Chapter 1199: Death

　　As Chu Li left his little courtyard, he vanished into thin air and appeared near the Imperial Mausoleum.

　　This time, he had changed into another appearance. He was now a thin middle-aged man with a withered face who was only as good as an Innate Master. His gaze was brimming with brightness and even though he did not look like an ordinary person, he would not attract much attention among the crowd.

　　He walked slowly and gently knocked on the door as he arrived at Xu Huande’s little courtyard.

　　Chu Li had already seen Xu Huande’s little courtyard even though he had just arrived at Adjacent Town. Everything within 3.1 miles with him at the epicenter appeared in his mind. Even though Chu Li and Xiao Qi’s courtyard was vacant and empty, it was still looked incredible on the inside. It was obvious that someone had been cleaning the place up often.

　　Since he was no longer in Adjacent Town, he had left some forces behind for Xiao Qi to be in charge of. It had been absorbed into the Public House and Xiao Qi would know anything the instant they received new intel.

　　As Xu Huande was still training his Swordsmanship, he shouted when he heard someone knocking on his door, “Come in.”

　　Chu Li’s looks returned to normal he entered Xu Huande’s little courtyard. He smiled and fist saluted. “Commander Xu.”

　　“Chu Li, is that you?” Xu Huande was shocked.

　　He immediately rushed in and fist saluted. “Why are you here?”

　　“I’ve something to ask you,” Chu Li said.

　　The two sat by the stone table in the little courtyard. Chu Li looked around and smiled. “Commander, it’s time for you to change to another courtyard. This place is too cramped for you.”

　　“It’s fine. I’m used to it.” Xu Huande smiled as he shook his head. “I’m happy as long as I’ve got a place to stay and I don’t really have a specific taste. On the other hand, why are you here?”

　　Although he was in Adjacent Town that was isolated from the outer realm, he knew that something big must have happened since Chu Li had returned. After all, the latter was a busy man and would never simply return to the town for no reason.

　　“I’m here to look for Commander Fu,” Chu Li said. “Why don’t I see him around? Has he been sent into the Inner Mausoleum?”

　　“Old Fu…” Xu Huande frowned as his face turned gloomy.

　　Chu Li knew instantly something had happened and frowned as well. “Did something happen to Commander Fu?”

　　“Old Fu is dead.” Xu Huande sighed as he shook his head. “He was assassinated in his own courtyard.”

　　“When did it happen?” Chu Li’s expression turned for the worse.

　　Xu Huande sighed. “It’s been half a month since.”

　　Chu Li frowned.

　　The news did not spread for that half a month. Xiao Qi would have informed Chu Li of this even if he no longer had anything to do with Fu Mengshan. Even so, they were no strangers and they once had a connection in the past.

　　It seemed like Adjacent Town’s power had been shifted.

　　Xu Huande said, “Old Fu was prepared for such a day. It’s simply unavoidable.”

　　“Was it the Emperor?” Chu Li scoffed.

　　Xu Huande nodded slowly.

　　“If the Emperor still had plans to make use of Old Fu, he might just let Old Fu live. However, the Emperor will definitely kill him if he has no use for him any longer,” Xu Huande said calmly, “Old Fu simply knew too many secrets.”

　　“Was it really the Emperor’s doing?” Chu Li frowned. “Could it be someone else impersonating him?”

　　“It’s hard to tell…” Xu Huande shook his head. “He’s already dead and he’s no longer a Commander but a criminal. Since he’s already dead, it won’t stir up anything and nobody will pursue further.”

　　Chu Li scoffed. “I’m going to investigate this matter!”

　　“Old Fu has already rested in peace. It’s best to not disrupt his eternal rest,” Xu Huande said. “Let’s forget about it. I’m sure he’s already reincarnated and there’s not much for him to stay around for anyway.”

　　Chu Li remained silent.

　　Xu Huande then realized the situation and started laughing while shaking his head. He had been sitting here comfortably for so long and had forgotten about something important. Chu Li was a very smart man. The incident must be huge if he had to find Fu Mengshan out of the blue.

　　“However, it’s fine if you want to find out the truth.” Xu Huande said, “I, too, want to know if it was the Emperor himself.”

　　Chu Li raised his head and looked at him before shaking his head and smiled. “Commander Xu, you’ve changed.”

　　Xu Huande smiled. “Now that I don’t have any pressure from the responsibilities, I’ve lost interest in it. Oh right, do you have anything important to say since you were looking for Old Fu?”

　　“I’ve heard that Gu Yu has found evidence of me teaming up with the Holy Church of Light.” Chu Li’s face gloomed.

　　Xu Huande frowned. “Is he still trying to pin you down? This b*stard doesn’t know when to stop!”

　　Chu Li said, “He’s useless in any way and the only thing he’s better than everyone else is his tenacity. He keeps coming back for more even if he had been punished over and over again. However, it’s quite admirable despite the fact that he suffers repeated defeats.”

　　“How is that possible?” Xu Huande frowned. “Have you really teamed up with the Holy Church of Light?”

　　“What do you think?” Chu Li scoffed.

　　“Are you suspecting that your cover as a spy has been exposed?” Xu Huande’s face turned darker.

　　Chu Li nodded slowly. “Only the three of us know of this. I’m confident that Commander Xu wouldn’t leak this information out but I don’t have the confidence that Commander Fu would do the same. It’s very likely that Gu Yu has obtained some intel from Commander Fu.”

　　“Are you suspecting that Gu Yu is the one who assassinated Commander Fu?”

　　“Gu Yu’s action is equivalent to the Emperor’s. If nobody could differentiate him from taking personal matters into public welfare, then Commander Fu’s position in this incident is even harder to tell. I’m afraid…” Chu Li sighed as he shook his head.

　　Fu Mengshan was that kind of a person who would grab hold of any thread during desperate times. Unfortunately, he was unable to avoid death. Perhaps he did not want the others to live well and decided to pull Chu Li down by exposing him as a spy for the Holy Church of Light as Zhao Dahe from within.

　　Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande had totally different personalities. It was entirely possible that the former would do such a thing.

　　Xu Huande frowned. “That’s truly frightening! What should we do!”

　　It was the first time that someone had managed to enter the Holy Church of Light as a spy. Once this was leaked out, not only would their efforts been washed down the drain, but it might just affect a lot of people as well. It was impossible that Chu Li had no friends during his time in the Holy Church of Light. Now that he had become an official and had a bunch of loyal subordinates, these people would definitely suffer if Chu Li’s identity was exposed.

　　Chu Li shook his head. “Let’s hope that Commander Fu didn’t tell anything to Gu Yu!”

　　“Why don’t I… try to probe Gu Yu’s behavior?” Xu Huande asked.

　　Chu Li waved his hand. “Let’s not muddy the water.”

　　Xu Huande said, “This is no small matter. Gu Yu is a crook and he doesn’t see the big picture. He’ll definitely spread this news across the land if you don’t listen to him.”

　　Chu Li said, “I’ve got some ideas!”

　　“Do you really have one?” Xu Huande frowned.

　　Chu Li said slowly. “Let’s stop discussing this matter. I wasn’t here and you didn’t see me today!”

　　“Understood!” Xu Huande nodded slowly and hesitated. “Don’t risk your life. Gu Yu will not hesitate to kill you!”

　　Since he had been Chu Li’s superior in the past, he knew very well of Chu Li’s fearlessness and boldness. He was afraid that Chu Li would use the simplest method, which was to kill Gu Yu. It would be incredibly troublesome if that were to happen.

　　Gu Yu was the Emperor’s favorite and the Secret Guardians Hall’s Commander. It would be a joke if the Commander of the Secret Guardians Hall was assassinated. The Emperor would definitely investigate the matter until the very end.

　　Chu Li smiled.

　　Xu Huande looked at him and sighed hopelessly. He stopped persuading him any further as he knew it would be pointless.

　　Chu Li waved his hand and vanished in thin air.

　　He then appeared by the stone table, watching Xiao Qi training with her sword at the garden in Jade Guardian Island.

　　After a while, Xiao Qi stopped training and sat beside him. She looked at him and soon realized that Chu Li had something on his mind.

　　“What’s wrong?”

　　“Fu Mengshan has been assassinated, do you know of this?”

　　Xiao Qi frowned. “When was this?”

　　“Half a month ago.” Chu Li shook his head. “It looks like we’ve failed to control Adjacent Town.”

　　“I’ll investigate this matter later,” Xiao Qi said. “How did this happen? Was it the Emperor?”

　　Chu Li sighed. “I’m sure he’s related somehow.”

　　This matter would definitely be investigated thoroughly if it was not the Emperor’s doing. This was to prove that the Emperor had nothing to do with it. However, nothing had been announced since. It was obvious that someone had been trying to downplay this incident. After all, Fu Mengshan was no ordinary man.

　　…