Worried about Ji Xiaoxi's safety, Zu An held nothing back and flew straight into the sky towards Tongluo Mountain.
His commotion quickly attracted the attention of many people in the capital:
"As expected of the Regent, he vanished in the blink of an eye."
"Isn't there a no-fly formation in the capital? Why is it not affected by it at all?"
"Haven't you heard the saying 'the law does not apply to high-ranking officials'? Those are just rules for us commoners."
...
The major families of the capital also gazed at the sky, filled with doubt:
"He left in such a hurry, could it be that something big has happened in the court? But I haven't heard of anything happening recently."
"That jinx had better leave the capital and never come back."
...
Inside the Kunning Palace, Eunuch Lü greeted the Empress through the curtain: "Your Majesty, it seems the Regent just flew out of the capital in a hurry."
"I know." The Empress waved her hand lazily. With Zu An's cultivation level, there was naturally no need to worry about him being in any danger.
Somewhat surprised, Eunuch Lü withdrew from the room, thinking that the Empress usually paid the most attention to intelligence, but when it came to Zu'an, she seemed so open-minded and at ease.
Indeed, when a man is strong enough, a woman will be much more tolerant of him.
Thinking of the Empress's relaxed and comfortable appearance just now, Eunuch Lü felt both heartbroken and excited. The Empress must have been very happy at the back of the academy today.
Inside the Eastern Palace, Rong Mo, who was by the window, ran to report to the Crown Princess with a chattering voice: "Miss, Miss, it seems that the Regent has flown out of the capital. He's so fast!"
"I understand," Bi Linglong replied weakly. At this moment, her mind was filled with the grudges between the Bi family and the previous generation of Zu'an, and she had no mind to think about anything else.
Rong Mo was taken aback, thinking that Miss usually cared most about Lord Zu's news, so what was wrong with her today? Even news about Lord Zu couldn't arouse her interest.
Meanwhile, Zu'an sped along at breakneck speed and soon arrived at the Tongluo Mountains.
It's close to the capital, not too far away.
The name comes from the legend that the Suidan River flows through this area, making several bends here, and the rushing water crashes against the mountain, producing a sound like a bronze gong.
Of course, the official records of the imperial court state that the mountain was named so because it was rich in copper mines.
However, after thousands of years of mining, the copper mines have been nearly exhausted, and the imperial court has abandoned the mines here.
There are still many old mine pits on the mountain, which have accumulated rainwater over time to form small lakes.
Perhaps due to their rich mineral content, the water in those lakes was exceptionally clear and transparent, resembling sapphires from afar.
Yingyue Lake is the most beautiful and largest of them, but it is located deep in the Tongluo Mountains and is rarely visited by people.
At the foot of Tongluo Mountain, there is a small town that looks more desolate than usual. It's not even dark yet, but there are hardly any people on the streets.
Zuan didn't take it to heart, after all, this place wasn't like the modern city of his previous life, there weren't that many people.
Just as they were about to pass by, they suddenly noticed several people dressed in embroidered clothes who seemed to be heading into the mountains as well.
He exclaimed "Huh?" and landed directly in front of those people.
"Who!" The group of people, who had been chatting and laughing, were all shocked when they saw this, and they all drew their weapons and stared at the other party warily.
"Their vigilance is quite good." Zuan nodded in satisfaction. These people were dressed in distinctive embroidered robes and iron masks, clearly the Embroidered Robe Envoys.
He didn't have time to change back into his commander-in-chief's clothes, since his current official status was enough to mobilize them.
“The Regent…the Regent?” One of the embroidered-robed messengers recognized him and hurriedly bowed. The others were also startled. Who among them didn’t know who was currently the most powerful figure in the capital? They quickly followed suit and bowed, afraid that their actions might have offended him.
Zuan was about to show his identity with his waist tag, but he was taken aback when he saw this: "You know me?"
"We've seen your portrait," the men said with forced smiles.
Zuan: "..."
That damned businessman has plastered my portrait everywhere. I need to send someone to investigate and find out who has such power.
At first, he thought they were just profit-driven businessmen in the capital, but now he immediately realized something was wrong.
Logically speaking, there is a certain difference between a portrait and the real person. Moreover, none of the merchants in the capital have ever seen me. Even if they have seen me occasionally, it would be difficult to paint a lifelike likeness based solely on memory. Now, these embroidered-robed envoys outside the capital can recognize him immediately from the portrait, which means that the portrait is extremely accurate and must have been done by someone who is very familiar with his appearance.
Could it be someone from the imperial court?
However, worried about Xiao Xi, he didn't have time to think about it further: "Why are you here? Has something happened nearby?"
It's important to know that anything requiring the Embroidered Robe Envoy to be dispatched is no small matter.
They also appeared at Tongluo Mountain. Could it be related to Xiaoxi's danger?
When the matter was brought up, the embroidered-robed messengers became solemn: "Your Majesty, a strange thing has indeed happened at Tongluo Mountain recently."
“The local people often go into the mountains to collect firewood and sell it in the capital early in the morning, but recently, none of those who collect firewood have come out of the mountains.”
"You know, those who go into the mountains are all woodcutters who have lived here for generations. They are very familiar with the mountain roads and know which places are dangerous, so they only gather firewood on the edge of the mountains and never go deep into the mountains. If only one family didn't come out, it could be said to be an accident, but so many people didn't come out, and the town was in a panic. Everyone said that there were monsters in the mountains."
Zu An asked in a deep voice, "From which family did the rumor of monsters first originate?"
The embroidered-robed envoys were somewhat surprised, not expecting the Regent to ask such professional questions; this was also how they started their investigation.
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