The greatest master of Chu State

  The greatest master of Chu State

  "Ah Meng Cang!" Feng Zhi Yao fell into the courtyard, frowning at the black-clad man in front of her.

  Upon hearing this, Ye Li raised an eyebrow and smiled shallowly: "The greatest master of the Great Chu... Mo Qingcang? Even such a top-notch expert is willing to take action, Your Highness truly values me." Mo Qingcang's expression was cold and calm as he replied indifferently: "I don't understand what the princess means. Night Killers are paid to do their job; what does it have to do with whether or not they value someone?" Ye Li raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with a hint of amusement as she gazed at him. For some reason, Mo Qingcang seemed unable to withstand her gaze and turned his head away in embarrassment. Ye Li tilted her head to examine him for a few moments before smiling faintly: "The greatest master of the Great Chu? I think perhaps there's been an exaggeration?"

  "What are you talking about?!" Mu Jing's eyes flashed with a hint of anger, and he turned his gaze back to Ye Li, staring at him furiously. The Crown Princess could insult his actions or even his character, but she absolutely could not insult the dignity of being the greatest martial artist in Da Chu. Scanning the people standing around him, he sneered, "Just because of these few juniors..." He said half a sentence, and when he met Ye Li's mocking gaze, his face turned ugly as he swallowed back the rest of his words. No matter how they had managed to capture him, these people had almost effortlessly captured the greatest martial artist in Da Chu, and that was the fact. Since ancient times, there has been no first or second in literature or martial arts; even if you have unparalleled skills, losing is still losing.

  Ye Li nodded and smiled: "They won over you today, indeed a bit lucky, but you'd better believe that even if there were several more Mo Xing Cangs, this princess would still be able to capture them."Mo Xing Cang sneered coldly, clearly disbelieving.Ye Li didn't get angry, continuing: "I said your reputation as the greatest martial artist in Da Chu is exaggerated not because you lost to them. But...you're already old."Mo Xing Cang's heart skipped a beat, his face twisting into an iron-like complexion. He was less than 40 years old, which wasn't considered old for a martial artist. Yet he indeed had grown old.The four greatest martial artists in the land, with the oldest being West Hill Town's South King, who despite losing an arm to Mo Liu Fang in the past still dominated West Hill and was renowned for his power.Next was Yan Wang Pavilion's master Ling Tie Han, who although a figure of the Jianghu world like him, had a reputation that shook the four nations, making even nobles hesitant to offend him.The youngest among them was Da Chu's Ding Wang Mo Xiu Yao, who despite being severely injured and disabled in his youth still had a name that shook the heavens, earning him the title of Young War God.And he...he was several years older than Ling Tie Han, yet only held the empty title of Da Chu's greatest martial artist, slowly growing old while guarding a single night kill. He couldn't even take to the battlefields or roam free in the Jianghu world.Even when people mentioned the name of Da Chu's greatest martial artist, they would often sigh and say: "If not for Ding Wang's unfortunate youth, perhaps the title of Da Chu's greatest martial artist would have changed hands long ago..."

  Ye Li looked at the middle-aged man in front of her with a hint of regret, his face pale and defeated. Mu Jing Cang's abilities and ambitions should have made him a hero, but unfortunately, he was controlled by others and struggled to make decisions. Being known as the greatest master of Da Chu wasn't an easy title to bear.

  "Since I've lost to you, whether you want to kill me or cut me up is entirely up to you." Mu Qing said coldly, his eyes dim and filled with a sense of despair.

  Yelü waved his hand and said calmly, "Take him away. Mr. Mu, Yelü respects you as a master of your craft, so it's best if you don't do anything foolish like attempting to take your own life or trying to escape."

  Mo Cheng let out a soft hum and allowed the guards beside him to take him away.

  Feng Zhiyao finally came back to her senses, patted the nonexistent dust off her body, rubbed her forehead and walked over saying: "That person... how could that person be Mu Qingcang?!"

  Ye Li smiled and said: "Why can't it be Mu Qingcang?"

  "Feng Zhi Yao sighed: "He is Mu Qingcang, the number one master of Great Chu, with noble integrity and unswayed by power. The emperor once offered him a general's position, but he refused, dedicating himself to martial arts. After all these years of dedication, do you think it was just for mastering assassination?" Although Ye Lian was indeed skilled, compared to the same assassin organization, Yan Wang Ge, they were far inferior. Ye Li lowered her gaze, her crimson lips curling into a faint smile: "To grasp power over the world while awake, and to sleep on the knees of a beauty. These are the pursuits of men worldwide. Mu Qingcang neither loves power nor beautiful women... do you think this is possible?"

  "He loves martial arts."

  "How much better is his martial arts compared to the other three masters?" Ye Li asked with a slanted gaze.

  Feng Zhiyao touched his nose and remained silent. Mo Qingtian's martial arts skills were indeed very high, but as the number one master of Great Chu, Feng Zhiyao felt some disappointment because he wasn't much better than the other three masters, and in some aspects was even slightly inferior. The other three were all busy with official duties, making Mo Qingtian seem even more...not living up to his reputation. "How does the princess plan to deal with Mo Qingtian? He is a member of the Mo family after all."

  "What's wrong with the Mu family?" Ye Li asked with a smile.

  Feng Zhi said with a frown, "Although we are not afraid of the people from the Mu family, having one more enemy is always somewhat troublesome. The Mu family has always been neutral, if it's because of him..."

  Ye Li shook her head and said, "Feng San, doesn't the fact that Mu Qingcang is here make you think of something? With his background and status, do you really think he would oppose the Dingguo royal family just for money?"

  Feng Zhiyao's eyes widened slightly, and his expression sank. He wasn't unable to think about it, but rather unwilling to do so. Although he wasn't a blood relative of the Dingguo royal family, he had grown up with Mo Xiuyao, and he was well aware of how much the Dingguo royal family had sacrificed for Great Chu, including his own efforts. So every time he saw those people who used to be close to him recklessly attacking the Dingguo royal family, what he felt wasn't just disappointment and anger, but also endless chill.

  "Enjoy the salary and do your duty for the lord, that's all."

  Feng Zhi Yao shook her head and waved away the unpleasantness in her heart, raising an eyebrow with a smile: "What plans does the princess have?"

  Ye Li smiled and said, "What plan can there be? If the Mu family is willing to pay the price, they can have Mu Qinglang back. This way, we can also avoid hurting the harmony between our two families. But if they are not willing to pay... I don't need to leave a powerful enemy alive in this world, do I?"

  When the sounds of slaughter outside had completely disappeared, it was almost five watches into the night. In the distance, at the edge of the sky, a faint white light had begun to appear. Ye Li led the people out of the main courtyard, and the thick smell of blood spread through the air. Standing in front of the Yuan Yue Gate outside the main courtyard, looking around, rivers of blood flowed and corpses lay scattered all over the fields. Qing Luan and Qing Yu, who were following behind Ye Li, couldn't help but rush to one side and start vomiting at the sight before them. Ye Li closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, only a calm and cold light flowed faintly in her eyes.

  "We've seen the princess!" The people standing in various parts of the courtyard, holding swords and knives, all looked towards the white-clothed woman standing at the gate and shouted respectfully.

  Ye Li's expression was solemn, and he nodded slightly: "You all worked hard tonight."

  Zhang Qilan's whole body was covered in blood, and he said solemnly: "Protecting the Dingguo King's palace is the responsibility and honor of my Mo family army, Your Highness need not worry."

  "Report to the princess, the emperor has arrived." The outer gatekeeper hastily came in from outside, although hurried but still calm and composed.

  Ye Li was slightly surprised and raised an eyebrow, saying: "The Emperor has arrived?"

  The steward nodded and said: "That's right, the holy carriage is already two miles away. Shall we go out to welcome it?"

  Ye Li smiled and said, "Since the Emperor has come to the Dingguo King's Mansion in the middle of the night, how can we, as his subjects, not go out to welcome him? Mo Zongguan, you lead the way and bring people out to welcome the imperial carriage first." Mo Zongguan responded with a bow and led the group out. Ye Li looked at the crowd in the courtyard and smiled, "Everyone else, let's also go out to welcome the Emperor."

  Outside the magnificent palace of Dingguo, the wide streets where the bodies were originally scattered had been quickly removed, but the streets stained with blood did not clean up so easily. The dark red bloodstains looked even more eerie and cold under the light of the lanterns. Longben slowly approached under the guard of a large number of imperial guards, and the eunuchs outside lifted the curtain. Mo Jingqi, dressed in imperial attire, bowed his head and walked out. He saw the dark red all over the ground and couldn't help but change his expression. He frowned at Mo Zongguan, who was standing on the side of the street to welcome him, and said, "Where is the Princess of Dingguo?"

  Mo Zongguan said in a low voice: "The queen has been frightened and her appearance is not proper, please forgive her for being late to greet Your Majesty."

  Mo Jingqi was taken aback, and immediately smiled: "As long as the Queen of Dingguo is safe and sound, that's all that matters. The King of Ding is not in the capital, if anything happens to the queen, I will have no way to explain it to the king."

  Watching Mo Jingqi being supported by the eunuch down from the dragon sedan, Mo General Manager took a step back and bowed his head: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Please enter."

  Following closely behind was not just Mo Jingqi alone, but also the officials and nobles of the capital city. At this time, no matter what they were thinking in their hearts, on the surface they all showed a worried yet relieved expression, but to Mo's eyes, it was just a pair of old eyes that had seen through everything without any warmth. Mo Jingqi turned his head to the officials and said: "Since that's the case, let's go together to visit the Crown Princess of Dingguo." Zhang Qilan stepped forward, furrowing his brow: "Your Majesty, since the King is not in the capital, is it appropriate for so many dignitaries to enter the Dingguo Palace at once?"

  Mo Jingqi's eyes flickered slightly, staring at Zhang Qilan: "General Zhang? I remember you commanding tens of thousands of troops near the capital, why are you appearing here?"

  Zhang Qilan did not evade, and said solemnly: "Before the king left, he entrusted me with the safety of the Dingguo King's Mansion. Recently, the Dingguo King's Mansion has been very unstable, so I led my men back to Beijing to guard the Dingguo King's Mansion. This matter...I have submitted a memorial to the emperor, but I haven't received an imperial edict yet. However, the safety of the Dingguo King's Mansion is as important as Mount Tai, so I had to return to Beijing first and ask the emperor to punish me."

  Mo Jingqi felt a mouthful of old blood in his heart, and Zhang Qilan's memorial was probably mixed with the memorials that were sent to the Dingguo King's palace for several days. He didn't even bother to look at such memorials and threw them aside directly. But now he couldn't deny punishing Zhang Qilan in front of everyone because Zhang Qilan had submitted a memorial beforehand, if he disagreed, it would be equivalent to predetermining the death of the Dingguo King's palace. Although this was his true thoughts in his heart, it was something that could not be known by others.

  Mo Jingqi forced a smile and said, "General Zhang, your words are too kind. General Zhang's wholehearted dedication to the country is indeed a model for all of Great Chu's military officers. Today, you have done a great job in protecting the Dingguo King's palace, and tomorrow I will surely reward you heavily."

  Zhang Qilan had not yet thanked him when a clear and elegant female voice came from inside the door, "Your Majesty is wise, so Ye Li waits for General Zhang to thank Your Majesty."

  Digression

  Today I ran around several places for interviews and job hunting, it was after 8 o'clock that I had dinner and then rushed to write this tearful post, just as I was about to recommend ahahahaha