Chongzhou

"However, before that last emperor could open the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury, Great Qi fell. The seven keys in his possession vanished without a trace from then on."

At this, Cang Yinyue's gaze turned cold as she said,

"So stop pestering me. A wooden box alone cannot possibly open the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury!"

Hearing this, Li Musheng let out a deep sigh.

"Ah, I knew it wouldn't be that simple."

He tucked the wooden box into his robes, rose, and walked over to Cang Yinyue.

"Still, Miss Cang, you do know quite a lot. If there's anything I don't understand in the future, I'll ask you."

With that, he raised two fingers, preparing to undo her acupoints.

But halfway through, he suddenly stopped.

"You're not planning to knock me out again once I untie you, are you?"

"I won't."

Cang Yinyue replied swiftly and calmly.

Li Musheng chuckled.

"I'm afraid even you don't believe that."

Cang Yinyue snorted coldly.

"As long as I don't let you get close, I refuse to believe you can still strike my acupoints."

Li Musheng shook his head. This girl really was stubborn.

After giving it some thought, he suddenly said,

"Miss Cang, I actually have a way to remove the tattoo on your face."

At those words, Cang Yinyue's expression shifted almost imperceptibly, but quickly returned to normal. She said coldly,

"I don't believe you."

Li Musheng merely looked at her without speaking.

Cang Yinyue's gaze gradually dimmed. Then she spoke to herself,

"The person who tattooed my face had cultivated the Bone-Eroding Yin Wind Finger to the pinnacle of perfection. What you see is only the writing on the surface, but the characters have long since been carved into my facial bones. Like maggots gnawing at the bone, they can never be removed in this life or the next."

Hearing this, Li Musheng flicked a finger and directly released Cang Yinyue's acupoints. He said leisurely,

"Miss Cang, if you don't try some things, how will you know they're impossible?"

Sensing that her acupoints had been released, Cang Yinyue moved her now-mobile hand. The next instant, her entire figure vanished from where she stood, retreating backward like a ghostly shadow.

Soon, she stopped before the old tree where she had previously been standing, facing Li Musheng from afar.

Yet Li Musheng merely folded his arms and said,

"Don't forget, I'm the Seventh Prince who has fallen among the common folk. Every time you attack me, you are committing insubordination. Once I reclaim my status in the future, even the head of your Hidden Spy Bureau won't be able to protect you!"

Cang Yinyue fell silent for a moment. Then her straight body slowly leaned back against the old tree behind her.

"If you can truly remove that character from my face, then when you face a life-or-death crisis, I can risk my life to save yours!"

"There's no need for that."

Li Musheng smiled and shook his head. He raised one finger, then thought for a moment and added two more.

"Miss Cang only needs to promise me three conditions."

Cang Yinyue's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

"No problem!"

Li Musheng immediately looked surprised.

"You agreed that readily? Aren't you afraid I'll make some excessive demands?"

Cang Yinyue gave a cold laugh.

"If it is something I am unwilling to do, then even if I die, I will not do it."

"You've got backbone."

Li Musheng gave her a thumbs-up in praise, then turned and sat down before the campfire.

Yet in his heart, he was thinking about the Heavenly Revelation Secret Treasury. This was also a clue in his pursuit of transcendence through martial arts, but gathering all seven keys gave him quite a headache.

"How will you remove the character from my face?"

At this moment, Cang Yinyue, standing some distance away, took the initiative to speak.

"We'll discuss it once we reach Shangyang City."

Cang Yinyue stared at Li Musheng for a long while. In the end, she still answered with a single "Fine," then leaned against the tree, closed her eyes to rest, and said no more.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, after resting for the night, the two continued their journey on horseback toward Shangyang City, the Great Li Imperial Capital.

At first, Li Musheng was in no hurry. He rode leisurely, taking in the mountains and rivers along the road, finding a particular pleasure in the scenery.

Cang Yinyue did not urge him either. She sat steady atop her horse as though walking on level ground, cultivating her true qi through breathing while keeping pace with Li Musheng.

After several days like this, Li Musheng had grown tired of the scenery along the road.

After all, mountain paths were no famed scenic sites or ancient monuments. Beautiful sights worth seeing were pitifully few; most of what lay along the way was trees, grass, and dust stretching over the ground.

Thus, he finally abandoned his slow and unhurried manner and picked up the pace.

"Miss Cang, how many more days until we reach our destination?"

Li Musheng did not know the roads. Throughout this journey, every route and map existed only in Cang Yinyue's head.

"If we travel day and night, we can reach Jing Province in ten days. From there, it will take another day to reach the imperial capital. Traveling at a normal pace would require twenty days."

Cang Yinyue answered expressionlessly, then teased,

"Actually, you needn't be in such a rush. After all, the true prince is always the last to make his entrance."

Li Musheng had originally used those exact words as an excuse to travel more slowly. Now, they were returned to him word for word.

All he could do was shrug and continue onward somewhat sheepishly.

Several more days passed. The two riders, covered in dust from the road, entered Chongzhou.

The journey had been somewhat dull. They had encountered a band of mountain bandits blocking the road, but the moment they showed themselves, Cang Yinyue had dispatched them in an instant.

Apart from that, there had not been the slightest ripple.

According to Cang Yinyue, that band of bandits had been an accident. The routes she chose had all been specially screened by the Hidden Spy Bureau.

They deliberately bypassed dangerous regions and places where the martial world's factions were tangled and complex. It was the safest route, one least likely to spawn needless complications.

That was why their journey had gone so smoothly, with almost no mishaps.

However, after entering Chongzhou, Cang Yinyue visibly became more cautious. She no longer cultivated her true qi through breathing even once along the way, instead keeping watch over their surroundings at all times.

Li Musheng knew there had to be a reason for this, but he had no idea what it was. So he asked this living map and human Great Li encyclopedia.

"Miss Cang, what is so special about Chongzhou? You seem somewhat overly tense."

Cang Yinyue did not bother to be polite with Li Musheng. Along the way, whether she knew the answer or not, whenever he did not understand something, he would ask her about it.

To be honest, Li Musheng had begun to make her a little afraid.

But in the end, she still explained,

"Chongzhou has been unsettled lately. According to the Hidden Spy Bureau's secret reports, several of the largest martial world factions in the province seem to be on the verge of going to war with one another."

"The place we are in now lies within the sphere of influence of a martial world faction called the Bloodbath Alliance. Under the current circumstances, they will certainly guard every passageway."

"But this faction is both righteous and wicked, and not easy to deal with. Better one less trouble than one more. We should be more cautious and avoid running into them if possible."