Astral Apostle

In the sky above Ning Tian Prefecture, Zhou Jing's clothes fluttered as he rode the wind, looking down at the chaotic scene in the city like an eagle.

"This person tried to assassinate the Emperor alone. I wonder if he has any accomplices to support him secretly…"

He muttered softly as he activated his Elemental Vision to survey the surroundings, but he did not discover anything.

This assassin seemed to be a pure martial artist. He did not know any spells, so to him, he was even harder to catch than Mei Zhanqing.

There were specializations in every field. Back then, Mei Shaoqing was full of evil aura. In the Elemental Vision, she was like a firefly in the night, vivid and outstanding.

As for an ordinary martial artist, his aura was no different from that of a mortal. There were no obvious characteristics, and there were no special traces that would appear in his Elemental Vision.

Zhou Jing tried for a while before retracting his Elemental Vision. Against such a target, he might as well use his normal senses to search for traces.

He lowered his altitude and circled in the night sky, observing the search trajectory of the many palace guards. He looked at the streets illuminated by torches and focused on the movements in the dark streets.

Under his higher perception, he could see the situation in the area he flew over. Although he could not see everything clearly, he would not ignore the slightest movement.

However, after searching for a while, he still came out fruitless.

"The assassin is very skilled. As long as he shakes off the pursuers, it's possible for him to hide anywhere. Ning Tian Prefecture is very big. Without any mysterious methods to track him, searching for a person is like finding a needle in a haystack…"

Zhou Jing thought to himself.

If he was an assassin, how would he escape if his assassination failed?

Hmm… Run away? My ass. I would definitely swagger out of the city.

"Cough, this is not what a normal person would think."

Zhou Jing composed himself and switched to a mortal's train of thought.

"The assassination is carried out at night, and the city gate is sealed, so the assassin can only hide in the city. Because the Emperor got assassinated this time, even if it's daytime, the city gate will definitely be under martial law. If they can't find the criminal, they won't easily remove the gate restrictions.

Therefore, the assassin can either hide in the city and pray that he won't be found, or find a way to slip out of the city. He dares to assassinate and has extraordinary skills, so he shouldn't sit back and wait for death, but instead choose to avoid the city gate and find another way to escape from Ning Tian Prefecture…"

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the Yu Lin River in the city.

The net in Ning Tian Prefecture was dense to the point that water probably could not seep past it. If the assassin wanted to avoid the inspection, the most likely thing was to take the water route at night and think of a way to leave the city through the docks.

With a thought, Zhou Jing lowered his altitude and flew close to the shore of the Yu Lin River to observe the movements on the river.

The Yu Lin River surrounded Ning Tian Prefecture. There were bustling sections and remote sections along the entire river.

He searched carefully for a while and really discovered some abnormalities in a remote area on the river.

There was a stone bridge here, and there were clumps of aquatic plants growing in the hole. There were fish swimming around the area, creating ripples.

Everything seemed normal, but Zhou Jing realized that a reed tube had extended out from the plants.

In the dark environment, it was difficult for ordinary people to discover this detail, but his perception was quite high. His vision, smell, and hearing far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Under his comprehensive perception, not only did he discover this detail through his vision, but he also vaguely felt the faint movement of the airflow in the reed pipe, as if someone was breathing in small mouthfuls.

"There should be someone hiding underwater… It's most likely the assassin. Otherwise, would one hide like this at night?"

Zhou Jing's eyes flashed, but he did not go forward to expose him. Instead, he listened to the surroundings.

The footsteps of the royal guards were quite far away, and the windows and doors of the buildings on the shore of this river were mostly closed. No one was watching.

He rolled his eyes, coughed, and deliberately muttered,

"I wonder who this assassin is. Could it be that Death Beckoning Yama King, Chen Feng? This person has killed officials and nobles along the way. He's known to suppress evil and is the most suspicious."

With that, Zhou Jing turned around and flew away, as if he had gone somewhere else.

In fact, he circled around and returned, quietly watching the commotion in the air.

Not long after, he realized that a "drifting" reed pipe had appeared on this stretch of the river. It was quietly moving along the river towards the edge of the city.

Zhou Jing's eyes lit up. He did not tell anyone about this discovery, but instead quietly followed in the air and stared at this person's traces.

...

Duan Yunfeng held the reed pipe in his mouth and swam carefully in the river.

It was autumn, and the river water was bone-chilling. Even though he was strong and had inner Qi to protect him, he still felt his body gradually freeze up. He could only force himself to hold on.

The water was turbid and dark. Duan Yunfeng could not see the road ahead, but he did not dare to stick his head out. He could only swim and stop for a while, listening carefully to the movements on the shore through the river.

Fortunately, he had been scouting for the past month and was already familiar with the terrain of the river. Even if he could not see clearly under the water, he could still find his way in the dark. When he escaped, he specially chose this route. It led to the water gate to the west of the city and did not pass through the bustling river segment of the pleasure boats. It was a good way to avoid being seen.

After swimming for an unknown period of time, Duan Yunfeng finally touched the slippery moss that lined the wall of the water gate. He listened for a while and confirmed that there were no soldiers around before carefully sticking his head out of the water.

The watergate here was connected to the city wall and was shaped like an arch, sealed by iron railings. The river was narrow, only allowing a small boat to pass through. Outside was a winding river that led straight to the Jiangchun River.

As long as he went out, he could escape.

Duan Yunfeng fumbled around and grabbed the edge of an iron railing. There were a few loose spots here that were connected to the city wall. He had loosened them day after day during his patrol this month.

He took a deep breath and suddenly exerted strength.

Crack!

The corner of the iron railing broke, revealing a gap that could barely be passed through.

Duan Yunfeng's body emitted cracking sounds as he circulated his Bone Shrinking Technique and crawled through the gap.