Chapter 128: Departing Early

Cang Yin Yue naturally followed beside Li Musheng, and Yu Jin, walking ahead, instinctively turned back to glance at her.

However, his gaze was drawn to the Jade Dragon Divine Sword, verdant and dripping, held in her hand.

Yet, very few had ever seen the Jade Dragon Divine Sword; he did not recognize the blade at all, finding only that it resembled jade, extremely peculiar, and wondering what material it was forged from.

And when his gaze fell upon the blade, he sensed a hidden sharpness, an aura so pressing it was formidable; it must be an extraordinary sword.

As if sensing Yu Jin's look, Cang Yin Yue frowned slightly and spun the long sword in her hand through the air.

She sliced off a piece of her robe, wrapping the rather eye-catching Jade Dragon Divine Sword tightly within it.

Seeing this, Yu Jin seemed to realize his impropriety, quickly coughed a few times to mask his embarrassment, then spoke up and asked:

"Miss, this sword is indeed fine; I wonder which sword-forging master crafted it? Does it have a name?"

However, before Cang Yin Yue could reply, Li Musheng glanced at Yu Jin and said lightly:

"This sword is called the Jade Dragon Divine Sword; I gave it to her."

Hearing this, Yu Jin was stunned, his heart immediately startled; he said no more and silently continued to lead the way ahead.

The Jade Dragon Divine Sword is a national treasure of Great Li; even among the Great Li imperial family, very few have seen that divine sword, so naturally it could not possibly appear in Cang Yin Yue's hand.

In Yu Jin's view, his presumptuous act must have displeased the Eighth Imperial Prince before him, which was why the other deliberately replied in such a manner.

Along the way, he secretly warned himself in his heart that he must change his habit of talking too much in the future, otherwise he might one day bring trouble upon himself without even knowing it.

Not long after, Yu Jin brought the two, Li Musheng and Cang Yin Yue, to the hall where Commander Fu Qiwen was stationed.

Seeing the three arrive, Fu Qiwen, who had been writing furiously at his desk, rose from the mountain of documents piled on his desk, clasped his hands, and bowed to Li Musheng:

"Troubling Your Highness to make the trip; it is truly that my duties are now so heavy that I simply cannot spare the time."

Li Musheng waved his hand and swept his gaze across the hall.

One must admit, the position of Commander of the Tianjin Guard is truly a bitter task; if he had to handle these overwhelming affairs all day long, he could not stay for even a minute.

"What does Lord Fu want with me?"

Li Musheng withdrew his gaze and asked directly.

This place looked very oppressive, reminding him of the days he fought day and night for the college entrance exam, that suffocating feeling of being buried in piles of books and papers.

To be honest, even he, whose martial arts cultivation had reached the absolute peak, was unwilling to stay in this ghost place for any longer.

At this moment, Fu Qiwen had no intention of beating around the bush and said plainly:

"I have an uninvited request; I earnestly beg Your Highness to set out early today and proceed to Luoshen Peak in Lanzhou."

Hearing this, Li Musheng frowned slightly, glanced at the other, and said with some puzzlement:

"Has something gone wrong with Lord Fu's plan?"

Fu Qiwen nodded lightly, then raised his hand and beckoned; a secret letter placed on the corner of the desk behind him was drawn through the air into his hand; he then presented it to Li Musheng and said:

"This is a secret report transmitted by the secret envoy of the Tianjin Guard in Shengzhou; the letter states that Zhu Ziming, the Governor of Shengzhou, and Mei Yan, the Vice Prefect of the local Tianjin Guard branch, have been in close private contact with Luoshen Peak."

Li Musheng took the secret letter and glanced over it roughly, then looked at Fu Qiwen and asked:

"Does Lord Fu mean to have me go and arrest them?"

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen shook his head and said:

"The Tianjin Guard's secret agents have not yet obtained concrete evidence to confirm the situation of the two, but I believe that since the agents dared to send a secret letter to the General Headquarters, the likelihood of this matter being true is not small."

"And if this matter is true, should these two defect, it would undoubtedly pose a great threat to our plan to annihilate Luoshen Peak this time."

Li Musheng lifted the secret letter in his hand and said:

"Lord Fu, just say directly what you need me to do; our goal is Luoshen Peak; if it is something I can help with on the side, I can do it, but I have no leisure time for work that wastes time."

Fu Qiwen looked deeply at Li Musheng, pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"Your Highness need not worry; Shengzhou is adjacent to Lanzhou, where Luoshen Peak is located, and is the必经 road from the Imperial Capital to Luoshen Peak; Your Highness only needs to help on the side."

Then he explained:

"That Vice Prefect of Shengzhou, Mei Yan, is of extraordinary status; he is the younger brother of Her Majesty the Wang Hou. This person is not only imperial kin but also the son-in-law of Mu Tianxing, the Martial Saint of Yuming Mountain."

"To be honest, within the entire Tianjin Guard, except for my own presence, no one else's status is sufficient to move against him."

Hearing this, Li Musheng pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:

"I understand Lord Fu's meaning; you wish to use my status as an Imperial Prince to suppress that Vice Prefect; this matter sounds like there is no problem."

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen quickly clasped his hands and bowed, saying:

"Originally, I did not wish to trouble Your Highness, but since the order was issued for the Tianjin Guards of all provinces to secretly advance toward Lanzhou, only the Tianjin Guard of Shengzhou has not replied from beginning to end; this matter must be investigated."

"Of course, Your Highness need not worry; the Mei family's foundations are all in Shangyang City; as the Wang Hou's younger brother, Mei Yan, whether for his sister or the Mei family, would absolutely not dare to act against Your Highness."

"Additionally, I will dispatch the Right Vice Prefect of the General Headquarters to accompany Your Highness; Your Highness may inquire with him regarding the detailed situation in Shengzhou, and he will certainly do his utmost to guarantee Your Highness's safety."

Upon hearing these words, Li Musheng narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Fu Qiwen.

The Right Vice Prefect is one of the two highest official positions in the entire Tianjin Guard General Headquarters besides Fu Qiwen.

The person holding this position naturally possesses no small martial arts cultivation; the other sending such a person to accompany him makes it hard to say whether it is due to the importance attached to the Shengzhou matter or if there are other thoughts regarding himself.

However, Li Musheng did not place much weight on this.

If the matter in Shengzhou is simple, so be it; if it is troublesome and wastes time, he would naturally be too lazy to bother, and would unhesitatingly abandon the matter and proceed directly to Luoshen Peak.

Coming out of the hall where Fu Qiwen was stationed, Li Musheng took Cang Yin Yue back to the courtyard where he resided.

According to Fu Qiwen's suggestion, he should set out tonight and rush to Shengzhou as soon as possible; only by first resolving the matter of Mei Yan and the Governor of Shengzhou could the Tianjin Guard rest assured and fully annihilate Luoshen Peak.

"Miss Cang, this time you do not need to follow me; stay in Shangyang City and help me find the remaining Emperor Tianqi Secret Treasury Key."

Li Musheng looked at Cang Yin Yue, who was packing his luggage, and spoke to give instructions.

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue nodded lightly.

Although she did not wish to stay in the Imperial Capital, the things Li Musheng intended to do were, with her current strength, seemingly beyond her ability to help; staying in Shangyang City to search for the key was obviously more suitable.

At this moment, Li Musheng sighed lightly; he had originally planned to go to the Second Imperial Prince's residence tonight to obtain one of the Emperor Tianqi Secret Treasury Keys from the other's hand.

But plans cannot keep pace with change; this matter could only be put on hold for now.

Besides, since the key was in the other party's hands, there was no way they could escape in the short term; it would be fine to retrieve it when he returned.

As he was thinking this, footsteps approached outside the door, and a guard urgently reported:

"Your Highness, the Third Imperial Prince has arrived at the mansion and is on his way here."

(End of Chapter)