Chapter 811: King Song Moves! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

”Mm.”

King Song gave a slight nod. Fumeng Lingcha was the Qixi Protector-General, and enjoyed a high status and great influence. In his early years, he had had a chance to meet this Great General. Though this most senior of the Imperial Great Generals appeared crude and boorish, he was actually an exceptionally shrewd man.

The trusted aide that Fumeng Lingcha had dispatched from Qixi had been extremely careful, not taking the usual roads to the capital and traveling on many detours. Sometimes he would stop, sometimes he would turn around, and he would even occasionally make his way onto a completely different road. In short, trailing him was extremely troublesome. As he approached the capital, this subordinate became even more cautious, making a large detour so that he would enter through the southern gate instead of the western gate.

Subordinates emulated their superiors, and King Song was completely capable of seeing the characteristics of Fumeng Lingcha on this man.

”Bring out the drawing. Since that child Wang Chong views this matter with such importance and even entrusted me with it, I can't allow any mistakes. So many people go through the gates that Old Eagle's birds might not be able to keep up. Watch carefully. He can't be allowed to sneak into the city without our knowledge,” King Song firmly said.

”Yes!” The old butler and a black-clothed expert with an icy expression replied in unison.

King Song was an Imperial Prince of the Great Tang, and after several generations, his house had built up a vast reserve of resources and many experts, not just the old butler. The black-clothed expert was one of them.

Time slowly passed, and as the darkness deepened, King Song and his party melded into the shadows, their presence dwindling into nothing. None of them moved, transforming into sculptures on the side of the road. After some time, when the gates were almost about to close, the turbid eyes of the old butler suddenly began to shine with a sharp and hawkish light.

At almost the same time, King Song's eyes twitched and his body straightened. Though he remained motionless, his eyes had fixed upon a turbaned Hu merchant whose eyes seemed to be focused on the ground. Although this Hu merchant was doing his utmost to remain inconspicuous, he was quite obvious in this gate that was normally traversed by the Han.

Both smart and dumb.

King Song chuckled as he suddenly strode out, walking against the flow of the crowd. He stopped in front of the Hu merchant, stopping him from going any farther.

”Qifu Li, I've been waiting for you for a long time.”

Such simple and softly-spoken words might as well have been a peal of thunder in this Hu merchant's ears. His shoulders trembled as he raised his head, his deep, blue eyes wide open with shock.

”Hmph, exactly who I'm looking for.”

King Song didn't even need to check the drawing. Just the reaction of this Hu merchant was enough to confirm that he was Fumeng Lingcha's trusted subordinate. Qifu Li instantly felt intense danger, and his dantian exploded with a storm of energy. But before he could do anything more, a silver shoe lightly stamped on the ground. An inconceivably powerful energy traveled through the earth, instantly blasting through the Hu merchant's defenses and surging through the Yongquan Point at the sole of his foot on into the rest of his body. In mere moments, all of Qifu Li's body was under King Song's control.

King Song had moved with such speed and subtlety that the battle had started and concluded before the surrounding crowd had even noticed.

”Your Highness, Young Master Chong's drawing! It's him without a doubt,” the old butler whispered as he emerged like a ghost next to King Song. The unfurled paper in his hands contained a drawing of a Hu that exactly matched the Hu merchant in front of them.

”It's him!”

Lu Ting had also come over, and he used a hand to raise the sleeves of the Hu merchant, whereupon he spotted the black 玉 character branded onto his right wrist. Lu Ting didn't know martial arts, so he was of no help in intercepting Fumeng Lingcha's subordinate. He had another purpose.

”Qifu, if you were coming to the capital, why didn't you tell us? Haha, didn't your grandfather say that he wrote a letter for me? Hand it over; let me take a look.”

Lu Ting was all smiles as he extended a right hand and smoothly extracted a letter from Qifu Li's bosom. Lu Ting had a very calm expression, giving off the feeling that he was an old friend of the merchant's, and nobody noticed anything strange. Swish! The letter was opened and a white sheet of paper removed. His eyes squinted and smiling, Lu Ting began to scan the letter.

And then his eyes locked onto a cinnabar seal stamped on the lower right corner of the paper.

Lu Ting lowered his head and whispered so that only King Song and the old butler could hear. ”Your Highness, it really is the seal of Fumeng Lingcha's Qixi Protectorate. Your subordinate saw it once in the records of the Bureau of Military Personnel. There's no doubt about it.”

Lu Ting's task in this operation was simple. He just needed to see whether Fumeng Lingcha's letter was real or forged.