A Galaxy of Talent

Outside the pavilion, the Overlord Dragon and the Ground Tiger exchanged blows, each displaying their unique skills.

Zuo Zixiong, upright and unyielding, wielded his two Divine Machine Treasure Blades, intertwined like a two-headed silver dragon. Without a hint of flourish, he charged directly at Bai Luo.

Bai Luo, clad in white, resembled a small white flower, maneuvering amidst the tempestuous waves. Though it appeared perilous, it was far from easy.

This coarse fellow, a product of the military camp, was so crude! He clearly didn't understand how to play!

As soon as Bai Luo finished speaking, telling Zuo Zixiong to convert, his opponent reacted as if he had encountered the mortal enemy who destroyed his clan. Every move was a life-or-death struggle.

"I, Zuo Zixiong, am a Yong Person in life and a Yong ghost in death. How dare you, a Demonic Cultivator, slander me!"

"Yong Person? You know yourself you're a mediocre one."

Bai Luo taunted as he searched for a way to break through.

The Tianxin Cult had only one objective on this mission: to assassinate the Crown Prince.

He didn't want to waste too much time on Zuo Zixiong.

After maneuvering for a moment and seeing how troublesome his opponent was, Bai Luo hardened his heart and said:

"Qin Incense Master, I'll hold this brute off. You quickly go and take the Crown Prince's dog head!"

As soon as Bai Luo finished speaking, a wealthy merchant, disguised as a patron of the arts, suddenly erupted from the crowd. The other disguised cult members also drew their blades from beneath tables and out of flower pots, charging towards the Crown Prince's private room.

Seeing this, Zuo Zixiong immediately pulled back to intercept, but Bai Luo was right behind him, giving him no chance to retreat.

"Zuo Zixiong! You've thwarted my plans time and again. Today, I will kill the Crown Prince right before your eyes, and you will bear the guilt of failing to protect him!"

Bai Luo's eyes glinted with malice. Back in the Imperial Capital, Zuo Zixiong had pursued him for a thousand miles. Now, disguised as a zither player, he should have easily taken the Crown Prince's life. But he hadn't expected this lackey to be so fiercely protective, merely sending the guards to deliver the zither but forbidding him from stepping into the Crown Prince's private chamber.

With old grudges and new ones piling up, how could he not hate?

In the corridors and walkways, the Crown Prince's guards were already locked in fierce combat with Qin Incense Master and others from the Tianxin Cult.

The Crown Prince, an old man past sixty, witnessed everything with a placid expression, as if he were accustomed to it.

Beside the Crown Prince stood an elder with a gentle demeanor, holding a whisk. He had worn a smile throughout.

Downstairs, a talented woman competing for the title of Courtesan Queen let out a cry of alarm on stage. It wasn't because she was harmed, but out of concern for the Cry of Cicadas Zither, which Bai Luo was using as a weapon.

Crown Prince Zhao You saw this and frowned. He then turned to the elder of his generation beside him and said, "Baban, don't hurt the beauty's feelings."

The pale, beardless elder immediately understood. He then opened his voice, like a duck's, and shouted down to Zuo Zixiong, who was fighting fiercely below:

"The Crown Prince has ordered that the Cry of Cicadas Zither must not be damaged!"

Downstairs, Zuo Zixiong leaped with all his might, his Divine Machine Treasure Blades dancing like a raging dragon. Just as they were about to strike Bai Luo, he was forced to pull back with all his strength, halting the descending blades.

This maneuver caused Zuo Zixiong's Blood Essence to surge backward, and he felt a metallic taste in his throat, almost spitting up blood.

Seeing this, Bai Luo burst into laughter. He then held his sword in one hand and the Cry of Cicadas Zither in the other, using it as a shield. The tables had instantly turned, and he was now on the offensive.

Zuo Zixiong, being upright and never disobeying the Crown Prince's orders, was forced to retract his attacks whenever Bai Luo used the zither as a shield. In an instant, he was like a prisoner shackled and chained, unable to unleash any of his myriad skills.

In just a few short breaths, he sustained several wounds.

"Zuo Zixiong, in their eyes, you're nothing more than a guard dog. You're not even worth as much as this broken zither in my hand. I truly feel it's not worth it for you."

"Demon, stop trying to confuse my mind! Take this blade!"

While saying "Take this blade," Zuo Zixiong suddenly tore open his robe, revealing several Divine Machine Darts that spun out and flew directly towards Bai Luo's face.

Although Bai Luo had the Cry of Cicadas Zither in hand, he dared not use it to block. If the zither were damaged, this martial artist might truly go berserk!

He dodged the hidden weapons and heard a thunderous roar from behind him.

It turned out that the Divine Machine Battalion's hidden weapons were ingeniously crafted, containing Thunder Fire. Upon contact with the pillars of the pavilion, they exploded.

Seeing this, the effeminate elder upstairs immediately cried out in alarm: "Commander Zuo, did you not hear my words? If you damage the Cry of Cicadas Zither, you will die a thousand deaths and never be forgiven!"

Inside the Xiangyin Small Pavilion, Xu Qing was constantly monitoring the situation outside. Although he hadn't witnessed the entire fight between Zuo Zixiong and Bai Luo, he had heard most of it.

However, he hadn't heard everything, as the commotion caused by Zhu Huai'an and Miss Zhen Wan in the pavilion upstairs was no less than that of Zuo Zixiong and his opponent.

While the Crown Prince was engaged in a fierce battle, here, the Azure Dragon and White Tiger were also in a chaotic entanglement.

Zhu Huai'an, being generous, had specifically selected "dowry" maids to serve the Wu brothers.

Wu Zhiyuan was worried about the situation outside, but Wu Wencai pulled him back, saying that a moment of spring night was worth a thousand pieces of gold. The Crown Prince wasn't so easily killed, and the commotion outside was likely just some petty thieves, not worth worrying about.

Now, only Xu Qing remained in the pavilion paying attention to the outside world. He didn't have time to attend to the maiden Zhu Huai'an had called for him. It wasn't until the commotion in the distance gradually subsided that he pushed open the pavilion door and walked alone into the depths of the Shuhuang Pavilion.

He encountered a hurried young servant and stopped him, asking, "I am a guest here to present a hair-combing gift to Miss Shuyu. May I ask where Miss Shuyu's pavilion is located?"

After receiving directions from the servant, Xu Qing avoided the noisy main hall and navigated through winding corridors. After several detours, he finally arrived below Miss Shuyu's pavilion.

Earlier, when the Yin Ghost Jade was presented as a hair-combing gift, he had paid close attention and remembered Miss Shuyu's stage name.

Now that the Shuhuang Pavilion was in chaos, it was the perfect time for him to fish in troubled waters.

"Are you... a constable from the Patrol Office?"

Upon reaching the boudoir where Shuyu resided, before Xu Qing could enter, he saw a distraught young man standing in front of the pavilion.

He had visited the government office frequently in recent days and had some impression of this person, remembering him as a constable from the Fast Squad of the Three Squads and Six Offices.

The other party also recognized Xu Qing. After a brief exchange between the two, who had met a few times, Xu Qing claimed he was just passing by. However, this yamen runner surnamed Zhang did not seem to be there by chance.

"Brother Zhang, since you've come to Shuhuang Pavilion, why not find a lady to entertain yourself? Why are you sitting here alone like a fool?"

Zhang Jun gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He then picked up the wine pot, intending to drown his sorrows, only to find it already empty.

"Woe is me, woe is me. You say I don't seek a woman to ease my worries, but you don't know that the woman I adore is inside entertaining someone else."

Hearing this, Xu Qing's lips parted slightly. What was this drama unfolding now?

Seeing Xu Qing remain silent, the drunken Zhang Jun pointed at the pavilion beside them and said, word by word, "Miss Shuyu is talented and virtuous. When she was young, her family was wealthy and prosperous. I was just the son of an oil seller, only able to see her occasionally when I accompanied my father to sell and deliver oil.

Later, her family fell into decline, and her mother remarried. I escorted her here to stay with relatives.

At the time, she repeatedly said that as soon as she settled down, she would marry me. But she, breaking her promise, relying on her talent, spared no effort and threw herself into this place.

I tried to see her many times, but she refused to even look me in the eye. Today, I brought the betrothal gifts and gave her all the silver I'd saved over the years, but she chose a decrepit old man to accompany her for the betrothal ceremony."

With that, Zhang Jun burst into laughter, then squatted on the ground and wept uncontrollably.

Xu Qing didn't know how to comfort him, so he simply asked, "Since she is heartless, why do you stay here grieving? Why not go back soon and find another good match?"

Zhang Jun lowered his head upon hearing this and said, "I fear she will be bullied. Those decrepit old men are best at tormenting women. If she is harmed and calls for help, and I am not here, who will help her?"

"..."

Xu Qing was speechless.

Inside the pavilion, Miss Shuyu's gasps sounded like heavy hammers, cruelly striking Zhang Jun.

The small Shuhuang Pavilion actually had so many talented people today.

Zhang Jun looked up at the pavilion, then asked Xu Qing, "What's happening outside? Why is it so noisy?"

Xu Qing replied, "I heard it's Demonic Cultivators from the Tianxin Cult attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince. They are currently engaged in a fierce battle."

"The Crown Prince? The future heir?"

A flicker of spirit suddenly appeared in Zhang Jun's clouded eyes.

The reason Shuyu chose that decrepit old man was simply because he was famous and wealthy. If he were to go and protect the Crown Prince now, risking his life for a future, as long as he succeeded, it would be meritorious service for protecting the royal.

With such merit, why would he lack a future?

As long as he had a future, wealth and riches would naturally not be lacking, and Shuyu would no longer reject him.

With this thought, Zhang Jun's spirits instantly lifted. He reached for the yamen runner's knife at his waist and prepared to leave.

"Brother Zhang, where are you going?"

"To protect the Crown Prince!"

"The ones attempting assassination are Demonic Cultivators from the Tianxin Cult. You are no match for them."

"The less of a match I am, the greater the merit! If there's no merit, living is pointless!"

Watching Zhang Jun's resolute figure, Xu Qing wasn't sure what madness had taken hold of him.

However, his departure made things convenient for him.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Xu Qing slipped into the small pavilion. At this moment, Miss Shuyu, with the assistance of her personal maid, was doing her utmost to serve the patron who was older than her father.

Xu Qing activated his Qi Gazing Technique, silently observing his surroundings. Finally, he discovered the whereabouts of the Yin Ghost Jade within a cosmetic box used for dressing.