Free Web NovelChapter 250: Chapter 250: Who Is the Impostor?
Just as they helped the person into the house, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.
"Open up! Hurry up and open the gate! The Beast God Hall is on official business, hunting a fugitive!"
Han Li went to open the gate. The Guard Commander at the head of the group glanced at him. "The Hall Master has given the order to capture a fugitive. Step aside, we need to come in and search."
"I haven’t seen any fugitive," Han Li said, not moving. "You say you’re here to search, Sir, but do you have a search warrant?"
The Guard Commander said impatiently, "Of course we do, but it’s not for you to see. Enough nonsense. Anyone found harboring a fugitive will be charged with the same crime. Now hurry up and..."
"What’s this about, throwing your weight around?"
Yu An came out of the house, her face as cold as ice. "The Beast God Hall has regulations. Any search of a private residence requires a search warrant. Furthermore, if a citizen requests to see the warrant, no one is permitted to refuse."
"You won’t show it. Is it because you don’t have one, or because you intend to violate the rules set down by the Beast God?!"
The Guard Commander hadn’t expected someone to bring this up, but Yu An was right. Such a regulation did exist.
It was just that the order had been given in such a rush that the Hall Master hadn’t had time, or had perhaps forgotten, to issue a search warrant.
Because he had been impersonated for over ten days without any of his subordinates noticing, the Hall Master had flown into a rage and had several people flogged.
The Hall Master’s personal attendants had all been thrown in jail. The remaining guards didn’t dare to press their luck, so they hadn’t reminded him and had just rushed out to apprehend the fugitive.
Knowing he was in the wrong, and seeing that Yu An and Han Li had an extraordinary air about them and were intimately familiar with the Beast God Hall’s rules, the Guard Commander’s tone softened.
"Miss, this matter arose suddenly. The Hall Master has not yet issued a search warrant."
He paused, his gaze sweeping quickly across the courtyard. Ultimately, he didn’t dare to force his way in. He suppressed his impatience and said in a low voice,
"The fugitive fled here, and the trail went cold in this vicinity. We are only following orders. I hope you can understand, Miss."
He waved his hand, and the guards behind him sheathed their weapons, but they remained vigilant, guarding both sides of the gate. It was clear they were determined to search the premises.
Yu An said nothing more and stepped aside. "We common folk understand that some matters are more urgent than others. Please, Sir."
Seeing that she wasn’t some unreasonable troublemaker, the Guard Commander breathed a sigh of relief. He gave Yu An a slight nod and, with a wave of his hand, ordered his men to go in and search. freёwebnoѵel.com
Unlike the rough way they had searched other places, with Yu An watching them, the guards moved carefully. They handled items with care, afraid of stirring up trouble with someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
They worked quickly, soon finishing their search of every place a person could possibly hide. When the Guard Commander saw they had found nothing, he apologized again before leading his men away.
After the gate was closed, a guard behind the Guard Commander asked, "Captain, who do you think those two are? How come they’re not the least bit afraid of us from the Beast God Hall?"
"How should I know?" the Guard Commander said, glancing at the closed gate. "Keep searching. If we let the imposter get away, it won’t end well for any of us!"
Yu An had placed the injured person in her dimensional space. As soon as the guards left, she brought her back out. The woman had several sword wounds that were still bleeding. Yu An used medicine to bandage her injuries.
Then, she used her superpower to heal her, but only healed her halfway, not allowing the wounds to close completely.
After all that commotion, the afternoon break was over. The family went to the kitchen to work on new recipes, leaving the woman to lie in the room.
Lu Yi was awakened by a fragrant aroma. She slowly opened her eyes, first smelling the scent of cooking meat, and then an intense pain shot through her entire body.
"Ngh—"
Her brows furrowed in pain as she slowly sat up and surveyed the room.
’This isn’t the Beast God Hall. Have I been saved?’
"You’re awake?"
The door was pushed open. Lu Yi looked over instinctively and saw a woman in a light green dress standing there.
"Hall Master," she said uncertainly, "you’re the Beast God Hall’s Master... right?"
Yu An walked over slowly. Instead of answering, she asked, "If you’re not sure I’m the person you think I am, why did you come to my door for help?"
Although she hadn’t answered, Lu Yi was now certain that she was the main Hall Master.
Lu Yi tried to prop herself up to get down and bow, but Yu An stopped her. "Don’t move. I just managed to get your wounds bandaged up. Any big movements and they’ll tear open again."
"Thank you, Hall Master," Lu Yi said, her lips chapped and her smile strained. "This subordinate, Lu Yi, has indeed never seen your face, but I recognize the North Hall Master’s Token."
"He was half a step behind you, so his status is clearly lower than yours. You are a woman, and the main Hall Master is also a woman."
Yu An understood. It seemed Ao Si had forgotten to take off his Token before entering the city, and Lu Yi had seen it.
"Just now, some people came searching for you. There’s also a wanted poster outside saying you’re impersonating the Winter City branch Hall Master."
Yu An studied her for a moment. "What exactly is going on?"
At the mention of this, Lu Yi began to tremble visibly—not from fear, but from anger.
"I implore the Hall Master to seek justice for this subordinate," she said, clenching her fists hatefully. "I am the real branch Hall Master! The person in the branch hall now is my younger sister!"
Seeing Yu An’s confusion, Lu Yi explained, "I have a younger half-sister, from the same mother but a different father. I brought her along to help me, but who knew she had such wild ambitions? Not long ago, she colluded with a group of people who came out of nowhere, plotting to kill me and take my place as Hall Master."
"Fortunately, I realized in time and didn’t let her succeed. But I had a moment of weakness, and out of consideration for our family ties, I only banished her from Winter City. That’s what led to today’s disaster!"
Yu An wasn’t entirely convinced. "Even though she’s your half-sister, your appearances can’t be identical. How could she impersonate you?"
"Hall Master, you don’t understand," Lu Yi said hurriedly. "I was shocked when I saw my sister again. Her appearance was identical to mine, and so was her figure, without the slightest difference. Even the handmaiden who has served me since childhood couldn’t tell us apart."
"She injured me, and I don’t know what she used, but my spiritual power is completely gone. Then she played the victim, and the others actually believed her!"
At the mention of spiritual power, Yu An frowned. "Hold out your hand."
Lu Yi didn’t understand why, but she didn’t ask, obediently extending her hand.
Yu An placed her fingers on her wrist. Her superpower searched within Lu Yi’s body and, sure enough, found traces of a powder that hadn’t yet dissipated.
It was the same powder that Mo Yan and the others had fallen victim to twice. At the time, it was thought to have come from a Demon, but after she merged with the Demon, she discovered that this powder wasn’t actually made by it.
Yu An had already planned to get involved in Winter City’s affairs. Pinching the powder between her fingers, she asked Lu Yi for more details.
She wasn’t interested in Lu Yi’s sister. What she really wanted to know was the identity of the group her sister had colluded with.
’This powder might have come from that group. Could they be connected to the Beast God somehow?’
Unfortunately, Lu Yi only had a partial understanding. After she uncovered her sister’s scheme, that group had quickly vanished. She wasn’t sure if her sister had their help when she made her comeback.
"Oh, right. I just remembered. My sister used to frequently leave the city to stay for a few days at a small courtyard in the nearby mountains. Perhaps there’s something there."
"Alright. You focus on recovering for now," Yu An said, standing up. "Once you can walk again, I will personally take you to expose that imposter and get you justice."
