Chapter 21

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"Seems like this fight was a bit different from the plan! Those minions were supposed to be killed silently in the master's room by the traps, right?" Ling Xiao stared at the Emperor with a narrowed, smiling eye, asking. If the Emperor hadn't suddenly run out of the room, none of the subsequent troubles would have happened. Making mistakes isn't scary, but it's necessary to summarize them and know where the problem lies. This really isn't nitpicking, really not!

The Emperor looked slightly embarrassed but quickly turned solemn and said, "As the ruler of a nation, I must stand by my word, like water that has been poured out, it cannot be taken back, right?"

Ling Lingfa and Ling Xiao wisely didn't pick up on his words. Ling Linggong bowed and said, "The Emperor is the supreme ruler, and his words are imperial edicts! No one in the world dares to disobey!" The Emperor was very pleased with Ling Linggong's words and said to Ling Xiao, "Before I told you not to leave the room, I had already made other plans! Although I said it, there's a matter of who came first, so that's it!"

"So what? What exactly did you do, and why did you fire the gun and alert the snakes?" Ling Xiao tried to suppress his anger, his mouth twitching as he asked.

"Hehe! This... actually, it's nothing! It's just that Jin Xiangyu was planning to harm me, and I counterattacked and killed her. The waiter and the staff also tried to harm me, so I fired the gun! Who knew that when the staff saw the boss and the waiter dead, they would run away with their tails between their legs! When I came out of the room, I saw the bandits in the corridor." The Emperor said, looking a bit embarrassed at Li Yingjiong, then gave everyone a "you know what I mean" look.

Ling Xiao's face twisted, "What do I know!?" Just as he was about to ask more, Ling Lingfa pulled him, shook his head, and glanced at Li Yingjiong without saying a word.

Ling Xiao was even more puzzled, "You all understand? Is there something wrong with my intelligence?" Of course, he only said this in his mind and wouldn't admit it.

Ling Linggong stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty! Since you have counterattacked and killed Jin Xiangyu, you must be in high spirits and in excellent health! This place is not suitable for staying long, let's set off quickly!" The Emperor was eager to return to the capital and immediately agreed. Ling Xiao followed behind, his head full of question marks. Does killing someone have anything to do with being in high spirits? He shook his head, completely at a loss.

......

The group set off. With Ling Linggong by his side for protection, there was no need to rush. They found two large carriages and leisurely headed towards the capital, as if they were on a sightseeing trip.

The Emperor had his own carriage, driven by Ling Linggong, with Ling Lingfa and the others' carriage guarding on the side. After days of hard travel, Fa Ge's wife used the excuse of needing beauty sleep to kick the three men out to drive the carriages, leaving only Li Yingjiong with her.

Li Guishou sighed, looking at the two sleeping women in the carriage, "Being a man is tough! Master, what did the Emperor mean by those words? I heard but didn't understand!" Ling Xiao, seeing Li Yingjiong asleep, asked.

Ling Lingfa was a bit uncomfortable, "Telling you won't hurt, it's not a secret in the imperial city anyway." Li Guishou, curious, perked up his ears.

"What do you think is the most suitable martial art for the Emperor to practice?" Ling Lingfa didn't answer but asked a question instead.

"How would I know! Overbearing aura? Or the protagonist's halo?" Ling Xiao looked unconvinced.

Li Guishou thought for a moment, looked back at his daughter, and hesitated, "Could it be the art of replenishment?"

Ling Lingfa nodded, "The Emperor practices an unparalleled martial art with a very powerful name! It's called the 'Heaven and Earth's Yin and Yang Great Sorrow Formula'!"

"Whoa!" Li Guishou and Ling Xiao both drew in a sharp breath. The name alone was intimidating enough!

Ling Lingfa, seeing their surprised expressions, smiled bitterly, "Although the name is scary, it's essentially a replenishment technique. It's just that it's claimed to be the strongest replenishment technique in the world! Both men and women can practice it, and it's said to increase internal energy more than the 'Sinew Metamorphosis Sutra.' Plus, with the countless beauties the Emperor has, you can imagine how suitable it is for him!"

Ling Xiao took a deep breath to calm his strange feelings, "So the truth is that Jin Xiangyu planned to seduce the Emperor, but was killed by the Emperor's replenishment technique!"

Ling Lingfa nodded in confirmation, "That's probably it. This technique is valuable because it can be controlled freely. I think it was because Jin Xiangyu showed hostility first that she was killed by the Emperor. The Emperor isn't a wanton killer; in recent years, there haven't been any reports of beauties being killed by the replenishment technique."

Ling Xiao's expression was a bit strange, thinking of the oddly shaped concubines in the movies. The Emperor would have to be in a mood to replenish them!

"No wonder the Emperor's internal energy is so strong, yet he doesn't know any techniques. But these things unsuitable for children should not be known by Yingjiong." Li Guishou sighed.

Ling Xiao and his master nodded in agreement, "By the way, was the Iron Shirt always so exaggerated? Isn't it a bit too strong?"

Ling Lingfa was puzzled, "What Iron Shirt?"

"The one Ling Linggong practices, isn't it the Iron Shirt?"

"Iron Shirt? Impossible! What Ling Linggong practices is called the Bronze Statue Technique! It can make the whole body as hard as iron or bronze, and his head, fists, and feet are unparalleled weapons! Even my firearms might not penetrate it, maybe the Emperor's pistol can!" Ling Lingfa explained, not noticing Ling Xiao's shocked expression.

"What martial arts do Ling Lingxi and Ling Lingcai practice?" Ling Xiao asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Ling Lingfa didn't notice anything wrong and answered, "Ling Lingxi's strongest technique is called the Wind God Leg. Once used, it is graceful and powerful! Ling Lingcai, like you, practices external techniques, but they are more focused on attack. There are many names for them, like Eagle-Bear Combination, Dragon-Snake Combination, but I don't really understand. I do miss them, I wonder if they are well."

Ling Lingfa was lost in thought, not noticing Ling Xiao's grim expression. Ling Xiao turned to look at Ling Linggong, who was driving the carriage. Ling Linggong sensed his gaze and turned to meet Ling Xiao's eyes, then both pretended not to notice and looked away.

"I have a headache, I'll go rest." Without waiting for a response from Li Guishou, he entered the carriage.

"Should I give you some medicine?" Ling Lingfa, seeing no response in the carriage, found it boring and continued chatting with Li Guishou.

No one knew that Ling Xiao's heart was already in turmoil! Ignoring Ling Lingcai for now, the Ling Lingxi who practices the Wind God Leg must have a problem. If there's the Wind God Leg, there must be the Cloud-Dispelling Palm and the Heaven Frost Fist, so the Three Powers Reunited Qi must exist, and the name Xiong Ba must be well-known! Li Guishou and Ling Lingfa, one in the court and one in the medical field, not knowing Xiong Ba is understandable, but he should ask Uncle Qinglong when he gets back. The fact that Ling Lingxi and Ling Lingcai haven't returned, while Ling Linggong is unharmed, is a huge problem!

In fact, Ling Xiao had been suspicious of Ling Linggong for a while. Ignoring the movie plot, he exposed a flaw when dodging the bandit leader's dagger! When Ling Xiao cut the flying knife, Ling Linggong wasn't there, yet he dodged the dagger as if it were a divine weapon. This means he must have arrived earlier but didn't show up. He only appeared when Ling Xiao and his master blocked the Emperor, and the bandit leader was already at a disadvantage. Moreover, he killed the bandit leader too quickly and too urgently, making Ling Xiao feel like he was covering up a crime, yes, covering up a crime!

Why did the bandit leader send only a few minions to deal with him and Li Guishou, but over a dozen to deal with Ling Lingfa? Where did the bandit leader get the information? What made him judge that Ling Lingfa was the greatest threat? And they knew the Emperor was a royal but didn't know he was the emperor! Who leaked this misleading information? Could it be...

Ling Xiao felt like he was in a fog. The answer was right in front of him, but he felt like something was missing.

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