Half an hour later, inside Heaven Dou City.
The city gates opened, and countless soldiers flooded into the streets.
"By decree of His Majesty, the entire city is under lockdown. No one is permitted to appear on the streets!"
Around the Moon Pavilion, thud, thud, thud, the sound of synchronized marching filled the air, followed by knocking at the gates.
"Who's there?!" A guard opened the gate with a displeased look.
"Search!" came the single reply, followed by the orderly advance of the Royal Knight regiment pouring inside.
"Any who resist the search, kill without mercy!" At these words, the gate guard immediately froze, not daring to move.
Upstairs, in one of the rooms, another guard pressed a button by the bed.
In the rear courtyard, Tang Yuehua was jolted awake by the ringing of the alarm bell by her bedside, her face instantly changing.
Without time to think, she grabbed a robe from beside the bed, slipped it on, and hurried into the hallway.
"Xiao San." She knocked on Tang San's door.
Tang San woke instantly, quickly got up, and opened the door.
"The situation is urgent, come with me." Tang Yuehua said quickly, before turning back toward her bedroom.
Though puzzled, Tang San followed without hesitation.
Tang Yuehua rushed to her wardrobe, pulled it open, and lightly kicked the darkened corner inside.
Creak, creak—the wardrobe slid aside, revealing a one-meter-wide underground passage.
"Hurry, get inside." Tang Yuehua urged.
"The most dangerous place is often the safest. Xiao San, use this secret passage to leave the city, investigate what's happening, and only return after some time. Right now, you haven't yet met my requirements, so I can't give you the map. There's no time—go!"
"Aunt, can you at least tell me the conditions for entering that place?" Tang San seized the chance to ask as he climbed down.
"Strong power, strong spiritual force, and absolute rationality." Tang Yuehua answered, quickly sliding the wardrobe back into place.
Then she ran to Tang San's room, gathered his belongings into a soul tool, and tidied the bed neatly.
Her courtyard had been specially designed with top-tier soundproofing and warning devices—any sounds from within couldn't be heard outside. For years she had lived alone in Heaven Dou City, managing the Moon Pavilion and gathering resources for the sect, so she always took precautions.
Soon, faint vibrations trembled through the ground.
In the tunnel, Tang San's expression darkened. Without hesitation, he turned and hurried forward, carefully wiping away traces as he went.
Dong, dong, dong—knocking sounded at the door.
"You think you can fool me?!"
Dugu Bo, dragging Yang Yunhai, descended from the sky, kicked the door open, and strode into the main hall.
"Who's there!" Tang Yuehua, who had just rushed back to her own room and lay down feigning sleep, called out in alarm.
"You, search the other rooms," Dugu Bo ordered as he led Yang Yunhai straight to her bedroom.
"Yes!" The Royal Knights filed past them, scattering to other areas.
Yang Yunhai's eyes glowed with golden light as he swept the surroundings.
Though his vision could penetrate, it couldn't pierce thick stone reinforced with metal. Clearly, Tang Yuehua's house had been built with care. With no trace of Tang San elsewhere, the only possibility was here.
Creak. Tang Yuehua, clad in only a robe, opened the door. In front of her stood the towering figure of Dugu Bo, his right sleeve stained with blood, and beside him, Yang Yunhai with cold eyes, his left sleeve soaked in crimson.
Her heart lurched. She bowed slightly. "I did not expect His Excellency Dugu to visit at this hour. May I ask the purpose?"
"You should ask your second brother, Tang Hao." Dugu Bo's tone was icy. "Wearing a human-skin mask, sneaking into my academy during the day, hiding in an empty room, and then slipping out at night."
"What do you think he intended to do?"
Tang Yuehua's heart tightened, but she furrowed her brows. "Excellency, surely you jest?"
"Jest?" Dugu Bo sneered, flicking his hand. A mutilated corpse dropped onto the floor. "See for yourself!"
Tang Yuehua looked down. Her pupils shrank. Though the face was bloodied and the skull cracked, the features were recognizable.
It was her second brother, Tang Hao—stripped of soul bones, his chest pierced through.
"Second Brother!" she cried, collapsing to the floor, tears streaming as she reached for him.
But Dugu Bo raised a hand, pulling the body into the air before vanishing it away. "Looks like I didn't mistake him."
"Give him back! Return my brother to me!" Tang Yuehua's grief turned into fury.
"Take her away. This woman sheltered a wanted criminal—bring her in for questioning!" Dugu Bo barked.
Tang Yuehua forced herself to calm, pleading, "Excellency, Tang Hao may have left the sect, but he still shared my blood. I don't know why he attacked you, but it was wrong of him. Yet now he's dead."
"No matter his crimes, the dead deserve rest. You already claimed his soul bones. Please, allow me to bury him properly, for the sake of our shared bloodline."
The knights hesitated, moved by her words, but awaited orders.
'Clever woman.' Dugu Bo's eyes glinted. "If you want the body, claim it tomorrow at the execution grounds."
'So vicious—ruin my brother's name even in death, and stain Clear Sky Sect's reputation, all while luring Xiao San into the open.' Tang Yuehua bit her lip until it bled, but she had no choice. If the sect was dragged in, it would spell disaster.
"Excellency…" she began again, but Yang Yunhai suddenly cut in, eyes sweeping the room.
"There's a secret passage." He strode toward the wardrobe.
"You, watch her." Dugu Bo followed closely.
'Xiao San, you must not be inside…' Tang Yuehua turned quickly, hiding her panic.
How had Yang Yunhai discovered it?
He stopped before the wardrobe. "Beneath here."
With a stomp, Dugu Bo shattered the floor, collapsing the wardrobe and revealing a dark tunnel beneath.
Without hesitation, both men leapt down.
"An aqueduct." Soon, they realized it was a modified drainage passage, wider than ordinary, with a stone walkway along the side.
They pressed on until they emerged from a drainage outlet beyond the city walls.
Moonlight lit the overgrown fields, the stench of water heavy in the air.
Swish. Both men landed on a nearby slope, scanning the area.
Yang Yunhai closed his eyes, unleashing Blue Silver Grass perception—but found nothing.
"Nothing." He opened his eyes, sighing.
"The footprints inside were deliberately erased. Even your perception couldn't track him. Clearly, Tang San avoided the forests deliberately. Cunning boy," Dugu Bo frowned. "With our current evidence, we can't accuse Tang Yuehua directly."
"Perhaps tomorrow at the execution ground we'll gain something," Yang Yunhai said quietly. "I noticed a warning device in her room earlier—it must've alerted her when the knights entered."
"Should've just stormed her courtyard directly," Dugu Bo muttered darkly.
Yang Yunhai shook his head. "He's disguised now—he could be a guard, a student, even a stablehand. We failed because we lacked intel. The Moon Pavilion is vast, like a noble's garden with streams and fake hills. Even knowing there might be a tunnel, its exact location wasn't certain. And we didn't know what identity Tang San had assumed."
'Tang Yuehua placing him so openly at her side… I didn't expect that.'
This time, their cleverness had backfired.
"Forget it, let's go." Dugu Bo sighed.
"Mm." Yang Yunhai nodded. They turned back into the tunnel, retracing their path.
Elsewhere, Tang San paused downstream in the waterway. Rage burned in him at his disgraceful escape, yet relief mingled within.
Originally, he should have been living with the other guards.
But since he had only just arrived, Tang Yuehua had wanted to teach him Moon Pavilion's inner workings, etiquette, and rules, to avoid mistakes that might expose him. That was why she arranged for him to stay in her courtyard.
He knew too—it was also because she was lonely. For years, Tang Yuehua had managed the Moon Pavilion alone, so she cherished this newfound nephew.
He hadn't expected that this very arrangement would, by a twist of fate, let him escape disaster.
'Perhaps even the heavens themselves cannot stomach what Yang Yunhai has done to me, and thus granted me this escape. One day, I will kill him!'
"Find a place to rest first. Tomorrow, I'll return to Heaven Dou City and investigate." With that, he left.
(End of Chapter)
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