Chapter 69: Casting a Net

  We have been waiting for several days, but the person who stole the child has not appeared. The child's family has been waiting for several days and is exhausted.

  We lay in wait next door, taking turns to peek through the wall eye. At this time, I was also sleepy and couldn't bear it. Xuan Yuan touched me gently and whispered to me: "Go rest!"

  I nodded, these past few days I've been following Xuan Yuan Mu, he said that only if I stay by his side will I be the safest, anyway not being in the palace also avoided a lot of tedious formalities.

  I fell asleep on the table and vaguely felt someone carrying me onto the 'bed'.

  In the midst of confusion, I feel that many children's souls are floating in the sky, surrounding us and following us. They must have deep grievances too. So young, they were stolen away at birth, their lives unknown.

  I suddenly woke up and thought, if those children's souls appear, doesn't that prove they're already dead?

  Xuanyuan Mu looked at me for a moment, and just then, the sound of fighting came from the next room.

  "Here!" Xuan Yuan Qi rushed out first, with Xuan Yuan Mu closely following behind.

  I'm just a weak woman, and I don't know martial arts, so I can only hide here, peeking through the gap in the wall. Indeed, in the next room, two men in black are fighting with Xuan Yuan Mu's hidden guards at home. On the ground, half a stick of incense is thrown away, emitting waves of smoke, which seems to be some kind of "dizzy" incense.

  Xuanyuan Mu and Xuanyuan Qi rushed into the room, first kicking open the window to let out the smell inside, then joining the battle.

  "It's very intense!" Xue Qiufeng said to me with his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him.

  "How come you're still here and not going over to help?" I glanced at him and continued looking across.

  "I'm just a three-legged cat martial artist, I'm not even their match. Besides, I'm only responsible for exorcising demons and monsters, everything else is none of my business!"

  "You also claim to be able to exorcise demons and evil spirits? You don't even know when a ghost is coming?" I couldn't help but want to strike him.

  "Huh?" Xue Qiufeng looked at me and then turned back to look around the room we were in: "Where is it? Nonsense?"

  "Maybe I was just dreaming!" I sighed.

  The fight was still going on in front of me, and I didn't expect the two men in black to be so skilled. Their faces were covered, their movements swift, and after a few exchanges, one of them turned around and launched a hidden weapon. Before I could even see clearly, one of the assassins had been hit by a flying dagger.

  My palms were all sweaty, and I was afraid they wouldn't be a match for the men in black.

  "Ah..." The child wailed loudly in his mother's arms, while the young mother hid in a corner of the wall, using her own body to shield the child, as if afraid he would be snatched away.

  The guards had already surrounded the house, and Xuan Yuan's long sword was making a hissing sound as he faced the enemy without mercy. With one swift turn, an opponent tried to attack Xuan Yuan from behind.

  I shouted loudly "Be careful!" Xuan Yuan Wu had already turned back, his long sword straight into the 'chest' abdomen of the black-clothed man.

  The remaining black-clad man saw that things were not going well, turned around and wanted to escape. Xuan Yuan's long shirt fluttered as he blocked his way out. The room was narrow, and he had nowhere to hide, vigilantly looking around in all directions.

  Xuanyuan Mochong swung his sword, making a false move, and Xuanyuan Qi also rushed up. A fierce battle began again. In the midst of chaos, Xuanyuan Mochong suddenly tore off the black mask on his opponent's face.

  Seeing this face, I couldn't help but gasp in shock. What kind of face is this? The face was almost completely covered in scars and cuts, with not a single patch of unblemished skin. The entire face had been disfigured beyond recognition, making it impossible to discern its original appearance.

  Xuanyuan Qi saw this scene and stretched out his long sword to lift the mask of another black-clothed man, only to reveal another disfigured face.

  Xuanyuan's eyebrows furrowed tightly, and he gave Xuanyuan Qi a look that said "Catch him alive!"

  The man in black was surrounded, his figure dodging and suddenly fleeing like a window, where Xuan Yuan was guarding, where could he escape.

  Xuanyuan Mo didn't want to take his life, so he deliberately avoided the vital points of his body. However, unexpectedly, he wanted to seek death himself and directly charged towards Xuanyuan Mo's long sword. Xuanyuan Mo's martial arts were extremely powerful, and with a single movement, he withdrew his sword and kicked out with one foot, striking his opponent's chest.

  The man in black on the ground spat out a mouthful of blood, then stared at several people in the room with his eyes wide open. There was no hope for escape now, and the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth flowed more and more.

  "He's poisoned!" Xuan Yuan Qi rushed forward trying to pry open the man's mouth, but failed.

  That man fell to the ground and died. Xuan Yuan Mo opened the clothes of both people, their bodies were intact, except for some scars, there was nothing else. There were no objects on their bodies, even the weapons used were ordinary goods that could be bought on the street. Was the trail really cut off like this?

  Xuanyuan Mugang was about to walk out of the door when he suddenly turned back, picked up the hand of the black-robed man who had poisoned himself, and examined it carefully. His brow furrowed tighter and tighter as he looked at it.

  "What did you find?" Xuan Yuan Qi asked.

  Xuanyuan looked around and said: "The murderer has been punished, tomorrow hang him at the city gate to show the crowd!"

  Returning to Xuan Yuan Qi's newly built Qi Wang Fu, Xue Qiu Feng couldn't help but ask again: "What exactly did you discover?"

  "There's a burn wound on his left hand, it seems like he intentionally concealed something that was burned onto him. Strange, do you still remember our smiling Shifu who taught me martial arts when I was young?"

  "Remember when he taught you and Second Prince Xuan Yuan Huo martial arts, always laughing and smiling, we were all so envious of having such a great master!"

  "I remember that Laughing Master had a tattoo of a flying bird on the tiger mouth of his left hand, do you still remember?"

  Xuanyuan Qizai thought for a moment and shook his head: "He is your and Zhi's master, I don't remember this detail."

  "I remember! Later, because both Xuan Yuan Huo and I wanted to learn martial arts from him, Father Emperor had us compete in martial arts. As a result, I lost to Second Brother, and afterwards, Master Ai Xiao only taught him alone."

  "Is he the laughing master? Impossible, he had long since resigned and returned to his hometown, so many years ago. How could he possibly be a child thief? Besides, why would he steal children?"

  Xuanyuan lowered his head, then looked back at the corpses in the house "It's also. How could someone who loved to smile so much?"

  After the two men in black who stole children died, the case was closed, and since then, there have been no more cases of lost babies in the capital.

  But what is the truth hidden behind this thick fog of confusion? We don't know. Where did the children go? What was the purpose? We are also unaware.

  Returning to the imperial court, the Emperor praised Crown Prince Xuan Yuan Mu and King of Qi Xuan Yuan Qi. For a time, the two men's reputations soared, becoming heroes in the hearts of the people of the capital.

  Time flies, and it's almost here. The corpse spots on Xuan Yuan's body not only didn't heal, but instead showed a tendency to spread, making me extremely anxious.