Chapter 129: Kill an Imperial Prince

On the winding stone path, a pair of thick-soled copper-studded court boots moved up and down rapidly, the urgent footsteps echoing among the surrounding halls and buildings, breaking the silence of the Tianjin Guard's main headquarters.

The Third Imperial Prince Li Zhu, wearing a white plain satin robe with a black hemp belt at his waist, followed the Tianjin Guard attendant ahead with a gloomy expression, walking quickly without a word.

Soon, the Tianjin Guard attendant stopped before a courtyard, turned back to carefully glance at Li Zhu, whose face did not look good, and reported:

"Your Highness, this is the residence of the Eighth Imperial Prince."

Hearing this, the burly and robust Third Imperial Prince Li Zhu waved his hand, did not even bother to look at the other person, and said:

"You can get out!"

The attendant dared not stay longer, immediately hurriedly withdrew, while Li Zhu pushed open the half-closed courtyard door and walked straight into the courtyard.

Entering the yard, Li Zhu swept his tiger eyes around once, finally looking toward a pavilion within the courtyard.

One of the young men, with a handsome face and dressed in a black robe, was sitting on a stone stool holding a porcelain cup and tasting tea, while beside him stood a beautiful woman in white as snow.

When Li Zhu entered, that elegant and jade-like beauty cast a glance at him, while the young man merely continued to drink tea on his own.

"You are the son of Consort Jing?"

Li Zhu's gaze fell on Li Musheng, who was drinking tea, and he asked in a cold voice.

Li Musheng did not speak and ignored the other person; Cang Yin Yue beside him turned toward Li Zhu and said:

"The Tianjin Guard now has more important matters to attend to and cannot help apprehend the murderer of Noble Consort Ji. Third Imperial Prince, please return."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhu's anger could no longer be suppressed, and he said in a grim tone:

"Does a lowly concubine like you have a say here?"

Speaking thus, a ruthless expression appeared on his face, martial arts true qi began to circulate secretly within his body, and he then slowly walked toward Li Musheng and the other.

With every step he took, the momentum on his body grew stronger, and purple-gold flowing light surged in his eyes.

In Li Zhu's view, this so-called Eighth Imperial Prince who had wandered among the common people simply did not know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth.

Having no foundation yet daring to go against his will, especially at this critical moment when his mother had passed away and the Tianjin Guard was needed to track down the murderer.

How could he endure this?

The resentment from failing to find the true murderer of his mother, and the murderous hatred toward that true killer, all surged into his heart at this moment.

"Ignorant, arrogant, and disrespectful to superiors; today I will teach you a lesson on behalf of the Emperor, to make you remember that Shangyang City is not some remote small town, and this is not a place where you can act recklessly."

Li Zhu spoke in a harsh voice, his gaze fixed directly on Li Musheng.

And the angrier he became in his heart, the calmer his expression on his face gradually became.

As he walked, two streams of purple and gold martial arts true qi emerged from his left and right hands respectively, coiling around his arms like two twisted dragons.

In the next moment, Li Zhu thrust both arms out, the surging true qi emitting a low roar, and reached out toward Li Musheng in the pavilion from a distance.

Seeing this, Li Musheng raised his eyebrows slightly, did not bother to move a hand, and simply gave Cang Yin Yue a look.

Cang Yin Yue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately drew her sword in time; the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword traced an arc of cyan sword light and slashed horizontally toward the approaching Li Zhu.

Cang Yin Yue knew the power of the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword, so she held back somewhat with this strike.

After all, no matter what, Li Zhu was the Third Imperial Prince of Great Li, and she did not want to truly injure him and thereby bring trouble to Li Musheng.

However, she still underestimated the formidable power of the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword as a national divine treasure of Great Li; this strike's power far exceeded her expectations.

The sword light emitted by the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword not only instantly obliterated the purple-gold martial arts true qi launched by Li Zhu.

The remaining sword light directly struck Li Zhu's arms, breaking through the martial arts true qi defense on his body's surface and cutting a blood wound several inches long.

Li Zhu suddenly stopped his steps and looked down in shock.

He saw only a sword wound on his arms deep enough to see the bone, with gushing crimson blood constantly seeping out, which soon dyed half of his white sleeve red.

"Lowly concubine, you dare injure me?"

Shock and anger flashed in Li Zhu's eyes; he then looked up grimly at Cang Yin Yue and suddenly spoke through gritted teeth to the air:

"Kill her for me!"

In the next moment, from a hidden spot outside the courtyard, a black-robed old man who had been concealing his figure suddenly moved, and in the blink of an eye arrived before Li Zhu.

Then, the old man merely glanced at the injuries on Li Zhu's arms and did not hesitate in the slightest.

Emitting a chilling killing intent from his entire body, he directly reached out, transforming into a dark claw shadow as cold as the underworld, and grabbed toward Cang Yin Yue opposite.

However, in the next moment, just as that dark claw shadow reached mid-air, the black-robed old man's entire figure suddenly froze, becoming motionless.

Li Zhu behind him saw this, frowned, and was about to speak.

But when his gaze turned to the black-robed old man, his pupils suddenly contracted; he saw that on the back of the other's head, a blood hole piercing through front to back had appeared at some unknown time.

Li Zhu, whose heart was full of resentment and murderous intent, suddenly felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him; he looked around wildly and cried out in alarm:

"Who is it?"

At this moment, Li Musheng's voice slowly came from beneath the pavilion:

"Naturally, it is me."

Hearing this, Li Zhu turned his head to look at Li Musheng, then shook his head heavily and said in a deep voice:

"Impossible!"

"Bluffing; you must have a master hidden behind you. This person came from the palace; since you have now killed him, the palace will not easily let this go, and the person behind you will surely die sooner or later."

At this time, Li Zhu's face was gloomy and ugly; he had come to the Tianjin Guard main headquarters, believing that no one here dared to act against him.

But he did not expect Li Musheng to be so disregarding of rules; not only did he let a lowly concubine under his command injure him, but he even had someone kill the master sent from the palace to secretly protect him, which was simply lawless.

At this moment, Li Musheng glanced at Li Zhu and said:

"There is nothing impossible. I even went into the palace and killed your mother; killing him is simply a matter of ease."

Upon hearing these words, Li Zhu suddenly froze, then looked sharply at Li Musheng, a violent and ruthless expression flashing in his eyes, and he angrily shouted:

"You seek death!"

Of course, he did not believe Li Musheng had the ability to kill his mother, but the other person's arrogant words, involving his deceased mother, made him wish to tear the other to pieces.

However, thinking of the current situation, Li Zhu could only temporarily suppress the killing intent in his heart and did not act rashly.

Just then, Cang Yin Yue suddenly looked at Li Zhu and said:

"Third Imperial Prince, do you know that Noble Consort Ji conspired with the Hou Fu of Cang Yuan to abduct young girls and kill them to cultivate?"

Hearing this, Li Zhu, who had been extremely furious, suddenly changed expression and turned to face Cang Yin Yue:

"How do you know this?"

Cang Yin Yue narrowed her eyes slightly and said:

"That Noble Consort Ji was a person who deserved to die. I advise you to let the matter rest, otherwise, once this spreads, she won't even be able to die in peace."

Li Zhu's face immediately turned cold, and he said harshly:

"What's wrong with killing some people to cultivate? You, a lowly maid, dare to teach me? Just you wait. I will definitely make you pay the price for today's events."

Saying this, Li Zhu stopped the bleeding on his arm while turning directly around, ignoring the corpse of the black-clad old man on the ground, and walked straight out of the courtyard.

Li Musheng not only had powerful hidden experts behind him, but this lowly maid in front of him was also hard to deal with; he alone could not possibly be their match.

The only course of action now was to swallow his anger and retreat temporarily, then return to seek help from his second brother and maternal grandfather.

He was merely a useless Imperial Prince with no foundation; he had countless means to make the other party repay this humiliation a hundredfold.

Just then, Li Musheng, who was sitting under the pavilion drinking tea, glanced at Cang Yin Yue and said:

"Miss Cang, for people like this, there is no need to hold out too much hope. Kill those who should be killed; for those with value, wait until you have squeezed out all their worth before killing them."

As soon as the words fell, a beam of talisman light quietly entered the body of Li Zhu, who was preparing to leave.

Before Li Zhu could even react, the Life-and-Death Talisman within his body immediately took effect. Agony like ten thousand ants devouring his flesh and piercing his heart surged forth, causing him to roll on the ground in pain, unable to suppress his agonized screams.

At this moment, Li Musheng slowly said to Cang Yin Yue:

"I set it so he will die in half a stick of incense time. This fellow has a deep connection with the Second Imperial Prince. Ask him about the situation regarding the Tianqi Secret Treasury Key. Of course, if there is no gain, then forget it."

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue took a deep breath. Although she felt that killing Li Zhu was not the right thing to do.

But since things had come to this, if Li Zhu were allowed to leave alive, who knew how the other party would retaliate next.

Therefore, it was better to kill him.

Afterwards, she would dispose of the corpse. At that time, denying everything might allow this matter to pass over smoothly.

Thinking of this, Cang Yin Yue nodded. Having served in the Intelligence Bureau and the Six Fan Gate, she was naturally adept at handling corpses, guaranteeing no traces would be left behind.

However, just then, Li Musheng spoke up:

"Miss Cang, remember to leave him an intact corpse. After all, we are somewhat related, so as to avoid people saying I am unfeeling when this gets out."

Hearing this, Cang Yin Yue frowned slightly.

However, since Li Musheng made this request, she did not refuse. Although it was more troublesome, she would try her best to resolve the matter smoothly.

About half a stick of incense time later, Cang Yin Yue looked at Li Zhu's corpse on the ground, then immediately informed Li Musheng of the interrogation results.

Originally, upon learning that one of the Tianqi Secret Treasury Keys was in the Second Imperial Prince's hands, Cang Yin Yue had not held out much hope for Li Zhu to provide some useful information from his mouth.

But to her slight surprise, according to Li Zhu's confession, after the Second Imperial Prince Li Que obtained one key, he had secretly searched for the other keys to the Tianqi Secret Treasury, and it seemed the other party had indeed made some gains.

"According to what Li Zhu said, the remaining key in Shangyang City should be in the hands of the fake Imperial Prince in the Heavenly Prison."

Cang Yin Yue looked at Li Musheng with a thoughtful expression and pondered:

"However, those remnants of the Great Qi previously stated that the owner of the other key was a woman, and that the other party was a member of the Great Li Imperial Family."

"If neither of them lied, combining the two, the remaining key to the Tianqi Secret Treasury likely fell into the hands of the Eldest Princess, who has a deep connection with the fake Imperial Prince."

Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at Cang Yin Yue. He had to admit that this Miss's way of thinking was quite interesting sometimes.

However, Cang Yin Yue's reasoning was not wrong, and this way, the target of the search was narrowed down.

"I will leave this matter for Miss Cang to investigate. However, that Eldest Princess appears to have formidable martial arts strength, and there are experts protecting her. If the situation proves impossible, wait until I return."

Li Musheng instructed the other party, and Cang Yin Yue nodded, saying:

"Your Highness rest assured; I know what I am doing."

Then, she turned around, preparing to dispose of Li Zhu's corpse.

However, seeing this, Li Musheng reached out and stopped her, saying:

"Let the Tianjin Guard handle this. After all, I am doing this to help their Commander, so they must do some work and handle some cleanup matters."

Saying this, Li Musheng called back the Tianjin Guard guards who had been temporarily dismissed, ordering them to handle Li Zhu's corpse.

Since he had said he would leave Li Zhu an intact corpse, he naturally meant what he said; after all, this was not a major issue.

However, when the recalled Tianjin Guard guard saw Li Zhu's corpse lying on the ground in the courtyard, the entire person was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place for a moment.

After coming to his senses, the Tianjin Guard guard Ceng Hai immediately felt his scalp go numb, a wave of cold sweat rising on his back, even soaking through his back clothes.

"Your... Highness, you said let me handle the Third Imperial Prince's corpse?"

The guard Ceng Hai looked at Li Musheng with lifeless eyes, his teeth chattering as he spoke.

Originally, the superiors had assigned him as the Eighth Imperial Prince's guard, a beautiful task that others in the Tianjin Guard could only envy.

After all, the other party was of noble status; if he were valued by the other party, not to mention receiving the other party's boundless rewards, a future promotion and salary increase was just around the corner.

But this scene before him almost scared him to death on the spot.

What did he see?

The tall Third Imperial Prince, who was just full of life, was now dead, leaving only a cold corpse lying in the courtyard.

And the Eighth Imperial Prince before him was actually asking him to handle the other party's corpse.

At this moment, Ceng Hai could no longer see the day of his promotion and raise; he only saw that his days were numbered, and his fate was certain death.

Not long after, Ceng Hai did not even know what he had done; with a blank mind, he carried Li Zhu's corpse on his back and stumbled out of Li Musheng's courtyard.

After walking a certain distance, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looked back at the courtyard behind him, and then collapsed directly onto the ground.

Li Musheng asked him to handle the corpse; refusing was impossible. Otherwise, very likely, one corpse would become two corpses, and the extra corpse would certainly be him.

"No, this matter is absolutely beyond my ability to handle; I must inform the Commander..."

Ceng Hai shook his head violently, but soon he hesitated again.

The one dead now was an Imperial Prince — could a mere Regional Military Commander resolve the situation before them?

For a moment, he sat on the ground, his face shifting through ugly colors.

In the end, he climbed up from the ground, carried Li Zhu's corpse on his back, found a hidden place and concealed it.

Then, without pausing his steps, he ran toward the hall where Commander Fu Qiwen was.

At the start, when Ceng Hai entered the door to report, Fu Qiwen, without even lifting his head, handled the documents in his hands, assuming the other man was reporting matters from the main office of the Tianjin Guard.

But after Ceng Hai stumbled his way through telling him about Li Zhu, Fu Qiwen, who had been writing swiftly over his desk, clearly froze for a breath; then he abruptly stood up whole, staring at Ceng Hai in shock:

"What did you say?"

(End of chapter)