The Prince and the Rogue (Part 1)

PS: Helping a friend promote something.

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

It was very well written, with plenty of flavor. And very intense.

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Li Feng blinked, then retreated a few steps with a grin, moving to Little Li's side and clearing the road. He hummed softly, "Sigh, why were they riding horses through the city in broad daylight? What if they ran into some young ladies? Even if they did not hit any young ladies, hitting little girls would be bad too. Once those little girls grew up, they might become great beauties. What a pity that would be."

Li Feng's voice was soft, but it was just loud enough for the riders to hear every word. Upon hearing his muttering, the dark-skinned young man built like a mountain immediately rode forward and viciously knocked Little Li's shoulder with his sheathed sword. He laughed loudly. "Ha! Little Li, you finally decided to return to Yanjing? The scenery in the south was not bad, was it? Hmm, who is this? A new recruit in your household?"

After speaking, the young man pressed his sword against Li Feng's shoulder and inspected him at close range from high atop his horse. Li Feng glanced at the scabbard pressed against his shoulder and could not help sighing inwardly. Damn it, the blade is four fingers wide and a full five feet long. One slash from that thing could split a cow in two. The scabbard was polished brass, and it was clear that it had been used for a long time. It was covered in scratches, without the slightest decoration. The sword, the scabbard, and the young man's heavy wrist strength combined into an immense pressure.

Li Feng's body immediately went limp, and he collapsed to the ground. Clutching his right shoulder, he wailed miserably, "I'm finished! He's beaten someone to death! My bone is broken! Little Li, hurry and get me a doctor, or I really am going to die!"

The riders were all dumbfounded. The young man apparently had not expected Li Feng to be such a shameless rascal. His gaze drifted for a moment before he burst into laughter. Without saying anything else, he urged his horse onward. Behind him, the slender young general with a fair face gave a cold snort and cast Li Feng a disdainful glance. With a slight squeeze of his legs, his horse immediately broke into a light trot.

Only then did Little Li let out a long breath. Shaking his head, he gave a bitter smile. "Good heavens, Li Feng, I truly surrender to you. You actually muddled your way past the Second Prince like that. But you had better be careful. If the Second Prince had beaten you up just now, there would not have been any later trouble. Now, though, you have caught the attention of both the Second Prince and Murong Tian. You are in for a grand time now—there will definitely be endless trouble in your future. Be careful. The Second Prince is acknowledged as the number one expert in the army, and Murong Tian is Yanjing's foremost swordsman. The expert generals beneath them are as numerous as clouds. They could casually pick a few men to beat you until your nose was bruised and your face swollen."

Li Feng sprang to his feet and shouted at Little Li in displeasure, "Hey, Eunuch Little Li, we are on the same side at least, aren't we? Why are you speaking for them and dampening Young Master Li Feng's prestige? Tsk, tsk. No matter how formidable they are, they still have one neck and two legs. What else do they have? I refuse to believe Li Feng cannot beat them... Of course, we are all on the same side, so it would be best not to damage the harmony." After a pause, Li Feng added sinisterly, "But the Second Prince openly challenged the manager's subordinate. Is the manager not angry at all?"

Little Li spat and snapped in his shrill voice, "From now on, you are to call me Manager Li. You are not allowed to call me Little Li. Only Master may call me that, and since you are now one of my subordinates, how can you address me so carelessly?... Naturally, Master is unhappy that the Second Prince is causing trouble for people from our household. But if the Second Prince insists on doing so, what can we do?"

Li Feng directly pointed out the crux of the matter. "How many troops does the manager command? If the manager has enough troops, then there is no need to fear the Second Prince, right?"

Little Li fell silent. After walking more than a hundred yards ahead, he finally let out a faint sigh, like a resentful woman locked deep within the palace. "The Prince did assign Master some troops. A full guard."

Li Feng raised an eyebrow. "A guard? How many men is that?"

Little Li smiled bitterly. "A guard is between five thousand and fifty-five hundred men... But Murong Tian alone commands six guards of troops, while the Second Prince has ten guards directly under his command. Across Prince of Yan's fief, aside from the Prince's own army, the Second Prince commands the most troops. In particular, the Iron Blood Army led by the Second Prince is the most elite force among all of Prince of Yan's subordinates. If he set his heart on being unreasonable, then no matter what Master said, it would be useless."

Little Li shook his head, then looked at Li Feng with a rare hint of concern. "You are one of our household now, after all. I, Eunuch Li, do not want to see you beaten into a dead pig and thrown into a stinking ditch. So watch yourself. Do not fool around in the flower streets and willow lanes. Stay by Master's side, and all trouble will vanish. Otherwise, be careful that you do not end up like Commander Dugu's cousin. He had just descended Changbai Mountain to seek refuge with Master when Murong Tian came knocking. In the end, Sword Qi shattered the veins in his right wrist, and he became a cripple for life."

Li Feng hurriedly cupped his hands. "Then I will have to rely on Manager Li to look after me in the future. There are many things that I do not understand, and I will need much guidance from you." As he spoke, Li Feng flicked his hand, slipping a thumb-sized sapphire into Little Li's palm.

Little Li froze. Lowering his head to look at what was in his hand, his entire face immediately blossomed as brightly as spring flowers. Grinning, he tucked the gemstone into his robes and said with narrowed eyes, "Fine. We both serve Master. If I do not look after you, then who will? In any case, remember this: do not provoke the Second Prince's people, and especially do not provoke the Second Prince himself. Then you will be able to swagger through Yanjing City sideways, hehe."

After pondering for a moment, Little Li said quietly, "Actually, I know very well what you are after. For someone like you, would it be difficult to obtain wealth? You could enter a thousand homes at night and take whatever gold, silver, jewels, and treasures you pleased. What you seek is merely an official post and a salary, is it not? I understand that. When an opportunity arises, I will find a suitable official position for you. With your skills, brother, becoming a great general under Prince of Yan should not be a problem."

Li Feng nodded and thanked Little Li, then continued following him toward Prince of Yan's residence. Only now did he have the leisure to think things through. Good heavens. Setting aside however many troops Prince of Yan commands directly, the Second Prince alone has sixteen guards, more than eighty thousand men. Heavens, I heard that the prince back in our territory has only a little over ten thousand troops, while the rest are garrison soldiers controlled by the imperial court. Why does Prince of Yan maintain so many troops? And each one is so elite. Could he be planning a rebellion? No, that is not right. The current Emperor is his father, so why would he rebel against his own father?

As he was lost in wild thoughts, Little Li had already brought Li Feng before an enormous residence. At the main gate, more than three hundred burly men in iron armor stood arrayed on either side. The weapons at their waists were the sort that could split a water buffalo open with one sword or one saber on the battlefield, nothing like the narrow, three-foot-long sword Li Feng carried now. When Little Li and Li Feng approached the gate, all those strong men turned their eyes toward them at once. Although Li Feng knew none of them could threaten him, their biting Killing Intent still made his entire body turn cold.

Li Feng suddenly understood. When he had exchanged looks with the Second Prince earlier, it had not been because the Second Prince's cultivation was higher than his. It was simply because the Second Prince's Killing Intent was too heavy. His Killing Intent had clashed with Li Feng's aura, forcing Li Feng to turn his head away.

Little Li paid little attention to the armored men. He took out a gold token, casually waved it, and said in a fine voice, "I am from the Eldest Prince's household. I have come to see Eunuch Lü. This is someone newly recruited by our prince. We have come to add his name to the register."

A dark-faced man in helmet and armor strode over. The Wild Goose Feather Saber at his waist weighed at least thirty pounds. After carefully examining Little Li, he broke into hearty laughter. "Eunuch Li, you have been away for half a year, and your face is nearly as dark as mine, Old Du's. No wonder I did not recognize you at once... Hey, kid, leave your sword behind. Follow Eunuch Li inside."

Li Feng obediently left the Dragon Spring Sword at the gatehouse, then followed Little Li through a side entrance into the residence. Once inside Prince of Yan's manor, Li Feng discovered that there was a guard every three steps, a sentry every five, and patrols in groups of ten constantly moving back and forth. Reflections from arrowheads flickered amid the flowerbeds. The security was strict to the extreme. Without turning his head, Little Li said quietly, "Be careful. Do not look around everywhere. Follow this eunuch. Take one wrong step here, and there is only one word for you: death. Be very careful."

Li Feng did not take it seriously. Deliberately causing trouble, he stepped into a flowerbed by the road and plucked a slender twig to pick his teeth. At once, he sensed the auras of seven experts locking onto him. One of them was even a terrifying figure who had entered the Innate Realm. That person's aura was like a butcher's cleaver, making the skin on Li Feng's neck twitch wildly. Li Feng was slightly startled and honestly returned to the small path through the flowerbed, closely following behind Little Li.

The matter was that strange. The moment Li Feng returned to the path, the seven auras vanished without a trace. He did not even have time to use his divine sense to investigate their positions. A bead of cold sweat seeped onto Li Feng's forehead as he warned himself, There are countless experts under heaven. I must be careful. If I do not use spells, those seven could beat Young Master into a dead dog in the blink of an eye.

Li Feng obediently followed Little Li through the residence for nearly half an hour. They passed through five or six courtyards and underwent three inspections before finally arriving at a side courtyard with black iron gates. Two long benches stood before the gate, where more than a dozen middle-aged eunuchs sat idly chatting nonsense. Judging by their crimson eunuch robes and the large pieces of green jade set into their hats, they were clearly powerful and high-ranking senior eunuchs.

Meanwhile, the men patrolling around the courtyard were no longer soldiers like those in the earlier courtyards, but burly men clad in brocade, their garments embroidered with dark python patterns. Little Li gestured proudly and said with a smile, "Ah, Brother Li Feng, this is where Eunuch Lü handles affairs every day. Let me tell you, this is the office of the Prince's personal guards. We call them the Imperial Guard. Every one of the Imperial Guard is skilled, and the ones in charge are us eunuchs. Ah, there is no helping it—the Prince only trusts us. Hehe..."

Little Li did not finish what he was saying. The Imperial Guard had been Emperor Taizu's secret police organization, and Prince of Yan's intentions in calling his personal guards the Imperial Guard were obvious. Structurally, Prince of Yan's Imperial Guard was exactly the same as the Imperial Guard in the imperial court. The only difference was that the Imperial Guard here could only strut their stuff within Prince of Yan's fief.

Li Feng gave an "oh." "The Imperial Guard? That sounds impressive. Tsk, tsk, look at what they are wearing. That must cost quite a bit, right?" Li Feng had begun to feel heartache over the silver the Imperial Guard spent merely on clothes.

Little Li snorted. "How much silver could that be? Songjiang Prefecture is within our Prince's fief. Could we lack brocade if we wanted it? Enough, let us stop talking nonsense here. Adding your name to the register is the proper business. Oh, and because we serve the same master, I will remind you of this: if Eunuch Lü wants to see your martial skills, then give it everything you have. If Eunuch Lü enjoys the sight, the position he grants you will be higher. Then it will be more convenient for you to move about the inner residence. Understand?"

Li Feng nodded repeatedly and said with a grin, "Naturally. This concerns my own future. If I did not take it seriously, would that not make me a fool? But we serve the manager, so why must we hold positions in the Imperial Guard too?"

Little Li shot Li Feng a glare and cursed softly, "The guards from all four princes' households have their names registered here. Otherwise, why would we come to Eunuch Lü to add your name? Let me tell you, besides protecting their own masters, the Imperial Guard's more important duty is to investigate the people's conditions and report them to the Prince. It is true that we serve Master, but is not our Master still the Prince's son? Naturally, we should contribute our strength as well, should we not?"

Li Feng suddenly understood. "So aside from protecting those princes, we also have to keep an eye on the common people. But what is there to watch among commoners? Trouble caused by a hundred commoners might not amount to as much as trouble caused by one martial artist."

Little Li apparently found it too difficult to explain such complicated matters to Li Feng, so he could not be bothered to say more and walked straight toward the black iron gate. When the eunuchs at the entrance saw Little Li approaching, they hurriedly stood and laughed. "Ah, Eunuch Li, Brother Li, you are back? What is it? Did you have a grand time while you were out with the Eldest Prince this trip? Ah, Brother Li, you had it far too comfortable. Unlike us, stuck guarding this place all day, barely able to leave the courtyard even once... Ah, Brother Li, you are far too courteous."

Li Feng watched as Little Li smilingly took out banknotes one after another and brazenly stuffed them into the eunuchs' sleeves. Immediately, their enthusiasm toward Little Li rose another three degrees. The leader, an old eunuch holding a whisk, said with narrowed eyes, "Ah, nothing particularly major has happened in the residence lately. Only that the Prince secretly flew into a rage because the Third Prince forcibly seized a civilian girl outside. Nothing else was worth noting."

Li Feng let out a long breath and thought to himself, These eggless fellows really cannot be trusted. They dare sell out anyone. They even dared mention the Prince losing his temper behind closed doors? Silver truly has boundless power. Anyone can be smashed flat by it... But how did Little Li know that giving them silver would get him information? Could this be far from their first time?

As the eunuchs exchanged idle banter, Li Feng stood beside them, boredly yawning. With a creak, the courtyard's iron gate opened a crack, and a tall eunuch stepped out. His face had a faint purplish hue, his features were upright, and every gesture he made carried boundless authority. Little Li and the others immediately bowed in greeting. "Eunuch Ma, Brother Ma, are you going out on business?"

Eunuch Ma nodded and casually replied a few words. Then, upon seeing Little Li, he smiled. "Manager Li, you came looking for Eunuch Lü, did you not? Then you have come at the wrong time. Eunuch Lü was summoned by the Prince just now. Is the Eldest Prince not also in the Prince's main hall? If you wish to see Eunuch Lü, you should either wait outside the main hall or come again tomorrow. When the Prince discusses matters, who knows when it will end?"

Little Li hurriedly leaned closer. "Brother Ma, look, my master sent me to add Li Feng's name to the register. Since Eunuch Lü is not here, please do us a favor and add his name for me. That will save me another trip tomorrow. Besides, you have such standing before the Prince. Helping Little Li with this little matter would save me five or six trips back and forth."

Eunuch Ma laughed. "You really know how to flatter people, Manager Li. Hmm, young man, your name is Li Feng? The Eldest Prince recruited you into his household—that is your good fortune. You must serve the Eldest Prince well and do not make mistakes... The rules in the Prince's residence are strict. Learn gradually from Eunuch Li, and do not stir up any trouble."

Li Feng gave a deep Daoist bow and said with a smile, "Eunuch Ma, I will certainly learn the rules. I absolutely will not dare stir up trouble." His words were proper enough, but his eyes rolled constantly, and his entire face was the picture of impropriety.