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

To his disappointment, Su Mu, though awakened, did not go out.

The mysterious expert has not yet shown himself.

At this moment, Su Mu was standing in his room, nervously watching through the crack in the window.

That makes sense. Ordinary eunuchs wouldn't dare to go out rashly in the face of such a scene.

Left with no other option, Lu Xiang kicked the door open and entered.

Because the Empress had ordered that he be "interrogated," Lu Xiang could not directly kill her. If his only goal was to take Su Mu's life, with his Grandmaster cultivation, he could have finished him off with a single strike from a distance; why would he need to enter the room?

boom!

Lu Xiang kicked open Su Mu's door.

"Grandpa Lu, this is..." Su Mu looked surprised.

Having spent over thirty years in the palace, he naturally recognized Lu Xiang.

"Little Su, we chased an assassin here, but he suddenly disappeared. We suspect... you've hidden him." Lu Xiang made up a pretext on the spot.

He did not let his guard down and remained wary of the expert who might suddenly appear.

"How dare I, a mere servant!"

Lu Xiang kicked the door open and entered. Su Mu knew, of course, that he was not looking for any assassin.

"You've got some guts, no wonder Li Mo and Liu Zheng died one after another near the library." Lu Xiang's words were ambiguous.

He didn't mind spending a little more time with Su Mu—precisely to give that expert enough time to arrive. For him and the Empress, whether or not to kill Su Mu wasn't the key issue. The most important thing right now was to find out who that expert was.

Of course, there's another possibility: that mysterious expert is also a grandmaster. Why would someone reveal themselves so easily if they weren't absolutely certain of defeating a grandmaster? It's not worth risking everything for a eunuch.

If the expert fails to appear, Lu Xiang will, as previously stated, interrogate him before delivering the fatal blow.

"Grandpa Lu must have misunderstood!" Su Mu feigned panic. "What do the deaths of Li Mo and Liu Zheng have to do with this servant? I beg Eunuch Lu to investigate thoroughly."

"Don't be afraid. Those two, disguised as assassins in the dead of night, were inherently malicious and deserved to die." Lu Xiang suddenly smiled, then changed the subject, "I'm curious, though, who killed them. I'm ninety percent sure you know. If you're willing to tell the truth, it will be a great achievement, and you'll be richly rewarded."

"This servant...does not know." Su Mu shook his head.

"Is it that you really don't know, or that you're unwilling to say?" Lu Xiang pressed on relentlessly.

"This..." Su Mu pretended to be hesitant, while his mind raced, trying to devise a way to escape.

If possible, he really didn't want to fight Lu Xiang—after all, the other party was a grandmaster!

"It seems you know." Seeing Su Mu's hesitation, Lu Xiang assumed he had reservations. "I have a problem: I have to get to the bottom of things I'm curious about, otherwise I can't eat or sleep properly. Little Su, if you can't satisfy me, I'll have to let you taste... the feeling of having your bones broken."

It's a blatant threat.

"Grandpa Lu, why bother with someone as insignificant as me?" Su Mu sighed, knowing he couldn't easily evade the question.

"It's not that our family has any ill intentions towards you; you've brought trouble upon yourself." A sinister smile appeared on Lu Xiang's old face. "Our family didn't want to make things difficult for you; you're the one who doesn't know what's good for you."

"Is it really necessary for Grandpa Lu to ask?"

"Of course! Feel free to speak your mind." Lu Xiang said confidently.

"Grandpa Lu, are you sure... you can eat it?" Su Mu suddenly straightened his back and looked directly at Lu Xiang.

"Hmm?" Lu Xiang felt a chill, but his master's arrogance prevented him from backing down. Instead, he met Su Mu's gaze.

The moment their eyes met, Lu Xiang clearly saw a strange glint flash in Su Mu's eyes!

The light was like an arrow, piercing straight into his eyes!

Caught off guard, Lu Xiang felt a violent jolt in his mind!

He instinctively covered his head and let out a muffled groan.

An unbearable pain erupted from the depths of his soul—Lu Xiang's soul was severely damaged, and his consciousness was almost out of control!

Although he had long since condensed his divine sense, his spiritual strength was roughly equal to that of Su Mu. Under normal circumstances, Su Mu's Soul-Sealing Technique would at most cause him to lose his senses briefly.

However, Su Mu possessed the Soul-Suppressing Pearl.

This treasure's enhancement to attacks on the soul far exceeds that of ordinary treasures!

Su Mu did not attempt to control Lu Xiang—that was virtually impossible. If Lu Xiang were merely a beginner Grandmaster, he might have been able to try by borrowing the power of the Soul-Suppressing Pearl, but the opponent had been immersed in the Grandmaster realm for many years, and his soul power was stable.

All he wanted was a fleeting flaw.

Whoosh!

A glint of cold light flashed!

The bone-piercing nail entered Lu Xiang's forehead and exited through the back of his head!

This master, like Li Mo and Liu Zheng, died silently on the spot.

"It's you..."

In his last moments before he breathed his last, Lu Xiang's face was filled with a sense of bewilderment.

He finally understood—Li Mo and Liu Zheng did not die at the hands of some "mysterious master".

However, it was too late.

Lu Xiang, filled with confusion and resentment, returned to the underworld. Even in death, he couldn't understand: how could an ordinary eunuch possess the terrifying power to kill a grandmaster in just three months?

"Sigh! I told you long ago, curiosity killed the cat, but no one believed me." Su Mu sighed softly, feeling slightly tired.

If possible, he truly did not wish to kill Lu Xiang. The sudden death of a grandmaster would surely cause a great uproar in the palace.

Patiently waiting until midnight, when all was quiet in the palace, Su Mu dragged Lu Xiang's body out and threw it outside the courtyard.

—There is no attempt to hide it.

"Since you're convinced I have a powerful backer, then let you keep guessing."

"A grandmaster has died. I'd like to see who else dares to cause trouble in the library."

Lu Xiang's body could have been disposed of cleanly like Xu Shan'er's, but after much deliberation, Su Mu believed that leaving the body to be displayed would be more effective in deterring villains and saving them from further trouble.

About an incense stick later.

Li Lianying personally led two experts to the Wuwei Division.

"Little Su, tell me honestly, did you notice anything unusual just now?"

"Yes." Su Mu pointed to a spot in the courtyard. "About an hour ago, someone suddenly broke in and smashed that stone slab."

"And then?" Li Lianying pressed.

"This servant was terrified and dared not go out. I only caught a glimpse of a dark shadow passing by through the crack in the window." Su Mu answered fluently without changing his expression.

"Is that all?" Li Lianying stared at Su Mu, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Steward Li, you are wise enough to know better. How could this humble servant dare to speak falsely?"

"I've heard rumors circulating in the Imperial Martial Arts Bureau that you have a close relationship with a certain martial arts master in the palace. Is that true?"

"This..." Su Mu hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"If it's inconvenient to say, then so be it." Li Lianying stopped pressing and led his men away.

Unlike Lu Xiang, he never took sides or favored any side, always acting solely according to palace rules. Although he was also curious whether Su Mu truly had a powerful protector, he wouldn't insist.

In fact, Su Mu's silence was already an answer in Li Lianying's mind.

—To not deny is to acquiesce.

The "mysterious master" who could kill Lu Xiang was a hot potato, and Li Lianying did not want to get involved.

The next morning.

As usual, Luo Teng prepared breakfast for Fenghe Palace and informed Empress Situ Wan, who had just woken up, of Lu Xiang's death.

"What?!"

"Lu Xiang... is dead too?"

Upon hearing that Lu Xiang had also died near the library, with his skull pierced by a bone-piercing nail, Empress Situ Wan was shocked beyond words.

It's understandable that Li Mo, who was at the Acquired Realm, would be killed while disguised as an assassin.

Liu Zheng was at the peak of the Innate Realm and was already among the top ten experts in the palace. It was unbelievable that he was killed so quietly.