He's investigating me. He's been investigating me this whole time!
That sentence kept echoing in Liu Xiaolou's mind. His thoughts went completely blank for a moment. Because once the other man said that, it meant he'd already connected the escape of Lord Xingde to him.
What was going to happen next. Liu Xiaolou had no idea.
But the blankness only lasted a second. He quickly pulled himself together, barely. He forced himself to look calm, pretending to think as his eyes drifted upward, mostly just to avoid meeting the other man's gaze.
"Yes, I did go to Tianmen Market once. I was in seclusion for half a month, ran out of dry food, and had to go out to buy something to eat. But I didn't leave seclusion for good. I stocked up and went right back."
"Where did you buy it?"
"Hongji Tavern."
"How long were you there?"
"I got a table and stayed until pretty late."
"With who?"
"The owner of Hongji Tavern. We knew each other back in the day. He made it big later on, but whenever I have some free time, I drop by to catch up."
"Wei Hongqing?"
"Yes."
"What did you two talk about?"
"Just the usual; what we've been up to since we last saw each other… Oh, and I mentioned I was working on refining a formation disk. Actually, the reason I even went to Xingde Mountain in the first place was because of a tip from him. He said there was a rogue cultivator there named Lord Xingde who was skilled in refining formation disks. Otherwise, how would I have even known someone like that existed?"
Hou Sheng suddenly stopped asking questions. He stared at Liu Xiaolou with suspicion in his eyes. By now, Liu Xiaolou had regained his composure. He met Hou Sheng's gaze head-on, calm and steady, with nothing but sincerity in his eyes.
It was hard to tell how much time passed before Hou Sheng finally asked the question he'd been holding back all along:
"Where is Lord Xingde?"
Liu Xiaolou's eyes widened in surprise. "Xing Dejun?" he asked in confusion. "Isn't he on Xingde Mountain?"
Hou Sheng narrowed his eyes. "Take everything out of your robe."
Liu Xiaolou frowned. "What's the meaning of this, Inspector Hou? What crime have I committed?"
Suddenly, Hou Sheng struck. He grabbed Liu Xiaolou by the shoulder, sending a surge of true qi into his body. Liu Xiaolou fought the urge to strike back. The true qi tunneled into his arm, and it felt like thousands of ants were gnawing at his bones. Sweat poured from his forehead in thick droplets.
"Where is Lord Xingde? Tell me, and it'll count as a meritorious act. Everything before this will be overlooked. You'll even be rewarded. Think carefully."
He reached into Liu Xiaolou's robe and pulled out a few pieces of dried meat, a couple ounces of broken silver, and a small piece of plain soft jade. Finding nothing useful, he then unhooked the jade pendant hanging from Liu Xiaolou's waist and turned it over in his hand, inspecting it closely.
"This… is this the formation disk?"
The pain became too much for Liu Xiaolou to bear, and he finally let out a groan.
"After I left the mountain… I haven't seen Lord Xingde. I really don't know… where he is. It's not like… he would've told me… Inspector Hou, I can't take it anymore; my arm's going numb… I swear I'm innocent…"
Fear was already creeping in his heart. Thankfully, he hadn't brought certain things with him. If he had… today might've been the end.
Hou Sheng glared at him for a while longer. Seeing that Liu Xiaolou still wouldn't talk, he finally withdrew his true qi and let go. Liu Xiaolou collapsed to the ground, gasping for air in ragged breaths.
"Lord Xingde committed a serious crime," Hou Sheng said coldly. "He's caused a huge mess. Even if he runs to the ends of the earth, the Qingyu Sect will hunt him down. Think carefully. If you remember anything, let me know immediately.
"Go to Dongting Lake. There's a lotus pond that stretches to the horizon. By the pond, there's a small pavilion. On the left side of the entrance, under the third stone tile, leave me a message with your location. No later than three days. I'll come find you."
He shook the formation disk in his hand.
"This disk is contraband. I'll be holding on to it for now. If you remember anything, find me, and you'll get it back. Understood?"
He crouched down and lightly tapped Liu Xiaolou's cheek.
"You'd better think hard. Lord Xingde's not getting away. And when he's caught, if he names you as an accomplice… you won't be walking away alive."
It was a long time after Hou Sheng left before Liu Xiaolou could finally stand. He leaned against the wall and slowly made his way out of First Alley, going over everything that had just happened, turning it over again and again in his mind.
One thing was clear: Hou Sheng only suspected him; he wasn't sure. Probably just saw him as one of several possible leads. Otherwise, why would he have let him go so easily?
But how did he know I'd been to Hongji Tavern?
That day, only a handful of people saw him there. And even fewer would recognize him. As for those who actually knew what he was doing, it was just Young Master Lu and Steward Zhang. Both of them were already corpses in coffins. No way they could've given him up.
Wei Hongqing wouldn't have exposed him either. That left only the innkeeper and a few waiters, but none of them knew the truth. So just knowing he'd been at Hongji Tavern didn't prove anything on its own.
Still, it didn't really matter. Now that Hou Sheng had him on the list of suspects, that alone was trouble. In the eyes of a major sect, someone like him, a lone, low-level cultivator, was as insignificant as an ant. Once they had their sights set on him, evidence didn't matter all that much.
Liu Xiaolou thought it over as he walked along the Wuchao River, following the water for about two li. Then, without warning, he jumped in with a splash. Clinging to the riverbank weeds just below the surface, he quietly swam about a quarter of a li downstream. Only once night had fully fallen did he climb out, hiding in the shadows until he was sure no one had followed him. Then he slipped quietly back into the house he kept in town.
Hou Sheng probably didn't know he had a place here in Wuchao Town. If he did, all it would take was a search of the property, and they'd find the Purple Pole Sect's sect leader's token and the Thousandfold Formulas—both things Lord Xingde had left behind. In that case, it definitely wouldn't have ended with just a round of questioning.
As soon as he stepped into the house, Big White in the kitchen was gnawing on a piece of cured meat. When it saw Liu Xiaolou return, it flapped its wings and rushed over to greet him.
Liu Xiaolou held the goose's long neck and petted it gently for a moment before hurrying to check the house. He looked over everything carefully and saw no signs that the place had been searched. Most importantly, the bundle he'd hidden was still tucked safely in the gap under the bedboard. The knot he'd tied it with hadn't been touched.
He opened it and checked. Inside were the token, the formation manual, the scripture, and five spirit stones. Everything was there. He let out a small breath of relief.
He didn't dare light a lamp, so he sat in the dark, thinking quietly. His mind went to the formation disk he'd poured his heart into, and the loss felt like a knife to the chest. Three whole months, how many places had he traveled? How much effort had he spent gathering rare materials? How many spirit stones had gone into that project? The memory of all that work came flooding back, and the more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
After a long while, he slung the bundle over his back, picked up Big White, and set off for Wulong Mountain under cover of night. Once there, he carefully hid the bundle, settled the goose into a safe spot, changed his clothes, and immediately headed back down the mountain, making straight for the marketplace at Tianmen Mountain.
By dawn, he had reached the market. He found a quiet corner and waited, staying there until noon, when the streets began to fill with people. Then he pulled his bamboo hat down low over his face and moved with the crowd toward Hongji Tavern.
Just as he was about to slip inside unnoticed, someone behind him called out excitedly, "Brother! What a surprise, seeing you again!"
Liu Xiaolou froze. He turned around slowly and got a good look at the speaker.
The man was also wearing a bamboo hat and had a sneaky, weaselly look about him. It was Yan Sanfei. The same guy who had hawked Heart-Nourishing Pills to him last winter.