Chapter 209: How Tall?

The little girl in pink held a steamed bun in her left hand and braised beef in her right; after realizing what had happened, she stood still and shouted:

“Why?”

Li Muxian pointed to the large horse he had brought and said:

“My horse is worth far more silver than your donkey—you’re getting the better deal and still complaining? You’re barely a child and have no sense of gratitude.”

With that, Li Muxian ignored the furious little girl on the ground, took the map from his horse’s back, and mounted the donkey.

“Grandpa, look at him!”

The little girl glared angrily at the old man in hemp clothing beside her; the two exchanged a barely perceptible glance, and the old man’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward Li Muxian.

At that moment, Li Muxian glanced at the map in his hand—its dense routes and markings made him frown in frustration.

After a brief pause, he turned to the scar-faced man and the others kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear, and said:

“You’re heading to deliver a birthday gift to the Seven Sacred Peaks’ master, right? Coincidentally, I’m going there too—guide me.”

Hearing this, the scar-faced man lifted his pale face, glanced fearfully at Li Muxian, then stole a sidelong look at Hu Rui’an nearby.

He had witnessed Hu Rui’an casually slaying the Luoshen Peak disciples—he knew full well the terror of the man’s martial prowess.

Though Li Muxian was young, his status seemed even higher than Hu Rui’an’s; perhaps his strength didn’t match Hu Rui’an’s, but he dared not underestimate him in the slightest, so he stammered quickly:

“As long as you spare our lives, we’ll obey every order you give.”

With that, he staggered to his feet; though his calves still shook uncontrollably, he forced down his fear and barked at the disciples on the ground:

“What are you waiting for? Get up and move!”

Hearing this, the disciples instinctively glanced at the corpses of the Luoshen Peak men; each face turned pale with dread.

Yet none dared delay—they slowly rose from the ground and shuffled like walking corpses toward the cart.

Without uttering another word, they drove the horses past the roadblock and continued along the main road.

The scar-faced man glanced back at Li Muxian seated atop the donkey, then immediately mounted his own horse and followed the disciples.

Li Muxian nodded in satisfaction, patted the neck of the donkey beneath him, and the beast stepped forward at a slow pace.

Seeing this, the hemp-clad old man suddenly turned to Hu Rui’an and said:

“Are you truly comfortable letting your young master travel alone?”

Hu Rui’an glanced at him but offered no explanation.

The old man’s cloudy eyes flickered slightly, yet he asked no further; instead, he picked up the pink-clad girl and placed her atop the large horse, then continued walking along the road, leading the animal.

Hu Rui’an and Wu Shang and the others watched Li Muxian’s figure recede into the distance; inside the cart, Murong Xiaoya and Shen Anran lifted the curtain and silently watched him depart.

“You needn’t worry—His Highness’s strength, even if he can’t defeat those old fools of Luoshen Peak, should be more than enough to escape unharmed.”

Hu Rui’an lowered his gaze and spoke slowly.

Wu Shang and the others exchanged glances but remained silent.

…

In the following half-day, Hu Rui’an and his men waited in place, eliminating several waves of reinforcements from Luoshen Peak, until the Tianjinwei elite sent by Fu Qiwén finally arrived.

“Where is the Eighth Prince?”

The newcomer, seeing no Li Muxian, immediately asked Hu Rui’an with a grave expression.

But Hu Rui’an revealed nothing of Li Muxian’s whereabouts, only saying:

“I will report this personally to the Guard Commander. Right now, our priority is to rendezvous with the Tianjinwei—I have an incomplete map of Luoshen Peak’s defenses that may prove useful.”

Hearing this, the Tianjinwei expert frowned but dared not press further; he led Hu Rui’an and the others to the Tianjinwei’s encampment.

After leaving the imperial capital, Fu Qiwén traveled by water to Lancheng, during which he visited several retired Tianjinwei masters.

These men had once been his superiors; while in the capital, he had personally written letters requesting their aid.

To crush Luoshen Peak, aside from the imperial court’s main forces—which he could not mobilize—he had exhausted every means to gather allies for the Tianjinwei.

For instance, he had secretly ordered several reliable martial sects allied with the Tianjinwei to mobilize.

Even sects with longstanding grudges against Luoshen Peak had been contacted, but most chose self-preservation.

They did not believe the Great Li Tianjinwei could defeat Luoshen Peak—one of the Four Great Martial Sects of Great Li—and were certain the mission would end in failure; none wished to die pointlessly, so only a handful agreed to act.

“Foolish! How could you let His Highness act recklessly?”

After hearing from Hu Rui’an where Li Muxian had gone, Fu Qiwén’s deeply wrinkled brow tightened—he was clearly furious.

Hu Rui’an looked up and saw that Fu Qiwén, whose hair and eyebrows had once been half-gray, was now entirely white.

At this moment, the man looked at least ten years older than when they had last parted.

Seeing this, Hu Rui’an silently sighed and said:

“My lord, you don’t realize—His Highness is far weaker than we once thought.”

Hearing this, Fu Qiwén glanced at Hu Rui’an, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

He knew his trusted aide well—he would not speak without reason.

Fu Qiwén suppressed his anger and said sternly:

“Then tell me—what ability does His Highness possess to go alone to Luoshen Peak?”

Hu Rui’an bowed, hands clasped, raised his eyes slightly to meet Fu Qiwén’s, paused a moment, then said:

“Actually… His Highness’s martial cultivation is extremely high.”

Fu Qiwén frowned, fixed his gaze on Hu Rui’an, and unconsciously narrowed his eyes:

“His Highness’s martial cultivation is extremely high? How high? I saw nothing of the sort.”

Hu Rui’an thought for a moment, then said seriously:

“According to His Highness’s own words, he’s about ten stories tall.”

Hearing this, Fu Qiwén froze slightly.

But before he could speak, Hu Rui’an suddenly looked up at him and added:

“I believe His Highness’s strength surpasses yours, at the very least.”

At these words, Fu Qiwén’s reply died in his throat; he stared at Hu Rui’an in utter astonishment.

(End of Chapter)