Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Want It All, Battle Deduction

Emperor Yang Yu of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty had long anticipated the war between the two empires and had naturally made arrangements to deal with the Jin Meng Empire in advance. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

This wasn’t merely about handling the war at the border; it also involved dealing with the delegation that had come to the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty for the marriage alliance.

Since the two empires were now at war, these people would naturally have to remain within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. Whether used as a sacrifice to consecrate the war banners or simply imprisoned, both were excellent options.

Of course, the Old Emperor, Yang Yu, didn’t dispatch men to hunt them down the moment the Jin Meng Empire delegation departed. He waited a day before sending men to trail them. Only after news of the border conflict spread did he allow the Six Gates to begin their pursuit openly.

He wanted to save face, but he also wanted the people captured. One might say he wanted it all.

The one assigned to lead the pursuit was Divine Constable Jin Feihua of the Six Gates. With her at the helm, there was no chance the people from the Jin Meng Empire would escape the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.

Jin Feihua led a few members of the Six Gates in pursuit. Although Nalan Hongbo and his group were fleeing quickly, their general direction remained well within the Six Gates’ anticipated route.

They tracked them all the way to Qing State, closing the distance with every step. At the same time, they had also positioned men in Yu State to intercept the Jin Meng Empire delegation, ensuring they could not escape the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty.

However, they unexpectedly lost the trail of Nalan Hongbo’s group. To be precise, they vanished at the Qingyuan River.

Along the way, they had found the corpses of a Night-Shining Jade Lion and several Jin Meng Horses. From this, they deduced that Princess Lan Yue had clashed with the people from the Jin Meng Empire—perhaps even in a battle to the death.

Had it been any other commandery princess or princess, Jin Feihua and her people from the Six Gates would have been frantic to stage a rescue. But this was Princess Lan Yue, so they weren’t nearly as concerned.

Before her departure, the Emperor had sent a message: while capturing the people from the Jin Meng Empire, she need not concern herself with whether Princess Lan Yue lived or died.

The words were simple, but they represented the Old Emperor Yang Yu’s true stance.

’Not needing to concern herself with whether the princess lived or died’ meant ’don’t let her come back alive.’ In other words, he wanted Jin Feihua to covertly kill her and simply bring back the body.

The Old Emperor hadn’t said it outright, but Jin Feihua understood his intent. After all, the Old Emperor loved making others decipher his imperial will, a fact Jin Feihua had long been clear on.

This was just like the incident in White Jade City. On the surface, the Six Gates had sided with Crown Prince Yang Qian, but in reality, they had received the Old Emperor’s secret order to feign allegiance, only to betray the Crown Prince at the critical moment, causing his entire operation to fail.

After their success, the Six Gates was rewarded by the Old Emperor. Now, the Six Gates was no longer subordinate to the Dali Temple but had been restored as an independent agency.

This reward was precisely what Jin Feihua and her people had wanted.

In truth, they wanted more, but this was all they could get for now. It was enough, however. After becoming an independent agency, they faced far fewer constraints in White Jade City. At the same time, the Old Emperor’s support increased significantly, and they were slowly beginning to regain their power.

While not the Six Gates of its peak, their situation was gradually improving.

"A few of you, investigate the Qingyuan River right here. You two, notify our people downstream and in the direction of the Abyssal Sea. Tell them to keep a close watch on the water and not let anyone escape that way."

"The rest of you, search the banks of the river downstream from here. Look for any signs of escape."

Jin Feihua commanded the members of the Six Gates, assigning their tasks with meticulous detail.

From the start of the pursuit, the Qingyuan River had been considered a likely escape route, so arrangements had been made accordingly. Now was the time to enact those plans to prevent anyone from getting away.

"The rest of you, follow me back to where the initial fight broke out. We’ll investigate again and see if we overlooked any clues."

After assigning her people, Jin Feihua decided to return to the scene of the clash to investigate further. It was her habit; the site of a battle could reveal much, including things that were intentionally hidden.

There were no Inner Masters among their targets this time, and she had several External Refining Iron Bone Experts among the men assigned to the search. Thus, she wasn’t worried. The power difference wasn’t insurmountable. As long as they found their targets, they would send a signal, and they could all converge to capture them.

Instead, as they passed the site of the initial skirmish, she felt a persistent urge to go back and take another look.

It was an instinct she had learned to trust, so she decided to return and investigate once more.

Before long, Jin Feihua led her men back to the first battle scene—the place where the superior steeds had been killed.

The death of the Night-Shining Jade Lion was the most regrettable. Such horses were rare even in the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty; only those with ties to the Imperial Family could ever hope to obtain one.

It was only because of her status that Princess Lan Yue had been able to possess the Night-Shining Jade Lion.

The other two Jin Meng Horses were fine steeds in their own right, but they were a cut below the Night-Shining Jade Lion.

’The Night-Shining Jade Lion was wounded by a Hidden Weapon, the Bone-Piercing Nail, and a Golden Armor Sleeve Arrow. The design of these hidden weapons matches the style of the Jin Meng Empire. This must be the work of Nalan Hongbo and Wulan Haochuan.’

’A conflict must have broken out. When they realized their Jin Meng Horses couldn’t catch the Night-Shining Jade Lion, they used hidden weapons to kill it. Then, they clashed again.’

’During the ensuing fight, Princess Lan Yue must have killed the Jin Meng Horses. She was probably at a disadvantage and had no other choice.’

’The bloodstains here prove someone was injured. They then fled toward the Qingyuan River, where their trail ultimately vanished.’

As Jin Feihua studied the clues, she reconstructed the scene in her mind. Of course, this was all just speculation; none of it was confirmed.

To learn the full story, she would either need to find more useful information or capture the individuals involved. Only then could she learn the details of what had transpired.

"Have you found any other tracks?"

Jin Feihua asked, her gaze sweeping over the other members of the Six Gates.

"Nothing to the west!" a member of the Six Gates called back from the west.

When investigating a scene, they always searched the surrounding area, not just the site itself. One could discover hidden tracks or even find something unexpected.

"Ma’am, there’s something over here! A horse passed through. Looks like a Qing State Horse. Someone may have come through here earlier."

"But based on the tracks, they were made sometime before the fight happened here."

Another man had found the tracks of the Qing State Horse that Yang Chan had deliberately left behind. He had arrived at this spot before Princess Lan Yue’s group and had even rested for a while, so the horse’s tracks were naturally older.

The men from the Six Gates were skilled enough to discern this.

’This person passed by here... they might have witnessed what happened to Princess Lan Yue’s group. They might have even helped them escape.’

"A few of you, continue searching in the other directions. If you find anything, send a signal immediately. I will investigate this direction myself."

Seeing no other useful information, Jin Feihua gave the order.

She then set off in pursuit, following the direction Yang Chan had gone.