Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"What are you thinking about?!"

The armored knight glared at his companion.

"Protector Zhao said himself that he did not see the person we were looking for."

If we insist on searching, wouldn't that be openly telling Protector Zhao that we don't trust him?

He was the right protector I taught, second only to the leader and the left protector. That team was also full of my own people!

How could they possibly be hiding the person the cult leader is looking for?

Although we are the direct bodyguards of the leader, we are not under the command of Protector Zhao.

But if Protector Zhao complains about us to the leader, who will bear the consequences of offending our elders?

Is it you or me?

"However, the cult leader's order is to search every group encountered on the road."

The other knight was still somewhat uneasy.

"We've encountered something involving Protector Zhao. Is it really okay to keep it a secret and not report it?"

"Should we report it?"

The armored knight looked at his companion and shook his head.

"If the leader asks why Zhao the Protector's convoy wasn't searched, how do we explain that?"

Searching the convoy would offend Protector Zhao, but not searching it would be disobeying the leader's orders!

No matter what we do, we are both guilty!

The best approach is to pretend we didn't encounter him; after all, that person couldn't possibly be hiding in the convoy!

. . .

"Lord Baihu."

A captain reported to Tang Zhe.

"The people from the carriage company said that Wang Ziyan hired their carriage to go to Zhen Ding Prefecture via Jingxing Pass."

Several days have passed since Lord Xue and I made an appointment to sneak into the Taiyuan Left Guard Commander's residence at night.

Logically speaking, Lord Xue should have already found the secret mark we left behind and come to Pingding Prefecture. We haven't seen him yet. Could something have happened to him?

"Accident?"

Tang Zhe laughed.

"Lord Xue is highly skilled in martial arts. Even if all of us were together, we wouldn't be able to defeat him with one hand. How could anything unexpected happen?"

When we were besieging the notorious bandit "Ghost's Sorrow" in Linqing, we arrived at the scene later with His Highness, but I will never forget the horror of that time!

Gao Ruopu and Shen Zhui, leading twenty brothers, not only failed to stop "Ghost's Sorrow," but also had seven of their men killed by him!

It was only when Eunuch Sun arrived with a hundred-man squad from Pingshan Guard that their lives were saved.

Even when surrounded by a hundred armored and shield-bearing soldiers, "Ghost Fear" was finally captured after killing nine of them.

Sixteen lives were lost in the process of capturing this notorious bandit!

I heard His Highness say that although Lord Xue's martial arts are completely different from that of "Ghost's Sorrow," it is still unknown who would survive if they were to fight to the death.

On the day of the capture of that "Ghost-Fearer," His Highness had set a trap beforehand, leading him to a deadly situation with nowhere to escape.

Otherwise, even if surrounded by a hundred men, he would probably still escape.

The residence of a garrison commander would have at most a few dozen personal guards, and they couldn't possibly have set up an ambush beforehand.

Lord Xue's martial arts skills are no less than those of the "Ghost-Slaying Swordsman." At most, he just couldn't find anything of value. There's no way something could have gone wrong!

They haven't come to Pingding Prefecture to meet us yet; they might have made some discovery and are continuing their investigation.

It's also possible that they couldn't find the secret marks we left behind.

Wang Ziyan should have already obtained the medicines Duan Chaoyong needed for alchemy, and now he is returning to the capital. We should continue to follow him.

Since Lord Xue hasn't arrived, we won't wait any longer.

Leave a secret mark so that once he sees it, he can return directly to the capital to report to His Highness.

. . .

Inside a private residence in Pingding Prefecture.

"This thing is truly amazing."

The young man was playing with a retractable copper tube in his hand.

"Lord Xue, could you tell me where you obtained this item?"

"To be honest, Brother Zhao, this item is called a 'Thousand-Mile Mirror,' and it was a gift from His Highness the Prince of Ying, the younger brother of the current emperor."

Xue Ting leaned back in his recliner and answered softly.

Severely injured and jostled in the carriage for several days, Xue Ting was even weaker than when he was first rescued. He could hardly stand up on his own, let alone fight.

"The King of Ying?"

The young man was slightly taken aback.

"Lord Xue, do you know where His Highness the Prince of Ying obtained this item?"

"This telescope is actually a fake."

Xue Ting hesitated for a moment.

"I heard that the earliest samples were brought to the Ming Dynasty from overseas by Westerners, and they were very rare."

Someone purchased it for a high price and presented it to His Highness the Prince of Ying.

After His Highness obtained this item, he ordered skilled craftsmen to make some replicas.

Xue was not the only one to receive this gift.

"Such a miraculous item, no wonder even a prince regent would order it to be copied."

The young man spoke calmly, but his hand gripping the monoculars was tightening subtly.

When they parted ways, what did that woman promise him?

She would only use the knowledge she possessed from the future to make money, and would never introduce military technology that was ahead of its time to improve the military capabilities of the natives of this world!

But what's with this telescope?!

Were they trafficked to the Ming Dynasty by Westerners?

This kind of rhetoric can only fool the natives of this world.

Telescopes did exist in the late Ming Dynasty, but not during the Jiajing reign, but rather in the late Wanli reign!

It's still several decades since Europeans invented the telescope!

This monocular telescope was clearly made by that woman!

How are you now?

Someone presented this rare item to the King of Ying!

He is the emperor's own younger brother, and he is currently in the capital assisting the crown prince in overseeing the country!

The King of Ying has only recently acquired it, and it is likely that he is only using it as a toy. He has made some replicas, which he only uses to reward his trusted confidants.

But the usefulness of this thing on the battlefield is obvious. Even if the King of Ying himself is unaware of it, his trusted confidants who have been given telescopes will advise him on it.

I made my own telescope, but I'm only using it myself right now!

Originally, I was thinking of distributing it to the generals when the Maitreya sect started its uprising.

With her doing this, telescopes might become more common among Ming army generals much sooner!

It's one thing if it's just a telescope, but I'm afraid she might have come up with something else!

No!

That woman's promise is so unreliable!

Once I've successfully seized the Li family's business empire, the first thing I'll do is find her!

If she's willing to stay by my side and assist me, then so be it.

Otherwise, don't blame yourself for not remembering the bond of friendship you shared through thick and thin!

"Lord Xue, we have been traveling for several days. Let's rest here for the night and set off for Jingxing Pass tomorrow."

The young man put down his binoculars and looked at Xue Ting, who was reclining on the chair.

"In the past few days, has Lord Xue noticed anything amiss with the cultivation technique that I've been practicing?"

"The internal martial arts techniques that Xue knew in his life, although they used different meridians, all had a common characteristic."

Xue Ting seemed to have perked up a bit, and gently pointed to her lower abdomen.

"Regardless of the type of cultivation method, when practicing internal energy, one always starts from the dantian, with the Ren and Du meridians as the core."

After the internal energy completes its great circulation in the meridians, it will eventually return to the dantian.

Each time a major cycle is completed, the internal energy will be slightly enhanced, although the difference is so small as to be imperceptible, but it can accumulate over time.

But the martial arts techniques practiced by Brother Zhao are completely different!

"If you hadn't actually cultivated a sense of Qi and acquired a trace of internal strength, I, Xue, would never have believed that such a strange cultivation method existed in this world!"