The two children circled around Li Yuanling with great energy and enthusiasm.
Clearly they both adored this Princess, and showed no trace of distance or awkwardness despite the difference in their respective standings.
"How are the two of you getting on with your spear work?"
Li Yuanling asked as she walked inside, surrounded by the two small children.
The boy named Huo Xiaoqing immediately puffed up his chest with pride, "Father and Grandfather both praised my spear work and said I was a promising student!"
The girl named Huo Xiaoyi stared at him with wide eyes, "You are making things up. Father and Grandfather only praised you once. What they do constantly is beat you."
Huo Xiaoqing's small face immediately crumpled, "Once is enough. Every time they don't beat me counts as praising me."
At those words, Li Yuanling let out a soft laugh and patted both children on the head, "I'll test your martial arts in a bit and we'll see who's telling the truth."
At that moment, the big black cat dropped down from the surrounding wall, jumped into the residence, and padded forward, falling into step beside Li Musheng.
In that instant, both of them were completely captivated.
All four eyes fell on the big black cat's glossy, jet-black coat and refused to move.
"Your Highness the Princess, is this big cat yours?"
Both children asked with bright, expectant eyes.
But Li Yuanling shook her head, then looked toward Li Musheng, "The big black cat belongs to this friend of mine."
At those words, both children immediately looked at Li Musheng.
But very quickly both of them furrowed their brows slightly, and each reached up to scratch their heads, "Why does this older brother look so familiar? Like we've seen him somewhere before."
Li Yuanling's expression shifted, her gaze settling on Li Musheng's face, and then the light in her eyes dimmed slightly.
At that, Li Musheng glanced at the two little ones and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Not bad. The children had sweet mouths, calling him older brother.
If they had called him uncle or some other older form of address, his expression would have been considerably less welcoming.
Beside him, the big black cat read the mood, and seeing that Li Musheng seemed to be in a good state of mind, let out a quiet meow and held its head proudly high. It stepped forward a few paces toward Huo Xiaoqing and Huo Xiaoyi, basking freely in the blazing, admiring gazes of these two small children, the picture of majestic superiority.
"Let us go and see the three uncles first, and find out if there are any leads about Miss Cang."
Li Yuanling composed herself and continued forward with the two children.
Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing kept turning their heads to look back at the big black cat, both plainly wanting to reach out and touch its fur.
Before long, the group arrived at a four-sided courtyard building in the rear of the residence.
Old Zhang asked Li Yuanling's group to be seated in the hall, brought tea, then bowed and went to fetch the three uncles Li Yuanling had mentioned.
The big black cat settled onto a bamboo chair in the hall, its cat eyes looking around at the aged building. Beside it crouched Huo Xiaoqing and Huo Xiaoyi.
Both children sat like the most devoted fans imaginable, staying right next to the big black cat with bright, intent eyes.
At that, Huo Xiaoqing could no longer restrain himself, and reached out a small hand to touch the big black cat's silky fur.
But the big black cat lifted a paw and smacked his hand away, then fixed both children with a stern look.
The message was clear: looking was fine. Touching was not.
Just at that moment, a sharp cutting sound suddenly broke through the air from somewhere above the courtyard.
Then a flash of silver light dropped from the sky, plunging into the rock garden in the center of the courtyard, which was overgrown with moss. The silver light resolved itself into a long spear.
The spear was planted tip-up, its shaft buried into the rock and splitting open cracks on either side.
"The Champion Marquis family's spear techniques really are nothing special."
A young woman's clear, cool voice came from outside the courtyard building.
Then a figure in purple robes, looking somewhat the worse for wear, landed in the courtyard following the spear, crashing to the ground and leaving an impact several cun deep in the stone.
The purple-robed figure was a young girl of around fourteen or fifteen, her hair in a ponytail, her skin a healthy wheat color rather than pale.
Her features were pleasant. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, and she was gripping a long silver spear in one hand, breathing heavily.
In the next moment she seemed to notice there were people in the hall around the courtyard. Her gaze shifted, sweeping around.
Then she saw Li Yuanling's group all looking at her.
"Sister Yuanling?"
Huo Mu's face showed clear surprise. She had obviously not expected to see Princess Li Yuanling here.
But right at that moment, a group of people walked in from outside the courtyard building.
There were four of them. An elder in a fine blue robe, a middle-aged man in dark clothing, and a young man and young woman of no great age.
The young woman in white held a long sword, its tip trailing as she walked with unhurried composure, her face an expression of icy detachment.
The moment she entered the hall, she looked toward Huo Mu standing in the courtyard with the silver spear, and said with indifference, "You could not withstand even three of my sword strikes. Do you still wish to continue?"
At those words, Huo Mu shifted her gaze to the newcomers and slowly straightened, "Of course. Your Dugu family used underhanded methods to take some of the Huo family's spear manuals. No matter how many rounds it takes, I am going to defeat you and take back what belongs to us."
The young woman in white gave a cold snort, furrowing her delicate brows, "The Champion Marquis's residence is unworthy of its name. You are a beaten opponent. No matter how many rounds this goes on, the result will not change."
As she spoke, the white-robed young woman stepped forward and raised her sword, charging at the purple-robed girl in the courtyard again.
Huo Mu braced herself and drew her spear, ready to meet the attack.
But right at that moment, a figure dropped down into the courtyard and with a casual wave of one hand sent a true qi barrier down in front of the white-robed young woman.
"There is no need to continue. Mu is no match for you."
The newcomer was a man not yet forty years old, wearing plain, simple robes. His brows and eyes had a martial quality to them, with slight creases at the corners, and his expression at that moment was extremely grave.
At those words, the white-robed young woman came to an abrupt stop before the true qi barrier.
The young man in white standing behind her let a shadow of malice cross his eyes, and called out toward the approaching middle-aged man, "Your Huo family truly has no shame! An elder interfering in a match between juniors, bullying youth with rank. It is utterly disgraceful!"
At those words, Huo Mu and the newly arrived Huo Shan both darkened.
At that moment, Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing sprang up from beside the big black cat and rushed to the front of the courtyard, shouting at the young man in white and the others in unison, "You are all bad people! Get out of our home!"
Huo Shan saw this and immediately tried to reach out and pull the two children back from a distance.
But he was a step too slow. Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing were caught in an instant by what seemed like an invisible giant hand.
In the blink of an eye, both children appeared directly in front of the middle-aged man in dark clothing.
"What is given must be returned. Since Elder Huo can see fit to act against juniors, I can only respond in kind."
The middle-aged man in dark clothing spoke slowly. Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing were now completely frozen, unable to move a single muscle.
Both little faces were blazing with fury, but they could not even speak.
The big black cat on the bamboo chair tilted its head slightly and blinked. With two enthusiastic admirers gone, something was noticeably missing.
"Let them go!"
...
At that moment, Huo Mu, Huo Shan, and Li Yuanling all spoke at virtually the same time. Li Yuanling shot to her feet, looked at the middle-aged man in dark clothing, and said sharply, "Dugu Yan, this Princess orders you to release them immediately!"
At those words, Dugu Yan in his dark robe looked at Li Yuanling and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Having entered the courtyard building, he had naturally noticed Li Yuanling, the Princess of Grand Bloom, from the very first moment.
But he appeared to be entirely undaunted by her identity as a princess. He simply bowed at ease and said, "Your subordinate pays respects to Your Highness."
"Your Highness's understanding is requested. This matter is a private affair between your subordinate's party and the Huo family. If Your Highness wishes to involve yourself, this subordinate asks only that the Princess be impartial and show no favor to the Huo family."
At those words, Li Yuanling's brow tightened and her expression became visibly unhappy.
The Dugu family was no minor clan. They were one of the most powerful noble families in the entire Great Li capital.
And all of this rested on a single figure within the Dugu family, someone who truly stood second to none, supreme over all others, the Great Li Martial Preceptor.
The Martial Preceptor was the true supreme commander of the three armed forces, the uncontested greatest military and martial figure in all of Great Li.
His power exceeded even the sitting Left and Right Ministers, the Tianjin Guards Commander, and the Hidden Intelligence Bureau Commander.
Even the Six Doors's Divine Marquis Zhuge was only equal in status and title, and far behind in terms of the forces under his command.
"Is this Princess taking the children away? Or do you intend to make a move against me?"
Li Yuanling's gaze went cold. The Dugu family's power was formidable, but with her identity as a princess, she did not believe they would dare raise a hand against her.
With that, Li Yuanling walked directly toward the two small children.
But right at that moment, Huo Shan in the courtyard suddenly spoke, "Your Highness, please hold back. This must not lead to harm coming to you."
He then turned to look at Dugu Yan's group, "Surely all things can be negotiated. Why use children as a threat? If this gets out, where will the Dugu family and the Martial Preceptor's reputation stand?"
At those words, Dugu Yan shook his head, "Elder Huo's words are not quite right. I never had any intention of threatening anyone with these two children. Just now was only a mild correction for two juniors who showed disrespect. Nothing more."
He then waved a hand and looked at Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing, "Any of you are welcome to take them. However..."
"The condition is that someone in your Huo family has the ability to do it."
At those words, the young man in white standing beside Dugu Yan let a mocking look cross his face, "If the Huo family cannot even retrieve its own juniors, how is the Huo family's spear manual supposed to be protected?"
"You might as well hand over the remaining spear manuals obediently and place yourselves in service to our Dugu family. That is the only way to ensure the Huo family's future wellbeing."
At those words, Huo Shan's brow tightened.
But rather than paying the young man in white any attention, he looked toward Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing standing in the hall.
He could faintly sense that the two of them had been enveloped by a layer of deep-seated, vast sword intent, forming an invisible prison enclosing the small space around them.
Li Yuanling, who had already been walking toward the two children, also caught the unusual quality of the situation and immediately stopped, turning to fix Dugu Yan and the elder standing behind him with a furious look, "Your Dugu family is truly without principle. I wonder whether the Martial Preceptor knows what lowly things you are getting up to."
At those words, Dugu Yan's brow furrowed slightly. But very quickly his expression settled, "Your Highness is too harsh. It is merely a minor technique, hardly worth calling lowly. If Your Highness is interested, you are also welcome to test whether this sword prison is solid."
Li Yuanling nearly burst into laughter from sheer anger, and her expression darkened sharply. She was about to move against the sword prison surrounding the two children.
But right at that moment, a figure arrived like the wind and, a step ahead of Li Yuanling, reached out toward the two small children.
In an instant, sword energy erupted through the entire hall, condensing into a blade shadow roughly half a chi long that hovered above both children's heads.
Simultaneously, sharp edges tore through the surrounding space, forming a spectral spear shadow that plunged straight down toward that blade shadow.
With a resonant hum, the sounds of sword and spear meeting rang out, and an invisible shockwave of residual force burst in every direction, transforming into a gust of wind that set the courtyard building shaking violently.
At the same time, a man with half-white hair reached out a single palm, its veins standing raised, and hovered it above the two children's heads.
That palm swirled with true qi, as though gripping a sky-piercing great spear. Yet no matter how it pressed, it could not drop even a fraction further, blocked entirely by the blade shadow beneath it.
The man's face, which showed the marks of some age, immediately darkened. He immediately moved to strike again, trying once more to break through the encircling sword prison.
"Third Uncle, you still have your old injury. You must not force yourself."
Li Yuanling beside him immediately called out urgently to stop him.
Huo Shan also flashed in at once, "Third Uncle, this sword prison is not to be taken lightly. If Xiaoyi or Xiaoqing were hurt, it would be a disaster!"
At those words, Huo Qifeng's expression went through a rapid shift of emotions, and in the end he chose not to act again.
After all, the two children before him were his own grandchildren. He could not bear any harm coming to them.
At the same time, Dugu Yan's group stood off to one side watching silently, having not shown any inclination to stop the Huo family from trying.
"Go and ask the Marquis to come and act in person. The few of you cannot break this Dugu sword prison."
At that point, the elder who had been standing beside Dugu Yan without speaking all this time said slowly.
His eyes were half-lowered. He cast the newly arrived Huo Qifeng a brief, dismissive glance, then looked away, clearly not considering him worth any attention.
At the same time, the white-robed young woman stood with her sword and said, "Of course, there is another option. Either you hand over the Huo family's spear manuals yourself, or if one of the younger generation of your Huo family can beat me, we will dissolve the sword prison."
As she said this, her gaze swept over Huo Mu across from her in the purple robes, contempt plain to see.