Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Lu Shuyun's face instantly darkened.
Two Ninth Grade, one Eighth Grade, and over a hundred martial artists around the Third Grade, yet they couldn't even kill a useless prince.
Not only did they fail to assassinate him, but all were captured, none returned.
The angrier Lu Shuyun thought about it, the more furious he became. He slammed his palm down on the table, shattering the bowls and pots on it instantly.
"Useless, all useless!"
He simply couldn't fathom how they could have failed.
They had gathered detailed intelligence on the entourage accompanying the North Prince on his journey northward, of which only Chu Yuqin and Li Feng were somewhat powerful.
Apart from those two, there weren't even many above the Fifth Grade in that group.
And yet, Blood Moon Tower had actually failed!
They actually failed!
What were the assassins of Blood Moon Tower even good for; what did they feed on?
With two Ninth Grade experts, even if they had no way to deal with Chu Yuqin, one could hold her off while the other took care of that useless prince.
But they still failed!
And now, Blood Moon Tower has the audacity to demand compensation from them?
They couldn't even kill a useless prince and still think about compensation?
After letting off some steam, Lu Shuyun somewhat calmed down and asked emotionlessly, "Has Blood Moon Tower found out why their operation failed this time?"
The man kneeling on the ground immediately answered, "Your Highness, when Blood Moon Tower sent someone to investigate, they discovered that some of their members' bodies had been scorched."
When Lu Chen and the others left, they buried the bodies of their own people, while some of the assassin's bodies from Blood Moon Tower were piled up and burned.
Although it wasted some time, Chu Yuqin thought it was necessary, especially for those killed by Lu Chen.
Martial artists could determine how a person died from the wounds on a corpse, and to prevent Blood Moon Tower from discovering their cause of death, Chu Yuqin adopted this method of destroying the bodies and erasing the traces.
Hearing his subordinate's report, Lu Shuyun became even more infuriated. It was bad enough that the mission failed, but to not even know how their people died was worse.
At that moment, a subordinate beside Lu Shuyun speculated, "Your Highness, I suspect there might have been a Master Level expert hidden among the North Prince's convoy."
Hearing his subordinate's guess, Lu Shuyun's mind blanked for a moment, then he fell silent as various expressions flitted across his face.
After a while, a spiteful look flashed in Lu Shuyun's eyes, "If that's the case, then this good-for-nothing deserves even more to be erased from this world."
His subordinate spoke up again, "Rest assured, Your Highness, our men have already reached North City. Even if a Grandmaster is protecting him, they will let their guard down given enough time."
Lu Shuyun said nothing more, knowing he could only wait now.
Luckily, he had a contingency plan.
Lu Shuyun raised his head to look out the window, muttering to himself, "My good brother, I hope your luck lasts forever!"
...
Meanwhile, nearly everyone of status within the Capital city had learned of Blood Moon Tower's failed assassination attempt, though it was unclear who had leaked the information.
Imperial Palace.
Royal Garden.
The Sum Emperor, having received the message from the Shadow Guard, found it unbelievable.
Sitting in front of the Emperor was an old man with white hair, who, seeing the Emperor's surprised expression while looking at the piece of paper, asked, "Your Majesty, what has happened?"
The Sum Emperor collected himself and then tore up the paper in his hands, "I never imagined that Chen might still have a Grandmaster by his side. The Chu Family is really sparing no expense!"
Hearing this, the elder in front of the Sum Emperor paused.
The Sum Emperor continued, "State Preceptor, do you think the Chu Family truly wishes to support Little Nine, or are they deliberately diverting attention?"
The elder before the Sum Emperor was Great Xia Dynasty's National Pillar, Situ Ce, who also served as the State Preceptor, often giving strategic advice to the Sum Emperor.
Facing the Sum Emperor's question, Situ Ce pondered for a moment, then responded, "Your servant believes this is Chu Xiong's personal action and does not represent the entire will of the Chu Family."
The Sum Emperor laughed and said, "Oh? Why does the State Preceptor think so?"
Situ Ce replied, "North City is a land of bitter cold, even if the North Prince were to go there, it would be difficult to develop North City, let alone recruit soldiers or amass strength."
"The Chu Family is not the Chu of the Chu people; they would not possibly support a prince who has completely lost his legitimacy in the competition for the throne. But Chu Xiong is different; Chu Xiong is the North Prince's maternal grandfather, and there exists a bond of blood between them."
"Thus, your servant believes that Chu Xiong, considering the North Prince is his own grandson, would send someone to protect him, and it's not because of the Chu Family's interests."
Hearing Situ Ce's words, the Sum Emperor rose from the stone bench, laughed loudly, and said, "The words of the State Preceptor are quite interesting. The Chu Family is not the Chu of the Chu people, hahaha, it reminds me of myself, this Great Xia is also not my Great Xia!"
The Chu Family has already tied itself to the powers of the South, so it's impossible for them to mindlessly support a prince with no hope of succession. If they insist on doing so, it would lead to conflicts with those forces, which could potentially lead to the Chu Family's disintegration.
Therefore, the Chu Family is not the Chu of the Chu people.
The words of Situ Ce also led the Sum Emperor to reflect upon his own situation.
Just as the Chu Family cannot do as they wish, so too, he, the Emperor, is subject not to his own desires but is constrained by various forces, especially including the powerful aristocratic families like the Chu Family!
...
Duke Mu Residence.
Seeing the Pigeon Letter in his hand, Mu Changtian's hand trembled slightly.
This letter had been sent by Li Feng, detailing their ambush by assassins from Blood Moon Tower.
When Mu Changtian saw the part of the letter stating that Blood Moon Tower had dispatched two Ninth Grade Martial Artists and one Eighth Grade Martial Artist, he thought the North Prince had indeed met with misfortune.
But at the end of the letter, Li Feng told him that a mysterious Master Level expert had appeared and taken care of the two Ninth Grade experts from Blood Moon Tower.
This piqued Mu Changtian's curiosity.
A mysterious expert?
Who had been sent to protect the North Prince?
Could the mysterious expert come from the Imperial Palace?
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Mu Changtian's gaze turned toward the direction of the Imperial Palace, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
The Sum Emperor never regarded the North Prince as his own child, even deeming him the stigma of his life, so how could he possibly send someone to protect him.
...
Meanwhile.
Lu Chen and his group had already set off again.
In the month that followed, Lu Chen faced no further assassination attempts.
This was largely thanks to a certain rumor that had spread throughout Capital City.
Nowadays, people believed that Lu Chen was protected by a Grandmaster; with a Grandmaster around, no one would be foolish enough to assassinate him.
Of course, people did not believe that the Grandmaster would stay by Lu Chen's side to protect him indefinitely.
There were not many of Master Level expertise throughout the whole Sum Country; it was impossible for one to continuously protect a useless prince.
In people's eyes, that Grandmaster would most likely only protect the North Prince until they reached North City, then depart.