Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Forget it, if something like that really happens, our relationship will truly be severed to the point of never speaking to each other again...

"That's not right. All the people who have designs on Yongzhen and the others have already finalized their deals. Who would try to take them away? Besides my position, what else could anyone else possibly want from taking Yongzhen?" Chu Mingkong was stunned for a moment.

But despite his dazed state, Yongzhen had specifically contacted him via note, indicating that the situation was unusual, so he quickly got dressed and prepared to leave.

Shangguan Rong hadn't even wrapped a bodice around her neck. Seeing Chu Mingkong's solemn expression, she got up to help him dress and asked:

"what happened?"

"I've heard that something's happened at the Princess's residence; it seems to have been attacked. I'll go check it out and then come back to keep you company."

Upon hearing him mention the Princess's residence, Shangguan Rong instinctively thought about his relationship with Princess Yongzhen. However, her thoughts returned to the present matter. While helping Chu Mingkong put on his waist belt, she asked curiously:

"If they attacked the Princess's residence, were they trying to kidnap Princess Yongzhen or Madam Zhen? Madam Zhen is a key figure in the Sword Profound Sect, and no one would want to go against the Sword Profound Sect over such a trivial matter. So, they were trying to abduct Princess Yongzhen? That wouldn't be right either."

Those who want to take action against Yongzhen are mostly people who don't want the power of the Moonlit Kingdom to rise again, that is, people from the New Moon Kingdom. If they were going to make a move, they should have done it after Yongzhen left the capital. What are they thinking by starting a kidnapping now?

Seeing her deep in thought, Chu Mingkong gently embraced her and carried her back to the bed.

"Alright, don't think too much about it. We don't know the situation yet. Let me see. You should rest here for now! For the time being, don't go out to the streets or back to the Cui residence. Just stay in your room!"

"Ah."

Having received Shangguan Rong's response, Chu Mingkong didn't delay any longer and immediately rushed to the Princess's residence.

----------

Upon arriving at the Princess's residence, they encountered numerous reinforcements of soldiers along the way, and several rounds of fighting had already taken place outside the residence.

There were quite a few people who came to invade the Princess's residence. Although they were all dressed in black and masked, their fighting styles were clearly not the same. Chu Mingkong glanced at them from afar and guessed that they were people hired by some assassin organization.

Moreover, these invaders, who seemed to be launching a surprise attack on the princess's residence, were actually more like creating a diversion and had no intention of breaking through!

"These assassins' tactics are so conservative, they can't kill anyone. Could it be a feint to distract them?"

Chu Mingkong was just about to pop up from the center of the battlefield and pass by directly into the Princess's residence when he suddenly noticed several pairs of eyes looking at him.

"Could it be that the technique has malfunctioned again? Maybe I haven't been practicing with Feng Ying enough? I'll have to ask her for after-sales service later," he muttered calmly.

"Who are you, and why are you here all of a sudden?" a constable with a sword questioned.

Many Nightblade Guards from the vicinity rushed over.

Chu Mingkong said with a pained expression:

"We are on the same side. Our king is preparing to marry your eldest princess. I heard the fighting and put down the girl in my arms to come and help you. Don't stop me from dealing with these thieves. How dare they ruin our clan's important marriage!"

As he spoke, he snatched the officer's broadsword and went up to fight the assassins in a very professional manner. He disappeared into the chaos, and the officers had no time to pay attention to him, seeing that he was an ally, they stopped bothering him.

Chu Mingkong didn't really go all out; these assassins were all teammates. He took advantage of the chaos to slip into the princess's residence and quickly arrived at the courtyard where Chu Yongzhen was. He found that everything was fine and he didn't see anyone trying to launch a sneak attack.

He ran into Yongzhen's room and saw her:

"Yongzhen, what's going on?"

Yongzhen also began to have doubts. At first, when she heard the commotion outside, she thought they were going to attack her, but now it didn't seem like that at all. At least, the assassins' actions were too reckless, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were just fooling around.

"I don't know. I thought these assassins had a backup plan, but none of them have been able to break in for a long time. Could they be some stupid thief?" she muttered in confusion.

"Could it be that they intend to attack Madam Zhen?"

According to Chu Mingkong's perception, Madam Zhen's situation was good, because she had just arrived at Yongzhen's courtyard and reunited with her daughter.

Seeing Chu Mingkong there, the beautiful woman was overjoyed but dared not show it too obviously in front of her daughter. She composed herself and asked:

"Mingkong, what are you doing here? And what's going on outside? Could it be that you hired people to kidnap us? I just told you you can't be so reckless! Even if you want to kidnap people, you should at least do it at night, it's broad daylight now!"

Yes! He was also puzzled as to why these people would act this way. He had initially thought there was a sneak attack on the mansion, but after waiting for a long time, he hadn't seen a single person!

Chu Mingkong was completely baffled. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Were these assassins outside here to deliver a message, or were they testing the defenses of the Princess's residence?

"The fighting outside has subsided a bit. The assassins seem to be running out of steam and are considering retreating. Why hasn't the person behind this shown up yet? Am I just being paranoid?" Yongzhen couldn't figure it out.

Chu Mingkong entered Yongzhen's boudoir, sat down in front of the desk, and began to fiddle with a pig's head mask commonly found in markets.

"That's alright, I'll stay here and guard the place. No assassin can hurt you... By the way, Yongzhen, why did you get a mask to play with?"

“That’s not mine. It was left behind by Jinyu when we first moved into this mansion. She probably bought it on the way.” Yongzhen said.

Chu Mingkong nodded, and as soon as he stretched, his paper slip began to pulsate with spiritual energy. He took it out to check its contents.

This was a message sent by Shangguan Rong, her handwriting on the note was hasty and sloppy.

[Mingkong, leave there quickly! This is most likely a test to see if you're still in the capital! They're trying to trick you!]

Chu Mingkong's expression turned serious: "Huh?"

Just as Yongzhen was about to ask what had happened, she was shocked to find that the Princess's residence was trapped by a barrier!

Outside, the fighting stopped. The masked assassins removed their masks and drew their Nightblade swords to identify themselves. The officials belatedly realized that these masked men were their own.

One of them shouted into the Princess's residence:

"Could that foreigner who sneaked in during the chaos be our Prince Xiling?"

Chapter Twenty-Five: Dude, you've got the wrong person!

Xiaoxiang Qin Academy is nestled amidst towering mountains and deep mists. The clouds and smoke veil the peaks, making them appear and disappear like grapes hidden under a bellyband.

Fengying has been wandering around Xiaoxiang Qin Academy these past two days, working on potential hidden dangers in various places. He has already found some clues, but no results have been seen yet.

As for Zuo Qiuchi... he slept off and even tried to develop a relationship with the acting sect leader Qu Wuyue, tricking her into bed as a pillow. Unfortunately, Qu Wuyue was quite wary, so he managed to get away with it due to sect affairs.

Just as Zuo Qiuchi was about to continue her dream of a thousand autumns, her connection with her traitorous disciple was interrupted by some kind of barrier, and she asked in confusion, "Hmm?"

"What happened? Is Mingkong in trouble? But it should be alright. I don't think his life is in danger. He's just trapped by the barrier. He should be able to escape easily using his Yin power!"

That's what they say, but if he slips up, he'll probably run into some trouble. Should we go check on him?

Just as Zuo Qiuchi was about to leave, there was a knock on the door. After Zuo Qiuchi responded, a junior sister from the sect walked in and respectfully bowed to the Giant Sword Immortal.

"What is it?"

"The acting sect leader said that she received a gift from the Pavilion Master of the Asking Love Pavilion and asked me to deliver it here."

"Oh, something my wife sent over. Is it for me or someone else?"

Chu Mingkong calls Shen Xuejun "Master's Wife" and Zuo Qiuchi "Master," so Shen Xuejun is his wife, which makes perfect sense.

The female disciple shook her head: "I don't know. The acting sect leader mentioned in the world that the Pavilion Master of the Asking Love Pavilion did not give any instructions, only that it be sent here. Perhaps he wanted to conceal His Highness's identity, or perhaps it didn't matter who received it on his behalf."

Zuo Qiuchi examined the storage bracelet. The restriction on it was personally placed by Shen Xuejun. If someone was sent on her behalf, it probably wasn't something particularly important.

She thanked the female disciple and, after the disciple left, thought it over and decided it would be better to open it and take a look. If it was something important, she could send it to that traitor Mingkong now.

However, when Zuo Qiuchi broke the seal and took out the contents of the storage bracelet, he was stunned.

Zuo Qiuchi picked up a pair of white stockings that faintly carried the scent of a woman's body, a string of question marks appearing above her head.

"What is this???"

Forget it, let him fend for himself. Time to sleep!

Zuo Qiuchi lay down on the soft couch, pulled up the small blanket, and fell fast asleep.

------------

Chu Mingkong felt extremely aggrieved. He had relied on his injuries to force his way into various barriers in different positions without any problems, but now he had actually been tricked!

This was something he never imagined, but it was the way it actually caused him to stumble.

Those people outside are no match for him right now. Although he only had time to cultivate with Shangguan Rong to replenish his demonic energy after his long journey back, he is still more than capable of dealing with these people. It's just a bit of a loss!

The consequences of their whereabouts being exposed are severe. Many previous plans have fallen through, such as secretly transporting people, which can no longer be carried out. Everything has to be done openly. Now, many things have not yet started, and if they cannot proceed smoothly, it will have the greatest impact on the Cui family.

However, the fact that it's not serious is also true for Chu Mingkong himself; he is fully capable of making a move.

"We can only take it one step at a time. We need to buy some time before I can use the technique to conceal my presence again," Chu Mingkong said.

Yongzhen understood what was going on outside. She hadn't expected such a move. She asked with concern:

“Mingkong, you should have no problem escaping the capital with all your might. These people wouldn’t dare to do anything to us, so there’s no need to worry about our safety.”

Chu Mingkong did not sit idly by and wait for his death. Instead, he went to the side to investigate the details of the barrier and found that it was indeed extraordinary.

This barrier existed within the entire Princess's residence from the very beginning, making it difficult to detect, and the design of this barrier was also somewhat unusual.

Besides being sturdy, it is also a barrier that retains a strong yang aura. This yang aura has been refined to be highly effective in "marking". If you forcibly attack the barrier, you will be covered in this aura and then become as conspicuous as a person running in the dark with fluorescent powder on their face.

Furthermore, given that it is a power at the "bipolar" level, he may not be able to neutralize it in a short period of time.

The arrangement is quite clever!

"Let's stall for time. As long as I don't show myself, they're just making wild guesses. Once my concealment technique is restored, I can still escape."

As soon as he finished speaking, Madam Zhen noticed that the barrier was a bit small, and frowned, saying:

"Is this barrier going to keep shrinking until it's inside the house? Are they trying to trap Mingkong like a turtle in a jar?"

Chu Mingkong thought to himself with a strange expression: How am I like a turtle? Can't you use a nicer word? Even catching them in bed together would be fine.

Should Yongzhen use her inner energy to destroy this barrier ahead of time?

Chu Mingkong shook his head and rejected the idea. He couldn't be sure if the extreme yang energy above would harm them. Since it was there to arrest him, it certainly wasn't some harmless barrier.

Judging from the behavior of the Nightblade Division members outside, they seemed to be prepared for Chu Mingkong's ability to conceal his aura using the barrier, but they had no idea that he could become invisible. Otherwise, they would not have been waiting for him to show himself; they would have entered the barrier immediately to find him, lest he escape by hiding his presence.

Chu Mingkong picked up the pig head mask that resembled Peppa Pig, silently put it on, and then touched the black relic in his pocket:

"Looks like I'll have to get serious later and show them how powerful I, Peppa Pig, am."

A huge flying sword descended from the sky and pierced the barrier, causing it to tremble and nearly shatter.

A masked, cloaked figure actually appeared in the sky above the capital. The sword he held was wrapped in cloth to conceal its blade, seemingly to hide his identity.

The masked man noticed the situation outside the Princess's residence and wondered, "What's going on? They're on guard against my arrival. Does someone know my whereabouts?"

The Nightblade members looked at the cloaked figure, equally puzzled: "Who are you? An accomplice?"

"An accomplice? Someone actually tried to snatch someone before me! I absolutely cannot let this person ruin my master's cultivation."

Ignoring the questions from the people below, the masked man immediately channeled his energy and condensed a huge sword blade in the form of sword energy, piercing through the barrier in one fell swoop.

The moment the barrier shattered, an extremely yang aura drifted toward the cloaked man, impossible to dispel. The cloaked man had no choice but to use his spiritual energy shield to block it, but this extremely yang aura was eroding his barrier, as if it had locked onto him because of his previous attack.