Martial Cultivator

In the spring rain, a oiled-paper umbrella slowly approached the Left Guard’s office. Upon seeing the oiled-paper umbrella, the officials soon wanted to speak, but upon seeing the face beneath the umbrella, they immediately smiled, ”Greetings, Commander Chen.”

Beneath the oiled-paper umbrella was a rather youthful face. But in truth, the features had already matured, shedding their youthfulness.

Chen Chao asked, ”Is Commander Song inside?”

One of the officials quickly nodded and said, ”The Lord Commander has been waiting for you.”

Chen Chao nodded and was about to set aside the umbrella, but one of the officials quickly took it from his hands. Chen Chao thanked him before entering the Left Guard’s office.

Only after watching Chen Chao walk in, did the two underlings withdraw their gazes. One of them whispered, ”He’s the only martial artist in our Great Liang Dynasty who can bring a saber into the court.”

The other underling nodded, saying, ”Truly envious. We folks might never have such honor in our lifetime.”

”What are you fucking thinking? That’s the champion of the Myriad Willow Convention. There’s just this one in the two hundred over years of our Great Liang Dynasty!” ”Let’s not think too much. Since Commander Chen Chao is here, it’s also a glory for us martial artists. Who dares to look down on us martial artists from now on?!”

”Absolutely, Commander Chen is the commander of our Left Guard. Just this alone gives us a good reputation!”

”Yes, if Commander Chen becomes the Lord Warden Commander in the future, we will truly have something to brag about during our drinking sessions!”

”Haha, if we have sons, won’t we end up repeating the same stories to him every day?”

”True! Later, let’s find a place to have a good drink, shall we?”

”Agreed!”

As Chen Chao entered the hall, he did not hear the conversation between the two underlings but saw Song Lian sitting in the hall..

Song Lian was looking at Chen Chao with narrowed eyes.

Chen Chao furrowed his brows slightly.

Currently, Song Lian’s aura appeared much stronger than before. It seems that this Commander of the Left Guard has made significant progress in his cultivation compared to before. He was already at the Great Beyond Realm, and now, he was likely just a step away from Nepenthe Realm.

”Congratulations, Your Excellency. It seems that the next Lord Warden Commander of the Great Liang Dynasty will be none other than you.”

Chen Chao joked. In the end, he did not need excessive formalities with Song Lian.

Song Lian laughed heartily but then expressed his gratitude to Chen Chao, ”If it weren’t for what you sent me before, I might have needed more time.”

He was referring to the items the Second Prince had sent to Chen Chao, which Chen Chao had then transferred to Song Lian as a token of gratitude for saving his life before.

After exchanging pleasantries, Song Lian asked, ”I heard you were attacked outside the city. Have your injuries healed?”

The incident with the middle-aged daoist nun was not a secret, especially since Chen Chao had paraded around the city with Xie Nandu on his back. Many astute individuals could tell that Chen Chao had sustained serious injuries.

Song Lian had wanted to visit Chen Chao at the time, but being in the Left Guard’s office, he had many matters to attend to and could not leave for a while.

Chen Chao replied, ”I’m fine now.”

Those injuries were indeed quite serious at the time, but later, with the medicine that the Xie Family sent and the white mist within his body, the recovery was much faster than he had anticipated. Now, there really was not any major issue.

Song Lian nodded, ”That’s good. If I had been with you at the time, I’d have killed that daoist nun with a single punch, and you wouldn’t have had so much trouble.”

The corners of Chen Chao’s mouth twitched and he spat out a few words: ”Thanks for your belated words.”

Although he said this, it was indeed odd that there had been someone else present when he and Xie Nandu had gone out of the city together for a spring outing.

Chen Chao asked, ”How are you doing now, Your Excellency? Is Sister-in-law well?”

Mentioning this, Song Lian felt a headache, and he said with a frown, ”Since getting married, many things have been different from what I expected. It’s been quite tiring.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, ”What’s been tiring?”

Song Lian had a puzzled look.

But soon, he reacted and scolded with a laugh, ”You punk.”

Chen Chao chuckled, then asked, ”Did Your Excellency call me here to ask if I have any prescriptions?”

Song Lian furrowed his brow, ”At my age, do I need that?”

Chen Chao sized Song Lian up and chuckled, ”It’s not necessarily unnecessary.”

Song Lian waved his hand, not interested in idle chatter with Chen Chao, and instead asked, ”I heard you’re going to Sword Qi Mountain?”

Chen Chao said rather helplessly, ”I don’t really want to leave the Divine Capital either, but something always feels missing when using this broken saber. Now that there’s an opportunity, I want to see if I can resolve this matter.”

Song Lian nodded and smiled, ”Indeed, since you’re skilled with a saber, not having a good saber can be quite troublesome.”

Chen Chao looked at Song Lian and did not follow up. He knew that his immediate superior would not bring up this matter for no reason.

Song Lian did not beat around the bush either and said, ”There just so happens to be a matter. Since you’re leaving the Divine Capital this time, could you take care of it along the way?”

”Aren’t you afraid I’ll be taken care of?” Chen Chao retorted huffily.

Nowadays, even if he left the Divine Capital, he would still be targeted for assassination. Going so far away from the Divine Capital would surely come with many troubles along the way.

Song Lian raised an eyebrow, ”You’re a military official of our Great Liang Dynasty. Aren’t these matters part of your responsibilities?”

Chen Chao did not speak. Song Lian backed down and murmured weakly, ”Alright, to be honest with you, this matter isn’t something I want you to do, but it’s an edict from the palace. I can’t do anything about it either.”

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow, ”By His Majesty’s decree?”

Song Lian said helplessly, ”Who else could it be? Now that the Great Liang Dynasty doesn’t have a Lord Warden Commander, who else can give me orders besides His Majesty?”

Chen Chao fell silent. He indeed found these matters somewhat troublesome, but if it was His Majesty’s decree, even he probably would not have a reason to refuse.

”Does His Majesty really want me dead?” Chen Chao felt a bit irritated.

Song Lian hurriedly interrupted, ”You punk, you should watch your mouth!”

Chen Chao rubbed his forehead and did not speak.

”It’s not a big deal, don’t overthink it, kid. It’s on the way for you. If it really can’t be done, then so be it. When asked later, just reply the edict that you simply didn’t have the ability. His Majesty isn’t an unreasonable person anyway.”

Song Lian looked at Chen Chao, observing his expression.

Chen Chao did not speak, he just stared at Song Lian like that, making him feel a bit uneasy.

”Go on, what is it?” Chen Chao actually understood that this was definitely not a way for the Great Liang Emperor to use someone else to do his dirty work. If he truly wanted Chen Chao dead, he would not need to go through all this trouble. Chen Chao could be easily killed within the Divine Capital, so there was no need to send him outside the Divine Capital.

After glancing at Chen Chao, Song Lian finally said, ”This is a secret decree, I have no idea what it’s about.”

He took out a sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Chen Chao, but he could not help but wonder what it contained. He remembered the meaningful look in that Eunuch Li’s eyes when he handed him this sealed letter.

As a martial artist at the Great Beyond Realm, Song Lian considered himself to have few rivals in the Divine Capital, especially now that he had advanced further. However, for some reason, he always felt strange whenever he faced that Eunuch Li. Despite that eunuch’s unassuming appearance, Song Lian could not shake the feeling that if Li Heng truly wanted to kill him, he would not stand a chance.

That Eunuch Li must be an extremely powerful cultivator, perhaps he had long stepped into the Nepenthe Realm too.

Taking the sealed letter, Chen Chao did not open it immediately, but just asked, ”Are there any other directives from His Majesty?”

Song Lian shook his head.

He knew only this much.

As Chen Chao looked at the sealed letter in his hand, he fell into deeper thought, unsure of what exactly the Great Liang Emperor wanted him to do.

Moreover, considering his current cultivation realm, it seemed like there was not much he could accomplish.

Song Lian reassured him, saying, ”His Majesty values you so much, he definitely wouldn’t send you to your death in vain. There must be something significant at play.”

Chen Chao smiled bitterly, ”I’ll borrow blessings from your auspicious words.”