The Prince and the Ruffian (Part 1)

PS: Helping a young friend advertise.

Treasure Sword www.cmfu./showbook.asp?Bl_id=13265

The writing is very good, very flavorful, and also very intense.

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Li Feng blinked, grinned, and stepped back a few paces, moving to Little Li's side and clearing the main path. He hummed softly, "Alas, why are they riding horses in the city in broad daylight? What if they injure those grown young ladies? Even if they don't hit grown ladies, it's still bad to hit young girls. Young girls grow up to be great beauties, what a shame."

Li Feng's voice was very quiet, but the riders could hear him perfectly clearly. Hearing Li Feng's mumbling, the dark-skinned, mountain-like youth immediately spurred his horse forward and slammed the scabbard of his treasure sword hard against Little Li's shoulder. He laughed loudly, "Ha, Little Li, you've finally decided to return to Yanjing? The scenery in the south must be nice, right? Hmm, and who is this? New recruit for your manor?"

After speaking, the youth pressed his sword scabbard against Li Feng's shoulder and looked down at Li Feng from close range. Li Feng glanced at the scabbard pressed against his shoulder and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Damn, the sword blade is four fingers wide and a full five feet long. This sword, if swung down, could kill a cow." The sword scabbard was polished from brass, showing signs of long use with many scratches and no decoration. The sword, its scabbard, and the youth's heavy wrist strength all combined to exert a strong pressure.

Li Feng's body immediately went limp and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his right shoulder and wailing, "It's over, someone's been killed! My bones are broken! Little Li, hurry and get me a doctor, or I'll really die!"

The riders were all stunned, and the youth also seemed surprised that Li Feng was such a scoundrel. His eyes darted around for a moment, then he burst into laughter, said nothing more, and urged his horse away. The fair-faced, slender young general behind him sneered, glanced dismissively at Li Feng, and with a slight squeeze of his legs, his mount immediately trotted forward.

Little Li finally let out a long sigh, shaking his head with a wry smile, "Oh, I'm impressed, Li Feng. You actually managed to get away with it with the Second Prince like that. But you need to be careful. If the Second Prince had beaten you up just now, none of this would have happened. Now that you've caught the attention of the Second Prince and that Murong Tian, you're in for a lot of trouble, and you'll definitely have endless problems from now on. You have to be careful, the Second Prince is the undisputed top expert in the army, and that Murong Tian is the number one swordsman in Yanjing. Their subordinate generals are as numerous as clouds; any few of them could beat you black and blue."

Li Feng jumped up and looked at Little Li unhappily, shouting, "Hey, hey, Eunuch Little Li, aren't we at least traveling together? Why are you speaking for them and dampening my (Li Feng's) prestige? Tsk, no matter how powerful they are, they still only have one neck and two legs, what else? I don't believe I, Li Feng, can't beat them... Eh, of course, we're all on the same side, it's best not to ruin the harmony." He paused and said sinisterly, "But, if the Second Prince openly challenges the shopkeeper's subordinate, won't the shopkeeper be the least bit angry?"

Little Li spat and shouted in a sharp, high-pitched voice, "From now on, you have to call me Manager Li. Don't call me Little Li. That's a name only the master can use. You're considered my subordinate now, how can you call me by such a name?... The master is naturally unhappy that the Second Prince is causing trouble for people in our manor, but if the Second Prince wants to do this, what can we do?"

Li Feng directly pinpointed the crux of the issue, "How many soldiers does the shopkeeper have under him? If the shopkeeper has many soldiers, then he wouldn't need to fear the Second Prince, right?"

Little Li fell silent. After walking about a hundred paces forward, he finally sighed softly, as if a wronged woman from the inner palace, "The Prince did assign some troops to the master, a full guard's worth of soldiers."

Li Feng's eyebrows twitched, and he asked, "A guard's worth? How many people is that?"

Little Li gave a wry smile, "A guard's worth is between five thousand and five thousand five hundred men... But that kid Murong Tian alone has six guards' worth of troops under him, and the Second Prince has ten guards directly under his command. In the entire Prince of Yan's fiefdom, apart from the Prince's own army, the Second Prince has the most troops. Especially the 'Iron Blood Army' led by the Second Prince, which is the most elite army among all the Prince of Yan's subordinates. If he decides to be unreasonable, no matter what the master says, it will be useless."

Little Li shook his head, looking at Li Feng with a rare expression of concern, "After all, you are now one of our manor's people. I, Eunuch Li, don't want to see you beaten into a dead pig and thrown into a sewer, so be careful yourself. Don't fool around in the red-light districts. Stay by the master's side, and all trouble will disappear. Otherwise, be careful, just like Commander Dugu's cousin. He just came down from Changbai Mountain to pledge allegiance to the master, but Murong Tian found him and shattered his right wrist's pulse with sword energy, rendering him crippled for life."

Li Feng quickly cupped his hands and said, "I will have to rely on Manager Li for much care in the future. I, this young master, don't understand many things and will need your guidance." After speaking, Li Feng gently placed a sapphire the size of a thumb into Little Li's hand.

Little Li was stunned. He looked down at the object in his hand, and his entire face broke into a smile as bright as spring flowers. He happily put the gem into his embrace and said with a smile, "Good, we are all the master's people. If I don't look out for you, who will? In short, remember this one thing from now on: don't provoke the Second Prince's people, especially don't provoke the Second Prince, and you can walk around Yanjing like you own the place, hehe."

After a moment of thought, Little Li said in a low voice, "Actually, I, Little Li, know in my heart that for someone like you, obtaining wealth isn't difficult, is it? You can enter thousands of households at night and take whatever gold and silver you want. What you seek is an official position and salary, right? I understand this, and if there's an opportunity, I'll find a good official position for you. With your skills, becoming a general under the Prince of Yan wouldn't be a problem."

Li Feng nodded his thanks to Little Li and continued to follow him towards the Prince of Yan's manor. Only then did he have the time to think about the problem, "Good heavens, under the Prince of Yan, not counting his own direct troops, the Second Prince alone has sixteen guards, over eighty thousand men. My goodness, I heard that the prince in our region only has a little over ten thousand troops, and the rest are garrison soldiers controlled by the court. Why does this Prince of Yan keep so many troops? Especially such elite ones. Could he be planning a rebellion? That doesn't seem right either; the current emperor is his father, why would he rebel against his own father?"

While lost in thought, Little Li had already brought Li Feng to the front of a mansion that occupied a vast area. At the entrance, over three hundred armored warriors were lined up on both sides, their waists adorned with weapons that could split a water buffalo in half when used in battle, unlike the two-finger-wide, three-foot-long swords Li Feng currently carried. Seeing Little Li and Li Feng approach the gate, the eyes of those strong men simultaneously turned towards them. Even though Li Feng knew that none of these strong men could threaten him, he couldn't help but feel a chill run through his body from their fierce killing intent.

Li Feng suddenly realized that when he made eye contact with the Second Prince earlier, it wasn't because the Second Prince's power was greater than his, but simply because the Second Prince exuded too much killing intent. His killing intent and Li Feng's aura clashed, forcing Li Feng to turn his head away.

Little Li, however, paid little attention to these armored warriors. He took out a gold plaque from his hand, waved it casually, and said in a soft voice, "I'm from the First Prince's manor. I'm here to see Eunuch Lü. This person is someone our Prince has newly recruited. We're here to register his name."

A dark-faced man wearing a helmet and armor, with a goose-feather saber at his waist weighing at least thirty pounds, strode over. He carefully examined Little Li before laughing heartily, "Eunuch Li, you've been out for half a year, and your face has gotten as dark as mine, old Du. No wonder I didn't recognize you immediately... Hey, kid, put your sword down. You're following Eunuch Li inside."

Li Feng obediently left the Dragon Spring Sword with the gatekeeper and followed Little Li through a side gate into the manor. Upon entering the Prince of Yan's manor, Li Feng discovered that there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps. Patrol teams of ten men moved back and forth, and the glint of arrows flashed among the flowers. The security was extremely strict. Little Li said in a low voice without looking back, "Be careful, don't look around everywhere. Follow me, Eunuch. One wrong step here means death, so be very careful."

Li Feng, not taking it seriously, deliberately stepped into a flower bed by the roadside and picked a small flower branch to clean his teeth. Immediately, Li Feng felt the aura of seven masters lock onto him. One of them was a terrifying figure who had already surpassed the Innate Realm. His aura was like a butcher's knife, causing the skin on Li Feng's neck to tremble erratically. Li Feng was slightly alarmed and obediently returned to the path in the flower bed, closely following behind Little Li.

It was truly bizarre. The moment Li Feng returned to the path, the aura of those seven people vanished without a trace. Li Feng didn't even have time to use his divine sense to locate them. A bead of cold sweat appeared on Li Feng's forehead as he cautioned himself, "There are countless masters in the world, I must be careful. If I don't use my techniques, those seven people could beat me into a dead dog in the blink of an eye."

He obediently followed Little Li through the courtyard for half an hour, passing through five or six layers of courtyards and undergoing three checks, before they finally arrived in front of a side courtyard with a black iron gate. Two long benches were placed in front of the courtyard gate, and over a dozen middle-aged eunuchs sat there chatting out of sheer boredom. Judging by their bright red eunuch robes and the large pieces of jade inlaid on their hats, they were all eunuchs with status and power.

And around the courtyard, the patrolling figures were no longer the soldiers from the front courtyards, but burly men dressed in brocade robes embroidered with hidden python patterns. Little Li gestured proudly and said with a smile, "Hey, Brother Li Feng, this is where Eunuch Lü usually handles his affairs. Hey, let me tell you, this is the office of the Prince's personal guards, whom we call the 'Imperial Guard.' Every single one of the 'Imperial Guard' is a skilled fighter, and the ones in charge are us eunuchs. Hey, there's no choice, the Prince only trusts us. Hehe..."

Little Li didn't finish. The 'Imperial Guard' was a secret organization around Emperor Taizu. The Prince of Yan calling his personal guards 'Imperial Guard' clearly indicated his intentions. The structure of the Prince of Yan's 'Imperial Guard' was identical to that of the court's 'Imperial Guard'; the only difference was that the 'Imperial Guard' here could only be imposing within the Prince of Yan's fiefdom.

Li Feng let out an "Oh," "Imperial Guard? Sounds very impressive. Tsk, look at the clothes they wear, that's quite an expense, isn't it?" Li Feng began to feel sorry for the money the Imperial Guard spent on their clothing.

Little Li snorted, "How much is that? Songjiang Prefecture is within our Prince's fiefdom, so why wouldn't we have as much brocade as we want? Alright, let's stop wasting time here and hurry inside to register your name. By the way, Eunuch, as we are all under the same master, I'll remind you that if Eunuch Lü wants to test your martial arts, you must display your full strength. If Eunuch Lü is pleased, the position he gives you will be higher, and it will be more convenient for you to move around the inner palace. Do you understand?"

Li Feng nodded repeatedly and said with a grin, "Of course, this is related to my own future. If I'm not serious about it, wouldn't that be foolish? But, we are subordinates of the shopkeeper, why do we still need to hold a position in the 'Imperial Guard'?"

Little Li shot Li Feng a glare and reprimanded in a low voice, "The guards from all four princes' manors are all registered here. Otherwise, why would we be here to register your name with Eunuch Lü? Let me tell you, apart from protecting their own masters, the more important duty of the 'Imperial Guard' is to investigate public sentiment and report it to the Prince. We are indeed the master's subordinates, but isn't our master also the Prince's son? Naturally, we should all contribute."

Li Feng suddenly understood, "So, besides protecting those princes and heirs, we also have to monitor the common people? But what's so good about monitoring common people? The trouble caused by a hundred commoners might not be as great as the trouble caused by one martial artist."

Little Li felt it was too difficult to explain these complex issues to Li Feng, so he couldn't be bothered to say more and walked directly towards the black iron gate. The eunuchs at the gate quickly stood up when they saw Little Li approaching, laughing heartily, "Oh, Eunuch Li, Brother Li is back? What's up? You went out with the First Prince this time, had a great time, didn't you? Oh, Brother Li, you're living the good life, unlike us, stuck here guarding all day, rarely even getting out of the courtyard... Oh, Brother Li, you're too kind."

Li Feng saw Little Li grinning as he took out banknotes and openly stuffed them into the eunuchs' sleeves. Immediately, the eunuchs' enthusiasm for Little Li increased by three points. The leading old eunuch, holding a whisk, said with a smile, "Eh, there haven't been any major incidents in the manor recently. It's just that the Prince was very angry in private because the Third Prince forcibly took a civilian girl outside. Other than that, there's nothing noteworthy."

Li Feng let out a long sigh, thinking to himself, "These guys without balls are truly unreliable, they'll sell out anyone. They dare to mention the Prince of Yan's anger behind his back? Money truly has infinite power, anyone can be bought... But how does Little Li know to give them money to get information? Haven't they done this before?"

As the group of eunuchs was chatting merrily, Li Feng stood by idly yawning. With a creak, the iron gate of the courtyard opened a crack, and a tall, slightly purple-faced eunuch with a dignified appearance and an air of infinite authority emerged. Little Li and the others immediately bowed and greeted the eunuch, "Eunuch Ma, Brother Ma, are you going out on business?"

Eunuch Ma nodded and replied casually. Suddenly seeing Little Li, he smiled and said, "Manager Li, you're here to see Eunuch Lü, right? You've come to the wrong place. Eunuch Lü was just summoned by the Prince, and the First Prince is also in the Prince's main hall. If you want to see Eunuch Lü, you'll either have to wait outside the main hall or come back tomorrow. When the Prince discusses matters, who knows when it will end."

Little Li quickly leaned in and said, "Brother Ma, look, my master sent me here to register this Li Feng's name. Since Eunuch Lü isn't here, could you please do me a favor and help me register his name? That way I won't have to make another trip tomorrow. After all, you have so much influence with the Prince, helping me, Little Li, is like me running five or six errands."

Eunuch Ma laughed, "Well said, Manager Li, you're good at flattering. Hmm, young man, your name is Li Feng? It's your luck that the First Prince recruited you into the manor. You must serve the First Prince well and not make any mistakes... The manor has many rules, learn them slowly by following Eunuch Li. Don't cause any trouble."

Li Feng gave a deep bow and said with a smile, "Eunuch Ma, I will definitely learn the rules, and I absolutely dare not cause trouble." Although his words were serious, his eyes darted around restlessly, his expression anything but serious.