Chapter 1646 - Scouting the Imperial Palace At Night! (I)
Chapter 1646: Scouting the Imperial Palace At Night! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“In addition, according to that Imperial Army soldier, the heads of those people had been beaten open through tremendous force. Moreover, their clothes were also very strange, neither those of the servitors of the palace nor of the Imperial Army. They didn’t seem like members of the palace at all. They were more like…”
The eunuch hesitated.
“Like assassins?” Wang Chong helped him with the rest of his sentence.
“Yes!” the eunuch said, bowing.
The Great Tang’s Imperial Palace was the most guarded place in the realm, and it was extremely challenging for outsiders to enter. In addition, these people had died extremely gruesome deaths that no ordinary person would experience. As maids, eunuchs, and Imperial Army soldiers had been ruled out, they could only be assassins.
“That’s not all; our investigation has revealed that around that period of time, several palaces around Taiwu Palace were badly damaged, and a group of craftsmen was summoned from outside to repair it. The explanation the palace gave at the time was that these palace buildings had fallen into disrepair and had also been struck by lightning.”
At this time, the other eunuch spoke up, lowering his head and bowing.
“But in this past month, there’s been no rain, so there was naturally no lightning either!”
The eunuch did not continue, but he had said more than enough. One suspicious area was one thing, but two or three suspicious events taking place around Taiwu Palace meant that it was worth carefully considering that area.
Wang Chong’s brows deeply furrowed, his expression solemn. If the information gathered by Yang Zhao and the others was accurate, then an assassination had occurred near Taiwu Palace.
In addition to these facts, one had to consider that Taiwu Palace was very close to the Sage Emperor’s Taihe Palace, and the palace was of a very high rank. Only consorts and Princes could enter it. This palace was also one of the places that Little Li said was frequented by Eunuch Gao. Many things were now evident.
How could it be? To think he would be so daring!
Wang Chong’s expression was solemn and his heart was heavy, his mind awash with unease.
Wang Chong had had this feeling before, when meeting with Little Li, and now, he finally had evidence for that most disquieting theory.
Wang Chong had never imagined that someone would truly be so daring and reckless as to attempt to assassinate the supreme Eunuch Director of the Inner Court in a place so thickly carpeted with experts as the Imperial Palace, and in the end, they had even managed to injure him, even though the assassins had paid with their lives.
Just how high of a cultivation level did those assassins have, that they were able to injure Gao Lishi?
But this was not the extent of Wang Chong’s worries. Gao Lishi was devoted to the Sage Emperor, and given the Sage Emperor’s condition, very few people could draw him away from his side. He would have never gone to Taiwu Palace unless it was absolutely necessary.
Besides that, such a major incident that even left several other palaces damaged had barely caused a stir in the palace.
From the situation at the time, it was also apparent that the surrounding Imperial Army soldiers had been transferred away before the incident. There wouldn’t have been so little information otherwise.
In the Imperial Palace, there was only one person capable of such things.
First Prince, have you already grown so impatient for the throne?! Wang Chong said inwardly.
……
Time slowly passed, and whether it was Wang Chong, the Confucian Sect, or the Eastern Palace, all parties decided to remain restrained and quiet for the time being. But under the surface, even greater waves were building.
“Is it good?” Deep in the night, in the southwest corner of the Imperial Palace, a low voice came out of the darkness.
“Those people just went past. This is finally our chance! There must be no mistakes. His Highness regards this matter with utmost importance!” another voice replied.
“Relax. They can’t run. No one can run from Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute!” the voice from before replied.
These were that renowned pair of martial artists that Wang Chong had sent to the Imperial Palace, Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute. When the two worked together, their ‘Heaven Sight Earth Sounding’ art would cover an extremely large area with incredible sensitivity, even able to hear the crawling and gnawing of a worm deep within the earth. Given their cultivation, they were probably the most formidable scouts in the entire Imperial Palace.
“They haven’t noticed us yet. Go!”
There was a cold gleam of light from the darkness, and a moment later, two figures shot out from the shadow of a roof and vanished.
In front of them, two other men were rapidly moving through the air. These people wore the armor of the Imperial Army, yet unlike ordinary soldiers, they weren’t patrolling the avenues, but leaping along the roofs.
When they were on the ground, their heads would be lowered, and they would always avoid other Imperial Army patrols. It was as if they didn’t want to be discovered.
The pair moved with incredible speed, and when there was no one around and all was still, one of the ‘Imperial Army soldiers’ softly grumbled, “What’s going on here? How could he have recovered his energy so quickly? We’ve already thought of every way to weaken him. Is it a problem with the drug?”
The other ‘Imperial Army soldier’ shook his head and sternly said, “Impossible! Those drugs were all tested before, as they also thought that there was a problem, but when they gave a strong and energetic man in the imperial prison who had the death penalty only a little bit, he immediately began to decline. His situation got worse with every passing day, and in just seven days, he had the energy of an eighty-year-old man, not even able to stand up anymore. But while this drug is extremely fierce, it’s not fatal, so that prisoner even now is still clinging to life. No matter how you look at it, this drug can’t be fake!”
“This… We’ve already put so much into his food and water, but why is it no good against him? If this continues and he completely recovers, how will we be able to keep holding him?” the first soldier worriedly said.
“Relax. Such a situation will never occur. His High… that man has already said to change the drug for an even fiercer one, and if it’s necessary, we can even use a toxin that will damage his meridians and foundations, and then he naturally won’t be able to do anything,” his companion said, though his voice was tinged with emotion.
“But really, it’s no wonder he’s the Eunuch Director of the Inner Court! Given the abilities he’s displayed, he’s only a step away from having a body completely impervious to poison! We’re lucky those people managed to injure him!”
The two continued to rapidly move as they conversed. A few moments later, they seemed to reach their destination. Tidying their armor and standing straight, they turned back into regular Imperial Army soldiers and stepped into a palace.
Not long after the pair had entered, another pair suddenly appeared in the darkness.
“Lord Eunuch, how are you doing? We’ve brought some medicine that can help you recover.”
Cough, cough…
The palace was lit by a single dim lantern. The voices of the two soldiers and fierce coughing could be heard within.
More than three hundred meters away from that palace, the eyes of Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute gleamed.
Lord Eunuch? To think that they were hiding Eunuch Gao here! the two quietly said to themselves.
With their Heaven Sight Earth Sounding Art, the two of them had extremely sharp senses, and as their Psychic Energy spread out, they could sense that there were numerous experts hidden around that palace, tightly locking down the area. Even the formidable Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute couldn’t help but be frightened, and did not dare to take any reckless actions.
“This should be the place. Come on; let’s report to His Highness!”
The two exchanged a glance and then vanished once more.
……
Time flew by, and it was soon the night of the second day.
In the night, after the Hai Period (9-11pm), there was a flash of light in the King of Foreign Lands Residence. A figure had soared into the sky like a hawk, and then blinked away. Several minutes later, that person appeared at the feet of the grandiose Imperial City.
In order to put an end to the case, I will have to risk myself, Wang Chong quietly commented as he gazed up at the walls that soared several dozen meters into the air.
The developments in the Imperial Palace were moving far faster than he had imagined. Heaven Deaf and Earth Mute were truly master trackers of the martial arts world. Not even Wang Chong had expected them to so quickly produce results. Speed was paramount in war, and a long night could result in many nightmares. Wang Chong had decided almost immediately to pay a visit to the Imperial Palace.
Wang Chong had completely changed up his attire. He was not wearing a dragon robe, nor was he wearing his usual set of leisure clothes. Rather, he was dressed in black assassin clothes, and only his two eyes were exposed.
One couldn’t get a tiger cub without venturing into the tiger’s den. Wang Chong was determined to find Eunuch Gao no matter what.
The walls of the Imperial Palace were extremely high, appearing like heaven-piercing peaks at a glance, tall and steep, but they presented no problem to Wang Chong.
Swoosh!
With barely any movement from Wang Chong, he suddenly shot into the air like a swallow, traveling through the air and swiftly appearing atop the wall. The winds above the wall fiercely howled. This was not Wang Chong’s first time entering the Imperial Palace, and he was extremely familiar with many of its landmarks, but as he looked down from the walls, the Imperial Palace at night gave off an entirely different feeling.
The clattering of armor came from every part of the Imperial Palace, with sentries every five steps, the numerous groups of patrolling Imperial Army soldiers leaving very few blind spots.
Scanning the area, Wang Chong sensed countless streams of energy radiating into the sky. Numerous experts were present, both in the open and in the shadows. This place was truly a dragon’s den.