Chapter 48: Commanding Assistant

Today, in front of the crowd of constables at the Six Doors, Cang Yinyue denied her engagement to Fu Yu.

Beyond drawing a clear line between them and venting her own frustrations, her most important purpose was for this very moment.

The First Madam of the Marquis of Cangyuan's manor had, in fact, strictly forbidden her from stepping foot into the estate a long time ago.

Furthermore, the manor was filled with many masters; even if Cang Yinyue wanted to sneak in secretly to steal the manual for the Bone-Eroding Yin Wind Finger, it would have been nearly impossible.

Thus, she had thought of this method.

Based on her understanding of her cowardly father, only by doing this would he be driven to anger and take the initiative to drag her into the manor.

However, for Cang Yinyue, this was precisely the opportunity she needed.

...

On the bustling street, the cries of vendors were constant and pedestrians flowed incessantly.

A squad of heavily armed soldiers escorted a carriage, moving at a brisk pace. Inside that luxurious carriage, Li Musheng and the Grand Eunuch, Sun Changyu, sat facing each other.

Li Musheng leaned casually against the soft pillows behind him, appearing to be daydreaming, but in reality, he was continuing to deduce and create the martial arts for the Life-and-Death Talisman in his mind.

Opposite him, Grand Eunuch Sun Changyu sat upright, his narrow eyes squinting slightly as he occasionally sized up the young man before him.

Judging by his appearance, there was a high probability that the youth was the son of Consort Jing—most likely the Seventh Prince who had been living among the commoners.

"Young Master Li, it will take about an hour to reach the General Headquarters of the Tianjin Guard. Why don't we have a chat?"

Grand Eunuch Sun Changyu suddenly spoke. He picked up the freshly boiled teapot from the side table, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Li Musheng.

Li Musheng raised his eyes slightly, glanced at the man, took the cup, and took a light sip.

Immediately, his eyes brightened. *Hmm, this tea is quite fragrant; it's likely quite expensive.*

"What do you want to talk about? It's best to pick something that interests me, otherwise, I have no time to idle chat with an eunuch," Li Musheng said lazily, considering the tea was decent.

Sun Changyu's eyelid twitched. After a moment of thought, he said slowly

"This servant has read Young Master Li's files and knows that for the past decade or so, you have been staying in a small martial arts school in Wanzhou."

"However, Young Master Li seems to have learned an extremely profound acupoint-striking technique from an unknown source—one that even this servant was helpless against. This has truly left me quite astonished and curious."

Hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said, "If you're curious, then be curious. Do you intend to learn my martial arts or something?"

Sun Changyu's expression froze, then he coughed awkwardly and said

"Young Master Li misunderstands. The top-tier martial arts manuals within the Great Li Imperial Palace are countless; this servant would naturally not covet the martial arts in your hands."

"It is just... such a powerful acupoint-striking technique would certainly not be unknown in the martial world. I am somewhat curious as to where Young Master Li studied? And what realm has your martial cultivation reached?"

Li Musheng stared at the fair-skinned, somewhat prim and proper Grand Eunuch for a moment, rubbed his chin, and asked

"Do you want to know this yourself? Or did the Queen in the palace tell you to ask?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Changyu gave Li Musheng a surprised look, then his eyes shifted slightly as he nodded.

"Her Majesty the Queen shared a very close bond with the late Consort Jing and is quite concerned about the Seventh Prince's affairs. That is why this question was asked."

Li Musheng nodded slightly, seemingly unconcerned with how much truth was in the man's words. He simply waved his hand and said

"I have always been an honest person. You can go back and tell Her Majesty the Queen that I have no background behind me, nor do I have any powerful sect lineage."

"I did learn some rudimentary martial arts at a school once, but the martial arts I use now are all of my own creation."

At this point, Li Musheng paused, then smiled meaningfully.

"As for my current realm of martial cultivation, I can only say... it is very high."

Hearing this, Sun Changyu frowned deeply and suddenly fell into a silence, no longer speaking.

After a long while, he shook his head and said

"I understand what Young Master Li has said. I shall report it truthfully to Her Majesty the Queen."

Li Musheng glanced at Sun Changyu, knowing the man did not believe him, but he did not care.

Sometimes it was just like this: he treated people with honesty, yet they thought he was bragging.

When there isn't even basic trust between people, one can only call it the tragedy of this world.

The atmosphere inside the carriage fell silent again.

However, not long after, Li Musheng seemed to remember something and spoke thoughtfully

"I forgot to tell you something just now. I think it's still in time to tell you now."

Sun Changyu pursed his lips. Seemingly resistant to Li Musheng's previous "arrogant words," he said in a flat tone

"Please speak, Young Master Li. This servant is listening."

Li Musheng drained the tea in his cup, placed it back on the table, and signaled for the man to continue pouring.

"You mentioned earlier that the young man was a vessel for the Demon Heart. I just remembered that I previously saw the Assistant Commandant who appeared with you."

As he spoke, Li Musheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I detected an aura similar to demonic arts upon him."

As soon as these words were uttered, Sun Changyu's expression changed slightly, and he looked up at Li Musheng.

But quickly, he withdrew his gaze and shook his head slowly.

"Lord Song has served in the Tianjin Guard for many years. His background is clean, he is dutiful and responsible, and he is a confidant of the Commander himself. It is absolutely impossible for him to have any connection to the demonic path."

Clearly, Sun Changyu did not believe Li Musheng.

Whether it was the martial sects or the Great Li Imperial Court, they maintained a policy of zero tolerance toward those of the demonic path.

To cultivate demonic arts, these people would go to any lengths—abandoning wives and children or severing all human emotions were minor matters.

Some, possessed by deep demonic nature, lacked any shred of humanity at all, killing people to practice their arts and causing chaos among the populace, leaving behind endless devastation.

Therefore, Great Li had long established laws: anyone practicing demonic arts was to be executed without mercy. Naturally, it was impossible to allow members of the demonic path to infiltrate the imperial court.

Seeing that Sun Changyu was dismissive of his words, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow.

His mind had been focused on researching his new martial arts just now, so he hadn't paid much attention to the matter.

However, having remembered it, he had informed him in a timely manner; he had done his part.

As for whether the other man believed him, there was nothing more he could do.

Just then, a sudden thought struck Li Musheng. He reached out, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked outside.

The carriage, originally escorted by armored soldiers, had left the prosperous main street and entered a somewhat secluded street.

However, just as the carriage was about to reach a fork in the road, it suddenly veered away from the squad of soldiers and drove into a different alleyway.

Immediately following this, an identical carriage to the one Li Musheng was riding pulled out from the side.

This second carriage replaced Li Musheng's, continuing forward under the escort of the armored soldiers.

(End of Chapter)