Yue Buqun, Liu Zhengfeng, and the others quietly pondered whether they should carry tens of thousands of taels of silver with them whenever they traveled the martial world, so they could pay for their lives if they encountered an assassination.
Just then, they heard Yi Lin say, "I remember now. There seemed to be several Imperial Guards with him, and those Imperial Guards appeared to treat him very politely..."
"Imperial Guards?"
The moment those words were spoken, Liu Zhengfeng and the others were stirred once more.
"Imperial Guards followed him, and they treated him with such courtesy. Could that swordsman be a man of the court?"
Liu Zhengfeng, Yue Buqun, and the others naturally came to that conclusion.
The Imperial Guardsmen had always been arrogant and overbearing. They had never been polite to people of the martial world.
Moreover, if that swordsman truly belonged to the court, then some of their earlier doubts could be explained.
"Perhaps the reason that swordsman killed Yu Canghai and Tian Boguang was because the court had assigned him the task, not because of some paltry silver," Liu Zhengfeng offered his guess.
Hearing this, Yue Buqun and the others nodded lightly, already agreeing with Liu Zhengfeng's speculation.
After all, killing two Minor Grandmasters because of a court assignment sounded far more plausible than killing Minor Grandmasters for silver.
"It seems we should keep a low profile for a while. We must not do anything too outrageous and draw the court's attention," Daoist Tianmen suddenly remarked.
Though martial heroes used force to defy the law.
And most people of the martial world looked down upon the court's lackeys.
No matter who it was, once the court truly set its sights on them, no one would be unafraid.
The court's power was vast enough to crush any martial sect.
Just like this time. Without making any display, it sent out a single swordsman and took the lives of Yu Canghai and Tian Boguang.
Yue Buqun and Abbess Dingyi also nodded in agreement.
In that instant, more than half the worry in their hearts faded away.
After all, both the Mount Hua Sect and Mount Hengshan Sect were renowned righteous sects in the martial world. Their conduct was generally proper, so they should not provoke the court into issuing a kill order.
At that moment, Liu Zhengfeng suddenly perked up, a smile he could not suppress spreading across his lips.
He could not help secretly praising his own foresight.
Not long ago, when he had decided to withdraw from the martial world through the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony, he had already spent money to purchase the official position of Brigadier General.
Though it was merely an idle Brigadier General post with no real authority.
Still, he, Liu Zhengfeng, was now a proper court official drawing an imperial salary.
With that official status, from now on, he and his household could sit secure and untroubled.
Surely no blind fool from the martial world would dare come looking for trouble.
Only then could it truly be called a permanent solution.
Back when he had spent money to purchase an office, quite a few people in the Hengshan Sect had opposed him.
They had looked down on him for willingly lowering himself to become a court lackey.
But what about now?
If these matters spread, no one would dare say another word against him, would they?
Just as Liu Zhengfeng was secretly delighting in himself, the steward of Liu Manor came looking for him again.
He leaned close and whispered a few words into his ear.
Liu Zhengfeng's expression changed at once.
He looked toward Yue Buqun and the others.
"Senior brothers, please forgive Liu for taking his leave for the moment. A few guests have arrived at my home..."
"Brother Liu, please go ahead..."
Afterward, Liu Zhengfeng left the side courtyard with the steward and returned to the main hall.
At that moment, inside the main hall of Liu Manor.
A martial artist dressed in black and an Imperial Guard were waiting.
They were naturally Su Chen and Captain Xing.
Liu Zhengfeng hurried over. Before he even entered the room, his voice arrived first.
"Gentlemen, I have arrived late. Please forgive me... Hm?"
He had only gotten halfway through his words when Liu Zhengfeng stepped into the room.
The moment he saw the two men inside, his voice came to an abrupt stop.
"Black clothes, short hair, a Ring-Pommel Saber... This is the Nameless Swordsman who killed Yu Canghai and Tian Boguang..."
Liu Zhengfeng's gaze settled on Su Chen, his expression becoming extremely grave.
"What has he come to see me for?"
"Did he come by accident, or does he have a purpose?"
"Could I be his next target?"
Liu Zhengfeng felt deeply uneasy. A chill crawled up his spine and spread all the way to the back of his head.
The strength Su Chen had displayed when he killed Tian Boguang in five moves was simply too terrifying.
Facing him, Liu Zhengfeng did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.
His eyes remained fixed on the Ring-Pommel Saber at Su Chen's waist, afraid that he might suddenly attack and draw his blade to wound someone.
"Brigadier General Liu, judging by your expression, are we not welcome here?"
At that moment, Captain Xing's voice rang out, interrupting Liu Zhengfeng's thoughts.
Liu Zhengfeng came back to himself and hurriedly forced a smile. "How could that be? How could that be? Colleagues have come to visit. I am delighted beyond measure, so how could I possibly be unwelcome?"
"May I ask how the two of you should be addressed?" Liu Zhengfeng suddenly asked Su Chen and Captain Xing for their identities.
"My name is Xing Daorong. I am a Hundred-Household Officer of the Imperial Guards, responsible for the Hengnan County Hundred-Household Office."
"So you are Captain Xing. I have long admired you." Liu Zhengfeng clasped his hands in greeting.
Then Captain Xing continued introducing Su Chen. "This is brother Su. You can call him brother Su as well."
"Su... uh..." Liu Zhengfeng instinctively wanted to address him as brother Su.
But halfway through the words, he froze.
The reason was simple. Su Chen looked truly young, at most in his twenties.
He was a middle-aged man. There was no way he could bring himself to call Su Chen brother Su.
Yet Captain Xing had not introduced Su Chen's official position, leaving Liu Zhengfeng uncertain how to address him.
Fortunately, Su Chen spoke up at that moment. "Hero Liu, don't listen to Old Xing. Just call me Su Chen."
"Lord Su..." Naturally, Liu Zhengfeng would not address him by name. After a brief consideration, he chose to call him Lord.
After all, he had already assumed that Su Chen was also a man of the court.
Su Chen could not be bothered to explain something so trivial.
After both sides exchanged greetings, Liu Zhengfeng asked why the two had come.
"May I ask what important matter brings you two colleagues here? If there is anything Liu can do, please speak freely. Liu will certainly offer his full support."
Captain Xing said, "You are holding the Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony today. Our superiors feared that some trouble might arise, so they sent me to keep an eye on things."
As he spoke, he glanced at Su Chen. "Su is someone I invited to help keep things under control."
"I see. Then I must trouble you both, my lords." Once Liu Zhengfeng understood Su Chen and Captain Xing's purpose, he could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
But at that moment, Su Chen said something shocking.
"Hero Liu, your family is about to be destroyed. Do you know that?"
"What?" Liu Zhengfeng was first stunned, suspecting that he had misheard.
Then he looked at Su Chen. But when he saw Su Chen's utterly serious expression, Liu Zhengfeng's face changed.
"Lord Su, what do you mean by that...?"
"Exactly what it says. You, your wife, your son, and everyone in Liu Manor—more than a hundred lives—will soon become souls beneath the blade," Su Chen said again, his tone exceedingly serious.
This was one of his usual methods.
Before discussing business, he would strike first and intimidate the customer.
Then, when it came time to negotiate the price, he could gain a greater advantage.
Beside him, Captain Xing's expression also shifted uncertainly upon hearing Su Chen speak this way.
He would never have imagined that brother Su would say something like this the moment he arrived.
Suddenly, a bad thought arose in his heart.
"Could it be that someone paid brother Su to take action and wants the lives of Liu Zhengfeng's entire family?"
Thinking of that, Captain Xing immediately felt that the situation was troublesome.
Yet his right hand had already unconsciously settled on his sword hilt, while his gaze swept across Liu Zhengfeng's neck as though considering the angle from which to strike.
"Damn. If brother Su really attacks Liu Zhengfeng, should I help him? Or should I help him?"
In Captain Xing's heart, there had never been an option of standing against Su Chen. At the very least, Liu Zhengfeng was not worth it.
At that moment, neither Su Chen nor Liu Zhengfeng knew that Captain Xing was already considering killing someone.
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