Chapter 56: Making Things Difficult

Amidst the torrential downpour, Fu Qiwen, having departed from the Imperial Palace, rushed back to the headquarters of the Tianjin Guard.

The moment he stepped into the main hall, Yu Jin, the Commander, rose immediately to greet him. However, Fu Qiwen merely waved him off and walked straight to Li Musheng, bowing deeply

"Your Highness, your servant greets you."

Seeing this, how could Yu Jin not realize what had happened? Once he realized, he hurriedly walked to Fu Qiwen's side and bowed to Li Musheng.

"His Majesty has confirmed the identity of the Eighth Prince. However, due to his seclusion for martial arts cultivation, he is temporarily unable to receive Your Highness personally and has specially commissioned me to handle the subsequent matters."

Fu Qiwen spoke slowly, holding a bright yellow scroll in his hand.

On the way back, he had already skimmed the contents of the scroll and was fully aware of Emperor Yuanwu's arrangements for the Eighth Prince before him.

"Eighth Prince?"

Li Musheng, however, caught the ambiguity in Fu Qiwen's words.

Why was he suddenly being ranked one position lower?

To this, Fu Qiwen remained composed, proceeding to recount Emperor Yuanwu's explanation to Li Musheng in general terms.

"So that's how it is. Eighth Prince it is, then."

Li Musheng waved his hand. He didn't place much importance on the matter; his question had merely been instinctive.

Fu Qiwen glanced at Li Musheng but saw no dissatisfaction or any other emotion on his face; he remained as calm and casual as ever.

Even upon learning that his identity as a prince had been acknowledged by Emperor Yuanwu, the other man maintained the same attitude—neither surprised nor particularly joyful.

Fu Qiwen narrowed his eyes slightly and continued

"His Majesty has already selected a residence for Your Highness on Zhuque Avenue. However, as it has not yet been renovated and requires the selection of maids, servants, and guards, Your Highness cannot move in immediately. For the time being, please reside within the headquarters of the Tianjin Guard."

Hearing this, Li Musheng scanned his surroundings. Satisfied with the environment, he nodded

"No problem."

However, after a moment's thought, he looked at Fu Qiwen and asked

"Aside from that, are there any other benefits?"

Fu Qiwen's eyelid twitched slightly. He cupped his hands and said

"His Majesty, sympathizing with Your Highness's past hardships, has bestowed a very generous amount of gold and silver, which will be presented to Your Highness along with the new residence in the future."

He paused briefly before adding

"Furthermore, His Majesty has selected three mentors for Your Highness."

"One is the Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhang Song, the Vice Minister of Rites; one is a military general, General Wu'an, Guo Zhen'ang; and the last is the Deputy Master of the Tianwu Tower, Grandmaster Xuan Yi."

"Among these three, one possesses profound erudition, one has distinguished military merit, and one has deep martial arts mastery. They will undoubtedly be of great benefit to Your Highness."

However, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, looking utterly disdainful

"Then I really must thank you all."

He shot a glance at Fu Qiwen and waved his hand

"I'll take the gold and the residence, but as for those 'mentors,' I don't need a single one of them."

"Besides, isn't that General Wu'an one of the Second Prince's men? Are you sure he'll actually teach someone properly?"

Upon hearing this, the deep wrinkles on Fu Qiwen's forehead furrowed. He looked at Li Musheng with considerable surprise, seemingly not expecting that the young man would know about the connection behind General Wu'an.

But he quickly shook his head and said

"This is not a matter I can decide. If Your Highness does not wish to accept them, we can discuss it further after His Majesty emerges from seclusion."

Just then, Li Musheng rubbed his chin and suddenly said

"Forget it. When I have time, I'll meet with the three of them."

The reason Li Musheng changed his mind was naturally not because he truly wanted them to teach him.

Rather, he felt that since Emperor Yuanwu had personally appointed them as mentors, they must possess extraordinary abilities and insights. He wanted to ask them about the matter of martial transcendence.

If he gained something, it would be a pleasant surprise; if not... he would simply dismiss all three on the grounds that "they didn't even know this."

Additionally, the Tianwu Tower was an institution used by the Imperial Court to recruit people from the martial world (*Jianghu*). It gathered many martial artists and served as a decent channel for gathering information; interacting with them wouldn't be a bad thing.

Hearing Li Musheng's agreement, Fu Qiwen seemed somewhat surprised.

After all, the young man didn't even hold him in high regard; he truly found it hard to believe that this Eighth Prince would take an interest in those three.

Nevertheless, he did not say much. His eyes shifted slightly as he cupped his hands toward Li Musheng

"Currently, the five nations of the world are divided and the martial world is in chaos. The Imperial Court is in dire need of talent. If Your Highness has any intention of building a legacy for Great Li, perhaps you could first attempt to handle some affairs. This would allow His Majesty to see your capabilities, after which you might be entrusted with heavy responsibilities."

Hearing this, Li Musheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Fu Qiwen.

Speaking so formally with such an abrupt transition—it felt as if an NPC were assigning a quest.

However, Li Musheng did not refuse directly. Instead, with a contemplative expression, he asked

"What do you want me to do?"

Logically speaking, even though Fu Qiwen commanded the Tianjin Guard and held immense power within the Great Li court, it was impossible for him to issue a "task" to a prince.

It was highly likely that this was a subtle hint from Emperor Yuanwu himself. If the task was relatively easy, he truly had no reason to refuse.

After all, since he had already accepted the money and the house, helping out with some work was only reasonable.

At this moment, Fu Qiwen lowered his eyes in silence for a moment, then spoke slowly

"Your Highness has likely heard of the Falling God Peak, one of the four great sects of the martial world."

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said

"What do you mean? Is the task you want me to do related to Falling God Peak?"

Fu Qiwen nodded and cupped his hands

"Your servant requests that Your Highness destroy Falling God Peak."

Li Musheng: "..."

At this moment, Fu Qiwen was thinking that Emperor Yuanwu had told him to find something troublesome for Li Musheng to do, but hadn't specified what.

To him, wiping out Falling God Peak was currently the most troublesome matter at hand. Therefore, proposing this request to the Eighth Prince was naturally within that scope.

"Since we need to temper his temperament, we might as well do it in one decisive stroke."

Fu Qiwen narrowed his eyes at Li Musheng, whose face was clearly showing a strange expression.

Fu Qiwen possessed exceptional martial talent and great capability. He was always self-disciplined, dutiful, and avoided factionalism or personal gain, remaining fiercely loyal to the Great Li court. This was a major reason why Emperor Yuanwu trusted him so deeply with the command of the Tianjin Guard.

But this did not mean Fu Qiwen was without a temper. This was the first time in his life that the dignified Commander of the Tianjin Guard had been looked down upon. When he thought about it carefully, the feeling was quite unpleasant; so, it was no wonder he decided to give someone a bit of a hard time for the first time.

Of course, he assumed Li Musheng would definitely refuse.

After all, even he couldn't handle this matter himself; he had only forced himself to include it in the future plans of the Tianjin Guard because of Emperor Yuanwu's requirement.

But as of now, he had no clue how to proceed, nor did he dare to take action.