Shen Mu returned from Longyou and entered the Gyeonggi region. He would arrive in Chang 'an in a day.
Shen Mu went to Longyou to pay a visit to Old Great Grandfather Li. Although Shen Mu and Yang Fan had set up a trap for the seven aristocratic families and took the opportunity to get rid of the aristocratic families' control, the Succession Hall was born from the seven aristocratic families. The relationship between them could not be broken.
The reason why they could get rid of the aristocratic families' control was that if they fought to the death, it would only bring harm to the aristocratic families. Although the cooperation was not what the aristocratic families wanted, it was still within the acceptable range. Therefore, the aristocratic families voluntarily let go.
Otherwise, the aristocratic families would still be aristocratic families without the Succession Hall, but the Succession Hall would quickly wither without the aristocratic families. At least at the current stage, the Succession Hall did not have the ability to maintain such great power without the cooperation of the aristocratic families.
Aristocratic families like the seven sects and five families had been operating for hundreds of years. Their "roots" had long been deeply rooted in the middle and lower levels, and their "branches and leaves" extended to the middle and upper levels, forming a towering tree.
Their power was vast and secretive, penetrating all levels of society. Under the combination of vertical and horizontal, the relationship between them could be said to be complicated. Every aristocratic family had people serving in the imperial court, but they did not necessarily have important positions in the imperial court.
These children serving in the imperial court actually played the role of a bridge between the aristocratic families and the big shots of the imperial court. The aristocratic families rarely took the risk to push their children to the top. They often set their sights on hundreds or thousands of years in the future. Why would they care about a moment of glory?
For example, the Longxi Li family only had a few children in important positions in the imperial court. They had no real power in their hands. Therefore, no matter which side they stood on, once they lost in the imperial court, they would at most lose their positions. There would not be a bloody ending.
On the local level, especially in the Longxi region where the Longxi Li family was based, a large number of middle and lower level officials in the prefectures and counties, as well as local people with real power, were controlled by the children of the Li family. They were far away from the political whirlpool of the imperial court and did not have to worry about being involved in the imperial court's power struggle. Moreover, they had considerable power, and thus had a certain amount of influence to control the direction of the political situation.
Their influence on the court is imperceptible, and it is pushed in secret ways that you cannot notice. You cannot see it meddling, but it is already pushing or enticing you to develop according to their intentions without you knowing it.
For example, when Empress Wei opposed the appointment of Li Zhongfu as Crown Prince, the result was that Li Zhongfu was demoted to a region and Li Zhongjun became Crown Prince. Moreover, using this dispute, the emperor forced the Prince of Xiang to hand over his military authority. In the eyes of the common people, this was just a political struggle between the officials of the court, completely unrelated to anyone else.
But if you knew that Li Chengkuang, who was on very good terms with Crown Prince Li Zhongjun, had long since been bribed by Lu Binzhi, if you knew that Empress Wei's most trusted chief eunuchs and palace maids had all received lavish gifts from Lu Binzhi, if you knew that Wu Sansi's right and left arms, Cui Shi and Zheng Qiang, were also Lu Binzhi's people, would you still believe that the only people who played a role in this matter were the emperor, Prince Liang, and Empress Wei?
Lu Binzhi was like this, the noble clans were like this, and Shen Mu and Yang Fan were also like this. Most of their methods of manipulating the political situation were like this. Although they possessed enormous power, they did not have the efficiency of the Imperial Court, so their methods of exerting influence were slow and secretive, and they would not let you see it clearly. Only a person as stupid as a pig would display this kind of power before the emperor for a moment of prestige?
Thus, even though the noble clans had suffered a small loss, Shen Mu did not underestimate the power of the noble clans. With such a massive change in the structure of the court, he urgently needed to unify the opinions of the noble clans. Moreover, putting aside their cooperative relationship, Grand Duke Li was Qiqi's grandfather, so this marriage still had to be arranged.
The current Longyou was not as turbulent as it was ten years ago, so Shen Mu did not use the same extravagance as when he went to Longyou with Yang Fan. Instead, there were scouts in a ten-mile radius. Even so, it was still heavily guarded, and it was difficult to get close.
Shen Mu did not have the impressive martial arts of Yang Fan. If compared to someone who had practiced martial arts, he would be too weak to stand up to a gust of wind. Thus, he was very concerned about his safety, especially in a place like Longyou where the situation was treacherous and complicated.
But no one could always maintain a tense state of mind. No one could eat, sleep, bathe, or take a stroll, and not relax at all times. When Shen Mu entered the capital region, they naturally let down their guard. Especially when they arrived at this small town, which was only a day's journey from Chang 'an.
This small town was the main route for travelers and merchants going to and from the Western Regions, so there were many guests coming from both north and south. The people here were simple and honest. It was rare to see people swindling and cheating customers in this town. If someone wanted to make money with a black heart, his shop would not be open for long. The people in the town would spread his bad name even before the tourists knew it.
Every time Shen Mu went to the Western Regions, he would stay in this town. Today, he could even accurately call out the names of some people in this town. Thus, when he arrived at the town that evening, he still stayed here. Here, he was as comfortable as if he was in his own backyard.
Before dinner, Shen Mu took a bath and took a walk on the streets with two guards. The golden sunset, the deep green trees, the narrow alleys, the yellow dirt roads, the simple shops by the roadside that exuded an alluring fragrance, the hawkers by the street, the barbarians from the Western Regions leading their camels, and the elderly with walking sticks …
All of these gathered to form a special atmosphere. It was peaceful and lively, warm, lazy, and leisurely, making people involuntarily relax, their steps becoming lazier, and their posture more leisurely.
Shen Mu's body was tired from the long journey. He immersed his body and mind in this slow rhythm that was full of smoke and fire, enjoying this rare leisure. But he would never have thought that danger and murderous intent would arise at this time, from this atmosphere.
The camel bells rang out, and a few barbarians from the Western Regions with fur coats draped over their shoulders slowly walked over, leading tall camels. On the narrow road of the small town, this row of pedestrians and a row of camels took up more than half the road. When Shen Mu heard the sound, he looked back and slowly retreated to the side of the road.
He even smiled and greeted the hawker who had set up a roadside stall selling seasonings such as dried tangerine peel anise, pepper noodles, pepper noodles, and other food condiments. This hawker had been setting up his stall here for a long time, and Shen Mu had seen him more than once on his many trips to the west. The hawker also recognized him and greeted him with a smile.
A sudden change occurred at this moment.
Shen Mu saw that the hawker's smile suddenly froze on his face, and his eyes suddenly widened, revealing a look of fear. He immediately felt that something was wrong. Shen Mu's movements were not fast, but his mind was very quick, and it was precisely this that saved his life. He did not instinctively turn back, but immediately pounced forward, pouncing towards the terrified hawker.
Shen Mu felt a pain in his back as a sharp knife flew through the air, causing a string of blood droplets in the air, sparkling like a string of amber under the setting sun.
"Young master!"
Shen Mu's two subordinates had never expected to be attacked in this familiar small town, and in their great shock, their bodies paused for a moment. It was only this moment of delay that allowed the sharp knife to pierce straight towards Shen Mu's back. The two guards were scared out of their wits.
Fortunately, Shen Mu used the most accurate reaction to save his life. If he had turned around to look or tried to dodge to the left or right, he would not have been able to react as fast as the assassin and would have died. However, he took advantage of the situation and pounced forward. Although the sharp knife pierced his back, it did not penetrate deep because of the force.
The assassin was overjoyed that his knife had hit its target, but he did not expect Shen Mu to pounce forward, and missed by a hair. He wanted to follow Shen Mu and dive forward, but he leaped forward and used a bow step to stab Shen Mu's back with all his strength. The knife had already reached its end, and he did not have the time to stab again.
When he was about to pounce forward and stab again, one of Shen Mu's guards had already waved his knife, sweeping towards him like a waterfall. He hurriedly raised his short knife, and with a 'keng' sound, he received the knife head-on. He was knocked back a few steps by a huge force, and the short knife in his hand almost flew out of his hand.
At the same time, the people leading the camels all drew their short knives from their saddles, and fiercely pounced towards Shen Mu. Another guard pulled out the knife from his waist and roared, "Young master, run quickly!" He then pounced forward and used the 'Fighting in Eight Directions in the Night' to block the crowd. Seven or eight short knives were like the sharp fangs of a pack of wolves preying on their prey, and mercilessly enveloped him.
Shen Mu knocked the peddler and rolled on the ground. He flipped over, and ignoring the great pain on his back, he reached out and grabbed the piece of sheepskin on the ground. He suddenly raised it towards the sky, and all the jars and jars flew into the air.
The pepper noodles and pepper noodles were the real deal. They fluttered in the air, and immediately blinded one's eyes, choked one's breath, and coughed amidst the smoke and dust. When the smoke and dust dissipated, one could see that Shen Mu's guard had been stabbed multiple times, and his blood stained the dust. A few assassins who were hit by Shen Mu's dirty tricks were in a sorry state, with tears and snot flowing down their faces.
Shen Mu picked up the condiments and quickly got up, and quickly rushed into a small restaurant nearby. Shen Mu had eaten in this small restaurant before, so he understood the situation in the restaurant. There were a few customers eating in the restaurant. Shen Mu passed through the tables and chairs like a gust of wind, lifted the curtain, and rushed into the back kitchen.
The fat chef was busy in the smoky kitchen when he suddenly felt a whirlwind behind him. He looked back in surprise, but there was nothing behind him. The chef did not care and turned his head back, continuing to cook the pig intestines.
Shen Mu rushed into the back kitchen, and there was a customer who was relieving himself in the corner. Shen Mu did not make a sound, and clenched his teeth as he ran along the narrow alley, leaving drops of blood behind him.
Shen Mu's second guard had already pounced over when Shen Mu rushed into the small restaurant. He held his saber across his chest and assumed the stance of a man holding the pass by himself. A few assassins pounced towards him with red eyes and tears. He was destined to lose his life, but he had fought for the most precious time for Shen Mu.
These assassins had been following Shen Mu for a long time, but they were unable to find an opportunity to make a move. It was only until they arrived at the small town that they were pleasantly surprised to see Shen Mu out for a stroll, which gave them an excellent opportunity. Thus, they hastily arranged this operation.
The time and location of the assassination operation were not up to them to decide. Furthermore, the opportunity was fleeting, and no one could predict if Shen Mu would suddenly return, causing their only chance to go up in smoke. Thus, after following Shen Mu for a moment, they made their move decisively.
The location that they chose was still acceptable, but no matter how they calculated, they didn't expect the pepper noodles to be flying in the sky. Who would have thought that this street vendor would actually be the key to the success of the operation? But it was precisely a jar of pepper noodles from this vendor's stall that caused them to fail on the verge of success.
Shen Mu sprinted all the way and smashed open the door to his rented residence.
In an instant, a whistling arrow pierced the sky, and the Hidden Sect's counterattack began.
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