Chapter 691: Meeting
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
With their hands on their weapons, the two soldiers inched closer to Chu Li.
Chu Li feigned his anger and glared at Sun Zhanhe, scoffing. “Very well then. I look forward to seeing what kind of punishment General Sun will be receiving later. Regardless, I’ve conveyed my message, and it’s you, General Sun, who insists on taking me into custody, so the General can’t blame this on me!”
“As long as you understand that this isn’t your fault.” Sun Zhanhe nodded and gave the two soldiers a meaningful look.
They responded with a subtle nod.
Pretending not to notice, Chu Li walk out of the tent.
He pulled the curtain open and bent down to exit.
At that moment, two steely glints flashed in the air and came at his back.
As if he had eyes on his back, Chu Li suddenly stepped forward and stood outside the tent, avoiding the slashes of the blades just in time. He raised his voice and shouted, “Your Royal Highness, I’m Liu Si. I’d like to request for an audience!”
His voice drifted up the sky and emanated through the entire military encampment like a huge wave was.h.i.+ng ash.o.r.e, not missing a single spot.
The two soldiers rushed out of the tent and swung their swords at him.
The blades flashed like silver stretches of a waterfall, magnificent yet deadly.
Chu Li evaded the attack again and shouted, “Your Royal Highness, I’ve come under the orders of Chief Bai to see you!”
Sun Zhanhe drew the curtain and stepped out of the tent. Waving his hand, he said, “Stop!”
The two soldiers glared at Chu Li fiercely before withdrawing and sheathing their swords, looking shamefully at Sun Zhanhe.
Sun Zhanhe stared at Chu Li with a thoughtful look and said calmly, “As expected of a Scribe of the Imperial Residence, you’re very quick-witted!”
Chu Li replied in a loud voice, “General Sun, if you kill me, His Royal Highness will surely avenge my death!”
Sun Zhanhe stood in front of the tent entrance with a gentle smile. “You’re just a Scribe. So what if I killed you? At most, His Royal Highness would just reprimand me. It’s not that serious of a matter. Nevertheless, for a Scribe, you practise a highly sophisticated form of martial arts.”
Chu Li put on an angry facade and glared at him. “Who says that Scribes can’t practise martial arts?”
Sun Zhanhe stared at him, frowning. “You’ve intentionally hidden your martial arts skills?”
On the surface, Chu Li did not seem to know any martial arts, and even if he did, his knowledge of it would be minimal, placing him at the lower levels of acquired mastery. Nonetheless, despite appearing to be far from an Innate Master, his earlier shouting had revealed his cultivation level as a Grandmaster.
It was precisely because they had underestimated his martial arts skills that he had the chance to come out and shout so loudly. Otherwise, he would have already been silenced by the Protectors in the tent immediately.
There were four Grandmasters hidden inside the tent, so killing him would have been an easy feat.
Now that they had made the wrong move, it was no longer possible for them to silence him since His Royal Highness would have definitely heard his shoutings from wherever he was.
Chu Li scoffed. “General Sun, I may be a mere Scribe, but I’m the personal Scribe to the Princess. I can only take action during critical moments, and you’re committing a great offense by forcing me to take on these men right now!”
Sun Zhanhe laughed. “I’ve misjudged you indeed.”
He did not really mind that he was unable to silence the Scribe. Even if the Princess was terminally ill, no one would allow the General to return to the Fairy’s Capital to see her at this moment, anyway. With a war awaiting them, the General would not be able to leave.
Two heavily-armored soldiers strode over. “General Sun!”
As the setting sun shone on their armors, rays of cold light reflected off of them, causing the others to tremble with fear.
“Bring him to the Commander-in-Chief.” Sun Zhanhe laughed in a lighthearted manner. “Mister Liu, sorry to have offended you.”
Chu Li feigned anger as he turned his face away with a huff and walked straight ahead.
The two heavily-armored soldiers gave Sun Zhanhe a fist salute before catching up with Chu Li, going ahead of him to lead the way.
They came to a tent resembling Sun Zhanhe’s tent. Then, the two soldiers informed, “Commander-in-Chief, Mister Liu has arrived!”
“Let him in!” a frigid voice sounded from inside the tent.
The soldiers drew up the curtains. Chu Li thanked them with a fist salute before slowly entering the tent.
While the tents appeared to be similar on the outside, the internal layout of this tent was completely different from that of Sun Zhanhe. At the center of the tent, there was a huge sand table with a topographic map of mountains and rivers in it, giving off the feeling as if one was observing the world from an aerial view.
The carpet was thick and soft, cus.h.i.+oning each step and emitting no sound at all. The tent was filled with a delicate fragrance, wafting from the incense burner as its smoke spiraled upward. It was made of the most expensive incense ingredients.
The armchairs were made of an extremely rare type of dark sandalwood. The trays of fruits on the table were all rare fruits that could hardly be found during this season.
Chu Li quietly sighed at the extravagance.
A tall and lean middle-aged man was looking down at the sand table, ignoring his presence.
Chu Li lifted his eyes to size up His Highness King Ping.
His long, narrow face looked cold. He was not a good-looking man, but he had strong and sharp facial features that made him look extremely tough. One could tell at first glance that he was a strong and powerful person.
King Ping raised his head and glanced at Chu Li with a cold, stern gaze, one that could seemingly see through the heart of others.
“Chu Li of the Secret Guardians Hall greets Your Royal Highness.” Chu Li held up a fist salute, his eyes flickering to a corner of the tent.
It was an empty s.p.a.ce there, but he could sense the chilling presence of two top-notch masters hiding in that corner.
While there were four Grandmasters hidden in Sun Zhanhe’s tent, they were far weaker than these two top-notch masters.
“The Secret Guardians Hall!” King Ping’s expression darkened.
The Secret Guardians Hall were always up to something secretive and sinister. He hated such people the most. That was why no one from the Secret Guardians Hall was in the military encampment, for they had all been gotten rid of.
With a simple mention of the Secret Guardians Hall, he knew that nothing good would come out of this.
“Your Royal Highness, please forgive me. In order to maintain secrecy, I had to pretend to be a Scribe of the Imperial Residence and lie that the Princess has become terminally ill,” admitted Chu Li, giving a fist salute.
King Ping replied coldly, “What’s this actually about? You people from the Secret Guardians Hall are always sneaking around!”
Chu Li glanced around.
“Just tell me. They can all be trusted,” King Ping said.
Chu Li took out the Amethyst Gold Plate from his inner pocket and held it out to King Ping.
Upon seeing the Amethyst Gold Plate, King Ping’s expression changed slightly as he waved a hand.
Chu Li took back the Amethyst Gold Plate.
The chilling presence in the tent vanished as the Protectors in hiding left the tent soundlessly. Nonetheless, they were unable to conceal from Chu Li’s Omniscient Mirror that they were using the Phantom Yin Skill of the Amethyst Mountain.
Chu Li’s mind turned rapidly. Since the disciples of the Amethyst Mountain were present, the other three out of the four major sects would probably not allow the Amethyst Mountain to get all the glory.
Chu Li said, “Two a.s.sa.s.sinations have occurred in the Fairy’s Capital. In the first case, Prince Jiang of Prince Kang has been a.s.sa.s.sinated. As for the other case, Prince Shan of Prince Kang has also been attacked by a.s.sa.s.sins. Fortunately, he has escaped from the disaster. I’ve received orders to investigate these two cases… The person who a.s.sa.s.sinated Prince Jiang is a master of the martial arts world called Zhu Wu, and the person who ordered the a.s.sa.s.sination is General Sun Zhanhe. As for Prince Shan’s case, the person giving the orders is the Minister Counsellor from the Ministry of War, Gu Qi.”
King Ping’s expression did not change. He merely gave a slight frown. “Sun Zhanhe?”
Chu Li nodded and went on speaking, “Prince Shan’s a.s.sa.s.sins consisted of three disciples from the Holy Church of Light.”
The frown on King Ping’s face deepened.
“The Secret Guardians Hall suspects that General Sun Zhanhe is in contact with the Holy Church of Light, and that their target is you, Your Royal Highness,” Chu Li reported. “Therefore, after uncovering this news, they’ve immediately sent me to inform Your Royal Highness.”
“Sun Zhanhe…” King Ping seemed as if he was thinking of something, remaining calm and collected.
Chu Li concluded, “Your Royal Highness is most astute and resourceful, so we need not say too much. I shall take my leave. I’d like to request for Your Royal Highness to help me hide my ident.i.ty.”
“You don’t wish to receive merits for this?” King Ping asked.
Chu Li replied, “I may still need to use this ident.i.ty to meet with Your Royal Highness in the future.”
King Ping exhaled sharply. “It’s best if we never meet again… Understood.”
Chu Li lowered his voice. “I have a humble opinion. I hope Your Royal Highness would hear me out.”
“Go ahead,” said King Ping indifferently.
Chu Li said, “The best-case scenario would be to have them work in collusion to place Your Royal Highness under siege from both internally and externally.”
King Ping gave a slight nod.
Chu Li went on, “The worst-case scenario would be for him to lead his troops straight into the Li Dynasty’s ambush, causing a complete wipe-out. Previously, the Ministry of War had given a military order forbidding Your Royal Highness from launching an attack. In that case, Your Royal Highness might even lose your position as the Commander-in-Chief.”