Catching Monsters

Chapter 347 The Siblings' Bad Tempers

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Wang Longzhi frowned slightly, but quickly regained her composure and smiled as she went inside.

Xiao Jingqi was pacing back and forth inside, with several servants assigned to him following him, all trying to persuade him.

"Sixth Prince, General Wang has given orders that you cannot go anywhere without his approval."

Xiao Jingqi was also extremely annoyed at the moment, and soon saw Wang Longzhi walk in from outside.

"Alright, you may all step back now. I need to have a word with His Highness the Sixth Prince." Wang Longzhi smiled as he entered the courtyard and waved to the servants.

The servants then left one by one.

Xiao Jingqi's expression darkened slightly, and he said, "General Wang, I took such a great risk to escape from the capital and come here, and what was the result?"

"After I arrived, everything was different from what you had described."

Xiao Jingqi was a free-spirited person by nature. Even after becoming a disciple of Baiyun Temple, he did not truly devote himself to cultivation within the temple. Instead, he frequently left the capital and traveled around the country.

As a result, he was imprisoned by His Majesty and could not leave the Prince's residence, especially since he was well aware of this.

After that incident, he was completely out of the running for the throne. Xiao Jingqi was an ambitious man; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to collude with the Hu people.

After Wang Longzhi sent someone to secretly contact him, he became interested.

Xiao Jingqi stared into Wang Longzhi's eyes and said in a low voice, "General Wang, did you promise me that you would find a way to help me ascend the throne and become emperor, and that you have the Imperial Seal of the State in your possession!"

"What else is there to say? After I arrive, everything will revolve around me."

"As a result, when I arrived here, I didn't even see the Imperial Seal of the State."

"They even disagreed with my idea of ​​leaving this small courtyard to take a walk or stroll around Wulingfu City."

"Is this the attitude we should have towards the future emperor?"

Hearing Xiao Jingqi's complaints, Wang Longzhi quickly clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, the situation is somewhat special now. According to reports from my people in the capital, it seems that word has already leaked that you have left the capital."

"Moreover, many people from the Eastern Garrison Command disappeared overnight, presumably having left the capital."

At this point, Wang Longzhi didn't need to say much more. He patted Xiao Jingqi on the shoulder: "Your Highness..."

Unexpectedly, Xiao Jingqi became quite impatient and slapped Wang Longzhi's hand away, somewhat dissatisfied. How could this guy be so unruly? He was a proper prince, what right did this person have to pat him on the shoulder?

"With so many soldiers guarding the Martial Spirit Prefecture, and that old man outside the gate, he must be the expert you sent to protect me, right? How strong is he? Let him accompany this prince on a stroll around the Martial Spirit Prefecture, what could possibly happen?"

Wang Longzhi's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, he is my master."

"So what if he's a master..."

Xie Yifeng, one of the four sword gods of our time.

"The Sword God is again..." Xiao Jingqi suddenly stopped talking, his eyes widening in shock, and said in disbelief, "He is the Sword God Xie Yifeng?"

As for the four sword gods of this era, no one can say for sure who is stronger or weaker.

But Xie Yifeng is definitely stronger than Qi Xinyi, the Snow Mountain Sword God.

It is said that seven years ago, Xie Yifeng went to the snowy mountains of the Northern Region in search of a rare spiritual herb, but it ended up in the hands of Qi Xinyi, the Sword God of the Snow Mountain.

Both of them were martial arts fanatics who were able to cultivate their swordsmanship to the point that they were called sword gods by the world.

So they agreed to a duel atop the snow-capped mountain.

If you win, you will give this spiritual herb to Xie Yifeng.

The great battle piqued the interest of many experts from the Zhou Kingdom and the grasslands, who rushed to observe, hoping to learn a move or two from the swordsmanship of the two.

Xie Yifeng and Qi Xin fought a fierce sword battle atop the snow-capped mountain, causing the mountain to collapse and the earth to cave in.

The entire mountain was leveled by the two men's fierce sword energy.

This triggered an avalanche, and those who came to watch the duel between the two but were not strong enough were eventually buried under the snow mountain.

The result of this great battle was a draw.

But everyone thought Xie Yifeng was stronger, for no other reason than that Xie Yifeng was only holding a wooden sword when he faced his enemy.

According to people in the martial arts world, Xie Yifeng was too ruthless in his youth, and his hands were stained with too much blood. Now he only carries a wooden sword, which he uses to injure people but not to kill them.

For many years, no one has seen Xie Yifeng actually draw his sword.

"Wouldn't that be even better? Let Senior Xie accompany me to Wuling Mansion. With him by my side, what could possibly happen to me?" Xiao Jingqi's eyes lit up slightly.

Wang Longzhi frowned. Xie Yifeng was not his subordinate, but rather his mentor. Unless he himself was willing, he could not command Xie Yifeng.

Outside the courtyard, Xie Yifeng's voice suddenly rang out: "I'll accompany the Sixth Prince out for a stroll. Staying cooped up in this little courtyard every day is really getting boring."

"Okay." Wang Longzhi took a deep breath and nodded.

However, he still planned to arrange for some guards to accompany him, but Xiao Jingqi refused them all and claimed that with the Sword God senior there, he would be safe, so he had no choice but to give up.

Soon, Xiao Jingqi, accompanied by Xie Yifeng, left the General's Mansion.

After stepping out the back door, Xiao Jingqi looked at the bustling street not far away and couldn't help but take a deep breath, as if he could smell the air of freedom.

However, Xiao Jingqi soon looked respectfully at the old man beside him and said, "Senior Sword God, where do you think we should go for a stroll?"

Xie Yifeng, carrying a wooden sword on his back, said calmly, "Wherever Your Highness wishes to go, this old man will accompany you."

"Sword God Senior, you're too kind. Calling me Your Highness is too formal. My nickname is Liu Zi, so please just call me that." Xiao Jingqi asked with a smile, "Senior, what do you think of my talent? Why don't you take me as your disciple..."

"Mediocrity," Xie Yifeng said indifferently, glancing at him. Xiao Jingqi nodded somewhat awkwardly, then said, "I've cultivated Taoist arts since childhood, so I haven't practiced much swordsmanship, but I'm willing to work hard..."

Xie Yifeng: "I'm not saying your swordsmanship is mediocre."

"It's not that you're particularly talented. In terms of cultivation, there are many people who work harder than me, but without talent, you'll only ever be a second-rate expert."

Xie Yifeng was really blunt, which made Xiao Jingqi's smile a little awkward.

But then I thought, who is this person? It's the Sword God Xie Yifeng.

It's not so bad that he would describe me as having mediocre talent.

Xiao Jingqi wanted to become Xie Yifeng's apprentice, but it wasn't simply because he wanted to learn swordsmanship. After all, he was a member of the royal family and had witnessed many power struggles since childhood.

He knew in his heart that now that he was here, he was no different from a puppet. If he didn't want to be a puppet, he had to find a backer.

It's obvious that this Sword God senior in front of me is a powerful backer.

……

On the streets of Wuling Prefecture, Jiang Yun and Linglong strolled along, eating a fruit called the Fragranceless Fruit.

This is a fruit that is a specialty of Southwest China and is rarely seen in Beijing. It looks ordinary and has no taste.

But when you take a bite, the aroma is irresistible.

This fruit is difficult to cultivate and expensive, making it unaffordable for ordinary people.

But in Jiang Yun's hand, there was a whole wooden basket of odorless fruit. Linglong walked beside her, eating the fruit, and said in a good mood, "If we keep searching like this, when will we ever find my royal brother?"

Jiang Yun smiled, picked up the fragranceless fruit, and was about to take a bite when Linglong ran to a pancake stall: "Boss, make four meat pies."

This girl seems to be eating and drinking without any pressure.

She's not a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; if she really can't find Xiao Jingqi, she can't find him. What's there to worry about?

Jiang Yun has just been promoted to commander of a thousand households, and he doesn't want to mess up this job.

Unexpectedly, a strangely familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind.

"Senior Xie, would you like some fried dough? It smells so good! I'm tired of eating all sorts of delicacies every day, so I need something simple like this to cleanse my palate."

Xiao Jingqi led Xie Yifeng and soon arrived at the fried dough stall. However, he quickly frowned and said, "Hey, you two, get out of my way."

"Why should I?" Linglong turned around and glared at Xiao Jingqi with dissatisfaction. "You're so rude. I was here first."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingqi was not going to tolerate it. As a prince, and with this place being Wang Longzhi's territory, how could he allow this young lady to bully him?

He glared fiercely at Linglong and said in a deep voice, "I, I won't bully you two. Here's one tael of silver. You two get out of the way."

Upon hearing this, Linglong said in a deep voice, "Well, one tael of silver, that's quite a boast!"

To be honest, Linglong and Xiao Jingqi didn't know each other at all and had never met before.

Although they are siblings, Linglong was sent away from the capital when she was young. Later, Linglong returned to the capital because Xiao Jingqi colluded with the Hu people, which changed Xiao Yuzheng's mind. He summoned Linglong back to the capital and made her Princess Ningyi.

After Linglong returned to the capital, Xiao Jingqi was basically imprisoned in the prince's residence and was unable to go out.

Not to mention meeting and getting to know each other.

Although Jiang Yun had her back to Xiao Jingqi, she could still recognize his voice.

"You want more money, huh?" Linglong took out ten taels of silver and threw it on the ground: "Take it yourself."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingqi took out a fifty-tael silver note and threw it on the ground: "This young master can't bend down like that. Take the silver note and get out of here."

"More money?" Upon hearing this, Linglong took out another hundred-tael silver note.

Jiang Yun stood with her back to Xiao Jingqi, and couldn't help but think to herself, although the two of them had never met before...

But this gluttonous, extravagant spending habit...

They really are siblings.

The two of them took turns throwing money on the ground, one bill at a time, waiting for the other to give in, bend down to pick up the money, and then make sarcastic remarks.

Linglong quickly lost nearly five hundred taels of silver, then checked her pockets and realized she had no money left...

She turned to look at Jiang Yun and said, "Lend me some money..."

To her surprise, Jiang Yun silently bent down and picked up the money from the ground...

Including what Xiao Jingqi lost, it's almost a thousand taels...

"Are you two still going to lose it? If so, I'll wait a little longer..."

"Hmph, you little wench, bringing a male companion, you're such a spineless coward..." Xiao Jingqi had just finished saying this when he suddenly realized that this person looked vaguely familiar.

Upon closer inspection, his expression changed slightly, and he reprimanded in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun!"

"It turned out to be you!"

Linglong looked at Jiang Yun with curiosity and asked instinctively, "What's wrong? Is it someone you know? You should have said so earlier..."

Jiang Yun rolled her eyes at Linglong: "In the Martial Spirit Mansion, who else would recognize me?"

Linglong's eyes widened, and her gaze towards Xiao Jingqi carried a hint of murderous intent.

(End of this chapter)