“She’s dead?” Prince Bao frowned and asked, “How is that possible?”

　　Jia He lowered his head and replied, “Her head has been cut off, so there’s no way to bring her back to life.”

　　“Damn it!” Prince Bao clenched his jaw in resentment. “What a vicious move!”

　　Given her position, Consort Ping would have had some kind of spirit pill that could save her life. Even if she had died, as long as she took the pill within two hours after her death, she would be restored to life. However, if her head had been cut off, there would be no way to revive her.

　　The moment her head was cut off, her soul would have left her body to be reincarnated. No matter how miraculous a spirit pill could be, it would not be able to summon her soul back to her body.

　　Chu Li’s expression darkened.

　　While he had never met Consort Ping before, he knew King Ping quite well, so he could only imagine how furious King Ping would be when he received news about her death. King Ping might even dispatch an army right away!

　　Chu Li had heard that King Ping had a very good relationship with Consort Ping. Once King Ping found out about the way Consort Ping had been killed, could he stop himself from avenging her death?

　　Prince Bao turned back to Chu Li and said, “Chu Li, come with me to check on the situation!”

　　Chu Li smiled humorlessly. “Your Royal Highness, I don’t think I should go with you. After all, this is no small matter!”

　　Honestly speaking, he was very curious to go and check on the situation. However, considering the extreme gravity of the matter, they might need to keep it a secret from King Ping, who was still at the border.

　　If Chu Li were in the Emperor’s shoes, he would remove King Ping’s military power first and then have him return to Fairy’s Capital. Otherwise, if King Ping still possessed military power, it would be hard to tell what he might do in a fit of rage.

　　Nonetheless, King Ping had always been extremely well-informed of the latest news, so it would be very hard to keep this a secret from him. Once this secret leaked out, the Emperor would definitely look into the matter to find out who was responsible. Everyone who knew about this incident would then be dragged into trouble as they would have to undergo a thorough investigation. He did not wish to get dragged into such a troublesome situation since he still had to go to Gale City. If he delayed the matter for too long, he might raise the Saint’s suspicions.

　　Prince Bao said, “You’re already involved in this. Don’t even think about escaping now. Let’s go!”

　　He knew Chu Li’s capabilities well. More so, he was aware that Chu Li was particularly good at dealing with the Holy Church of Light.

　　Chu Li nodded in resignation.

　　So, the two men headed back and made their way to Xiao Shi and her companions.

　　Leng Tao was still doing his best to please Leng Qiu in a noisy and boisterous manner.

　　After having suffered a few scoldings from Leng Qiu, he began to find Leng Qiu’s company especially pleasing. He also felt very comfortable when he was around her. Even if Leng Qiu called him names, he would gladly endure her harsh words and would remain unperturbed. The sense of superiority he had felt in the presence of Leng Qiu since he was young had never gone away.

　　His feelings for her were not romantic in nature since they were blood relatives after all; he just liked her more as a friend.

　　When he noticed them making their way back toward them, Leng Tao became puzzled. He asked, “Why is Granduncle Bao coming back? Could it be that he’s intending to invite me to join them?”

　　“Dream on!” Leng Qiu muttered with a scoff.

　　Prince Bao and Chu Li continued to ride their horses next to each other. Soon, they had joined the group but they did not stop to speak to anyone. Instead, they galloped past them.

　　“Eh?” Leng Tao had raised his hands to give a fist salute but his hands froze in mid-air as he watched them pass him by.

　　Chu Li waved a hand as a gesture for them to carry on with their journey. Leng Qiu turned to Leng Tao and glared at him. “Let’s go!”

　　Xiao Shi and the other ladies broke into discussions as they wondered what had happened. When Xiao Shi saw that Chu Li had decided not to say anything, she knew that it was a confidential matter. If not, he would have come over to give them a heads-up about the situation before catching up with Prince Bao.

　　“What happened?” Xue Ningyu asked curiously. “Why have they rushed back all of a sudden?”

　　“Just ignore them for now. Let’s carry on with our journey to the enclosure,” Xiao Shi replied.

　　…

　　Chu Li and Prince Bao spurred their horses through the eastern gate. They did not rein in their horses but proceeded to gallop down the central avenue.

　　The central avenue was lively and bustling with an endless stream of horses and carriages. The avenue was paved with quartzite, and it was clean and tidy. The sound of horse hooves on the quartzite pavement could be heard loud and clear.

　　“Pedestrians, please make way!” Prince Bao’s protectors shouted. “His Royal Highness will be coming this way. Do not block his path!”

　　Since all of them had a profound level of cultivation, and with their shouts that thundered through the skies, the pedestrians hurriedly moved out of their way. Wherever Chu Li and the others passed by, the crowds parted like the red sea.

　　They galloped all the way to King Ping’s Imperial Residence, which was on the west side of the city.

　　More than ten black-clad protectors stood outside King Ping’s Imperial Residence with their hands on the hilts of their swords. As they guarded the main entrance with tense expressions, they gave off a faint killing intent.

　　When they saw Prince Bao and Chu Li dismounting their horses, two of the protectors in black stepped forward and said gravely, “The Imperial Residence is not open to the public. You’re not allowed to enter.”

　　Chu Li swept his gaze over these two men and said, “Qi Meng, Zhao Liang, who’s inside the residence?”

　　He had instantly recognized these black-clad protectors as secret guardians from the Secret Guardians Hall. This was because he had a photographic memory and could remember the names of all the secret guardians he had met before.

　　“Centurion Chu,” one of the black-clad protectors quickly greeted. “Commander Xu has shown up in person.”

　　“Please tell him that Prince Bao is here,” Chu Li replied.

　　Secret Guardian Qi Meng was a middle-aged man with big eyes and thick eyebrows. He hurriedly nodded and complied with Chu Li’s instructions as he turned around and entered the residence.

　　When Xu Huande rushed out, his pale face grew whiter. He stopped in front of the entrance and gave a fist salute. “Greetings, Your Royal Highness!”

　　Prince Bao waved a hand. “How’s everything going?”

　　“Your Royal Highness, let’s continue this conversation inside.” Xu Huande turned to Chu Li. “Centurion Chu, you came just in time. I was just about to go and look for you.”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　The three men then strode over the tall threshold of the Imperial Residence and went into a spacious vestibule. A thick scent of blood assaulted their nostrils at once and it lingered in the air. The dried pools of blood on the floor were evidence of the horrifying murders that had occurred earlier.

　　Xu Huande led the two men to the main hall.

　　Twelve corpses were laid out in the main hall. Most of them showed no sign of external injuries, but their complexions had turned golden yellow and slightly greenish. They were thoroughly dead.

　　“The consort’s body has been put in a coffin. It would be inappropriate to examine her body anymore,” Xu Huande said. “Centurion Chu, examine these bodies carefully and tell me which sect has done this.”

　　With that, Chu Li studied the twelve corpses one after the other. Then, he sighed while he shook his head. “It’s the Divine Light Fist. In fact, it’s performed by someone with a very high level of cultivation. This is no ordinary disciple of the Holy Church of Light.”

　　“As expected, it’s the Holy Church of Light!” Xu Huande gritted his teeth.

　　Chu Li said, “Based on the condition of their injuries, it’s done by one person.”

　　“Yes,” Xu Huande replied. “Just as the consort was coming out of the residence, this guy from the Holy Church of Light suddenly rushed out and killed her in one go. Then, as the protectors risked their own lives to place him under siege, the guy performed the secret skill of the Holy Church of Light and killed all twelve of the protectors! These protectors were top-notch masters with military backgrounds and have killed countless people before. Yet, they were killed by this guy. In the end, this guy has even perfected his merits and entered the Great Light Realm.”

　　Chu Li let out a sigh. “He was able to do that by activating the secret skill of the Great Light Scripture to the greatest extent. Furthermore, it’s easy for these martial arts masters from the military to push this Holy Church of Light disciple to unleash his full potential until he’s forced to perfect his merits. Ah… this is a tricky situation!”

　　“Indeed, it’s a very tricky situation!” Xu Huande muttered grimly. “I’ve tried to stop this news from spreading, but with so many people around, it might be very difficult to keep this under wraps since the incident happened outside the main entrance of the Imperial Residence!”

　　Prince Bao asked, “What has the Emperor said about this?”

　　“The Emperor hasn’t given us any further instructions. We’ve just reported the incident to him,” Xu Huande replied and shook his head. “The assassin is already dead, so we’re left with a dead end. This is too infuriating!”

　　“All the more reason not to tell King Ping,” Prince Bao muttered with a huff.

　　Chu Li said, “Your Royal Highness, with King Ping’s capabilities, it’s impossible to keep this a secret from him. I believe this news has already gotten out, and it’ll probably reach King Ping soon!”

　　“Well then, what should we do?” Prince Bao knitted his brows together. “King Ping is full of youthful vigor. I’m afraid he’ll cause a huge disaster!”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　It was easy to guess what King Ping would do if he were to fly into a rage.

　　Chu Li said, “Commander Xu, something seems odd about this matter. Based on what I know, the Li Dynasty and the Qiu Dynasty are at war right now, so they shouldn’t have the time or energy to attack us and order an assassination on Consort Ping at this moment. This is clearly a move to provoke King Ping to dispatch his troops.”

　　“Is Centurion Chu suggesting that the Holy Church of Light isn’t behind this?” Commander Xu asked.

　　Chu Li shook his head. “While this is indeed the Holy Church of Light’s martial art and the assassin is a disciple from the Holy Church of Light, I really can’t figure out why the Holy Church of Light would do this. If the Qiu Dynasty is the one behind this, then everything would make more sense.”