Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Since Empress Fang has already killed the palace maid who made the move and Consort Wang Ning, the situation in the palace is not too bad."

Li Dali continued.

"Although the emperor didn't die, at least our important mole in the palace was saved!"

Moreover, they also obtained evidence that Empress Fang was involved in this matter, which will definitely come in handy in the future.

Fortunately, it didn't end in a complete defeat like the one at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, where not only did Duan Chaoyong and his apprentice die, but four elders were also lost!

I never expected that Duan Chaoyong would be tricked by that old fellow Guo Xun. Guo Xun saw through his plan early on and secretly conspired with Zhu Houyu to set a trap for us.

Zhu Houyu's drunkenness at the banquet was entirely an act for Duan Chaoyong and Wang Ziyan.

They had already devised a plan to stay overnight at the Marquis of Wuding's residence under the pretense of being drunk, feigning a relaxed state of mind, and then lure us there to carry out the assassination!"

"I never imagined Zhu Houyu would be so terrifying!"

Wu Nian slammed his fist on the table.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that there could be such a terrifying master in this world."

"No, Elder Wu, calling Zhu Houyu a 'master' is probably inappropriate!"

Elder Pan, who had escaped from the Marquis of Wuding's mansion along with Wu Nian, suddenly spoke up.

After escaping back to this secret stronghold of the Maitreya Cult in the capital, Elder Pan had been fiddling with the "Broken Mountain" sword that had been switched from the elephant carriage of the Prince of Ying.

"Elder Pan, please feel free to speak your mind."

Li Dali looked at Elder Pan.

"Although this operation failed, our cause is already set in motion and must be launched."

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards were intercepted and killed by our sect during their nighttime infiltration of the Taiyuan Left Guard Commander's residence, they will definitely continue to send people to investigate.

Before setting off from Taiyuan, my father had instructed me that no matter the success or failure of the operation, the uprising could not be delayed any longer.

If the Ming court discovers my sect's presence in Taiyuan Prefecture and strikes first, we'll be at a disadvantage.

"At the Marquis of Wuding’s residence, although I was held back by two opponents, I still witnessed the martyrdom of the four elders."

Elder Pan spoke up.

"In Zhu Houyu's hand, there was a three-barreled musket, but this musket was very strange. It did not have a match cord for ignition, and he did not have a tinder in his hand."

We initially thought he had simply forgotten that the musket needed to be lit, and we didn't take it seriously.

Unexpectedly, the musket suddenly went off.

Elder Zheng was caught off guard and was struck directly on the head, collapsing to the ground and dying.

It was only then that I realized that the musket didn't need to be lit with an open flame.

"I only thought of this after seeing Elder Zheng get hit."

Wu Nian nodded in agreement.

"After escaping from the Marquis of Wuding's mansion, I thought about it carefully. Ordinary firearms naturally need to be lit with an open flame, but to produce an open flame, it is not necessarily necessary to use an open flame to light it directly."

It's not impossible to find a skilled craftsman to create a mechanism for ignition.

As a prince who would oversee the country, he wouldn't care about the most precious mechanism.

Although muskets are powerful, they are useless if they can't hit anyone. As long as you are prepared, it is not difficult to avoid them.

"This was the first time we'd seen a firearm that didn't require ignition, and we didn't understand it, which is why we suffered the loss."

"Those muskets were powerful, but compared to what happened later, they were nothing."

A hint of fear could be detected in Elder Pan's voice.

"After Elder Zheng was shot down by the musket, the five of us abandoned our opponents and rushed towards Zhu Houyu."

Although Elders Zhou and Wang were also hit by the muskets because they were too close, they were prepared and avoided vital organs.

After firing three shots, the musket in Zhu Houyu's hand became nothing more than a lump of iron.

Although Elder Wu and I were stopped by four experts under Zhu Houyu, I personally saw Elder Pang rush up to him and stab Zhu Houyu in the abdomen and out the back with a sword.

But at almost the same moment, Elder Pang suddenly let go, covered his face with his hands, and let out a scream.

I originally thought that Zhu Houyu had wounded Elder Pang in a death throes after being stabbed in the abdomen.

Regardless, the operation was a success. Elder Pang's swordsmanship was superb, and this sword strike must have hit a vital point. It was merely Zhu Houyu's last blow before his death.

But no one could have imagined that Zhu Houyu would continue walking towards us with a sword stuck in his stomach.

At this moment, the young internal martial arts expert who was impersonating Zhu Houyu on the bed in the guest room stepped forward and beheaded Elder Pang with a single stroke.

The way Zhu Houyu walked didn't look like he was seriously injured at all.

As he walked past Elders Zhou and Wang, I finally understood what injury Elder Pang had suffered on his face.

The two elders' eyes burst open without warning, as if someone had stabbed their eye sockets with their fingers!

The strongest master we have ever seen in our lives is our esteemed leader.

You, me, and the Left Protector are all masters of internal martial arts. We should know very well that releasing internal force to injure an enemy requires either palm strikes or finger strikes from a distance, both of which require coordinated movements.

I am absolutely certain that Zhu Houyu simply walked past them without making any move, not even touching them with his fingertips!

No matter how high the cult leader's martial arts skills are, he cannot do this.

Elder Wu, you witnessed this scene yourself. Can this be considered martial arts?

"Elder Pan is right, this certainly doesn't seem like something martial arts could do!"

Li Dali thought for a moment.

"I am very familiar with my father's martial arts skills. If he can't do this, then no master of internal martial arts in the world could do it."

Moreover, Zhu Houyu was a highly skilled external martial arts practitioner with extremely crude internal energy manipulation techniques; he simply couldn't possibly possess such methods of using internal energy.

"What convinced me even more was that Zhu Houyu wasn't using martial arts, but rather the way he looked after being injured!"

Elder Pan stood up and pointed to the right side of his lower abdomen.

"When Elders Zhou and Wang's eyes popped open, I saw clearly where the long sword had pierced Zhu Houyu's abdomen. It was here, in his liver!"

We all know that the liver is a vital organ. If it is pierced by a long sword, the patient will collapse after only a few breaths and completely lose the ability to move.

Moreover, they are almost impossible to save, and will die within moments.

But what is Zhu Houyu's situation?

He strolled around leisurely, as if he were completely unharmed!

I even noticed that his wound barely bled!

If I had to describe it, I think he didn't look like a living person at all, but rather a walking corpse!

He's not human; he's a demon in human skin!

"When I saw Zhu Houyu walking over with a long sword stuck in his abdomen, I also felt that his movements were a bit strange, not like those of a normal person."

Wu Nian thought back carefully,

"Now that Elder Pan says it, it really does feel that way."

The way he walks doesn't seem to be powered by the muscles in his legs, but rather by an invisible force that moves his limbs.

It's like... like someone possessed by a vengeful ghost or evil spirit in legends!