Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 145 A Fellow Daoist Died, Li Mu Returns
Time flies by, and two more days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, a rider galloped from the northern border of Zhao, heading straight for the city of Handan.

The situation in Handan has become increasingly tense over the past two days, as the King of Zhao is not someone who can be easily fooled.

Normally, the two most popular brothels in Handan City—Zuimenglou and Yuhuage—are deserted, with almost no customers coming anymore.

Upon inquiring, they learned that someone had leaked the news that the King of Zhao had taken a fancy to the top courtesans of the two brothels. This immediately deterred the high-ranking officials and nobles. They were not ready to die and wanted to compete with the King for a woman.

So, for the sake of their own lives, the number of customers in these two brothels has visibly decreased, while Wan Hua Fang, which was not doing well at first, has seen a significant improvement in business these past two days.

In the Prime Minister's residence, Guo Kai took the intelligence report handed to him by his subordinate. After pondering for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "How accurate is this report?"

The newcomer bowed.

"His exact whereabouts are still uncertain. All we know is that Li Mu disappeared from the northern border. After all, he is a master of military strategy, so it is too difficult to track him down."

Guo Kai then paced back and forth a few steps, letting out a soft hum.

"Apart from Handan, no other place is worth the great general risking his life for!"

With just a quick thought, Guo Kai understood.

Handan is not a safe place these days. Although the expert who was hiding in the city has been quiet these past few days, no one is sure whether he has left or not.

During this time, he looked for Jing Ni again and was told that she had not left, which calmed him down.

The events of the past few days have gradually become clear: three of his top experts have died, the Azure Dragon Gang has been wiped out, and on Gongzi Jia's side, a trusted advisor surnamed Qiu has been killed, with his body hanging in front of the other party's mansion.

Besides these two incidents, a major event also occurred at the Chunping Marquis's residence. This marquis, who came from a royal family, was assassinated. According to the news, the perpetrator was seriously injured and had been resting for several days, but was still unable to get out of bed.

Then there's the matter of a girl who died at the Marquis's residence. It seems she was burned to death, and she appears to have some connection with the top courtesan at the Jade Flower Pavilion.

These were the messages he had received in the past few days; it has to be said, the entire city of Handan was in chaos.

"Sir, should we still take action?"

The person next to Guo Kai thought for a moment and then asked.

Guo Kai waved his hand. The fact that the person was able to stir up trouble in Handan and still get away with it was enough to show that the other party was not a simple person in terms of either strength or cunning.

Facing such a person directly would be extremely difficult for him right now. There are no more masters left who can block out the sun. If the opponent disregards everything, it's questionable whether he can even hold out until Jing Ni makes a move.

"Now that the General has returned, let's observe the situation first. If we can both suffer heavy losses, that would be the best outcome!"

At this point, Guo Kai gave a cold laugh.

"My lord, the palace eunuch Yu has arrived."

Just then, the butler walked in, gave Guo Kai a slight bow, and said.

Guo Kai's face darkened. He knew perfectly well why the palace eunuchs had come at this time, even without asking.

Did they say what it was about?

Guo Kai put down the cup in his hand and sighed softly.

If possible, he really didn't want to meet this eunuch.

"He didn't say what it was about, only that it was something important."

Guo Kai's eyes flickered for a moment, then he nodded.

"Let him come here!"

Upon hearing the steward's words, the confidant, who had not yet left, seemed to have thought of something, and a thought stirred within him.

If nothing unexpected happens, rumors have been flying all over Handan City these past few days because of the affair with the courtesan of Zuimenglou.

What intrigued him was that Guo Kai, as the de facto controller of Zuimenglou, seemed unenthusiastic about offering up a woman. After all, this very prime minister had risen through the ranks using this very method, eventually becoming the prime minister of Zhao.

Guo Kai had no intention of mentioning these things, so he kept his doubts to himself. After all, knowing more about some things is not necessarily better.

"You go down first!"

Guo Kai waved his hand, signaling his men to retreat.

Before long, Guo Kai met the eunuch from the royal palace.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Knowing Guo Kai's current status, the eunuch Yu dared not be arrogant and respectfully bowed.

"No need for such formalities, Attendant Yu. How has Lord Han been feeling lately?"

Lord Han.

This refers to Han Cang, a palace eunuch who has now become the chief eunuch in the palace. He is able to thrive in the court, and this chief eunuch's help is indispensable.

Upon hearing Guo Kai's words, the newcomer's eyes showed a hint of fear. As a palace attendant, he did not have much of a connection with Guo Kai, but to Han Cang, Guo Kai was his superior, whose words could decide his life or death.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Guo. Lord Han is in good health recently, but he is not in a good mood."

As a close attendant of King Zhao, Han Cang was affected by the king's every move. King Zhao was initially in a good mood because of the two top courtesans, but he had become impatient these past few days, which Han Cang could naturally sense.

Upon hearing this, Guo Kai pretended not to understand and let out a soft "hmm".

"Oh?"

He then asked, "Who has recently offended Lord Han this time?"

Upon hearing this, the visitor muttered to himself, "If Zuimenglou and Yuhuage weren't owned by Guo Kai and Gongzi Jia, Han Cang wouldn't be so helpless. If it were an ordinary brothel or dance hall, Han Cang would have already secretly sent someone to take the girl away."

"Your Excellency, Lord Han asked me to tell you that His Majesty has been in low spirits lately, seemingly because of those two girls."

After thinking for a moment, the visitor decided to get straight to the point, since Han Cang had sent him to the Prime Minister's residence this time.

"Oh~"

Guo Kai frowned. In the past few days, he had rarely entered the palace unless there was something important, after all, the matter of Zuimenglou was still a headache for him.

“Handan has been unstable these past few days, with bandits causing chaos in the city. The city is in turmoil. Ni Chang from Zui Meng Lou has also caught a cold because of this and is currently recovering. She is not fit to enter the palace. If she were to infect His Majesty, none of us could bear the consequences.”

After a moment of silence, Guo Kai spoke softly.

The visitor was taken aback by this answer.

Caught a cold? He looked at Guo Kai with some suspicion. Such a reason seemed a bit like an excuse to him. However, what Guo Kai said was not unreasonable. After all, he had heard about the major events that had happened in Handan City in the past few days from Han Cang. Han Cang even jokingly said that Guo Kai had vomited a lot of blood this time.

"This"

Seeing the man's hesitation, Guo Kai narrowed his eyes.

He then continued, "Just tell Lord Han frankly, Eunuch Yu, that it is my will that everything should be done in order to ensure the King's health. If the King is truly lonely and restless, I may choose another beauty to present to him."

Upon hearing this, the visitor nodded slightly.

Although what Guo Kai said wasn't the best outcome, at least he could give Han Cang an explanation.

Guo Kai then waved his hand, and the steward nodded knowingly. Then a servant brought over a tray with a bulging bag on it, with several gold coins peeking out of the bag.

The eunuch's eyes lit up, as if he had guessed something.

Guo Kai waved his hand, and the steward took the small cloth bag and handed it to the eunuch Yu.

Guo Kai then continued, "Since the eunuch has come to the Prime Minister's residence, we cannot let you go back empty-handed, as it would make our residence seem unholy. Please ask Lord Han Cang to help me negotiate for a few more days."

At this point, Guo Kai paused, then added, "This time, His Majesty mentioned two beauties: one is Ni Chang from Zui Meng Lou, and the other is Xue Nu from Yu Hua Ge. Ni Chang is unwell and unable to serve His Majesty, but according to my investigation, Xue Nu from Yu Hua Ge does not have such problems."

Upon hearing this, the visitor immediately understood. The king had chosen two girls, not just one, which gave them more options. However, he was curious whether letting the girl from Jade Flower Pavilion enter the palace first would have any impact on their side.

Having lived in the inner palace, he knew all too well the power of the emperor's influence. If that girl named Xue Nu really became the king's favorite, then they would be the ones to suffer.

However, Guo Kai clearly didn't want to explain any further. He knew Gongzi Jia's character very well. If there were no problems at Yuhua Pavilion, the person would have been sent to the palace long ago. The fact that the person hadn't gone there must mean that something serious had happened.

Therefore, faced with the choice between the death of a fellow Daoist and the death of himself, Guo Kai chose the former.

On the other side, at the residence of Prince Jia.

Li Mu appeared before Gongzi Jia with a weathered look on his face. He had been traveling day and night for the past few days with almost no rest.

"General Lee!"

"Son!"

Seeing the weariness on Li Mu's face, Gongzi Jia felt a warmth in his heart. This general was a master of the Grandmaster realm, and his current tired appearance was enough to show that he had not rested at all in the past few days and had traveled here day and night.

"It is an honor to have troubled the general to make this trip."

Li Mu waved his hand.

“My lord, you are too kind. Protecting the people of Zhao is the same no matter where we are. It is my mission to drive out the Xiongnu in the north, and it is also to drive out the enemy in Handan.”

"May I ask, young master, what exactly is the matter mentioned in the letter?"

Then Li Mu asked about the thing he cared about most.

Gongzi Jia invited Li Mu to sit down, poured the general a bowl of tea, and then continued to explain: "A few days ago, a mysterious expert came to Handan City. Black Stone of the Underworld was killed at Yuhua Pavilion. Later, the other two experts of the Underworld also died one after another. Mu Xue and Amber died at the Qinglong Gang's base. None of the members of the Qinglong Gang survived. They were all slaughtered. This matter did not cause much of a commotion at the time and was only discovered afterward."

"Later, one of my advisors also died, and his body was hung in front of the young master's residence."

Gongzi Jia didn't say anything extra, but simply recounted everything he had learned.

For a master, they have their own judgment on the matter, so they don't do anything unnecessary or add unnecessary details.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing these words, Li Mu's tiger-like eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them.

If the other party was only targeting Guo Kai's forces, then they were friends, not enemies. But since they killed people from their side, it's hard to say what their intentions were.

"Is your strategist certain that he also died at the hands of that person?"

Gongzi Jia remained silent for a moment, then gently shook his head.

"It's uncertain, but it's too much of a coincidence that Mr. Qiu, along with the two top masters of the Sun-Shielding Sect and the Azure Dragon Gang, got into trouble at the same time."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu nodded slightly.

That's certainly true. The events happened too coincidentally. He's now certain that the two experts from the Azure Dragon Gang and the Biri Gang were killed by the same person. As for Black Stone and Young Master Jia's strategist, he's not so sure.

Although Blackstone was skilled, there were many in the Seven Kingdoms who could kill him. In addition, given his consistent behavior of provoking the wrong people, his death was only to be expected.

"Can the general assess the skill level of the newcomer?"

Gongzi Jia hesitated for a moment before asking again.

What he was most worried about was the opponent's skill level, since the strength of a grandmaster is very intimidating.

Li Mu frowned.

"The Azure Dragon Gang has a full thousand members, plus two Innate Realm experts, Mu Xue and Hu Po. The fact that they were able to kill them all in such a short time shows that their strength is extraordinary. In my estimation, the person who came must be at least a Grandmaster Realm expert with special combat methods, otherwise there would definitely be more than one.

A thousand people is no small number. It's like facing a thousand-strong squad alone on the battlefield. He often finds himself overwhelmed and eventually becomes exhausted. Reaching the Grandmaster realm does greatly improve combat power, but in the end, he is still just a mortal with a mortal body. Both his strength and true energy will eventually be depleted.

The Green Dragon Gang members were mostly thugs and hooligans; the number of people who could actually form a fighting force was not large, he estimated at most around five hundred.

He could deal with these people, but to do it quietly and without making a sound would be almost impossible.

Therefore, he guessed that the other party must have special means of fighting, otherwise this situation would never have occurred.

As for whether they were figures above the Grandmaster level, he didn't even consider it. Those were all old monsters from various sects who had already gone into seclusion. Let alone a gang, even if a country were destroyed, they probably wouldn't care at all.

"A grandmaster with unique methods of combat."

Upon hearing this answer, Gongzi Jia's heart sank, after all, the strongest person he had ever encountered so far was a Grandmaster.

"Besides these, has there been any other news recently?"

Li Mu thought for a moment and asked again, because these few things alone were not enough for him to deduce the man's purpose.

Gongzi Jia thought for a moment, then said again, "There is one more thing: Marquis Chunping was assassinated."

Li Mu raised an eyebrow. For some reason, he had a feeling that there was something fishy about the assassination of Marquis Chunping.

"Young master, could you please tell me more about the Marquis of Chunping?"

"What do you mean, General?"

(End of this chapter)