Great Li Martial God

Great Li Imperial Palace, Tranquil Heart Hall.

Li Tianyi, the Chief Secretary of the Ceremonial Directorate, wore golden python-embroidered robes. His face was gaunt and his skin fair. Although his hair was completely white as snow, his face showed no signs of aging.

He looked at the corpses filling the hall, his gaze finally falling on Imperial Consort Ji's body, whose skin was not intact in the slightest and whose eyes were filled with painful terror like an evil ghost.

"The methods were truly cruel."

He slightly pursed his thin lips, then gently closed his eyes.

In an instant, the cool morning breeze that had originally been flowing in from outside the Tranquil Heart Hall completely dissipated silently in this moment, as if the entire space of the great hall had frozen at this instant.

Only a cold and sinister true qi remained, like a giant python coiled above the Tranquil Heart Hall, hovering without cease.

After a while, Li Tianyi slowly opened his eyes, his snow-white brows furrowing, "Not a trace of unusual martial aura remains in the surroundings. This old servant actually can't discern what kind of martial technique was used."

Li Tianyi pondered silently, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes as he said softly, "Was this matter done by someone within the palace? Or did someone truly manage to come and go freely in the Great Li inner palace, killing without a trace?"

At this time, the sound of armor clashing and heavy footsteps shaking the ground came from outside the Tranquil Heart Hall. All the uniform sounds came to an abrupt halt before the Tranquil Heart Hall. Then, teams of guards with cold armor surrounded the entire Tranquil Heart Hall like an iron barrel.

"Greetings, Eunuch Li!"

A middle-aged general wearing black armor engraved with cloud dragons and a majestic beast-headed helmet came behind Li Tianyi and stood with a bow.

His gaze quietly swept over the scene inside the Tranquil Heart Hall at this moment, a trace of shock flashing across his face.

Although before coming to the Tranquil Heart Hall, he had heard a general account from the eunuch conveying orders, seeing it with his own eyes now still left him somewhat unsettled.

For such a major tragedy to occur in the palace, in his over ten years serving in the Forbidden Army, this was the first time he had witnessed such a thing.

"Xiao Han, immediately seal off the palace. From this moment on, no one is permitted to leave. Additionally, send people to Six Doors and the Hidden Intelligence Bureau. Have skilled Divine Constables and evidence-gathering commanders bring people to the imperial palace to assist in investigating this case."

Li Tianyi spoke without turning his head. Although his tone was calm, his brow remained tightly furrowed, clearly treating this matter with extreme caution.

Hearing this, Xiao Han hurriedly cupped his fists in acknowledgment. However, after hesitating slightly for a moment, he asked again, "Should this matter be reported to the Third Prince and the Right Minister?"

Li Tianyi pondered for a moment but didn't speak.

Imperial Consort Ji was not only the Third Prince's mother consort, but also the daughter of the current Right Minister.

Now that Imperial Consort Ji had met such a miserable end, he couldn't immediately decide whether to notify them right away.

"This old servant cannot make this decision. You need to ask Her Majesty the Empress for her decree."

Li Tianyi looked back at the Forbidden Army general behind him, while also reminding, "However, this old servant suggests waiting until after Six Doors and the Hidden Intelligence Bureau have investigated the scene before saying anything. Otherwise, if those two become emotionally agitated and do something irrational, it could very likely cause complications."

Hearing this, Xiao Han nodded lightly. Finally looking at the hall once more, he immediately took his leave and departed.

...

Tianjin Guards Headquarters.

In the courtyard filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, early in the morning, Cang Yinyue had already eagerly come to see Li Musheng.

"This is the Bone-Corroding Dark Wind Finger manual I found last night. Could Your Highness please see if it's useful?"

Cang Yinyue produced a blue-covered book bound with thread stitching, a trace of anticipation showing between her brows.

After learning Li Musheng's identity had been acknowledged by Emperor Yuanwu from Shangguan Qingqing, although she was surprised at how quickly this matter had developed, she had still easily accepted it all. Moreover, her form of address toward Li Musheng had unknowingly changed.

"Miss Cang need not be so distant. I still prefer how you were before."

Li Musheng smiled and glanced at her, reaching out to take the martial arts manual.

A strange look floated in Cang Yinyue's eyes. However, she still cupped her fists firmly in salute, "There must be proper order between high and low. It cannot be transgressed."

Hearing this, Li Musheng shook his head and didn't say anything more.

His gaze fell on the Bone-Corroding Dark Wind Finger manual before him, rapidly flipping through it. Before long, he had read through the entire martial technique.

Cang Yinyue, wearing her veil, stared at him somewhat nervously without stopping, carefully asking, "How is it? What certainty does Your Highness have in resolving the tattoo on my face?"

Li Musheng shrugged, picked up the teacup on the stone table before him and took a sip of tea, smiling, "Miss Cang, your question clearly shows some disrespect toward me. This isn't a question of how much certainty I have, but rather you should be asking how many hours it will take for me to restore your appearance."

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue's face immediately showed delight.

She reached up through her veil to touch her face, took a deep breath, and asked somewhat nervously, "Then when do we start?"

"Of course, we can start right now."

Li Musheng suddenly raised his hand lightly, and Cang Yinyue felt the heaven and earth true qi around her suddenly empty.

Soon, a scorching, blazing golden light appeared before her eyes, approaching her face at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Cang Yinyue instinctively wanted to dodge, but after glancing at Li Musheng, she ultimately stood still without moving, allowing the golden light before her to merge into her face.

Gradually, a warm qi mechanism invaded her skin. The wisps of sinister cold qi that had originally been attached to her facial bones immediately fled like avoiding snakes and scorpions, rising from between skin and flesh, but were extinguished by that qi mechanism in the blink of an eye.

Before long, everything calmed down. The entire process had only taken a few breaths of time.

Cang Yinyue gently touched her cheek. She could clearly feel that the cold, stinging pain that had occasionally appeared from the tattoo on her face had already disappeared. Her skin felt itchy, as if it had a tendency to gradually heal.

At this time, Li Musheng took out a porcelain bottle from his chest, reached out and handed it to Cang Yinyue, "This is superior ointment for treating scars that I obtained from the Tianjin Guards. The tattoo on your face has already been healed fifty percent by true qi. Apply this, and in twelve hours it will be completely healed."

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue received the porcelain bottle. Although she already felt confident at this moment, she still found it somewhat hard to believe.

The tattoo that had plagued her like a nightmare for so many years had truly just been resolved by Li Musheng like this?

Moreover, he had merely flipped through the Bone-Corroding Dark Wind Finger manual and seemingly hadn't needed the manual much at all.

Li Musheng seemed to see through Cang Yinyue's confusion and waved his hand, "The manual was still quite useful. At least it let me know that this thing is fundamentally useless. Previously, I had overestimated this martial technique and was overly cautious!"

Hearing this, Cang Yinyue's eyelids twitched.

However, having witnessed Li Musheng's terrifying strength, she had long since become accustomed to such surprises.

Immediately after, she hurriedly expressed her thanks, then eagerly went to find a place in the adjacent courtyard to apply the ointment.