Yuwen Chengqing and the others, who had all been watching the big black cat, naturally caught its movement, and immediately shifted their gaze toward the deep darkness behind it.
In the next moment, they saw the figure of a young man with a handsome face walk slowly out of the dark of night.
He appeared to carry no martial aura whatsoever, and strolled onto the blue-brick path before the small shrine as though taking a leisurely walk through a garden.
As everyone's gaze fell on the approaching Li Musheng, Li Musheng swept a calm look over them, and his eyes came to rest at last on the blind old man.
The big black cat, seeing Li Musheng had finally arrived, seemed to heave a heavy sigh of relief, and immediately spun around and bounded back to Li Musheng's side in a few quick strides.
Earlier, following along with Li Musheng across the Falling God Peak main peak, it had met no obstacles at all, riding on Li Musheng's intimidating presence, and not even the most powerful elders of Falling God Peak had been a match for the two of them together.
Clearly the big black cat had grown a little too confident during that stretch, charging and crashing through Falling God Peak without a care. And yet just now it had suddenly run straight into an existence as terrifying as the blind old man, and had very nearly given itself a scare.
The big black cat craned its neck up toward Li Musheng and meowed twice, then stretched out a paw to point at the blind old man and the others, apparently lodging some sort of complaint.
The implication was perfectly clear. For anyone it could not handle, Li Musheng would naturally step in, and it clearly expected him to get back what had just happened.
In Li Musheng's view, among all the people present, only the blind old man had any real ability worth noting, and the man matched quite well with who Fu Qiwen had described.
The blind old man's gray-white brows furrowed slightly in response to Li Musheng's question.
Though he could not see Li Musheng, from the sound of his voice and the sense of the vigorous life emanating from his body, he knew the other party was a young man of no great age.
And yet, just as Sikong Xuan and the others had found when sensing him, what the blind old man perceived of Li Musheng in that moment was nothing more than an ordinary person with no detectable martial cultivation whatsoever.
This left him deeply uncertain. He swallowed slightly, and spoke in a voice that rasped like coarse stone grinding together, "Was it the young master who just acted and held back this old one's sword?"
At those words, Yuwen Chengqing's eyes narrowed slightly as they fixed on Li Musheng.
Sikong Xuan, Yumian Jiao, and Ouyang Mingqi all wore shifting expressions.
They had never seen Li Musheng before and did not know who the young man was, and it had not occurred to them that this young man might be the Great Li Eighth Prince who had single-handedly cut down the Falling God Peak grandmaster and all four honored elders.
Nor did they think their luck could be that extraordinary, to happen to run into the Eighth Prince they had been so eager to meet right here in this place.
Even so, from Li Musheng's mention that he knew Fu Qiwen, they could at least roughly guess that the other party was almost certainly on the Great Li Tianjin Guards's side.
At that moment, seeing the blind old man answer his question with a question of his own, Li Musheng furrowed his brow slightly.
The big black cat, ever quick to read the mood, immediately let out a meow and started pointing a paw at the blind old man with clear accusation, obviously speaking ill of him.
Li Musheng caught this, glanced at the big black cat, and let out a soft laugh, "You are really one to hold a grudge."
Then Li Musheng walked forward toward the blind old man.
The big black cat matched him step for step at his side, and the two of them, one person and one cat, walked straight into the blind old man's sword hell.
Very quickly, Yuwen Chengqing and the others watched in astonishment as with each step forward the pair took, the vast sword hell of surging sword energy that stretched like a heavenly net retreated by a fraction.
The fierce sword intent, condensed from killing imagery into something almost tangible, even began to tremble ever so slightly, appearing to shrink from the person and the cat as though from a snake or a scorpion.
The blind old man felt all of this naturally, and the color in his gaunt face changed at once.
At the same time, Li Musheng's voice drifted lightly to his ears, "Shall you answer my question now?"
...
The blind old man took a sharp step backward, as though struck by lightning. He raised his head abruptly, his dull gray eyes staring straight toward where Li Musheng and the cat stood.
Though he could not see Li Musheng or the big black cat, he could sense that a faint, wavering aura had appeared there at some unknown moment.
That aura was vast and immense, as though an entire mountain range and ocean depth were slowly advancing toward him.
Standing before it, he felt himself as small as an ant, as though if that aura came down upon him, he would be ground to nothing in an instant.
Even the killing sword shadow that had been hovering above the blind old man's own head began to sway and tremble in that very moment.
The blind old man raised his head sharply, his expression one of shock and alarm.
He immediately swept a hand and withdrew the sword hell he had cast over Sikong Xuan and the others.
In the next instant, the blind old man's figure vanished from where he stood, and reappeared inside the small shrine, having retreated into it.
The stoop that had bent his figure gradually straightened.
And the sword shadow that had been floating above his head, at some unknown moment, dropped into his hand and fused with the walking staff he had been leaning on, transforming into a long azure sword whose cold light shot to the sky.
In that instant, the edge of the long azure sword in the blind old man's hand seemed sharp enough to cleave open the darkness of the world before him.
"This old one is not the grandmaster's martial uncle. I am merely an ordinary errand disciple of the peak. You have found the wrong person."
The blind old man spoke gravely toward Li Musheng, immediately distancing himself from any connection to the Falling God Peak grandmaster and clarifying his own identity.
At the same time, Sikong Xuan, Yumian Jiao, and Ouyang Mingqi felt the sword hell encasing them dissolve, and the blade hanging above their heads vanished in an instant. One by one they let out long, shuddering breaths, each of them narrowly returned from the brink of death.
And in the very next instant, as though something had finally clicked, their gazes locked hard onto Li Musheng and the cat.
Earlier, it had not occurred to them to connect Li Musheng with that Eighth Prince. They had assumed there must be a powerful figure somewhere behind him who had acted on his behalf.
But now, they had seen with their own eyes that Li Musheng had done nothing more than walk toward the blind old man, and the man had retreated into the small shrine in evident alarm and apprehension.
It was only then, slowly and belatedly, that the realization settled over them. Someone so young, possessing power this terrifying, who else could it possibly be but the legendary Eighth Prince?
Among everyone they could think of, not a single other person fit.
Yuwen Chengqing's own expression was one of pure shock.
The blind old man's withdrawal had left him standing alone in place. He did not dare rashly follow the elder into the shrine, but he also did not dare simply turn and flee.
Someone even the blind old man feared, he did not for a moment believe he could escape under such a person's eye.
For now, all he could do was hold himself perfectly still and force down the urge to bolt, while his mind worked furiously at trying to figure out just who Li Musheng was.
Only he knew far less than Sikong Xuan and the others did, and no matter how he turned it over, he could not arrive at any answer as to who this Li Musheng might be.
At that moment, Li Musheng heard the blind old man deny his guess, and raised an eyebrow, then stopped walking with the big black cat at his side.
He naturally suspected the blind old man of lying, and so his gaze shifted toward Sikong Xuan and the others.
He did not actually know any of them, but he could guess that the three who had nearly been killed by the blind old man were likely on his side.
"Does anyone here know the situation? Tell me whether what this old man is saying is true."
Li Musheng looked toward Sikong Xuan and the others and spoke.
At those words, Sikong Xuan, Yumian Jiao, and Ouyang Mingqi all snapped back to attention at once.
Sikong Xuan was the first to open his mouth, but the words reached the tip of his tongue and then he swallowed them back down, because it had suddenly occurred to him that he actually did not know who the blind old man was.
At that point, Ouyang Mingqi stepped forward ahead of him and clasped his hands in a bow toward Li Musheng, "Your Highness, to the best of my knowledge, this man has no connection to the Falling God Peak grandmaster."
"That said, beyond the grandmaster's two senior martial uncles among the honored elders, the grandmaster does in fact still have one martial uncle. However, that person is something of a phantom, and the grandmaster has almost never acknowledged his existence before others, so very few people know his identity."
At those words, Li Musheng's brow furrowed slightly. He glanced toward the blind old man in the distant shrine, and his interest visibly cooled.
Then his gaze settled on Ouyang Mingqi, and he asked, "You know who I am?"
At those words, a wave of turbulence surged through Ouyang Mingqi's entire being.
He had only been guessing before, but now, with Li Musheng's identity confirmed, and standing face to face with this legendary Great Li Eighth Prince in the flesh, seeing with his own eyes how young the man truly was, and that his martial cultivation was unfathomably deep, it was simply impossible not to be stirred and shaken.
Even so, Ouyang Mingqi kept himself as composed as he could, and immediately replied, "Your Highness single-handedly cut down the Falling God Peak grandmaster and all four honored elders. Word of this has long since spread through the Tianjin Guards. I had the fortune of hearing Your Highness's renowned name, and the admiration I feel for Your Highness in my heart is as the great river flowing on without end."
"To be able to meet Your Highness in person today is truly the fortune of three lifetimes!"
At those words, Li Musheng took a second look at Ouyang Mingqi.
The man certainly knew how to say things one enjoyed hearing, though it did feel a little on the fawning side.
Even so, it was generally quite pleasant to receive, and so Li Musheng rubbed his chin and studied Ouyang Mingqi, asking, "You do not look like a Tianjin Guards man. Do you know where the Falling God Peak grandmaster's martial uncle is?"
Ouyang Mingqi could naturally sense the shift in Li Musheng's attitude toward him, though the words he had just spoken were genuine enough.
Li Musheng's unparalleled natural gifts and his staggering martial cultivation were truly unlike anything he had ever seen in his life, and had left him deeply moved.
And beyond that, Li Musheng had just saved all their lives. Under those circumstances, no number of flattering words could be considered excessive.
"Your Highness's eye is as sharp as ever. I was indeed not previously a member of the Great Li Tianjin Guards, but rather held the humble position of Peak Master of one of Falling God Peak's peaks. However, after witnessing Your Highness's supreme and unmatched power, I immediately saw the light and joined the Great Li court."
Ouyang Mingqi clasped his hands and bowed his head with an expression of earnest gravity.
The moment he finished speaking, both Sikong Xuan and Yumian Jiao could not help exchanging a highly unusual look.
Yumian Jiao in particular had never in all her years seen this Senior Brother of hers display such a talent for, as she thought of it, cozying up to power.
Even in the presence of the grandmaster, she had never once heard him speak this way.
But very quickly, Yumian Jiao felt a sudden sinking in her heart, and realized with a creeping sense that she might have missed something.
At the same time, Sikong Xuan narrowed his eyes and gave Ouyang Mingqi a brief look, then his gaze returned to Li Musheng.
He seemed to want to see through this Eighth Prince before him, but no matter how he looked, the other party appeared perfectly ordinary, and he could not see through him in the slightest.
Ouyang Mingqi could naturally feel both their gazes, but he gave no sign of noticing, and simply continued speaking to Li Musheng, "Your Highness, to my knowledge, the Falling God Peak grandmaster's martial uncle is a person with divine abilities, the same as the four honored elders."
"And her ability is of a particularly unusual kind, one that allows her to come and go without a trace. If she has seen that Falling God Peak's cause is lost and chosen to flee, we would have very little chance of finding her again."
At those words, Li Musheng's brow rose, but he quickly waved a hand and said, "If she cannot be found, then so be it. There is no absolute need to find her."
With that, Li Musheng asked no more on the matter, then gave Ouyang Mingqi a look of mild satisfaction and said, "Good. Now that you have joined the Tianjin Guards, do your work well going forward. Lord Fu will not treat you poorly."
From Li Musheng's perspective, the Great Li Tianjin Guards would eventually be his. Having an additional Falling God Peak Peak Master as someone to get things done was naturally something he was happy to see.
At those words, Ouyang Mingqi was moved nearly to tears and immediately bowed deeply, "This subordinate will never fail Your Highness's expectations. I pledge to serve the Tianjin Guards faithfully for the rest of my life!"
At that, Li Musheng gave a small nod.
His gaze then shifted, sweeping over Sikong Xuan and Yumian Jiao with narrowed eyes, "Are you two also members of the Tianjin Guards?"
At those words, Sikong Xuan and Yumian Jiao immediately made sure not to lag behind, and both declared their identities at once.
Yumian Jiao in particular, realizing she had been slower than Ouyang Mingqi, seized this moment and hurried to express her loyalty to Li Musheng with great earnestness.
Sikong Xuan took it all in, and a curious feeling of wistfulness and regret rose quietly in his heart.
If he were only a decade or two younger, and had come across someone like this Eighth Prince, he might well have served beneath him and taken part in something truly world-shaking.
But his days were numbered. He did not have much longer to live, and pledging his loyalty was ultimately a hollow gesture.
And so Sikong Xuan could only kneel before Li Musheng, his voice trembling with feeling as he said, "This old minister is a guttering candle. He is grateful to Your Highness for saving his life. To have lived long enough to meet someone as unparalleled as Your Highness, it is a gift beyond what heaven owed me. Even dying now would leave no regret!"
Li Musheng could naturally sense Sikong Xuan's condition. Seeing the man speak with such sincerity and genuine feeling, he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder in quiet comfort.
At that moment, Ouyang Mingqi and Yumian Jiao exchanged an almost imperceptible glance, and both silently thought the same thing, "Ginger is hottest when it is old."
After comforting Sikong Xuan, Li Musheng suddenly felt that gaining Ouyang Mingqi and Yumian Jiao for the Tianjin Guards was still not quite enough.
His gaze shifted, coming to rest on Yuwen Chengqing and the blind old man inside the shrine, and he asked with narrowed eyes, "Is there nothing either of you wishes to say to me?"