"Ruler, t-the life lanterns of the two martial masters have been snuffed out!"
As the old man"s panicked voice fell, Murong Bo"s hands shook, dropping the cup of tea shattering to the floor. Lunging up from the throne, he caught the two servant maids off guard, and they fell to the ground.
"What!? Whose life lanterns were snuffed out?!" roared Murong Bo, failing to hide the faintest tremor of shock and dismay behind his commanding voice.
Those two were martial cultivators at their peak! Those two were the strongest men he had, so how could they have up and died?! Who in Sun Glory Country could possibly have the skill to kill these two martial masters with such stealth?
He had known that their attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate Feng Xiao would have repercussions, though they were well prepared. Yet, he could have never possibly imagined that these two peak martial cultivators would take the fall!
"T-the, uh, the two..." the old man stammered, but before he could finish, Murong Bo strode quickly out the door to check their life lanterns in the lantern hall.
The life of such a lantern is inextricably tied to the person that lit it. If that person were to die, the oil in the lantern would dry up and the lantern would soon be extinguished by the wind. In this way, such a lantern can relay whether someone who has been traveling far from home or who has left on a hermitage for many years is alive or dead.
Approaching the building, Murong Bo saw that the life lanterns of the two martial cultivators had in fact been extinguished! Seeing this, he pitched forward, staggering several paces. With a look of sheer disbelief, he cried out, "How is this possible!? Who did this? Who killed them!?"
Realizing that those two peak martial cultivators, the two strongest men that he had were dead and gone, a weight crushed upon his heart. In one fell swoop, he had lost both his left and his right-hand men, as if the claws of a tiger were shorn away. How could he not be aggrieved?!
"Answers! I demand answers!" he screamed as he stormed out the door.
These two martial cultivators could not have died without a trace! He had to find out who killed them!
Word of their deaths never traveled far, for Murong Bo suppressed it.
Shortly after Murong Yi Xuan had returned, a shadowed guard quietly approached him in the study, told him of the palace news, and then quietly left...
Those two elders were murdered?
Murong Yi Xuan was taken aback. Who in Cloudy Moon City could have possibly killed those two with such stealth?
And why did they have to die?
Bothered by this, he realized that, for some reason, when he heard that the two were killed, the first thing he thought of was the Feng Residence. Could the eight martial cultivators guarding the Feng Residence have killed them?
Surveying the whole of Cloudy Moon City in his mind"s eye, he considered that if those eight were not responsible, then perhaps they died at the hands of a foreign enemy. But, what oppressor would come to our lands just to kill those two, given that we have no qualms or enemies abroad? Clearly, that wasn"t the answer.
"The Feng Residence... could they really have done this?"
Dealing with those two, Feng Jiu could concentrate on healing her father"s internal injuries and prepare special potions for him. With the help of spiritual medicine and healing, Feng Xiao could recover quickly.
Their days of tranquility, it seems, were dashed apart all too soon.
That morning, a luxurious airs.h.i.+p landed at the gates to the palace, drawing the curiosity and awe of many onlookers. Hearing the commotion, Murong Bo rushed out to greet the visitors. Seeing the regal figure that disembarked, he quickly greeted him with absolute deference and asked with abject reverence, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Green Gallop Country, I presume?"