CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 325

Lan Tian dashed all the way to the bamboo forest and hid behind a rockery. With a flip of his hand, a talisman appeared in his palm. It was a Path-finding Talisman. He folded it a few times into a paper crane and injected spiritual energy into it, then threw it towards the bamboo forest.

The paper crane fluttered forward unsteadily, and as soon as it entered the bamboo forest, it suddenly burst into flames without any ignition source and instantly turned into ash.

As soon as the paper crane burned, Lan Tian immediately fled from behind the rockery. He enhanced his speed with spiritual energy, leaping through the air and vanishing into the night. Along the way, he turned corners around several gardens and concealed himself in a bush.

That was close; he almost got caught in the act. An Array indeed had been set up in the bamboo forest, and the Path-finding Talisman had attracted the attention of the hidden cultivator.

Hardly had Lan Tian left when a dark figure appeared out of nowhere in the bamboo forest. His Divine Sense swept across the area, including the rockery where Lan Tian had hidden. Fortunately, she had the foresight to run fast, otherwise, she would have indeed been caught.

"The escape was fast. I didn’t expect that in such a low plane, other cultivators would exist," the dark figure murmured a few words to himself and then vanished into thin air.

...

Lan Tian hid for a while and, seeing that no cultivators pursued her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Realizing it was almost time to meet up, she slapped on an Invisibility Talisman and walked out of the bushes, heading towards the garden and secretly entering with the invisibility active.

By the time Lan Tian arrived, Hua Kongque, Zhang Shenjing, Yang Lan, and Ye Junying were already there at the pavilion. Everyone’s expressions were grave and ugly. Upon seeing Lan Tian, they all looked behind her. Seeing no one followed her, their expressions turned to disappointment.

Lan Tian formed a spiritual energy shield that enveloped the entire pavilion.

"Brother Hua, Mr. Zhang, how is the situation on your side?" Lan Tian felt the situation must be grim, but still asked to see if there was any other information.

"None of the girls listed on the roster were seen in the garden or near the Hua Hall," Hua Kongque reported the situation he gathered.

"I’ve asked around, all those girls had come, but after entering the mansion, they separated from their family members, and nobody has seen them since; they seem to have disappeared suddenly," Zhang Shenjing followed up on the matter. The others could guess where he had gotten his information from.

"I searched with Yang Lan; we couldn’t find the Crown Prince near the garden nor did we see Camp Commander Mo. We also searched in farther courtyards, but saw neither of them. From what we’ve heard, it seems no one saw the Crown Prince or Camp Commander Mo," Ye Junying spoke increasingly angrily; they had never felt so stifled.

"It’s like seeing a ghost. How could people just disappear suddenly? Either someone is deliberately hiding this, not wanting us to know. I think there’s something very eerie about this mansion; it feels chilly as if there’s something unclean here. Do you guys feel that too?" Zhang Shenjing looked around, shivered, and rubbed his arm.

Lan Tian: "..."

It had to be said, sometimes Zhang Shenjing’s intuition was quite accurate.

"Tch," Ye Junying scoffed, "Unclean things? Why don’t you say immortals exist in this world too? No wonder your family elder has headaches."

"Enough, stop talking nonsense. The Crown Prince has disappeared; think about what to do!" Yang Lan kicked the stone table in front of him irritably. Instead of arguing, it would be better to think about how to account for this to the family elder and how to rescue the Crown Prince and the others.

"Should we inform the family elder and send people over to search the mansion thoroughly, digging three feet into the ground if necessary? I refuse to believe we can’t find them," Ye Junying said with a face full of viciousness, the ferocity in his eyes flashing by. The disappearance of the Crown Prince right under their noses only meant their incompetence.

"No, you’re being too reckless with this approach; It’s easy to alert the enemy and they might move the Crown Prince somewhere else, then where would we find him? Even if they are still hiding in the mansion and we besiege them, cornering them can drive them to desperate measures. If it comes to the point where they fight to the death using the Crown Prince’s safety as a threat, what should we do?" Zhang Shenjing disagreed, finding the plan too risky and costly, beyond their ability to bear.

"We can’t do this, we can’t do that, so what do you suggest we do?" Yang Lan burst out in frustration, punching the stone table causing it to tremble continuously.

"Sister, what do you think?" During the relentless debate, Hua Kongque suddenly asked Lan Tian for her opinion.

The three debaters turned to look at her. Both Yang Lan and Ye Junying glanced at Hua Kongque, puzzled as to why he would ask Lan Tian, a young girl, believing she couldn’t possibly have a solution.

Lan Tian: "..."

Cultivators’ methods are profound and inscrutable; a powerful cultivator can create a world of their own, hiding a few people is no big deal, and it would be strange if they could find them.

"Mr. Zhang is right, we shouldn’t publicize this matter. Having the army show up might induce panic, making it even easier for accidents to occur. You all go back to Hua Hall first, discreetly protect Mr. Ji and the others. If their target is the Ji Family, they won’t just capture Ji Feng; Mr. Ji will also be in danger. If their target is not just the Ji Family but the Ji Faction, then all the senior gentlemen are in danger..."

These words from Lan Tian weren’t spoken to alarm others. The banquet hosted by the cultivators themselves was suspicious, and she couldn’t guess their intentions, but it was certain that it wasn’t set up to entertain them.

The group exchanged looks, finding Lan Tian’s points quite reasonable. The thought of the senior gentlemen going missing sent chills down their spines.

"Why would they capture the Crown Prince if the target is the gentlemen?" Yang Lan pondered for a moment, but couldn’t find a reason and couldn’t help but ask.

"Ji Feng just had bad luck. Maybe he discovered some clues. They were looking for an opportunity to act, and seeing Ji Feng alone was an opportunity they couldn’t miss," Lan Tian speculated in her heart as to why specifically Mo Junhua and Ji Feng were the ones who disappeared.

"In that case, let’s head back to Hua Hall first. Little Lan, are you coming with us?"

Once assuming that their target was the senior gentlemen, Zhang Shenjing and the others couldn’t sit still and wanted to immediately go back to Hua Hall.

"I want to stay here a bit longer; you guys go ahead." Lan Tian had other plans, finding their presence restrictive.

"Sister..." Hua Kongque looked at her worriedly.

"Brother Hua, I’m not as weak as you think, I’m strong." Lan Tian bent her brows smiling.

"Then be careful." Yang Lan said, and they hurried off.

Watching them leave until they were out of sight, she flipped her hand, revealing a Tracking Talisman in her palm. Dropping the blood capsules of Ji Feng and Mo Junhua that had been prepared earlier onto it, she used a Secret Technique. The talisman swayed shakily in the air for a few rounds, then determined a direction and flew off.

Lan Tian followed the Talisman, heading in a different direction from the bamboo forest, east instead of west. The talisman flew towards the rockery area, hesitating as it wavered between wanting to fly towards the flower path and towards the archway on this side.

Lan Tian stood at the intersection, hesitating to move. She shook the peach wood bracelet on her wrist, unable to sense either of them, but she could confirm they had both disappeared here, consecutively.

After a moment, Lan Tian turned back the way she had come.