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

Chapter 319 Qingyun Temple

Marquis Huo Xian remained silent. Although Consort Jing's death was ostensibly due to illness caused by worry, both he and Li Ru'an had investigated and found that she had been poisoned by an extremely peculiar toxin.

This toxin is generally undetectable, but it damages the body of the poisoned person over time. The longer it goes on, the worse the body becomes, eventually leading to a death when there is no cure.

As for the person who poisoned her, Huo Xian and Li Ruan investigated everyone around Consort Jing, but they did not find the culprit.

Therefore, Li Ru'an placed his suspicions on Li Zhi, and eventually, he found the poison that Consort Jing had been given in Li Zhi's residence.

"How does Your Highness intend to proceed?"

When Champion Marquis Huo Xian asked a question, Li Ru'an calmly replied:

"Li Zhi won't be able to leave the prison anytime soon. If we want to kill him, we'll naturally have to go into the prison ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Marquis Huo Xian frowned slightly and reminded him:

"Your Highness should know that Li Zhi seems to have an unusual relationship with the Soul Chasing Hall. Moreover, the Heavenly Prison is guarded by experts and is not so easy to enter."

Li Ruan shook his head, looked at Huo Xian, and said:

"Isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to visit him in the prison?"

Huo Xian was silent for a moment, then said:
"In that case, wouldn't everyone know that it was Your Highness who killed Li Zhi?"

Li Ru'an remained silent. Clearly, she didn't care about it, or rather, this was exactly what she wanted to see.

"It's not time for my uncle's identity to be exposed yet. When the time comes, I'll trouble him to disguise himself and come with me to the prison."

Li Ru'an spoke slowly, then his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said:

“Li Zhi is a very cunning man and not easy to deal with. Even if I am confident that I can kill him, I still need my uncle to keep an eye on things for the sake of safety.”

Upon hearing this, Champion Marquis Huo Xian nodded without hesitation:

"Your Highness, rest assured, since it is to avenge your mother, I will accompany you."

As he spoke, Huo Xian's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately asked:

Should we tell the Eighth Prince about this?

Li Ru'an pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

“My younger brother clearly doesn’t care about this matter. From the moment he arrived in the capital, he has never asked about anything related to the case of the real and fake princes.”

"As for Li Zhi, who usurped his position as prince for nearly twenty years, he didn't care about him at all, seemingly without any resentment or hatred."

As he spoke, Li Ru'an's expression became inscrutable, and he said:

"With his martial arts skills, killing Li Zhi would have been an easy task, but he only killed Li Que and Li Zhu, and his mind was not on that at all."

Upon hearing this, Huo Xian frowned slightly, then sighed and said nothing more.

……

The capital of the Great Li Dynasty, the Six Doors.

"It's hard to imagine. I once met that Eighth Prince, but at the time I just thought he was an ordinary person. Who knew that his martial arts strength was so terrifying that even the Killing Saint of the Hidden Killing Pavilion was willing to admit defeat to him."

Ji Feiyun shook his head in amazement. Li Musheng's destruction of Luoshen Peak was already astonishing enough, but his battle with the Killing Saint had once again shocked everyone.

Gong Lishan and Fu Yu remained silent in the room.

They had all witnessed the duel outside the city, and had personally experienced the killing intent of that Saint of Slaughter, feeling the terrifying despair.

However, even such a powerful figure was ultimately no match for Li Musheng.

Fu Yu, in particular, looked quite unpleasant.

Since the news spread outside the city, who in the entire capital dared to oppose the Eighth Prince?

Even the Six Doors and the Secret Intelligence Bureau, which were investigating the Second Prince's murder case, tacitly became perfunctory in their investigation of the case. In fact, they never went to interrogate or question the Eighth Prince even once.

This rendered his previous actions of killing the Second Prince's steward and other clandestine schemes ineffective, essentially rendering them futile.

"The Eighth Prince is currently enjoying unparalleled influence. It is said that even the First Prince and the Fifth Prince have fled to the palace and have not returned to their residences yet."

Gong Lishan uttered a soft sigh, and Fu Yu glanced up at the two of them before regaining his composure and narrowing his eyes, saying:

"Let's be more careful in our actions from now on and try to avoid anything related to that Eighth Prince. As for the Second Prince's murder case, I will ask the Chief Constable to drop the investigation on that case."

Upon hearing this, Ji Feiyun's expression shifted, then he breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"That's perfect. We should avoid getting involved with those big shots. One wrong move and we could lose our heads. After all, killing us is no easier than crushing an ant."

As he spoke, he glanced at Fu Yu, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said:
"Boss, the constable Cang you asked me to find, after disappearing for a while, has now returned to the Tianjin Guard headquarters and seems to be alright."

Upon hearing this, Gong Lishan, who was standing to the side, looked at Fu Yu and said:
"Boss, there's no need to worry. That Eighth Prince is very powerful. With Miss Cang working by his side, her safety should be guaranteed."

Fu Yu didn't speak, but the look in his eyes was incredibly gloomy.

After all, what he wanted was not only Cang Yinyue's safety, but also the person herself.

How could he allow the woman he had his eye on to be with other men?

However, no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice at this moment.

"Keep an eye on the Tianjin Guard headquarters and Cang Yinyue. The Eighth Prince has quite a few enemies now, and it's not uncommon for someone to take the risk and attack those around him."

Fu Yu gave an order, then waved his hand, signaling Ji Feiyun and Gong Lishan to leave.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Fu Yu's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally sighed.

"With my current status as one of the Ten Great Constables, there's very little I can do. It seems I still have to rely on the power of Green Mountain Tower."

……

Inside a tavern in a market town in Shangyang City, a shopkeeper wearing a thin felt hat was standing behind the counter, using an abacus and occasionally flipping through the account book.

The tavern was quiet with only a few people drinking and chatting. However, at this moment, an old man and a young boy walked into the tavern.

The two men, each dressed in a green and blue Taoist robe, stood in front of the shopkeeper's counter.

"Would the Taoist priest like some wine?"

The tavern owner noticed the two of them and looked up with a smile.

The Taoist priest Qingye glanced around, then took out a token from his sleeve, tossed it onto the counter, and said calmly:
"I want to see your highest-ranking official."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper behind the counter frowned, but his expression remained unchanged. He picked up the token on the counter and glanced at it.

Then, his pupils contracted, and he looked up to carefully examine the two Taoist priests in front of him. Finally, he said solemnly, "Please come with me to the backyard, Taoist priests."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper behind the counter immediately summoned a waiter to watch the main hall, and then led the two Taoist priests, Qingye and his companion, to the back.

Not long after, the tavern owner hurriedly left through the back door, clearly going to meet someone.

Meanwhile, in a side room in the backyard of the tavern, the blue-robed young Taoist boy, while eating snacks on the table next to him, looked at the green-leafed Taoist who was drinking wine and asked:

"Master, what kind of official position does my uncle hold in the Great Li Dynasty? Why is he acting so mysteriously?"

The Taoist priest Qingye took a sip of the fine wine in his hand and said with a smirk:

"What's the point of holding a high-ranking official position? You're still just a lackey for others, doing nothing but petty and despicable things."

Upon hearing this, the blue-robed Taoist boy gave a vague "oh" and then fell silent.

It was clear that his master looked down on his uncle, but since his master was now drinking the uncle's wine without any hesitation, their relationship was obviously not bad.

Before long, the Taoist priest Qingye drank several jars of the wine treasured by the tavern owner, and the young Taoist boy in blue robes also finished off all the pastries in his hands.

At this moment, a very slow and deliberate voice rang out in the room, saying:
"Senior brother, it has been almost ten years since we last met. What brings you here today?"

As soon as the words fell, a handsome middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes appeared silently in the room and sat down opposite the Taoist Qingye.

The Taoist priest Qingye looked up at the other person, his gaze lingering for a moment on the other person's well-preserved face, which looked no more than thirty or forty years old, before he said sourly:

"You really haven't changed much. Your face looks almost the same as it did back then?"

As he spoke, he opened another jar of fine wine, took a swig, and said:
"If you weren't a little more handsome than me, how could my senior sister have taken a liking to you and given you all her treasures?"

Upon hearing this, the blue-robed Taoist boy standing to the side was taken aback.

The middle-aged man opposite, who looked young, suddenly smiled, his previously indifferent face breaking into a smile, and said:
"Senior brother seems to have remained unchanged, still with the same cynical attitude."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze slightly and looked at the blue-robed Taoist boy beside him.

In an instant, the blue-robed Taoist boy felt as if he were being stared at by a pair of eyes that could see right into his soul. His heart trembled slightly, and he quickly and respectfully stood up, bowing and saying:
"Nephew...pays respects to Uncle."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man withdrew his gaze, nodded slightly, and said:
"His aptitude is quite good."

Immediately, he looked at the Taoist priest Qingye, who was drinking alone opposite him, and said:

"What my junior brother didn't expect was that his senior brother, such a free-spirited person, and at such an advanced age, would take in such a young disciple."

Upon hearing this, the Green Leaf Taoist's expression immediately darkened. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the other party, saying:

"You say I'm old?"

Then he chuckled and sneered:
"You're not much younger than me, you're just pretending to be young, what's so great about that!"

The middle-aged man in fine clothes shook his head, but did not respond, saying:

"Senior brother, you must have come here with a reason. Why don't you tell me what you want to see me about?"

The Taoist priest Qingye glanced at the middle-aged man, slowly composed himself, put down the wine jar in his hand, and said:

"Since you're being so frank, I'll get straight to the point."

As he spoke, the Taoist priest Qingye stared into the middle-aged man's eyes and said:

"I would like to borrow the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword of Dali."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man remained composed, but directly refused:
"impossible."

"The Imperial Dragon Sword is the national treasure of the Great Li Dynasty. Only the Emperor of Great Li, His Majesty, can use it. It is absolutely impossible for it to be lent to anyone else."

The Taoist priest Qingye stared intently at the middle-aged man. Even after being rejected, his gaze remained unwavering. He said:
"Don't think that just because you've become the head of the Great Li Secret Intelligence Bureau, you've truly become a lackey of the Great Li court. You'd better think about who taught you all these martial arts skills? Back when you were wandering the streets and almost starving to death, who led you into the mountain gate and saved your life?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man remained expressionless. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said:

"Of course I will not forget the kindness that the temple and my senior sister have shown me, but senior brother, what you are asking of me is truly unreasonable, I cannot..."

However, before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, the Taoist priest Qingye coldly said:

"I took the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword not for myself, but for my senior sister."

"Sister?"

The middle-aged man frowned slightly, then shook his head and said:

"As far as I know, my senior sister has always stayed in the temple and stayed away from the conflicts of the martial world. Why would she need to use the Dragon-Controlling Divine Sword?"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man's expression shifted, and he said:
"Could something have happened at the temple?"

The Taoist priest withdrew his gaze from the other party and said:

"You're supposed to be the head of the Hidden Spy Division, the top intelligence organization in Dali, but your information isn't exactly reliable."

Then, he spoke softly:

"About half a year ago, the Great Xuan Dynasty suddenly joined forces with a group of martial arts masters in the Jianghu to attack Qingyun Temple in the middle of the night and kidnapped my senior sister, imprisoning her in the Great Xuan Imperial Palace."

"At that time, I was not in the temple. After receiving the urgent message from the disciples in the temple, I rushed to the Great Xuan Palace to ask the Great Xuan Emperor for an explanation and to rescue my senior sister."

"But the Great Xuan Imperial Palace is like a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, with many martial arts masters inside, and they also possess national treasures and unparalleled defense. I alone cannot even enter the gates of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man frowned and looked at the Taoist priest Qingye, saying:

"Impossible. The Hidden Intelligence Bureau has quite a few spies lurking in the capital of the Great Xuan Dynasty. If what Senior Brother said about the siege of Qingyun Temple by the Great Xuan Imperial Palace really happened, the Hidden Intelligence Bureau would definitely know about it."

Taoist Qingye shook his head and said:

"You don't really think that the Great Li Secret Intelligence Bureau knows everything, do you?"

"The matter of the Great Xuan Imperial Palace abducting Senior Sister was kept extremely secret. Moreover, apart from abducting Senior Sister, those experts did not take any action against the others in Qingyun Temple."

"And this matter is not something to be proud of for Qingyun Temple, so it was not publicized, and your secret intelligence division naturally did not know about it."

The middle-aged man remained silent, merely staring at the Taoist priest Qingye, seemingly trying to confirm whether he was lying.

After all, based on his understanding of this senior brother, the other party was entirely capable of lying to him.

At this moment, the blue-robed young Taoist standing to the side looked at the middle-aged man and cautiously spoke:

"Uncle-Master, it's true, Master didn't lie to you."

(End of this chapter)