Chapter 196: The Steward

Hearing this, Mu Qingxia's gaze froze in surprise, but since her body was immobilized, she could not see Li Musheng himself and could only hear his voice.

Nevertheless, she could still tell from the voice that the other party must be extremely young.

Yet for someone so young to silently strike from a distance and seal her acupoints without her noticing at all was something she could not comprehend.

"How is this possible?"

Mu Qingxia did not believe it; in her youth she had walked the Jianghu and naturally possessed the vigilance to watch in all directions and listen from every quarter.

But she had still been unable to resist having her acupoints sealed, which showed that whether in Wu Gong cultivation or in the acupoint martial art he employed, the opponent must be extraordinarily powerful.

Someone with such strength, in Mu Qingxia's view, could under no circumstances be so young.

However, Hu Rui'an cared nothing for her thoughts; since Li Musheng had given orders, he naturally acted immediately.

Without hesitation, he reached out, gathered true qi, seized Mu Qingxia, lifted her, turned, and walked directly into the Mei Manor, while turning back to say to Li Musheng:

"Your Highness, let us go."

Originally, Hu Rui'an had intended to take over the Shengzhou Tianjin Guard, but he actually knew in his heart that the obstacles were great, especially having to face a roadblock like the Mei family.

To be honest, he had previously lacked much confidence in this, for whether in status and position or in his own Wu Gong cultivation, he could not suppress the Mei family and was more likely to be suppressed by them.

But now it was different; with the Eighth Imperial Prince Li Musheng intervening, both status and strength directly crushed the Mei family, making the two utterly incomparable.

In Hu Rui'an's view, the forced transfer order tonight was certain to succeed, leaving absolutely no doubt!

With Li Musheng as his thigh to cling to, he only needed to do errands and menial tasks; the pressure on his shoulders instantly eased, and naturally he became even more diligent.

Li Musheng nodded slightly and, followed by Wu Shang and others, trailed behind Hu Rui'an.

At this moment, Mu Qingxia, held aloft in his hand, wore an expression of shock and fury; she had just wanted to shout in anger but suddenly discovered that, at some point, she could no longer speak.

This was naturally because Hu Rui'an, fearing the other might utter some hateful words, had in time blocked her mouth with true qi to avoid affecting Li Musheng's mood behind him.

The big black cat followed as well; it trotted a few steps, following Hu Rui'an with a look of curiosity, its green eyes occasionally sizing up Mu Qingxia in the other's hand.

Mu Qingxia's facial expression now shifted wildly; anger, resentment, anxiety, worry, and other emotions flickered, but with her body's acupoints sealed, she could not move at all.

Even though she desperately tried to say something, no one paid her any attention.

The big black cat meowed twice, seeming somewhat gleeful at her misfortune.

And Mu Qingxia had clearly recognized the big cat before; when the Tianjin Guard branch office was "haunted," she had seen this cat.

She had even suspected the cat was connected to those ghosts and demons, intending to capture it for investigation, but it had slipped away; she never expected it to now be with Hu Rui'an and the others.

At this moment, Hu Rui'an, carrying Mu Qingxia, barged straight into the Mei Manor; the servants inside, seeing this, were greatly frightened and all hurried to the rear courtyard to report.

Not long after, a group of household guards appeared, holding swords and blades to half-encircle and half-retreat from Hu Rui'an and the others, yet no one truly dared to advance and attack.

After all, they were not fools; even their own lady, whose Wu Gong cultivation was so formidable, had been subdued by the other party, so going up would be no different from suicide.

Just then, the manor's steward hurried from the rear courtyard, supporting a figure as they rushed forward.

"Release my lady, and everything can be negotiated."

Mei Yan, his face pale and wearing thin clothes as if he had just climbed out of bed, ran quickly while shouting in panic.

Hu Rui'an, still holding Mu Qingxia, stopped, looked at Mei Yan, the Vice Prefect of Shengzhou who had rushed up close, narrowed his eyes, and said:

"With those words from Lord Mei, I am reassured."

Having said that, Hu Rui'an glanced at Li Musheng; seeing the other wave his hand, he immediately turned back and spoke bluntly to Mei Yan:

"Then Lord Mei should issue the order: have the Shengzhou Tianjin Guard depart overnight for Lanzhou."

Hearing this, Mei Yan's brows furrowed, and his gaze at Hu Rui'an and the others suddenly revealed a look of sudden realization.

"So you are the group that came from the Imperial Capital."

As he spoke, Mei Yan's previously somewhat sickly face instantly darkened, and he said coldly:

"Then you should know my identity as an official of the court; threatening a court official in this manner—do you have any regard for the laws of Great Li? Is this how Fu Qiwen taught you to act?"

At this moment, Mei Yan exuded the authority of a superior, simultaneously releasing a wisp of Heaven-and-Mortal Realm Wu Gong aura.

Clearly, he intended to use his status within the Great Li court to make Hu Rui'an feel fear and thus hesitate to act against a hostage.

However, Hu Rui'an merely glanced at the other with a mocking expression and said:

"Lord Mei, spare us the nonsense. Did we come here not knowing your identity? Of course, if Lord Mei actually does not care whether your lady lives or dies, you may simply say so."

At these words, Mu Qingxia's expression instantly turned cold, and she glared at Mei Yan.

Mei Yan hurriedly waved at his lady, then his face shifted for a moment before he looked at Hu Rui'an and said:

"Release my lady first, and only then will I consider agreeing to your demands."

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an was about to speak when Mei Yan suddenly found his entire body lifting off the ground uncontrollably.

At the same time, Li Musheng's voice came:

"I have heard that your Mei family has committed many sins. Although I have no time to deal with such matters now, if you continue to dawdle like this, then I will have to intervene."

As his words fell, a wisp of talisman light quietly entered Mei Yan's body.

"Lord Hu, I leave the rest to you; whatever you need to ask or do, simply go to him."

Li Musheng said this to Hu Rui'an; the next moment, Mei Yan felt his whole body as if being bitten by ten thousand ants, and he let out an uncontrollable, agonized scream that made everyone around him shudder in fear.

Seeing this, the big black cat's fur bristled at first, but after witnessing Mei Yan's wretched state, it soon began meowing happily, rubbing against Li Musheng's robe at his feet.

Hu Rui'an and the others, seeing Mei Yan's plight, all had their pupils contract slightly, as if they too had not expected Li Musheng to possess such terrifying methods of torture.

However, Hu Rui'an quickly regained his composure, immediately agreed, and said:

"Your Highness need not worry; I will certainly handle everything."

Hearing this, Li Musheng nodded, then, taking the black cat, sat directly in a brightly lit pavilion nearby and paid no further attention to the affairs within the Mei Manor.

Shen Anran, Wu Shang, and the others exchanged glances and did not idle; all joined together to assist Hu Rui'an in handling the matters ahead.

(End of this chapter)