Chapter 646: Taking Someone Away in Public
The guards stepped forward to drive the old Daoist away.
The old Daoist’s figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he was behind the guards. "This old man despises detours. Why don’t... HIC... all of you go around instead?"
Prince Changyang couldn’t even follow the old Daoist’s movements. When he snapped out of his shock, he immediately raised a hand, and his entire retinue grew alert.
Zhan Yi and Qian Fu, having made out the scene ahead, spurred their horses forward.
"Senior, could you please let us pass?" Zhan Yi could tell at a glance that this old man was no ordinary person.
The old Daoist let out a drunken hiccup. Far from moving, he instead lay down on his side, raised his wine gourd, and took a long swig.
Zhan Yi frowned, wondering what the man’s intentions were.
Prince Helian and Prince Changyang privately suspected he might have been sent by the imperial family.
"Men, bind this mad old Daoist," Prince Helian ordered, stepping down from his carriage.
Receiving the order, the guards advanced in unison to seize the man on the ground. They bent over, but before their hands could touch him, a sudden gust of wind swept past. When they looked again, the ground was empty.
Zhan Yi and his group could only watch, utterly shocked, as the man on the ground vanished in the blink of an eye. They whipped their heads around, searching for him.
BANG!
A deafening crack.
Before anyone could react, the massive carriage at the rear had exploded, revealing a crystal coffin packed with ice for all to see.
Dean Chen, Qian Fanji, Gu Shuo, and Zhan Chi were startled for a moment before going on high alert.
The crowd of onlookers surged forward in a clamor. They were both fascinated and shocked by the sight of the crystal coffin, and they could vaguely make out the figure of a child lying inside.
Qian Fanji and the others dismounted, forming a circle around the coffin. The carriage had exploded so suddenly, yet they hadn’t detected the slightest fluctuation of Inner Strength. The attacker had to be an absolute master.
Du Yi and Luo Wen scanned their surroundings, their expressions grim.
"My, my. Tsk, tsk, tsk. They really are identical." The old Daoist was now standing on the coffin, having appeared there at some unknown moment. He peered through the lid, getting a clear look at the little one inside.
At this sight, the eyes of Gu Shuo, Zhan Chi, Du Yi, and nearly everyone else in the escort party turned red with fury. In an instant, their longswords were drawn.
As Sword Qi surged toward him from all directions, the old Daoist merely gave a sidelong glance. He flicked his sleeve, and an invisible force seemed to coalesce into a swirling vortex. The longswords were caught by an irresistible pull, uncontrollably converging toward a single point.
A dozen longswords were instantly stuck together in a cluster. Qian Fanji tried to pull his sword free, but it was as if his hand were glued to the hilt; he could neither let go nor wrench it away.
Zhan Chi and Du Yi were in the same predicament, frozen in place and unable to move a muscle.
Zhan Yi, Qian Fu, and the men from the two Prince Mansions all closed in, but seeing Qian Fanji’s group completely immobilized, they didn’t dare make a rash move.
"Venerable Daoist, who might you be? Why are you treating a deceased child like this?" Dean Chen asked, his voice grave.
The old Daoist sat languidly on the coffin lid, his gaze lowered as if studying Ye Qianning inside. He clicked his tongue in admiration. "Looked at closely, this little one has a truly blessed appearance. Marvelous."
’Blessed?’
The onlookers muttered amongst themselves. ’Blessed appearance?’
’If she was so blessed, how could she have died so young?’
"You..."
"I’d advise you all not to move," the old Daoist said languidly. "Otherwise, if I’m not careful with my footing and happen to shatter this coffin lid... it would be a pity to harm the little one inside."
Zhan Yi shot up a hand, stopping Da Chun in his tracks.
Da Chun retracted his Inner Strength.
"What is it that you want?" Dean Chen asked, his face grim.
Zhan Chi strained with all his might, but he remained completely immobile. It was as if his mouth had been sealed shut, leaving him able to do nothing but glare daggers at the old Daoist.