Chapter 008
Chapter 8: Seventh Prince
Cang Yin Yue glanced coldly toward Li Mu Sheng but said nothing. Silence filled the air for a moment before she spoke, somewhat unwillingly.
“Don’t worry. Whether you are truly the Seventh Prince or not, I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety.”
Li Mu Sheng shrugged and laughed. “That’s not exactly my point. I just thought, after hurrying all the way to Shang Yang City, wouldn’t it be a bit embarrassing if I turned out not to be the prince?”
Cang Yin Yue snorted coldly at his words.
“I understand your meaning. If it really is my mistake, I’ll compensate you with another hundred taels of silver as reimbursement for your troubles.”
Li Mu Sheng immediately smiled and gave a thumbs-up.
“Miss Cang is so generous, truly worthy of being a master from the Shadow Spy Division.”
With an expressionless face and arms crossed, Cang Yin Yue said sternly, “Do not become careless just because you’ve reached the martial dao Innate Realm. While an Innate Expert can indeed do as they please in Shun’an City, they are hardly worth mentioning in the vast lands of Great Li.”
She sighed lightly and continued, “I know there must be some extraordinary chance you’ve encountered. Otherwise, even if your small martial hall in Shun’an City used all its resources, it still couldn’t produce an Innate Expert.”
“Yet mountains rise beyond mountains, and stronger people always exist. When you reach Shang Yang City, you’ll soon understand. The world holds prodigies so dazzling, you’ll never catch up.”
Li Mu Sheng poked the fire with his stick, causing the flames to flare brighter, and asked curiously, “For example?”
“I’ve never left Shun’an City before, and I don’t know much about the outside world. Miss Cang can tell me more—I quite enjoy hearing these things.”
Cang Yin Yue shook her head, coldly laughing, “It’s pointless to tell you now. Once you see for yourself, you’ll understand.”
She paused briefly, then said quietly, “But I can tell you this much: the current Seventh Prince imprisoned in Heaven Prison is exactly one of those rare, peerless geniuses. Not only does he possess the wisdom to govern a nation, but his martial talent is unmatched. Before the incident occurred, he was even among those most likely to become Crown Prince.”
Hearing this, Li Mu Sheng was momentarily stunned, then said regretfully, “What a shame. Such an exceptional talent locked away in Heaven Prison—it’s truly a great loss for Great Li.”
Cang Yin Yue cast a sharp glance at Li Mu Sheng, a sudden flash of anger crossing her eyes as she snapped, “In my eyes, you are the true Seventh Prince. If he’s released, where would that leave you? Everything that rightfully belonged to you was taken by him for twenty years. How many more sets of twenty years can you afford to lose?”
Realizing she had become overly emotional, she paused and then added more calmly, “Bringing you back to Shang Yang City is merely my duty. After that, you’ll be on your own. If you’re not careful, the people of the Imperial Capital will eat you alive.”
Li Mu Sheng frowned slightly at Cang Yin Yue’s sudden anger.
[Why is this young lady getting more and more worked up?]
It wasn’t like he said he was ready to be bullied.
But after thinking carefully, Li Mu Sheng realized she meant no real harm.
Cang Yin Yue, having finished speaking, simply closed her eyes, ignoring him.
Seeing this, Li Mu Sheng inwardly grumbled:
[She confidently declared me the Seventh Prince, yet treats me this way? Is this really how you treat a prince of Great Li?]
Thinking to himself, he reached into his robes, then suddenly spoke aloud, “During that half-stick of incense when Miss Cang disappeared today in Shun’an City, you went to Yu Family Martial Hall, didn’t you?”
Cang Yin Yue opened her eyes sharply, staring fiercely at Li Mu Sheng.
“You followed me?”
But quickly, she shook her head, muttering, “Impossible. If you followed, I definitely would have noticed.”
Li Mu Sheng shrugged innocently.
“I didn’t follow you, but I guessed you must have gone to Yu Family Martial Hall to take from that Old Yu whatever the Seven Bandits of Zha River were after.”
“How did you figure that out?” Cang Yin Yue asked.
“Because before today, you didn’t only follow me—you also kept an eye on the Seven Bandits. You clearly knew their goal.”
Li Mu Sheng drew a small wooden box from his robes, intricately carved with six sides, and curiously examined it.
“If you didn’t care about Old Yu’s belongings, you wouldn’t have taken that time. Since you did, it must be important to you.”
At that moment, Cang Yin Yue’s expression drastically changed. She quickly reached toward her bundle, only to find it empty. She slowly stood from where she leaned against the tree, her phoenix eyes glittering dangerously in the firelight.
“When did you take it?” Her voice was calm yet sharp.
As soon as her words fell, she vanished into the dusk. Only a swift gust of wind remained, shaking the flames.
When she appeared again, she stood behind Li Mu Sheng. One hand grasped at the wooden box, and the other rose like a blade of polished jade, slicing toward his neck.
“You wouldn’t be planning to knock me out and drag me off to Shang Yang City, would you?”
Li Mu Sheng’s voice echoed softly in her ear.
Her pupils widened in shock as she realized her entire body had frozen mid-motion, unable to move at all.
“You…how did you do this?” she whispered, discovering she could still speak.
“It’s just an acupoint sealing technique. Who told you to suddenly appear and scare me?” Li Mu Sheng chuckled softly.
Looking at Cang Yin Yue standing so close, his heart stirred mischievously. He suddenly reached out toward her veil.
“Don’t!” she urgently cried.
Yet Li Mu Sheng didn’t stop, playfully replying, “Don’t be so conservative. Beauty is a gift from the heavens and meant to be shared. Always hiding it beneath a veil, where’s the fun in secretly admiring it yourself?”
But halfway through removing her veil, Li Mu Sheng quickly replaced it, seeing her eyes reddened with fury and embarrassment.
“Oh, look at you getting upset. Fine, I won’t look,” Li Mu Sheng said gently, carefully adjusting the veil back into place.
Despite his playful tone, a faint hint of shame flashed briefly in his eyes. He quickly turned his attention back to the fire, continuing to fiddle with the wooden box in his hand.
Cang Yin Yue closed her eyes, then slowly reopened them, taking a deep breath.
“What was that acupoint sealing technique you used? How was it so swift?”
Without turning around, Li Mu Sheng answered casually, “It’s called Sunflower Acupoint Sealing. You’ve probably never heard of it since it’s my own creation.”
(End of Chapter)