After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 326 Beggar
Cang Yinyue, Shen Anran, and the others listened to the discussion among the people in the restaurant, and all of them showed strange expressions.

Based on the information they had heard along the way, the situation between the three major sects of the martial arts world and the Great Li Dynasty was indeed not optimistic.

It might not be long before the martial arts world and the imperial court officially go to war, and it is foreseeable that the four countries surrounding Dali will not let such an opportunity pass.

Taking Gaofu City as an example, the sudden reinforcement of troops by the Great Xuan Dynasty in the city clearly demonstrates the attitude of the Great Xuan Dynasty.

"Your Highness seems unconcerned about the current situation of Dali?"

Shen Anran turned her gaze to Li Musheng, who appeared extremely calm.

Li Musheng shook his head and said:

"Miss Shen, what a question you ask. I'm not the Emperor of Dali, why would I worry about that?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the map spread out on the table, looking at the originally drawn planned route and calculating the time to reach the capital of the Great Xuan Empire.

At this moment, Cao Gaoshan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Your Highness, I have some personal matters to attend to and I'm afraid I'll need to take half a day off."

Upon hearing this, both Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran looked at each other with some confusion.
Li Musheng waved his hand and said:

"He is about to enter the realm of celestial beings, so he will be in seclusion for half a day."

Cang Yinyue and Shen Anran's expressions changed immediately, and they quickly congratulated Cao Gaoshan:
"Congratulations, Uncle Cao."

Cao Gaoshan scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed, and said:
"It is all thanks to Your Highness's guidance these past few days that I have been able to glimpse the threshold of the Celestial Realm. Otherwise, even if I spent ten or twenty years on my own, I am afraid I would not have been able to reach this point."

Li Musheng glanced at the other party, said nothing more, and simply told him to prepare for seclusion as soon as possible so that he could continue his journey after successfully advancing in rank.

Cao Gaoshan agreed, and after a hurried meal, he asked for a quiet room in the restaurant to try and break through to the Celestial Realm.

The big black cat watched Cao Gaoshan's departing figure, its bright green eyes darting around. Even a coachman following Li Musheng could gain such great benefits.

Thinking of the opportunity he had to take on this trip to Baidi City, he feared that he would gain even more benefits.

Thinking of this, the big black cat meowed happily and immediately followed, intending to see if there was anything special about advancing to the Celestial Realm.
However, at that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out on the street outside the restaurant, followed by a flash of light that cleaved the restaurant's main entrance in two.

This scene startled many guests in the lobby, who immediately stood up and retreated.

However, some of the martial arts figures in the hall frowned, grabbed their knives and swords, and walked angrily toward the door.

"Who dares to disturb the old man's enjoyment of his drink?"

However, the man had only just reached the gate and finished speaking when he was sent flying backward, crashing into a row of tables and chairs and smashing them to pieces.

The martial arts practitioner who had spoken was thrown into the air and crashed to the ground, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood, his eyes filled with terror.

Soon after, a young man and a young woman walked in from outside the damaged restaurant door.

Both men were dressed in black, their faces revealing a murderous aura, and each held a blood-soaked human head in their hands.

"It's a bounty hunter from Da Xuan!"

Someone in the restaurant recognized the two and exclaimed in surprise.

At this moment, the two young men glanced around the restaurant lobby and finally focused their attention on the table where Li Musheng and his group were, as well as another table in the corner of the lobby.

Due to the unexpected turn of events, all the other guests in the restaurant's lobby either ran away or dispersed, but these two tables remained completely still throughout.

Soon, the two men turned their attention away from Li Musheng and his group's table, then carried the severed head to a table in the corner.

"How can we eat like this? I'm going upstairs to rest."

Li Musheng said speechlessly, because there were two more human heads in the restaurant lobby, which not only smelled bloody but also left bloodstains on the floor, making it impossible for anyone to continue eating.

After saying that, Li Musheng prepared to go upstairs.

He didn't intend to pick a fight with the two young men. There were too many fights and killings in the martial arts world, so he just turned a blind eye and let it pass.

Seeing this, Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue also decided to leave, not wanting to get involved in the matter at hand.

However, just as the two stood up, the two young people, a man and a woman, who were walking towards the corner of the lobby, suddenly stopped.

Then, the two heads on their necks suddenly tilted to the side and fell to the ground. Instantly, bright red blood gushed from between their necks, splattering everywhere, and the foul smell of blood quickly filled the entire hall.

What was once a perfectly good restaurant has now become a bloody inferno.

Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue both frowned and looked around. Everyone in the hall was terrified and fled, but they did not find any trace of the person who made the move.

So, the two of them subconsciously looked at the figure sitting in the corner.

The figure kept his head down, simply eating the food and wine on the table, not attracting any attention, even though such a big thing had happened in the hall.

He seemed completely oblivious, never once looking up.

Shen Anran and Cang Yinyue exchanged a glance, then looked at Li Musheng, who had already gone upstairs. They didn't have any intention of meddling in other people's business and continued to walk upstairs.

At the same time, the figure finally stopped eating and glanced at Shen Anran and the other person almost imperceptibly.

Just then, two elderly men dressed in black robes rushed in from outside the restaurant. They immediately went to the man in the corner, clasped their hands in greeting, and knelt down, saying:

"I am late, please forgive me, young master."

Upon hearing this, the man raised his fair face, his eyes, which faintly gleamed with a bloodshot light, glanced at the two old men, and said calmly:
"They're just two ants, not worth mentioning."

As he spoke, the man narrowed his eyes slightly and said:
"What I want to know now is, how exactly was our whereabouts leaked, and why did the bounty hunters of Da Xuan know we were here?"

Upon hearing this, the two black-robed elders exchanged a glance, but then shook their heads and said:
"We were unaware of this matter either. We only reported our trip to the leader, so the information should not have been leaked."

The man didn't speak, remained silent for a moment, and then asked:

"Is that thing still there?"

"Still."

One of the old men in black robes spoke while reaching into his robes, saying in a deep voice:
"These bounty hunters don't seem to be after this thing; they're after us."

However, the next moment, the old man in black robes suddenly changed his expression, withdrew his hand from his robes, and found his hand empty.

Where...is this thing?

"I clearly remember putting it here..."

The old man in black robes immediately reached into his robes again and groped around, but he found nothing.

Clearly, the thing he was talking about had long since disappeared.

Upon seeing this, the man sitting at the table immediately turned cold, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and stood up. The other old man in black robes hurriedly reminded him:
"Could it be that we accidentally dropped it when we made our move?"

However, the old man in black robes shook his head, reaching into his robes and continuing to grope in defiance, but still found nothing. Faced with the man's chilling gaze, cold sweat beaded on the old man's forehead as he began to recall his previous encounter.

Finally, as if remembering something, he suddenly realized something and said:
“I remember now, it was that little beggar. It must have been that little beggar who stole the things.”

Earlier, when they were on their way to the restaurant, a beggar suddenly bumped into them.

At the time, they were about to eliminate those bounty hunters, and with a casual slap, they sent one of them flying, unaware of his fate.

Looking back now, the thing in the black-robed old man's arms was very likely the one that the beggar had stolen back then.

"Now that you know where you lost it, why don't you go and find it for me?"

At this moment, the man spoke with a gloomy gaze, coldly glancing at the two old men before him, and said:
"If that thing is lost, even cutting off ten of your heads wouldn't be enough to make up for it."

Upon hearing this, the two black-robed elders immediately agreed and, without any hesitation, quickly left the restaurant.

Seeing this, the man seemed uneasy. He turned back and glanced in the direction where Shen Anran and the others had left before following them and disappearing into the restaurant lobby in the blink of an eye.

Shortly after the three left, a slender figure stealthily flipped off the roof of the restaurant and landed on the street in front of it.

Then, a beggar with a dirty face and tattered clothes swaggered into the lobby of the restaurant.

After what happened earlier, almost everyone in the restaurant lobby had run away. Now, apart from two headless corpses and four heads rolling on the ground, there was only blood everywhere.

"Too bloody, too cruel!"

The little beggar, with his hands behind his back and shaking his head, walked across the blood-stained ground and then came to the table where the man had been earlier.

The little beggar glanced at the food in front of him, seemingly memorizing the types of dishes, and then picked up the wine jug that was not yet finished on the table.

He didn't even use a wine glass; he just poured it directly into his mouth and drank it.

After finishing the rest of the wine, the little beggar wiped his mouth and then reached into his pocket.

However, the next moment, he suddenly froze, and then reached into his clothes and began to rummage around.

"Huh? Where are my things?"

The little beggar pulled open his collar, almost sticking his dirty head inside, but in the end he couldn't find a single hair.

"It was just here a moment ago, how could it have disappeared in such a short time!"

The beggar's face was extremely ugly. After lifting his head out of his collar, he immediately realized something, stood up abruptly, and searched the restaurant lobby with a wary expression.

However, she did not find anyone or notice anything unusual.

The little beggar frowned, scratched his head, and tried his best to remember where he had lost the thing.

The next moment, she turned around and was startled.

Suddenly, a strange young man appeared behind her, examining the stolen item intently.

"you you you……"

The little beggar was terrified. He pointed at Li Musheng, unable to even finish his sentence.

The next moment, without hesitation, she turned and ran.

Clearly, the little beggar understood that Li Musheng, who could appear behind her silently, was someone she couldn't afford to offend. The only way to save her life was to run away first.

In an instant, the little beggar vanished from his spot, transforming into a dozen afterimages as he rushed out of the restaurant and disappeared in all directions, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

About half a cup of tea's time later, a blurry figure silently passed through the pedestrians on the street, and no one around noticed it at all.

Finally, the little beggar appeared in a deserted alley, her dirty face flushed and her breath coming in gasps.

She peeked out of the alley and looked behind her. Seeing that there was nothing unusual and no one was chasing her, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.

She had used up almost all her strength to escape, and now she needed to rest.

"Where did this guy come from? He's scary!"

The little beggar gritted his teeth and muttered something, but when he looked up, he was completely stunned.

"you……"

The little beggar's eyes slowly widened as he stared at Li Musheng standing in front of him, speechless for a moment.

Soon, an indescribable fear welled up in her heart.

The other party had clearly set their sights on her, and more importantly, even though she had tried her best to escape, they were still able to catch up.

This shows that one is completely unable to escape the other party's grasp and can only be slaughtered at their mercy.

The next moment, a sudden "thump" sound rang out.

Without warning, the little beggar knelt down in front of Li Musheng, grabbed his feet with both hands, and wept bitterly:
"Sir, please spare me! I know I was wrong, I'll never do it again."

"Please, sir, have mercy and don't kill me. I'll do your laundry, cook, and serve you like a beast of burden..."

The little beggar cried and shouted, clinging to Li Musheng's feet like a mangy dog, his voice pitiful and his appearance pathetic.

Li Musheng glanced down at the other person, his eyelids twitching slightly, and asked:

"Tell me, what did you do wrong?"

Upon hearing this, the little beggar's crying stopped abruptly.

"Huh? Where did I go wrong?"

The little beggar's heart stirred.

She didn't seem to recognize the person in front of her, nor had she stolen anything from him. The person in front of her also didn't seem to know the group of people she had stolen from.

unless……

The other party is the kind of "hero" in the martial arts world who always stirs up trouble, considers himself a chivalrous knight-errant, and meddles in other people's business.

Damn it, she hates people like that more than anything in her life!

Thinking of this, the little beggar immediately burst into tears again, crying out:
"I shouldn't have stolen it, I'm guilty, I repent..."

"Please, sir, have mercy! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a baby crying for milk. I was truly driven to desperation and committed this heinous crime..."

"This is the first time I've ever done this, and I swear I'll never do it again..."

(End of this chapter)