Chapter 948: Gather

“The Qiu Dynasty! It has to be the Qiu Dynasty who’s behind this!” Prince Bao said coldly with a grim expression.

Chu Li replied, “Your Royal Highness, based on what I know, the Qiu Dynasty is arrogant and has never thought highly of the Li Dynasty, so they won’t necessarily resort to such a method. They want to defeat the Li Dynasty fair and square because they feel that the Li Dynasty’s cavalry isn’t a true cavalry.”

“The Qiu Dynasty’s imperial court probably thinks so, but their martial arts sects may not necessarily obey them.” Prince Bao gave a cold laugh. “Their sects are used to viewing themselves as patriots, so they would always interfere with national affairs, trying to control everything!”

Chu Li slowly nodded. If that was the case, such an explanation would sound quite plausible too.

“Does Centurion Chu have any other thoughts about the situation?” Xu Huande asked. “Just say it all in one go.”

Chu Li shook his head and replied, “I’m worried about the Fu Dynasty and the Zheng Dynasty. Either one of them could’ve done this too. The Holy Church of Light has rarely had any traitorous disciples. Hence, only someone with extraordinary influence could’ve pulled this off.”

“This might not have been a betrayal.” Prince Bao shook his head. “The Holy Church of Light has a deep-seated hatred for King Ping. They might’ve killed his wife to vent their resentment against him.”

Chu Li frowned. “Everyone should be held accountable for their own mistakes. Their families shouldn’t be implicated. Such conflicts should be settled on the battlefield, and both parties should rely on their own abilities…”

“You may think so, but not everyone thinks that way,” Prince Bao muttered. “With just a little instigation…”

“Your Royal Highness, I doubt this person is someone who can be easily instigated.” Chu Li shook his head. “A person who’s capable of killing six protectors in one go can’t possibly be a nameless figure within the Holy Church of Light.”

“Six?” Prince Bao stared at him.

Xu Huande seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Chu Li sighed. “The remaining six have taken their own lives.”

While he had noticed this at a glance, he did not wish to point it out so bluntly at first. However, Xu Huande had managed to notice this too.

“Ah…” Prince Bao shook his head. “When King Ping finds out about this, how can he not be furious!”

These protectors had clearly been very loyal to the consort that they had felt ashamed of their failure to protect her. As they could not bring themselves to face King Ping, they had decided to simply kill themselves as an apology for their failure to carry out their duty.

Chu Li let out a sigh and did not say anything else.

Xu Huande shook his head too.

The atmosphere became heavier, and even the radiant sun could not dispel the chilly mood in the hall.

“Get out of the way!” a deep voice shouted. Soon after, the sound of footsteps approaching were heard.

Xu Huande’s expression grew dark as he turned his head and looked out.

A tall and burly figure appeared as King Jing came rushing over in his court robe. He had a steely expression on his face, it gave off an imposing and dignified air as he strode into the main hall. Then, he held up a fist salute and said solemnly, “Greetings, Uncle!”

“Sixth Nephew, what are you doing here?” Prince Bao frowned.

“I heard something bad has happened to Fourth Sister-in-law!” King Jing said with a grave expression. “Has she been revived?”

Prince Bao sighed and replied, “Her head has been cut off. How are we supposed to revive her!”

There was a gleam in King Jing’s eyes. His veins became visible as he balled his hands into fists.

“Out of my way! Out of my way! If you keep blocking my path, don’t blame me for being unreasonable!” A loud voice could be heard from outside, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. King Cheng’s plump figure strutted in.

As he strode past the folding screen, he turned his head and glared behind him while he muttered resentfully, “Always using your position to bully others!”

He strutted into the main hall. When he lifted his gaze and saw that Prince Bao was present, he quickly recomposed his expression and politely gave a fist salute. “Uncle Bao!”

“What are you doing here? Are you trying to create more trouble?” Prince Bao said coldly.

King Cheng anxiously replied, “I heard that Fourth Sister-in-law has been attacked by an assassin. If I don’t come and check on the situation, I would be too heartless! See, Sixth Elder Brother has shown up too!”

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While he was speaking, he cast a sideways glance at Chu Li and scoffed to himself. Only King An could not make it. That man had always been busy with restoring his martial arts and would never attend to matters of importance, yet he was still hoping to compete for the position of Crown Prince. What a joke!

Chu Li gave a fist salute but remained silent.

Prince Bao waved a hand and said impatiently, “You’ll cause us more trouble by coming here. If there’s nothing else, then go back!”

“Uncle Bao, I want to ask those protectors how they’ve been protecting Fourth Sister-in-law!” King Cheng replied boisterously. “We’ve always treated them kindly and generously, yet they’ve failed in their duty at such a crucial moment. We shouldn’t forgive them so easily. We should make them pay for Fourth Sister-in-law’s death with their own lives!”

“They’re already dead!” Prince Bao muttered impassively.

“Already dead?” King Cheng was taken aback.

Xu Huande said, “Your Royal Highness, there were twelve protectors in total. Six of them have been killed while the other six took their own lives.”

“These guys have some courage after all!” King Cheng clicked his tongue. Then, he scoffed again. “What’s the use of taking their own lives though? Their lives aren’t as valuable as Fourth Sister-in-law’s life!”

“Cut it out!” Prince Bao said coldly.

King Cheng gave a fist salute before he responded obediently, “Understood.” Then, he turned to Xu Huande and glared at the man with wide eyes. “What’s the use of having so many secret guardians when you can’t even obtain any news about this in advance? Are you guys deaf or dumb? What have your spies been doing?”

Xu Huande could not think of anything else to say. So, he sighed and replied, “We have indeed neglected our duty.”

King Jing had remained silent all this while, trying his best to suppress his fury. Nonetheless, right now, he could not stop himself from scoffing. “The Secret Guardians Hall is becoming increasingly useless now. Before this, you guys were still capable of solving some major cases. However, in the past few months, you’ve accomplished nothing at all. You should properly reflect on your shortcomings!”

Xu Huande wore a calm expression and did not speak.

Logically speaking, these princes and even Prince Bao had no right to criticize the Secret Guardians Hall to their face. The Secret Guardians Hall answered only to the Emperor and no one else. They even had the authority to investigate any of the princes.

Nevertheless, the Secret Guardians Hall was indeed responsible for what had happened this time. They had not managed to detect the presence of the assassin beforehand and had failed to receive any news about this at all.

Every Grandmaster who entered Fairy’s Capital would be closely monitored by the Secret Guardians Hall and the protectors of the Imperial House. However, they had not noticed this assassin. The Holy Church of Light’s secret skill for concealing martial arts was truly formidable, so much so that the Secret Guardians Hall was rendered helpless against it.

Chu Li also kept quiet.

He could understand why King Jing and King Cheng were both so angry. They were mourning over the death of a family member but were also starting to realize the vulnerability of their own situation. If it had been that easy for Consort Ping to be assassinated, what about them? It seemed like it would not be such a difficult task to assassinate them too. They felt as though there was a sword suspended over their heads right now that would fall at any moment.

King Jing asked, “It should be possible to track down the killer, right?”

Xu Huande shook his head. “The killer has ascended to Heaven and entered the Great Light Surpassing State.”

King Jing clenched his jaw and silently gnashed his teeth.

“In other words, he has not only killed Fourth Sister-in-law but has also perfected his merits and entered Heaven?” King Cheng yelled.

Xu Huande nodded bitterly.

“Bastard!” Anger instantly filled King Cheng’s gaze as he stomped his foot and screamed, “This bastard!”

This was way too infuriating. By killing Fourth Sister-in-law, the assassin had perfected his merits and ascended to Heaven — Fourth Sister-in-law’s death had become his stepping stone. Now, the killer was free and at leisure in the Great Light Surpassing State while they could only sigh in despair!

“Keep your voice down!” Prince Bao said. “Can you get the assassin to come back down with all that shouting?”

“Fourth Sister-in-law, you’ve suffered such a brutal death.It’s a pity!” King Cheng shouted to the skies.

“Shut up!” Prince Bao exclaimed.

If this news were to spread, it would only cause panic among the people.

King Cheng shut his mouth and did not dare to express his dissatisfaction.

“I refuse to believe that this guy had acted alone and did not have any accomplice!” King Jing muttered coldly. “Don’t tell me this has happened due to some old scores and there’s no one else behind this? The Secret Guardians Hall should be capable of finding out who’s behind this, right?”

“It must be the Li Dynasty!” King Cheng said with a huff. “There has never been any traitorous disciples in the Holy Church of Light. The Li Dynasty has to be the one responsible!”

King Jing threw him a glare. “Ninth Younger Brother, use your brains a little!”

“Then, it should be the Qiu Dynasty!” King Cheng hurriedly said. “They’re trying to instigate us to attack the Li Dynasty and relieve their pressure!”

“Find out who’s behind this and seek justice for Fourth Elder Brother!” King Jing said grimly. “The Secret Guardians Hall should be able to do that, right?”

“Instructions from the Emperor!” A loud voice echoed from outside and resounded through the entire Imperial Residence.