Alarmed

Chen Mu had never dared to casually probe the Xuanguo Estate before.

After all, the title of a Ducal Estate not only deterred various petty individuals but also gave him considerable pressure, so much so that he only truly probed the Xuanguo Estate for the first time after gaining the ability of Sixth Rank Night Roaming.

But upon this probe, Chen Mu found that his previous thoughts might have been somewhat off.

The Xuanguo Estate was a Ducal Estate and held extremely high power in Kyoto, but it was not some Jianghu sect or the imperial inner court after all.

He didn't see many vigorous and strong blood energies in the back courtyard.

However, in the front courtyard, a rough perception allowed him to determine that at least seven or eight streams of blood energy were above the Sixth Rank!

But it seemed that was the extent of it.

While these blood energies were indeed vigorous and clearly superior to Sixth Rank Martial Artists, the perceived difference was only a slight edge, not a heaven-and-earth gap.

According to Chen Mu's judgment, the vast majority of these seven or eight streams of blood energy were only Fifth Rank.

Silently.

Chen Mu approached a residence in the front courtyard.

The blood energy within this residence was the most profound in the entire Xuanguo Estate, much stronger than the other Fifth Ranks.

This was a residence in the outer courtyard, not the back courtyard of the Xuanguo Estate. If he remembered correctly, the person inside seemed to be the only external retainer in the Xuanguo Estate, holding a very high status.

Besides the Xuanguo Duke and the Old Madam, anyone who saw him had to show respect.

"Fourth Rank?"

Chen Mu glanced from afar and muttered in his heart.

So this retainer was only Fourth Rank.

Chen Mu wasn't particularly startled or afraid; instead, he felt... a bit too weak. A dignified Ducal Estate only had one Fourth Rank and a few Fifth Ranks.

No.

He should say that before, he didn't have a very precise concept of Martial Artists.

Now it seemed that a Fourth Rank Martial Artist was enough to be a retainer-like existence in a Ducal Estate.

Just as Chen Mu was contemplating.

Suddenly.

A cold shout came from the residence ahead, like a scorching sun exploding in the dark night. The profound blood energy made Chen Mu's vision feel a slight sting.

"Who is sneaking around! Come out now!"

Along with this cold shout.

The figure with the profound blood energy that Chen Mu perceived had already rushed out of that residence.

But Chen Mu wasn't flustered; he just shook his head slightly.

With a thought, his mind and soul plunged downwards, directly entering the ground and disappearing.

Swish!

Just after Chen Mu disappeared, about two breaths later, a figure flashed and appeared at the spot where Chen Mu had been.

He looked like a middle-aged man, not particularly robust, even a bit gaunt, but his speed in that instant was as terrifying as a ghost in the night!

Xuanguo Estate's attendant,

Zhao Li!

He landed at the spot where Chen Mu had been, scanned the surroundings, and his brows immediately furrowed. After looking carefully again, he fell silent.

At this moment, several figures also swiftly darted over from other directions, quickly gathering around Zhao Li, each vigilantly looking around.

"Mr. Zhao, what's wrong?"

"What happened? Did someone trespass into the Duke's estate?"

These few people also had strong vital energy; they were the Sixth Rank Martial Artists from the front courtyard.

Zhao Li stared at the ground, frowned in thought for a while, then said, "It's nothing, go back."

The few people were stunned upon hearing this.

The commotion just now clearly didn't seem like nothing had happened.

But seeing that Zhao Li didn't intend to say more, the few people exchanged glances, then shook their heads and didn't ask further, each returning to their respective guarded areas.

Zhao Li frowned and paused for a while, then turned and walked in one direction, quickly arriving at the center of the Xuanguo Estate, in the largest courtyard, and walked straight inside.

Along the way,

Whether it was servants or maids, when they saw Zhao Li, they bowed their heads in greeting, and no one stepped forward to stop him.

Zhao Li quickly arrived outside a study and reached out to knock on the door.

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside the study.

The door was pushed open.

What came into view was an antique study. Inside the study, there were maids holding incense burners, and on a wisteria wood chair beside them sat a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothing.

"Duke."

Zhao Li cupped his hands towards the man.

That man was the current master of the Xuanguo Estate, Xuanguo Duke, Chen Guang!

Chen Guang saw that the person who came in was Zhao Li, smiled, and said, "It's Mr. Zhao. What is it?"

Zhao Li glanced at the maid beside him.

Chen Guang's gaze slightly narrowed, and he waved his hand, signaling the maid to withdraw.

After the maid left, Zhao Li stepped forward and whispered, "Just now, a Sorcerer was probing the Duke's estate, without a trace or sound, using the method of Night Roaming."

"Night Roaming, Sixth Rank?"

Chen Guang was slightly startled upon hearing this.

Looking across the entire Kyoto, the entire Da Yuan Directorate of Celestial Observation, there were only a few hundred Sorcerers, and less than a hundred above Seventh Rank, let alone Sixth Rank.

To be able to dispatch a Sixth Rank Sorcerer to secretly investigate the Xuanguo Estate at night, even the most powerful princes and marquises would find it difficult to achieve. The only thing Chen Guang could think of was the Da Yuan imperial family!

However,

Why would the imperial family send a Sorcerer to investigate the Xuanguo Estate at night?

Since inheriting his title, Chen Guang had always been diligent and never participated in factional struggles or internal strife. Although he occasionally accepted some bribes, such trivial matters should not warrant the imperial family sending a Sorcerer to investigate him.

Chen Guang fell into deep thought for a moment, saying, "Do you know exactly which one it was?"

There were only twenty or thirty Sixth Rank Sorcerers in the Directorate of Celestial Observation. At this level, each one was a known entity.

"I don't know."

Zhao Li shook his head and said, "A Sixth Rank Sorcerer investigating at night, unless one's Martial Dao cultivation has reached the Third Rank Grandmaster realm, or they are extremely close to me, it's impossible to capture any traces."

After all, Sorcerers could fly and burrow underground during their night travels, while Martial Artists, even at the Fourth Rank, a non-human level, could not burrow underground, making tracking impossible.

Chen Guang fell silent for a moment.

He carefully considered his actions during this period and reviewed many details, still unable to find any issues. Finally, he shook his head slightly and said, "Perhaps it was just a routine investigation."

"If the Duke thinks so, then that's likely the case."

Zhao Li spoke slowly.

He wasn't entirely sure why a Sorcerer would investigate the Xuanguo Estate at night. He came to warn Chen Guang because he was worried he might be involved in some major trouble. Seeing that Chen Guang wasn't very flustered, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he was a retainer of the Xuanguo Estate. If the Xuanguo Estate got involved in some earth-shattering trouble, he wouldn't be able to escape either.

"Mm."

Chen Guang nodded.

Just then, Zhao Li glanced at a piece of paper on Chen Guang's desk. After a slight pause, he smiled and said, "These few lines, the grandeur leaps off the page. Was this written by the Duke?"

Chen Guang chuckled and said, "It was written by a concubine's son of my eldest brother. It spread throughout Kyoto in a day. Although he's a bit young and impetuous, it hasn't disgraced the Xuanguo Estate's reputation."

"So that's how it is."

Zhao Li was slightly surprised. He read the poem twice more carefully, then shook his head slightly and said, "If the Duke has nothing else, I will take my leave."

Chen Guang got up and escorted Zhao Li out of the study.

Then he returned, looking at the page on the desk and pondering briefly, searching his mind for memories of Chen Mu, but in the end, he could only recall a vague outline.

After all, the Xuanguo Estate had many concubine's sons, and he wasn't even the one who fathered them. If one or two of those without much ability occasionally died, no one would even care.

After thinking for a while, Chen Guang still tossed the page aside.

That line, 'Soaring Straight Up Ninety Thousand Miles,' already revealed the meaning of youthful impetuosity in every word. If he were to bestow anything more, he didn't know what would happen.

It could be understood, but not encouraged.