Great Li Martial God

And the moment news of Li Que’s death reached the Great Li imperial palace, an immediate imperial decree was issued for the Six Doors and the Hidden Intelligence Bureau to jointly investigate the death.

The Tianjin Guards were conspicuously excluded, the palace clearly understanding the relationship between the Tianjin Guards and Li Musheng well enough to know that with Li Musheng’s standing within the Tianjin Guards, the Six Doors and the Hidden Intelligence Bureau alone could not have kept the Tianjin Guards in line.

Of course, none of this mattered in the slightest to Li Musheng. Having obtained the Tianqi Secret Treasury key from Li Que, he now held two keys in total.

His next step was to work out how to get hold of the third.

Based on what he knew so far, the third key was most likely in the possession of his elder sister, the Great Li Grand Princess.

”Cang Yinyue should be investigating exactly that. Best to find her first and see what the situation is.”

Li Musheng returned to the Tianjin Guards headquarters and sat in the courtyard enjoying the shade, paying not the slightest attention to the upheaval sweeping through the capital around him.

The big black cat was in noticeably high spirits, padding back and forth through the courtyard.

After all, today it had killed a Great Li prince, and it had done so right here in the Great Li imperial capital.

If this news got back to the Divine Nature Sect, who knew how many people with divine nature would look up at it in admiration and awe.After all, this was something that not even the Divine Nature Sect’s leadership had ever managed to do.

”What do you plan to tell His Majesty about killing Li Que?”

At that point Li Yuanling, sitting beside Li Musheng, spoke up. She had been turning over the question of what came next the whole way back.

Even if Li Que had deserved everything he got, they had gone directly to the residence and killed him. It was a matter that broke far too many taboos and rules, and thinking back on it, none of it was anything small.

And however one looked at it, Li Que had still been Emperor Yuanwu’s biological son.

At those words, Li Musheng glanced at Li Yuanling and waved a hand, ”What is there to discuss with him? Life and death are matters of fate. If he wants to come and take revenge, he is welcome to try to kill me. I would not mind.”

”Though naturally, he would have to be capable of it first.”

At those words, Li Yuanling was briefly taken aback.

She then looked at Li Musheng for a long moment, and quietly let out a small sigh.

She naturally thought of Li Musheng’s origins. He should by rights have been a Great Li prince, born to an exalted position, yet he had spent nearly twenty years adrift among common people, utterly alone.

Setting aside the fact that Li Musheng had no emotional foundation with Emperor Yuanwu whatsoever, just given those years of bitter hardship, he must carry resentment.

And so she genuinely understood how Li Musheng felt.

What Li Yuanling did not know was that Li Musheng felt nothing of the sort.

What resentment? He had none. After all, the original soul had been gone since very young.

When he arrived, he had not suffered any particular hardship. On the contrary, with his unmatched comprehension, he had been thoroughly absorbed in martial cultivation, enjoying it immensely.

If he had not reached the absolute limit of the martial path, leaving no further room to cultivate, he could honestly have stayed in that small martial school in Shun’an City and cultivated for the rest of his life without ever leaving.

”Do not worry. If anything comes of it, I will handle it.”

Li Musheng shook his head and reassured Li Yuanling.

She did not know that he had now in fact killed two princes.

Even so, beyond the risk of people misunderstanding that he was trying to eliminate every prince and seize the throne, none of it had any actual impact on him.

At that, the big black cat padded over and looked at Li Yuanling, then held its head up, let out a meow, and waved a paw.

The meaning was unmistakably that it had been the one who scratched the prince to death, that it was not only unafraid but downright pleased.

At the sight, Li Yuanling shook her head helplessly and decided not to dwell on the matter any further.

Honestly, this was not something she could manage or had any power to manage.

...

The Great Li imperial capital, Second Prince’s residence.

After receiving the edict from the imperial palace, Constable Guan Tianjian led a group of Six Doors constables to Li Que’s residence in haste.

Looking at the bodies of Li Que and the Elder Zhe in the reception hall, Guan Tianjian furrowed his brow deeply, his expression that of a man deeply troubled.

Standing beside him was Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander Wu Gou, wearing much the same expression. Both of them were grimly tight-lipped.

Whether through their own respective intelligence channels or through questioning the residence’s servants and some of the martial world figures, they had already put together a rough picture of the full story.

”What is your read on this, Constable Guan?”

Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander Wu Gou raised his head and looked at Guan Tianjian beside him, asking for his opinion.

Guan Tianjian shook his head and said nothing.

Some time ago, he had investigated the Cangyuan Marquis’s case, and had eventually traced it back to Li Musheng.

But he had kept a steady hand, following Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue to the Dragon Lock Well Ward and inadvertently witnessing the true martial cultivation of the Great Li Eighth Prince Li Musheng.

That was what had made him pull back from the edge in time, decisively choosing to close the Cangyuan Marquis case and treat subsequent palace directives as something to be handled perfunctorily.

And afterward, when the news of Li Musheng destroying Falling God Peak came back to the capital, Guan Tianjian had realized what an extraordinarily important and wise decision he had made.

But as it happened, the same kind of choice was now sitting in front of him again.

He genuinely did not want to be involved in this matter, but his duty gave him no choice.

And with Li Que’s death now being watched by who knew how many eyes throughout the capital, he was caught between advancing and retreating with nowhere to go.

Right at that moment, Fu Yu arrived with Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan, along with several Hidden Intelligence Bureau operatives, stepping quickly in from outside the hall.

Among them, Fu Yu let his gaze pass almost imperceptibly over the two bodies on the floor, pausing notably for a moment on the finger-hole punched clean through the Elder Zhe’s forehead.

He then clasped his hands in greeting toward Guan Tianjian and Wu Gou, ”The two of you, we have conducted a detailed interview with the Second Prince’s household steward. He is also the only witness who was present throughout.”

At those words, Guan Tianjian raised his eyes toward Fu Yu, and Wu Gou beside him looked toward his own subordinate. Seeing the man give a quiet nod, he drew his gaze back and said to Fu Yu, ”Then give us the specifics.”

Fu Yu collected his thoughts briefly, then recounted everything the steward had said, word for word.

For a moment the entire hall fell into complete silence. Guan Tianjian and Wu Gou exchanged a glance, and both could see the unusual look in the other’s eyes.

If the steward’s account was accurate, honestly, in both their views, Li Que had deserved every bit of what he got.

The whole thing had started with his sending people to assassinate Li Musheng, followed by coating the key with an extraordinary poison in an attempt to kill him.

If either of them had been in Li Musheng’s position, not killing the man would have been the surprising outcome.

Of course, they could not possibly voice this thought aloud. After all, Li Que had been a prince of Great Li regardless.

And they were not Li Musheng. They could not simply kill a prince as they saw fit.

For people like them, even a carelessly worded sentence constituted insubordination and could mean losing their heads.

”Record all of this in full detail, then submit it to Constable Guan and myself for review before reporting to the palace. Make absolutely certain nothing is omitted or altered.”

At that point, Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander Wu Gou considered briefly, then spoke to Fu Yu with a grave expression.

Guan Tianjian looked toward Fu Yu and gave a slow nod.

At the sight, Fu Yu immediately bowed in acknowledgment. But he paused briefly, then asked one additional question, ”According to the steward’s account, the one who actually killed the Second Prince was a large black cat, and not the Eighth Prince acting directly.”

”Should we make particular note of this, to reduce the Eighth Prince’s responsibility to the greatest degree possible?”

Guan Tianjian and Wu Gou exchanged a glance, and after a moment of silence, Guan Tianjian spoke, ”No special treatment necessary. Record everything exactly as Her Highness Princess Huarong stated, without emphasizing or altering anything.”

Fu Yu’s expression shifted slightly, and he asked nothing further. He bowed and withdrew with Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan.

The hall fell quiet once more.

At that point, Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander Wu Gou suddenly looked at Guan Tianjian and said, ”Constable Guan is certainly careful. Whenever anything involves that Eighth Prince, you show no inclination to touch it at all. Before, and now as well.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, ”Could it be that Constable Guan has had some prior dealings with the Eighth Prince?”

At those words, a thought moved through Guan Tianjian’s mind. He reflected privately that the Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander’s perceptiveness was sharp, having picked up on something real from very little. The man’s ability to read nuance was not to be underestimated.

Even so, his face showed nothing, and he simply looked at Wu Gou with a calm expression, ”Rather than spending time working out this Constable’s affairs, the Commander might be better served thinking about the Hidden Intelligence Bureau’s own situation going forward.”

”The extraordinary poison the Second Prince used in his attempt to kill the Eighth Prince came from your Hidden Intelligence Bureau. Given the Eighth Prince’s way of handling things, what he plans to do with your Hidden Intelligence Bureau next is something that would be very hard to predict.”

At those words, Wu Gou’s expression changed sharply, and his face visibly became very grave.

Though he had no idea how Li Que had obtained that extraordinary poison from the Hidden Intelligence Bureau, he had not even known the Hidden Intelligence Bureau possessed something like this.

Even so, none of that stopped the cold weight of concern settling over him.

After all, Li Musheng’s martial cultivation was at a supreme level and his conduct was completely unrestrained, a man who could kill a prince on a whim. Even the death of Consort Ji in the palace had been quietly pointing in his direction.

Someone like that, if he truly chose to move against the Hidden Intelligence Bureau, would do so as naturally as breathing.

With that thought, Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander Wu Gou felt something sink in his chest, and thought privately, ”This cannot wait. I need to inform the Commander-General at once.”

With that thought, he looked at Guan Tianjian once, then gave a small nod, ”Thank you for the reminder, Constable Guan.”

With that, he turned and left directly, leaving only a few Hidden Intelligence Bureau subordinates to hold position at the Second Prince’s residence.

Guan Tianjian watched the man’s retreating figure and furrowed his brow, ”That man really is something.”

...

At the same time, after leaving the hall, Fu Yu led Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan to the room where the household steward was being temporarily held.

But just as Ji Feiyun had the guarding constable open the door, her gaze changed in an instant, and she saw that the steward had hanged himself from the ceiling beam.

”This...”

Ji Feiyun froze at once, while Gong Lishan beside her moved swiftly inside and went to the steward, cutting him down from the beam.

”What is the situation?”

Fu Yu walked into the room with a dark expression.

Gong Lishan shook his head, ”Already dead. No possibility of resuscitation.”

At those words, Ji Feiyun, who had rushed inside, wore an expression of urgent distress, ”But he was the only witness who saw the whole thing. And now he is just dead. What do we do?”

Fu Yu’s brow was deeply furrowed, but rather than answering Ji Feiyun’s question immediately, he looked at Gong Lishan, who was examining the body, and asked, ”Suicide or homicide?”

”From the ligature marks on the neck, it appears to be suicide. But during the questioning earlier, there were absolutely no signs of suicidal tendency.”

Gong Lishan set the body down and shook his head, ”This is not as simple as it looks.”

At those words, Fu Yu’s expression became thoughtful, and he turned to Ji Feiyun, ”Go and report this to Constable Guan immediately.”

Then he looked at Gong Lishan, ”I will hold the scene here. You go and inform the Hidden Intelligence Bureau. This is beyond what we can handle alone. We need Hidden Intelligence Bureau personnel on site.”

At those words, Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan both nodded, and quickly left.

The room now held only Fu Yu.

He looked at the steward’s body on the floor, and then his gaze suddenly shifted toward the shadows in the corner of the room.

”Why have you not left yet?”

Fu Yu furrowed his brow and sent a thread of true qi toward the shadows.

A figure in a black dress emerged from within. Her face was covered by black cloth, and she looked toward Fu Yu in the room and bowed with clasped hands, ”Young Master, this servant took the risk of staying to offer a word of counsel. The cause of restoring the dynasty is near at hand. The Young Master is needed to lead the effort. Why waste time buried within the Six Doors?”

”Moreover, the Great Li capital is not what it once was. That Great Li Eighth Prince has appeared from nowhere, and all the various factions are beginning to stir. If the Young Master becomes caught up in this, there is a real risk of being pulled into danger.”

Fu Yu’s face did not change. He said coldly, ”I have my reasons for remaining here. I do not need you to tell me how to conduct myself.”

”Furthermore, Guan Tianjian will be here shortly. If you do not leave now, I cannot protect you.”

At those words, the black-dressed woman’s brow furrowed, but she still asked, ”Then at least tell this servant why you killed this man.”

Fu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the black-dressed woman, and a faint killing intent flickered in his gaze, ”From this day forward, get out of Shangyang City. I no longer need your help with anything.”

The black-dressed woman pressed her lips together, a brief flicker of hurt crossing her eyes. Then she shook her head, ”This servant will not leave. For this servant’s entire life, everything belongs to the Young Master, including this servant’s life.”

Fu Yu’s fist tightened slightly. He drew a slow breath, and ultimately did not act, only saying, ”The reason I killed him is to muddy the waters. Let chaos stir within the Great Li capital. Only in troubled waters can we fish for what we need, find the chance to bring down Great Li.”

”Otherwise, what do you think I have been buried inside the Six Doors for?”

At those words, the black-dressed woman stared at Fu Yu for a moment, then slowly gave a nod, ”I see. I was beginning to wonder whether the Young Master was doing this for the Cang woman.”