I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

It doesn't affect me at all when I'm multitasking.

Meanwhile, undercurrents were swirling within the Lou family mansion.

Several men dressed in black, armed with sharp blades, quietly left the mansion under the cover of night.

They moved with ghostly speed and soon arrived at an inconspicuous house in the south of the city.

A cold glint flashed in the leader's eyes, and he raised his leg and delivered a heavy kick, shattering the thick wooden door.

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

At a command, the men in black rushed into the courtyard like wolves and tigers.

Screams erupted in the courtyard as blood and flesh flew amidst the flashing blades.

At this critical moment, a dark figure suddenly darted out from the side door, moving with lightning speed.

Stop him!

The assassins lying in ambush moved at the sound, only to see the fleeing man suddenly turn around, his palm striking like thunder.

It turned out that this person was a peak sixth-rank expert, who killed all the pursuers in just a few moves.

He dared not linger in battle, and under the cover of night, he sped off towards the Prince Yu's residence.

Zhu Qiyin remained hidden in the shadows, coldly observing the bloody battle.

Seeing the man flee, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Lou Zhijing is such an idiot. He's so incompetent that he didn't even arrange for a decent expert.

In the end, I had to clean up this mess myself.

The next second, Zhu Qi's figure disappeared from the spot like a ghost.

In an instant, it suddenly appeared in front of the fleeing person.

His right leg swept across like a whip, striking the opponent's chest with a fierce gust of wind.

boom!

With a muffled thud, the man flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the snow.

Zhu Qi slowly stepped forward, his boot soles mercilessly grinding against the other person's face, pressing that face, contorted with pain, into the snow.

He leaned down, his voice as cold as if it came from the deepest hell.

"Shi Jun, right?"

With a slight pressure from the sole of the boot, the man's skull creaked under the strain.

"My patience is limited. Where is the guest list for Lan Garden hidden?"

Just as Shi Jun was about to speak, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly rang out.

Zhu Qi's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly looked up, only to see a dark shadow swooping down from the roof beam like a hawk.

A flash of cold light appeared, and the sword energy was like a rainbow, heading straight for his face.

"You audacious villain, how dare you commit murder indiscriminately in the capital! Surrender now!"

The sound was like a thunderclap, causing the surrounding rubble to tremble slightly.

Zhu Qi's pupils contracted sharply, and he retreated rapidly, bending his waist sharply to narrowly avoid the sharp sword energy.

The cold wind from the sword grazed past his nose, and he could even feel the chilling killing intent emanating from the blade.

He rolled over and landed steadily on the ground.

Looking up, one could see that the newcomer was dressed in heavy black iron armor, with a scarlet battle robe draped over his shoulders and the token of the Imperial Guard commander hanging at his waist.

It was none other than Meng Zhi!

Mei Changsu was indeed thorough in his work.

In this game of chess, Shi Jun is nothing more than an insignificant pawn.

But the roster held by this lowly soldier could influence the changing fortunes of the entire court.

He must have anticipated that someone would kill Shi Jun to silence him, and specifically sent Meng Zhi to keep watch.

After all, with this grandmaster around, Shi Jun could climb all the way to Prince Yu's mansion.

Sure enough, Shi Jun took advantage of the chaos to get up and staggered towards the alley entrance.

Zhu Qi was firmly locked onto by Meng Zhi's sharp aura, and knew that there was no possibility of pursuing him.

He snorted coldly, then stood still and faced the renowned commander of the Imperial Guards directly.

Meng Zhi, the number one master on the Langya List of the Great Liang Dynasty, a grandmaster.

Meng Zhi stood with his sword drawn, his gaze sharp as lightning, his voice deep and authoritative.

"You cowardly rat hiding your head and tail, I'll see just who you really are!"

Before he finished speaking, the long sword in his hand had already transformed into a silver rainbow, aiming straight for Zhu Qi's throat with a whooshing sound.

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Qi's eyes, and a sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

Just in time!

I'd like to see just how strong you really are.

The next second, his aura suddenly exploded, and his robes fluttered without wind.

With a swift grab of his right hand, the longsword dropped by the assassin in the distance flew into his palm.

With a sudden turn of his sword, he advanced instead of retreating, fiercely slashing at Meng Zhi's sword.

clang!

Weapons clashed, sparks flew.

The violent sword energy exploded from the two of them, causing the surrounding snow to surge into waves.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhu Qi retreated dozens of steps, the tip of his blade pointing directly at Meng Zhi, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

His body was filled with surging inner energy, and his robes fluttered in the wind.

The wall behind him cracked inch by inch, shattered by his powerful internal force.

Meng Zhi also took five or six steps back, each step leaving deep footprints in the snow.

He stared in shock at the man in black before him and couldn't help but gasp.

"Grandmaster? Who exactly are you?"

Zhu Qi remained silent, but suddenly his figure sprang up, and the light of his blade poured down like a silver river, slashing towards Meng Zhi with overwhelming force.

Meng Zhi dared not be negligent. He brandished his longsword, and a faint golden light appeared on the blade.

boom!

Swords clashed, creating shockwaves that blew off rooftops within a radius of twenty or thirty feet.

Zhu Qi's sword technique changed, transforming into countless afterimages, each strike carrying the power to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Meng Zhi's sword moved like a dragon, his figure as swift as lightning, weaving and dodging amidst the flashing blades.

An occasional counterattack is always a thunderous strike.

The two fought from the long street to the rooftop, and then from the rooftop to mid-air.

Zhu Qi swung his sword down, and Meng Zhi blocked it with his sword. The roof ridge beneath their feet collapsed with a crash.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Meng Zhi thrust out his sword, the sword energy like a rainbow.

Zhu Qi dodged to the side, and the entire high wall behind him was pierced by the sword energy and collapsed with a crash.

After a hundred moves, the two were still evenly matched.

Zhu Qi's sword energy grew increasingly fierce, each strike carrying the force of an overwhelming mountain.

Meng Zhi's swordplay was as steady as Mount Tai, leaving no room for error.

Wherever they went, buildings collapsed, the ground cracked, and the entire street became ruins.

Zhu Qi grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed; Meng Zhi's martial arts skills were far more profound and unpredictable than he had imagined.

On the surface, the two appeared to be evenly matched, but in reality, he had to go all out to deal with every move, while Meng Zhi seemed to be handling it with ease.

It can't go on like this!

Just then, Meng Zhi suddenly changed his move, his longsword like a dragon, piercing straight towards him with a piercing sound.

A glint flashed in Zhu Qi's eyes. He deliberately exposed an opening, and when the sword was close, he suddenly raised his knife to block.

clang!

The sound of metal clashing was deafening.

Using the force of this attack, Zhu Qi was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

He suddenly did a somersault in mid-air, lightly touched the roof with his toes, and disappeared into the night like a ghost.

Just as Meng Zhi was about to give chase, he saw that the Imperial Guards patrolling the city had already arrived in the distance after hearing the commotion.

He stared in the direction where Zhu Qi had disappeared, equally shocked.

The number of grandmasters who became famous in the Great Liang Dynasty can be counted on two hands.

However, I had never heard of or seen this person's martial arts style before.

Chapter 32: Court Quarrel

Inside the snow-covered hut.

Mei Changsu leaned back on the couch, turning the pages of a Confucian classic in his hands.

"Sect Master, everything is arranged. Commander Meng should have arrived at Shi Jun's residence by now," Li Gang reported as he entered the room.

"Yes, with Brother Meng here, everything will be foolproof."

A faint smile appeared on Mei Changsu's lips.

A moment later, a dark figure scaled the wall and landed nimbly in the courtyard.

Meng Zhi brushed the snow off his sleeves and strode toward the brightly lit study.

"Xiao Shu."

Upon hearing this, Mei Changsu looked up, a slight smile appearing on his pale face.

"Brother Meng, how is it?"

"Shi Jun successfully escaped to Prince Yu's residence."

Meng Zhi accepted the hot tea handed to him by Li Gang and drank it all in one gulp.

A glint flashed in Mei Changsu's eyes, and he chuckled, "Good, this will make for a good show."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if he could already see the Crown Prince in a state of utter distress.

"but…"

Meng Zhi put down his teacup, his expression suddenly becoming serious.

Mei Changsu keenly sensed something was amiss.

"Brother Meng, what's wrong?"

"I discovered that among those who abducted and killed Shi Jun was a Grandmaster."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Changsu and Li Gang exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

Li Gang nearly dropped the teapot, spilling tea all over the floor.

"Brother Meng, you're not seeing things, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

Meng Zhi said solemnly.