Chu Li shook his head helplessly .
These four Protectors seemed very baleful in contrast with those in King An’s Imperial Residence, which seemed tough in appearance but weak in reality . At this time, they should be replaced with more gentle Protectors so that the outside seemed lax but the inside was tight . The death of King An had made everyone alarmed .
“Fu Mengshan came to see you?” Xiao Shi frowned . “He’s a busy man, why did he deign to come here? He must be up to no good!”
Chu Li replied, “I’ll go have a look . ”
Xiao Qi asked, “Do you want me to come with you?”
Chu Li shook his head with a smile . “He won’t do anything to me . You two carry on . I’ll go . ”
The two women watched him leave .
Xiao Shi sighed . “It’s a good thing you’re back . If I were alone, I wouldn’t have been able to hold it all together . There are so many trivial matters and chores that everyone just keeps asking me about because they don’t dare to make any decisions . King An’s death has destroyed their spirits . They’re all worthless goods!”
“It can’t be helped . ” Xiao Qi gently rubbed her chin before she continued the game by grasping a white chess piece .
When Chu Li arrived at the main hall, Fu Mengshan got up with a smile and gave a fist salute . “Chief Chu, congratulations . ”
Chu Li smiled and returned the fist salute . He then sat down opposite Fu Mengshan .
He looked at Fu Mengshan whom complexion did not appear well . His eyes were bloodshot and he clearly did not sleep well last night . He also looked wan and sallow, appearing extremely vexed .
“Commander, what happened?” Chu Li asked after putting down the teacup .
Fu Mengshan glanced at the maid outside the main hall .
Chu Li waved his hand .
The maid then quietly withdrew, leaving only two of them in the main hall .
Fu Mengshan sighed . “I’ve been sent to the Imperial Mausoleum . I can become partners with Commander Xu!”
Chu Li was shocked . “How could that be?”
“When the Emperor sent Gu Yu over, I already had this premonition . ” Fu Mengshan shook his head with a sigh . “I have to move aside for Gu Yu . The Emperor will only be at ease if the Secret Guardian Hall is in Gu Yu’s hands . ”
Chu Li frowned and said, “Commander, you’ve worked so hard for so many years . Even if you didn’t make any contributions, you’ve toiled hard . How can you enter the Imperial Mausoleum?”
“Sigh…” Fu Mengshan shook his head and smiled wryly . “This is the best result . I know too much that I shouldn’t . The Emperor has been very kind not to kill me . I knew that this day would come, but I just didn’t expect it to be so soon . ”
Chu Li frowned . “Is there no other way?”
“No . ” Fu Mengshan shook his head . “The Emperor has a suspicious nature and will never allow anyone to stay as Commander of the Secret Guardian Hall for too long, lest he loses control of them . ”
Chu Li nodded slowly . “Then, what’s the reason this time?”
“It’s because of King An’s death . ” Fu Mengshan sighed . “We secret guardians didn’t receive any news about his assassination before King An was directly killed . Because of that, the Emperor is furious . Originally, our Secret Guardian Hall was ordered to catch Du Feng within ten days but we’ve failed that as well, so the Emperor took me down . ”
Chu Li sneered . “If an Enlightened Master like him couldn’t catch Du Feng, how can you?”
“Give a dog a bad name, then hang him . ” Fu Mengshan smiled bitterly . “However, I’m lucky enough that my life was spared . Going to the Imperial Mausoleum isn’t a sad thing . I’ve already accepted the situation . ”
Chu Li frowned silently .
Fu Mengshan smiled . “Chu Li, you’ve just returned from there . How was Commander Xu?”
“He wasn’t good at first . ” Chu Li shook his head . “But he’s much better now . If you go there, Commander, you’ll be more at ease . ”
“Haha…” Fu Mengshan suddenly laughed . “It seems like the two of us will have to work together in the future . ”
Chu Li said, “I’ll arrange for a Public House Protector to escort you over . ”
“There’ll be Imperial House Protectors escorting me . ” Fu Mengshan shook his head .
“Imperial House Protectors?” Chu Li frowned .
Fu Mengshan sighed . “I know what you’re worried about, but I don’t have a choice . The rest will depend on heaven’s will!”
Chu Li slowly nodded . The idea of him becoming an Enlightened Master was growing stronger .
He thought for a moment before he whispered, “Has the Commander told Gu Yu about our plan?”
Fu Mengshan laughed . “Do you think I would tell him?”
Chu Li sighed . “What a shame! My identity as a secret guardian has been removed, and everything is going to waste . The Emperor doesn’t know?”
“He doesn’t . ” Fu Mengshan shook his head . “Only the three of us know about this, and now we’ll all be heading to the Imperial Mausoleum to enjoy our retirement . You don’t have to do anything more . It’ll be fine if nothing happens, but I’m just worried that you’ll end up implicating yourself instead . ”
Zhao Dahe was now the branch leader of the Holy Church of Light and he had a bright future . The only thing he was afraid of was that he would provoke assassinations from the Ji Dynasty’s martial arts world . It would be a shame if he died in the hands of someone from the Ji Dynasty .
Besides, since both Xu Huande and Chu Li had lost their positions, they had sunk so low that no one would listen and believe what they say . If Gu Yu deliberately played dirty tricks, it would be too unjust .
Chu Li said, “I was just about to reveal it too but my martial arts is now crippled now . What a shame!”
Fu Mengshan nodded .
He had been paying close attention to the news from Li Dynasty . The Li Dynasty was in such a fierce battle with the Qiu Dynasty, it would most likely attract Zhao Dahe . However, with Chu Li crippled of his martial arts, he could not go as it would arouse the suspicion of others .
Once suspicions arose, even if it could be remedied, he would not have a chance to enter the top ranks again . With that, their plan would fail and it would not be worth wasting any more time .
Chu Li said, “My position as a secret guardian has been taken away, and I was rejected by the Emperor . I can only guard King An’s Imperial Residence, but I reckon that it will be hard as well . ”
“You should restore your martial arts as soon as possible . ” Fu Mengshan frowned . “We have to find a way to get the Reversing Pill, but unfortunately, only Green Deer Cliff has it . But we can’t get into contact with them as the people of Green Deer Cliff are isolated from the world and they rarely come down the mountain . ”
Chu Li shook his head and said, “I can’t count on that . I can only try my best to recover . ”
“Just get through this period of time,” said Fu Mengshan .
Chu Li smiled .
“Bang bang bang bang…” The sound of knocking suddenly rang from the outside . “Open up! Open the gate!”
Chu Li frowned and scoffed, “They’re quite fast!”
“What’s going on?” Fu Mengshan asked .
Chu Li said, “The Secret Guardian Hall is here to establish their majesty . ”
“Gu Yu’s ambition isn’t small . ” Fu Mengshan immediately understood what Gu Yu was doing and shook his head . “What petty methods!”
“Bang bang bang bang! Open the gate! Open up!” The heavy knocks sounded while someone shouted from the outside .
Chu Li could see that the four Protectors outside already had their acupuncture points sealed . He had carelessly let down their guard as they clearly did not expect these secret guardians to attack so suddenly . Seeing this, Chu Li grew even more helpless .
Ten secret guardians from the Secret Guardian Hall surrounded Mei Yi Courtyard, with Centurion Chen Donghai stood below the stairs to the Imperial Residence . Two secret guardians were knocking on the gate .
Chen Donghai stared at the Imperial Residence gate with a sneer .
“They’re here to arrest me . ” Chu Li laughed . “Because I hit two secret guardians . ”
“Sigh…” Fu Mengshan shook his head . “You should learn some restraint . Why would you lower yourself to their level?”
Chu Li smiled . “I couldn’t bear it any longer… Commander, you should leave now . ”
“There’s no need . ” Fu Mengshan said . “I can’t hide what I’m here for from them . ”
“Very well . ” Chu Li stopped pressing and raised his voice . “Elder Zhu!”
Chief Zhu hurried over . “Head Chief?”
“Call Zhu Tianhua and the others here . When these guys come in later, punish them severely!” Chu Li said lowly .
“Understood!” Chief Zhu responded before he left in a hurry .