He must have been fleeing when he realized he was already safe, so he didn't enter the mountains. Instead, he circled back and sneaked into the city.
Moreover, he found a dwelling to hide himself.
In such places, Monk Guangming might find it quite difficult to locate him.
As for Li Yuankang, the young master of the county magistrate, finding accommodations was not difficult at all.
Zhou Ping'an touched Elder Monk's pocket and indeed didn't find anything valuable. He became more certain that the other party had only made a temporary journey to retrieve the peculiar Golden Phoebe Pen.
No need to ask, Li Yuankang must have disclosed everything.
The young master of the magistrate, who had lost an arm and a leg, might have been unable to withstand the torture, or perhaps saw no hope in life, placing all his hopes on the elder monk.
Anyway, whichever it was.
Li Yuankang could not be kept around.
"Search, inspect, but do not disturb the residents."