Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

Although this person's cultivation level was similar to Su Mu's, the strength of his soul was far inferior. Su Mu easily invaded his mind using the Soul-Sealing Technique.

Using one's own mental strength to forcibly suppress the other party's will, thereby gaining control of their body!

Under mental manipulation, Su Mu quickly learned the other party's background.

This man, named Wang Defa, belongs to a top-tier assassin organization called "God's Judgment." They had already been heavily bribed by the barbarians. Their infiltration of the imperial city these days was both to put pressure on the Great Qian imperial family and to coordinate with the barbarian army's northward advance.

They may not actually intend to assassinate key members of the royal family, but at least they want to make the Great Qian royal family wary enough not to easily send too many martial arts experts to the northern border to participate in the war.

"Divine Judgment" initially disdained cooperating with the barbarians, but after being repeatedly besieged by the imperial court and suffering heavy losses, coupled with their deep hatred for the Great Qian imperial family, they were eventually won over by the barbarians with a large sum of money and became their henchmen. It was precisely because of the barbarians' secret and strong support that they were able to cultivate batches of martial arts masters in a short period of time and expand rapidly.

After figuring out the whole story, Su Mu manipulated Wang Defa to leap out of the library and head straight for the Imperial Kitchen.

Although the Imperial Kitchen has skilled martial artists, most of them serve the cooking function, and the strongest among them is only at the Acquired Realm. There are no Innate Realm martial artists in charge.

The night is dark.

It should have been a time for rest, but many people in the Imperial Kitchen were unable to fall asleep—assassins had repeatedly broken into the palace, and the guards' repeated searches had already woken everyone up.

Yang Mao woke up, and Hu Zhichun woke up too.

The two chief eunuchs were drinking tea and talking in a small flower hall.

"These assassins appeared out of nowhere. The palace is full of powerful people and heavily guarded, yet they still came to cause trouble, forcing us to stay up all night with them. It's really hateful!" Yang Mao said, both angry and annoyed.

"The war in the north is intense, and many of the palace's top experts have been transferred to the northern frontier, leaving the defenses weak. It's not surprising that someone might take advantage of the situation." Hu Zhichun said calmly, taking a leisurely sip of tea.

"Alas!" Yang Mao sighed. "With General Situ's abilities, how could he suffer defeat after defeat? The situation in the north is unfavorable, and the people in the palace are restless. There are even rumors... that His Majesty intends to depose the Empress."

"Eunuch Yang, be careful what you say!" Before Yang Mao could finish speaking, Hu Zhichun interrupted him, solemnly reminding him, "This matter is not for you and me to discuss. Let those ignorant juniors talk about it in private, but we have been in the palace for so many years, we should know what can be said and what cannot be said."

"Yes, yes, I misspoke," Yang Mao nodded quickly.

"You mentioned earlier that the little eunuch Yutian, whom you sent to the library, has changed drastically recently, and may have embarked on the path of martial arts like Cheng Ping'an. This morning, when I paid my respects to Her Majesty the Empress, I casually mentioned it." Hu Zhichun changed the subject, "Her Majesty the Empress instructed that if anything unusual is detected, he should be eliminated as soon as possible."

"Didn't we try before? Li Mo didn't succeed," Yang Mao continued.

"Li Mo targeted Cheng Ping'an, but the Empress wants us to eliminate Su Mu." Hu Zhichun shook his head.

"He's just a lowly eunuch who's been punished and sent to the library. Why is the Empress so concerned?" Yang Mao asked, puzzled. "Even if Cheng Ping'an and Yu Tian embarked on the path of martial arts because of him, he himself doesn't seem to have anything special about him! You should know that if a lowly eunuch can diligently study the Martial Arts Classic and has talent, it's not impossible for him to break through in martial arts."

"How could you or I possibly fathom the Empress's thoughts?" Hu Zhichun continued, "Coincidentally, just this morning when I returned to the Imperial Kitchen, a maidservant from Consort De's side came to deliver a message, saying that she was ordered by the Empress to fetch some rice, grains, meat, and vegetables to be sent to the library. I took the opportunity to slip the Heart-Eating Powder into that plate of braised pork! If Su Mu eats the meat, he will surely die."

"Heart-Eating Powder..." Yang Mao was taken aback, then a smile appeared on his face.

He was well aware that the Heart-Eating Powder was colorless, odorless, and extremely poisonous, and that Su Mu would have little chance of escaping it. Moreover, if someone poisoned by this substance died more than an hour later, it would be extremely difficult to find any trace of it.

"I will send someone to check the library tomorrow. If..."

Just as Hu Zhichun was speaking, the door to the small flower room was suddenly kicked open!

A dark figure rushed in, enveloped in the night wind—

That masked assassin was none other than Wang Defa, who was being controlled by Su Mu using the Soul-Taking Technique!

The Imperial Library and the Imperial Kitchen were not far apart, neither being key locations within the palace, and there weren't many palace guards patrolling the area. Most of the elite warriors from the Imperial Martial Arts Bureau had been transferred to the northern border, and the remaining guards were mainly responsible for protecting the emperor and a few important figures. Therefore, nighttime security at these two locations was relatively weak.

Without the presence of a martial arts expert, the palace servants were already sleeping restlessly, and the news of an assassin causing a disturbance made them even more terrified.

"Who goes there?!"

Upon seeing the masked assassin burst through the door, Yang Mao abruptly stood up. He shouted loudly, hoping to alert others and also hoping that some experts from the palace would hear him and come to his aid.

call!

Wang Defa moved with lightning speed, rushing straight at Yang Mao.

Swish!

A flash of cold light!

A sharp sword light flashed past, and Yang Mao's head flew into the air!

This scene terrified Hu Zhichun! He remained frozen in his chair, his face drained of color, barely daring to breathe.

To his surprise, after killing Yang Mao, the assassin didn't even glance at him before turning and leaving.

—It was as if the assassin had come specifically to kill Yang Mao.

Hu Zhichun was utterly puzzled: What merits did Yang Mao possess that made him worthy of such a skilled assassin? He was merely a kitchen steward with limited martial arts skills and authority; how could he have attracted such a deadly calamity?

After killing Yang Mao, Wang Defa quickly left the Imperial Kitchen and sped towards the depths of the imperial city. It wasn't until he encountered skilled palace patrolmen that Su Mu withdrew his mental control over them.

"Where...is this?"

"How did I get here?"

The moment Wang Defa regained his senses, he was surrounded by a group of imperial guards. Surrounded in such an exposed situation, no matter how skilled he was, he would have had little chance of escape—especially since this area was a forbidden palace, and there were even Grandmaster-level experts stationed there.

Soon, Wang Defa died under a hail of swords.

Inside the library.

Yu Tian had just come out of the room when he saw Su Mu standing in the courtyard. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Father, there seemed to be some commotion just now?"

"An assassin accidentally fell into the courtyard and then left on his own." Su Mu turned around, waved his hand, and said, "Go back and rest. You can also meditate to regulate your breathing."

"Um."

Yutian did as instructed and returned to her room.

Su Mu also returned to his room.

Maintaining the Soul-Sealing Technique for an extended period and completely controlling the actions of others consumes a tremendous amount of mental energy.

"When he regained control, he should have been surrounded by experts from the palace, and he must be dead by now."

"Some might wonder why the assassin specifically targeted the Imperial Kitchen to kill Yang Mao. But I dare say—no one will suspect me."

Su Mu felt much happier after successfully eliminating Yang Mao.

However, he was unaware that Yang Mao's death was actually somewhat "unjust."

It was not Yang Mao who poisoned them, but Hu Zhichun!

The library returned to tranquility late at night.

The next morning.

Just as Su Mu and Yu Tian finished their breakfast, a eunuch from the Imperial Kitchen, Geng Ming, came to borrow books. Anyone in the palace, eunuchs and maids alike, could borrow books here. They only needed to register and return them on time.