Start from the thief

The Imperial Master turned down all his work today and even asked for leave from the Emperor of Liao. He left the palace early in the morning in a simple carriage without any decorations, accompanied by only one guard.

He was old, and in the court, others would stand while he and the Liao emperor would sit. When traveling, others would ride horses while he would ride in a carriage.

He wanted to go to the south of the city to check out what happened at the Taoist temple, but he was not sure what happened. But no matter what it was, it was not a good thing if it happened now.

The old immortal couldn't hide his aura and had no inner vision to enter the city. If something happened now, it would definitely not be the good thing he wanted.

The national master closed his eyes in the car. He didn't like things to be beyond his expectations, but this kind of thing happened more and more frequently recently.

"Golden Wolf Thief, is that Zhao Yushu?"

The Imperial Master suddenly spoke.

"It's 90% likely to be him. It has to be him. If it's someone else, it will be a big trouble."

The guard driving the car turned around and glanced at the Imperial Master: "You shouldn't doubt it."

The Imperial Master actually lowered his head slightly: "Yes, but I don't understand, if it was someone else, why would it be such a big trouble?"

The guard frowned. "You missed one move in the Central Plains and ended up losing everything. I don't blame you, because compared with Wei Lao San and Di Xiang, and even Li Tong, you only missed one move. Such wisdom is rare. Why did you ask such a stupid question today?"

The imperial teacher lowered his head even more fiercely.

"What if the best person in the world is not an old immortal, but someone you have never heard of?"

The Imperial Master looked up in astonishment.

"Yes, that's what you are like now. You are not prepared at all, and you don't know anything about him. You don't know if he is a man or a woman, what kind of weapon he uses, or what he likes to eat or drink. All you can do is to counter his moves. Let me ask you, how many moves can you counter from this old immortal?"

The guard, or the wolf girl's second uncle, sighed heavily: "So this Golden Wolf Thief must be Zhao Yushu, and can only be Zhao Yushu. If it is anyone else, you and I might as well just commit suicide."

"What about the female assassin from last night?"

"Either she is the woman next to Zhao Yushu, or she is just an ordinary assassin. As long as she is not the seventh disciple accepted by the old immortal, it is not worth wasting our energy. Let her be."

The Imperial Master groaned for a moment and said, "Our agreement is that no matter what you do, you cannot let the Liao Dynasty die with you."

"I did."

The second uncle nodded: "I will also abide by the agreement."

"But after the great event is accomplished, the Tang Dynasty will definitely retaliate if the Liao Kingdom cannot hold on."

"That is the fate of the Liao Dynasty."

The Imperial Master sighed and said, "I really want to meet Prime Minister Di and Mr. Wei."

"Kill them?"

"Haha, after all these years you're still thinking about fighting and killing. I just want to ask them, dynasties rise and fall, hundreds of years is a reincarnation, it seems that nothing has changed, what is our way out?"

Upon hearing this, the second uncle turned around and continued driving the car, his eyes flickering. Perhaps he knew where the way out was.

Although there are quite a few Taoist temples in Linhuang Prefecture, not many of them are open to ordinary people. Two of them are not for missionary purposes, but just serve as offices similar to strongholds.

Lan Ling couldn't just break in to find out what was going on, and she didn't even know where Zhao Yushu was going to find the Taoist priest. She could only try her luck at an ordinary Taoist temple.

The Taoist temple that Lan Ling went to was quite popular. Of course, this was because there were a large number of Tang people in the southern city of Linhuang Prefecture. The Tang people had a very good characteristic. They did not have the so-called sole belief. Basically, they worshipped Buddhism and Taoism. If neither of them worked, there was also a large group of people worshipping the Pure World Red Lotus. Their main point was that they believed in whoever was the most spiritual. It was very practical.

This Taoist temple does not worship the Demon-Subduing Protector of Mount Longhu, but the Northern True Martial Emperor. Lan Ling hesitated for a moment, thinking that it was unlikely that Zhang Tianshi was imprisoned here, but she was afraid that her opponent would do the opposite. She could only wait and see since she was already here.

After worshipping the emperor and paying incense money, Lan Ling even asked for a fortune stick. The kind-looking old Taoist praised this auspicious fortune stick highly, then smiled and waved his hand to refuse Lan Ling's request for more money. Lan Ling finally could not find a reason to continue wandering here.

It seems like I have gained nothing.

Did I come to the wrong place? It doesn't matter, I can just look for it again. Anyway, both Zhao Yushu and I are lucky.

Lan Ling sighed and walked out of the Taoist temple. She subconsciously stepped aside to let a slowly approaching carriage pass. Then she lowered her head and tried to turn around, trying her best to suppress the trembling in her long sleeves. Finally, a crisp and slight breaking sound was heard, and the coarse cloth sleeves were cut into several pieces. A trickle of blood slowly slid down her wrists.

Lan Ling walked away steadily around a corner without saying a word. Her steps, breathing, and heartbeat were not disordered.

The Imperial Master lifted the carriage curtain, stepped out of the carriage wearing a bamboo hat, and just in time saw his second uncle turning his head thoughtfully.

"what happened?"

"Just now, a weak spiritual power spread out, as if some treasure was broken. Unfortunately, I was thinking about something just now and didn't care who went there."

"Catch up and have a look?"

"No need. Neither can arouse our attention, little character."

The two walked into the gate of the Taoist temple side by side, but did not enter the Taoist temple where Lan Ling was just now, but appeared directly at the gate of Zhang Tianshi's courtyard.

Lan Ling walked around for a long time, her ears under her long hair trembling slightly, capturing every movement behind her. After confirming that no one was following her, she let out a sigh and rolled up her sleeves.

Her white right arm was covered in blood, and a piece of bronze fragment was stuck in her arm. She caught the blood dripping along the way with her sleeve, for fear of arousing the slightest suspicion from the man in the carriage.

That ordinary Xuan-level treasure, the hexagram plate that could predict good or bad luck within a certain range, was actually shattered when that person passed by.

There was only one explanation. The bad omen for himself and Zhao Yushu was on him. Zhang Tianshi was indeed in that Taoist temple, and the man in the carriage was the wolf girl's second uncle.

Why is he here now?

What did he notice?

Is Zhao Yushu there now?

Lan Ling resisted the urge to return to the Taoist temple. She simply bandaged her wound and walked back to the winery as if nothing had happened. Then she immediately began to pack her bags.

I might be a little clever, but as a mere fifth level cultivator, I have no chance of winning against someone whose real fighting power can even rival that of an old immortal. Even if the opponent cripples his own hands and feet, I might die just by glaring at him.

The absolute gap in strength cannot be bridged by any strategy, and Zhao Yushu and I have already reached a consensus on this point.

Since Zhao Yushu was most likely trapped in that Taoist temple, there was only one thing he could do now.

Leave immediately, pass the information on, and get him help.

The Imperial Master and the Second Uncle looked at Zhang Tianshi, who looked as calm as ever, and felt even more uneasy.

"what have you done?"

Zhang Tianshi hummed in confusion: "Me? Get up, wash, eat breakfast, do morning lessons, did I miss anything?"

"Where is Zhao Yushu?"

"Zhao Yushu?"

Zhang Tianshi's eyes changed imperceptibly. It turned out to be him.

"He should be in the academy now, but from your looks, he has already arrived at Linhuang Mansion. Haha, that guy is no ordinary guy, Imperial Master. With your level of cultivation, as long as this guy is not around, even for a moment, he can kill you. If I were you, I would definitely search the mansion thoroughly."

The state teacher's face changed slightly, and his mind raced: "Zhao Yushu is right here."