Chapter 15
The Prime Minister's residence was only half a street away from their small courtyard, and Mu Xize and Wen Xingyun arrived at the entrance of the Prime Minister's residence in no time.
The guards at the Prime Minister's residence saw an old beggar leading a young beggar about to enter the residence and immediately drew their swords to stop them.
"Get out of here! A beggar like you dares to dream of entering the Prime Minister's residence? Get as far away as you can."
Mu Xize wasn't annoyed at being called an old beggar. He calmly replied in his aged voice, "I'm not a beggar. My name is Mu Xize. Please go in and announce my arrival."
The guards didn't dare to be negligent when they heard Mu Xize's name. They gestured to another guard to go in and report, while they themselves stayed to guard Mu Xize and Wen Xingyun.
It must be said that the name "Mu Xize" is quite prestigious. After the guards went in to report, the prime minister came out with his family to greet them shortly afterward.
Mu Xize and Wen Xingyun were respectfully welcomed inside.
At this moment, Shi Anxu had already scaled the wall and sneaked into the Prime Minister's residence.
He cast a shadow spell on himself, so that only cultivators with higher cultivation levels could detect him.
However, the Prime Minister's residence is very large, and if he were to search room by room, there simply wouldn't be enough time.
Thinking that prisoners are usually locked in the dungeon when they are brought back, he went to the dungeon to check it out first.
If there's a dungeon in a mansion, it must be in a place that's not easy for people to find. He definitely wouldn't be able to find it by just looking like that. He could only rely on his divine sense to find the dungeon.
Shi Anxu released his divine sense, trying to cover the entire Prime Minister's residence as much as possible in order to find the location of the dungeon.
The Prime Minister's residence has a complex and intricate layout, with various secret rooms and tunnels layered upon each other. Although one can detect various suspicious places, it is difficult to distinguish which ones are dungeons.
Shi Anxu once again regretted not cultivating properly. His divine sense could only see a vague outline and could not know what was inside. Otherwise, he would not be facing his current predicament.
Now I can only identify which part is the dungeon based on my memory of its structure.
Secret rooms often extend from the study to the underground, so those connected to the residence can be ruled out.
Shi Anxu then eliminated the remaining ones one by one based on the characteristics of the other tunnels or storage rooms, finally leaving the most suspicious one.
He was absolutely confident that the last one he eliminated must be the dungeon, so he changed direction and headed in that direction.
——
Mu Xize was respectfully invited into the main hall by the Prime Minister, who politely offered them seats.
"Dr. Mu, has come here today because my child's illness requires further treatment?" Prime Minister Zhang asked cautiously.
“Prime Minister Zhang, there’s no need to worry so much. I’m not here for your son,” Mu Xize replied.
"Then what are you here for? You're not here to ask us for money, are you? You yourself didn't charge us a single penny back then," Madam Zhang asked sarcastically.
"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting here? So what if Doctor Mu is here to ask for money!" After scolding him, Prime Minister Zhang said to Mu Xize in a flattering tone, "Please forgive Doctor Mu for what she says, as she is a woman of the world."
"It's alright, but... Madam Zhang is truly a woman of great wisdom. I have brought my daughter here to ask the Prime Minister for his help," Mu Xize replied with a smile.
"How much do you need? Consider it repayment for the kindness you showed my son back then," Prime Minister Zhang asked.
“Not much, just five hundred high-grade spirit stones,” Mu Xize replied, holding up five fingers.
When Mrs. Zhang heard the number, her eyes widened suddenly, and she was about to start cursing.
Prime Minister Zhang immediately covered Madam Zhang's mouth and said apologetically to Mu Xize, "I'm sorry, I need to take care of some family matters first. We can talk in detail later."
Mu Xize waved his hand, indicating that he should go and handle it first. "Go ahead."
After Prime Minister Zhang and his entourage left, the main hall instantly became deserted.
Wen Xingyun, who had been standing silently to the side, was bursting with frustration. As soon as Mu Xize left, she immediately started complaining, "Prime Minister Zhang's wife is really like a shrew. I don't know how the two of them fell in love."
"Don't gossip about other people's family affairs!" Mu Xize rebuked.
"Oh," Wen Xingyun replied reluctantly.
"Xiaoyun, did you notice that two people were missing when they came out to greet us just now?" Mu Xize steered the conversation back on track.
Wen Xingyun went through all the people who had appeared in front of her in her mind, and suddenly realized something.
"Zhang Yu and Zhang Xuexin aren't here!" The two names that were on her mind immediately came to mind, and then she said worriedly, "Was my senior brother in danger at that time?"
"It's too early to draw conclusions. We'll find an excuse to ask Prime Minister Zhang when he returns." Mu Xize frowned deeply.
——
Shi Anxu quickly arrived at the dungeon location he was very certain of. A group of guards were standing at the entrance, and he had to lure them away before he could go in.
Fortunately, the only lesson Shi Anxu heard was about how to use illusions to confuse others. He had originally learned this to escape, but he never expected it to come in handy here.
Following the moves he remembered, he conjured a shadowy figure that flashed by in a flash.
Upon spotting the figure, the entire squad immediately gave chase to where the figure had disappeared.
Shi Anxu darted into the passage leading to the dungeon. As soon as he entered, a strong smell of blood enveloped his entire body, confirming that it was indeed the dungeon.
He quickly passed through the passage and entered the dungeon. He would peek into each cell, and if he saw Mu Qingzhou's cell, he would immediately move to another one.
After viewing all the cells, Shi Anxu fell silent.
None of the people imprisoned inside were Mu Qingzhou, and his heart sank to the bottom of the sea.
If it wasn't even in the prison, Shi Anxu couldn't imagine where Zhang Xuexin and the others could have hidden Mu Qingzhou.
Judging from their behavior yesterday, Zhang Xuexin and Zhang Yu are both vengeful people. If Mu Qingzhou falls into their hands, he will surely suffer a fate worse than death.
Could it be that they didn't bring Mu Qingzhou back to the manor, but instead tortured him outside?
No, that's impossible. There's no safest place for something like this than inside their own residence; they have no reason to choose to do it outside.
After thinking it through, Shi Anxu didn't want to waste any more time, so he immediately went to other possible places to look for Mu Qingzhou's whereabouts.
However, they found no trace of Mu Qingzhou anywhere. Mu Qingzhou was not in the Prime Minister's residence, so it seemed they would have to find another way to find him.
——
After calming Madam Zhang down, Prime Minister Zhang returned to the main hall. "Dr. Mu, you've kept me waiting. Now let's talk about the money."
Mu Xize nodded. "Okay."
Prime Minister Zhang asked, "I wonder what Physician Mu intends to do with these five hundred high-grade spirit stones?"
Mu Xize cleared his throat, making his voice sound even more weathered, "As you all know, Immortal Venerable Qinyi passed away five years ago. Without his protection, my life has become much more difficult. I wouldn't bother Prime Minister Zhang if I had no other choice."
Prime Minister Zhang looked thoughtful. "I see. I will send someone to give these five hundred high-grade spirit stones to Physician Mu when you leave the manor."
Mu Xize cupped his hands in thanks, "Then thank you very much, Prime Minister Zhang."
Prime Minister Zhang said, "There's no need for such formalities. I was originally going to give you a gift anyway."
At this moment, Wen Xingyun casually asked, "The Prime Minister's daughter has become quite famous lately. I wonder if I would have the honor of meeting her today?"
Prime Minister Zhang was taken aback, then narrowed his eyes and replied, "What a coincidence, Xuexin and Ayu went out yesterday and haven't returned yet."
Mu Xize and Wen Xingyun exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's expressions.
Mu Xize smoothed things over for Wen Xingyun, saying, "That really is unfortunate. Xiaoyun has always admired cultivators and wanted to see their demeanor."
Prime Minister Zhang's narrowed eyes relaxed. "That's a real pity. Here's what we'll do: once my daughter returns, we'll arrange a time for the two of them to meet."
Wen Xingyun's face lit up with joy, and she answered first, "Okay, okay!"
Seemingly infected by Wen Xingyun's smile, Prime Minister Zhang's tone revealed a hint of amusement, "It's getting late, why don't you stay for a simple meal before you leave, Physician Mu?"
Just as Mu Xize was about to agree, the coded signal that the rocket launcher he had given to Shi Anxu earlier appeared in the sky.
The words of agreement that were about to come out turned into a refusal: "No need, we have something to do later, we have to leave now."
Prime Minister Zhang beckoned a servant to whisper a few words in his ear, and then said to Mu Xize and the others, "Since you want to leave, I won't keep you any longer. Five hundred high-grade spirit stones have been delivered to the gate of the mansion. You can take them with you."
Mu Xize bowed again, then turned and took his leave with Wen Xingyun.
As Wen Xingyun left the Prime Minister's residence, she looked at the bag of high-grade spirit stones in her hand and roared to the sky, "I suddenly have so much more money, it's so awesome!"
Mu Xize took the money bag from Wen Xingyun's hand and said helplessly, "You're just grinning at the money bag. Let's go back to the courtyard first."
Wen Xingyun was confused. "Huh? Aren't we waiting for Senior Brother Shi?"
Mu Xize explained, "Your senior brother Shi left us a message saying that he went back to the courtyard first."
Wen Xingyun was still confused. "Why did Senior Brother Shi go back by himself? He left without waiting for us. I wanted to ask him if he had rescued Senior Brother Mu or not."
Mu Xize patted Wen Xingyun's head, his voice carrying a soothing magic, "Something must have happened to An Xu, otherwise he wouldn't be like this. Let's go back to the courtyard and check."
Wen Xingyun wasn't one to make a fuss unnecessarily, so she nodded and went to the courtyard with Mu Xize.
——
Just minutes before, Shi Anxu had just climbed out of the Prime Minister's residence and released the rocket launcher that Mu Xize had given him.
After he finished, he prepared to go to the main gate of the Prime Minister's residence to wait for his master's wife and the others to come out.
He hadn't taken two steps when someone bumped into his right shoulder, making him gasp in pain.
The person who hit him heard his groan of pain and weakly apologized.
A familiar voice rang in his ears, and Shi Anxu turned his head sharply, only to be met with an extremely pale face.
He immediately supported Mu Qingzhou's body, his voice trembling, "Junior brother, hang in there. I'll take you back to the courtyard first. I'll leave a message for your master's wife now, and they'll be back soon to treat your injuries. You must hold on."
Mu Qingzhou opened her eyes with difficulty and looked at Shi Anxu, "Senior... Senior Brother."
Shi Anxu pressed his index finger against Mu Qingzhou's bluish-purple lips. "Don't speak anymore. Your senior brother will take you back right away."
Mu Qingzhou stopped talking after hearing Shi Anxu's words, but raised his hand to touch Shi Anxu's face.
Seeing Mu Qingzhou trying with all his might to touch his face, Shi Anxu reached out without hesitation to grab Mu Qingzhou's hand and put it on his face.
However, when his hand was still a few millimeters away from Mu Qingzhou's hand, Mu Qingzhou's hand suddenly dropped down.
Shi Anxu's eyes were red, and his hand trembled as he reached out towards Mu Qingzhou's nose.
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