Chapter 304: Chapter 305: The Last Spirit Tablet

The two entered the room, and Li Ji took off his cloak.

Hua Manman immediately noticed a handkerchief wrapped around his right arm, with red blood seeping through it.

She quickly asked Feihua Zhenren to take a look at Prince Zhao.

Feihua Zhenren unwrapped the handkerchief, revealing a wound about three inches long.

The edges of the wound were clean and straight, clearly caused by a sharp blade.

Feihua Zhenren said, "It’s just a flesh wound. It’s not deep and didn’t reach the bone. It’s not a serious issue."

Only then did Hua Manman sigh in relief.

Feihua Zhenren deftly treated Prince Zhao’s wound.

Once it was bandaged, Li Ji went into the inner chamber to change his clothes.

Hua Manman had someone take their dinner to the kitchen to be reheated.

When Li Ji emerged in a fresh set of clothes, Hua Manman couldn’t help but ask.

"How did you get injured?"

But Li Ji’s reply was off-topic.

"There are no outsiders here. You don’t have to be so formal."

Every time she addressed him so formally, he felt as if he were a generation older than her.

Feihua Zhenren stroked his beard and chuckled.

’So I don’t count as an outsider, eh?’

Hua Manman wasn’t bothered by such trivialities. Since Prince Zhao didn’t like the formality, she complied and changed how she addressed him.

"Weren’t you handling the aftermath at the Imperial Ancestral Temple? How did you get hurt?"

Li Ji didn’t hide anything and recounted how he had been injured.

「One hour earlier.」

The soldiers of the Tiger Roar Camp were rummaging through the ruins, trying to find the missing memorial tablets.

After a full day of searching, they had found nearly all the tablets. Only two remained.

Once they found all the tablets, they could go home to celebrate the New Year with their families.

Yet, no matter how hard they looked, they just couldn’t find those last two tablets.

The sky was growing darker, and Li Ji, thinking of his promise to Manman, wanted to get back early for dinner.

So he set aside his status, took off his cloak, rolled up his sleeves, and personally joined the search party.

Perhaps it was his luck, because he found one of the tablets not long after.

Nearby, a clean incense table had been specially set up, and on it sat the many tablets they had already recovered.

Li Ji wiped the tablet he had just found clean and placed it on the incense table.

Just as he was about to search for the final tablet, his eyes unexpectedly met those of an unremarkable-looking soldier.

In that instant, Li Ji heard the man’s thoughts—

’Why is Prince Zhao looking at me? Have I been discovered?’

Li Ji was instantly on alert. ’This man is trouble!’

He strode toward the man and called out.

"You, come here!"

But before the words were even out of his mouth, the soldier bolted and ran!

Without a second thought, Li Ji gave chase.

"Stop!"

The soldier’s Qinggong was exceptional; in the blink of an eye, he had flown out of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Li Ji was just as fast and kept close behind him.

It was, in fact, an extremely dangerous move.

The sky had already darkened, and the conditions in the small grove of trees ahead were unknown.

He didn’t know if an ambush lay in wait within the trees; rushing in recklessly would make him an easy target.

But he had no time to think.

One chasing the other, the two of them plunged into the woods behind the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The dreary night sky was moonless and starless, covered by a thick blanket of dark clouds.

The light in the woods was poor, making it difficult for Li Ji to keep the soldier in sight, but he managed to catch up using his keen sense of hearing.

The two of them began to fight in the small grove.

The soldier’s Qinggong was excellent, but his head-on combat skills were clearly no match for Li Ji’s.

After only a few exchanges, he was at a disadvantage.

Just as Li Ji was about to apprehend him, their eyes met again.

Once again, Li Ji read his thoughts—

’General, save me!’

Li Ji had no time to ponder which general he meant; he only knew the man had an accomplice. An accomplice who was likely nearby.

Li Ji’s eyes darted to the side, scanning for anyone hiding nearby, and he caught a flash of cold light.

Alarmed, he dodged instantly.

A Hidden Weapon grazed his arm as it flew past.

Even through his thick winter clothes, his arm was cut.

The soldier seized the opportunity to break free from Li Ji, plunging deeper into the woods and vanishing in an instant.

When Chen Wangbei and Bian Ziming arrived, only Prince Zhao remained in the grove.

Chen Wangbei and Bian Ziming were both alarmed to see that Prince Zhao was injured.

Li Ji casually wrapped the wound with a handkerchief he carried, tied a knot, and ordered in a grave voice.

"Gather everyone. I’m taking a roll call."

He had to find out who that soldier was!

Soon, everyone had gathered in the open area in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Bian Ziming, holding a roster, began calling out names one by one.

As each name was called, the person had to step forward and answer.

After he had gone through all the names on the roster, Bian Ziming found that only one person was missing.

The man’s name was Xu Yi. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Li Ji didn’t recognize the name. He asked in a low voice, "Where does he live? Is anyone here familiar with him?"

Bian Ziming asked around but discovered that no one in the entire Tiger Roar Camp was familiar with Xu Yi.

It wasn’t that Xu Yi was disliked. Rather, he kept everyone at a polite distance. He gave the impression of being approachable, but in truth, no one really knew him well.

At this point, Bian Ziming also realized something was amiss.

This Xu Yi was clearly keeping his distance from people intentionally.

Bian Ziming was full of doubt. ’Who on earth is this Xu Yi?’

Li Ji didn’t answer. Instead, he walked straight to the incense table where the memorial tablets were arranged.

He had a theory he needed to test immediately.

No longer daring to let Prince Zhao act alone, Bian Ziming and Chen Wangbei hurried after him.

Li Ji stood beside the incense table.

This was the spot where he had encountered Xu Yi earlier.

He counted the tablets on the incense table and was surprised to find they were all accounted for. Not a single one was missing.

Li Ji turned to Bian Ziming.

"Did you find the last tablet?"

Bian Ziming looked completely baffled. "No, we haven’t."

Everyone had stopped searching the moment they saw Prince Zhao chasing after someone.

That meant the last tablet had appeared out of thin air.

An ordinary person might have thought the place was haunted.

But Li Ji didn’t believe in ghosts or gods.

He trusted only his own eyes.

The last tablet must have been secretly placed on the incense table.

The person who would do such a thing was very likely the mysteriously vanished Xu Yi.

Li Ji had an excellent memory.

He clearly remembered the order in which each tablet had been found.

He mentally set aside each of the tablets that had been found in order, leaving only one: the one Xu Yi had secretly placed on the table.

Bian Ziming stared at the tablet that had been set aside by itself and muttered involuntarily.

"Isn’t this the late emperor’s memorial tablet?"

Li Ji picked up the late emperor’s tablet and frowned, deep in thought.

They had searched all day without finding this tablet.

At first, Li Ji had thought it was simply buried too deeply to be found easily.

But Xu Yi’s appearance made him suspect that the late emperor’s tablet had been deliberately hidden.

That was why they hadn’t been able to find it.