Chapter 21 Searching for Prisoners
News of the attack on Prince Jing quickly reached Xie Jingyan's ears. He was the master leading the Huaguang Sect team this time, and upon hearing the news, he immediately went to the courtyard.
Even though he was old and experienced, he was still briefly shocked by such cruel methods.
He frowned as he looked at Ning Xuanzhou, who had been temporarily moved to the bed in the inner room. His eyes had been gouged out and his abdomen cut open. Even if he was still alive, he was completely ruined and could no longer be a candidate for the crown prince.
Such a serious incident would surely incur the emperor's wrath, and he would have to do his utmost to find the culprit and make amends.
"Has the imperial physician arrived yet?" he asked.
One of the guards said, "We've already passed through the teleportation array and will arrive soon."
"Good. Immediately seal off the entire academy, check everyone entering and leaving, and make sure the murderer who harmed Prince Jing is caught!"
The guard immediately went to do it.
Soon, the imperial physicians sent by the palace and the imperial guards personally dispatched by the emperor arrived one after another, bringing with them the emperor's edict, demanding that Master Jingyan capture the murderer.
Even though it was almost midnight, the academy was still brightly lit, and many guards were patrolling the various corners, bringing all suspicious persons into the courtyard.
Xie Jingyan glanced around and found that almost all of them were below King Jing in cultivation level, so it was impossible for them to inflict such serious damage on him in a direct confrontation.
Even if it was a sneak attack, the murderer would have needed to approach Qin Xiao and King Jing without them noticing, so their cultivation level would definitely not be low.
He shook his head and called over the leader: "Have you found any other suspicious persons? Especially at the exit of the secret passage, didn't some of you hear the noise coming from the cabinet?"
The leader hesitated for a moment, then said, "No other suspicious persons have been found so far."
Xie Jingyan narrowed his eyes and stared at him, saying, "Are you sure there isn't any left? Think carefully again. If you've missed anything, it's a capital offense!"
The leader's eyes flickered with panic.
Xie Jingyan tapped the table beside him. "This is the Emperor's decree."
The leader finally said hesitantly, "We...we also found...Princess Hexi in the garden."
"Princess Hexi?" Xie Jingyan asked in surprise, "Why would she go there?"
The leader gritted his teeth and said, "She's having fun there with her male lover."
"Oh?" Xie Jingyan frowned, deep in thought, when an excited voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Master Jingyan, King Jing has awakened!"
Xie Jingyan immediately stepped back into the courtyard and saw Ning Xuanzhou letting out a painful roar. The wound on his abdomen was not yet stitched up, and his fingers were tightly gripping the bed curtains, as if he was in extreme pain.
He asked, "Isn't there any way to relieve the pain?"
The imperial physician wiped his sweat. "It hasn't taken effect yet; it will take another cup of tea's time."
There was no other way. Xie Jingyan stood by his bedside and, taking advantage of the moment when he was awakened by pain, asked, "Prince Jing, who exactly caused you to be in this state?"
Ning Xuanzhou gripped the cloth tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white, as if he wanted to tear it to shreds. He said in a tone that suggested he wanted to devour its flesh and blood, "Xiao Sui... it's Xiao Sui!"
After saying this, he fainted again from the pain.
The imperial physician continued to stitch up his wound.
Xie Jingyan left the room, looking at the faintly white sky with a somewhat dazed expression. This result was both unexpected and not unexpected.
Surprisingly, Xiao Sui was able to return alive to seek revenge even in that state; unsurprisingly, only he could have done something so horrific.
Now that we know the culprit, things should be much easier. Xie Jingyan asked Zhao Shanzhang to draw a portrait of Xiao Sui and had it circulated among all the guards. Even if we have to search every room, we must find Xiao Sui!
This time... he would show no mercy, nor would he harbor any hope that he could improve; he had to completely destroy him.
Even if we cut off his hands and feet and turn him into a human pig, we must not let him become a menace again.
After the sun rose and they had walked more than halfway around, preparing to hide behind the mountain again, a guard came to report that the entire academy had been searched, but the person in the portrait had not been found.
"Continue the search." Xie Jingyan's expression was growing increasingly grim. Suddenly, he remembered something and called out to the guard, "Has the princess's courtyard been searched?"
The guards were taken aback, then shook their heads. "After all, she is a princess; we dare not offend her."
Xie Jingyan nodded, signaling him to step back.
Prince Jing survived a day of emergency treatment but has not yet regained consciousness.
He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, and looked at his daughter who had brought him the food. "Xiyue, do you know what the relationship is between the princess and Xiao Sui?"
Xie Xiyue paused in setting out the food: "You don't suspect the princess, do you? Impossible! The princess and Prince Jing have such a good relationship, she would never protect the bad guy who harmed Prince Jing like that!"
Xie Jingyan couldn't help but chuckle, "I was just asking, why are you in such a hurry?"
Xie Xiyue realized that she had become a little emotional, so she took a breath and said, "The princess and that Xiao Sui do not know each other at all. I have never heard of any interaction between the two."
Xie Jingyan nodded. "That's true, I was just overthinking it."
Another day passed, and the guards still hadn't found anything. Xie Jingyan's brows furrowed even more deeply.
He clearly ordered the academy to be sealed off in time, so how could Xiao Sui have simply vanished into thin air?
In the end, he still suspected the princess, which was the only thing the guards had overlooked.
After thinking for a moment, he sent a message to his disciple Yan Chongyan, asking him if the princess had any relationship with Xiao Sui.
Yan Chongyan didn't reply to him until evening, "Master, I was exorcising demons during the day and couldn't reply to you in time. The princess probably doesn't know Xiao Sui, but... she was present when Xiao Sui was auctioned at the Nanfeng Pavilion in Yandu."
"After that, Xiao Sui was bought by an unknown buyer?" he asked, his eyes flashing.
Yan Chongyan quickly gave him an affirmative answer.
Xie Jingyan felt he was close to the truth: the princess had bought Xiao Sui, brought him to the academy, and then hid him after he killed Prince Jing!
He said to the head of the guards, "Come with me to the princess's residence, and bring a few more people with you."
"But it's already past 7 PM, what if the princess goes to bed?"
"We can't delay any longer, or how will we explain this to the Emperor?" Xie Jingyan said.
The team leader had no choice but to agree and led fifteen people there as ordered.
The group arrived at the princess's courtyard in a grand procession, only to be stopped by her maid. "Master Jingyan, our princess is already resting. Please come again tomorrow."
"The matter is urgent, please inform them." Xie Jingyan's posture was respectful, but his words were impolite. "It won't take up much of the princess's time. If you don't let us in, we'll have no choice but to force our way in."
The maid raised her eyebrows, "You..."
Xie Jingyan stood there with his eyes lowered, as if he wouldn't leave until the princess came out.
Zhizhi had no choice but to return to her room and inform Ningxi.
A moment later, a maid's voice came from the courtyard, "Please come in, everyone."
Xie Jingyan entered the courtyard with his guards, and the group of people almost filled the small space.
Ning Qi was helped out of the house by Zhizhi. She looked slightly tired and coughed twice. "I wonder what business you have with me so late, Master?"
This is putting on airs like a princess, indicating that after leaving Huaguang Sect, their relationship is no longer that of master and disciple, but rather that of ruler and subject.
Xie Jingyan's brow twitched, feeling even more suspicious. "The suspect who plotted to kill Prince Jing has not yet been found. We are worried that he may be hiding somewhere and affecting your safety, so we specially led the guards to search the courtyard to put your mind at ease."
"Do I not know whether I'm hiding anyone here or not? Do I need you to investigate?" Ning Qi said.
"You have brought only a small number of people, so there will inevitably be oversights. We need to investigate thoroughly before we can be completely at ease. This is also the Emperor's order."
Ning Qi scoffed, "Is the Master doubting me?"
Xie Jingyan quickly replied, "I wouldn't dare, I was only thinking of your safety."
As he spoke, he turned his head and gestured to the guards behind him to begin the search.
Zhizhi stepped forward and said, "How dare you! You think you can just search the princess's residence at will?"
The guards stopped and looked at Xie Jingyan.
After being blocked several times, Xie Jingyan finally lost his patience and took out the imperial edict. "The search of the entire Heyan Academy is the Emperor's order. I, a mere princess, may not care about such things, but do you not care about the Emperor's edict either?"
Ning Xi stared at him for a long time, then sneered, "How dare I? Since you want to search, then search thoroughly and see if I'm hiding any criminals."
Only then did the guards dare to move, entering and exiting every room in the courtyard, even the storeroom.
Finally, her maids and guards were led into the courtyard, among whom one guard wearing a veiled hat stood out.
Xie Jingyan's gaze swept over the man, and he felt that the man's figure was indeed somewhat familiar, and the more he looked at him, the more he resembled Xiao Sui.
He was almost certain.
"And who is this?" he thought gleefully. The princess had actually gone so far as to protect a criminal. Even if she was the emperor's favorite daughter, she was bound to be punished.
Ning Qi forced a calm expression and said, "These are my newly recruited guards."
"Why is he wearing a hat?" Xie Jingyan pressed.
"His face was burned and disfigured," Ning Qi said, sticking to her usual story.
Xie Jingyan, however, was not buying it and said to the guards, "Take off his veil; I want to see it for myself."
"Hey..." Ning Qi wanted to stop him, but couldn't find an excuse.
Xie Jingyan became even more certain that the person hidden behind the veil must be Xiao Sui.
Three guards stepped forward and quickly removed the veil from his head.
To everyone's surprise, Xie Jingyan's confident smile vanished.
Beneath the black cloth was an unfamiliar face, one that had never been seen before, with obvious scars across its entire surface.
"Impossible!" Xie Jingyan frowned. "No... he's disguised!"
Ning Qi chuckled, walked up to the man, and tugged at his cheek. There was no trace of a human skin mask.
Xie Jingyan's expression darkened, and he then said, "Excuse my bluntness, but these guards have seen you with your male favorite in the garden. How come I didn't see that person?"
Ning Qi stood in front of the scarred man and said without any hesitation, "It's him."
Xie Jingyan's face darkened further. He questioned the guards several times about whether they had found anyone else, but received negative answers each time.
He could only bow and say, "We have troubled the princess for so long, it is time for us to return."
Ning Qi raised the corners of her mouth and stepped forward calmly, saying, "Wait a minute. Master Jingyan led so many guards to search my house at night, trying to frame me for murdering my brother. Do you think this matter can be resolved so easily?"
Xie Jingyan's face paled.
A note from the author:
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Xiaoqi is being mischievous, she's just pretending on purpose, haha [doge emoji]
I feel like my title isn't catchy enough, but I haven't thought of a better one yet [laughing and crying emoji]
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