Not a Blade of Grass Grows

Wang Hao stood with his hands behind his back behind the window of a street-facing private room on the second floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Half of his body was hidden behind the gauze curtain as he circulated the Emperor's Qi-Gazing Art, locking his gaze firmly onto the back of a figure wearing coarse gray linen clothes outside the window.

That was none other than Ye Chen.

At this moment, Ye Chen took the word "cautious" to the absolute extreme. Instead of scurrying around like a headless fly, he cleverly used the pushcarts of street vendors, the carrying poles of porters, and even the heavily made-up women soliciting customers outside the brothels to block his line of sight. He walked and stopped, sometimes suddenly halting at a corner to use the reflection of a bronze mirror vendor's wares to stare intently at the street behind him. Other times, he would abruptly turn back against the flow of the crowd, intentionally knocking over a few pedestrians, taking the opportunity amidst the curses to observe if there were any trackers with wandering eyes around him.

Wang Hao watched this series of smooth, almost neurotic anti-reconnaissance movements, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Heh, a Child of Destiny, quite cautious indeed."

"Compared to those brutes who only know how to charge forward recklessly with hot blood, this Ye Chen has clearly suffered countless beatings on the edge of life and death. These anti-tracking methods and this ability to conceal his aura would definitely make him a first-rate stealth grandmaster in the martial world."

"What a pity that the one you encountered today is I, the Emperor. Look at that golden lotus of destiny above your head; it is larger than the combined destiny of everyone on this street. As long as I lock onto this golden lotus of destiny, your actions look like those of a clown."

"Your... Your Majesty... no, Young Master..."

Wei Zhongxian frowned. "This scoundrel is simply slipperier than a loach! Look at him, he's already circling the West Market for the third time. One moment he pretends to be a cripple, the next he sneaks into a funeral procession... The more he acts like a startled bird, the more it proves he has a huge guilty conscience!!"

Sun Li suddenly opened his eyes, looking at this back figure as if he remembered something.

After wandering around the city for more than half an hour, Ye Chen finally stopped his probing.

He stood at the entrance of a deserted dark alley, his chest heaving violently a few times before letting out a long breath of stale air. Although it was already late autumn, the hair at his temples was completely soaked with cold sweat, sticking clammily to his cheeks.

After confirming that there were truly no tails behind him, he quickly pulled out a merchant travel pass from his chest, pushed the sharp blade at his waist deeper, and led four guards who had already converged in the shadows, striding briskly toward the west city gate.

At the city gate, the garrison's inspection was extremely thorough. However, Ye Chen's psychological fortitude was excellent. He bowed and scraped with a face full of fawning smiles, playing the part of a cloth merchant who spent years traveling to the letter. The garrison captain weighed the broken silver secretly handed to him, carefully checked the travel pass, and impatiently waved them through.

The moment he stepped out of the city gate, the mercenary smile on Ye Chen's face vanished without a trace, replaced by an unmelting layer of frost. He almost jogged to a hidden forest shed three miles outside the city, taking five tall, sturdy horses from the undercover contacts waiting there.

"Go! Full speed!"

Ye Chen growled low and vaulted onto his horse. Not daring to pause for even a moment, he lashed his whip fiercely against the horse's rump. Five men and five horses, like black arrows released from a bowstring, kicked up a sky full of wild sand as they galloped madly toward the towering mountains in the southwest.

"Young Master, the fish has left the sea." Yu Huatian stood beside Wang Hao. His handsome and bewitching face held no expression, and his voice was so light it seemed a gust of wind could blow it away.

Wang Hao sneered, flicking his snow-white sleeves abruptly as he turned and strode down from the tavern. "Prepare the horses. Bite onto him."

The Eastern Depot's efficiency never disappointed. In just half a cup of tea's time, five top-quality steeds, which appeared to have mottled coats but actually possessed astonishing foot speed, were already waiting in a secluded spot outside the city.

Wang Hao cleanly vaulted onto his horse.

"Listen well." Wang Hao stared at the trails of dust in the southwest that were about to blend into the horizon. "Maintain a distance of three miles. Use the high ground and blind spots along the way for alternating cover. Don't press too tightly; this kid is extremely guarded. If he notices anything unusual, it will be troublesome. But if you lose him..."

"Your servants and subjects will present our heads to see you!" Yu Huatian and Pei Jingzhe shouted in low voices in unison.

"Chase!"

The five fast horses shot forward. A silent life-and-death pursuit raised its curtain in the wilderness under the scorching sun.

This tug-of-war was far more agonizing than imagined.

Ye Chen's caution was simply hair-raising. He didn't just gallop wildly the whole way; instead, every ten miles he rode, he would definitely reign in his horse abruptly at a strategically located hill or bend, hiding in the dark to stare intently at the road they came from. At the slightest rustle of grass in the wind, he would immediately change his route.

Not only that, but he would also intentionally leave misleading horseshoe prints at crossroads along the way, and even have his subordinates hang torn strips of cloth on branches in the opposite direction.

With Ye Chen's blindingly bright golden lotus of destiny, how could he possibly escape Wang Hao's grasp.

Thirty miles... fifty miles... eighty miles...

The road gradually changed from a wide official highway to a rugged, winding goat trail. As they continuously pressed deeper into the southwestern hinterlands, the surrounding scenery became increasingly desolate.

Sun Li said softly, "Your Majesty, look at our surroundings. There isn't even a wood-chopping villager, just endless treacherous mountains and waters. Could Ye Chen be setting a trap?"

Hearing the name Ye Chen, Wei Zhongxian's expression also grew extremely solemn. He warily scanned the increasingly steep cliffs on both sides, his hand unconsciously reaching into his sleeve to grip a poisoned hidden weapon.

"Young Master," Wei Zhongxian lowered his voice, his tone thick with vigilance. "This old servant also finds it strange. This area is not only remote, but the terrain is treacherous, taking the shape of a pocket. It is a major taboo in military strategy, yet it is also an excellent hiding place. That rebel is definitely not fleeing aimlessly; he has an extremely clear target."

Pei Jingzhe also rode closer, his rough, large hand already resting on the hilt of his embroidered spring sword. "Young Master, the terrain ahead is complex. If the thieves have set an ambush here, they only need to push boulders down from the cliffs on both sides, and we will fall into a desperate situation. To ensure the Young Master's absolute safety, please allow this subject to take men forward to scout the way first!"

Wang Hao slightly raised his hand, stopping Pei Jingzhe's proposal.

His gaze stared deeply at the narrow, thread-like canyon rift ahead, his inner thoughts racing as he deduced all possibilities.

[An ambush? No, Ye Chen doesn't know that I am following him.]

[He exhausted his mind, even going out of his way to take detours and set up decoys, just to return to this godforsaken deep mountain and old forest... This shows that there is something very important here.]

[Assassination failed, fleeing in panic. According to the standard life trajectory of a Child of Destiny, when their forces out in the open suffer a setback, they will inevitably retreat to an unknown novice village or secret base to lick their wounds and regroup.]

[These hundred miles of barren mountains serve as a natural barrier, cutting off investigations from the prefectural authorities. Here, Ye Chen is definitely hiding a trump card!]

[Is he secretly hoarding contraband weapons and armor capable of shaking the prefecture? Or has he gathered a group of followers? Or perhaps...]

Wang Hao's eyes instantly turned sharp.

[Or perhaps, in these desolate mountains, you've used the dumb luck bestowed upon you by the Heavenly Dao to secretly train a rebel army meant to overthrow my Great Zhou empire?!]

[What a Child of Destiny! You really aren't to be trifled with! I must strike you down this time!]

"Keep pursuing," Wang Hao's voice was incredibly low, yet carried an unquestionable authority. "Without my orders, no one is to draw their weapons. I want to see exactly how big of a bastard is hiding at the bottom of this mud pit!"

They groped their way forward for about another hour.

The mountain path grew increasingly narrow, flanked by sheer cliffs that looked as if they had been cleaved by axes and swords.

Suddenly, Yu Huatian, who had been leading the way, sharply raised his hand.

Wang Hao's gaze narrowed, and he immediately made a downward pressing gesture.

"Halt."

The five men dismounted in unison, their movements not making the slightest sound. Pei Jingzhe and Wei Zhongxian were quick-witted, tightly clamping down on the horses' snouts to prevent the exhausted steeds from neighing.

Through the dense thicket ahead, Wang Hao could clearly see the scene in the distance.

He saw Ye Chen and his group finally stop before a seemingly ordinary precipice.

Ye Chen's cautiousness bordered on the abnormal. He didn't rush forward; instead, he circled a few large trees nearby, his eyes scanning some faint marks at their roots. Then, he walked up to a specific bluestone and tapped it rhythmically with the hilt of his blade—three times, a pause of two breaths, and then two more taps.

A moment later, from behind the thick vines and rocks, a whistle sounding like a night owl echoed.

Hearing this whistle, the tension in Ye Chen's shoulders—which he had carried the entire way—finally dissipated. He turned back and waved at his four guards. The five of them led their horses, pushed aside the overlapping vines, and completely vanished into the cliff face.

Wang Hao's pupils contracted sharply.

[A natural karst cave? An illusion? What an incredible method of concealment!]

Using the terrain for cover, the five men climbed up a towering rock wall on the side as silently as night cats. Lying on the freezing stone, Wang Hao looked down from his vantage point. Through the gaps in the vines, he could faintly make out a massive, hidden valley inside.

Yu Huatian clung to the rock like an ambushing gecko. He closed his long, bewitching eyes and pressed his ear firmly against the stone surface, pushing his inner Qi to its absolute limits.

After a full half-incense stick of time, Yu Huatian abruptly opened his eyes. His gaze, usually as placid as an ancient well, now surged with poorly concealed shock and killing intent.

"Young Master..." Yu Huatian's voice was incredibly faint, relying entirely on his profound inner Qi to transmit the sound directly into the ears of Wang Hao and the others. "The entrance to this valley appears unguarded, but in reality, there are at least eight heavy repeating crossbows hidden in the dark recesses on both sides of the rock wall, along with over a dozen hidden sentries with long, steady breaths!"

Wei Zhongxian drew in a sharp breath of cold air, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

Yu Huatian swallowed hard. "What's even more terrifying is inside the valley... These sounds aren't the chaotic clamor of wandering martial artists; they are the synchronized footsteps of marching! There is also the clashing of refined iron and the unified sound of breathing!"

"Young Master, that is a military formation! It is a fully armed army of death warriors undergoing high-intensity drill training! And their numbers... definitely no less than three thousand!"

Boom!

These words exploded like a clap of thunder in the minds of Sun Li and Wei Zhongxian.

In the depths of these mountains, less than a hundred miles from the capital, there was actually an elite rebel army of no less than three thousand men hidden away?!

If this group were to suddenly charge out of the mountains one night and head straight for the capital, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Wang Hao stared fixedly at the dark entrance to the valley. The breeze ruffled the hair at his temples, but it could not blow away the almost tangible, frenzied killing intent in his eyes.

"Three thousand private troops... refined iron armor... Good, very good indeed!"

"Ye Chen, you really didn't disappoint me. You aren't just an assassin; you are an absolute traitor and rebel!"

He slowly turned his head.

"It seems the Great Zhou empire has been at peace for too long. Now, any random cat or dog dares to claim territory and call themselves king right under my nose."

"Wei Zhongxian, Yu Huatian, Pei Jingzhe."

"Your subjects are here!"

Wang Hao's eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year-old profound ice. "Memorize the terrain and coordinates of this place. Pass on my secret decree: mobilize the Six Garrisons of the Imperial Guards, and bring all the runic firearms and fierce fire oil. Bring over the cavalry of the Four Garrisons, as well as all the elites of the Eastern and Western Depots and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Have Hai Dafu and Cao Shaoqin bring the Second Garrison's Eunuch Army as well. Leave no one alive in this battle, and let not a single person escape. I want this valley..."

"...barren of even a single blade of grass!"