n

n

n

n

n

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

nLi Mu continued with his sweeping of the floors at the palace, feeling disappointed.

n

n

n“Whatever…”

n

n

n“Better not ask for too much.”

n

n

nAlso, he continued training at night.

n

n

n“Congratulations to the host for checking in. Qi Gathering Pill rewarded.”

n

n

nDays passed.

n

n

nLi Mu began to get to know the place better.

n

n

nThe old court lady stayed by the concubine’s side day and night.

n

n

nThe concubine never came out of her room. Li Mu wondered if it was because she was sad or if that was just the way she was.

n

n

nThis “cold” palace was huge.

n

n

nExcept for her quarters, where he was forbidden to go, all the rest of the palace became Li Mu’s territory.

n

n

nIt wasn’t bad. It meant he could train in silence after sweeping up the palace every day.

n

n

nHowever, three months later, his training hit a bottleneck.

n

n

nThen, one night about two weeks later, he popped a Barrier Breaking Pill that took his training to new heights.

n

n

nThat pill had been one of the pills he’d acquired from continuously checking in during the past several months.

n

n

n“I wonder how far my training has gone. How would my abilities compare to the members of the Imperial Horse Directorate?”

n

n

nLi Mu shook his head as he thought about that.

n

n

n“Now is not the time to pick fights. The outside world is dangerous, and it’s better to just stay quiet in the ‘cold’ palace.”

n

n

n“Xiaolizi, clean up the compound well. Someone is paying us a visit tomorrow morning,” the old court lady called at his door.

n

n

n“Someone? Isn’t this the ‘cold’ palace?” Li Mu asked, feeling curious.

n

n

nHe had found that the old court lady wasn’t difficult to get along with after being around her for months.

n

n

n“The empress has pleaded for Concubine Jing, so the prince is being permitted to visit Concubine Jing.”

n

n

nThe only other person who the old court lady talked to was Li Mu, and so of course she was very eager to blabber away every time they talked.

n

n

nLi Mu got to know a thing or two about the outside world because of that.

n

n

nConcubine Jing had a son before she was condemned.

n

n

nThe prince was only two years old when his mother was condemned to the “cold” palace.

n

n

nHer son had been raised by the empress ever since.

n

n

nSeeing that the prince was now about to turn three years old, the empress was compassionate enough to worry that the prince wouldn’t be able to recognize his mother.

n

n

nShe also worried that Concubine Jing could fall ill due to worrying about the prince night and day.

n

n

nFor these reasons, she pleaded with the emperor, and the prince was permitted to visit his mother every month.

n

n

nLi Mu swept the entire palace right away.

n

n

nHe even washed certain places repeatedly.

n

n

nHe wasn’t trying to curry favor with the prince. He just didn’t want his quiet life to be disturbed.

n

n

nWhat happened next made a mockery of all his efforts.

n

n

nA huge group of court ladies and eunuchs came to the “cold” palace at 9:00 a.m., before the prince’s visit, and cleaned the entire palace thoroughly.

n

n

n“D*mn, I could have saved all my energy for something else if I’d known about this.”

n

n

nHe lamented having wasted his night for nothing when suddenly a group of guards walked into the palace.

n

n

n“This kid is three years old, man! Is such an entourage really necessary?”

n

n

n“The empress arrives!”

n

n

nLi Mu, who was standing in the corner, quickly prostrated himself on the floor.

n

n

nThe empress then entered the palace with her entourage of court ladies and eunuchs.

n

n

nSeveral eunuchs and guards then stood outside the palace.

n

n

n“Why is the empress here?” He wondered about that before continuing his day of checking in.

n

n

nHe really didn’t care at all about who the visitor was, as it had little to do with him.

n

n

nDing! “Source Gathering Pill acquired. Ingestion will result in the acquisition of five years’ worth of powers.”

n

n

nHuff~

n

n

n“Finally, something to boost my powers.”

n

n

nThe entire “cold” palace was filled with eunuchs, court ladies, and guards. It was a bad time for ingesting a pill.

n

n

nHe began observing the guards and eunuchs out of boredom.

n

n

nQuite a number of them were wearing purple robes.

n

n

nThose eunuchs were the ones serving the emperor personally.

n

n

nSwoop~

n

n

nA eunuch wearing purple robes turned his gaze in Li Mu’s direction all of a sudden.

n

n

nPressure washed all over him.

n

n

nHe lowered his head right away.

n

n

n“This is something dangerous.”

n

n

nIt took only a single peek for his cover to be busted.

n

n

nHe was able to read the air around that old eunuch.

n

n

nThat old eunuch was far more powerful than he was.

n

n

nHe then thought that he might be able to fight that old eunuch to a standstill if he were to ingest the Source Gathering Pill that night.

n

n

nThe royal palace was filled with formidable people everywhere.

n

n

n“Best to be more careful from here on out.”

n

n

nThe Jingning Palace became silent again as soon as the empress left.

n

n

nLi Mu then returned to his check-ins out of boredom.

n

n

n…

n

n

nAutumn came two months later.

n

n

nCoughs were heard all over the massive palace.

n

n

nLi Mu frowned.

n

n

n“I sure hope that something isn’t happening to Concubine Jing.”

n

n

n“Xiaolizi, take this token and head to the Imperial Dispensary. Fetch some medicine for Concubine Jing’s cold.”

n

n

nThe old court lady threw a token to Li Mu as she walked through the compound.

n

n

n“This is…”

n

n

n“A token pass left behind by the empress, and no one will dare to cross her. Relax and get going already.”

n

n

n“Yes, ma’am.”

n

n

nLi Mu took the token pass and bowed.

n

n

nFinally, a chance to check out other places that weren’t the “cold” palace.

n

n

nHe was dumbstruck as soon as he walked outside.

n

n

n“Where is the dispensary by the way?”

n

n

nThere was no one for him to ask.

n

n

n“Whatever…”

n

n

n“Let’s just see what happens.”

n

n

n“I have the token pass, so I need to fear nothing.”

n

n

n“Check in.”

n

n

nLi Mu made sure to check in every time he walked past a new place.

n

n

n“Successfully checked in at the Palace Horse Directorate. Shenfeng Footwork rewarded.”

n

n

n“Successfully checked in at Jianzhang Palace. The Saint Spirit Sword Techniques rewarded.”

n

n

n……

n

n

n“Hey, you. What are you doing around here?”

n

n

nA green-robed eunuch called out to Li Mu as he was engrossed with his check-ins.

n

n

n“Sir, I’m from Jingning Palace, and I’m traveling on the empress’s orders to fetch some medicine from the Imperial Dispensary. I lost my way since I haven’t been around here for very long, so…”

n

n

nLi Mu then handed him the token pass that the old court lady had given him.

n

n

n“Oh, orders from the empress, eh? Right then, follow me.”

n

n

nThe old eunuch took a look at the token pass and returned it to him.

n

n

nThe old eunuch didn’t know if the empress was actually waiting for this gray-robed eunuch to finish his task, so the old eunuch didn’t find fault with him. The old eunuch walked with him for a bit before pointing him on his way and left.

n

n

nLi Mu quickly found the dispensary from the green-robed eunuch’s directions.

n

n

n“Who are you?”

n

n

n“I’m here on the empress’s orders to fetch some medicines for a cold.” Li Mu bowed and handed over the token pass.

n

n

nThe inquirer took a look at the token and said, “Follow me.”

n

n

nHe then had Li Mu stand around and wait when they got inside.

n

n

n“Imperial Dispensary. Check in.”

n

n

n“Successfully checked in at the Imperial Dispensary. Minor Recovery Pill rewarded. Ingesting the Minor Recovery Pill will grant 30 years of powers.”

n

n

nLi Mu then walked out of the Imperial Dispensary and returned to the Jingning Palace along the way he had come after getting the medicines.

n

n

nHis trip was a very smooth one since he’d had the token pass with him.

n

n

nHe handed the items to the old court lady and went back to his cleaning.

n

n

nIn a little while, he was called to test the medicine. Then, he returned to his room after confirming that he would no longer be disturbed.

n

n

nQuite a day! He had gotten lots of rewards.

n

n

nThe Shenfeng Footwork was a set of movement techniques that was rarely found in this world.

n

n

nThe Saint Spirit Sword Techniques were a set of signature techniques of the Sword Saint, and there were four tiers to it.

n

n

nThe first stroke to the 18th stroke.

n

n

nThe moves were unflinching and unending and were also known as the emotion-filled strokes.

n

n

nThe 19th to the 22nd strokes…

n

n

nThese four moves were psychologically shocking and soul-crushing, being extremely brutal, and thus were known as the emotionless strokes.

n

n

nThe 23rd was the last move that the Sword Saint had created.

n

n

nThat was the move of will, which was capable of destroying the opponent’s will. It was a move that enabled one to level the place around them with a sword will alone, enabling one to kill without making a move.

n

n

nThe fourth tier was divided into the 23rd Stroke Devoid of Self and the World-ending 23rd Stroke, both of which had been created by Dugu Jian and Huangfu Jian, building on the foundations of the Sword Saint’s techniques.

n

n

nDugu Jian was also known as the reincarnation of the Sword Saint himself.

n

n

nLi Mu suppressed his excitement and popped the pill.

n

n

nHe felt his feet getting lighter the very next day.

n

n

nHe subconsciously began to play with the moves of the Saint Spirit Sword Techniques, using the broom as he was sweeping.

n

n

nHe was of course doing all this in secret.

n

n

nHis level of powers at the moment would make it difficult for the concubine or the court lady to discover what he was doing.

n

n

nHe perked up his ears and listened.

n

n

nHe could hear two people breathing in the palace, one solid and one frail.

n

n

nThe frail breaths came from the concubine.

n

n

n“Hold on. The breaths… D*mn it, the concubine has been poisoned. It’s a slow-acting one.”

n

n

nLi Mu was shocked.

n

n

nSomeone had actually decided to poison the concubine despite the empress’s attention, and moreover, they had used a slow-acting poison.

n

n

n