CHAPTER 512: CHAPTER 464: DEBTS MUST BE REPAID EVENTUALLY_2

Martial Arts Master scaled the city walls as if entering a deserted territory, making it very difficult for the soldiers responsible for guard duty and training to detect him. This was an unavoidable situation.

Ordinary soldiers’ cultivation was too low; it was extremely easy for a Martial Arts Master to slip past their field of vision.

Moreover, the city walls of the South City and North City were not the key focus of the soldiers’ guard duty. The outer walls of Chongshan Pass were what mattered, so climbing over the walls between the South City and North City was easy, but scaling the outer wall of Chongshan Pass would be much more difficult.

The two arrived at the South City. Wei Cen led Yang Zhenshan into the small alleys south of the city and ultimately stopped in front of a small courtyard.

Clang, clang, clang~~~

Wei Cen gently knocked on the courtyard gate.

With a creaking sound, the gate opened, and Yang Zhenshan saw another familiar face.

Luo Chenhu, Hundred Households of the Secret Martial Guard North Station. During the battle in the Northern, when Yang Zhenshan led the An Yuan City garrison soldiers to break through seven Hu Clan settlements, Luo Chenhu had once assisted the Governor’s Office to inspect the enemy heads on the frontlines.

Later, when Yang Zhenshan led the Tenglong Guard to quell the rebellion in Chongshan Town, Luo Chenhu was always by Lv Hua’s side.

"Greetings, Marquis," greeted Luo Chenhu, his eyes lighting up, cupping his hands in a salute as soon as he saw Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan subtly nodded without a change in his expression.

A commoner!

Not referring to himself as an official?

Was he renouncing his official position in the Secret Martial Guards?

That’s right, they had just rescued Wang Zhongzhi from the imperial prison, equating to a betrayal of Emperor Yanping, a betrayal of the Secret Martial Guards.

At the same time, this also suggested that Luo Chenhu harbored grievances towards the Secret Martial Guards and the Emperor.

The courtyard was small, but there were quite a number of people inside, more than twenty.

Yang Zhenshan gave them a casual glance and confirmed that all these people were experts from the Northern Station!

How strong was the Secret Martial Guard North Station?

It was not easy to describe.

In terms of strength, the Northern Station probably did not have very powerful masters; at most, there were one or two Martial Artists of the Postnatal Ninth Layer.

But in terms of power, the shadows of the Northern Station, the Hidden Guards, and cavalry were spread across the four provinces in the north of Da Rong and two major border towns.

And with Lv Hua at the helm of the Northern Station for more than a decade, his control over it was deeply rooted.

One could tell by looking at the people around: Lv Hua had rescued Wang Zhongzhi from the imperial prison, and there were still so many experts guarding Lv Hua’s side.

As he stepped into the main hall, Yang Zhenshan saw a familiar figure standing in the center of the hall, but his surprise became evident when he saw the face more clearly.

"Mr. Lv?"

He couldn’t quite believe that the person before him was Lv Hua.

Lv Hua, once handsome and composed, was now wrapped up like a zongzi.

His handsome face was wrapped tightly with cotton cloth, revealing only a pair of deep eyes.

The crimson blood seeping through the cloth looked particularly horrifying and fierce under the dim candlelight.

This was Lv Hua!

Yang Zhenshan could not be sure.

"Marquis, long time no see!" Lv Hua’s voice had also become much hoarser.

Yang Zhenshan remained silent.

Lv Hua did not speak either, just quietly looking at him.

For a while, the atmosphere in the simple hall became heavy and tense.

After a long time, Yang Zhenshan finally spoke, "What does Mr. Lv need from me?"

Upon hearing this, Lv Hua’s hanging heart relaxed significantly.

Although Yang Zhenshan owed him a favor, if Yang Zhenshan was unwilling to repay this debt, he could not do anything to Yang Zhenshan.

"I would like to ask the Marquis to see the Governor!" said Lv Hua.

"Where is the person?"

"This way!"

Lv Hua led Yang Zhenshan into the bedroom on the east side.

Looking at Wang Zhongzhi on the bed, Yang Zhenshan felt his earlier description of Lv Hua was somewhat lacking.

Lv Hua was not the real victim here; Wang Zhongzhi was.

Lv Hua merely had his face wrapped in cotton bandages, while Wang Zhongzhi’s entire body was swathed in them.

"What happened to him?"

"Inside the imperial prison, there are nothing but brutal tortures!"

"Did the garrison commander’s men do this?"

"No, the Imperial Guard Department!"

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes narrowed slightly; he thought he must have heard wrong.

"The Imperial Guard Department?"

"That’s right, it’s the men from the Imperial Guard Department!" A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Lv Hua’s eyes.

Yang Zhenshan was somewhat puzzled.

Both the garrison commander and the Imperial Guard Department were part of the Secret Martial Guards.

Wang Zhongzhi had been in control of the Secret Martial Guards for decades; it wasn’t possible for him to lose power in such a short time!

Lv Hua seemed to discern his confusion and explained: "The Imperial Guard Department is divided into the Hidden Guards and the Blood Blade; the Blood Blade only follows His Majesty’s orders, with even the chief not having the authority to command them, and although the Hidden Guards are under the chief’s jurisdiction, they have always been under the control of Mr. Chen!"

Mr. Chen, Chen Zhongshu!

Yang Zhenshan suddenly understood; in short, Wang Zhongzhi didn’t have control over the Imperial Guard Department.

That was understandable; when it came to the security of the Imperial City, the Emperor naturally had to be extremely cautious and ensure that those close to him held control.

And Chen Zhongshu had long been assigned to the Imperial Mausoleum to serve Emperor Chengping, the current chief eunuch in charge of the Ritual Supervision Department was from Nansheng.

"So it’s Nansheng who’s been causing trouble?"

"It’s not just Nansheng!" Lv Hua said with a grave voice: "Nansheng oversees the Imperial Guard Department, but controlling it is no easy task for him. Yet now, he’s effortlessly taken control of the Imperial Guard Department and even extended his reach into the Secret Martial Guards."

"In the past half year, any memorial to be presented to His Majesty from the Secret Martial Guards had to pass through Nansheng’s hands!"

Why was Emperor Yanping dissatisfied with Wang Zhongzhi?

One reason was that Wang Zhongzhi was not promoted by him, which made him feel a barrier between them that prevented full trust.

The second reason was that in the recent half-year, the Secret Martial Guards had scarcely provided any important information to Emperor Yanping. As the Emperor’s eyes and ears, the Secret Martial Guards should be regularly reporting affairs outside the Imperial City. However, even crucial information such as ’the new Emperor’s misconduct, disasters plaguing the common people’ had not been reported, naturally causing dissatisfaction in Emperor Yanping towards Wang Zhongzhi.

But did Wang Zhongzhi truly not report anything?

How could that be possible?

If Wang Zhongzhi lacked even that level of awareness, then why would Emperor Chengping have entrusted him with the Secret Martial Guards?

It wasn’t that Wang Zhongzhi did not report; rather, Nansheng intercepted all the memorials from the Secret Martial Guards.

"If it were only Nansheng alone, he couldn’t possibly have intercepted all the memorials from the Secret Martial Guards!" said Lv Hua.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t know through what channels the memorials from the Secret Martial Guards were presented to His Majesty, but he knew cutting off those channels wouldn’t be easy.

Although Nansheng was the chief eunuch of the Ritual Supervision Department, he didn’t have enough clout to dominate the Imperial City.

"So there must be others helping Nansheng in the Imperial City! And it’s not just a small force!"

Yang Zhenshan felt a sense of foreboding.

Lv Hua looked at the unconscious Wang Zhongzhi, "This force is hiding very deeply, so deeply that even our chief hasn’t noticed!"

That was what he surmised, for the truth was that he too was in the dark about the current state of the Imperial City, having spent these years outside the Capital. It wasn’t until after Emperor Yanping ascended to the throne that he returned to the Capital City.

Yang Zhenshan shook his head, "No, no!"

"What’s incorrect?"

"If a powerful force was hiding within the Imperial City, the Secret Martial Guards might miss it, but could the late emperor have overlooked it?"

Emperor Chengping was very shrewd. During his thirty-five-year reign, aside from the initial years, the Imperial City had never seen any turmoil.

If someone managed to plant a large number of operatives within the Imperial City, Yang Zhenshan would be the first to doubt it.

Of course, if it was just a matter of bribing a few minor eunuchs, that was inevitable.

But what Nansheng had done couldn’t be achieved by merely bribing a couple of eunuchs.

Lv Hua fell into a deep thought; he also found it hard to believe but the reality was right before him and no matter how much he didn’t want to, he had to believe it.