outer robe, being dragged into the courtyard and almost forced outside.

Had he not reacted quickly, Lord Lu’s lifetime reputation would have been completely ruined.

Lu Shi’s face turned iron-gray. Looking at the group of people tied up inside the room, he ground his teeth and muttered, “I’ll settle accounts with them later!”

“Guards, take Prince Qi and Xuanyuan Zheng and lock them in the main prison. I will report to His Majesty first thing tomorrow!” Lu Shi said, then swept his sleeve and left.

“Yes, sir!”

The Xuanyuan residence was once again surrounded. All the guarding soldiers wore stern expressions, their swords strapped to their waists, no longer in the chaotic state from before.

At this point, there was no way for Chu Ling to simply sneak over.

So she had to create some kind of commotion.

Su He handed Yuan Luo a few packets of powder, then looked at him with trust. “Senior Brother Yuan Luo, look ahead, yes, in that direction. Sprinkle the powder, then ignite it. There will immediately rise clusters of ghost fire, bluish in color.”

Yuan Luo: “……”

If he wasn’t blind, wouldn’t he have noticed the long line of soldiers over there?

“Can I do it?” Yuan Luo asked through gritted teeth.

“I believe you can. You mustn’t bring shame to the disciples of the Tianjian Sect,” Su He said earnestly, then took out a few more packets of powder. “Once the ghost fire appears, I’ll apply the poison. Let’s work well together.”

Yuan Luo took the powder silently, wearing an expression of “if I die, I die,” and dashed forward, hiding behind the large tree.

Under the stunned gaze of the soldiers, Yuan Luo scattered the powder and, in the same motion, kicked over a torch, igniting the powder.

Immediately, clusters of pale blue flames erupted.

One of the guards cried out in alarm, “Ghost fire! It’s ghost fire!”

“Help! Someone call for help!”

“Someone’s setting fire!”

Su He glanced at Chu Ling, gave her a reassuring gesture, then swooped in to begin applying the poison.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Chu Ling slipped into the Xuanyuan residence. With the help of Bai Su and Ghost Scholar, she made his way smoothly to the backyard, grabbed a servant, forced him to reveal Xuanyuan Zheng’s quarters, then knocked him out and dragged him aside.

“This little servant dresses quite well,” Chu Ling muttered.

Ghost Scholar looked down at him. “This person seems like one of the Xuanyuan family’s young masters…”

Chu Ling waved dismissively. “Doesn’t matter.” She followed the direction the servant indicated and found the courtyard.

“There’s someone in the courtyard!” Bai Su floated in first. After observing for a while, she came back out and pulled Chu Ling to hurry. “That area’s a trap. The quarters are further ahead.”

Once they reached the main quarters, Chu Ling climbed into the courtyard and quietly asked, “Did the people inside say anything?”

Bai Su nodded with amusement. “When I approached, I overheard them talking about being prepared for anything—if someone attacked at night, they’d capture them and claim it was a setup. They even withdrew the guards outside Xuanyuan Zheng’s quarters, making it seem like no one was watching. It wasn’t considered important.”

Chu Ling clicked her tongue. “The Xuanyuan family really does have multiple precautions.” She then lit her fire starter, located Xuanyuan Zheng’s study, and in her room, saw the vase placed next to the desk.

Chu Ling carefully inverted the vase, and a porcelain bottle fell out from inside.