Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Ignoring an Elder’s Advice, Assassinating the Emperor

As the sun rose in the east, Yang Chan sat cross-legged in his cultivation, completely unconcerned with the events unfolding outside.

The previous night, he had heard a loud commotion in his sleep—the clang of colliding weapons. A fight had clearly broken out, but the sounds had moved away from the Cyan Yuan Pavilion, growing more distant. Naturally, Yang Chan had no desire to get involved.

As long as the threat didn’t come near him, there was no need to pay attention. Getting too invested might just bring disaster upon himself.

This was in line with the instructions from Yan Jinfeng and Elder Ji Feng. They wanted the Cyan Yuan Sect disciples in White Jade City to keep a low profile, to ignore the city’s happenings, and, if possible, to avoid any contact with them whatsoever.

As the old saying goes: ignore the advice of your elders and you’ll pay the price.

Yang Chan was a sensible and low-key person. As long as a threat kept its distance, he couldn’t care less.

At that moment, Yang Chan was performing his breathing exercises. He drew the first wisp of Purple Qi from the nascent sun into his body, slowly refining it and converting it into proficiency for his Purple Qi Body Cultivation Skill.

He never missed a single day of practice for this cultivation technique. As long as the sun rose, Yang Chan would be cultivating.

Once the Purple Qi was fully absorbed, he slowly regulated his breath, concluding his cultivation of the Purple Qi Body Cultivation Skill.

’Even though I didn’t go out to check last night, I should still find out what’s going on in White Jade City. I’ll head over to the Cyan Yuan Pavilion restaurant later and listen in. Maybe I can pick up some useful information.’

Yang Chan considered going to Yan Jinfeng’s quarters to learn what had transpired, but he quickly abandoned the idea.

It just wasn’t a viable option.

’I have no good reason to visit Yan Jinfeng and the others, and showing up would be far too suspicious. It’s better to go to the main restaurant in the Cyan Yuan Pavilion; I can still gather some information there.’

’I have no other way of gathering intelligence in White Jade City, so this will have to do.’

’If it comes to the worst, Yan Jinfeng and the others will certainly inform us and give us time to evacuate. But that’s the worst-case scenario, one I hope never comes to pass.’

’Going to get something to eat because I’m hungry—that’s a perfectly reasonable excuse.’

’I won’t need to wear my Pharmacist’s robes, either; normal clothes will be fine. Given how I’ve been acting, I should be quite inconspicuous. Not too many people should know who I am.’

’Besides, I’ll still be inside the Cyan Yuan Pavilion, which is within the Cyan Yuan Sect’s sphere of influence. It’s relatively safe.’

Yang Chan thought to himself.

After stretching his limbs, Yang Chan wasted no time and headed directly for the restaurant at the front of the Cyan Yuan Pavilion, where an attendant showed him to a private room.

His private room was by a window, giving him a clear view of the street below. After ordering a few dishes, he sipped his tea and observed the activity outside.

His eyes scanned the areas where he had heard the fighting. Sure enough, his keen gaze picked out several marks left by the clash—battle scars that hadn’t been cleaned up. The force behind the impacts was considerable, a clear sign that the combatants possessed high levels of cultivation.

Yang Chan didn’t know who had been fighting. With a slight enhancement of his hearing, the voices from the adjacent private rooms and the din from the main hall below flowed into his ears.

He carefully filtered through the noise until he caught a group discussing the previous night’s events. He immediately focused his attention on their conversation, listening intently.

"You all heard the commotion last night, right?"

"Of course. It was pretty loud. I heard some reckless thief tried to steal from the Imperial Palace and ended up drawing out the Imperial Army. That’s why it was such a big deal."

"The way I heard it, a master thief captured by the Six Gates escaped, and it was their own people making all that noise trying to get him back."

"You’re all wrong. A friend of my great-uncle’s third cousin’s son-in-law’s brother is in the Forbidden Army, and he said trouble broke out inside the Imperial Palace. Some assassin made a move, forcing the Forbidden Army to intervene. They fought all the way from inside the palace to the streets outside, which is why we heard everything..."

"..."

Yang Chan listened to this gossip, feeling rather speechless. It was all useless speculation, just as he’d expected.

It was all just wild guesses, completely devoid of accuracy.

With a helpless sigh, he shifted his focus to another group. This time, upon hearing the content of their discussion, Yang Chan’s expression turned serious.

"The ones who made a move last night seemed to be Crown Prince Yang Qian’s people. It looked like a probe to test the Emperor’s true strength."

"That’s not confirmed. It could have been men belonging to other Princes. After all, none of the Princes in White Jade City are the type to sit still."

"The Elder said our job is just to pass on information, not to over-analyze. Just report what we find, and he will analyze the details himself."

"Right. The Crown Prince was in the Eastern Palace all night and never left. But someone may have visited him, because an extra serving of tea was requested at his residence."

"As for the Thirty-Ninth Prince..."

"..."

Yang Chan hadn’t expected to overhear a report from the Cyan Yuan Sect’s clandestine agents—a welcome surprise. From their conversation, he pieced together the gist of it: someone had attempted an assassination in the Imperial Palace. The attempt failed, and the assassin was severely wounded. But just as they were about to capture the culprit, an unknown faction intervened.

The Forbidden Army clashed with this new group but ultimately failed to capture the assassin. The Emperor was said to be furious and had assigned the case to the Six Gates, ordering them to apprehend the culprit.

He even set a strict deadline; failure to meet it would result in severe punishment.

Divine Constable Jin Feihua of the Six Gates was personally leading the investigation.

As Yang Chan listened, he saw them arrive—members of the Six Gates. Their distinctive uniforms were instantly recognizable. They were examining the marks left from the previous day’s battle, searching for clues.

Yang Chan sipped his tea, casting a casual glance their way. He soon noticed that the person in charge of the scene was an unfamiliar young man. Evidently, the Six Gates didn’t expect to find any crucial leads here and had assigned a junior to the task, perhaps just to ensure nothing was overlooked.

When the attendant brought his food, Yang Chan inspected it briefly before eating in silence. All the while, he was mentally recording the agents’ conversation, paying special attention to when they mentioned their next report would be. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

This was the method for relaying intelligence within the Cyan Yuan Pavilion. His current status didn’t grant him access to such information. Based on what the agents said, their report would likely end up with Elder Ji Feng.

For now, all Yang Chan could do was plan to listen in again next time. ’One more person hearing this won’t make a difference,’ he thought. ’This information might seem secret, but any major power could likely uncover it with ease. I’m just borrowing their intelligence network for a moment.’

’In the short term, this shouldn’t affect the Cyan Yuan Sect. I can just stay put in the Cyan Yuan Pavilion and continue to keep a low profile.’

Yang Chan told himself silently.

In the current situation, there was no need for him to worry. The trouble had nothing to do with him, nor did it involve the Cyan Yuan Sect. As long as things stayed this way, he could remain safe and undisturbed, which was excellent news for Yang Chan.