Volume 1, Chapter 65: Zhou Qianlin is Lost

Li Hanzhou deliberately focused his attention on Yunhuang, especially since the Great Celestial Phenomenon Art he was currently practicing was the supreme treasure of Yunhuang.

He guessed that he would inevitably attract the attention of Yunhuang. Under such circumstances, studying Yunhuang closely beforehand would mean knowing both himself and his enemy, ensuring victory in every battle.

Meanwhile, the Great Zhou Dynasty was far from monolithic at this moment.

Internal strife was actually quite severe.

Li Hanzhou felt that every dynasty experienced such turmoil.

It was nothing more than having too many sons secretly engaging in power struggles, all vying for the position of crown prince.

Was the Kingdom of Shenque any different?

Whoever wanted to assassinate the Ninth Prince Yu Qingyang was undoubtedly one of Yu Qingyang's younger or older brothers.

As the strongest current enemy of the Kingdom of Shenque, the Great Zhou Dynasty could not escape this destiny either.

"The imperial family is truly the most ruthless of all," Li Hanzhou sighed softly. For the sake of the throne, no matter how close brothers were in their youth, almost all of them would eventually point weapons at each other when they grew up.

The greater the affection in childhood, the more ruthless the hostility in adulthood.

"Do you want to be emperor?" At this moment, Li Hanzhou suddenly asked Shi Ming.

"I don't want to," Shi Ming shook his head. "I think being an ordinary person is quite nice."

"Uncle-Master, why is the weather getting hotter and hotter?" Shi Ming could not help complaining.

"The climate in Great Zhou is different from our Shenque," Li Hanzhou said. "It should be close to snowing in Shenque by now, but Great Zhou is still in the middle of summer."

Li Hanzhou opened the carriage curtain and took a look, noticing that the blazing sun outside was indeed making the environment increasingly arid.

Farmland in the distance was even showing signs of drying up.

The heat also forced Shi Ming to strip off his outer robe, leaving only his inner waistcoat, which finally made him feel a bit more comfortable.

"We have already reached the border of Wanshui Prefecture. Wanshui City is right ahead, and your Senior Eldest Brother is waiting for us there," Li Hanzhou told Shi Ming.

"Uncle-Master, it's been almost a month since that letter was sent. Is Senior Eldest Brother really still there?" Shi Ming expressed some doubt.

"Whether he is or not, we have to go and see for ourselves."

Li Hanzhou was extremely eager to know how Zhou Qianlin had suddenly arrived in Great Zhou.

Furthermore, he wanted to find out more about his senior brother's trail and what kind of treasure had been discovered.

If the lost treasures of the Longevity Temple could be recovered, the temple would undoubtedly flourish even more.

After another day and a half of travel, the two finally caught sight of Wanshui City.

The scorching heat made the entire city appear slightly distorted.

The city guards looked thoroughly listless. When Li Hanzhou and Shi Ming entered the city, those soldiers were even hiding in the shade to rest, too lazy to come over and inspect them.

Wanshui City, serving as a border fortress, was exceptionally vast.

Moreover, it was heavily guarded, and the moment Li Hanzhou entered, he could sense that powerful experts were hidden within the city.

Following the instructions in Zhou Qianlin's letter, Li Hanzhou and Shi Ming arrived at the Wanshui Inn where Zhou Qianlin had been staying.

However, when Li Hanzhou and Shi Ming asked for Zhou Qianlin, the innkeeper told them with astonishment that Zhou Qianlin had already checked out and left the inn ten days ago.

"Senior Eldest Brother is gone?" Shi Ming asked in surprise. "Where did he go?"

"That I wouldn't know," the innkeeper shook his head.

Li Hanzhou attempted a divination, but his craft could not pinpoint coordinates down to the exact spot where Zhou Qianlin was. He could only deduce that Zhou Qianlin was still within Wanshui City.

However, Wanshui City was simply too massive, boasting more than a dozen districts. Searching for someone in a city of this scale was no different than finding a needle in a haystack.

With no other options, Li Hanzhou and Shi Ming had no choice but to temporarily check into the inn.

That evening, the two of them were eating by the window on the ground floor.

Suddenly, the street outside grew bustling and noisy.

A large detachment of soldiers was escorting a dozen bound prisoners with rags stuffed in their mouths, flanked by cavalrymen guarding the flanks.

Many onlookers had gathered around to watch the commotion.

"Esteemed guests, here is your wine," the waiter announced as he came over to serve the drinks.

"Waiter, what happened to those people?" Li Hanzhou asked out of curiosity.

"Those people?" The waiter chuckled. "They are people from the Kingdom of Shenque, likely sent here as spies. A good many of them have been rounded up recently."

"People from the Kingdom of Shenque?" Li Hanzhou was taken aback.

It seemed that staying in Wanshui City was quite hazardous. Even people from Shenque could be arrested on suspicion of being spies?

"Uncle-Master, do you think Senior Eldest Brother might have..." Shi Ming ventured cautiously at this point.

Li Hanzhou could not be sure either.

Where he might have been detained remained unknown. If he really had been arrested by Great Zhou as a spy, things would become deeply troublesome.

"It looks like we need to think of a way," Li Hanzhou knew that being unfamiliar with the place made handling matters here extremely difficult.

"What way?"

Shi Ming asked curiously.

Just as they were speaking, the street outside grew lively once more. Countless townspeople had already lined the sides of the road and dropped to their knees.

Immediately afterward, a massive procession marched down the center of the road, followed closely by a lavishly decorated sedan chair escorted by a heavily armed guard detail filled with formidable experts.

Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Li Hanzhou learned that the arriving dignitary was none other than the current Fourth Prince, Yun Qing.

From the book Su Nianyi had given him, Li Hanzhou knew that Yun Qing was also one of the formidable contenders for the crown prince position.

The Fourth Prince Yun Qing had come to Wanshui Prefecture to pray for rain on behalf of the commoners.

By doing so, he could build a favorable reputation in front of the Great Zhou Emperor, making the sovereign feel that he cared deeply for the people.

Perhaps this would be factored into the consideration for the future succession of the throne.

"We can just have him help us look," Li Hanzhou said with a smile.

"Ah?"

Shi Ming was stunned. "Uncle-Master, he's a prince of Great Zhou. How could he possibly help us?"

"He will help us," Li Hanzhou said with absolute certainty.

Though Shi Ming had no idea what his master's uncle was planning, he nodded trustingly nonetheless.

The next day.

The blazing sun beat down relentlessly once again.

Wanshui City was overflowing with commotion because the Prince Yun Qing was going to assist in praying for rain today.

This was a ritual-like event, but since Prince Yun Qing was personally presiding over it, it naturally drew immense attention.

"Your Highness, the noon hour is approaching. It will soon be time for Your Highness to go out and pray for rain."

Inside a stately mansion, right outside Yun Qing's bedchamber, a personal guard spoke respectfully.

"Understood, I will be out shortly," Yun Qing's voice came from within.

However, at that very moment, Yun Qing was staring with a grave expression at the figure that had silently appeared inside his private room.

What on earth were his guards doing?

None of them had even noticed someone breach his quarters.

"What is Your Excellency's purpose in seeking me out?" Yun Qing had seen his share of turbulent storms, so he did not panic excessively and asked calmly, "Or could it be that Your Excellency has come to assassinate me? Are you sent by my second brother, or my sixth brother?"

"I am nobody's man," Li Hanzhou replied. "I have come to see His Highness the Fourth Prince because I wish to cooperate with Your Highness."

"Cooperate?" Yun Qing did not entirely believe Li Hanzhou's words.

"Since Your Highness is praying for rain today, I can help make it rain. What do you think?" Li Hanzhou said.