This Clone isn’t your Golden Finger 21
This Clone isn’t your Golden Finger 21
“You’re Leng Junfeng, right?” Duke Gong asked with some disbelief. “You’ve become a grandmaster?!”
“Not exactly,” Leng Junfeng, who had arrived on the ground atop his flying sword, said. “Duke Gong, why are you here?”
Duke Gong shared a look with his confidants before deciding to answer truthfully. “We’re going to rescue His Majesty. Teng Shifang imprisoned the imperial family and forced false crimes on his loyal ministers. I fled before my situation became any worse, waiting for a chance. Just recently, I received word from my spy that a fool had charged into the Teng Family Estate, making a ruckus. So, we decided this was the best time to rescue the emperor!”
Leng Junfeng’s mouth twitched a bit. He was sure the “fool” in question was him. “Duke Gong, I’m afraid that your plan won’t succeed.”
After Leng Junfeng explained that the Teng Family had at least three grandmasters, and there might be more hidden in the dark, Duke Gong fell into silence. Through the explanation, he also learned that the three were entangled by Leng Junfeng’s teacher.
“You should have a grandmaster expert, right? Instead of jumping into the unknown, it should be better to move stably. My teacher isn’t a simple expert. If you join forces with my teacher, I have confidence that you can kill Teng Shifang!” Leng Junfeng said. Right now, all he wished was to help Fenghua out of her predicament. In his view, his teacher was injured, so the chances of her being defeated or even killed when besieged by three acupoint opening masters were too great.
Duke Gong averted his gaze from Leng Junfeng’s hopeful eyes. “His Majesty is most important. Without the central pillar of support known as the emperor, it is impossible for scattered remnants to unite in a single front.”
“Junfeng. Why don’t you join us in rescuing His Majesty? Although you aren’t a grandmaster, you can fly, which is the greatest advantage. If our plan succeeds, His Majesty won’t be stingy with the rewards. Marrying several imperial princesses and reviving the Leng Clan is not impossible with His Majesty’s support.” Duke Gong said, reversing Leng Junfeng’s proposal back to him.
Leng Junfeng turned silent. His greatest wish was to revive the glory of the Leng Clan that his father so wished for. The Li Dynasty helping was undoubtedly one the greatest support possible. It wasn’t just wealth and backing, but the promise of several princesses.
It had to be known that the requirements to become a bride of a member of the imperial family were very stringent. Not only did the women have to have a good pedigree and upbringing, but more important was her constitution. After years of marrying women with great bodily talent, the offspring of the imperial family could all be said at the top in terms of qualification to cultivate the martial way.
However, Leng Junfeng did not wish to revive the Leng Clan at the cost of his teacher’s life and Wang Meilin’s future. He tried to convince Duke Gong again, but Duke Gong was adamant about rescuing the emperor, leaving him helpless.
“Follow Duke Gong’s plan. Don’t worry about me. You should worry more about rescuing your childhood sweetheart.”
“Teacher?!” Leng Junfeng whirled around, expecting to find Fenghua’s familiar figure but found no one.
“Don’t bother looking for me. I’m still in the midst of battle. I’m using my spiritual sense to speak to you.”
Leng Junfeng had learned about spiritual sense before. It was something gained when the soul was transformed in the Acupoint Opening and Core Formation Realm. However, a few talented cultivators could develop it in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
This was exclusive to spiritual cultivators as it was impossible to develop spiritual sense in the Body Transformation Realm. Even in the Acupoint and Core Formation Realm, acupoint opening masters only gained spiritual sense in the mid or late Acupoint Opening Realm, unlike core formation masters who immediately gained it.
“What about you, Teacher?” Leng Junfeng asked. After the death of his clan, Fenghua was the person he spent the longest time with and his closest allies, so he was very reliant on her presence. Leng Junfeng felt like he might despair or enter a mad rage if she died.
“I won’t have any danger to my life. But after this, I’ll have to go dormant because of aggravating my injuries. I don’t know when I will be able to see you again. Shouldn’t be more than ten years, though.”
Despite Fenghua’s lighthearted words, Leng Junfeng’s heart only grew heavier. “Teacher, I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”
Leng Junfeng wiped away the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes and looked towards Duke Gong. “I’ll help you. If possible, can we pass by the Teng Family Estate?”
Duke Gong was happy with Leng Junfeng’s compliance, but he rejected his proposal. However, the duke did promise to keep their ears out for any news of Wang Meilin.
His motives for this were twofold. Although Leng Junfeng wasn’t a grandmaster, it didn’t take a genius to guess that the lad entering the Acupoint Opening Realm was only a matter of time. In addition, he could guess that the little girl, Fenghua, was speaking to Leng Junfeng using spiritual sense. In the Allfist Realm, only elite grandmasters were able to use spiritual sense, so by taking care of Leng Junfeng, Duke Gong wanted to rope in two possible grandmasters!
Leng Junfeng silently acquiesced to Duke Gong’s plan. After that brief interlude, a change seemed to have occurred. He no longer seemed to have the youthful vitality of his age. In its place was a calm and steady temperament. In truth, the fire inside his heart was hidden, being silently tempered and ready to erupt at the right time.
Simultaneously, Leng Junfeng’s enlightened state of mind allowed him to enter the early Marrow Enhancement Stage. Previously, his thoughts and heart were unfocused, but now, he could see the path to transform his bone marrows according to the Elephant Dragon Transformation Method.
Following Duke Gong, Leng Junfeng used the face-changing technique to alter his face so that he wouldn’t attract any attention. Not just him, Duke Gong and his group of ten also followed suit and used various techniques to alter their appearance. They just weren’t as mystical as Leng Junfeng’s own.
Unlike when Leng Junfeng entered the city, they used an alternate path opened by the spies and subordinates still lurking in Chang’an. Even if the prime minister controlled the control, it would be hard to erase all influence the emperor’s faction had over the city and country.
Entering the imperial capital was surprisingly successful. The group of eleven avoided the patrolling guards and used the alleyways to close the distance between them and the imperial palace, but after reaching a certain point, they could no longer sneak as easily as before.
Duke Gong didn’t panic. As a native of Chang’an, he had long thought of this issue. A few of the minor nobles and officials were still in the emperor faction. So he ordered them all to visit the imperial palace at the time.
The group split into four along the way, with Duke Gong, Leng Junfeng, and two others in one group. Each group boarded an inconspicuous carriage. After entering the gates of the imperial palace, each carriage would be carefully inspected, but the infiltrators only needed to pass the gates. Once inside, they disembarked and followed eunuchs who were bribed or were loyal to the emperor.
Leng Junfeng felt something off along the way, but he couldn’t place his word on the feeling. It was like something on the tip of his tongue that he could quite articulate or an itch that couldn’t be reached, extremely uncomfortable.
“Duke Gong, do you think something went wrong?” Leng Junfeng asked.
With a grave expression, Duke Gong shook his head. “Nothing should be wrong. If any of the other groups were to encounter any difficulties, they would use a signal that only I could detect. So far, none of us have encountered any trouble. Even if we did, we’ve come too far. We must save His Majesty.”
Leng Junfeng sucked back any of the words he wanted to say. Compared to him, Duke Gong’s goal of saving the emperor was equal, if not greater than his wish to save Fenghua and Wang Meilin.
The group of four advanced in complete silence. Then tension seemed to have turned into a physical noose that was tightening around their necks with every passing second. It was only when they saw the Yang Palace, the emperor’s exclusive resident within the whole imperial palace, that the group released a sigh of relief.
Yang Palace still had the same furnishing and magnificent structure the residence of an emperor should possess, but it had an unmistakable gloomy air to it. Compared to before, where it was the center of the Li Dynasty, now it was a shell of its former self with no servants attending at all.
“Your Majesty, you have suffered,” Duke Gong’s eyes became teary when he saw the sickly pale emperor lying helplessly on his bed. His hair was a mess, and the flowers were wilted, showing that no one had taken care of him for at least a few days.
Logically, an acupoint opening master like the emperor should not fall sick so easily, but if he was poisoned, it was another matter. There existed numerous poisons that could harm grandmasters. However, poisoning the emperor meant that the prime minister had long inserted his own people within the palace, the absolute domain of the imperial family.
“Just wait a little longer, Your Majesty. I will take you out of that bastard Teng Shifang’s clutches and find a divine doctor to cure Your Majesty. Then, we will have revenge!” Duke Gongo spoke those words like a mantra as he carried the emperor on his back and out of Yang Palace.
The emperor was in his nightwear, a set of white robes, but the important thing was his state of being. Rather than a cultivator, the emperor appeared like a frail mortal with a sickly pallor and unfocused eyes.
“You…?” The emperor spoke as he looked at the person piggybacking him with confusion as if he couldn’t recognize Duke Gong.
Tears spilled down Duke Gong’s face. “Your Majesty, don’t worry, you will be fine. I swear it on my life!”
“That remains to be seen.” A cold voice was heard.
Duke Gong raised his head to discover his group of four was surrounded by numerous soldiers. The one leading them was a eunuch wearing deep blue robes. He resembled a skeleton with only a bag of skin covering him but not flesh.
“Eunuch Feng! How dare you betray His Majesty after he placed so much trust in you!” Duke Gong roared.
Leng Junfeng did a double-take. He had seen Eunuch Feng before, but although he was effeminate and not manly, he didn’t have his current ghastly appearance. ‘Just what happened?’
The Li Dynasty had three grandmasters. One was the emperor, and the other was an old titled king of the imperial family. The last grandmaster was this Eunuch Feng.
Eunuch Feng snorted. He didn’t admit or deny the accusation but looked at Duke Gong with mockery. “Guards, Duke Gong infiltrated the imperial palace and kidnapped the emperor. Arrest him!”
Duke Gong felt anger at Eunuch Feng’s false allegations. How was this kidnapping? This was obviously rescuing him, okay!
However, before he could scold the dickless man, he felt something wet on his shoulders. Confused, he turned his head, and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. “Your Majesty!”
“It seems that the criminals don’t just want to kidnap His Majesty, but kill the entire imperial family. Guards, take them down and make sure the other imperial family members are fine!” Eunuch Feng ordered, but Duke Gong couldn’t hear any of it. Instead, Duke Gong tried his best to rescue the emperor.
The moment the guards surrounded them, Leng Junfeng already discovered the truth of the matter. It was all one big trap to lure them out and exterminate them. Silently apologizing to the two other members of the group, Leng Junfeng grabbed Duke Gong and the emperor who was coughing out blood and escaped on his flying sword.
Eunuch Feng’s face paled, and he roared. “Stop them!”
But his orders came too late, and Leng Junfeng had already carried Duke Gong and the emperor away. With fire in his eyes, Eunuch Feng ordered the guards to capture the two remaining infiltrators and throw them into the prison with the rest of the group before taking off and chasing after Leng Junfeng.
Among the three grandmasters of the emperor faction, Eunuch Feng’s cultivation was the weakest, and so was his foundation, resulting in him being stuck in the early Acupoint Opening Realm. As such, how could he catch up to Leng Junfeng, who was burdened by two people?
“Duke Gong, I heard that the Li Dynasty had three grandmasters. Where is the third?” Leng Junfeng asked.
Duke Gong had finally awakened from his stupor and was doing his best to treat the emperor while directing Leng Junfeng to their base camp. “King Wu died a few years ago, but this secret was only known to a few. Even I was clueless of the matter. Eunuch Feng must have leaked the news to Teng Shifang. Otherwise, how would that bastard dare to take action.”
Leng Junfeng sighed. In the end, weakness was why the emperor faction fell into an absolute disadvantage. In this world, weakness was a sin. Just like him, he was too weak, so he couldn’t protect Wang Meilin, his clan, and caused Fenghua to suffer because of him.