Chapter 139: The Princess Is Missing

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

In the imperial palace of Great Xia, Emperor Yuan Feng looked at the armament manual presented to him. The weapon ranked first on the Yellow-grade Armament Manual was circled in red.

The imperial palace of Great Xia also had a Heavenly Rock. Once any armament manual was updated, someone would immediately copy it and give it to Emperor Yuan Feng.

Emperor Yuan Feng was slightly taken aback as he looked at the words circled in red.

“Great Wei’s imperial preceptor’s arm was severed? When did this happen? Where did it happen?” He asked.

Not long ago, he had even met with Great Wei’s imperial preceptor. At the time, he was still unharmed.

He didn’t care if Great Wei’s imperial preceptor was well or not. What he cared about now was where Great Wei’s imperial preceptor was injured.

If he was injured in Great Xia, there would probably be a dispute.

After all, Great Wei’s imperial preceptor had come to Great Xia as the official ambassador of the Great Wei diplomatic mission. It was also Great Xia’s responsibility if something had happened to him in Great Xia.

“We don’t know.” The officials looked at each other and shook their heads.

If not for the information in the armament manual, they wouldn’t have even known that Great Wei’s Imperial Preceptor Xiao Shunzhi had lost an arm.

“There’s no news from Great Wei for now. This matter should have nothing to do with Great Xia,” A minister said.

If it was related to Great Xia, Great Wei would have sent a letter to negotiate with Great Xia.

But there was no response from Great Wei, which meant that Great Xia wasn’t responsible for this.

In fact, these ministers were also puzzled. They were all important ministers of Great Xia and knew the situation of Great Xia like the back of their hands. In their understanding, there shouldn’t be anyone in Great Xia who could sever the arm of Great Wei’s imperial preceptor.

Emperor Yuan Feng frowned. He put the armament manual aside for the time being and said, “Let’s not talk about this for now. Have you investigated the situation of the You and Bing prefectures?”

Emperor Yuan Feng’s expression was extremely gloomy. Originally, subduing the two prefectures was a joyous occasion. But he didn’t expect that after the Great Wei surrendered, successive events had caused him to sink into depression.

First, Zhou Shu, a county baron, the superintendent of the Forging Division’s 0th Workshop, was abducted in his residence. Then Great General Meng’s residence was suspected of having a traitor. Then his daughter and Marquis Weiyuan’s son went missing!

Now, even the You Prefecture Army and Bing Prefecture Army had disappeared!

As these things happened, Emperor Yuan Feng was not in the mood to pay attention to the changes in the armament manual.

“Your Majesty.” The minister of war took the initiative to step forward and said in a deep voice, “The Ministry of War dispatched a few groups of people there. The Demon Executing Army and Fiend Eradication Army were personally led by their lieutenants. But there’s no news of them at all!

“Right now, the only thing we can confirm is that our people suddenly went missing after entering the You and Bing prefectures. Her Highness and the young marquis have also entered You prefecture…” The minister of war frowned in confusion.

“In other words, we know nothing about the current situation in the You and Bing prefectures?” Emperor Yuan Feng said coldly. “Is it Great Wei?”

“Not likely,” the minister of war said. “According to the scouts of Great Xia, all the Great Wei troops in the You and Bing prefectures have already retreated back to Great Wei. Furthermore, they retreated before the Great Wei diplomatic mission left.”

“You didn’t know about such a big matter beforehand?” Emperor Yuan was stunned.

“I originally thought that it was a normal mobilization of Great Wei’s army. Originally, every few years, they would also—” the minister of war said.

Thump!

An inkstone smashed into the floor in front of him, shattering into pieces.

The minister of war was shocked.

“Your Majesty—”

“Useless!” Emperor Yuan Feng said angrily. “You thought? I’ve reminded you before that Great Wei has wild ambitions. Do any of you take it seriously?

“Great, now we’ve jumped into the obvious trap!”

Even though he didn’t know what exactly was going on, right now, it was clear that there was something wrong with the You and Bing prefectures!

There was a huge problem!

The problem was so big that even Great Wei gave them up!

“I’ll send people to check again…” the minister of war said fearfully.

“And let more people fall into the trap?” Emperor Yuan Feng was enraged. The ten thousand soldiers of the You Prefecture Army and the Bing Prefecture Army had gone missing. How many more people could Great Xia afford to lose?

Emperor Yuan Feng snorted and asked Ma Fengzhang, “Ma Fengzhang! Is there news from the Divine Constable Bureau!”

Ma Fengzhang really wanted to ask, Your Majesty, are you referring to the two prefectures or the kidnapping of the county baron?

But Emperor Yuan Feng was in a fit of anger, and he didn’t dare to ask.

It had to be said that Emperor Yuan Feng was a benevolent emperor. He had ascended the throne for decades, and the number of times he had lost his temper could be counted on one hand.

But the more it was like this, when he was angry, the more shocked everyone was.

“Your Majesty, I followed the clues and investigated. Of the two bodies left in the baron’s mansion, one died from poison, and the other died from a heavy blow. The strength of the attacker was unfathomable, so I suspect that there should have been a third party present.”

“I don’t want to hear your guesses!” Emperor Yuan Feng said coldly. “Tell me the results of your investigation! Who abducted Zhou Shu? Can you save him?! Is the great general’s residence involved in this?!”

Ma Fengzhang felt bitter. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? This is the answer you’re giving me?” Emperor Yuan was furious. “After investigating for so many days, this is what you can tell me?

“This is my Divine Constable Bureau’s commander?”

Ma Fengzhang knelt on one knee in silence.

Regardless of the reason, this was indeed his Divine Constable Bureau’s incompetence.

“Ma Fengzhang! I’ll give you three more days. If you still can’t find anything, then you don’t have to be the commander of the Divine Constable Bureau anymore. Go and investigate the affairs of the You and Bing prefectures. If you can’t come back, then just forget it!” Emperor Yuan Feng said angrily.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” What could Ma Fengzhang say? He could only agree.

“What are you all waiting for? Do you think this has nothing to do with you? Get lost and investigate!” Emperor Yuan Feng looked at the silent ministers and was even angrier.

…

In the mountain range between Great Xia and Great Wei, a figure was shuttling through the forest.

This person was Zhou Shu, whose injuries had mostly recovered.

After he finished recuperating, he wanted to go to Great Wei for revenge.

However, he realized that he knew nothing about Great Wei…

He didn’t even know where Great Wei’s capital was…

In the end, he could only follow the path he came from and return to the place where he caught up with the Great Wei diplomatic mission.

The tents of the Great Wei diplomatic mission were long gone.

He wondered if Xiao Shunzhi had returned to the capital of Great Wei.

Zhou Shu started pondering. Suddenly, his ears twitched. He appeared on top of a large tree with a flash.

Just as he hid, a few figures appeared in the distance.

These figures were wearing the uniform of the Divine Constable Bureau. There were even Spring Embroidered Sabers hanging from their waists.

The Divine Constable Bureau’s divine constables were all ranked martial artists. Initially, ranked martial artists naturally had to be equipped with ranked weapons. But not every ranked martial artist could have access to a ranked weapon.

Or rather, most eighth and ninth-rank martial artists could not afford to buy ranked weapons.

For the Divine Constable Bureau’s divine constables, even if many people had ranked weapons, they would still like to have an extra Spring Embroidered Saber. They treated the Spring Embroidered Saber as the symbol of the Divine Constable Bureau.

“We’ve been searching here for days. We’ve almost dug three feet into the ground, but we still haven’t found anything. What’s there to investigate?”

Zhou Shu heard a divine constable say.

“There’s no other way. The trail ends here,” another divine constable replied. “I heard that our colleagues in the capital have a headache. Did the diplomatic mission of Great Wei kidnap Lord Zhou?”

“Didn’t the Great Wei diplomatic mission deny it?”

Another divine constable shook his head. “If Lord Zhou was with them, they wouldn’t have been able to pass the checkpoint.”

“That’s true.”

The few divine constables chatted as they looked around, as though they were looking for clues.

Zhou Shu, hiding among the leaves, felt his heart skip a beat. Among the divine constables, he saw a familiar face.

Yang Hong!

Does this mean that my secret isn’t exposed?

With this thought in mind, Zhou Shu began to stir.

Previously, in the capital, he didn’t feel anything. This time, after leaving the capital, he realized that he had already treated Great Xia as his home unknowingly.

After leaving Great Xia, he didn’t even know where to go.

If his secret wasn’t exposed, he still wanted to go back to Great Xia and return to the Forging Division to be a superintendent.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Shu gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble.

Anyway, even if he was exposed, no one could stop him if he wanted to leave.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shu jumped down from the tree.

“Divine Constable Yang!”

Yang Hong was searching for clues with his colleagues when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

Who’s calling me in the middle of nowhere?

Suddenly, his body stiffened, and he turned around.

“L-Lord Zhou!” Yang Hong shouted.

“Divine Constable Yang, long time no see. How have you been!” Zhou Shu stared at Yang Hong.

Yang Hong’s expression was a little shocked and a little surprised, but not frightened.

It seems I made the right bet.

Yang Hong rushed in front of Zhou Shu and grabbed Zhou Shu’s arm. After confirming that it wasn’t a dream, he said, “Lord Zhou! Why are you here? I finally found you! Do you know that the capital is in chaos because of your disappearance?”

“Is there such a need? I’m just a mere baron.” Zhou Shu smiled.

“You are no ordinary baron!”

Zhou Shu’s heart tightened as he heard Yang Hong continue.

“You are also the number one Forging Apprentice of Great Xia! You are the one who helped Great Xia to recover the two prefectures!”

Yang Hong said seriously, “If it wasn’t because you went missing, you should be a marquis of Great Xia!”

Back then, Emperor Yuan Feng had given the decree that whoever could help Great Xia win back the two prefectures would be conferred the title of marquis.

“But that hasn’t happened yet.” Zhou Shu breathed a sigh of relief. It seems like Yang Hong really doesn’t know my true strength.

If he doesn’t know, Chang’an probably doesn’t know either.

“Right, why are you here?” Zhou Shu asked.

“I should be the one asking you that.” But Yang Hong still replied, “After you were kidnapped, His Majesty was furious and ordered the Divine Constable Bureau to save you at all costs.

“Look, almost all of our Divine Constable Bureau’s divine constables have been mobilized. Unfortunately, the other party’s methods are shrewd and ruthless, and practically no traces were left behind.”

“Then, how did you get here?” Zhou Shu asked curiously.

He had willingly followed Shen Yue then. Shen Yue had already prepared a backup plan, and with Zhou Shu’s cooperation, he naturally wouldn’t leave any traces.

“Divine Constable Sun, who is the Young Marquis Weiyuan, suspected that you were abducted by the Great Wei diplomatic mission, so he and Her Highness chased after you first. We followed closely behind.

“We chased them all the way to the Great Wei diplomatic mission, but we didn’t find you after searching them, so we could only let them go,” Yang Hong said regretfully. “Lord, did they kidnap you? How did you escape?”

“Someone saved me,” Zhou Shu said confusedly. “You searched the Great Wei diplomatic mission? Then, did you see the official and deputy envoys?”

He was rather curious. Earlier, he had cut off one of Xiao Shunzhi’s arms, so Xiao Shunzhi shouldn’t have had the courage to return to the diplomatic mission.

And Shen Yue had already died in his hands.

A diplomatic mission without the official and deputy envoys around, did Yang Hong and the rest not notice anything unusual?

“Of course we did.” Yang Hong didn’t understand what he meant. “They were very cooperative. At first, I didn’t expect them to be so cooperative. Shen Yue looked very arrogant, but he actually let us search the diplomatic mission.”

Zhou Shu’s pupils contracted.

Yang Hong met Shen Yue?

How is this possible!?

I killed Shen Yue personally. He died under the Great Destroyer Sword!

Even the Legendary Armament Canon gave me benefits for it. How could Yang Hong have seen him?

Zhou Shu stared at Yang Hong. Yang Hong didn’t seem to be lying, and the divine constables behind him also appeared calm.

“Lord, who saved you? Did you see Her Highness and the young marquis?” Yang Hong continued.

“No, they’re nearby too?” Zhou Shu shook his head. He was very puzzled now. What’s wrong? Who is the person Yang Hong and his group saw?

Or could it be that the person I killed wasn’t Shen Yue?

“We don’t know either,” Yang Hong said, “We haven’t heard from Her Highness for a few days.”

Zhou Shu was stunned. He temporarily recollected his thoughts and asked, “No news for days? What do you mean?”

“Initially, when Her Highness and the young marquis chased after the Great Wei diplomatic mission, we agreed that they would leave a mark along the way. We followed the mark to this place. Today is already the seventh day. There has been no news from Her Highness and the young marquis ever since,” Yang Hong explained.

“News came from the Ministry of State Affairs. The You Prefecture Army and Bing Prefecture Army have also gone missing. They didn’t receive any news from Her Highness and the young marquis after they entered You Prefecture either.”

“What do you mean?” Zhou Shu didn’t understand. He frowned. “What do you mean you have received any messages from them after they entered You Prefecture? Have they gone missing?”

“I don’t know.” Yang Hong shook his head. “We have colleagues following them. It seems like as long as anyone enters the borders of the You and Bing prefectures, they will go missing.. Even sound transmission stones will lose their effectiveness.”

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