Chapter 220: The Mysterious Shadow Guards
Translator: Madesmoiselle V.
“Nothing serious.” Minister Xie shook his head before taking a glance at Mu Liufeng. “I saw him flying into your room stealthily from the yard. In case he would hurt you, I hurried in to have a look.”
“What do you mean by ‘stealthily’? I flied into the room aboveboard, okay? The guards, poor practitioner in martial arts, are too foolish to notice me…” Mu Liufeng, with his eyes blazing with anger, argued for himself with justice.
Murong Xue rolled her eyes in helplessness before cutting in with a wave, “What do you want?” He surely would not stop talking if she did nothing.
“I heard that Ye Yichen has colluded with Qin Haoyan, in order to plot against you. Is there something I can do?” Mu Liufeng chuckled, his peach-blossom-like eyes sparkling.
Wasn’t it shameful that two powerful men of high social status was plotting against a helpless orphan? She held them in great contempt when hearing the news from the Invisible Guards…
Murong Xue chuckled. “Thanks for your kindness, Prince Mu. The troubles caused by Qin Yuyan have almost been settled. I don’t need your help for the moment…”
“It seems that I came too late…” Mu Liufeng sighed heavily, a gleam of frustration flickering in his eyes. “If I know you need any help in the future, I will exert myself to lend a hand without the faintest hesitation…”
“Enough! There are shadow guds to protect Xue’er, a group of top-level practitioners in martial arts, who are surely able to defend against Ye Yichen and Qin Haoyan’s collusion. There is no need for your assistance…” Minister Xie suddenly interrupted, a wisp of contempt flashing in his eyes.
Murong Xue was stunned. “Shadow Guards? Who are they?”
“The guards hiding in the darkness responsible for protecting you,” Minister Xie explained gently.
“You took them here?” Murong Xue looked askance at Ouyang Shaochen.
“Only Xun Feng,” Ouyang Shaochen answered without emotionlessly before making a strange gesture in the air with his fingers. Upon hearing the sound, Xun Feng suddenly appeared behind his master from nowhere.
Mu Liufeng stared at Minister Xie with his shining eyes in admiration. “You actually detected the Invisible Guard hiding around. What a master in martial arts…”
As Invisible Guards, they must practice a quite special skill of keeping themselves invisible. Even a leading practitioner in martial arts could not detect their existence. Minister Xie was a truly master…
Looking back at Xun Feng, Mu Liufeng crowed over. “Xun Feng, you should promote your invisibility skill…Don’t slack off…”
“I didn’t mean the Invisible Guards of the Lord Freedom’s Mansion, but the ones of the Marquis Mansion!” Having observed something wrong, Minister Xie stared at Murong Xue while uttering the words emphatically.
“There are no Invisible Guards at the Marquis Mansion.” Murong Xue shook her head. Having lived at the Marquis Mansion for such a long time, she would certainly have observed them if they did exist.
“Impossible!” Minister Xie denied by shaking his head in resoluteness. “Fifteen years ago, one hundred men were trained as top-level Invisible Guards under the guidance of your father, all of whom were not only able to travel over a thousand miles overnight without being noticed, but also sneaking into enemies’ camp before decapitating the leaders secretly. That’s why they were called Shadow Guards…”
“Are you sure you’re not exaggerating?” Mu Liufeng widened his eyes in astonishment. The Invisible Guards of the Duke Cheng’s Mansion were merely responsible for protecting the family members, inquiring about information, and attending some skirmishes. None of them had participated in military actions.
“This group of Shadow Guards were originally trained to join the battle, so they were much more powerful than the common Invisible Guards. Your father was the only leader…” Minister Xie murmured while staring at Murong Xue with a solemn look on his face.
“But I have never met even one single shadow guard in the mansion. Could it be that they have been dismissed when my father passed away?” There was a wisp of dark gleam in Murong Xue’s eyes. Since the leader had died, it was reasonable enough for them to disband.
“It’s out of the question.” Minister Xie shook his head. “The invisible guards are famous for their loyalty. After your father’s death, you or your elder brother would inherit his title as the next leader. It was completely impossible for them to disband…”
With her eyebrows knitted tightly, Murong Xue was completely sure that there were no Shadow Guards around her, neither was there anyone around Murong Ye. Then where did they go on earth?
It was better that they had disbanded. If they were in the charge of someone evil, it would be a disaster for the entire country.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in Murong Xue’s mind. “Hong Xiu, send for Uncle Hui at once!” She ordered in a hurry. Uncle Hui, once the subordinate of Murong Yue in the army, had worked as a butler in the Marquis’ Mansion for decades. As the trusted follower of Murong Yue, he may had some insights.
Not before long, Uncle Hui came over behind Hong Xiu. “Lady, I heard there is something you want to ask me.” He paid respects to Murong Xue by bowing.
Murong Xue nodded and stared at Ge Hui expressionlessly. “Uncle Hui, have you ever heard of the Shadow Guards trained by my father?”
“Yes, I have.” Ge Hui nodded frankly. “The marquis meant to involve me in the training, but I was injured, which disqualified me from the invisibility skill!”
A gleam flashed across Murong Xue’s eyes. “Then have you got any idea of the Shadow Guards’ whereabouts now?”
Ge Hui shook his head. “I have no idea. Since I was badly wounded, I had no chance to go to the battlefield or contact with the Shadow Guards. However, as far as I know, except for the marquis himself, there was a token which can muster the Shadow Guards …”
“Token? What token?” There was a wisp of cold gleam in Murong Xue’s eyes.
“It’s an object made under the command of the marquis in order to deploy the guards more easily. Whoever holds the token would be the leader of the Shadow Guards. As for what it looks like, I have never seen it before…” Ge Hui said in a low voice, his eyes gleaming. “The body of the Marquis was transported back to the mansion. There were nothing else with him except for a jade pendant and a sword.”
Murong Xue raised her eyebrows before asking tentatively, “Were the sword and the jade buried with my father?”
Following the tradition, the favourite things of the dead would be put in the coffin and buried together in the tomb.
“No!” Ge Hui shook his head. “As madam’s order, the sword and jade were left to the Younger Marquis. He took them to the battlefield in the morning…”
It dawned on Murong Xue that the jade and sword, kept by Murong Ye for as long as a decade, had nothing to do with the Shadow Guards, because there hadn’t been a single guard turning up since her father’s death. “Maybe the token had already been lost on the battlefield…”