Chapter 48
The dungeon had finally grown quiet again after the ministers left.
Pei Sijing sat against the wall, rubbing her temples.
Across from her, Zhuo Yichen was deep in thought.
Something still felt wrong.
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke.
“When Li Lun burned away…”
Pei Sijing looked up.
“What about it?”
Yichen frowned.
“There was no inner core.”
The room became still.
For powerful demons, the destruction of the body usually left traces behind.
An inner core.
Residual spiritual energy.
Something.
But Li Lun had left nothing.
Almost as though he had simply vanished.
Pei Sijing’s expression slowly changed.
“You think he’s alive?”
Yichen lowered his gaze.
“I don’t know.”
A pause.
“But Li Lun was never easy to kill.”
The memory of those final moments resurfaced.
The Undying Wood.
The flames.
The tears in Zhao Yuanzhou’s eyes.
Everything had happened too quickly.
Too neatly.
And Li Lun had never been someone who accepted endings.
“If there is no inner core…”
Yichen murmured.
“Then either he truly ceased to exist…”
His eyes narrowed.
“…or he’s waiting somewhere.”
Neither possibility was comforting.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city-
Wen Xiao and Ying Lei sat atop a rooftop overlooking the bustling streets.
Both were investigating the mysterious shape-shifting demon that had been appearing repeatedly throughout the recent incidents.
Wen Xiao kicked her legs over the edge.
“This is impossible.”
Ying Lei blinked.
“What is?”
“The demon changes faces every few hours.”
“At this point it could be a minister.”
“A guard.”
“A merchant.”
“A goat.”
Ying Lei stared.
“A goat?”
“You never know.”
“That seems unlikely.”
Wen Xiao pointed at him.
“That’s exactly what a suspicious goat would want you to think.”
Ying Lei fell silent.
After several moments, he wisely decided not to continue that discussion.
Instead, he said:
“I have a technique.”
Wen Xiao immediately sat upright.
“You do?”
Ying Lei nodded.
“My grandfather taught it to me.”
“What kind?”
The young mountain god looked toward the horizon.
“If I can find an object that the shape-shifter touched recently…”
A faint golden light appeared in his eyes.
“…I can trace the lingering spiritual imprint.”
Wen Xiao’s eyes widened.
“That’s amazing!”
Ying Lei looked slightly pleased.
Then added:
“It only works if the target isn’t stronger than me.”
Wen Xiao’s excitement dropped slightly.
“Oh.”
“And if the trail isn’t older than seven days.”
“Oh.”
“And if I don’t make a mistake.”
“Oh.”
“And if-“
“Stop talking.”
Ying Lei blinked.
“What?”
“I liked it better when it sounded invincible.”
The mountain god looked genuinely confused.
“But that’s not how techniques work.”
Wen Xiao sighed dramatically.
“One day reality will stop disappointing me.”
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While Zhuo Yichen remained imprisoned, Wen Xiao and Ying Lei continued their investigation.
To avoid attracting attention, the two came up with a very questionable plan.
“We need disguises.”
Ying Lei nodded.
“Agreed.”
Half an hour later-
they looked like an elderly married couple.
Wen Xiao stared at her reflection.
Her hair had been turned completely white.
Wrinkles covered her face.
A wooden cane rested in her hand.
She looked ninety.
Ying Lei looked even worse.
His fake beard was crooked.
His back was bent.
And he kept forgetting he was supposed to walk slowly.
“You walk like a healthy twenty-year-old.”
Wen Xiao whispered.
“I’ve never been eighty before.”
“Neither have I!”
The two shuffled awkwardly through the streets.
Surprisingly, it worked.
No one paid attention to them.
Following the lingering scent left behind by the mysterious shape-shifter, Ying Lei carefully activated his tracking technique.
Golden light flickered in his eyes.
After a few moments, he stopped.
His expression changed.
“I found it.”
Wen Xiao immediately leaned forward.
“Where?”
Ying Lei pointed toward a luxurious building in the distance.
“Tianxiang Pavilion.”
The scent trail ended there.
Without hesitation, the pair entered.
The pavilion was crowded with nobles, merchants, musicians, and guests.
The perfect place for someone to hide.
Ying Lei quietly followed the scent while Wen Xiao distracted curious onlookers with her surprisingly convincing old-lady complaints.
“My husband has terrible eyesight.”
“His memory is worse.”
“I don’t even know why I married him.”
Ying Lei looked offended.
“You proposed.”
The surrounding guests laughed.
Meanwhile, hidden among the crowd, the shape-shifter finally realized it had been discovered.
Ao Yin.
A powerful demon skilled at disguises…
Just as it attempted to slip away, Ying Lei threw a packet of Huansan Powder into the air.
The powder exploded.
A cloud of white mist spread throughout the pavilion.
Ao Yin stumbled.
Its disguise immediately began to crack.
Before everyone’s eyes, its human appearance distorted.
Limbs twisted.
Features shifted.
Dark demonic energy erupted outward.
Gasps filled the pavilion.
Several guests screamed.
“It’s a demon!”
“A shape-shifter!”
“So it wasn’t Commander Zhuo!”
The accusations that had haunted Yichen for days instantly began to crumble.
Everyone present had now witnessed the truth.
Ao Yin had been impersonating others.
Including the person seen in the Prime Minister’s carriage.
At that moment, Ying Lei rushed forward.
Ao Yin transformed completely and smashed through a wooden screen.
“Stop!”
Wen Xiao shouted.
The chase continued across rooftops and courtyards.
Tiles shattered beneath their feet.
Spiritual energy flashed through the night.
For a moment, it seemed they might catch him.
But Ao Yin was experienced.
As they entered a courtyard, a burst of dark mist suddenly erupted.
Visibility vanished.
When the smoke cleared-
Ao Yin was gone.
Only silence remained.
Wen Xiao groaned dramatically.
“So close!”
Ying Lei looked around carefully.
The scent trail had completely disappeared.
“He escaped.”
For a moment, both felt disappointed.
Then Wen Xiao crossed her arms.
“Actually…”
Ying Lei looked at her.
“We still won.”
He blinked.
“We did?”
She grinned.
“The whole pavilion saw Ao Yin reveal his true form.”
Understanding slowly dawned on him.
The accusations against Zhuo Yichen had depended entirely upon false appearances.
And now those appearances had been exposed.
Publicly.
Ying Lei finally smiled.
For the first time all evening.
“Commander Zhuo’s name can finally be cleared.”
Far away inside the prison, Zhuo Yichen knew nothing of the chaos unfolding outside.
But fate had finally begun moving in his favor.
And for the first time in many days-
hope was returning.