Li Musheng glanced at the hemp-robed elderly man and the six courtesans surrounding him, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
He genuinely could not fathom how the old man had the nerve to say that with a straight face.
He did not particularly care about the matter, however, and simply waved a hand, saying, "What do you want to ask?"
Hearing this, the hemp-robed elderly man was quiet for a moment, then sent a transmission through a thread of condensed True Qi, saying, "This old one wishes to know why the Great Li court has suddenly moved against Falling God Peak. What exactly do you have to rely on?"
Li Musheng narrowed his eyes and looked at him with a composed air, saying, "Do you think I would tell you something that important?"
At those words, the hemp-robed elderly man immediately fell silent. He knew perfectly well in his own heart that the question had been abrupt. After all, whatever ace the Great Li court held against Falling God Peak would naturally be an enormous secret, and there was no reason it would be shared with an outsider.
But right at that moment, Li Musheng continued, "Of course, if you genuinely want to know, I do not mind telling you."
The hemp-robed elderly man's expression shifted at once, and he hurriedly waved the courtesans around him to stop what they were doing, saying, "Young master truly means this?"
Li Musheng gave a slight nod, then said in an entirely casual manner, "The two questions you just asked actually have only one answer. And that answer is naturally... me."
The rest of what the hemp-robed elderly man had been about to say never left his mouth, but from his reaction it was evident he was not convinced by Li Musheng's words.
And right at that moment, the scarred man suddenly walked over.
After being stopped by the two of them earlier, he had not carried things any further, but had instead spent the time slapping the black-dressed woman's face a dozen or more times in furious succession, leaving it in a dreadful state before tossing her to one side.
"Senior, I have been thinking it over carefully. If we were to make our escape right now, there may still be some chance of getting out of Hundred Refinements City."
Having vented his rage, the scarred man had gradually begun to calm down and was no longer resigned to dying. He was now racking his brains for any way to survive.
He knew full well that having offended Falling God Peak, the odds of coming out alive were nearly nothing. But the hemp-robed elderly man's martial cultivation was formidable, and a wretched life was still better than a clean death, so he naturally still wanted to try.
Hearing this, the hemp-robed elderly man turned to glance at the scarred man without saying a word, and inwardly was turning over the matter of the Great Li court moving against Falling God Peak.
As for Li Musheng's words, he set them aside entirely.
At that point, the little girl who had left the hall suddenly flashed back in, and immediately said urgently to the hemp-robed elderly man, "Falling God Peak's people have come."
Hearing this, the scarred man's expression stalled, and then his face flooded with terror as he looked toward the entrance, murmuring, "It is over."
At that moment, a group of people walked slowly into the hall from outside.
At their head were two young men in dark cloud-peak robes. Behind them followed two young women of graceful appearance, along with two elderly men and a middle-aged man.
"I hear someone came to cause trouble at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion. Quite a rare thing."
One of the young men, square-faced and wearing a jade coronet, spoke as he walked, his hands clasped behind his back.
He swept a look over the hall, taking in the state of the black-dressed woman and the large men on the ground.
"Taking a closer look, they do seem to have had some ability."
With that, the square-faced young man looked toward the scarred man and the others and asked mildly, "Who did this?"
The other young man beside him, lean-faced, crossed his arms and let his gaze pass over the little girl in pink without interest, looking the scarred man and the other two over one by one, saying, "Let me guess. The one who acted was probably..."
He extended a finger and pointed through the air, letting it come to rest on the hemp-robed elderly man, saying, "This old fellow, no question."
"Although, for Brother Zheng to be the young master of Hundred Refinements City, he has been a little careless. To let people like these in without stopping them."
Hearing this, the square-faced young man Zheng Zi narrowed his eyes slightly, saying, "Brother Yuwen is joking. In a few more days it will be my father's birthday. Hundred Refinements Peak has been receiving visitors from martial world powers from all directions one after another, and it is only natural that some small fish might slip through the net."
With that, Zheng Zi turned to look at the hemp-robed elderly man and the others, saying, "Tell me what manner of death you prefer. I will leave you with a complete corpse at least. You can hang at the gate of Hundred Refinements City as a public display."
Then he shook his head to himself, his expression going cold, saying, "I do not know what has gotten into things lately. Whether it is that our Falling God Peak has been too restrained, or that the martial world has been peaceful for too long, but all manner of strays are now daring to walk over Falling God Peak's head."
"The Great Li Tianjin Guards in particular. Who gave those dogs the nerve to move against our Falling God Peak?"
By the final words his voice had gone through gritted teeth in barely contained fury, and killing intent radiated from every inch of him.
At the same time, the scarred man's entire body was trembling, and he looked at the hemp-robed elderly man and Li Musheng beside him.
He had naturally heard every word Zheng Zi and the others had said, and what filled him with complete despair was that the person who had shown up was none other than the young master of Hundred Refinements City.
At this point he was more or less certain he was going to die.
Even so, before he died, he wanted to see with his own eyes exactly how these two men, who had dragged him here to die with them, were going to meet their end.
At that point, the hemp-robed elderly man and Li Musheng exchanged a glance, and the elderly man sent a quiet transmission through a condensed thread, asking, "What does young master intend to do? Has the Great Li court secretly arranged martial artists in ambush nearby?"
Hearing this, Li Musheng shook his head, saying, "You need not concern yourself with my affairs. As for what you yourself want to do, do as you see fit."
The hemp-robed elderly man gave Li Musheng a furrowed look, then said no more. After all, whatever else he might be, Li Musheng did not look like someone who had come here deliberately to die.
Then the hemp-robed elderly man waved his hand, dismissed the six courtesans beside him, and let out a quiet sigh, saying, "What a shame. Far too little time. This old one had barely begun to enjoy himself."
At that point the little girl in pink rushed to the hemp-robed elderly man's side, glanced at Li Musheng beside her, and then said to the elderly man in a grave, urgent transmission, "If we do not leave now, we may truly never be able to leave Hundred Refinements City."
In truth, neither of them had been particularly concerned about the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion from the start, but the situation had clearly taken a turn neither of them had anticipated.
They had not expected the young master of Hundred Refinements City to be here, and the people accompanying him were clearly genuine martial artists of considerable skill. Getting out of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion now might become extremely difficult.
"Do not worry. I have always acted only after careful preparation. I came ready for this."
The hemp-robed elderly man's expression was composed, and then he looked toward Li Musheng and said, "Young master, I hope you truly do have the ability to survive this. We will meet again."
With that, the hemp-robed elderly man suddenly drove his palm outward and struck directly toward Zheng Zi and the others.