Chapter 128: Setting Out Early |
Cang Yinyue naturally followed at Li Musheng's side. Yu Jin, walking ahead, unconsciously glanced back at her.
His gaze, however, was drawn to the vivid jade-green Imperial Dragon Divine Sword in her hand.
But since very few people had ever laid eyes on the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword, he did not recognize it at all, only finding the sword remarkably unusual, as translucent as fine jade, and wondering what material it could possibly have been forged from.
And yet as his gaze settled on the blade, he felt a faint impression of sharp, restrained edge held within, and an aura that was deeply imposing. It was clearly an exceptional sword of considerable caliber.
Seemingly sensing Yu Jin's gaze, Cang Yinyue furrowed her brow slightly and gave the longsword a quick loop through the air.
It sliced off a strip of cloth from the hem of her garment, with which she wrapped the rather conspicuous Imperial Dragon Divine Sword tightly out of sight.
Seeing this, Yu Jin seemed to realize he had been behaving improperly, and hurriedly coughed a few times to cover his awkwardness, then spoke up, asking, "That's quite a fine sword, Miss. Might I ask which master swordsmith crafted it? Does it have a name?"
But before Cang Yinyue could reply, Li Musheng glanced at Yu Jin and said lightly, "The sword is called the Imperial Dragon Divine Sword. I gave it to her."
Hearing this, Yu Jin froze briefly and felt a sudden jolt of alarm, then said nothing more and quietly continued leading the way ahead.
In Yu Jin's estimation, his presumptuousness must have displeased the Eighth Prince before him, which was why the man had replied in such a deliberate manner.
For the rest of the walk, he silently reminded himself to break the habit of letting his mouth run in the future, or one day he would bring trouble upon himself without even knowing it.
Before long, Yu Jin brought Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue to the hall where Commander Fu Qiwen was stationed.
Seeing the three of them arrive, Fu Qiwen, who had been bent over his desk writing quickly, rose from beneath a mountain of accumulated documents and clasped his hands toward Li Musheng in greeting, saying, "My apologies for troubling Your Highness to make the trip. This subject is truly overwhelmed with affairs at the moment and cannot get away."
Li Musheng waved a hand and swept a glance around the hall.
He had to admit that the post of Tianjin Guards Commander was genuinely a thankless slog. If he were made to deal with these maddening affairs day in and day out, he would not last a minute.
"What is it you needed me for, Commander Fu?"
Li Musheng withdrew his gaze and asked directly.
The place had an oppressive feel that reminded him of the days he had once fought tooth and nail through his university entrance examinations, buried under piles of paper and that suffocating feeling.
Frankly speaking, even with his martial Dao cultivation at the pinnacle of its current heights, he had no desire to linger in such a wretched place.
At this point, Fu Qiwen wasted no time in getting to it and said plainly, "This subject has an impertinent request, and earnestly asks Your Highness to set out today, ahead of schedule, toward Falling God Peak in Lan Province."
Hearing this, Li Musheng furrowed his brow slightly, looked at the man, and asked with some puzzlement, "Has something gone wrong with Commander Fu's plan?"
Fu Qiwen gave a light nod, then raised a hand and summoned from a corner of the desk behind him a sealed letter, drawing it into his grasp from across the distance before presenting it to Li Musheng, saying, "This is a secret report sent by a Tianjin Guards covert operative in Sheng Province. The letter states that Sheng Province Governor Zhu Ziming and local Tianjin Guards Branch Deputy Commander Mei Yan have been maintaining close private dealings with Falling God Peak."
Li Musheng took the letter and gave it a quick scan, then looked back at Fu Qiwen and asked, "Is Commander Fu's intention to have me go and arrest them?"
Hearing this, Fu Qiwen shook his head, saying, "The Tianjin Guards operatives have not yet obtained concrete evidence to confirm the situation regarding the two of them. However, this subject believes that an operative daring to send a secret report to headquarters means the likelihood of this being true is not small."
"And should it prove true, if these two defect, they would pose a very significant threat to our plan to exterminate Falling God Peak."
Li Musheng raised the letter in his hand and said, "Commander Fu, please speak plainly about what you need from me. Our target is Falling God Peak. If this is something that can be handled in passing, I can lend a hand, but I have no spare time for anything that wastes it."
Fu Qiwen gave Li Musheng a long, measured look, then after a brief pause shook his head and said, "Your Highness need not worry. Sheng Province borders Lan Province where Falling God Peak is located, and it lies directly on the route from the capital. Your Highness would only need to lend a hand in passing."
He then went on to explain, saying, "That Deputy Commander Mei Yan of Sheng Province is no ordinary figure. He is the younger brother of the current Queen Consort, making him both an imperial relative and the son-in-law of Wu Sheng of Yuming Mountain, Mu Tianxing."
"To speak plainly, within the entire Tianjin Guards, apart from this subject going in person, no one else holds a status capable of moving against him."
Hearing this, Li Musheng considered for a moment, then gave a nod, saying, "I understand what Commander Fu means. You want to use my status as a prince to suppress that Deputy Commander. That sounds straightforward enough."
Hearing this, Fu Qiwen quickly clasped his hands in a bow, saying, "This subject would not ordinarily wish to trouble Your Highness, but ever since the order was sent for all provincial Tianjin Guards units to advance covertly toward Lan Province, Sheng Province alone has failed to send any response from beginning to end. The matter cannot go uninvestigated."
"Of course, Your Highness may rest assured. The Mei family's roots are entirely in Shangyang City. With Mei Yan being the Queen Consort's younger brother, whether for his sister's sake or for the Mei family's, he would never dare lay a hand on Your Highness."
"In addition, this subject will dispatch the headquarters' Right Deputy Commander to travel alongside Your Highness. He can brief Your Highness fully on the situation in Sheng Province, and will also ensure Your Highness's safety with everything he has."
At those words, Li Musheng's eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Fu Qiwen.
The Right Deputy Commander was one of the two highest-ranking positions in the entire Tianjin Guards headquarters beneath Fu Qiwen himself.
Anyone holding such a post would naturally be no slouch in terms of martial Dao cultivation. Whether dispatching such a person to travel alongside him truly reflected the seriousness with which Fu Qiwen regarded the Sheng Province matter, or whether the man had some other intention toward him, was difficult to say.
Even so, Li Musheng did not dwell on it much.
If the business in Sheng Province turned out to be simple, all the better. If it proved troublesome and time-consuming, he naturally had no patience for it and would abandon the matter without a second thought and head straight to Falling God Peak.
...
Coming out of Fu Qiwen's hall, Li Musheng took Cang Yinyue with him and returned to his own courtyard.
Following Fu Qiwen's suggestion, it would be best for him to set out that very night and make for Sheng Province with all haste. Only by resolving the matter of Mei Yan and the Sheng Province Governor first could the Tianjin Guards move against Falling God Peak with their full attention and without worry.
"Miss Cang, you don't need to come with me this time. Stay in Shangyang City and help me track down that remaining Tianqi Secret Treasury key."
Li Musheng looked toward Cang Yinyue, who was helping him pack his belongings, and said with a word of instruction.
Hearing this, Cang Yinyue gave a gentle nod.
Though she had no desire to remain in the capital, the matters Li Musheng was heading off to handle were things her current level of cultivation seemed ill-suited to assist with. Staying in Shangyang City to search for the key was clearly the more fitting arrangement.
At this point Li Musheng let out a quiet sigh. He had originally planned to visit the Second Prince's residence that evening and relieve the man of the Tianqi Secret Treasury key in his possession.
But plans could not keep up with changes, and the matter would have to be set aside for the time being.
In any case, the key was in the other man's hands and was not going anywhere. There would still be time to claim it after he returned.
Just as he was turning this over in his mind, the sound of a guard's footsteps came from outside the door, and an urgent voice reported, "Your Highness, the Third Prince has arrived at the residence and is on his way here."