Chapter 8: Nighttime Observation of a Dark Battle
North Long Street, the Great Qian.
Being closely adjacent to the Imperial Palace and official offices, this place was where most high-ranking court ministers resided.
Inside a two-courtyard residence.
"Eunuch Li, is there any progress on the matter I asked you to look into last time?" Qin Baijun gazed at the eunuch before him.
"Ordinarily, this humble servant shouldn't spread matters of the palace outside. However, Young Master Qin and Princess Miaoxuan are fellow apprentice-brother and sister, the Lingxu Sect and the Imperial Court have always been on friendly terms, and your esteemed father also holds the post of an Imperial Inner Court Attendant, making us practically family. Thus, this humble servant will speak plainly without hiding anything."
Saying this, Li Haiming paused for a moment: "There truly was a bizarre incident eight months ago. That very night, His Majesty flew into a rage, smashing his most cherished Pine Pollen Imperial Inkstone to smithereens. The next day, Prince Gu was stripped of one rank, and Prince Gu's Heir Apparent, Gu Yuanxuan, was actually stripped of his cultivation and banished to the borderlands due to the matter of forcibly seizing a commoner's daughter half a year prior. Yet, he was waylaid and killed by bandits less than three hundred li from the Capital City. Heh, and to think it strange, bandits actually appearing near the Imperial Capital. Isn't that dozing off right under a tiger's jaws?"
"You mean to say, the child in Miaoxuan's womb belongs to Prince Gu's Heir Apparent? And he died eight months ago?" Qin Baijun's expression turned stern and cold. Even knowing this matter had already been several months, he still couldn't remain calm in the face of it.
"This humble servant never said Princess Miaoxuan had a clandestine pregnancy. Such matters are not for Young Master Qin to speak of recklessly. This humble servant was merely mentioning that such a bizarre incident occurred nine months ago." Li Haiming's tone was somewhat shrill.
Qin Baijun ignored Li Haiming's words, as these remarks were merely a cover-up. He retrieved a box from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and pushed it across, saying, "Sorry for the trouble regarding this matter, Eunuch Li. Inside this box is a Leopard Fetus Tendon Changing Marrow Cleansing Pill uniquely crafted by my Lingxu Sect, just to express a modest token of my appreciation."
Li Haiming was overjoyed. He received it with both hands, opened it for a glance, and then carefully tucked it into his waist pouch before rising with a beaming smile and cupping his fists: "On behalf of my nephew, I thank Young Master Qin."
"You're welcome. I wish your nephew success in his cultivation soon."
"Many thanks, many thanks, I'll take your kind words. Oh, right, Young Master Qin, there is one more matter. This humble servant does not know whether it is true or false, but I heard that in Prince Gu's household there is also a concubine-born son named... Gu Yuanqun, who was also taken away by the Imperial Guards during those few days, and rumor has it he was sent to North Spring Mountain to be imprisoned."
Hearing this, Qin Baijun abruptly stood up: "What do you mean by those words, Eunuch Li?"
"This humble servant only heard it said; perhaps it is merely a rumor. As for whether it is true or false, Young Master Qin naturally has his own judgment. One cannot leave the palace for too long, so this humble servant will not intrude any further. Farewell!" Li Haiming clutched his fly-whisk, cupped his fists, took three steps back, and turned to leave.
"Gu Yuanqun? How could he, mere concubine-born son of the Gu Family, dare to do such a thing?"
Qin Baijun's expression was icy and gloomy. Having left in grief and indignation that day, a whole month had passed and he still harbored lingering resentment, even affecting his cultivation.
Upon inquiring later, he had not heard any news of a grand wedding for Great Qian's Princess Miaoxuan, leading him to surmise that this was a clandestine pregnancy.
If she had been married through proper and open courting, that would be one thing, but how could he endure this current state of affairs? He had immediately returned to the royal capital, yet couldn't even manage to see Princess Miaoxuan's face.
He had secretly investigated the matter, originally thinking it was some prominent aristocratic family or heaven-sent prodigy, and now to discover it was actually a concubine-born son filled his heart with even greater, unbearable rage. All his emotions completely transformed into murderous intent.
"On North Spring Mountain, is he?"
Qin Baijun's voice was low, suffused with murderous intent.
On North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing was in a fairly good mood.
His cultivation had broken through, leaving the path ahead broad and untrammeled.
Apart from a slight dissatisfaction that no one was around to speak with him, everything else was carefree and at ease.
He harvested the Heavenly Gang at dawn and the Earthly Sha at dusk, practicing his cultivation technique with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi at the Rat hour. His cultivation progress advanced by leaps and bounds, with only the threshold of becoming a grandmaster remaining before the vastness of the world would be open to him.
His swordsmanship had progressed by bounds even more: the Big Dipper Seven Swords had already entered the chamber and ascended to the hall, and a nascent form of Sword Intent was quietly growing.
He did not know what his combat prowess was at the moment, but he reckoned ordinary Profound Martial Low Rank cultivators were no longer his match.
At night, after finishing his cultivation, he would lie on his bed and begin Mountain Observation, fusing as one with North Spring Mountain, comprehending the communication between the mountain and this realm of heaven and earth. In this half-asleep, half-awake state of spiritual consciousness, he nourished and grew his mind; the Spirit Refining Methods within all manner of secret manuals fell short of Mountain Observation.
Suddenly, he was jolted awake from that wondrous realm as two figures breached the domain of North Spring Mountain from the west cliff.
Both of them wore black garments, black cloth masking their faces, and carried flying swords on their backs—standard night-traveler attire. Their cultivation was also quite impressive; the sheer, precipitous cliffs were to them like walking on flat ground, and in the blink of an eye they reached the mid-mountain position.
"Could they also be after the hidden treasures of North Spring Mountain? Are they accomplices to that old man?"
As Gu Yuanqing was pondering this, he happened to see these two run squarely into the old man who had crawled out from his cave.
All three of them were engaged in covert deeds, and their six eyes meeting caused them all a start, prompting them to strike out almost by natural reflex.
The firewood saber at the old man's waist had already been drawn into his hand, and a sky-full of saber light swept toward the opposing pair. The two also drew the flying swords from their backs, meeting the attack like wandering dragons.
Clang, clang, clang—a succession of weapon-clashing sounds rang out.
"Oh? It looks like saber technique, but actually it carries the shadow of the Big Dipper Sword Technique! Could this old man formerly have been a disciple of the North Spring Sword Sect?" Gu Yuanqing possessed extraordinary sword dao cultivation and had practiced the Big Dipper Sword Technique himself, so with just a single glance he "saw" the flavor within it.
"To think they aren't accomplices after all. This is rather amusing."
Gu Yuanqing watched with rapt interest. Previously, his cultivation had been too low, and most of what he saw was ordinary Origin Scholars exchanging blows; occasionally catching a glimpse of True Martial Realm experts fighting, he hadn't been able to see clearly at all. Naturally, things were different now.
This battle was far more interesting to watch than martial arts fights on television in his past life.
"Tsk tsk, the speed is certainly fast. Still, the swordsmanship is mediocre; with every sword thrust, I can spot at least two to three flaws." Gu Yuanqing shook his head repeatedly.
"This old man isn't much to speak of either. Could he really not tell? If that last move had been changed to Coiled Roots Pointing Geese and then transitioned into Parting Clouds to See the Sun, it could instantly—oh, wait, that upward slash of Parting Clouds to See the Sun would happen to reveal a flaw and sell an opening to the other person."
Gu Yuanqing gradually immersed himself in the scene, and various sword insights he had never possessed before surged into his mind one after another. After all, although his swordsmanship was good, he had never experienced actual combat; sword practice and fighting were completely different things.
Just as he was watching with fascination, the old man's moves abruptly shifted. A three-inch-long sword qi pierced out from the firewood saber in his hand, and his once-spurious swordsmanship transformed into the genuine Big Dipper Sword Technique.
The two men in black were caught off guard. Two streaks of sword light broke through their sword momentum almost back-to-back, landing squarely upon them.
Blood splattered forth, and both men let out a muffled grunt as they plummeted down from the mid-mountain slope.
The old man lowered his head for a glance, did not give chase, and instead swiftly made his way up the mountain to return to his dwelling.
"Just like that, it's suddenly over? This ending is far too sloppy." Gu Yuanqing was stunned. He hadn't seen enough yet; it felt just like watching a movie at the most exciting part when the power suddenly cuts out.
However, he immediately understood the reason as a helmet-and-armor-clad figure approached from afar. Upon that figure's body, an eagle phantom emerged, and with every step he strode forward, the wings of that eagle would flap once, rendering his movement technique as fast as lightning!
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