Chapter 24

As soon as the footsteps faded away, Xiao Sheng sat up from the bed. He touched his head and couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile. Then he rolled out of bed, pushed open the dormitory window, and slipped out with a "whoosh." After a few leaps, he had already reached the roof.

Closing his eyes, Xiao Sheng clapped his hands and lightly commanded, "Perception Color—Ripple Walk!" Instantly, an invisible ripple spread rapidly in all directions, covering an area of over a thousand meters. Within this range, not a single blade of grass or tree could escape Xiao Sheng's surveillance. Xiao Wei was no exception.

In a split second, Xiao Wei's unique heartbeat, breathing, and muscle friction sounds were clearly reflected in Xiao Sheng's mind. Without hesitation, he moved quickly to follow her from behind.

Xiao Wei, of course, did not realize she was being followed. She avoided the patrolling guards and quickly left the Prince's mansion, entering the palace through a side gate. Then she quickly headed east in the palace. Soon, a magnificent palace complex appeared ahead. On the main gate, a red-lacquered plaque hung, inscribed with the three characters "Hening Palace."

Xiao Sheng, who had been quietly following behind, nodded slightly when he saw these three red characters. He felt a sense of "I see." Because he knew that Hening Palace was where Noble Consort Ning resided. And Noble Consort Ning was the birth mother of the Ninth Prince Xiao Kun and the younger sister of the Marquis Bai Li Kun Luo.

Xiao Sheng spread his arms, resembling a large bird, and glided silently through the dark night sky. Neither the guards on the ground nor the eunuchs noticed any trace of him.

Hening Palace consisted of three layers of palace complexes. The first major hall was where the emperor would be greeted by Noble Consort Ning and her attendants when he visited, but it was rarely used. The two layers behind were where Noble Consort Ning resided.

Although it was already late at night, Xiao Sheng, standing on the roof of the main hall, immediately saw that the side hall behind was still brightly lit.

Xiao Sheng leaped a few times and lightly landed on the roof of the side hall. He crouched down, carefully lifted a few tiles, and peered down. He saw that in the hall, several dozen palace maids stood on either side, serving with lowered eyes. In the center sat a woman in luxurious attire.

She looked to be no more than thirty years old, with a high hairstyle, smooth and white skin, a slender waist, and a beautiful appearance. However, her brows were cold and distant, exuding an aura of sanctity and inviolability, making people instinctively want to keep their distance. This was Noble Consort Ning, the woman with the second-highest power in the palace, just below the Empress.

Beside Noble Consort Ning sat a middle-aged man. He had a long, narrow face, grayish-white hair and beard, and his eyes emitted a faint green light when he moved them, which was somewhat eerie.

On either side, two more people were seated, both looking dejected. They were the Ninth Prince Xiao Kun and the Marquis Bai Li Kun Luo.

Just as Xiao Sheng lifted the tiles to look down, Noble Consort Ning raised her wine cup and said to the middle-aged man, "Mr. Jiang, you have traveled a long distance from the northern border to Luoyang. I offer you this cup of wine to welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey."

The middle-aged man also raised his wine cup and said solemnly, "Your Highness is too kind. I, Jiang Weichen, dare not accept such praise. The Marquis Bai Li Kun Luo once did us a great favor. The Jiang family has never forgotten this. Since Your Highness has invited me, I will naturally come to serve."

"Good! The Jiang family of the northern border is indeed as loyal and trustworthy as rumored," Noble Consort Ning nodded. "I promise that if the Jiang family can help my son achieve great things, I will not be stingy with rewards. I will grant you the ten thousand miles of land in the Gold Mountain of the northern border, to be passed down through generations."

Jiang Weichen showed an expression of great joy and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Before he could finish speaking, the Ninth Prince Xiao Kun, unable to contain his impatience, shouted, "Mr. Jiang, let's put aside the talk of success for now. The most important thing right now is to help me take revenge! That damned Fourteenth Prince, he broke my leg and slapped me. Although you have already healed my leg, I can't swallow this humiliation! Mr. Jiang, you must help me take severe revenge!"

"Kun, don't be impulsive," the Marquis Bai Li Kun Luo said solemnly from the side. "That Fourteenth Prince has a powerful person by his side. Although I, as a Spirit Disturbance Realm master, achieved my status with the help of various spiritual medicines, I am still a master, not a warrior. However, when I tried to use my mental pressure to intimidate the Fourteenth Prince, I was counterattacked and my spirit was injured. If Mr. Jiang hadn't helped, I might have become a madman or a fool. The Fourteenth Prince alone couldn't have done this. There must be a powerful person behind him. The attack was subtle and effortless, defeating the enemy without a trace. This is not something a Spirit Disturbance Realm master can do. Only a Chaos Spirit or even a Trapped Spirit master could have such abilities. Kun, you must not act rashly against such a powerful person!"

"The Marquis is indeed thoughtful and cautious," Jiang Weichen smiled confidently. "However, there's no need to be overly cautious. Although Trapped Spirit masters are powerful, they are not a big deal to me. Once I find their true form, killing them will be as easy as killing a dog."

"Of course. The ancestor of the Jiang family, Jiang Chen, was one of the ten great martial saints of five hundred years ago, known as 'True Spirit, Profound Buddha, Wisdom, Blood Lord of Demons and Sin.'" Noble Consort Ning smiled. "Although no martial saints have been born in the past five hundred years, the Jiang family's deep roots are unmatched by any other. Even among masters, a Jiang family master is worth three of the same realm. If not, I wouldn't have specially invited Mr. Jiang to come out of seclusion."

As they spoke, a eunuch hurriedly entered the hall and whispered something in Noble Consort Ning's ear. She nodded and waved her hand, instructing, "Bring the person in." The eunuch bowed and hurried out.

The Ninth Prince curiously asked, "Mother, what's going on?"

Noble Consort Ning said coolly, "Nothing much. That waste of a man, Xiao Sheng, dared to bully you. Is he going to get away with it? Plus, the Empress's fortieth birthday is coming up, and I must obtain the Phoenix Egg. So I bribed someone close to that waste of a man, gave her some drugs, and had her drug him and search his room to see if there was anything special. If there is, she will quietly bring it back for me to examine. This might help me understand why Xiao Sheng suddenly stopped being a waste of a man. It might also help me find the powerful person behind him. For the prince to achieve great things, he must attract talent. Perhaps we can recruit that powerful person to serve you."

"Mother, you are wise," the Ninth Prince said happily. "If we succeed, that would be wonderful. I want that powerful person to personally break the Fourteenth Prince's limbs and turn him into a stinking worm in a cesspool, crawling on the ground for the rest of his life!"

As the Ninth Prince spoke harshly in the hall, Xiao Sheng on the roof had a strange expression, half-smiling, half-crying, and somewhat embarrassed.

Noble Consort Ning acted quickly. In the morning, her son's leg was broken, and by the afternoon, she had already bribed Xiao Wei to steal from Xiao Sheng. But what did Xiao Wei steal?

It wasn't a secret martial arts manual, a treasure map, or anything related to the mysterious powerful person behind Xiao Sheng. It was just a book of wild imagination and flights of fancy. And the content of this book...

Ordinary people, with their shallow knowledge and polluted minds, often find it hard to see through the surface to the essence. As a literary master once said about a famous ancient work: "Scholars see the I Ching; moralists see licentiousness; romantics see passion; gossips see palace secrets."

Although Xiao Sheng's book wasn't a famous ancient work, it did have some artistic value. But ordinary people would find it hard to understand. If it fell into Noble Consort Ning's hands, Xiao Sheng didn't believe she would have much artistic appreciation, and it would likely cause a serious misunderstanding, damaging his reputation irreparably.

Xiao Sheng sighed. Although he and Noble Consort Ning were already enemies and could not reconcile, there are many kinds of enemies. As another literary master once said: "An enemy is harder to find than a confidant." So enemies can also respect or admire each other.

But there was no doubt that if that book fell into Noble Consort Ning's hands... Xiao Sheng shook his head in distress, covering his face with his hands, unwilling to continue imagining.

That said, he couldn't just jump down and start a massacre to forcibly retrieve the book. So in the end, Xiao Sheng could only lie on the roof, feeling helpless and unable to do anything.

This feeling was truly terrible, making the Fourteenth Prince feel like each day was a year. But in fact, he didn't have to wait long. Xiao Wei, led by the eunuch, soon entered the palace.

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