son, don't mess around

Lin Jiangnian was stunned for a moment and turned around.

He looked surprised and a little dazed.

He raised his head and looked at the eldest princess in his sight, feeling a little surprised... She would actually apologize to him?
Li Piaomiao lowered his eyes and said silently: "It is true that I was not thoughtful this time and acted impulsively."

Her voice was still cold, as if she was reviewing her own behavior. However, compared with her current temperament, there was always an inexplicable sense of disconnection.

Lin Jiangnian looked at her quietly: "You were indeed very impulsive this time."

Li Piaomiao was silent. She had indeed overestimated herself.

To be precise, I underestimated the opponent... He is also stronger than when we fought half a year ago.

"sorry."

She spoke softly and repeated it again.

The tone was very light, without the usual coldness, and more of a sense of helplessness.

"You don't have to apologize to me."

Lin Jiangnian sighed, and the anger in his heart disappeared with Li Piaomiao's proactive apology.

"You should have a good rest."

Lin Jiang said in a young voice: "Leave the rest to me."

Li Piaomiao looked at him quietly and was silent for a moment: "He is very strong!"

Lin Jiang smiled and said, "I know."

He had been mentally prepared for the strength of the leader. According to Liu Su, the leader's strength should be around the first-grade master, or maybe even a little bit lower?
Li Piaomiao was silent for a while, then said, "He is at least a first-grade master, and is very likely close to being a great master..."

The smile on Lin Jiangnian's face froze.

Then, the smile gradually disappeared.

"Above the first-grade Grandmaster?"

"Maybe he can get close to the Grandmaster?!"

Lin Jiangnian narrowed his eyes suddenly, took a breath of cold air, and said solemnly: "Are you sure?!"

The information Li Piaomiao gave Lin Jiangnian was beyond his expectations. If the leader was just an ordinary first-class master, Lin Jiangnian would have confidence. But if he was a great master... there was no chance at all!
Not at all!

Grand Master has completely exceeded Lin Jiangnian’s original plan.

There is a huge difference between a Grandmaster and a Grandmaster. Those who have taken that step and those who have not taken that step are almost like two different worlds!
In the world today, there are probably no more than one grandmaster in total, not even including those masters who live in seclusion!

Even if he is not a grandmaster, it also means that the leader's strength has reached an extremely terrifying level.

Otherwise, how could he not even be a match for Li Piaomiao?

Such terrifying strength forced Lin Jiangnian to take it seriously again.

Things seem to have suddenly become more difficult!
"How far is he from being a Grandmaster?"

Lin Jiangnian asked.

"Not far."

Li Piaomiao's words made Lin Jiangnian's heart sink to the bottom.

"It's a bit strange, though!"

Li Piaomiao seemed to remember something and frowned slightly.

"strangeness?"

Li Piaomiao recalled something and said coldly: "Although he is very powerful, his body seems to be missing something important..."

"Missing something important?"

Lin Jiangnian was stunned, not quite understanding what was said.

"He might have been seriously injured, or suffered some kind of experience that caused him to have physical problems..."

Li Piaomiao narrowed his eyes: "If he can't solve those problems, he will never be able to become a grandmaster!"

As the eldest princess with the most extraordinary martial arts talent in the world and who has almost reached the limit in martial arts research, no clues can escape her eyes.

Back then, she realized that if she didn't make a change, her martial arts achievements would only be limited to the second rank. Therefore, she chose to start over and forge her own path.

And now, when she fought with the leader for the second time, she also noticed some "defects" in his body!
The opponent's strength was close to that of a Grandmaster, but he did not pose much of a threat to her. Otherwise, she would not have been injured so lightly this time.

Even the last time in the palace... Li Piaomiao had not yet entered the first-grade realm at that time, but when he fought with the leader, he was only seriously injured.

Although there are many expert guards in the palace, it is not difficult for a normal first-rank master to kill an expert below the first rank!

This already explains the problem... This leader is not as strong as he appears to be!
The opponent's body had problems, which greatly affected the display of his own strength, and also affected his path to becoming a grandmaster!
Li Piaomiao's description gradually made Lin Jiangnian fall into deep thought.

Physical...defects?

He had met the leader once, but the leader always wore a black robe and never showed his true face to anyone. Even Liu Su had never seen his true appearance.

Now that Li Piaomiao said this, Lin Jiangnian gradually realized...could it be that the leader was wearing a black robe to cover up his physical problems?

and also……

In an instant, it seemed as if a flash of inspiration passed through Lin Jiangnian's mind.

He suddenly remembered that this leader had always wanted to find something from Prince Lin's Mansion - the Xuanyang Map? !
A year ago, Liu Su followed the orders of the leader to sneak into the Prince Lin's Mansion to look for the whereabouts of the Xuanyang Map.

That time in the capital, Lin Jiangnian did not get the Xuanyang Tu, but he gave the first level of the Xuanyang Heart Method in the Xuanyang Tu to the leader!

After the leader obtained the first level of Xuanyang Heart Method, he couldn't wait to study it in seclusion...

what does this mean? !

Could it be that this is the real reason why the leader has always wanted to obtain the Xuan Yang Map?

Is there something wrong with his body, some defect?

Or was it that something had happened to his body, causing him to be unable to exert his original strength and making him unable to touch the 'Tao' of the Grand Master?
And is there any way in the Xuanyang Diagram that can help him make up for the "defects"?

This way, it can explain why the leader has been so persistent in wanting to obtain the Xuanyang Map? !
When Lin Jiangnian expressed his guess, Li Piaomiao was also a little dazed and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Most likely."

Then, she said in a cold voice: "This Xuanyang Map may contain what he wants. Even if it can't cure him, it may be beneficial to him..."

At this point, Li Piaomiao glanced at him and asked, "Does the Xuanyang Diagram really have such miraculous effects?"

She had also heard of the legend of the Xuan Yang Tu. It was rumored that Lin Hengzhong had accidentally obtained it somewhere. The Xuan Yang Tu recorded many magical legends and martial arts skills. It was even rumored that it contained unique medical skills such as healing bones and reviving the dead.

Of course, these are just rumors and not true.

But it is an indisputable fact that Lin Hengzhong realized the Xuanyang Heart Method from the Xuanyang Diagram, and became one of the world's top masters in just a few years.

Therefore, over the years, many people have been trying to find out the secret of the Xuan Yang Tu.

Lin Jiangnian sighed: "If the Xuanyangtu can really bring the dead back to life, Princess Lin would not have died back then."

Li Piaomiao was silent.

"According to what you said, he has a 'defect' in his body, and his strength is greatly reduced..."

Lin Jiangnian's eyes gradually narrowed: "If we act in advance and catch him off guard... do you think we have a chance?" There is no chance of winning against a grandmaster, and even against a master who is close to a grandmaster, the chance of winning is extremely small.

But if it is true as Li Piaomiao said, that the leader’s strength is not as strong as it appears... perhaps there is still a chance?

Li Piaomiao was stunned for a moment, then raised her eyes to look at Lin Jiangnian: "What you mean is..."

"Please enter the urn!"

"..."

The sky gradually darkens, but the town remains prosperous.

During the day, Xu Lan took Xiaolu for a walk around the town, and after coming back, he ran to find Liu Su.

These two women, who were supposed to be rivals in love, seemed to get along very well. Of course, this had a lot to do with Xu Lan's cheerful and informal personality!
Besides this, there is also Xu Lan's little thought...

She wanted to win over Liu Su and bring her to her side to fight against the eldest princess together.

Therefore, Xu Lan was extremely attentive and even took the initiative to call her sister. She kept calling her Sister Liu Ye, and she was very attentive.

This surprised Jinxiu a lot.

She and Xu Lan have always been at odds. Previously, Lin Jiangnian wanted Xu Lan to call her sister, but Xu Lan refused to give in.

But then he turned around and willingly called Saint Liu "Sister"?
This made Jinxiu a little puzzled!

What kind of magic power does Saint Liu have that can make Miss Xu so obedient?

At this time, the atmosphere in the lobby of the inn was cold and quiet.

Jinxiu and An Ning sat in the lobby, bored.

Lin Jiangnian was also sitting on the main seat on the other side, his eyes fixed on the information brought to him by his subordinates.

In Prince Lin’s mansion, intelligence clues from various territories of the dynasty will still be sent to him regularly so that Lin Jiangnian can always grasp the situation in the world!
From the intelligence, it can be seen that the world is becoming more and more chaotic. Various forces have long anticipated the intention of the northern king Xu to rebel, and have begun to make moves.

Over the years, the imperial court's influence and control over regional forces has been weakening. This situation has become more obvious after the death of the previous emperor.

The power in the hands of the governors of various states was too great, and now there were signs of it getting out of control. Now all forces were in a wait-and-see state, and many forces had even secretly approached the Linwang Palace to inquire about its attitude.

As for the North...

Lin Jiangnian was thoughtful.

He has always been curious about what reason King Xu would use to start a rebellion.
Although the Daning Dynasty is now in decline, it is still a huge dynasty after all. It is not easy to rebel against such a huge dynasty, even for King Xu.

From ancient times to the present, unless a dynasty has truly become corrupt and has reached its end, it is extremely difficult to overthrow it.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Lin Hengzhong has never planned to rebel.

For him, it is not worth leaving behind such an eternal infamy!

In addition, Lin Jiangnian still had a question that he had not yet solved. Why did the brother and sister from Prince Xu's Mansion appear in the capital when they were in the capital before?
What is their purpose?
Lin Jiangnian had a brief encounter with them in the capital, but it didn't cause much conflict. But the two men still left a deep impression on Lin Jiangnian.

The brother and sister in Prince Xu’s Mansion are not simple!
Is their purpose of coming to the capital really just to celebrate the New Year?
I’m afraid not…

……

Lin Jiangnian gradually withdrew his thoughts and put down the information in his hand.

The inn was still quiet. It was pitch black outside the window, and the surroundings were brightly lit.

On the other side, Jinxiu's delicate body was half-lying on the table, supporting her little head, drowsy.

As she was in a half-lying posture, her clothes were bulging out, and the full and round part of her chest was half squeezed against the table, looking extremely spectacular.

Lin Jiangnian admired it quietly for a moment, and suddenly felt a cold and sharp gaze coming at him.

He looked up and saw An Ning sitting quietly in front of the window not far away, holding a sword in her arms, looking out the window, not looking at him.

Is it an illusion?

Lin Jiangnian wondered where that fierce look just now came from.
"Your Highness..."

At this time, Jinxiu, who was drowsy, yawned, propped herself up, stood up and stretched.

As she stretched out her arms, her graceful body was revealed. Her slender waist was wrapped in the thin silk clothes that were as thin as a willow tree, and her full and round breasts almost jumped out and were swaying.

What a foul!

Lin Jiangnian looked somewhat unscrupulous. He glanced at the sleepy Jinxiu and said softly, "If you feel sleepy, go to rest early."

"So I'm going to rest?"

Jinxiu was indeed very sleepy, so she stood up, yawned again, and went upstairs.

Lin Jiangnian's gaze followed the direction Jinxiu left, and he waited until Jinxiu left before he withdrew his gaze, but happened to meet An Ning's eyes by the window.

An Ning seemed a little panicked and quickly looked away, then stood up and prepared to go upstairs back to her room.

After Jinxiu left, An Ning was the only one left in the inn lobby, she and Lin Jiangnian. It was obvious that she was a little hesitant to be alone with Lin Jiangnian.

"peaceful……"

Lin Jiangnian opened his mouth subconsciously, trying to call An Ning to stop him.

But when An Ning heard His Highness calling her, her body tensed slightly and she walked even faster.

Just as An Ning walked to the stairs and was about to go upstairs.

A deep and hoarse voice suddenly came from the originally quiet inn.

"Boss, bring me two jugs of wine."

When this voice sounded, An Ning's body trembled, her heart tightened in an instant, and she turned back suddenly.

In the lobby of the inn, Lin Jiangnian, who had originally wanted to speak up to stop An Ning, also turned his head suddenly when he heard this voice.

Under the dark night, the inn was brightly lit.

A dark figure appeared silently in the inn at some point and was sitting at a table not far away in the lobby.

The wide black robe fluttered in the wind, and the bronze mask with ferocious fangs and a creepy aura, as well as a pair of cold and emotionless eyes under the mask, were falling on Lin Jiangnian.

When their eyes met!

At this moment, the atmosphere in the inn instantly dropped to freezing point!

Lin Jiangnian's eyes were solemn. He stared quietly at the figure in front of him that had appeared at some unknown time, and a chill suddenly ran down his back.

This feeling is fleeting.

The next second, a smile appeared on Lin Jiangnian's face.

He stepped forward, came in front of the man in black robe, pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Boss, serve the wine!"

After shouting towards the backyard not far away, Lin Jiangnian turned around and looked at the bronze mask in front of him.

"Master, long time no see!"

"..." (End of this chapter)