Suddenly, two martial performers turned their spears and charged directly at Xiao Zhiyi!
Xiao Zhiyi was startled, frozen in place as if petrified.
The guards who had long protected Xiao Zhiyi were prepared. They immediately drew their swords and rushed forward, shielding Xiao Zhiyi and engaging the two martial performers.
Su Fan had felt something was amiss earlier. As expected, these two were assassins, but they were too foolish, their intentions too obvious. Although Xiao Zhiyi was engrossed in the opera and hadn't noticed, his guards were ready and success was impossible.
As anticipated, the two martial performers were quickly subdued and captured by Xiao Zhiyi's guards.
Xiao Zhiyi's expression was grim.
Not just because of the assassination attempt, but primarily because it had ruined his enjoyment of the opera.
"Who sent you to kill me?"
Xiao Zhiyi asked the two captured martial performers with a cold face.
"Hmph!"
The martial performers stubbornly turned their heads away.
"Kill us or torture us! Do as you please!"
The two had clearly prepared for death and showed no fear.
Xiao Zhiyi knew he wouldn't get any information from such individuals.
"Kill them."
Xiao Zhiyi calmly ordered his guards.
The martial performers were dragged away, and soon, the sounds of swift execution echoed from outside.
"Burn this place."
Xiao Zhiyi, clearly in a foul mood, directly ordered the opera house to be set ablaze.
As for the people in the opera house, they met a fate similar to the martial performers.
Regardless of whether the opera house was directly involved in the assassination attempt, the presence of the two martial performers within its walls made them primarily responsible. And for conspiring to assassinate a royal member, there was only one outcome: death.
Xiao Zhiyi, displeased, did not pay any further attention to Su Fan and returned to the palace.
Meanwhile, in the imperial study of the palace.
Xiao Yuan, the reigning emperor of the Tianlong Dynasty, was listening to Grand Scholar Zhuang Xingxian report on work.
"What is the background of this Su Fan you mentioned?"
Zhuang Xingxian presented the emperor with the "Quan Xue" that Su Fan had recited before him, along with the two poems from the poetry gathering. The emperor was quite intrigued by Su Fan after reading them.
"This old minister does not know. However, Su Fan was recommended by His Highness the Second Prince."
Zhuang Xingxian was unclear about Su Fan's origins, only knowing that the Second Prince had arranged for Su Fan to enter the Imperial Academy.
"Second Prince?"
"The Second Prince respects scholars and gentlemen, but perhaps a bit too much."
Xiao Yuan agreed with the Second Prince's respect for scholars but found it somewhat extreme.
Scholars and gentlemen could be well-utilized, but they shouldn't be treated as honored guests. If the Second Prince were to ascend the throne in the future, it might lead to a situation where ministers held excessive power.
"This Su Fan also has a connection with the Third Prince. He entered the poetry gathering with the Third Prince, but for some reason, he is now close to the Second Prince."
Zhuang Xingxian relayed the limited information he had about Su Fan to the emperor.
"Oh?"
Xiao Yuan became somewhat puzzled.
"This Su Fan can navigate between the two? Interesting. I wish to meet him."
Xiao Yuan's interest in Su Fan grew, and he found himself wanting to meet this young man named Su Fan.
"Arrange for him to see me tomorrow."
Xiao Yuan instructed Zhuang Xingxian.
"This old minister will arrange it at once."
"By the way, what has the Crown Prince been doing lately?"
Xiao Yuan asked with a frown.
Of his three sons, only the eldest was somewhat satisfactory, but that boy only knew how to fool around all day!
Thinking of the Crown Prince made Xiao Yuan unhappy. As the Crown Prince, he was constantly running around aimlessly; what kind of conduct was that!
"Someone has seen the Crown Prince in Tianlong City recently. He might have returned and is somewhere within the city."
Zhuang Xingxian replied.
"Find him for me as soon as possible. Drag him back to the palace if you must!"
Xiao Yuan said sternly.
"Yes!"
Zhuang Xingxian quickly acknowledged.
When Su Fan learned that he was to be summoned to the palace to meet the emperor the next day, he was utterly bewildered.
[Ding! Side Quest: Audience with the Emperor, Quest Reward: 10000 Experience, 500 Reputation, Accept? ]
Did Su Fan have a choice? Of course, he accepted. If he didn't, he might as well leave Tianlong City.
Good heavens, he had just become a minor official and was already going to meet the reigning emperor. What merit did he possess for such an honor?
Su Fan temporarily set these matters aside and returned to reality, heading to the Martial Alliance to see if there was any news about Belor.
Su Fan received no news about Belor but found many traces of sorcerers. Upon learning that sorcerers had entered China, the Chinese martial artists had already begun their own independent operations to hunt them down.
The Martial Alliance seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire by posting missions to hunt down domestic sorcerers. Those martial artists with aspirations could also earn some points.
Su Fan wasn't looking for the sorcerers' whereabouts; they posed no threat to him. The main problem was still Belor.
A puppeteer was truly troublesome, and the most difficult aspect was finding his trace.
"Perhaps... lure the snake out of its hole?"
This was the only method Su Fan could think of. Only by doing so could he have a chance to find Belor's whereabouts in a short period.
But how to do it?
Su Fan hadn't been idle these past few days. He had been wandering around outside, but Belor hadn't shown himself. He had only sent a few puppets, yielding no clues.
Su Fan could only wander outside, hoping to lure Belor out, even if it was just for a few words.
"If you really want to lure them out, I think you can try this place."
Dongfang Tingyin pointed to a location on the new city map.
Su Fan looked. It was near a scrap yard in the southern part of the new city. The southern area was mostly construction sites and futuristic ruins, with a lot of scrap. Large quantities of scrap were transported to this place.
"Why here?"
Su Fan asked Dongfang Tingyin with confusion.
"According to the information they provided, although the locations where martial artist puppets and sorcerers were discovered are scattered, when all those places are connected, the intersection point is near here. The sorcerers' lair is very likely in this area."
Dongfang Tingyin explained as she connected these locations with a pen, the final intersection point being this scrap yard.
Su Fan's heart stirred, and he felt Dongfang Tingyin's reasoning was sound.
"I'll go take a look!"
Su Fan immediately rushed to the location.
The scrap yard was vast, after all, it was the scrap recycling station for the entire southern economic development zone. The accumulated scrap was immense, and a smaller area wouldn't suffice.
Here, scrap was piled high, with all sorts of discarded materials, some emitting a foul odor.
Su Fan entered the scrap yard. It appeared deserted, with no one around, not even the owner of the scrap yard.
Su Fan wandered around the scrap yard for a while, finding nothing unusual, and no one in sight.
Suddenly, a figure flashed past the intersection ahead of Su Fan.
"Who!"
Su Fan exclaimed, asking vigilantly.
Su Fan quickly gave chase but saw no one at the turn. Ahead were two diverging paths.