He wondered if there had been something wrong with the meals or the medicines fetched from the Imperial Dispensary.
He had tested both.
He wondered why nothing had happened to him.
Could it be the candles?
But why would the old court lady who sat by Concubine Jing's side all day long be all right then?
No, something must be done.
Nothing could happen to Concubine Jing.
It wasn't that he was only worried about getting into trouble if something were to happen to the concubine, because, even if he were able to kill his way out of the royal palace, he would no longer have a place that allowed him to check in all the time and train in peace and quiet.
The check-ins could only be done in renowned or important places after all.
What should I do?
If I were to just tell the court lady the truth, she would in turn ask me how I knew.
How should I answer such a question?
It's not like I can just tell her that I can tell from the concubine's breathing, right?
Just how did those people poison her?
Why did the court lady and I end up unharmed?
D*mn, this poisoner really knows what he's doing.
"Li Mu, come and test the meds."
The old court lady came with a bowl of medicinal soup just as he was busy speculating.
"Coming."
Suddenly, he had an idea.
He had gotten a bottle of Toxin Removal Pills during one of his check-ins a few days ago.
These were going to come in handy.
He dropped a pill into the bowl of soup when the court lady wasn't paying attention.
The problem was not over just yet. Some other party was trying to kill the concubine, and they would definitely try something else. He had to be on his guard.
Man, if only I knew how they had done it.
Wait, that's a no-go...
If I were to uncover their methods this time, what would happen if they tried something else next time?
Never mind, I'll figure this out as I go along.
All these thoughts ran through his mind.
He discovered that the concubine's breathing became better the next day.
It seemed that the toxins in her body had been mostly cleared.
Those Toxin Removal Pills were meant to detoxify a warrior in case he was poisoned. The concubine was just a normal human being, and thus one pill would be sufficient to cure her.
The concubine remained fine for the entire year that followed.
Li Mu continued his check-ins in peace.
His training progressed in leaps and bounds.
He had reached the second tier of training with the Zaohua Sutra.
He had gotten to the 22nd stroke of the Saint Spirit Sword Techniques thanks to guidance from the System.
He had also long ago mastered the Shenfeng Footwork.
His only regret over the past year was that he had been unable to venture outside the Jingning Palace.
Because of that, he also had no opportunity of checking in at other places.
He had become very familiar with the old court lady due to their having lived in the same place for more than a year.
He had also met the concubine, who usually remained in her chambers, twice.
She was a young woman of extreme beauty, with a rather pale complexion. She looked so frail that it seemed as if a gust of wind could easily blow her away.
The concubine reminded him of a famous actress back in his past life: Nakamori Akina, when she was in her late teens.
The resemblance between the two was uncanny.
...
One day, the Ninth Prince came to the Jingning Palace.
The place got very lively whenever people from the outside visited.
Li Mu took notice of the several old eunuchs that followed behind the prince.
Man, they were weak.
I wonder how these eunuchs are going to be able to protect a prince.
The Ninth Prince was Concubine Jing's son.
The young prince was four-and-a-half years old by then.
"The Ninth Prince wants to meet the concubine?"
He frowned.
The only one time he had been allowed to visit was more than a year ago and it was thanks to the empress speaking up on his behalf. He wondered what had happened that had led to the current visit.
But then again, it was not like he was against the mother and son seeing each other.
Nothing noteworthy happened at this time. There was only one situation that could have led to the mother and son being able to meet: the emperor was relenting.
That had nothing to do with Li Mu.
However, someone else might have caught wind of this turn of events, which would mean that the peace in the Jingning Palace would be over soon.
Li Mu had watched quite a lot of court dramas back where he had come from. Whenever a noteworthy rival or enemy appeared, everyone would join hands to try to nip it in the bud.
Servants and masters were always tied together, both in glory and in decline, in such situations.
"Check in."
"Congratulations to the host. Path Comprehension Pill acquired."
Perfect timing. Just the right thing to use for understanding the 23rd stroke further.
It was evening when the Ninth Prince left.
The Jingning Palace was quiet again, as it had always been.
Yet, Li Mu knew that there were probably a lot of people in the royal palace who would have a hard time sleeping that night.
It was especially so for the enemies that Concubine Jing had made, as well as the other concubines who had fought Concubine Jing for the emperor's favor.
He opened his eyes all of a sudden while he was training late that night.
He leaped out of his bed and opened the door silently.
He then leaped lightly onto the roof.
He scanned his surroundings like an eagle looking for his prey.
His perception was very formidable at the moment. Nothing within a 700-yard radius could escape detection.
Be it the bugs on the ground or the moths and birds in the sky.
Everything was as clear as if they were right in front of him.
Swoop~
He headed for the rooftop of a palace nearby.
He moved like a specter, with his movements uncannily fluid.
He continued scanning his surroundings while standing on top of the other palace.
Whatever happened couldn't escape his detection.
Some formidable warrior was trying to get inside the palace.
They were nearby.
He wondered if those people were coming for the concubine.
...
He could see a shadowy figure lurking at the corner of a wall not too far away.
The figure then slowly revealed himself after the patrolling guards had left, making his way carefully to the Jingning Palace.
His target that night was none other than the concubine.
"There is only an old court lady and a janitor eunuch in the Jingning Palace. I'll send them on their way when I'm finished. They would only have days to live after that after all."
Swoop~
He leaped into the Jingning Palace.
He made his way straight for Concubine Jing's chambers.
Li Mu, who was sitting on top of a palace at the moment, narrowed his gaze.
"Someone did run out of patience and sent a killer here then."
Swoop~
Li Mu made his move and stood in front of that shadowy figure, preventing the other man from going any farther.
"You shall not pass, friend."
"Who…?"
That shadowy figure was startled.
He had just confirmed that there was no one standing in his way, yet someone had just showed up all of a sudden.
He took a closer look and, to his surprise, discovered that the man was a gray-robed eunuch.
A gray-robed eunuch...
The lowest-ranking eunuchs who were in charge of menial tasks.
He couldn't believe that such a eunuch dared to get in his way.
He wondered if that eunuch had a death wish.
Hold on.
How did he manage to stand right in front of me, and I didn't even know he was around earlier?
Huh?
That man couldn't possibly be a formidable warrior.
Even if he had trained before he was born, he couldn't possibly beat me.
It must have been a case of me not paying attention. That was why I couldn't sense him.
"Quite some timing you have. Time to send you to h*ll then."
Swoop~
The shadowy figure slashed at Li Mu's neck.
The blade swept past him.
The shadowy figure continued making his way to the palace.
He knew the man to be nothing more than a lowly eunuch.
Someone that he could easily get rid of with just a single slash.
Whack~
Someone grabbed hold of his shoulder as he moved two steps forward.
The guy was startled.
This person is really something.
He threw a backward slash and turned around at the same time.
"Wait, you're that eunuch again? You're not dead yet?"
The figure actually felt somewhat afraid, when he saw that the man was none other than the very same eunuch.
I missed?
Impossible!
He had achieved fame for his fighting for years and yet he'd missed when fighting a lowly eunuch.
"Who the h*ll are you?"
The figure no longer looked down on the eunuch, and the look in his eyes became very serious when he looked at Li Mu.
"I'm nothing but a eunuch from the Jingning Palace."
"That's impossible!"
"Yeah, it's true. I wanna know who sent you," Li Mu then said.
He was curious as to who was trying to kill Concubine Jing.
"You wanna know, sure, if you…"
Swoop~
The figure made a move at Li Mu again.
The slash he dealt him at that time was done with his full force.
He was not about to believe that this other man was more formidable than he was.
Unless, he was a super warrior who'd managed to return to youth.
No way that could happen.
Clang~
He felt his arm get numb as soon as that thought entered his mind. His saber seemed to have been stopped by something hard.
He took a closer look and found that the eunuch had somehow managed to brandish an iron broom, which he had used to block his slash.
"You come to kill someone, and this is all you've got?"
Li Mu swung the broom at the figure.
Swoop~
The figure backed away immediately, but he was still hit by the broom.
The black attire and the mask that the shadowy figure was wearing were torn by the swipe of the iron broom and reduced to shreds.
What the…he's fast!
He was thoroughly frightened now.
He'd met his match right there and then.
He dealt him yet another forward slash before retreating.