Chapter 48: Secret Guard Intelligence and Lu Xiaofeng's Distress

Yan Yimei continued to report the unusual activities in the Great Ming empire that had caught the attention of the Dark Armor Secret Guards.

"Your Highness, besides Li Xunhuan,"

"the secret guards have also discovered that many individuals who vanished from the martial world long ago have begun to stir once more."

Although there was no direct evidence to prove that these martial arts experts suddenly returning to the public eye had all received invitations from the Emperor, the return of Li Xunhuan had already raised the guard's vigilance. Naturally, they paid closer attention to those experts suddenly becoming active in the martial world.

"What kind of experts are we talking about?"

"This..." Yan Yimei suddenly choked on her words. According to the intelligence gathered by the secret guards, although quite a few Mysterious Conclave grandmasters had suddenly emerged in the martial world, and even two Heavenly Phenomenon supreme grandmasters—who should have long since retired from worldly affairs—had appeared,

when it came to genuine threats, strictly speaking, apart from Li Xunhuan, there was truly only half a person.

Zhu Jinzhen looked at Yan Yimei in astonishment: "Half a person?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the reason it is only half a person is because the secret guards are still uncertain whether that person will re-enter the martial world."

"Who is it?"

"The master of Divine Sword Manor, Xie Xiaofeng!"

"It's him?" Zhu Jinzhen raised the corners of his eyes, a look of interest crossing his face. "Since it's uncertain whether he will re-enter the martial world, does that mean the Emperor has already sent someone to approach Xie Xiaofeng?"

"Yes!" Yan Yimei nodded affirmatively.

"A few days ago, a person of mysterious identity entered Divine Sword Manor. Although that person was well-disguised, they still left a trace. This person did not stay long at Divine Sword Manor and seemed merely to be a messenger. To avoid alerting the enemy, the secret guards dared not act rashly."

"However, subsequent tracking by the secret guards confirmed that he indeed came from the Imperial Palace."

"Someone from the Imperial Palace suddenly approached Xie Xiaofeng, the Sword God who has been in retirement from the martial world for nearly twenty years?" A cold gleam flashed in Zhu Jinzhen's eyes. It was hard not to connect these various signs with the Emperor framing him for treason, and the Emperor intending for Xie Xiaofeng to deal with him.

"Keep a close watch on Divine Sword Manor. If it is discovered that Xie Xiaofeng has truly left the manor..."

Zhu Jinzhen did not specify how to handle the situation, because it was still unclear whether Xie Xiaofeng was a friend or an enemy.

However, if he was confirmed to be an enemy,

he would not mind picking a scenic burial site for this older-generation Sword God of the martial world.

……

Jiayuguan, The Inn.

Lu Xiaofeng galloped all the way to the designated meeting place with Ximen Chuuxue and Hua Manlou.

Before Lu Xiaofeng even stepped through the threshold, his voice arrived ahead of him.

"Has the matter been settled?"

"It's settled, but the trouble is far from over." Lu Xiaofeng flashed into the room, pulled the token bearing the inscription [As If the Sovereign Himself Were Present]—which Zhu Houzhao had just bestowed upon him—from his bosom, and tossed it casually onto the table.

Ximen Chuuxue looked at Lu Xiaofeng, ripples forming in his stern and piercing gaze: "As If the Sovereign Himself Were Present?"

"You must have guessed whom I went to see; this token was given by His Majesty the Emperor." Lu Xiaofeng shrugged, picked up the cup of tea on the table, and brought it straight to his lips.

"Two tokens, two opposing factions."

"Lu Xiaofeng, it seems the trouble is far more tricky than anticipated."

A man like Hua Manlou always wore a smile as bright as a spring breeze, yet today his smile looked rather strained, because he knew that the deeper Lu Xiaofeng became entangled, the greater the trouble he would ultimately invite upon himself.

If he could, Hua Manlou would rather Lu Xiaofeng went to Chunhua Pavilion to summon fifty top courtesans and lose himself in drunken dreams for a few months, rather than get entangled in such a whirlpool of political conspiracy.

"You really are the roundworm in my stomach."

Lu Xiaofeng slumped lazily across the table, wearing a worried expression as he said, "Hua Manlou, would you care to guess why I rushed back in such a hurry?"

"Without guessing, one can tell it has something to do with the Prince of Su."

Ximen Chuuxue's cold voice sounded from the side.

Hua Manlou smiled and nodded along.

"You two really are smart."

"The Emperor entrusted me with a message for the Prince of Su."

Lu Xiaofeng propped up his chin, looking bitter and distressed. Why on earth had he taken on this wretched chore?

"A message?"

Hua Manlou's smile faltered for a moment, and he joked, "It couldn't possibly be the Emperor wanting to hold the Prince of Su accountable, could it?"

"That's not it."

Lu Xiaofeng first shook his head, then lowered his voice with feigned mystery: "But I have a feeling it's even more dangerous than that."

Ximen Chuuxue glanced at him: "Stop keeping us in suspense."

"Alright."

Lu Xiaofeng shrugged: "He asked me to bring a message to the Prince of Su, inviting him to a banquet."

"Puff~!"

Hua Manlou spat out a mouthful of tea and turned his head in astonishment to 'look' at Lu Xiaofeng.

Clearly, he had been deeply startled.

"For the Emperor to travel in disguise all the way to Shaanxi is already an extreme surprise. Privately inviting the Prince of Su to a meeting at a time like this is by no means a good thing." Hua Manlou revealed a worried expression.

To put it bluntly, this was Shaanxi, a place where the Prince of Su held absolute sway.

If the Emperor's identity were exposed and the Prince of Su truly harbored rebellious intentions, an Emperor traveling in disguise would not have the slightest chance of walking out of Shaanxi alive.

Ximen Chuuxue glanced at Hua Manlou and said coldly, "A gentleman does not stand under a tottering wall; the Emperor cannot possibly be unaware of even this principle. Since he understands his own situation and still invites the Prince of Su to a banquet, I fear his intentions are..."

A Feast at Hongmen!

Although Ximen Chuuxue did not spell it out, Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng still understood.

"This is what distresses me the most."

"The Prince of Su has the ability and means to rebel and make the Emperor vanish without a trace, and the Emperor also seems to harbor hidden motives. I'm truly afraid they'll collide, and I'll be the one out of luck in the end!"

For the first time, Lu Xiaofeng felt an impulse to wish he were dead.

"You're already dragged into it; it's too late to back out."

"Instead of worrying about these things, you'd might as well go and finish this task sooner."

"Anyway, whether it's the Prince of Su's estate or the Emperor's side, your voice is too humble to change anything."

Though Ximen Chuuxue's voice was cold, it caused Lu Xiaofeng—currently lacking any sense of direction—to see a glimmer of light.

"You've reminded me; I'm really just borrowing trouble for nothing this time!" Lu Xiaofeng rubbed his nose, feeling slightly relieved in his heart. What the Emperor actually wanted to do, and whether the Prince of Su would discover the news of the Emperor traveling in disguise to Shaanxi and make a secret move—

none of these were things he, a mere Mysterious Conclave grandmaster, could decide.

Rather than worrying about so much, he might as well finish what the Emperor had instructed as soon as possible and slip away at the earliest opportunity!

……

Meanwhile, in Great Ming, Divine Sword Manor.

Cuiyun Peak, Green Water Lake.

Heavy snow drifted down, and the moonlight filled the sky.

A figure stood amidst the falling snow, as if already melted into the silver shroud of heaven and earth.

Because he was so quiet—quiet to the point of a coldness and weariness deeply engraved into his bones, yet carrying a piercing murderous intent—in the eyes of outsiders,

amidst this swirling snow, one could hardly feel that a living person was standing there.

"Granduncle, you've been standing here for a day and a night!"

The newcomer was Xie Yuan, the son of Xie Xiaofeng's paternal cousin Xie Ting. Though this man had no fame in the martial world and his martial arts were quite rudimentary, he was a master at management.

Divine Sword Manor had flourished under his administration.

Of course, a large part of the reason for this

was that everyone in the martial world knew the true master of Divine Sword Manor was that Emperor of Swords, the God of Swords, the former Third Young Master, Xie Xiaofeng, which was why no one dared to provoke them, allowing the manor to thrive day by day.

Xie Xiaofeng withdrew from that state of near-heaven-and-man communion—or rather, the unity of man and sword—and a trace of vitality finally returned to his cold eyes: "I am leaving the manor for a trip!"