Chapter 381: Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell

Hearing this sound, Old Mi trembled, the smile on his face instantly froze, and he abruptly turned to look out the window.

An old man was already standing by the bed, coughing into a handkerchief while looking at him with a half-smile.

If Zu An or Pei Mianman were present, they would surely recognize him as Wei Dan, the mysterious powerful figure from the Wei family.

The moment he saw the other man, Old Mi's expression changed rapidly, but he finally let out a long breath. "I had always worried about this day coming," he said, "but now that it's actually here, I feel relieved. It's not as tense as I imagined."

Wei Dan smiled slightly. "That's how things are in life," he said. "The most painful part isn't when misfortune arrives, but the eve of its arrival, waiting for it."

Old Mi chuckled. "I didn't expect that after all these years," he said, "you'd still be so fond of lecturing."

Wei Dan was not offended. "It's been many years," he said, "and we've all grown old. You've certainly been hard to find. For years, the palace expended vast resources and manpower, yet couldn't find a trace of you until just recently, when we finally caught a lead."

Old Mi asked curiously, "How exactly did you find me?"

"Some time ago, during the grand competition between the Chu and Yuan families in Brightmoon City," Wei Dan replied, "someone reported that Zu An's movement technique closely resembled your Sunflower Mirage, so we guessed you were probably here."

Old Mi snorted. "Sure enough, that little rascal revealed my identity," he fumed. "I repeatedly told him not to show it in front of others, but he still didn't listen. If I had known this, I shouldn't have taught him the Sunflower Mirage!"

Rage points from Mi Lianying: 760!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Zu An was taken aback when he saw this message in the backend. What was going on?

So he decided to go over to Old Mi's place and investigate. He had never been able to figure out Old Mi's true intentions, and recently, the sense of crisis had become increasingly apparent. Therefore, he needed to clarify the matter as soon as possible to set his mind at ease.

Of course, he wouldn't rashly go directly to inquire; he would definitely investigate from a distance, from the periphery.

Because he was wary of the other party's cultivation level, he immediately used "Bright Mirror Non-Platform" to conceal his presence.

From afar, he saw someone in Old Mi's courtyard—it was Wei Dan. He was greatly alarmed and dared not approach further, hiding in the shadows and quietly observing.

In Old Mi's courtyard, Wei Dan said with some puzzlement, "Now that you mention it, I also find it strange. Why would you teach your unique skill to a little rascal who's neither a relative nor an acquaintance? It's really not like your usual character."

"No particular reason," Old Mi replied. "I just taught him on a whim one day because he seemed quite filial to me. Looking back now, I was careless." Of course, Old Mi wouldn't tell him that Zu An was his chosen 'furnace,' and he certainly couldn't let anything happen to him before the soul transference.

"I see," Wei Dan smiled slightly. "Fortunately, it worked out this way; otherwise, it would have been really hard to find you."

Hearing this, Zu An felt a bit embarrassed. So it was because of him that Old Mi was discovered by his enemy. No wonder Old Mi had been so angry just now.

"To be able to find me so quickly, just based on that, is truly impressive," Old Mi said with emotion.

The two conversed as if they were old friends, but both were aware of the hidden killing intent in the air.

"Not really that fast," Wei Dan replied. "Because I was afraid of alerting you and dared not directly interrogate Zu An, I spent the preceding period secretly investigating. I started with the people around him, first investigating the academy, then I 'tested' everyone in the academy, but found no trace of you among them."

Zu An recalled how the academy teachers had all been bruised and swollen some time ago; so it turned out to be this guy's handiwork.

Speaking of which, he was lucky; otherwise, if Wei Dan had directly captured and interrogated him, where would he have run off to?

Old Mi couldn't help but say, "The academy is full of masters, yet you easily played them. It seems Eunuch Wei's cultivation has greatly improved over the years."

"Except for Jiang Luofu, the others can hardly be considered masters," Wei Dan snorted, as the image of the woman with beautiful stocking-clad legs from that night appeared in his mind. If he weren't an eunuch, he probably wouldn't have been able to help but feel a stirring in his heart upon seeing her.

"That's true," Old Mi nodded, clearly agreeing with his assessment. "Why didn't you investigate the Chu family first?"

Wei Dan explained, "I initially thought Zu An was chosen as the Chu family's son-in-law because he received your teachings and subconsciously assumed you were outside the family, which is why I investigated the academy first."

Zu An listened, feeling indignant. *Does someone as handsome and elegant as me need to rely on other skills to be chosen as the Chu family's son-in-law?*

*This guy is ugly, so he'll never understand how proactive women can be in front of a handsome man like me.*

"I see," Old Mi said, suddenly enlightened, then asked, "By the way, how has His Majesty's health been in recent years?"

Zu An's eyes widened instantly. Old Mi was indeed connected to the Emperor. Having been in this world for so long, he knew there were countless masters, but the undisputed top master was the current Emperor.

Old Mi served under him, no wonder his cultivation was so high.

"Little Yingzi, you're still thinking of the Emperor?" Wei Dan sneered. "Thanks to you, His Majesty's health is very poor."

Old Mi was shocked. "How can that be?" he exclaimed. "His Majesty's cultivation is heaven-defying, why would his health be poor?"

Wei Dan snorted. "You're asking the obvious," he said. "In this world, no matter how high one's cultivation, they cannot escape the five declines of heaven and man. That's why the Emperor sent you to lead a team to search for the legendary *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*, which is said to grant eternal life upon cultivation. Who knew you would never return?"

Zu An was inwardly startled. *The Phoenix Nirvana Sutra grants eternal life upon cultivation?*

Having been in this world for so long, he knew some common knowledge: no matter how high one's cultivation, they are still susceptible to the 'butcher's knife' of time. No matter how astonishingly talented a super-expert from history, they would eventually turn into a handful of dust. He had never heard of anyone achieving eternal life.

Could the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* really have this effect?

No wonder cultivating it was so arduous, even the elemental fruits required to advance a small stage were enormous in number.

"Originally, the Emperor thought you hadn't found the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* and had all perished, and everyone mourned your loss for a long time," Wei Dan's tone shifted. "However, those who investigated this incident later discovered something suspicious."

"Although your scheme was quite clever," Wei Dan said, a hint of admiration on his face, "making it seem like each body in the treasure hunting team was missing a part, as if eaten by fierce beasts, and then skillfully assembling an extra body to replace you… However, only your corpse was missing its head, which inevitably aroused suspicion. So the investigation team never closed the case until later, when we learned about a hidden characteristic on your back from a young eunuch who once served you, and then we confirmed that the body was a fake."

Old Mi sighed. "I see," he said. "I had been very careful, but unfortunately, I couldn't see that spot on my back, leading to such an oversight."

"This is what they call 'the net of heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through,'" Wei Dan said, a hint of a smile on his face, clearly pleased that his years of investigating this matter had finally yielded results.

From afar, Zu An finally understood the whole story. Old Mi had likely led the team to find the legendary *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra*, then greed had gotten the better of him, and he conveniently killed the rest of the expedition members, faking their complete annihilation, but he was still discovered.

He couldn't help but feel a little admiration. Old Mi was truly audacious, daring to embezzle even the Emperor's possessions.

Old Mi sighed. "Actually, the reason I did that back then," he said, "was because I hadn't found the *Phoenix Nirvana Sutra* and was worried about being held accountable upon returning to the palace, coupled with my weariness of the constant intrigues in the palace. That's when I came up with this 'golden cicada shedding its shell' scheme. Why must Eunuch Wei relentlessly pursue me?"