After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 166 Never leave
As soon as Hu Ruian and the other two came back, they ran into Shen Anran asking Li Musheng for advice on martial arts under the pavilion in the courtyard.

The wooden pavilions at the four corners of the courtyard are hung with plain gauze palace lanterns, and the dim lights illuminate the lotus pond and flower wall.

Under the night sky, Shen Anran and Li Musheng sat opposite each other. A gust of evening breeze blew, making the copper bells on the eaves sway gently. The scene looked extremely peaceful and beautiful.

Hu Ruian and the other two stopped at the gate of the courtyard, unable to bear to disturb them.

Moreover, after listening to a few words, Hu Ruian's face suddenly showed a strange look.

It would have been fine if he was just asking for advice on martial arts, but what he really didn't expect was that the martial arts Shen Anran asked Li Musheng to learn was actually the "Deer-Slaying Sword Technique".

Who would use their own family sword techniques when asking others to teach them martial arts? How is that any different from handing over their own family's martial arts heritage?
Hu Ruian didn't dare to listen any further and prepared to take Wu Shang and the other two away. Learning martial arts secretly was not only dishonorable but also taboo. He was really afraid that Shen Liancheng's family would cause trouble for him.

But at this moment, Li Musheng turned around and looked at Hu Ruian and the other two, and asked unexpectedly from a distance:
"How is the matter going, Master Hu?"

Hearing this, Hu Ruian immediately stopped and thought for a moment before he was about to speak, but then he saw Li Musheng waving his hand and said:
"If you haven't done it, then don't tell me. By the way, let me remind you that you don't have much time left."

Hu Ruian was immediately choked by Li Musheng's words and said nothing more in disappointment.

He turned around and looked at Wu Shang and the other man, then went back to his room.

However, it is impossible to rest tonight. The three of them understand that they must remain vigilant and cautious from tonight to tomorrow, and they must ensure that they are within a certain distance from Li Musheng.

At the same time, Shen Anran was sitting upright in a green dress, with her black hair loosely tied up and a green hairpin inserted diagonally.

Her eyebrows were as dark as distant mountains, her skin was as white as ice, and her dark eyes were filled with amber light under the lights in the courtyard. The night wind blew around her, carrying a faint floral fragrance after bathing.

"Miss Shen, the martial arts you're asking about can only be considered passable. For example, the 'Hanging Mountain Gazing at the Moon' strike you just used has dozens of flaws..."

When Shen Anran asked for advice on martial arts, Li Musheng did not hide his knowledge but taught it seriously.

It’s like when you were a top student in school, and the school beauty came to you with a small notebook and five years of college entrance examination simulations to ask you questions.

Unless you are a straight man, there is no reason to refuse even if it is because of the other person's appearance.

However, Li Musheng also understood that Shen Anran had other intentions.

For example, he was now carefully analyzing the swordsmanship to the other party, while the other party's eyes were fixed on him, and he almost never looked away.

This isn't asking for martial arts advice, it's clearly him coveting my beauty!
Li Musheng touched his chin and glanced at the other person dimly.

There are so many girls who covet his beauty. Although Shen Anran is a very good girl, she still cannot cut in line.

At this moment, seeing Li Musheng looking at her, Shen Anran blinked gently and quickly looked away.

Then she slowly stood up, lowered her head and said:

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. I have benefited a lot from it. It is late at night, so I will not disturb Your Highness's rest."

As she spoke, she bowed slightly and said goodbye.

Li Musheng looked at the other person's departing back and frowned slightly.

How can you say you benefited a lot? You weren't paying attention the whole time. Did you learn what I said?
At the same time, Shen Anran walked briskly, his heart filled with joy:
"Too much is as bad as too little. Everything must be done step by step. The fact that he was able to teach me martial arts tonight proves that he has no ill will towards me. Well, I have a chance!"

Thinking about it, Shen Anran's mind once again flashed back to the image of Li Musheng instructing her on martial arts. At this moment, she finally frowned slightly:
"Is the Deer-Slaying Sword Technique really that weak? My grandfather once roamed the martial arts world with it and defeated the leader of the Tianhe Sword Sect with his sword."

So, after returning to the room, Shen Anran sat down at the table with an oil lamp and began to recall every word Li Musheng said.

At the same time, following Li Musheng's instructions, he began to try to practice a small part of the Deer-Slaying Sword Technique.

Shen Anran immersed herself in this training unconsciously, and just like that, the night passed quickly.

When the roosters crowed and a hint of dawn appeared in the sky, Shen Anran opened his eyes. The sharp edges in his eyes were like real objects, so much so that a whistling sound passed through the air in front of him.

"So strong!"

Shen Anran opened her red lips slightly, her eyes full of surprise.

However, he only practiced a few sword moves for one night according to the few shortcomings modified by Li Musheng.

At this moment, she could clearly feel that the power of these sword strikes she was using was at least several times stronger than before.

Moreover, her understanding of the way of the sword is obviously deeper!
"I originally thought he was just a master of martial arts and powerful boxing skills, but I didn't expect his attainments in swordsmanship to be so terrifying."

"My grandfather studied and practiced the Deer-Slaying Sword Technique for decades, but couldn't find any flaws. He just took a quick glance, but he was able to find dozens. This is truly incredible..."

Shen Anran was shocked and sat silently at the table, looking a little dazed.

Not long after, she finally stood up from the stool, the look in her eyes becoming incredibly determined.
"I, Shen Anran, must get him."

……

At the same time, Li Musheng, who was lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes and frowned slightly.

Then he got up, walked to the door of the room, and pushed the door open.

It was already half-dawn, and the yard outside the room was shrouded in a thin layer of mist floating in the early morning, dipped in some wet dew, and a refreshing coolness blew towards us.

However, Li Musheng's attention was not here, but his eyes were looking at the steps in front of his room.

At this time, there were three people sitting there with their clothes and hair covered with dew. They were Hu Ruian, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong.

"What are you doing?"

Li Musheng looked at the three of them and said with narrowed eyes:
"I've been watching you for a long time. You've been sitting together in front of my door since midnight last night, and you haven't moved a step since then."

As soon as these words were spoken, Hu Ruian and the other two stood up straight with their somewhat stiff bodies, and all turned to look at Li Musheng.

However, the three of them looked at each other and began to hesitate.

After all, the haunting in the Tianjin Guard branch had nothing to do with Li Musheng, but was a disaster caused by them.

To be honest, if Li Musheng's martial arts skills had not reached a level that they admired, they would never have implicated the other party in this matter even if it meant their own destruction.

In fact, they did this with the intention of currying favor with someone powerful, after all, Li Musheng was their immediate superior at the time.

When they encounter difficult problems in Shengzhou City, they don’t know who else to turn to if they don’t turn to their powerful superiors.

At this time, Hu Ruian's face was confused for a while.

But he still coughed a few times, and looked at Li Musheng with a stiff upper lip, saying:
"Your Highness, you said before that if I encounter a problem that I really can't solve, I can tell you..."

However, before Hu Ruian could finish his words, Li Musheng stopped him with his hand, raised his eyebrows, and said:
"Did you get into trouble outside?" As soon as these words came out, Hu Ruian couldn't help but blushing, even though he was several generations older than Li Musheng.

But when he faced the other party at this moment, he suddenly had an inexplicable feeling that he had made a mistake outside and had to go home and stand to accept the punishment.

However, he still shamelessly nodded and agreed.

Seeing this, Li Musheng glanced at the three of them, then narrowed his eyes and said suddenly:
"It seems like you guys are really scared and secretly stayed in front of my door all night."

Upon hearing this, before Hu Ruian could say anything, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong nodded heavily without hesitation.

After all, it seems that even Mei Yan, the commander of Shengzhou, got into trouble because of the haunting of the Tianjin Guard branch office, and the other party was helped by the daughter of a martial saint.

They do not have the martial arts skills and helpers as powerful as Mei Yan. If they do not rely on Hu Ruian and His Royal Highness the Eighth Prince, they will almost be like those people from the Tianjin Guard branch before, and their fate will be completely certain to end in death.

Of course, Hu Ruian is now a little unreliable, and it seems that he can't even protect himself. The three of them now have to cling to Li Musheng's thigh, perhaps to resolve the current crisis.

At this time, Li Musheng shook his head and glanced at Hu Ruian, his eyes twitching slightly:

"I did say that, but I didn't expect you to get into trouble so soon after just a few hours."

I have to say that this Lord Hu is really decisive and efficient in this matter!

Although Li Musheng is not afraid of trouble, he has no intention of causing trouble everywhere.

However, he did not stand by and watch the person die. After thinking for a while, he said:

"Let's talk about what happened first. But first of all, I have to make one thing clear. If it's something that can be solved by force, then it's not a big deal. I have no problem helping you."

"As for anything else, I'll have to think about it carefully."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of Hu Ruian and the other two lit up.

Hu Ruian no longer hesitated and immediately told everything about the Tianjin Guard branch and the ghost he saw last night.

After hearing Hu Ruian's words, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong next to them suddenly looked at each other with strange eyes.

Hu Ruian had never told them what happened to him in the Tianjin Guard residence in Shengzhou last night. Now, after hearing the truth, they learned that the other party was actually driven out by the ghost and the laughter.

The two of them felt a chill on their backs for a moment, as if they had suffered the disaster of the city innocently. Even the look they gave Hu Ruian was filled with a hint of resentment.

At this time, after learning the whole story, Li Musheng looked thoughtful and said:

"After all, we are all martial artists. We shouldn't believe in ghost stories or feudal superstitions."

However, as soon as he said this, he shook his head to himself.

It seems that even time travel can happen, so if it is really haunted, it is not a big deal.

Of course, according to Li Musheng's understanding, there seems to be no real ghosts in this world.

Therefore, the haunting incident in the Shengzhou branch mansion was probably mostly caused by someone playing tricks behind the scenes.

Including the ghost and laughter that Hu Ruian saw, or the silent way of killing by hanging, it is very likely that it was some special martial arts or some unknown means.

At this time, Hu Ruian and the other two were all looking at Li Musheng eagerly. After they saw him finish speaking, they kept shaking their heads.

Unsure of Li Musheng's intention, Hu Ruian immediately asked tentatively:
"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng collected his thoughts, glanced at the three people in front of him, and waved his hand:
"I don't have the time to help the Tianjin Guards catch ghosts. You'll just stay with me today and wait for that 'evil ghost' to come and claim your life. I'll also take a look at what it is."

After saying that, Li Musheng stopped paying attention to the matter and prepared to turn around and go back to his room.

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian and the other two all breathed a sigh of relief.

Being able to get the approval of Li Musheng and the protection of His Royal Highness the Eighth Prince, who has superb martial arts skills, the shadow of death that lingered in his heart suddenly dissipated for the most part.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the yard.

Then, a servant from the Murong family came to the gate, bowed and reported:

"My master invites you all to the hall for breakfast."

Hearing this, Hu Ruian narrowed his eyes slightly and said softly:

"The head of the Murong family is finally planning to meet us."

Not long after, Hu Ruian and the other two followed Li Musheng closely and were led by servants to the dining hall.

Cao Gaoshan and Shen Anran also followed behind the three people, but Shen Anran's expression was obviously a little strange.

She had originally wanted to walk with Li Musheng, but unexpectedly, Hu Ruian and the other two got there first. Even if she wanted to squeeze in, she couldn't do it.

She had even secretly approached Hu Ruian before, wanting to switch places with him, but he sighed inexplicably:
"Xiao Anran, it's not that your cousin wants to argue with you, just be patient and everything will be fine after today."

Hearing this, Shen Anran had no choice but to give up.

After arriving at the breakfast hall of Murong Mansion, Li Musheng sat down at the long rosewood table, and Hu Ruian and the other two also sat next to each other.

At this time, in the entire hall, when Hu Ruian and others arrived, three generations of the Murong family had already filled two long tables.

Li Musheng and his companions sat at the upper table, and opposite Li Musheng sat a middle-aged man with half-gray hair.

The middle-aged man was about fifty years old, with a face like cold iron quenched by fire and cheekbones as high as Jiange. He sat upright, his figure standing like a solitary peak.

Ever since Li Musheng and his companions arrived, the other party had been sizing them up.

"Murong Hong greets His Royal Highness the Eighth Prince."

At this time, the middle-aged man opposite stood up, bowed and saluted.

Li Musheng glanced at the other person, then waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to be polite.

Murong Hong straightened up slightly, turned to look at Hu Ruian, and said with a bow:
"Master Hu, please take care of my daughter along the way. I am very grateful to you."

Hearing this, Hu Ruian bowed in return and said:

"According to the commander-in-chief's trust, it is my duty."

(End of this chapter)