Great Li Martial God

The moment those words fell, Hu Rui’an’s expression turned thoughtful, while a flicker of brightness passed through Murong Xiaoya’s eyes. Mei Yanyu’s words had clearly allowed the tension that had been locked in her chest to ease considerably.

In her estimation, having someone trying to destroy the Murong family through a frame-up was still infinitely better than facing the near-certain ruin of having the Great Li imperial court convinced that the Murong family had killed a provincial governor and over a hundred court-appointed officials.

After all, for all that the Murong family was the foremost martial arts lineage of Sheng Province, there was still an unbridgeable gap between them and a top-tier martial world force capable of standing against the imperial court, like Falling God Peak.

If Great Li concluded that the Murong family was behind this, the court would almost certainly commit to wiping the Murong family from the martial world entirely, and there would be nothing the Murong family could do to resist.

”Since Young Master Mei has this suspicion, who does he believe could be behind the massacre of over a hundred and seventy people at the Sheng Province government office, the killing of a court-appointed official of Great Li, and the framing of the Murong family?”

At this point, Hu Rui’an suddenly looked toward Mei Yanyu, fixing his gaze on the man as he asked.

Hearing this, Mei Yanyu met Hu Rui’an’s gaze, thought for a moment, then shook his head, saying, ”Commissioner Hu puts the question too directly. This is a grave and consequential case, and I would not dare speak carelessly.”

As he spoke, his gaze flicked almost imperceptibly toward Li Musheng, and then he changed the subject, suddenly turning to ask Hu Rui’an, ”I heard a rumor going around the provincial city that Commissioner Hu’s group killed the Bai family head’s son and a number of Bai family experts in the street yesterday. Is there any truth to that?”

The moment those words fell, a deeply peculiar expression passed across Hu Rui’an’s face.

Not only had they killed the Bai family head’s son, but just a short while ago they had killed the Bai family head himself as well.Even so, that had happened only minutes before their arrival here. Even with the Mei family’s not inconsiderable reach in the Sheng Province provincial city, there was simply no way they could have received that news already.

With that thought, something stirred in Hu Rui’an’s mind, and the gaze he directed at Mei Yanyu carried a trace of quiet amusement.

Rather than answering the question directly, he said with a meaningful air, ”Young Master Mei is certainly well-informed. But there is no hurry. You will have the answers you want very shortly.”

Hearing this, Mei Yanyu’s expression showed the faintest trace of confusion.

Even so, he seemed to assume that Hu Rui’an was being deliberately obscure, or simply unwilling to disclose the matter to him.

So he only narrowed his eyes slightly and did not press any further.

In his heart, of course, he already had his answer.

After all, every movement Li Musheng and Hu Rui’an’s group had made since entering the provincial city, in exhaustive detail, had been on his desk by this very morning.

After that, the two of them exchanged some discussion on the details of the case at hand, and the Sheng Province Tianjin Guards people proceeded to roughly seal off the government office.

Though the Sheng Province Tianjin Guards branch office had been in a state of lingering unease because of the haunting affair, their basic competence in handling a case was still perfectly adequate.

About half an incense stick’s worth of time passed, and both Six Doors and the Sheng Province garrison arrived in succession, sealing the provincial city government office as tightly as an iron barrel.

For a murder case of this gravity, the foremost priority was preventing the news from leaking, so as to avoid spreading alarm and harmful instability throughout Sheng Province.

The garrison sent a deputy general with a hundred armored soldiers, and Six Doors sent the Sheng Province’s Gold Constable in person.

After all, since the matter involved a violent murder case, the investigation naturally fell primarily to Six Doors, and with a provincial governor among the dead, Six Doors could not have been too careful.

The deputy general Zhang Feng and the Gold Constable Yao Lingyuan arrived at the government office, and after meeting Hu Rui’an, neither of them recognized Li Musheng as Great Li’s Eighth Prince.

It was only through Hu Rui’an’s introduction that their expressions shifted to surprise and they both hurried to bow in greeting.

Though Li Musheng had not concealed his identity on this trip, he had also not gone out of his way to publicize it. Mei Yanyu had learned it because Hu Rui’an had voluntarily told him.

Even so, now that he was continuing to stay in the Sheng Province provincial city, his princely identity would most likely become impossible to conceal before long.

Li Musheng had little particular interest in Zhang Feng and Yao Lingyuan, exchanged a few perfunctory words with them, and let the two of them get on with their respective duties.

After learning of Li Musheng’s identity, Deputy General Zhang Feng’s expression shifted subtly. He quietly called a soldier over and gave him a whispered instruction, then sent the man hurrying off at speed. He was clearly sending word to General Han.

...

At the same time, the Murong estate was surrounded as thoroughly as an iron barrel by densely packed armored soldiers.

The heads of the Yuan, Zhu, and Cen families, along with the person temporarily managing the Bai family’s affairs, had all gathered together outside the cordon of troops.

The four major martial world families were maintaining the siege for now without attacking, but the expressions on all four faces were visibly unpleasant.

The shock of Bai Changfeng’s death had not yet left their hearts. After all, someone capable of killing Bai Changfeng with a single pointing of a finger could do the same to any one of them just as easily.

Of course, for the sake of keeping morale stable, news of Bai Changfeng’s death was for the time being known only to the upper echelons of the four major martial world families.

The information had been locked down at the first opportunity and had not been leaked to any of the other members of the four families.

Even so, the senior figures of the four families were clearly hesitant, unable to make up their minds about whether to press the siege forward.

After all, the one who had pushed hardest for the sudden assault on the Murong family had been Bai Changfeng. Now that he was dead, everyone had obviously lost their center of gravity, and the resolve that had been mustered with such effort was gradually draining away.

Add to that the chilling weight of whoever had killed Bai Changfeng, and the uncertainty in their hearts deepened considerably.

So, with the major families unable to reach a decision, their only option at this moment was to wait for instructions from General Han behind them.

...

Inside the Murong estate at this time, in the family’s main council hall, Murong Hong sat in the head seat. Almost every core member of the Murong family was present.

The only exceptions were Murong Hong’s eldest son Murong Jin and Murong Xiaoya, as well as his second brother, who were not there.

Murong Hong’s other two brothers and the younger members of their respective branches had all gathered for this meeting, which was nothing less than a question of whether the family would survive.

”Elder Brother, the Bai, Yuan, Zhu, and Cen families have mobilized nearly every soldier they have and sealed us in completely. This is them making a move to wipe out the entire Murong family. All we can do now is fight to the death.”

Murong Hong’s third brother Murong Qing spoke in a low, firm voice, and immediately drew the support of a portion of the family’s younger members.

With the four families already at the gates, pleading was not an option, and negotiating seemed unlikely to go anywhere either. Better to break out and let blades decide the winner, as it always came down to in the end.

Even so, there were equally a good number of people within the Murong family who looked deeply worried, their expressions unpleasant.

The forces the Murong family could currently field were not even half of what the four major families had combined. Among the family’s martial world experts, aside from Murong Hong himself who surpassed Bai Changfeng, every other person from the past two generations of the family was inferior to the four major families both in numbers and in quality. What did the Murong family actually have to fight back with?

At this point, Murong Hong’s fourth brother Murong Bei looked toward the head seat and said, ”Elder Brother, it might be time to invite our two great-uncles out. That may be the only way to hold the four major families in check.”