Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 196: Chapter 194: Departure Gu

Stepping into the bustling crowd, Chu Zhiyuan said, "Master Huang, how about getting Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother to join in the fun?"

Huang Shiron chuckled softly, "The Princely Heir decides."

Chu Zhiyuan felt a bit embarrassed.

Huang Shiron waved her hand, and a skilled master from the Military Suppression Department floated over, blocked by the Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry who were engaged in a subtle confrontation.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Li Hongzhao.

Li Hongzhao snorted, waved her jade-like hand.

Eight Stepping Cloud Iron Cavalry retreated, making way for a path.

Guo Chi and the others also stepped aside to create a path.

The fair and handsome young man approached, clasping his fists in salute: "This humble one, Huang Liren, greets Master Huang."

Huang Shiron nodded, "Go to our West Second Hall and invite the Ninth and Tenth Princely Heirs over for me."

As she spoke, she took out a delicately crafted small jade token from her sleeve.

Huang Liren received the jade token with both hands, his expression tense yet excited, his eyes bright and passionate, slowly and forcefully saying, "Yes!"

Huang Shiron smiled faintly.

Huang Liren’s gaze wandered, his face slightly flushed, clasped his fists and hurried off, slipping into the crowd like a fish, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Li Hongzhao chuckled, "Huang, you have quite a few admirers."

Huang Shiron laughed but said nothing.

Li Hongzhao was not surprised by her indifference and smiled, "This isn’t one of your disciples from the White Cloud Sword Palace, is it?"

"From the Great Spirit Rock Peak." Huang Shiron replied.

"The disciples from Great Spirit Rock Peak admire you so much." Li Hongzhao marveled, "The young disciples from the other two sects probably do as well."

Huang Shiron glanced at her, "Your Highness, what are you trying to say?"

"The White Cloud Sword Palace must consider itself lucky to have a genius like you." Li Hongzhao remarked, "You might even advance further."

Huang Shiron furrowed her eyebrows.

Advance further?

Already being one of the Four Great Sects, how much further could they advance? Just where would they go by advancing further?

Chu Zhiyuan walked while using Insight, simultaneously operating the Heavenly Yuan Technique to replenish the rapidly depleting spirit.

...

"Fourth Brother."

"Fourth Brother."

"Master Huang!"

"Greetings, Master Huang!"

Chu Zhitian and Chu Zhichuan hurried over.

They were both wearing dark green robes with longswords hanging from their waists.

One appeared robust and handsome, the other tall and graceful, quite eye-catching in the crowd.

Huang Shiron nodded lightly, treating them just like any ordinary subordinate.

Instead of resenting this, the two of them respected Huang Shiron even more for her fairness and justice.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother, this time we must capture the Yuding Sect experts who are secretly watching me."

Their spirits were immediately lifted, their eyes gleaming.

Having heard of the Yuding Sect in Mingwu Hall, especially after Chu Zhiyuan helped the Military Suppression Department capture members from Yuding Sect last time, they paid even more attention to Yuding Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Stay alert."

"Rest assured, Fourth Brother, we understand!"

This was a counter statement, an inside code they used in Mingwu Hall.

Staying alert was a reminder not to rush headlong into things impulsively, blinded by emotions.

It wasn’t about taking the lead actively but about being cautious and figuring out how to stay safe, ready to retreat at any moment.

Chu Zhitian and Chu Zhichuan followed behind him, while Li Hongzhao and Huang Shiron walked beside him as they strolled through the bustling marketplace.

As Chu Zhiyuan walked, he casually asked Huang Shiron, "Master Huang, is the Cheng Tianfeng assassination case closed?"

"It had to be concluded."

"Why are you looking at me?" Li Hongzhao said irritably, "It wasn’t me."

This was a bit of a sneaky move by Chu Zhiyuan.

Under the gaze of Insight, Li Hongzhao unwittingly revealed a hint through her expressions.

A flash of cold light flickered in Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes as he said faintly, "Da Meng spies, what a skillful means!"

From the subtleties in her unexpected expression, Chu Zhiyuan deduced that she might not have known before, but now she had figured it out.

This operation seemed to involve another group of Da Meng spies.

This inference was probably not far from the truth.

Li Hongzhao pursed her red lips, secretly staying vigilant.

When around Chu Zhiyuan, one had to remain constantly cautious, as a moment of relaxation could lead to secrets being exposed.

Chu Zhiyuan strolled leisurely through the city, from the east end to the west end, then from the south end to the north end, wandering from beginning to end along both Phoenix Avenue and Azure Dragon Avenue.

"After all this time, have you found anyone?" Li Hongzhao asked impatiently.

Chu Zhitian and Chu Zhichuan also felt puzzled.

Could it be that just by wandering around, they’d find the Yuding Sect evildoers?

He didn’t seem to be searching for someone; it looked more like he was taking the opportunity to wander, appearing relaxed and unbothered, with no semblance of undertaking a significant task.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "Found them."

Suddenly, two lights flew out from his sleeve.

One was white, the other black.

The lights flashed through the dense crowd, emerging before two middle-aged men.

One middle-aged man, plump, was haggling over a small jewelry stall with a young girl.

The other was cooking pancakes, wearing an apron stained with oil, his forehead dusted with flour, working energetically.

The white light hit the jewelry stall owner’s chest.

"Bang!" A blood hole exploded in his chest, the flying knife along with a spray of warm blood and red fragments spattered to the ground.

The pancake seller had black light pierce into his heart.

"Thud!" A small muffled sound echoed as the flying knife quietly pierced through, embedding on a newly set-up small wooden table.

"Ah—!"

"Ah—!"

Screams, shrieks, erupted almost simultaneously.

In a flash, chaos ensued at both the eastern and western ends, some pushing forward to see the commotion, while others fled in terror.

Two crowds collided, resulting in a chaotic mess.

Reacting to the gruesome sight, people’s responses varied.

Some eyes sparkled, feeling thrilled, others felt nauseous, on the brink of passing out, and some looked around searching for the perpetrator.

Some noticed the flying knife, wanting to pick it up.

The Military Suppression Department experts swiftly advanced to collect the flying knives, pushing the crowd back, as more experts flooded in, removing the two corpses.

"Who on earth was it?"

"Who did it?"

"This is a flying knife, right? Invisible and terrifying!"

"With such power, it’s not an ordinary flying knife!"

"Yet, no matter how powerful, why kill randomly?"

"How do you know it was random?"

"Was there something wrong with that person?"

"Would such a powerful flying knife target an innocent?"

"Not necessarily!"

...

The crowd was abuzz with discussion.

Li Hongzhao looked at Chu Zhiyuan in amazement, "Chu Zhiyuan, since when could you use flying knives?"

Chu Zhiyuan received the cleaned flying knife, one retrieved by the eager Huang Liren, and the other by another enthusiastic young man.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Huang Shiron, "Take the corpses to your place."

Huang Shiron nodded.

Chu Zhitian and Chu Zhichuan grinned, unable to contain their delight.

Those two should indeed be Yuding Sect evildoers, this accomplishment easily secured!

At least a Ninth Grade Merit!

Reaping benefits so swiftly.

Li Hongzhao felt a chill inwardly.

Could she withstand those two flying knives?

The white light might be manageable.

The black light, however, seemed quite challenging.

This damnable Chu Zhiyuan, always full of surprises!

——

The West Second Hall of the Military Suppression Department was a large courtyard, consisting of three sections.

The first section was the front hall, where two corpses were laid outside.

Their hearts shattered, shocked expressions frozen on their faces.

Their bodies yet to stiffen, the smell of blood was overwhelming.

Chu Zhiyuan pointed at the jewelry vendor: "Look at his brow."

Then pointed at the pancake vendor: "His jaw."

"Moles, quite common, aren’t they?" Li Hongzhao remarked.

Both had a small mole the size of a grain of rice in those spots, easy to overlook.

Such moles were too ordinary.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "These are gu, the Separation Gu."