Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

With a cold shout, Chen Mo frightened Yang Cheng to the core.

During the martial arts segment, he was present as a spectator, and even three second-grade martial artists were no match for Chen Mo. How could he be an opponent for Chen Mo?

He was drenched in cold sweat, when a sudden inspiration struck him. True Qi surged in his palm, and he stammered, ”D-don’t come over, let me go, or I’ll crush your brother’s head, making him... die... without a complete corpse.”

But in an instant, Chen Mo’s figure vanished before his eyes. The next moment, his body was lifted off the ground, his face turning red.

”You... you...” His neck was grabbed and lifted by Chen Mo, making it hard for him to speak.

”Tell me, who sent you here?” Chen Mo didn’t immediately resolve him but instead questioned the person behind Yang Cheng, slightly loosening his grip on Yang Cheng’s neck to let him speak.

Just then, Chen Mo seemed to sense something, and a stream of True Qi shot from his other hand, hitting Yang Cheng’s chin. With a cracking sound of bones loosening, his jaw slackened, and a blood-stained tooth shot out of his mouth.

Chen Mo slammed his back hard, ejecting a blood-wrapped wax pill from his throat, which fell to the ground.

It turned out that in the instant Chen Mo slightly loosened his grip, the wax pill in Yang Cheng’s mouth had slid towards his stomach.

The black blood spat out from Yang Cheng’s mouth showed that the wax pill was laced with poison.

However, the wax pill hadn’t completely dissolved, so Yang Cheng wasn’t deeply poisoned and could still be saved.

”Death Warrior...” Chen Mo’s face sank.

”Footsteps approached...

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Chen Mo knocked Yang Cheng unconscious and then summoned Taiyi Divine Fire to burn the head with a single flame.

This false Chen Hong was actually a death row inmate with a similar build whom Chen Mo found to impersonate him in the Imperial Prison, with Thousand Faces helping to disguise him.

Now with a single fire, there truly would be no evidence left.

”Second... Young Master?”

Soon, the pursuing Fire Qilin Army also arrived. Chen Mo tossed Yang Cheng to the leading general and said, ”Heal him, guard him well, and find out who is behind him.”

”Yes.”

...

The entire Bianliang was in an uproar once more.

With Chen Mo’s deliberate arrangement, four other burly men aside from Yang Cheng had escaped.

In fact, if Yang Cheng hadn’t cut off the head of false Chen Hong and taken it away, Chen Mo would have let him go as well.

Chen Mo’s ultimate goal wasn’t to find out who wanted to harm him; that was secondary.

The most important thing was to return to his true identity.

Chen Hong was the Deputy Commander of the Infantry Department, and according to the ranks of the Great Song Dynasty, though not high, he was still an official from the third grade.

More importantly, he was Xiao Yunqi’s person, the brother of the current martial arts champion.

Therefore, his ”death” was a major event.

A mere hour after the incident, nearly all the Imperial Guards in Bianliang’s Capital Camp were deployed, and the Imperial City Department was no exception. They searched every house for the murderer, and the entire city was under tight security to prevent the murderer from escaping the city.

The night had deepened, but the entire city was ablaze, filled with the noisy sound of soldiers banging on doors and windows.

Someone engaged in activities became disheartened upon hearing the sudden banging on the door.

...

At the Prince Mu Mansion in the eastern part of the city, the gate was also being banged loudly.

Just as the gatekeeper opened the door, Gao Zheng led his men charging inside.

As the gatekeeper of the Prince’s Mansion, even if just a minor figure, serving those of high status, he had adopted an arrogant demeanor, not easily intimidated, and instead cursed loudly:

”Do you have eyes but cannot see? This is the Prince Mu Mansion. How dare you force your way in if you don’t want to live...”

”Bang!” Before he could finish, Gao Zheng kicked him flying: ”The assassin ran this way, search inside...”

”You... you dare!”

Just then, Prince Mu Zhao Gong, supported by a group of guards and maids, approached.

Zhao Gong was an extremely elderly man, the brother of the late emperor, with a very high status among the imperial clan but had achieved little in life. Already over a hundred years old, he hadn’t reached the Innate realm, was nearing death, and even speaking was accompanied by gasps.

His eldest son, Zhao Qi, dressed in luxurious robes, stood by his right, gently patting his father’s back to steady his breath. He then turned to Gao Zheng with an imposing expression and shouted:

”Whose subordinates are you? How dare you forcibly enter the Prince Mu Mansion?”

Gao Zheng bowed respectfully: ”Prince Mu, we are subordinates of Deputy Commander Chen Hong of the Infantry Department. An hour ago, our lord was attacked at the Hongfu Tavern in the western part of the city. We chased one of the assassins who fled towards the Prince’s mansion, so...”

”Are you suspecting me of... harboring an assassin, cough cough...” Zhao Gong began to cough.

”We don’t dare, it’s likely the assassin had no way out and hid in some corner of the mansion. Prince Mu, I beg...”

”How dare you.” Before Gao Zheng could finish, Zhao Qi shouted sternly: ”This is the Prince Mu Mansion. You, merely a Camp Commander, dare to search the mansion. Who gave you such audacity?”

The soldiers looked at each other in dismay, then turned to Gao Zheng.

Gao Zheng was unbothered. His lord had instructed him to create a huge commotion tonight and to fear no one except for certain individuals like the Duke of Anyang and the Prime Minister.

”My apologies, Prince Mu and Prince Zhao.” Gao Zheng bowed, then stepped back and, with a stern face, coldly ordered: ”Search!”

”You... cough cough...” Zhao Gong, angered to the point of spitting blood, fainted.

...

While the city was in chaos, in a room at the Hongfu Tavern.

A beautifully crafted incense burner slowly emitted strands of an unknown fragrance.

Chen Mo lay on a gold-inlaid, jade-embedded sandalwood couch, exuding an aura of a wise man.

In his arms, a graceful and delicate woman, not wearing a stitch of clothing, lay exhausted, snoring softly.

The delicate curves raised on her bosom by Chen Mo’s affection shimmered with alluring gloss under the light. Her delicate, full lips glowed enticingly, and her elegant eyebrows floated softly. Her entire demeanor radiated with contentment and happiness.

It is unclear how much time passed.

The sound of hurried footsteps arose outside the room, followed by a knock on the door: ”Sir.”

It was Gao Zheng.

Chen Mo pulled a nearby blanket over Zhao Jiangning, then lightly cleared his throat: ”Speak.”

”Sir, besides the assassin you captured, of the remaining four, three, realizing they had no escape, poisoned themselves. The whereabouts of the last one remain unknown.” Gao Zheng reported.

Chen Mo nodded, then asked: ”What time is it now?”

”Sir, it is already the third quarter of the chou hour.”

”That’s about right, withdraw the troops.” Chen Mo ordered.

”... Yes.”

”Anything else?”

”Sir, it’s... there’s one more thing.”

”What happened?”

”Prince... Prince Mu, overwhelmed with anger, seems... seems at death’s door.”