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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

n“My lady, what are you doing?”

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nLi Mu found the scene peculiar but at the same time somewhat familiar.

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nIt looked like the final moments of a woman who had decided to take her own life for love back in the television dramas he’d watched in his last life.

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nHe didn’t continue following that train of thought but jumped right inside the bedchamber.

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n“Xiaolizi, what are you still doing here?” Concubine Jing seemed stunned when she asked him.

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n“My lady, it’s safe out there now. The bad people who were attacking the royal palace have all been killed,” Li Mu explained immediately.

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nHe was surprised that although he hadn’t left Shouning Palace for very long, the concubine was actually ready to commit suicide.

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nHe thought it extremely lucky that he’d chosen to return as quickly as he’d been able instead of hanging around outside.

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n“You’re lying to me. It’s chaos out there right now. Go hide yourself somewhere safe,” Concubine Jing berated him.

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n“Umm…”

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nLi Mu was at a loss for words.

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nNoises could be heard all over the royal palace at the moment.

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nThe footsteps of guards running about, as well as the metallic clangs from the clashes between weapons and armor, could be heard all the way back at the Shouning Palace.

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nThose who were not in the know would have thought that the palace was lost.

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n“My lady, please do not think about committing suicide. The noise out there is actually the warriors apprehending the remaining bad people.”

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nShe badly misunderstood the situation, and he explained it as he saw it.

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n“You just told me before that all the bad people had been killed, and now you’re telling me that people are still hunting down the remaining bad people. Xiaolizi, since when did you learn how to lie?”

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nIt was apparent that the concubine hadn’t bought what he’d said.

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nA eunuch like him was thought to know next to nothing after all.

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nShe’d begun countering him and finding fault with his words.

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n“I’m not lying! Just after I went outside, I saw a mysterious warrior chop off the heads of the invaders with a single swing of his sword. All the other invaders ran away in panic. I’ve returned to tell you about it out of excitement.”

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n“Those warriors come and go like specters. How could it be possible for a eunuch like you to be able to tell what their battles look like? You really need to work on your lies.”

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n“I…”

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nLi Mu was completely tongue-tied now.

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nAnd he was feeling very anxious, seeing her lifting the knife in her hand.

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nStupid mouth of mine!

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nJust why am I so bad at putting people at ease?

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nAnd since when did this woman get such a high IQ?

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n“Get out and never return to the palace. If you come back again, I’ll…I’ll gut myself with this knife,” the concubine said as she raised the knife high above her head.

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n“My lady, how about we leave together then? There is so much chaos out there after all.”

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nHe’d had an idea.

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nHe would be able to get her to believe him as soon as she got out there and saw for herself.

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n“Don’t try to talk me out of it, Xiaolizi. What could I possibly do out there? You could probably survive for a few years out there on your own, yet you’ll end up dead if you stay here.”

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n“It’s a complicated world out there, and I still think that it’s just safer staying here in the palace,” Li Mu told her how he really thought about it.

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n“Just how obstinate can you be? Just get out!”

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nConcubine Jing was furious now.

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nHe looked up at her and considered for a bit.

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n“Sh*t, what should I do?”

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n“The girl is d*mn pissed off right now. How should I calm her down?”

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n“My lady, listen. It’s becoming quiet outside.”

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n“Don’t try to lie to me again.”

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n“I mean it, my lady. Try to listen yourself if you don’t believe me.”

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n“Get out!”

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nLi Mu procrastinated some more.

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n“Why won’t you just listen?”

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nBoth of them stayed in this standoff for quite some time.

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nThe deadlock lasted until the concubine got sleepy and couldn’t help but yawn.

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nLi Mu took this chance to jab her sleep acupuncture points.

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n…

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nThings outside the city had been turned upside down while Li Mu was facing off against Concubine Jing.

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nThe stunning sword will that had been demonstrated that day had been absolutely stunning.

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nCountless warriors both inside and outside of the city had seen what had happened.

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nEspecially in the city…

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nA great many warriors had been in hiding, and they had been very close to the royal palace.

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nThey noticed when the eight warriors at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm had showed up.

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nThen they saw something that would shock them for the rest of their lives.

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n“Is the grand ancestor still alive?”

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n“Best not speculate just how many cards those in the royal palace have up their sleeves.”

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n“Seems like it’s not yet time for a regime change.”

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n“Clan Dugu is done for.”

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n……

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nThe hidden warriors from the clans sighed.

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nSome were excited, while others were dejected.

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nScouts from the clans that had been lurking all over the city sent word out through pigeons all at the same time.

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nThat massive tent of the army outside the city received word from their bird as well.

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n“What? A saint-level warrior in the city and the eight warriors at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm who we sent have all been killed!”

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nDugu Xin read the letter and exclaimed in fright.

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n“Let me have a look!”

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nAn elder of the clan snatched the letter from his hands. He began to tremble.

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n“There is actually a saint-level warrior among the royal family. Has their grand ancestor returned?”

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n“What is there to be scared of? They’re not the only ones with saint-level warriors in their midst. Clan Dugu does too. Even if the operation is a failure, our lands will still stay safe,” an elder of the clan said.

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n“My heart aches for our loss! Had we known that there was actually a saint-level being in their midst, we wouldn’t have sent the eight to their deaths… It’s all my fault for not getting the intelligence right.”

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n“Chief! It had always been our intention to test the royal family to see if there were saint-level warriors in their midst when we sent the eight in there. Those eight were also meant to keep the warriors of the royal family busy. We just never expected that the eight would fail,” an elder comforted the chief.

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n“Just how did they fail?”

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nThe word that had been sent to them had been lacking in detail.

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nThere was nothing that illustrated the process, as only the results had been written.

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n“It must have definitely been that old fart in the royal palace sneaking up on them. Just think about it. We’ve been busy attacking the city the whole day long, and yet their saint-level warrior never bothered showing up.”

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n“The saint of the royal family has been hiding for so many years, and I think it was in preparation for this day. It’s good that we managed to get their trump card revealed tonight,” Dugu Xin elaborated.

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nWhat he said reinforced the chief elder’s speculations as well.

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nAll eight of their warriors had definitely been set up by that saint-level warrior from the royal family.

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n“There are at least two at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm in the royal palace. With those two serving as distractions, it was all too easy for that saint to kill the eight of them.”

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n“That saint-level warrior has been hiding from the public. I wonder if there are other warriors at the Spirit Manipulation Realm around also.”

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n“Would it matter if there are? Eunuch Huang is on our side now. Me, the second, third, and fifth elders are all at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm. With the grand elder joining us, is there a possibility of us failing when conquering the country?” Dugu Xin continued.

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nNo one had anticipated that the grand chancellor who was very active at court was actually someone at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm.

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n“In that case, we shall inform the grand elder at once. We shall strike at the royal palace again tomorrow night, and we shall catch them by surprise.”

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n“Indeed. No one will expect that we would strike again.”

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n“Pull the army about 15 miles away from the city tomorrow morning to avoid the royal family from blowing our cover.”

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n…

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nThe sun slowly rose the next day.

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nMost people both inside and outside the city had not been sleeping for the whole night.

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nLights were still seen lit in many houses.

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n“Clan Dugu lost eight who were at the peak of the Spirit Manipulation Realm. Clan Dugu definitely won’t be able to fight this war any longer.”

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n“Where’s our army by the way?”

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nYet more news was sent into the city very early in the morning.

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nThe army of Clan Dugu had retreated.

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nThey just kept retreating.

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nAnother piece of news was delivered at noon.

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nClan Dugu’s forces had pulled back about 15 miles away, and they were setting up camp there.

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nThe formations had been neat when they retreated.

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nThe army garrisoning the city followed behind them and saw no openings for attack.

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n“Ha, ha, ha! Clan Dugu, you really thought that you could just bully the royal family, eh? Come on, hang the bodies of the eight at the city gates, and the other dozen ones at the Spirit Manipulation Realm on the city walls as well,” the emperor ordered.

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nHis face had gotten very red.

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nHe had been tolerating their nonsense for years, and this was the first time he’d felt so vindicated.

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nHis servants did as they were told right away.

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nThe emperor’s reputation and might had become far greater than they had been the day before.

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n“Your Majesty, many eunuchs and court ladies had been packing up last night in order to leave the palace amid the chaos. What should we do about them?” the purple-robed eunuch who was by his side asked.

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n“Forget it! Spare them! However, we’re done putting all these eunuchs and court ladies in important positions. I don’t care what rank they had been in before. Demote all of them to menial labor eunuchs. Those who were doing well last night, promote them to blue robes and get them to fill the void.”

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nThe emperor had pondered the situation carefully, and he gave his order.

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