Chapter 92

PS: Sorry, this chapter was supposed to be released earlier, but there was a login issue, so it was delayed!

He's gone! This time, he's really gone!

The citizens of Chang'an watched with wide eyes as the orange sphere gradually shrank in their sight, eventually blending into the blue sky and white clouds, as if it had gone to a realm of immortals.

However, this was indeed something only immortals could do!

Such a large sphere actually floating in the sky, and people could even sit inside it. Good heavens, this could only be done by the legendary immortals!

Earlier, the citizens of Chang'an were all focused on the hot air balloon. Now, after Zhao Chen's balloon completely disappeared from their sight, people finally reacted, starting to discuss the event.

Not only the citizens of Chang'an, but also the officials of the Tang Dynasty and Emperor Li Er himself had the same thoughts.

At this moment, as Zhao Chen disappeared from sight, Li Er immediately ordered that everyone from the Zhao residence be brought to the palace, and questioned them one by one about the situation, especially about the orange sphere that could carry Zhao Chen into the sky.

Unfortunately, the answers disappointed Li Er to the extreme!

At the time, Zhao Chen had driven everyone out of the inner quarters. By the time they discovered it, the sphere had already appeared in the inner quarters. Before they could enter, the sphere slowly rose from the inner quarters, and then the scene that all of Chang'an saw unfolded!

As for the mysterious sphere, no one could explain its origin, as if it had suddenly appeared in the inner quarters. There were now two or three dozen people in the Zhao residence, but none of them had seen the mysterious sphere before.

Disappointed, Li Er sent everyone from the Zhao residence back, but he kept Liu Cheng behind. As Zhao Chen had guessed, Liu Cheng was a spy Li Er had placed in the Zhao residence to monitor him closely.

This time, Zhao Chen caused such a big commotion, and as a spy closely monitoring him, it was impossible for Liu Cheng to have no prior notice!

However, to Li Er's disappointment, Liu Cheng shook his head and, with a gloomy expression, said that he had not noticed any abnormalities beforehand, and the sphere had suddenly appeared in the inner quarters.

However, seeing Li Er's face turn ashen, Liu Cheng quickly explained the situation in detail, including how he had given Zhao Chen a token to leave the city, and how Zhao Chen had refused and driven everyone out of the inner quarters.

"You mean that boy could have left the city with your token but refused?" Li Er's brows furrowed when he heard Liu Cheng's words. Combining this with what the servants of the Zhao residence had said, Li Er suddenly felt a bit shocked.

Zhao Chen had decisively refused Liu Cheng's token because he already had the mysterious sphere, and the servants of the Zhao residence knew nothing about it. This meant that the sphere had suddenly appeared in the inner quarters after everyone had left!

Thinking about this, Li Er suddenly took a deep breath. Although he didn't want to admit it, faced with such facts, he had to admit that Zhao Chen was a disciple of an immortal!

Zhao Chen had also mentioned that his master's name was the Peach Blossom Immortal!

When he first heard the name Peach Blossom Immortal, he thought it was just a hermit living in seclusion. Now, it seemed there was much more to it!

Liu Cheng stood there with a pale face, repeatedly confessing his sins. As the emperor's personal guard, he had betrayed the emperor at the last moment, and he felt that he was doomed this time!

"You indeed deserve to die!" Li Er was particularly irritable at this moment. Hearing Liu Cheng's constant confessions, he gritted his teeth and said, "Go to the commander of the Hundred Riders to receive your punishment. Whether you can survive it is up to your fate!"

Liu Cheng had already expected to die, but hearing that the emperor had not ordered his execution but instead sent him to the commander to receive punishment, he was overjoyed.

Although the punishment of the Hundred Riders was severe, for someone from the Hundred Riders, it was not difficult to endure. Compared to death, Liu Cheng felt that this was a great act of mercy.

Zhao Chen was a disciple of an immortal, and only an immortal could understand so much about physics and mathematics. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain where the mysterious sphere came from. Such an event had never been seen in the world before!

Li Er took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a bit lost about Zhao Chen's background. At first, he thought this boy was from a hidden sect, but later it was proven that he had no connection to the hidden sect, at least the boy didn't know about it.

But now, with the sudden appearance of the mysterious sphere, it seemed that only by finding this boy and asking him face-to-face could he get the answers!

"Old Brother, you've spent the most time with that brat. Do you think he could be a disciple of an immortal?" Not just Li Er, but also in the hall of the Qin residence, Cheng Yaojin was asking the same question to Old Qin.

Zhao Chen's actions this time had not only shocked all of Chang'an but also the two people closest to him!

"This... Qin is not sure!" Qin Shubao frowned, thinking back to the time he spent with Zhao Chen, especially during the mining expedition in Jinmai Mountain.

As he thought, Qin Shubao's eyes gradually showed a look of shock. He remembered the things Zhao Chen kept taking out in the mountains, especially the chainmail armor!

He had never thought deeply about it before, but now, it seemed full of inconsistencies!

At the time, Old Qin remembered telling Zhao Chen about a killer who was planning to assassinate him and asking him to go out as bait to lure out the killer. After Zhao Chen went out, he returned to his wooden hut. When the killer appeared, he was wearing a chainmail armor that could withstand blades and swords.

At the time, he thought the chainmail armor was already on the boy, but now, Old Qin didn't think so. Because of the mysterious sphere, he began to suspect that Zhao Chen had returned to the wooden hut to put on the chainmail armor. Otherwise, why would he go back to the wooden hut for no reason?

If his guess was correct, then the chainmail armor must have appeared in the wooden hut just like the mysterious sphere, because Old Qin clearly remembered that Zhao Chen only had a backpack when he entered the mountains!

"Really?" Cheng Yaojin, who had been with Qin Shubao for many years, immediately opened his mouth in shock when he saw the slight change in Qin Shubao's eyes, finding it hard to believe.

"Probably so!" Qin Shubao's face was full of shock. Thinking that Zhao Chen, with whom he had spent several months, might be a disciple of an immortal, he found it hard to believe.

"Cough, cough..." Hearing Qin Shubao's words, Cheng Yaojin had drawn a sharp breath, but the force was too strong, and he started coughing violently.

While Cheng Yaojin was sitting in the hall, his face red and coughing hard, outside the window, Qin Haidao was struggling desperately to pry open the soft hands covering his lips.

Unfortunately, his strength was too weak, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't pry open Qin Yuyan's hands. In desperation, Qin Haidao bit down hard on Qin Yuyan's hand.

The sudden sharp pain made Qin Yuyan's dazed mind clear up. She had heard everything her father and Uncle Cheng were discussing. The boy she had always considered a rogue was actually a disciple of an immortal!

How could this be possible?

Zhao Chen was finally lost, even though the Xuanjia Army was the most elite cavalry of the Tang Dynasty. Unfortunately, this time, the Xuanjia Army was not facing Dou Jiande's troops or the Turks, but a mysterious sphere floating in the air, which they could only see but not touch.

They followed the sphere from Chang'an all the way east. Unfortunately, the sphere floated high in the sky, crossing mountains and rivers, making it extremely difficult for the Xuanjia Army.

Each time they crossed a mountain, they fell a bit further behind Zhao Chen. By the time they crossed the Funiu Mountains, they had completely lost sight of Zhao Chen!

"Find him! Continue to find him for me!" Li Er suddenly roared in anger. Zhao Chen must be found, no matter the cost.

If he lost sight of Zhao Chen in the Funiu Mountains, then they would start from the Funiu Mountains and search in all directions until they found him!

"Immediately take my imperial edict to Luoyang and order the troops there to assist the Xuanjia Army in the search!" Li Er said, immediately going to the imperial desk, signing an order, and handing it to the Xuanjia Army rider who had brought the news, instructing him.

The Xuanjia Army rider took the order and immediately left the palace, mounting his horse without a moment's rest and galloping towards the Funiu Mountains.

After issuing the order to Luoyang, Li Er still felt uneasy and summoned the commander of the Hundred Riders, issuing another order for the Hundred Riders to send fifty men, led by the commander, to the Funiu Mountains to assist the Xuanjia Army in the search.

Most of the Hundred Riders were scouts and were particularly skilled at such tasks.

The Hundred Riders were sent out, and the troops from Luoyang were also involved in the search. Li Er, feeling restless, paced around the hall, finally spreading out a map on the desk, pointing to the Funiu Mountains, frowning and extending his gaze over the area.

Beyond the Funiu Mountains, the paths were numerous. Li Er kept imagining where Zhao Chen might have gone after crossing the Funiu Mountains. But no matter how he thought about it, he shook his head. If he could have guessed Zhao Chen's intentions, things wouldn't have come to this!