Chapter 25: A Chance Encounter

Hearing the words of the woman in the green dress, the woman in snow-white clothing finally showed a reaction. Her slender hands slowly lowered the porcelain cup before her, revealing a face of exquisite and ethereal beauty.

Her brows were as dark as mist as she lightly lifted her eyes to look at the woman in green and the two people behind her, her voice calm and indifferent

"You say you are from the Six Doors. Then you must know 'Jade-Faced Thousand Palms' Ji Feiyun."

Upon hearing this, the woman in green sized her up and nodded

"Captain Ji is one of the ten famous constables of the Six Doors' General Headquarters; naturally, we know him. Could it be that you have a history with Captain Ji?"

The woman in white did not answer. Instead, her tone shifted abruptly

"I can testify for you, but I have one condition: you must have Ji Feiyun come here to see me."

The woman in green frowned and slowly shook her head

"We would be deeply grateful if you were willing to testify, but for such a small matter, there should be no need to trouble Captain Ji to make a personal trip."

However, just as she finished speaking, the somber-faced youth behind her suddenly shouted

"Ning'er, watch out!"

In an instant, a piercing mechanical sound rang out, and several black arrows shot through the air with a *whoosh* from the youth's wrist.

They transformed into several afterimages, passing over the woman in green and striking into a cluster of ice crystals that had appeared before her at some unknown moment, emitting wisps of chilling frost.

The sound of metal clashing erupted in the air as several arrows blocked the momentum of the ice crystals, momentarily halting in mid-air and spinning at high speeds.

At that moment, the woman in white's voice drifted over lightly

"Your reaction is decent, but your martial realm is far too poor."

With that, she flicked the porcelain cup with her finger. The tea inside suddenly atomized into frost, sweeping toward the three of them amidst a gust of biting, frigid wind.

Guo Ning'er, the somber youth Zhou Chuan, and the large man all underwent drastic changes in expression

"Frost True Qi... a Martial Grandmaster!"

The three attempted to retreat immediately, but the freezing wind before them arrived too suddenly and too fast, enveloping them in the blink of an eye.

The bone-chilling cold invaded their bodies, freezing their meridians and blood qi, rendering them unable to move, leaving them frozen stiff on the spot.

In an instant, a layer of white frost visibly formed on their eyebrows and hair, making them look like human ice sculptures.

By now, the previous commotion had drawn many customers from the restaurant outside, who gathered curiously to observe the situation inside the private room.

However, the woman in white acted as if she saw nothing. She refilled her porcelain cup with tea, her gaze sweeping toward Zhang He and the other four leaning against the wall

"Which of you will make the trip? Go and call that Ji Feiyun here."

Hearing this, Zhang He swallowed nervously, preparing to volunteer.

The woman before them possessed profound martial arts, and whether she was a friend or foe was unknown; naturally, he wanted to distance himself from this trouble as quickly as possible.

However, the woman in white suddenly pointed at the man in green and said

"You. Go quickly and return quickly. I will give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

The man in green was momentarily stunned. He glanced at Zhang He, then gave him a nearly imperceptible nod before leaving the room without saying a word.

...

Meanwhile, in the room adjacent to Zhang He's group, Li Musheng had his ears pricked, listening to the situation next door with great interest.

At that moment, Cang Yinyue's figure drifted in through the window and sat directly at the table.

She glanced at the wooden wall separating them from the next room and sneered

"That woman is quite a poser."

Hearing this, Li Musheng turned to look at her and rubbed his chin.

Fortunately, the man just now had kicked the other side of the wall. If he had kicked this side, perhaps he would be the one acting grand right now.

"Miss Cang, do you happen to know that woman?"

Seeing that Cang Yinyue's tone seemed somewhat unfriendly, Li Musheng showed a look of suspicion.

"Naturally. Her father is a Divine Constable and her mother is the Sect Master of the Flying Snow Sect. She has quite a background."

Cang Yinyue poured herself a cup of tea and took a light sip, but she did not continue discussing the matter. Instead, she said

"I have already reported your situation. For the next few days, you must stay in one place temporarily."

"The Aurora Pavilion?"

Cang Yinyue nodded and said

"Everyone who currently claims to be the Seventh Prince is inside. The Palace finds it too troublesome to verify everyone individually, so they will conduct a centralized selection for everyone in six days."

Hearing this, Li Musheng shrugged, indicating he didn't mind.

In any case, he wasn't particularly concerned about this. The only thing he cared about was pursuing martial transcendence; he had come to Shangyang City merely to travel and, incidentally, "see the world."

"However, if I go to the Aurora Pavilion, how should I contact you in the future?"

"If there is something, I will find you directly. If you need something, come straight to this restaurant, and I will naturally come to find you," Cang Yinyue said in a cold voice.

Li Musheng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Dealing with people from the Hidden Spy Bureau had this one downside: they were always hiding and lurking, much like meeting contacts in an underground organization.

Of course, if he truly wanted to find her, it wouldn't actually be difficult.

Previously, when Li Musheng observed the scholar performing the Formless Puppet Technique, although he couldn't obtain the complete manual, he had relied on his heaven-defying comprehension to master a minor martial art over the past few days.

At this moment, an invisible thread of True Qi from Cang Yinyue's body was under his control. As long as she did not move too far away from him, he could find her using it.

Thinking of this, Li Musheng did not forget to remind her

"Miss Cang, don't forget the second condition you promised me: helping me find the key to the Great Qi Secret Treasury. A perfunctory effort won't count."

At this, the corner of Cang Yinyue's eye twitched, and she let out a cold snort

"Your mindset is quite something. You still have the mood to think about such ethereal things?"

As she spoke, her gaze darkened, and she warned him solemnly

"The Aurora Pavilion is guarded day and night by the Imperial Brocade Guards. With your strength, there shouldn't be too much of a problem staying there."

"However, you must keep in mind what I said before. Before your identity as a Prince is recognized by His Majesty, remember not to expose your true strength. This could very well bring about your total destruction."

Li Musheng took a sip of tea and nodded casually

"Don't worry, I know my limits."

Cang Yinyue glanced at him, said nothing more, and stood up.

"I will take you to the Aurora Pavilion."

However, just then, the sound of galloping horses approached from a distance and abruptly stopped in front of the restaurant.

A group of constables wearing black uniform robes with swords at their waists leapt from their horses, surrounding the entire restaurant in the blink of an eye.

Leading them was a tall, upright young constable sitting atop a fine steed, dressed in black brocade.

His features were well-defined, with sword-like eyebrows sloping toward his temples, and his sharp eyes scanned the restaurant in front of him.

In the next moment, he leaped up as lightly as if treading on the wind, gliding through an open window like a soaring swan.

But when he saw the person inside the window, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise

"Captain Cang, why are you here?"

(End of Chapter)