Chapter 41 The Broken Calm

With the Tiance selection underway, storms and winds gathered from all directions.

All sorts of ghosts and monsters flocked to Jiayuguan for various reasons, making the ominous atmosphere increasingly palpable day by day. Even the ordinary residents of Jiayuguan could sense it.

Today, the number of Tiance Mansion soldiers on patrol had noticeably doubled.

Yet, they harbored no fear that vagrants from the martial arts underworld would cause trouble or commit murder.

This was Jiayuguan, governed by His Royal Highness Prince Su.

Even a soaring dragon had to coil here, and a ferocious tiger had to lie low.

It was not as though martial artists had never caused trouble in recent years, but every single one of them had ended up a laughingstock. Usually, one moment they were strutting about in arrogance, and the next, patrolling Tiance or Changyun soldiers would break their legs and drag them off to be hanged at the bustling market square.

As for those who harmed innocent civilians and took lives,

the Tiance and Changyun soldiers would dispense with questions of reason or right and simply beat them all to death on the spot.

Consequently, Jiayuguan—and indeed the entire Shaanxi province—had gradually transformed into a forbidden zone for martial artists.

While passersby existed, those who dared to pick fights or brawl violently were exceedingly rare.

Coupled with the constant deterrent presence of patrolling Tiance and Changyun troops, even those martial artists who fancied themselves superior leapers and boundsers—thinking they could strike, kill, and simply flee—diminished their arrogance and dared not stir up trouble at all.

Looking across the ranks, even the most basic soldiers on patrol were at least of the upper third tier.

Occasionally, one could even catch sight of several masters at the Vajra Realm or the Profound Mystery Realm patrolling the area.

No one out of their mind would dare to court disaster right in front of the Tiance and Changyun armies.

Yet, there were always stubborn fools who refused to accept reality and feared nothing, eager to test the law with their own lives.

"Cousin, the Great Ming soldiers outside are immensely formidable."

"You must remember to be careful."

Murong Fu smiled with absolute confidence. "Rest assured, Cousin, I am, after all, the esteemed Southern Murong. As long as I do not recklessly breach Tiance Mansion or the heavily fortified strategic areas of Jiayuguan, where can I not come and go as I please?"

A master of the Profound Mystery Realm could treat a hundred-foot cliff as flat ground.

Murong Fu had even breached the Western Xia Imperial Palace; in his eyes, a mere border fortress harboring all sorts of scum was nothing more than that.

Wang Yuyan watched Murong Fu vanish into the night, her gaze rippling, the worry in her eyes intensifying.

The reality of Great Ming was vastly, irreconcilably different from the outside world Wang Yuyan had known.

In her small world, Murong Fu was a dragon among men, a top-tier expert in the Song martial arts world and across the entire realm. Yet, her experiences beyond Jiayuguan made her realize that while the Profound Mystery Realm could allow one to dominate a region, it could not make one unrivaled beneath the heavens.

"Young Miss, please set your mind at ease."

"Young Master possesses peerless lightness kung fu and extraordinary martial arts. He is our Song Dynasty's Southern Murong, second to none save for Northern Qiao who shares his reputation. Even that newly risen Li Chenzhou from the Power Gang, I imagine, would be no match for Young Master."

"Besides, Fourth Brother Feng and the others are assisting as well; nothing will go wrong."

Just as Bi, draped in green robes, was speaking with a radiant smile full of confidence in Murong Fu, the tranquil night sky was torn apart by a fierce roar:

"Who goes there, trespassing on rooftops? This violates the prohibition! Get down here!"

"Stubborn and unrepentant! Capture him!"

Ah?

Wang Yuyan, Azhu, and A-Bi inside the inn stared at one another in dismay.

They were all delicate women; while Azhu and A-Bi knew a shred of martial arts, it amounted to mere parlor tricks, and they could hear nothing of the distant commotion. They could only worry and silently pray in their hearts that it wasn't their cousin (Young Master) who had been discovered.

...

Prince Su's Estate, Dragon-Hiding Residence.

This place was the residential courtyard of Zhu Jinzhen. Aside from Zhu Jinzhen himself, his women, and his mother—the Dowager Princess Su—not a single soul was permitted to step foot inside.

Though the courtyard appeared serene and secluded, it was actually a thousand times more perilous than a dragon's pool or a tiger's den.

On this day, a personal guard of Prince Su's Estate appeared outside the Dragon-Hiding Residence like a phantom.

"What is the business?"

A maidservant on duty by the entrance stepped forward and asked.

"Sister Yue, has His Highness retired for the night?"

"Just moments ago, someone at Jiayuguan apprehended several individuals of unknown origin. They brought certain items into Jiayuguan with the intent to frame His Highness, but they have already been subdued by the Tiance soldiers," the Prince Su's Estate guard replied respectfully.

Throughout the entire Prince Su's Estate, who did not know of the four maidservants named after Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon? Though nominal servants, they were, alongside the Changyun and Tiance forces, the individuals His Highness trusted most.

At the same time, they were his personal maidservants who had grown up with him since childhood.

To say nothing of a mere, insignificant guard like him, even the commander of the Prince Su Estate's guards would have to show the four maidservants a measure of respect.

The woman addressed as Sister Yue glanced back at the darkened Dragon-Hiding Residence and nodded. "His Highness has retired. Wait here; I shall go announce it."

"This prince is already aware. Yue'er, bring them in."

An ethereal voice drifted out from within the Dragon-Hiding Residence.

At that instant, the entire heaven and earth grew solemn; even the falling snowflakes hung suspended in the air for a brief moment.

Hearing these words, the maidservant called Yue'er and the guards stationed at the entrance simultaneously turned and bowed slightly toward the interior of the Dragon-Hiding Residence.

"Go bring the people here."

"Understood. This subordinate takes her leave."

The Prince Su's Estate guard offered a respectful bow, maintaining his posture until he had retreated ten steps away from the Dragon-Hiding Residence before slowly straightening up and departing in a brisk stride to bring in the Tiance soldiers waiting outside the estate.

Without them personally leading the way, not even a Grandmaster of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm could have stepped foot into Prince Su's Estate.

...

Prince Su's Estate, Reception Hall.

Zhu Jinzhen had simply draped a robe over his shoulders.

"Your Highness, please inspect these."

"Murong Fu?"

"Replying to Your Highness, based on the Tiance soldiers' engagement with him, his martial arts are miscellaneous and unrefined, yet he is proficient in over a hundred distinct martial arts schools, including a bizarre martial art capable of returning the enemy's own techniques back to them. It is confirmed beyond doubt that he is Murong Fu."

Zhu Jinzhen remained noncommittal. The last thing this world lacked was techniques that could return an opponent's attacks, such as Zhu Wushi's skills, the Ming Cult's Heaven-Emptifying and Earth-Shifting, Wudang's Tai Chi Divine Fist, and so on.

However, to have entered the Profound Mystery Realm at such a tender age, accompanied by a woman of celestial beauty, two maidservants, and several attendants, indeed matched his understanding of Murong Fu.

"An imperial decree, a grand seal, and official documents."

"Timur's reaction is swift indeed. It seems he is determined to substantiate the rumors that this prince is colluding with the Mongols, attempting to split Great Ming and usurp the throne through rebellion?" Zhu Jinzhen gazed at the classified intelligence report from Tiance Mansion, his eyes flashing.

He did not even need to look to guess the contents of the intercepted Mongolian imperial decree.

It undoubtedly contained all sorts of ambiguous phrasing—such as colluding with the Mongols, plotting together for future grand undertakings, and the Mongols offering their utmost assistance, provided Zhu Jinzhen acted in certain ways.

"These items were found on Murong Fu's person?" Zhu Jinzhen asked in surprise. Could it be that Murong Fu in this comprehensive martial arts world had abandoned Western Xia and defected to the Mongols instead?

"Reporting to Your Highness, it was not Murong Fu."

"Rather, we recovered them from another faction."

"Identities?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, one is Wan Yulou, the Third Superintendent of the Eastern Depot; two appear to be lackeys of the Mongols, the Xuanming Elders; and the last is an exquisitely beautiful woman whose appearance seems to be in her early thirties. Yet, no matter how our subordinates subjected her to torture, she refused to utter a single word."

Hearing this, Zhu Jinzhen closed his eyes in deep thought, his fingers gently tapping against the armrest.

Four individuals, involving three distinct factions.

The Eastern Depot, the Mongols, and a woman of unknown identity.