Tang Dynasty Swordsman

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There are quite a few people on this street who look about the same size. Should I stop them one by one and ask them questions? But what if I ask the wrong person and the assassin takes the opportunity to escape?

In that brief moment of hesitation, the crowds shifted and the scene before him changed again. Half of the short men he had been eyeing had turned into other streets and alleys... It was clear he wouldn't be able to catch them, and Li Ji couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed.

He was now certain that the person he had glimpsed out of the corner of his eye was most likely Zhen Sui. Even if it wasn't, the man must have something to hide—otherwise, why would someone have shot at him immediately after he asked the two children where he was? If he went back to that alley now, he definitely wouldn't find him. Even if the two children were still there and were willing to tell him which neighborhood Zhen Sui had entered, it would be very difficult to find him—there might be more than one neighborhood entrance, and if he knew someone was following him, he might even jump over the wall if pushed too far.

The only remaining clue was the shop where Zhen Sui had glimpsed himself—Li Ji quickly recalled the shop's signboard and confirmed it was a cosmetics shop. Why would a grown man go to a cosmetics store all by himself?

I learned from our conversation that Zhen Sui had no family. Not only was he unmarried, but he was also an orphan with no siblings. Therefore, it was impossible for him to buy rouge for his wife, mother, or sisters. Could it be for his girlfriend? If he had a girlfriend before, what were the chances of her coming to Ding'an with him? If he had met a new girlfriend… instead of hurrying to see the Emperor, he had such leisure time—he truly dared not report back to the Emperor.

Perhaps he could find some clues in that shop, or at least ask the shop assistant if the tall man who had just left looked like that. With that thought in mind, Li Ji immediately turned around, went back to the market, and strode into the shop.

As soon as he entered the shop, his eyes narrowed slightly—he saw a burly man facing the counter with his back to him, and from behind, his figure bore a striking resemblance to Zhen Sui! Li Ji hurriedly took a large step forward, reached out and patted the burly man's right shoulder, saying, "Your Excellency..."

But before his right hand could even touch the other man, and before he could utter a single word, the burly man suddenly slumped his shoulder, easily dodging the attack, and then swiftly turned around. Li Ji looked closely—it was his recklessness.

It's obvious that since Zhen Sui has already left the store, it's unlikely he'll come back.

The burly man was indeed very similar to Zhen Sui in stature, but their appearances were quite different. Zhen Sui had a round face with fleshy cheeks and a short, sideburn beard; while this burly man had a square face, with more bone than flesh, and although his beard was also thick, it was more than half a foot long and flowed down his chest.

Li Ji quickly withdrew his hand, about to bow in apology. Unexpectedly, the burly man, slightly taken aback, glanced behind Li Ji, his expression instantly changing. He raised his thick eyebrows and roared, "Where did this scoundrel come from, trying to steal?!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "If I were a thief, I would definitely reach into your waist. Why would I pretend to pat your shoulder?" Just as he was about to explain, the big man suddenly swung his fist, which was as big as a bowl, and punched Li Ji in the face.

Li Ji stepped back, simultaneously crossing his arms in front of him to block. A loud "thump" rang out as fist and arm collided, the blow causing a dull ache in the man's arm. Li Ji was enraged—what grudge did I have against you that you'd come at me with such force?! Seeing the burly man's right fist miss, he immediately withdrew it, twisted his waist, and threw out his left fist. This time, he wasn't purely defensive; he deftly deflected the attack with his left arm, while simultaneously striking the burly man squarely in the chest with his right fist.

With a thud, the burly man involuntarily stumbled back three steps, bumping into the wooden counter, a look of surprise flashing across his face. Li Ji withdrew his fist, also surprised by the man's iron-like pectoral muscles—they seemed even harder than his own. He was thinking, "Stupid, huh? Now you know I'm not someone to mess with. Will you back down and listen to my explanation?" when he saw the burly man reach up and press his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist…

Li Ji was startled and instinctively backed away, only to bump into someone standing in the doorway. A cry of "Ouch!" rang out behind him, and Li Ji, startled, quickly turned around and grabbed Li Shi, who was about to fall backward—"I told you not to follow me..."

Li Shi shouted "Watch out!" and shoved Li Ji's hand away before covering his head and fleeing. Li Ji glanced sideways and saw that the burly man had also chased him to the door, his sword half-drawn from its waist.

A woman's voice suddenly rang out from inside the shop: "Old Jing, no!"

The burly man turned around upon hearing the sound, and then sheathed his sword.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The World of Swordsmen

Li Ji and the burly man, possibly surnamed Jing, got into a fight in front of the rouge shop, alerting the patrolling soldiers who surrounded them with spears. However, despite it being a fight between two men, the officer pointed only at Li Ji and shouted, "Take him down!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What does this mean? Do I not look like a good person? I have an honest face that even the emperor acknowledges!"

After calmly analyzing the situation and asking around about the city, it dawned on me—Li Shi had misled me! I should have brought that standard-issue sword with me…

Li Shi was still young and his thinking was not yet thorough enough. He only considered that the sword was a military item, and if Li Ji went out in white clothes with a sword, he was afraid that it would arouse the suspicion and questioning of the patrolling soldiers. Little did he know that the more suspicious a person was, the less the soldiers would pay attention to him.

Because the Longyou army now numbers no less than 30,000 outside Ding'an City, although theoretically they are not allowed to enter the city to prevent disturbance of public order or even offense against the emperor, the law cannot override human sentiment. The Longyou troops have traveled thousands of miles, and military life is extremely monotonous; surely everyone wants to go into the city to wander around and see its prosperity… at least a more prosperous scene than the military camp. Especially since the army may not lack daily necessities, but is missing one thing—women.

Where there are cities, there must be brothels, at least a few private brothels, right? In ancient times, women were taboo in the military, considered unlucky. So unless it was a general with real power, no one dared to bring women into the military camp. Therefore, they had to come into the city to find them. Of course, ordinary soldiers didn't have the opportunity, but many mid-level generals could enter the city incognito. If they didn't cause trouble, the guards would basically turn a blind eye and pretend they didn't see anything.

However, military officers had already become accustomed to changing their clothes, but carrying a sword was not so easy. Therefore, it was not uncommon to see people in the city wearing white clothes and carrying a sword.

Upon hearing Li Shi's words, Li Ji did not bring out his broadsword, but only wore a sword at his waist—swords had long since largely disappeared from the main battlefield, used only for private duels in the martial arts world, especially by scholars and literati who liked to carry swords to show that they were both learned and skilled in martial arts. On the contrary, the burly man surnamed Jing wore a broadsword at his waist.

So the patrolling soldiers surrounded them, and upon closer inspection, they saw two men fighting, one of whom was carrying a knife. That was obviously one of their own men—"Take down the one with the sword!"

At the sound of his voice, more than a dozen spears were immediately thrust at Li Ji, causing him to panic. The saying goes, "Two fists can't beat four hands," and even if he was a skilled fighter, it would be difficult to defeat so many soldiers, especially since they all wielded long weapons while he hadn't even drawn his sword yet… The possibility of breaking through the spear formation without injuring anyone was extremely slim, and Li Ji didn't want to hurt anyone either.

He could only adopt a defensive stance, remaining motionless, wary of the burly man's potential attack while glancing sideways at Li Shi beside him. His thought was: What should I do? Prince Fengjie, could you give me some advice? Should I show my palace pass? Is that even useful against the patrolmen?

However, the burly man did not seize the opportunity to pursue. He merely glanced sideways before turning back to look at the shop. As if the woman had given him some kind of gesture, the burly man turned back, raised his hands, and shouted, "Wait!" Then he walked towards the soldier, his back to Li Ji, seemingly showing him something and saying a few words.

Li Ji listened intently, but the big man's voice was soft; he could only vaguely hear the words "misunderstanding" and "disperse."

The general clasped his hands in salute, then ordered his soldiers to retreat, regroup, and leave. Li Ji, filled with doubt, quickly stepped aside to approach Li Shi and asked, "What happened?"

Then, the woman's voice came from inside the shop: "Come in and talk."

Not only did the burly man return to the shop upon hearing this, but even Li Shi, with his hands clasped behind his back, ignored Li Ji and strode in. Li Ji thought to himself, "I've misjudged this. This woman isn't an assassin at all, and she even knows Li Shi... No, judging from the young prince's demeanor, this woman's status is quite high; she's most likely a royal elder!"

If that's the case, why did the burly man surnamed Jing take the initiative to attack him? And since Li Shi has arrived, why didn't he try to mediate?

Does this mean that royalty equals assassins, and assassins equal royalty...? Holy crap, what role did Li Shi play in all of this?!

He took a deep breath, reached for the sword at his waist, and strode into the shop. He instantly understood: if the woman or Li Shi harbored ill intentions towards him, there was no need for the burly man to persuade the patrolmen to retreat. A dozen spearmen, plus "Old Jing," would be more than enough to subdue him. At least, they didn't want to escalate the situation. Since that was the case, what did he have to fear?

The most important thing is to hurry in and listen to what they have to say!

As soon as they entered the shop, Li Shi asked the woman, "...Why have you come here? Is there a lack of cosmetics in the palace?"

The woman's words seemed to contain endless resentment as she slowly replied, "I just wanted to see the Han dynasty's land, its cities and towns, one last time... Unfortunately, what I saw in the end was not Chang'an, the Western Capital."

As soon as Li Ji entered, "Old Jing" darted over, closed the shop door, and then glared at the shop assistant huddled by the counter, warning him: "What you saw and heard today, you must not mention to anyone, otherwise, hehe!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What does this mean? Are you going to 'close the door and beat the dog'? You'd better be able to beat me first." He stared at Li Shi without saying a word.

Li Shi pointed at him and said to the woman, "This is Mr. Changyuan's cousin, Li Ji."

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Only then did Li Ji get a clear look at the woman's face. She had an oval face, lightly made up, and delicate features, but she wasn't overly seductive; instead, she possessed a hint of heroic spirit—a unique quality among the women his souls from both generations had seen in this world. Judging by her age, she was probably under thirty, still in her youth… oh, by the standards of this world, she could be considered an old maid.

—Li Ji knew that the makeup of a young woman in her boudoir was different from that of a married woman.

Upon closer inspection, the woman's appearance seemed rather familiar... Who did she resemble?

He stared at the woman, who in turn looked at Li Ji and said, "So you are Mr. Changyuan's brother... Shi'er, you must give me an explanation."

Li Shi crossed his arms and smiled, saying, "Li Ji often boasts about his fighting skills, so I borrowed Auntie's servants to test his abilities. I didn't expect it to alarm the patrolmen..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "No wonder!" The "Old Jing" dodged his strike purely out of instinct, but when he first turned around, his face showed surprise. Then he glanced behind him before suddenly making his move—it was probably Li Shi who had followed him and was giving him some gestures or winks from behind.

He couldn't help but feel angry and glared at Li Shi. Li Shi quickly bowed and said, "It was my naughtiness, Changwei, please forgive me—I will choose two palace maids to reward you when we get back!"

Li Ji coldly replied, "No need." He had originally thought this child was clever and sensible, but who would have thought he would dare to play tricks on him—indeed, the royal family spoils scoundrels and纨绔 (spoiled brats)!

The woman reached out and put her hand on Li Shi's shoulder, nodded to Li Ji, and said, "Although Shi'er was unruly, I am also partly to blame." Turning to "Old Jing," she said, "Why don't you come over and apologize to Mr. Li?"

The burly man stepped forward, faced Li Ji, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply to the ground: "It was I, Jing, who made the move. I hope you will not blame the Prince of Fengjie. If you are still not satisfied, then punch me a couple more times. I will not block, dodge, or fight back."

Li Ji straightened up immediately and noticed a large bruise on the man's right cheekbone. Realizing he hadn't suffered any loss, his anger subsided somewhat. He then bowed to the woman with his hands clasped, saying, "May I ask who Your Highness is...?" Hearing Li Shi call her "Aunt," she must be a princess; addressing her as "Your Highness" wouldn't be wrong.

Li Shi hurriedly replied, "She is my aunt, the Princess Ningguo, bestowed by imperial decree—she is my own aunt."

Li Ji understood that this Princess Ningguo should not only share the same father as Prince Guangping, but also the same mother, which is why Li Shi specifically mentioned "direct relatives".

Princess Ningguo nodded to Li Ji again and said, "My servant was originally a general of the Shence Army in Longyou, and later transferred to the Left Valiant Guard of the Imperial Guard. He can ride a fierce horse, draw a strong bow, and his fighting skills are said to be unparalleled in the army. I did not expect that he could not defeat you. With you protecting Mr. Changyuan, His Majesty can rest assured."

Li Ji smiled wryly and said, "My elder brother is now accompanying the Emperor, so why does he need my protection? He can only come out of the palace to stroll around..." As he spoke, he couldn't help but glare at Li Shi again.

Li Shi hurriedly said, "Auntie is free to wander around the city, I should go back to the palace too." He bowed, ran over, pulled Li Ji, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Li Ji hadn't originally planned to leave. He still had many unresolved questions and wanted to ask Li Shi about them in front of Princess Ningguo. However, Li Shi, with his back to the princess, gave him a wink; at the same time, he clasped his hands together, and Li Ji noticed that Li Shi was holding a cold, hard object in his palm...

He had no choice but to follow Li Shi, walking quickly until they turned into a relatively empty alley. Li Shi stopped only after checking that no one was around. Li Ji drawled coldly, "My dear brother..."

Li Shi released his hand and then showed him the object in his hand: "Brother, please don't blame me. Let's talk about this."

Li Ji looked closely and, sure enough, it was the short sword that had almost hit him in the alley a quarter of an hour earlier.

Li Shi then said, “You suddenly abandoned me and ran away, and then I found this in the alley. You know that I am of noble status, different from others. I occasionally go out of the palace incognito, and I unexpectedly encountered such a thing. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. That’s why I hinted to Aunt and Old Jing to test you. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and I don’t know what they will find out, but it was definitely not just for fun or to tease you. Let’s clarify this matter first, and then I may apologize again.”

“You are a prince, why should you apologize to a straw man?” Li Ji curled his lip, but decided to tell the truth anyway, “Just now I saw a person come out of that shop, who seemed to be Zhen Sui, the Imperial Guard who used to accompany my brother…”

Li Shi frowned: "Didn't they say he encountered rebel soldiers... or assassins in Tanshan and perished?"

"I did not see him die that day, so when I suddenly saw him, I chased after him to find out what was going on. I entered the alley but saw no one, only two boys. I asked them which brothel he had entered. Unexpectedly, someone suddenly threw this hidden weapon at me. I turned around and chased after him, but I could not find him. So I returned to the rouge shop to ask the shopkeeper."

Li Shi held the short sword between three fingers of his right hand, examining it repeatedly before slowly saying, "It's a flying sword."

"A flying sword?" Li Ji was taken aback, thinking, "Is it the kind of flying sword that can take a person's head from a thousand miles away? Holy crap, is this a world of swordsmen?!"

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As dusk fell, Li Ji finally returned to the palace with Li Shi. Since there had been no prior notice, Li Tan still ordered lunch to be brought over. With Li Ji absent, none of the three eunuchs dared to touch or speak, so they carefully stored the food away. Later that evening, they asked the kitchen staff to prepare it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Extraordinary Figures of the Martial World

A lot happened throughout the day, and since it was still early, Li Ji began by recounting the events from the beginning—first, Prince Jianning, Li Tan, came to visit, intending to thank Li Bi.

Upon hearing this, Li Bi frowned slightly and said, "I also happened to run into Prince Jianning during the day, but I never heard him mention this matter..."

There are two possibilities why Li Tan did not thank Li Bi in person: First, he felt that the environment and situation were not right and he had not found a suitable time to speak; second, he was just expressing his opinion and since he had already mentioned it to Li Ji, there was no need to thank Li Bi in person.

Li Ji would definitely inform Li Bi about this. Even if Li Bi was a rough man and couldn't relay the message clearly, Li Ji wasn't stupid; he would understand that Li Ji's purpose in coming was to express gratitude for the appointment of the marshal. And with Li Bi's intelligence, surely he would grasp Li Ji's intentions?

The question then diverges—why did Li Tan refuse to speak frankly to Li Bi, but instead only accept Li Ji's vague retelling? Li Ji thought that he might not want to make the matter public, thus allowing him to back down; or perhaps he thought, "As long as I have no evil thoughts, I have a pure heart, why should I reveal it to the public?"

Li Mi's analysis of this matter was somewhat different. He said, "Since I have received his thanks, how could I not inform the Emperor and the Prince of Guangping? Even if I don't, if suspicion arises between the two princes in the future, I will surely speak up for him. However, if the Prince of Jianning were to thank me in front of a large crowd, or even in front of the Emperor and the Prince of Guangping, it would inevitably seem like a pretense..."

Oh, you not only thanked Li Bi, but also made a big fuss about it, so that everyone knows about it. What do you mean by that? A gentleman's good deeds don't need to be proclaimed. Are you deliberately proclaiming that you have no ambition to flatter the emperor and lull the Prince of Guangping into a false sense of security, or to enhance your reputation and win people's hearts?

Li Ji was speechless after hearing Li Bi's analysis. He thought to himself that this old fox was more insightful than he was. But he refused to admit defeat and said, "Brother, you are judging him with the mind of a petty person and think too badly of Prince Jianning."

Li Bi glanced at him and said, "Prince Jianning's actions were out of self-preservation and not necessarily malicious. It is you who thinks too much of Prince Jianning as foolish."

Li Ji's last roar before his defeat was nothing more than a final cry. He then let the matter rest, offering no further explanation, and began to recount his experiences after leaving the palace.

Li Bi hadn't even heard three sentences before his eyebrows shot up, and he snapped, "How dare you take the Prince of Fengjie out of the palace! What if something happens to him?!"

Li Ji hurriedly said, "I know this matter is not very appropriate, but I fear that what Prince Fengjie is asking for is actually the will of Prince Guangping, so I dare not refuse firmly... Fortunately, as the prince said, this is only once, and he will not leave the palace casually again in the future. However, brother, I actually saw someone in the market..."

Having ignoring the unfavorable events, he jumped straight to the discovery of Zhen Sui's whereabouts, recounting the entire incident in one breath, including his subsequent discussions and analyses with Li Shi. Li Bi sat upright on the couch, listening quietly without interrupting, only occasionally tapping the table lightly with his palm, making a "tap tap" sound.

Finally, Li Bi analyzed, "Since you couldn't ask him in person, you can't be sure that it's indeed true..."

"If it wasn't true, why did you disappear without a trace? Why would someone still want to assassinate me?"

"Even if it's not Zhen Sui, he's probably not a good citizen either—just as you and the Prince of Fengjie said, that flying sword must have been used to cover the strong man who was suspected to be Zhen Sui, there's probably no doubt about that. Now that the Emperor is staying in Ding'an, troops from all directions are gathering to support the Emperor, former officials of the court are coming to join him, and even many refugees from Guanzhong have come specifically to seek refuge with the Emperor. The people are a mixed bag, making it difficult to control them strictly. So it's only natural that the rebels would send spies."

"It is very likely that the burly man was a spy from the rebel army, who entered the city to investigate military affairs, or had other ulterior motives. The scoundrel who released the flying sword must have been his accomplice. When he saw you chasing the burly man and asking the boy about his whereabouts, he was worried that the officials had discovered some clues, so he interfered to help the burly man escape."

"To be able to wield a flying sword, they must be a person of extraordinary abilities in the martial world—could it be that what Li Fuguo said about Zhou Zhi secretly raising extraordinary people is indeed true? And that they have already infiltrated Ding'an City?!"

During the day, Li Ji questioned Li Shi and learned that the so-called flying sword, formed from essence and energy, originating from behind the head and capable of taking a person's head from a thousand miles away, was indeed true. However, Li Shi had never actually seen one. The short sword Li Shi pulled from the wall, made of fine steel, though small and sharp, was a tangible object, not something formed from essence and energy…

Therefore, Li Shi estimated that either this was not the legendary flying sword, or it was just the introductory skill of flying swordsmanship, so it was not much different from ordinary flying locusts or darts. If it was truly formed from essence, it would inevitably be annihilated afterward. How could I still obtain this short sword? Could it be that sword immortals can really transform essence into physical objects? If I find a sword immortal to release it every day, every hour, every moment, could I accumulate tens of thousands of catties of refined iron? That's absurd!

Besides, if it were truly possible to take someone's head from a thousand miles away, there would be no way to avoid it. Li Ji, you would have been dead long ago. By the time I got there, you might already be cold...

However, this kind of concealed weapon technique would never be used in the military. There are indeed slingers in the army, but their numbers are small and they don't have many opportunities to use it. There is no need to train them specifically, let alone have them throw metal objects. That would be such a waste. Even among civilians, those who know how to use this technique are extremely rare.

Therefore, he must be a martial arts expert, someone with special abilities who specializes in carrying out clandestine tasks such as tracking, ambushing, and assassination!

Li Ji largely agreed with Li Bi's analysis, except for one point.

—Brother, you didn't see it with your own eyes, but that person really looked just like the real Sui!

“Brother, Zhou Zhi can keep extraordinary people in the martial arts world; it’s not impossible that there are people in the court who share his desires!”

Officials and even wealthy families have always kept servants and guards, primarily to protect their property, but they might also be tasked with doing secret things for their masters. The former are skilled in hand-to-hand combat, at most with a stick—they can't possibly stand guard carrying standard military weapons—while the latter must be those so-called martial arts masters.

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Li Bi, your analysis and judgment are based on the premise that the person is not actually Sui, but only has a similar profile. But what if we assume that the person is indeed Sui?

During the day, Li Ji and Li Shi's analysis concluded as follows—