Great Li Martial God

After Zeng Hai left, a figure stepped out from the darkness of the alley. He glanced at the retreating form of the departing man, then shifted his gaze to Li Zhu’s body lying before him.

He thought for a moment, picked it up, and placed it in a slightly more visible spot at the mouth of the alley.

Then, with a single motion, he turned and headed out of the capital.

During the time he had been keeping watch over Zeng Hai, he had quietly helped the man resolve no small number of difficulties from the shadows. Without his help, Zeng Hai might not have even managed to get out of the Tianjin Guards headquarters at all.

Now that his task was complete, it was time to go and follow after the Commander.

Besides, he was well aware that Shangyang City was not going to stay peaceful for much longer.

...

The cock crowed at the break of dawn, and the sky was just beginning to turn a faint, murky gray.

Right Minister Ji Song, who had been lying on his side in bed and barely slept a wink all night, having rested for no more than half an hour in total, slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing this, the handmaid who had been attending him at his side all night carefully came forward and helped him sit up.Ji Song’s aged face was heavy with exhaustion, and the dim light in his clouded eyes was faint. The passing of both daughters in recent times had left him consumed with grief.

”Someone come.”

He spoke in his hoarse voice, and before long a middle-aged man dressed as a steward came briskly through the door, bowing low, saying, ”What are your instructions, Your Excellency?”

”Has the Second Prince’s side managed to find Zhu?”

”In reply to Your Excellency, no word has come through as yet,” the steward replied with a gentle shake of his head.

Hearing this, Ji Song’s half-white brow furrowed tightly, and his expression gradually became rather unpleasant.

He was not blaming the Second Prince Li Que for lack of effort, but he knew all too well that every hour that passed without finding Li Zhu made things increasingly unpredictable.

”Prepare the carriage. I must go to the Second Prince’s residence myself.”

Ji Song rose from the bed, issuing the instruction to the steward with one hand while gesturing to the handmaid with the other to help him change his clothes.

Before long, Ji Song, dressed in a plain robe, was being helped out of the Third Prince’s residence by his servants.

Just at that moment, an ornate carriage came racing down the distant street and gradually came to a stop.

The Second Prince Li Que lifted the carriage curtain, looked across at Ji Song who was just being helped toward his own carriage by a servant, and asked in puzzlement, ”Where is the Right Minister headed?”

Hearing this, Ji Song slowly raised a hand to signal his servants to stop, then turned and clasped his hands toward Li Que in a bow, saying, ”This old subject was just coming to see Your Highness.”

”Is it regarding Third Brother’s matter?”

Li Que stepped down from the carriage using a servant’s back as a footstool and quickly walked to Ji Song’s side, saying, ”The Right Minister may rest easy. I have had people keeping a constant watch on the Tianjin Guards headquarters, and according to our informants, that son of Consort Jing was no longer inside the Tianjin Guards headquarters yesterday.”

”It is almost certain that he was concealed within that carriage that left the city. Furthermore, I have already dispatched an exceptionally powerful martial expert to leave the city and handle the matter. I believe good news will come back before the day is out.”

Hearing this, Ji Song was quiet for a moment in thought, but seeing the confidence in Li Que’s manner, he gave a slight nod and clasped his hands, saying, ”I am deeply grateful for Your Highness’s efforts on our behalf.”

Seeing this, Li Que quickly raised a hand and lightly supported Ji Song, saying, ”The Right Minister is too gracious. Once Third Brother returns safely, we will work together to apprehend the killer and avenge Imperial Consort Ji.”

As he spoke, a ruthless glint crossed his face, saying, ”As for that son of Consort Jing, the Right Minister need not worry. I will see to it that he receives the end he deserves.”

Ji Song’s eyes shifted slightly, and he bowed once more in solemn acknowledgment, saying, ”Your Highness’s kindness is something this old subject will keep forever in his heart.”

Li Que narrowed his eyes and returned the bow with great solemnity, saying, ”Having the Right Minister’s word is more than enough.”

Ji Song raised his head and the two exchanged a look, neither saying anything more, but the meaning between them was as clear as daylight. Both understood perfectly.

The Left and Right Ministers were Emperor Yuanwu’s most trusted confidants, and the Emperor had expressly forbidden these two men of towering influence from involving themselves in the competition among the princes.

As such, Ji Song would never dare act in open violation of this prohibition.

Yet that his heart harbored its private inclinations was something he could not prevent, and sometimes a seemingly offhand remark he made in the Emperor’s presence could invisibly shape the fate of a prince without anyone realizing it.

”Your Highness has troubled yourself to come all this way so early in the morning. You must not have eaten yet. If Your Highness does not mind, please join this old subject for breakfast.”

Ji Song said slowly, and Li Que nodded without the slightest hesitation, saying, ”An invitation from the Right Minister is more than I could ask for.”

As he spoke, he turned to give an instruction to one of his attendants, then prepared to enter the residence with Ji Song.

However, as the sky grew gradually lighter, his peripheral vision caught something at the mouth of an alley not far from the front of the Third Prince’s residence, where a figure appeared to be lying on the ground, an incongruous sight on an otherwise completely empty street.

”What vagrant or drunkard is this? If someone has died in front of a prince’s residence it would be terribly inauspicious.”

Li Que, who had been in reasonably good spirits, furrowed his brow at the sight. Ji Song followed his gaze, then quietly instructed one of the people beside him, saying, ”Send someone to deal with that.”

With that, he continued to invite Li Que inside for the meal.

At this point, a residence guard stepped briskly toward the alley to deal with what Li Que had taken to be a vagrant or drunkard.

Very shortly, however, a piercing cry rang out on the empty morning street.

Then the guard came stumbling back in a panic, catching up with Ji Song and Li Que before they had gone too far inside the residence.

”Your... Excellency, Your Highness... something has happened to him!”

The guard’s face was deathly pale, and his words rattled out between trembling teeth.

Ji Song stopped dead in his tracks and turned to look at the man, and a deeply foreboding feeling suddenly surged in his heart, saying, ”What did you say?”

Hearing this, the guard fell to his knees with a thud, his hand trembling as he pointed in the direction of the alley outside the residence gate, saying, ”The one lying there... is the Third Prince’s body.”

The moment those words fell, the aged Ji Song and Li Que both froze.

Li Que’s expression changed drastically at once. He stepped forward and grabbed the guard by the collar, roaring, ”How is that possible?”

The guard had already been frightened out of his wits, and could only shake his head furiously with a face drained of all color, saying in a voice cracked with horror, ”I checked several times. It really is the Third Prince...”

At the same time, without waiting for the guard to finish, Ji Song’s hunched frame lurched into motion, and he staggered and stumbled his way out toward the residence gate.

The servants beside him rushed to follow and help him, but were pushed away one after another by forceful sweeps of his hand.

Li Que raised his eyes to watch Ji Song’s retreating figure, and for a moment his expression shifted through a rapid, unreadable succession of changes.

Then he hurled the guard in his hand away, sending the man crashing into the courtyard wall beside him. The wall cracked under the impact, and the guard fell to the ground, rolling several times before losing consciousness.

Li Que did not even glance at him, and immediately hurried after Ji Song.

Before long, at the mouth of the empty alley, Ji Song stood hunched and motionless, staring blankly at Li Zhu’s pale, cold body before him. His entire being looked like a clay figure drained of all life.

Around him, a sea of guards and household servants had fallen to their knees, every one of them silent as a mouse.

The only one still standing was the Second Prince Li Que, whose face at this moment was deeply unpleasant, his eyes filled with disbelief and barely contained fury.

He had assumed only moments ago that Li Zhu was still in Li Musheng’s hands. Yet here the body lay before him, cold and still.

He had even just stood before Ji Song and solemnly pledged that Li Zhu would be back very soon.

Yet the slap to his face had come so swiftly, so utterly without warning.

”Who? Who dared do this? Who dared lay hands on a prince in Shangyang City?”

Li Que let out a roar, his expression dark and fearsome.

Then he slowly crouched down before Li Zhu’s body, his eyes rimmed red, and called out, ”Third Brother, Third Brother...”

Ji Song standing to one side said nothing. Only a clouded trickle of tears ran slowly from the corners of his deeply lined eyes, and beyond that, his expression was calm to a degree that was frightening.

”Your Highness, I ask that you announce the death to the palace and have Shangyang City sealed. From this moment forward, no one is permitted to enter or leave the capital until the killer of Zhu is found.”

Ji Song spoke with a voice utterly devoid of emotion, not looking at Li Que, and not concerning himself with whether the man’s grief was genuine or feigned.

A prince had died. His grandson had died. His deceased daughter’s only son had died.

The one thing he wanted to do now was to take revenge, and to see everyone connected to this buried alongside the dead.

At this point, Li Que raised his tear-streaked face and looked toward Ji Song standing to one side, saying, ”Right Minister, please temper your grief. Whoever dared to kill Third Brother, I will cut them to pieces.”

With that, Li Que sprang sharply to his feet, swept a cold and withering gaze over everyone around him, and began issuing orders in rapid succession.

Watching Li Que send out message after message to every corner of the capital, Ji Song slowly turned and looked in the direction of the Tianjin Guards headquarters.

His clouded eyes were filled at this moment with a chilling, murderous intent, as he murmured to himself in a low voice, saying, ”Fu Qiwen. Li Musheng. This old man will see you both to your deaths and leave you without a grave to rest in.”

Ji Song spoke softly, but Li Que naturally still caught every word.

For a moment he furrowed his brow and looked toward Ji Song, saying, ”We don’t yet have direct evidence to prove...”

But before Li Que could finish, Ji Song cut him off abruptly, his tone admitting no dispute, saying, ”Every sign points to these two being behind Zhu’s death, and this old man does not need evidence to want them dead.”

With that, Ji Song’s hunched frame finally moved, and he bent down, gathered Li Zhu’s body in his arms, and without another word carried it toward the residence.

Li Que’s expression shifted slightly. He watched as what appeared to be the frail, aged body of a man flickering like a candle in the wind bore the weight of Li Zhu’s powerfully built corpse and walked steadily forward.

A body that had just moments ago needed servants to help it walk had erupted with a strength that defied all belief.

Whether it was hatred or grief that powered Ji Song’s arms, it was impossible to say.

...

The Great Li imperial palace, Phoenix Ceremony Palace.

The Great Li Queen Consort, dressed in a magnificent purple robe with a resplendent jade crown atop her head, sat upright with an air of noble composure in a gold-inlaid, jade-embellished armchair.

She held a delicate porcelain cup in her hand, and her gaze swept toward the Chief Eunuch of the Ceremonial Directorate, Li Tianyi, who had come suddenly to seek an audience. She furrowed her brow slightly and said with displeasure, ”Li Tianyi, there has been no progress in the investigation into Imperial Consort Ji’s death. Instead of going to apprehend the killer, why have you come here again? This Palace has no ability to help you capture anyone.”

As she spoke, she raised the porcelain cup slowly to her lips, about to take a sip of tea.

At that moment, Li Tianyi, dressed in a gold-thread python robe with lean, sharp features, clasped his hands in a bow and said with a grave expression, ”The Third Prince, Li Zhu, is dead.”

The moment those words fell, the Queen Consort froze entirely. The porcelain cup in her hand gave a violent tremor, and she snapped her head toward Li Tianyi in stunned disbelief, saying, ”What did you say?”

”The Second Prince just sent an urgent verbal message into the palace moments ago, stating that the Third Prince has been murdered and his body discarded on the street in front of his own residence. This servant learned of the matter just now and came to inform Her Majesty the Queen Consort at the earliest possible moment.”

Li Tianyi replied slowly, his white brows drawn tightly together.

Hearing this, the Queen Consort’s expression was momentarily dazed, and then she rose from the armchair, her face turning extremely unpleasant at once, saying, ”Is the killer known?”

Li Tianyi shook his head, saying, ”Not at this time. However, as this servant understands it, the matter appears to be connected to the Tianjin Guards.”

At those words, the Queen Consort furrowed her brow, but she did not ask further questions. Instead, she stood in serious thought for a moment as her expression shifted rapidly through several changes.

She then immediately called for people to begin arranging all the various affairs following Li Zhu’s death, and at the same time issued several decrees from the palace, sealing Shangyang City and ordering all departments of the court to focus their full efforts on apprehending the killer.

Having done all of this, the Queen Consort looked once more toward Li Tianyi, who had remained standing before her throughout, and said with an air of unresolved contemplation, ”First Imperial Consort Ji dies inexplicably within the palace, and now her son Li Zhu has been killed as well. What sort of people did those two manage to provoke?”

As she spoke, she raised a hand and rubbed her brow, saying, ”And all of this has to happen precisely when His Majesty is in seclusion. If this Palace handles the matter poorly and His Majesty lays blame, this Palace will end up suffering for nothing.”

Li Tianyi kept his gaze lowered, treating the Queen Consort’s grievances as though he had not heard them, and said slowly, ”Yesterday, a highly guarded piece of information emerged from the Cangyuan Marquis household case, indicating that Imperial Consort Ji had collaborated with the Cangyuan Marquis household to kill people for use in her cultivation. Her death is very likely connected to this.”

Hearing this, the Queen Consort looked up at him, then suddenly narrowed her eyes slightly, saying, ”The fact that Imperial Consort Ji’s appearance had been reversing in age was already suspicious in itself. The matter of her killing people to further her cultivation is probably true, but that should not be what you are focusing on.”

Then her expression turned grave, and her gaze sharpened with authority, saying, ”Regardless of why the killer acted, the fact that they were able to infiltrate the palace without a sound and kill a consort means you should know what that implies.”

At this, the Queen Consort’s voice turned utterly cold, saying, ”It means that for this person, everyone in the entire Great Li imperial palace is like fish on a chopping block, to be cut down at will. Even this Palace, if they wished to take this Palace’s life, they could do so at any moment.”

”If you cannot find them, it is not only this Palace but everyone in the entire Great Li imperial palace who will be unable to eat or sleep in peace.”

Hearing this, Li Tianyi said nothing. After a moment, he gave a quiet nod, saying, ”Her Majesty the Queen Consort may rest easy. This servant has already dispatched experts to strengthen the guards throughout the palace and will do everything in his power to apprehend the killer.”

As he spoke, he raised his eyes slightly toward the Queen Consort and said, ”What this servant actually wished to say is this. Since Imperial Consort Ji’s death carries the context of her having killed for cultivation, the Third Prince’s death may follow the same reasoning.”

”Whether it was killing a consort or killing a prince, neither is something an ordinary person would dare to do. This servant believes that perhaps the person who killed the Third Prince and the person who killed Imperial Consort Ji may in fact be one and the same.”

”And while the case of Imperial Consort Ji’s death is currently without leads, perhaps we could shift the focus of the investigation toward the Third Prince’s killing. That matter may very well prove to be the breakthrough we need to find the killer.”