The Prince of Ancheng sat sipping tea, while Li Duoshou sat beside him, studying the room's furnishings.
"Mr. Li, have you noticed anything?" the prince asked with a smile, setting down his cup.
"Just an ordinary house." Li Duoshou shook his head, then added, "The Fortune's Arrival Tower to the east is marked with Incense Traces everywhere. Cultivators fought there, and one of them entered this courtyard. That must have been Hou Xiao. For him to lose to the Marquis of Linru County was quite unexpected."
"If the Marquis of Linru County weren't so gifted, you and I would probably have little peace right now." The Prince of Ancheng smiled and shook his head. "Have they found the cultivator from the Attendant Tower yet?"
"No." Li Duoshou's face was expressionless.
"The people from the Attendant Tower are remarkably unreliable." The Prince of Ancheng shook his head. "It's fortunate my nephew is unharmed. Otherwise, if I failed the task Gaozu entrusted to me and fell at Hou Andu's hands as well, all my grand ambitions would come to nothing!"
Li Duoshou's eyelids twitched. "Once we find the man, he'll be severely punished. Then we'll send more people." He paused. "Someone's coming."
Hou Andu walked in and went straight to the seat of honor.
"You've come a long way, Your Highness. Bring tea." Then he asked, "You've come about the Marquis of Linru County?"
"That's right," the Prince of Ancheng said without taking offense. "I know my nephew has had some friction with you, Your Grace. I've come to make peace between the two sides..."
Hou Andu waved a hand, cutting him off. "That isn't for you to decide. Go back."
The Prince of Ancheng frowned and drew a breath. "Your Grace, I did come to reconcile the two families, but quite