Assassin

In the afternoon at the Carefree Prince's Estate, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the ground.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying the faint fragrance of flowers and plants, making the entire estate appear quiet and serene.

However, beneath this seemingly calm appearance, a trace of unusual aura was faintly hidden.

One had to know that as a Houtian Limit Martial Grandmaster, Mu Bai was extremely sensitive to all kinds of auras.

The fluctuation of aura that had emanated from Mu Rongyi's courtyard just a moment ago was definitely nothing else, but rather martial dao fluctuations!

Clearly, at this very moment, there were martial arts experts hiding inside his father's courtyard!

On the surface, he still maintained a casual expression, but in his heart he was extremely nervous, having raised his vigilance to the utmost.

Outwardly, he walked toward his father Mu Rongyi's courtyard with a dissolute and swaggering demeanor.

Entering the courtyard, the afternoon sunlight stretched the shadows of the rockery long.

Mu Bai glanced over seemingly at random, but in reality, relying on his keen perception, he discovered that the source of the aura came from right behind the rockery.

Two people were hiding there!

Although the two deliberately restrained their auras, Mu Bai still sensed that both of them were martial arts experts, and these two people turned out to be Houtian realm Grandmaster experts!

Mu Bai's heart tightened slightly, yet his footsteps did not stop as he continued walking toward his father's room.

Just as he approached the door, his ears caught the sound of suppressed whispering coming from behind the rockery.

The volume could be said to be very small; if not for Mu Bai being a Martial Grandmaster, he truly would not have been able to hear it clearly.

"Hmph, the Carefree Prince's three sons each have their own methods." A hoarse voice sounded, carrying a hint of mockery. "The second son, Mu Yu, has some ink in his stomach. I heard the poems he wrote a few days ago created a huge sensation in the Capital City's circle of literati."

Another deep voice took over the conversation. "The third son, Mu Tang, is even more remarkable. At such a young age, his comprehension of the art of war far exceeds ordinary people. During the last sand table deduction, even those veteran generals praised him without reservation."

"Hahaha, when we came, that Emperor even said that these two must not be let off. It's simply laughable to the extreme," the hoarse voice let out a sneer.

"You can't really blame him, after all, he's merely an emperor of this secular world with a vision that's only that small," the deep voice replied.

Subsequently, the two people's topic shifted to Mu Bai.

The owner of the hoarse voice sneered. "As for the one in front of us, he should be that Young Master Mu Bai, who spends his days feasting and whoring without learning a skill, a living, breathing prodigal son."

"This Carefree Prince Mu Rongyi is considered a man of a lifetime of renown, so how did he give birth to such an unfilial son?"

"Isn't that so!" another person chimed in. "Even that Emperor cares the least about this Carefree Prince's Estate's Young Master, only saying to casually dispose of him will do."

The hoarse voice emitted bursts of low laughter. "To be honest, doing it myself to kill this trash makes me feel like my hands are soiled. To think that I, someone from the dignified Langya Aristocratic Family, actually have to move to kill such trash."

"Alright, stop complaining. After all, this is a plan set between the lineage's Young Master Xing and this Great Yan Emperor, so no matter what, we must execute it!"

The hoarse voice stopped talking, clearly not daring to express any complaints about the young master of this lineage.

However, his tone shifted as he complained in a low voice again. "Why hasn't this Carefree Prince come out yet? I didn't expect that for a mere ordinary prince, there would actually be a Houtian martial artist protecting him by his side. It's truly outrageous to the extreme."

The other person let out a sigh. "Not only that, we don't even know where that Mu Tang ran off to. He is also a targeted mission objective that the Great Yan Emperor demanded must be killed."

Listening to these words, especially that the other party's targets turned out to be his own father and younger brother, a fierce surge of anger ignited in Mu Bai's heart, but he knew that now was not the right time to expose himself.

Thus, he forcefully suppressed his emotions, walked steadily to his father's door, and raised a hand to knock.

"Come in." Mu Rongyi's steady voice came from inside the room.

Pushing open the door, the light inside was soft. Mu Rongyi was sitting in front of the desk, flipping through military books.

Seeing Mu Bai enter, he put down his book, his gaze like torches as he asked, "Bai'er, why did you suddenly come over? Is something the matter?"

Mu Bai's gaze swept across like lightning, landing on the middle-aged man standing beside his father who was lowering his head and intently grinding ink.

This middle-aged man was plainly dressed and completely unremarkable, appearing as if he were merely an ordinary servant.

However, Mu Bai knew he was not so simple.

This person was precisely Uncle Cang, who had just returned this morning.

The last time Mu Bai saw him was already seven or eight years ago.

It was said that because Uncle Cang had been executing a top-secret mission assigned to him by his father, he had never returned.

At this moment, under Mu Bai's sweeping gaze, Uncle Cang's Houtian Martial Dao cultivation was unreservedly displayed before his eyes.

Clearly, Uncle Cang was precisely the Houtian expert mentioned by the two assassins outside!

At that moment, as if sensing Mu Bai's gaze, Uncle Cang, who had been lowering his head to grind ink, suddenly raised his head.

His gaze intersected with Mu Bai's, and the two looked at each other.

A faint smile appeared on Uncle Cang's face, as if he were not surprised by Mu Bai's arrival.

He nodded gently, considering it a greeting.

Seeing this, Mu Bai quickly and respectfully called out, "Uncle Cang."

His voice revealed respect and affection toward Uncle Cang.

After all, although Uncle Cang was nominally just Mu Rongyi's page, in reality, the relationship between them was far more intimate than that.

Uncle Cang and Mu Rongyi were as close as brothers, always acting like blood brothers.

Furthermore, the three Mu brothers all regarded Uncle Cang as their own biological uncle, filled with reverence for him.

Hesitating for a moment and seeing that his father was still very safe right now, Mu Bai decided not to mention the two people behind the rockery for the time being, simply saying, "Father, I was just feeling a bit nervous because of what you told me yesterday, so I wanted to come and check on you."

Mu Rongyi frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before speaking, "You are being overly nervous. However, recently the various factions are indeed stirring and the situation is tense; you truly must keep your wits about you when acting."

"Even though you usually act casually, at critical moments you must be extremely cautious. You should stop going to those places you usually frequent."

Mu Bai nodded in acknowledgment, got up, and walked outside.

After coming out of his father's room, Mu Bai feigned composure, strolling around the courtyard as if nothing were the matter.

He seemed to be casually appreciating the surrounding scenery, but in reality, his mind was racing with calculations.

These two people actually dared to sneak into the Carefree Prince's Estate in broad daylight, and their target pointed directly at his father!

Clearly, they had not the slightest shred of fear toward the Carefree Prince's Estate.

Not only that, but they even had the leisure to stand there whispering comments about the three brothers of their household; this kind of behavior was simply extreme contempt for the Carefree Prince's Estate.

What was even more excessive was that they didn't even seem to hold the current Emperor in their eyes!

Who on earth were these two people?

The more Mu Bai thought about it, the more he felt the matter was not simple.