When Qiao Meng walked out, the man finally looked up, his deep eyes fixed on the young girl.
"Now that there are no outsiders, can Your Majesty the Empress Dowager tell me?"
The young girl understood. As expected, nothing could escape this man's eyes.
Since things had come to this, she didn't intend to hide it anymore.
"Miss Qiao's appearance was too sudden. I previously asked Elder Brother and General Qin to investigate. They found that Miss Qiao had recently associated with some mysterious people in the martial arts world. So I asked them to find out the truth. I never expected such a thing to happen."
"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager was really too reckless. Most people in the martial arts world keep themselves out of the court's affairs. You asking the eldest young master to go there rashly has already offended their taboo. Now, even if we want to go and ask for help, we may have to humble ourselves."
"Even if it means I have to sacrifice my dignity, I will find Elder Brother. If the National Master doesn't want to go, I won't blame you."
After saying that, the young girl was about to go out to look for him herself, but the man pulled her back.
"When did I say I wouldn't help Your Majesty? Please calm down first, Your Majesty."
"Does the National Master mean he agrees?"
Shi Muyuan stopped in her tracks. When she turned around, there was a glint in her eyes. The man was taken aback for a moment and then realized he had been tricked. He was a bit helpless, but he didn't say anything else.
"I heard that the Martial Arts Alliance Leader is also in Jincheng recently. I had some acquaintance with him before. How about Your Majesty and I go to visit him tomorrow?"
"Why do we have to wait until tomorrow? Isn't it better to go now? Elder Brother may not be able to wait."
She didn't care about other people's gazes and pulled the man towards the door.
This impatient nature gave the man a headache.
"Since we are going to visit the Alliance Leader, we must prepare a lot of things. If Your Majesty goes in a hurry, they won't see our sincerity. How can they be willing to help us?"
This seemed to make sense. Shi Muyuan felt a bit discouraged.
The man comforted her, "Don't worry. The eldest young master must be fine. Otherwise, his body would have been thrown back already."
What the man said was rather harsh, but it was the truth. The young girl could only nod reluctantly.
"Let Xiaoxiao accompany you to buy whatever is needed. I want to be alone for a while."
"Okay."
After the doctor confirmed that Qin Feng was fine, the young girl destroyed her own room. Her dejected appearance made the man feel sorry for her. Rarely, he said a few more words.
"I will definitely bring the eldest young master back alive."
Yes, alive. For now, as long as the person was alive, it would be a great blessing.
Shi Muyuan lay in bed, tossing and turning but unable to fall asleep. She spent the whole night like this. The next day, when she showed up with two dark circles under her eyes, everyone was shocked, but no one said anything.
Seeing the man striding towards her, her eyes were filled with a hint of pleading.
"Can we go now?"
"Let's go."
The Martial Arts Alliance Leader's residence wasn't far from here. They only needed to make two turns to reach the inn where he was staying.
The man had informed him before they came, so when they arrived, there were many people gathered at the inn's entrance.
"Welcome Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and the National Master."
"Please don't be so polite. I'm sure you all know why we're here today. Quickly take us to see the Alliance Leader."
The young girl lowered her eyes and remained silent all the time, looking like a puppet at others' mercy.
Thankfully, the others didn't mind. They led them to the Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
"Sir National Master, it's been a long time. I didn't expect such a big thing to happen when we meet again. I'm deeply sorry."
The young girl only caught the last two words.
"What do you mean? Is my elder brother's disappearance really related to you? Where is he? Is he still alive?"
A series of questions. If it were someone else, they might have gotten angry already, but the Martial Arts Alliance Leader still kept a smiling face.
"Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. Let me explain this slowly. How about you sit down first?"
The young girl was a bit dissatisfied, but after receiving a signal from the man, she still sat down.
She realized her gaffe just now and her tone was full of apology.
"Please forgive me, Alliance Leader. I'm really too worried about my elder brother, so I was so rash."
"I understand. You all go out first. I have something important to discuss with these two distinguished guests."
"Yes."
When there were only the three of them in the room, the Alliance Leader's face darkened.
"Yesterday, the National Master sent someone to deliver a message to me. At first, I didn't believe it. Later, I sent someone to investigate, and unexpectedly, it was really my subordinates who did such a heinous thing. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Does the Alliance Leader mean that you can find my elder brother? Please get up quickly. As long as my elder brother is safe, I will definitely not hold you accountable."
These words made the Martial Arts Alliance Leader look embarrassed.
"If it were yesterday, I could definitely find him. But because of the large - scale search yesterday, they disappeared quickly. Now even I can't find them."
"What!"
Shi Muyuan's face turned pale. She slumped back into the chair, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.
"Do you mean that my elder brother may have died at their hands and we can't even find his body?"
"No. Those people don't have the guts to kill. I know those people well. They only care about money, not killing."
"As long as my elder brother hasn't been found, I won't relax for a moment. Alliance Leader, even if I'm begging you, do you have any other way?"
Seeing her perform a grand bow, the Martial Arts Alliance Leader thought seriously and really came up with a way.
"They didn't take their relatives with them when they left, so they will definitely come back."
With such an important clue, Shi Muyuan let out a long sigh of relief. The rest was just a matter of following the leads.
They made an agreement with the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, and the Alliance Leader promised to cooperate with them.
As night fell, figures moved in the shadows, and the cicadas chirped non - stop. Suddenly, a few sneaky people appeared at the inn's entrance.
"Is the Alliance Leader really not coming back today? Have you confirmed it? If the Alliance Leader finds out what we've done, we're doomed."
"Don't worry. Can't you trust my information?"
"Okay. Then quickly take our relatives and leave. After this deal, we won't have to worry about anything in the future."
"Okay. Keep your voice down. I feel that it's too quiet here. Even the inn waiter didn't come out. Usually, there are at least some people drinking here."
"Don't say that. I feel the same way. I don't know what's going on today. I always feel a chill down my back, as if there are many people watching me in the shadows."
In the shadows, Shi Muyuan silently glanced at the dense crowd beside her. She had to admit that these people really deserved to be in the martial arts world. Even though they were so far away, they could still sense it.
Fortunately, just as the saying goes, for every excellent opponent, there is a useless teammate. For example, right now.
"Did you drink too much tonight? Why don't I have this feeling?"