Chapter 163 The Dragonbone Token
Because of that, while I was still in Elder Luo’s courtyard getting grilled from every possible angle and nearly exposing whether I could read or not, those two had already met up and exchanged information.
Disguised as a prison guard, Lian had come to investigate the dungeon. The moment he learned Elder Luo had brought me inside, he rushed over to rendezvous.
As for the other two elders summoning Elder Luo—
That part was real.
And we had Hua and Feng Yu to thank for that little miracle.
Those two troublemakers had apparently pulled off some absurdly complicated operation outside.
I looked between them.
“...So what now? Brother Hua Xiang, do you actually have no idea who the thief is?”
Hua Xiang slowly turned his gaze toward me.
Something about that look had changed.
It was the expression of a perfectly refined nobleman suddenly realizing that some street thug had casually slung an arm over his shoulder.
“Since you came here alongside the Young Master,” he said leisurely, “you should address me as Protector Hua.”
I nearly choked.
“Is now really the time to worry about rank and titles?! Besides, who said I’m Lian’s follower—”
I hadn't finished speaking.
Lian quietly glanced at me.
The meaning was crystal clear:
Do you have a death wish?
I immediately shut my mouth.
Hua Xiang pretended not to notice the silent exchange and continued.
“According to the timeline, I genuinely do not know what will happen next.”
He paused.
“However... regarding that thief, I do have a suspicion.”
Before he could continue—
Lian interrupted calmly.
“At this point, speculation is useless.”
His voice was quiet.
Yet every word felt as though it were rearranging our fates.
“Gong and I should interfere as little as possible.
The timeline should proceed as it is meant to.
But—”
He paused and looked toward Hua Xiang’s dim prison cell.
“We cannot simply allow others to take your life.”
The candlelight flickered between the three of them.
Their shadows stretched across the stone floor, tangled together.
Lian spoke softly.
“For now...
we watch how events unfold.”
Meanwhile, I stood off to the side scratching at the wall, wearing the expression of someone who understood everything and absolutely nothing at the same time.
Then something occurred to me.
I shot upright.
“Wait!
What exactly did the Blood Lotus Sect lose?!
I thought the flying thief tossing that bundle at me meant he was returning the stolen goods...
But listening to you all now, it sounds like... something else is still missing.
What is it? Is it important?”
Hua Xiang fell silent.
Then—
He rolled his eyes.
A full, unmistakable eye-roll.
“You only realized that now?”
Me: “???”
Lian ignored the mortal wound inflicted upon my dignity and explained more patiently.
“Do you remember what I told you before?
There were rumors that the Blood Lotus Sect possessed a secret connected to the royal family of the previous dynasty.”
I nodded.
“Of course I remember. You made it sound incredibly mysterious.”
Lian continued.
“I've learned more over the last few days. The imperial court’s attack on the Blood Lotus Sect...
was directly connected to that secret.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“I know!
Were they searching for the Dragonbone Token?!”
The moment the words left my mouth, both Hua Xiang and Lian turned toward me.
Simultaneously, they asked:
“How do you know about the Dragonbone Token?”
Inside my head:
OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO.
If they found out I learned it by sneaking into Little Lian’s room and eavesdropping on Hua Xiang talking to himself while the younger version of Lian was in seclusion...
I was going to be chopped into tiny pieces and buried in separate provinces.
I immediately cleared my throat and adopted the confident tone of a man who absolutely wasn't making things up.
“Ahem... I overheard it somewhere...
from...
um...
Elder Luo! Right! Elder Luo mentioned it!”
Hua Xiang: “...”
Lian looked at me.
His expression clearly said:
You expect anyone to believe that?
Fortunately, he chose not to expose me.
Instead, he shook his head.
“The court is indeed searching for the Dragonbone Token.
But—
the Dragonbone Token is not the secret object.”
He paused.
“It is rare.
It is not secret.”
I frowned.
“Then why are they looking for it?”
Lian answered,
“According to the information I gathered, they need the Dragonbone Token in order to save someone who possesses knowledge of the secret.”
Hua Xiang lifted his head slightly.
“The truth of that remains uncertain.”
I was still processing that revelation when Lian casually added:
“And the item the thief stole...
was the prescription for the Dragonbone Token.”
I froze.
“A prescription?!
Wait.
It's medicine?
Not some jade token or legendary artifact?”
Hua Xiang nodded.
“Correct.
Dragonbone Token is an herbal medicine.
Extremely rare.
Worth more than a life.”
I stared blankly.
“...An herb?”
An herb?!
I had assumed it was some supreme martial artifact!
A relic left by the former emperor!
A legendary token capable of commanding the world!
And now you're telling me—
it's medicinal grass?!
Hua Xiang looked at me the way one might look at an especially stupid sheep.
“Did you imagine it was a golden token capable of opening dragon veins?”
Me: “...”
Okay.
Yes.
That was exactly what I imagined.
Lian continued.
“The Dragonbone Token herb possesses extremely cold properties and is extraordinarily difficult to harvest. Though not secret, it has caused bloody conflicts throughout the martial world.
The Blood Lotus Sect possesses one of its prescriptions.
The theft of that prescription is considered a grave crime.”
Suddenly I remembered something.
“Then...
does the Blood Lotus Sect actually have the Dragonbone Token herb the court is looking for?”
Hua Xiang hesitated.
Then shook his head.
“As far as I know, no.
However, I was preparing to investigate that very matter before I was thrown into prison.
So whether it exists or not...
I can no longer say for certain.”
Lian picked up the thread.
“Which is exactly why we cannot interfere recklessly.
This matter involves more than just us.
And more than just this timeline.”
I fell silent.
The candlelight stretched our shadows longer across the stone floor.
And suddenly I realized—
What I had assumed was merely some ridiculous thief incident was actually connected to internal Blood Lotus Sect power struggles, the imperial court, secrets of a fallen dynasty...
and perhaps even the central mechanism behind this illusion realm itself.
My throat felt dry.
“So...
what do we do now?”
Lian lifted his eyes.
His gaze remained calm.
“We wait for Elder Luo to return.”
Hua Xiang nodded.
“Before he grows suspicious—and preferably before the Sect Leader of this timeline emerges from seclusion—we need to uncover everything we can.”
A chill suddenly ran down my spine.
The candle flames flickered.
The wind outside seemed to grow quieter.
Then—
Rapid footsteps echoed from outside the dungeon.
Hua Xiang spoke softly.
“Elder Luo has returned.”
Lian immediately retreated into the shadows.
In an instant he became nothing more than an ordinary dark-skinned prison guard again.
He looked at me.
“Gong.
Remember—
you cannot change anything right now.
What you see and what must be done...
leave that to me.”
The next moment—
Elder Luo strode back into the dungeon.
“Everyone out!”
I immediately lowered my head and resumed my role as a humble servant.
Lian stood obediently in a corner, looking exactly like the most ordinary prison guard imaginable.
Elder Luo swept his gaze over us.
My heart lodged itself firmly in my throat.
Hua Xiang closed his eyes, as though prepared to face whatever came next.
Elder Luo stopped in front of him.
Then coldly said:
“Hua Xiang.”
The words struck like thunder.
My courage immediately evacuated my body.
It's over.
It's over!
Hua Xiang is doomed!
They're going to execute him right here in the dungeon, aren't they?!
A hundred horrific possibilities raced through my head.
I was already considering whether I should throw myself at Elder Luo's legs and beg for mercy when his next sentence landed:
“You may come out.
Consider yourself fortunate.
The thief has been caught.”
...
Huh?
WHAT?!
My eyes widened so far they nearly rolled onto the floor.
Even Lian froze for a brief moment in the corner.
What kind of development was this?
Was the plot still following the correct script?
Hua Xiang clearly hadn't expected this either.
Instead of hearing a death sentence, he was suddenly being released.
For several moments he seemed to forget how breathing worked.
Then he rushed toward the cell door.
“The thief was caught?
Who is it?!”
Elder Luo looked almost pleased with the collective shock he had caused.
Maintaining his dignified posture, he slowly coughed twice.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
“As it happens, the matter is rather fortunate.”
“It was captured by people serving Elder Zhang and Elder Qin.”
There was something strange in his tone.
Something suspiciously close to happiness.
“The thief also appears to have come from the imperial palace,” Elder Luo continued.
“However, he does not seem to belong to the same faction as the soldiers who attacked the sect.”
A sense of dread immediately crept into my stomach.
Why did Elder Luo seem happy about this?
Because I had personally seen what he wrote on that piece of paper:
"Now that Hua Xiang has been captured, proceed according to the original plan."
That wasn't ambiguous.
That sounded like a setup.
Like he had arranged everything from behind the scenes and intended to push Hua Xiang toward destruction.
But now...
His reaction looked completely genuine.
Almost as if—
he had absolutely nothing to do with it at all.