Chapter 131: Enemies

With a "creak," the carved lacquered door before them slowly opened.

Wu Xiang Lao Ren, clad in a gray robe and hunched over, leaned on a rotting wooden cane and stepped across the threshold with a stumbling gait, speaking calmly:

"Let's go."

Out of the corner of his eye, the newcomer instinctively glanced into the room, seeing only several women in tattered clothes hanging on the screen inside, like puppets on strings, now utterly still.

He quickly averted his gaze, dared not speak further, turned around, and immediately led Wu Xiang Lao Ren toward the side hall of the mansion.

Arriving at the side hall, Song Guan Jia, dressed in a royal blue brocade robe with half-white hair, hurriedly rose from his seat and stepped forward to greet them.

"Senior, please take your seat."

Song Guan Jia wanted to help Wu Xiang Lao Ren sit down, but the other merely waved a hand, raised his eyes, and asked:

"I heard you found the person who killed this old man's disciple. Where is he now?"

Hearing this, the smile on Song Guan Jia's face flickered with a strange expression; he clasped his hands and said:

"Senior, do not rush. The person has indeed been found, but this matter is truly extremely tricky. Please sit for a moment; we will discuss it slowly."

Wu Xiang Lao Ren glanced at the other, furrowed his brows, but still leaned on his cane and sat in the armchair, speaking coldly:

"Rest assured. Just tell this old man where they are now. I will go there personally; there is no need for you to act."

Song Guan Jia waved his hands repeatedly, explaining:

"Senior misunderstood; that is not what I meant."

Speaking thus, he hesitated for a moment, but finally opened his mouth and said:

"According to the faces of the man and woman provided by the Senior, we sent people to the city gate guard post to screen those who entered the city in recent days, and indeed found those two."

"However, as we continued to track their movements afterward, we discovered they had actually entered the Aurora Pavilion."

Hearing this, Wu Xiang Lao Ren narrowed his eyes, as if recalling something, and said:

"So they also came for the identity of the Seventh Imperial Prince. No wonder they killed this old man's good disciple; they were clearly eliminating a rival in advance."

Song Guan Jia glanced at the other, his gaze shifting uneasily, then sighed heavily and said:

"Senior does not know this: after our investigation, those two indeed came for the Imperial Prince's identity, but what we did not expect is that the person the Senior seeks is actually the real Imperial Prince!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Xiang Lao Ren's expression froze momentarily, then his brows tightened deeply as he stared at Song Guan Jia and asked in a low voice:

"Are you saying the person who killed my disciple is the Eighth Imperial Prince, recently acknowledged by Emperor Yuanwu's decree?"

Song Guan Jia could feel the oppressive Wu Lin aura emanating from the other, but he still forced himself to nod and said:

"Indeed so. Moreover, they are currently residing within the main headquarters of the Tianjin Guard, which is why I said the matter is tricky."

Wu Xiang Lao Ren fell silent for a moment; his previously furrowed brows now furrowed even deeper.

However, just then, the voice of the Second Imperial Prince, Li Que, suddenly came from outside the side hall:

"Even if he is the Eighth Imperial Prince, what of it? I can still help the Senior take revenge."

As the words fell, Li Que, dressed in a plain white robe with a black hemp belt at his waist, strode into the hall with vigorous steps.

Seeing this, Wu Xiang Lao Ren slowly rose to his feet, his gaze fixed on the other as he narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"Did Your Highness truly mean those words? Are you willing to help this old man kill an Imperial Prince of Great Li?"

"Naturally, I truly mean it."

Li Que nodded calmly, then spoke with an indifferent expression:

"I happen to know a piece of news; it is the perfect time for the Senior to make a move."

Speaking thus, he suddenly shifted his tone and said:

"However, after the Senior captures that Eighth Imperial Prince, please temporarily hand him over to me for questioning on certain matters; afterward, you may kill or flay him as you please."

Hearing this, Wu Xiang Lao Ren's rough palm stroked the rotting wooden cane in his hand, his face constantly shifting through various appearances.

After pondering for a moment, he looked at Li Que, nodded, and said:

"No problem. Please inform this old man of the whereabouts of that Eighth Imperial Prince."

The carriage Li Musheng and the others rode in appeared ordinary, but the horses pulling it were fine steeds supplied to the Great Li military.

The group traveled overnight; by noon the next day, they had smoothly exited the Jingzhou region, moving nearly twice as fast as when Li Musheng previously traveled on a slow horse.

However, after leaving Jingzhou, although the official road remained smooth, their journey became somewhat difficult.

The reason, naturally, was the rampant violence of martial arts factions in other prefectures of Great Li.

Along the way, whether affected by clashes between martial arts factions or stopped by bandits who had descended from the mountains, Li Musheng and the others' progress was somewhat hindered, more or less.

Of course, most of those petty thieves and self-proclaimed heroes of the green woods who knew some sword and spear skills were not even at the Pre-Heaven Realm of Wu Lin cultivation.

Among Li Musheng and his companions, even the carriage driver was a Wudaoda Sect grandmaster; among the rest, besides Li Musheng and Vice Prefect Hu Rui'an, the two Tianjin Guard thousand-households on horseback both possessed realms approaching half a step toward the Wudaoda Sect grandmaster level.

The weakest in strength was probably Murong Xiaoya, but her Wu Lin cultivation had also reached the grandmaster realm, and ordinary people in the martial world were no match for her.

Therefore, although they encountered some troubles along the way, for Li Musheng and his companions, these posed almost no obstacle.

"Young Master, there should be an inn in the town ahead where we can rest. The horses have traveled most of the day and need about three hours of rest before continuing."

Thousand-Household Wu Shang, dressed in black combat attire with a short sword hanging at his waist, reined his horse back, clasped his hands, and bowed to Li Musheng in the carriage.

Hearing this, Li Musheng merely waved his hand toward Hu Rui'an sitting opposite and said:

"These trivial matters, Lord Hu and you may decide yourselves; there is no need to ask my opinion."

For this journey, they were in disguise and traveling light, so they could not go to the Great Li government relay stations to exchange horses.

Moreover, their schedule to reach the Falling Spirit Peak was carefully planned, so there was no need to rush day and night.

Regarding this, Li Musheng was naturally pleased.

He could use the experiences along the way to personally understand whether the Falling Spirit Peak, one of the four great sects of the martial world, was truly as unforgivable as Fu Qiwen claimed.

At this moment, the stout-faced Hu Rui'an glanced at Li Musheng, nodded slightly, and said:

"All shall be done according to Your Highness's orders."

Having said that, he reached out and lifted the curtain of the carriage, calling out to Wushang, the Thousand-Household Officer who sat upright on horseback:

"Do as you said. Be careful not to cause trouble, so as not to delay the journey."

Upon hearing this, Wushang — whose complexion was bronze and whose features were resolute — nodded in assent, then turned his horse around and continued onward.

Before long, the party traveled along the official road and arrived at a rather bustling small town.

(End of chapter)