Chapter 22: The Hunter

“Then I guessed correctly before.” Li Musheng did not seem surprised by this.

“The General Wu'an Mansion is secretly searching for the whereabouts of the lost Seventh Prince, while those two fabricated identities and intentionally allowed themselves to be discovered, only to follow the people from the General Wu'an Mansion to Shangyang City.”

As Cang Yinyue spoke, she cast a glance at the ugly woman on the ground.

At that moment, the woman withdrew her gaze from the dead scholar. Her eyes were filled with terror as she hurriedly said

“The matter of the Great Li Dynasty's Seventh Prince is known to the entire martial arts world. My junior brother and I only wanted to try and see if we could pass through undetected. We thought if we truly succeeded, we would enjoy endless wealth and honor in the future.”

Hearing this, Li Musheng looked enlightened

“As expected, excellent hunters often appear in the guise of prey.”

Cang Yinyue’s eyes flickered, and she suddenly asked

“You seemed to have known there was something wrong with that scholar all along. How did you find out?”

Li Musheng rubbed his chin and said

“That scholar’s disguise wasn't very good. Whether it was walking along these steep mountain paths or being pursued by the Blood Bath Alliance later, although he feigned exhaustion and weakness on the surface, he was actually quite composed.”

“Not only did he not have a single wound on him, but he also acted as if nothing had happened after such a day of struggle. That is very abnormal.”

“Of course, when his senior sister was being pursued by the Blood Bath Alliance, he might have inadvertently exposed a trace of his aura out of concern for her, which also confirmed my suspicions.”

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue nodded thoughtfully.

After listening to Li Musheng's words, the ugly woman's head suddenly slumped down, and she murmured

“I knew my junior brother couldn't be heartless toward me... we were childhood sweethearts. He even said when he was young that he would marry me.”

“If it weren't for the fact that practicing poison arts disfigured me—and I felt I was unworthy of him—perhaps we would already be husband and wife...”

The ugly woman's gaze turned toward the scholar's mangled corpse, and she suddenly laughed

“Junior brother also said that once he became the Seventh Prince, he would have the best imperial physician in the palace treat my face and restore my beauty...”

At this point, the ugly woman fell silent for a moment.

Then, with tears streaming down her face, she slowly raised her head. She looked at Li Musheng with a cold, murderous gaze and said fiercely

“You killed my junior brother. I know I cannot escape death tonight, but even if I die, I will make you pay the price.”

Having said that, the ugly woman suddenly acted as if she had crushed something in her mouth, followed by a malicious laugh

“Master will avenge us!”

With the naked eye, her face began to corrode and melt from the inside out, which then spread to her entire body.

Within a few breaths, the ugly woman's flesh, skin, and bones all turned into black water and thick smoke, emitting an extremely pungent, fishy stench that drifted away into the high skies of the mountain forest.

Seeing this, Cang Yinyue's expression turned grim. She said

“By doing this, she was likely sending a special signal. She was sending word to that Wuxiang Old Man.”

Li Musheng waved his hand and frowned

“It's too stinky. Let's just continue our journey.”

Cang Yinyue turned to look at him

“Are you not worried at all?”

Li Musheng glanced at the scholar's corpse, then leaped onto the mule, chuckling

“The things my disciple failed to give me, my master has come from afar to deliver. I suppose she is quite thoughtful.”

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue stared at Li Musheng in silence for a while. Her slender eyebrows furrowed involuntarily as she said

“Since you could kill that scholar, you must possess strength at least at the Martial Grandmaster realm. Although I know I shouldn't pry too deeply into your affairs...”

“But I suspect you have certainly encountered an opportunity—and one so great that countless people in the martial arts world would fight to the death for it. Otherwise, it would be impossible for you to have such astonishing cultivation at such a young age, as well as that rare martial art of striking acupoints from a distance.”

As she spoke, a complex look appeared in Cang Yinyue's eyes. She said

“However, I must advise you: before the Prince's identity is confirmed, do not expose your strength unless it is absolutely necessary.”

“The Imperial Capital is far more complex than you imagine. Before the dust has settled, anything can happen, and you could lose your life at any moment.”

“Also, once we reach Shangyang City, do not easily trust anyone. Do not even trust me.”

Hearing this, Li Musheng's expression changed, and he asked curiously

“Why?”

“There is no why. That is all I have to say. You only need to remember my words from tonight; I will not say them again.”

With that, Cang Yinyue turned and walked toward the valley, personally decapitating the three heavily injured experts of the Blood Bath Alliance.

Undoubtedly, these three were also on the Imperial Court's execution list.

Then, Cang Yinyue glanced at Meng Shan and Yuan Mei, but ultimately decided not to act. She returned to the side of the mountain path and leaped lightly onto the mule.

“Let's go.”

She gave a calm command and took the lead along the mountain path.

Li Musheng shrugged. He had let most of what she just said go in one ear and out the other.

He immediately patted the mule beneath him and set off onto the mountain path under the night sky. The moonlight emerged, illuminating the forest ahead, making it appear exceptionally quiet and pure.

The horse moved further and further away from the valley filled with gruesome corpses, as if they were two different worlds.

...

Two days passed, and Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng encountered no further obstacles, successfully entering the territory of Jing Province.

Upon entering Jing Province, Li Musheng clearly felt that it was different from the other provinces of Great Li.

The cities here were orderly, and both agriculture and commerce were very prosperous. Although martial artists carrying blades and swords were not uncommon, he had not seen any scenes of fighting or killing along the way.

The martial arts factions here seemed to have changed their temperament; they were even quite polite when encountering government constables.

They even encountered a large group of government soldiers marching grandly to a mountain to suppress bandits, among whom were many martial heroes who proactively joined to assist along the way.

“Miss Cang, Jing Province looks quite good. Shangyang City is at the feet of the Emperor; is it really as terrible as you say?”

Since that night, whenever Li Musheng tried to strike up a conversation with Cang Yinyue, she was mostly indifferent, appearing heavy-hearted.

Li Musheng felt that the main reason for this was likely because he had killed that scholar and slightly revealed his strength.

At that time, Cang Yinyue had said many things to him. Although he hadn't taken them to heart, he had noticed the change in her attitude toward him, the Seventh Prince.

*This girl is definitely hiding something from me.*

Li Musheng watched Cang Yinyue's back, lost in thought.

At that moment, Cang Yinyue suddenly turned around and said

“Jing Province is indeed peaceful. If you were just an ordinary citizen, you could live out your life here in tranquility.”

“But unfortunately, you are not. Furthermore, when a fierce tiger or a venomous snake appears, who would easily show their claws and fangs?”

“When they show their claws and fangs, it is because they are about to devour humans. And in that Shangyang City, there are far too many tigers and snakes lurking.”