Stirring Up Trouble

Chen Mu had never dared casually probe the Xuanguo Estate.

After all, the title of a duke's estate could not only cow the petty villains of every quarter, but also exert no small pressure on him. It was not until he had attained the ability to Night Wander at the Sixth Rank that he truly probed the Xuanguo Estate for the first time.

Yet after probing it, Chen Mu discovered that some of his previous assumptions might have been off.

The Xuanguo Estate was a duke's residence and wielded tremendous authority in the Capital, but it was not a martial sect, nor was it the Imperial Family's inner court.

He had not seen many powerful, flourishing blood auras in the rear courtyard.

Instead, over in the front courtyard, a rough sense told him that there were at least seven or eight blood auras above the Seventh Rank!

But it seemed that was as far as it went.

Those blood auras were indeed vigorous, clearly stronger than those of Fifth Rank Martial Artists, but perceptibly, they were only a cut above—not a disparity between heaven and earth.

By Chen Mu's judgment, the vast majority of those seven or eight blood auras were merely Fifth Rank.

Without a sound,

Chen Mu approached a residence in the front courtyard.

The blood aura within this residence was the thickest in the entire Xuanguo Estate, far more intense than those of the other Fifth Rank experts.

This was a residence in the outer estate, not the rear courtyard of the Xuanguo Estate. If he remembered correctly, the person inside seemed to be the Xuanguo Estate's sole Attendant from outside the clan, with an extremely high standing.

Aside from the Duke and the Old Madam, anyone who saw him had to treat him with due respect.

"Fourth Rank?"

Chen Mu gazed from afar and murmured inwardly.

It turned out this Attendant was only Fourth Rank.

Chen Mu was not especially alarmed. Instead, he felt... that it was a little too weak. The dignified duke's estate actually had only one Fourth Rank and a few Fifth Rank experts.

No.

He should say that he had never possessed a precise understanding of martial artists before.

Now that he thought about it, a Fourth Rank Martial Artist was already enough to become an Attendant in a duke's estate.

Just as Chen Mu was pondering,

suddenly,

a cold shout rang out from the residence ahead. In the pitch-black night, it was like a blazing sun exploding open, and the surging blood aura made Chen Mu's vision sting faintly.

"Who's sneaking around like a ghost? Come out!"

With that cold shout,

the figure with the dense blood aura in Chen Mu's perception had already burst out of the residence.

But Chen Mu did not panic. He merely shook his head slightly.

With a thought, his Soulmind dived downward and plunged directly into the earth, vanishing without a trace.

Whoosh!

About two breaths after Chen Mu disappeared, a figure flashed into the spot where he had been standing.

He was a middle-aged man. His body was not particularly burly—in fact, he was somewhat lean and gaunt—but the speed he had displayed in that instant was as terrifying as a ghostly shadow in the night!

The Xuanguo Estate's Attendant,

Zhao Li!

He landed where Chen Mu had stopped earlier and swept his gaze around. His brows immediately drew tight. After looking more carefully, he fell into a long silence.

Just then, several figures rapidly sped over from different directions. They soon gathered around Zhao Li, each warily scanning the surroundings.

"Mister Zhao, what happened?"

"What's going on? Did someone intrude into the duke's estate?"

These men all possessed dense blood auras. They were the few Fifth Rank Martial Artists stationed in the front courtyard.

Zhao Li stared at the ground. After frowning in thought for a while, he said, "Nothing. Go back."

The others were all stunned.

The commotion just now had clearly not looked like nothing had happened.

But seeing that Zhao Li had no intention of saying more, they exchanged glances, then each shook his head and stopped asking questions, returning to their respective areas of guard.

Zhao Li frowned and stood there for a while before turning and walking in one direction. He soon arrived at the largest courtyard in the center of the Xuanguo Estate and walked straight inside.

Along the way,

whether servants or maids, everyone lowered their heads and saluted when they saw Zhao Li. No one stepped forward to stop him.

Zhao Li soon arrived outside a study and raised his hand to knock.

"Come in."

A deep voice came from inside the study.

The door was pushed open.

What met the eye was a study rich with antique charm. A maid carried incense within, while a gorgeously dressed middle-aged man sat in a purple rattan chair beside her.

"My lord."

Zhao Li cupped his hands toward the man.

That man was none other than the current master of the Xuanguo Estate, Xuanguo Duke Chen Guang!

When Chen Guang saw that Zhao Li had entered, he smiled and said, "Ah, Mister Zhao. What is it?"

Zhao Li glanced at the maid beside him.

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

Only after the maid had left did Zhao Li step forward and lower his voice. "A sorcerer was probing the duke's estate just now. There was no trace or sound; he used the Night Wander technique."

"Night Wander, Sixth Rank?"

Chen Guang was slightly startled when he heard this.

Across the entire Capital, throughout the Directorate of Celestial Observation of Great Yuan, there were only a few hundred sorcerers. Those above the Seventh Rank numbered fewer than a hundred, and Sixth Rank sorcerers were rarer still.

For someone to send a Sixth Rank sorcerer to scout the Xuanguo Estate by night was something even the most powerful princes and dukes would struggle to accomplish. The only possibility Chen Guang could think of was the Imperial Family of Great Yuan!

But,

why would the Imperial Family send a sorcerer to scout the Xuanguo Estate by night?

Ever since inheriting his title, Chen Guang had worked diligently and never participated in factional struggles or internal power games. Though he occasionally accepted some bribes, such trivial matters should not have been enough for the Imperial Family to send a sorcerer to investigate him.

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

There were only some twenty or thirty Sixth Rank sorcerers in the Directorate of Celestial Observation. At that level, every one of them was someone whose name was known.

"I don't."

Zhao Li shook his head. "A Sixth Rank sorcerer using Night Wander to probe leaves no trace that can be captured unless one's martial cultivation has reached the Third Rank Grandmaster realm, or the person is extremely close to me."

After all, sorcerers using Night Wander could fly through the sky and escape into the earth. Even martial artists who reached the Fourth Rank—a superhuman level—could not burrow underground. There was simply no possibility of pursuit.

Chen Guang fell silent.

He carefully considered his actions during this period and went over many details again, yet still could not think of any problem. In the end, he shook his head slightly and said, "Perhaps it was merely a routine investigation."

"If you think so, my lord, then that is likely the case."

Zhao Li slowly spoke.

He himself was not sure why a sorcerer had come to scout the Xuanguo Estate by night. He had come to warn Chen Guang only because he was worried that Chen Guang had become entangled in some enormous trouble. But seeing that Chen Guang was not particularly flustered, Zhao Li quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, he was an Attendant of the Xuanguo Estate. If the Xuanguo Estate became caught up in some earth-shaking trouble, he could not possibly escape unscathed.

"Mm."

Chen Guang nodded.

Just then, Zhao Li caught sight of a sheet of paper on Chen Guang's desk. After a slight start, he smiled and said, "These few brief lines carry such grandeur and breadth that they leap from the page. Did you compose them, my lord?"

Chen Guang gave a self-deprecating laugh. "They were written by a concubine-born son of my eldest brother. They spread throughout the Capital in a single day. He is somewhat young and impetuous, but at least he did not disgrace the Xuanguo Estate's reputation."

"I see."

Zhao Li was somewhat surprised. He recited the poem twice more, then shook his head slightly and said, "If there is nothing else, my lord, I shall take my leave."

Chen Guang rose and escorted Zhao Li out of the study.

Then he returned, looking at the sheet of paper on the desk as he pondered briefly. He searched his mind for memories of Chen Mu, but in the end, he could recall only a vague outline.

The Xuanguo Estate had many concubine-born sons. Besides, Chen Mu was not his own child. If one or two of those without any ability happened to die, no one would pay them much attention.

After thinking for a while, Chen Guang still tossed the sheet of paper aside.

That line, "Soaring Straight Up Ninety Thousand Miles," revealed the spirit of youth and impetuosity in every character. If he rewarded him with something more, who knew what it might lead to?

It could be understood, but it could not be encouraged.