Chapter 1865: Behind the Scenes Mastermind

"Who's there?" Although Bi Qi, Zhao Yuan, and the others had left, King Yan's forces still remained on the mountain.

The Golden Summit was of paramount importance, and soldiers quickly rushed towards it. Upon seeing the soldiers, the figure's expression changed, and he immediately turned and ran. Many soldiers drew their weapons and encircled him. After a brief skirmish, many soldiers were injured. The person had quite high cultivation, and his movement technique was incredibly elusive. After several feints and charges, he finally found an opportunity to break through the soldiers' encirclement.

"Heh heh, I'm off!" The person mockingly made a face at the crowd, his buck teeth particularly noticeable.

Just then, a cold snort echoed, and a palm suddenly appeared in front of him. The person tried to dodge but found himself utterly unable to move. He was horrified. "Grandmaster!"

With a sharp thud, he was slapped to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. His qi and blood surged, making it impossible to gather any elemental energy for a moment. Immediately after, countless blades were pressed against his neck.

At this moment, an elder in a python robe slowly approached. "Who are you?"

"Your Highness?" The buck-toothed man on the ground recognized the other's attire, his heart filled with terror. He didn't know which prince this was, nor how he could be so powerful. "Your Highness, please spare my life. My name is Wei Suo. I don't know what wrong I've committed?"

"How did you emerge from this secret realm? Which sect do you belong to?" King Yan looked at the spatial gate slowly closing in mid-air, his voice full of doubt. *Does the Daoist sect have such a person?*

"I have no sect, no affiliation. I don't know what happened. I was exploring a secret realm quite normally when I was suddenly sucked into this one." The buck-toothed man was, of course, Wei Suo. That day, he had awakened in the great tomb to find everyone gone, only corpses remaining.

He vaguely remembered the Ghost King possessing his body and was scared to death, so he scrambled out of the great tomb with all his might. Not long after, a destructive aura emanated from the great tomb. The entire tomb sucked all surrounding living things into it and then vanished into the void itself.

He couldn't help but feel incredibly fortunate, while silently mourning for Zu An and the others. They hadn't listened to his advice back then, insisting on going into the great tomb. *Ah, in this world, survival is the true way.*

Later, he wandered around and accidentally stumbled upon a large group of people who seemed to be talking about someone failing to pass their lightning tribulation and were now searching for treasures. He also wanted to try his luck but was accidentally captured by members of a sect and taken back as a medicinal slave. He had thought he was doomed to die, but then a spatial gate appeared in his cell. He quickly dove in and thus escaped to freedom. But he had just returned and was caught again. *Why am I so unlucky?*

At this moment, King Yan's eyes narrowed. "So he's also been to that secret realm. Take him away and interrogate him with torture!"

Hearing his words, Wei Suo was instantly terrified. As the surrounding soldiers dragged him away, he struggled desperately, shouting, "You can't do this to me! My brother is also a very important figure in the imperial court! He's Lord Zu An! Haven't you heard of him?"

King Yan, who was about to turn and leave, heard this, and his eyes lit up. He turned back and stared at Wei Suo. "Oh, Zu An is your brother?"

"Yes, a bond of life and death!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Wei Suo immediately puffed out his chest and declared.

King Yan chuckled. "In that case, I will interrogate him personally!"

Wei Suo: "???"

Meanwhile, Zu An and his party had already left Mount Zi and were heading in full force towards the capital.

Besides Zhao Xiaodie, Guan Chouhai also had a separate carriage. After all, he was the sect master of Li Hen Tian and a Grandmaster-level cultivator. Even though he was now a prisoner, he was still afforded the proper courtesies. As for Zhi Yin, Wu Xiaofan, and the other Daoist disciples, they weren't so lucky. Each was in a prisoner cart, shackled, with their hands and feet fastened to the vehicle. Gone was the glory of chief disciples, respected everywhere.

Seeing this, Zu An instructed his subordinates to give them some fresh water and food. He also found several conical hats with black veils for them to wear. The disciples were instantly overwhelmed with gratitude. After all, they had their pride, and being paraded like criminals was worse than death for them. With the hats, even if they were still seen, at least their faces were covered. Especially when Zu An said that such talents of the human race should not suffer such humiliation.

*Listen to that, now that's a human being talking!* Compared to King Yan and Zhao Yuan's wolf-like subordinates, Zu An seemed like a saint. Regardless of their previous impressions of Zu An, everyone was extremely grateful to him after this incident.

Finally, Zu An specifically gave Zhi Yin a few healing pills. Zhi Yin had been severely wounded by the Blood Spirit Venerable earlier and had been imprisoned and interrogated without proper treatment after emerging.

"Why are you being so good to me?" Zhi Yin swallowed the pill with difficulty, looking at him doubtfully.

"Your junior sister is worried about your injuries," Zu An replied.

Zhi Yin was startled, then his expression suddenly changed. "What did you do to her!" After the previous interrogation, he also had a rough idea of what had happened on Mount Zi. *At this moment, my junior sister must be in a precarious situation herself. How could she possibly ask Zu An to do anything? He thought of how his junior sister had always had a good impression of him. Perhaps this time, to save me, she might have sacrificed her innocence...*

Zu An: "???"

"What on earth are you imagining? I didn't do anything. Just focus on recovering from your injuries." With that, he turned and walked away.

Seeing his clear gaze and normal tone, Zhi Yin realized he had misunderstood and said with some shame, "Thank you!" Because of Chu Xianzi, he naturally harbored hostility towards this man. Yet, this man had saved him despite their past, and he, in turn, had suspected him.

Zu An waved his hand, saying nothing.

Zhao Yuan and Bi Qi, from a distance, observed his actions, thinking, *He's really good at winning people over.* However, they didn't care. Bi Qi was now his ally, and Zhao Yuan didn't concern himself with the opinions of mere juniors.

Next, Zu An went to Guan Chouhai's carriage. Zhao Yuan was about to go check, but Bi Qi intentionally or unintentionally blocked him, preventing him from getting close.

Zhao Yuan: "..."*Why does this kid always have so many people helping him?*

Sensing Zu An's entry, Guan Chouhai, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them. "Why did you help me?"

Among the group, he was the clearest about what had happened on the Golden Summit. He had been one of the main conspirators in the assassination attempt on Zhao Hao, and Zu An had most likely seen it but helped him conceal it.

"Since I saved you, and the entire Li Hen Tian, shouldn't you reciprocate by answering some of my questions?" Zu An asked with a smile.

Guan Chouhai frowned. Perhaps he would have previously underestimated this seemingly uncultivated young man, but after the events on Mount Zi, he now regarded him as an equal. "What do you want to know?"

Zu An sensed that no one else was approaching and then asked, "Bystander, Salted Fish, Servant, Tomato, Stone, Handsome Old Man, Fat Ocean, Horse, Landlord – who exactly does each person on this list refer to?" As he asked, he keenly watched Guan Chouhai's eyes. It was this very inquiry that seemed to have led to the demise of Gold Medalist Number Seven.

Guan Chouhai's expression indeed changed dramatically. "Where did you get this list from?"

"That's none of your concern. I have my ways," Zu An said calmly.

Guan Chouhai looked at him warily. "Are you intentionally pretending to save me, then trying to extract information about these people from me to capture us all in one go?"

Zu An scoffed. "You people either died on the Golden Summit or in the secret realm. Is there still a need to capture you all? I simply want to verify some things."

Guan Chouhai fell silent, knowing Zu An had a point. After a moment, he spoke. "How do I know you won't just abandon me after I tell you?"

"Don't worry, I have an agreement with Xiaodie. I'll help her save her people," Zu An said calmly.

"Xiaodie?" Guan Chouhai raised an eyebrow. Remembering Zu An's earlier care for Zhi Yin and the others, he couldn't help but smile. "It seems my luck isn't bad after all; I have a beautiful disciple. Those others weren't so fortunate."

Zu An quietly watched him. The other man thought he was after Zhao Xiaodie's beauty, and Zu An couldn't be bothered to explain.

Only then did Guan Chouhai say, "The Handsome Old Man is me." Seeing Zu An's strange look, his old face flushed. "These code names are more or less related to our real identities. Do you think I don't deserve this name?"

Seeing the other man's slightly exasperated expression, Zu An held back a laugh. "You do."

Guan Chouhai continued, "The assassination of the emperor was of immense importance. Once the news leaked, it would lead to the annihilation of our entire clans. We were all afraid of our identities being discovered at first, so we deliberately chose code names."

"Who organized all of you?" Zu An asked curiously.

"The Landlord," Guan Chouhai replied.

"Is the Landlord Prince Qi or the Grand Libationer?" Zu An pressed, noting that only these two had enough prestige and resources to organize such a grand affair.

"Neither," Guan Chouhai shook his head.

Zu An was surprised. "Then who is he?"

Guan Chouhai slowly exhaled. "I don't know either."