Trouble in Xuan Wu Hall

　　"Six people dressed in black snuck into the quarters of your entourage last night in an attempt to a.s.sa.s.sinate the three warriors in there. Fortunately, we figured out their ident.i.ties beforehand so we were prepared. I and two other warriors acted as subst.i.tutes for the warriors they were after. Thanks to paying my due diligence with my training, we had no losses, making it the first night we did not lose a warrior."

　　Han Tieyi from the emperor's entourage was reporting to the emperor the events and results of what unfolded last night. Upon finis.h.i.+ng his last sentence, he bowed his head and said: "I apologise for my incompetence. I was unable to capture them and let them escape."

　　"You need not be so modest, Guard Tie. You managed to figure out their plans and successfully stop them, so that is a major accomplishment. What wrong have you done?" Emperor Yuan Sheng narrowed his eyes. He didn't seem excessively happy: "So based on what you said, you have identified the culprit's ident.i.ty?"

　　"Yes. According to investigations, the culprit is indeed the fifth ranked group, Black Wind Thirteen Wings. I have fought with them and noticed that their weapons, fighting style and a.s.sa.s.sination methods were coincidentally identical to that which has been recorded, thus confirming their ident.i.ty."

　　"Black Winds Thirteen Wings… Hmph! The a.s.sa.s.sins' a.s.sociation will kill anybody for money. They're becoming more and more arrogant. The Black Wind Thirteen Wings group has been around for a few years and built a reputation. And now they don't even consider me worth being concerned with. I want the a.s.sa.s.sins' a.s.sociation and its people to know the fury of an emperor is like a terrifying hurricane! Shun Tian Prefecture, where are you?"

　　The man that tanks the blame, Sir Bao from Shun Tian Prefecture rolled out like a gourd as if he'd just been tortured and had to crawl. With a bitter look on his face, he said: "Y-Your majesty, I, I am present."

　　The emperor looked at Sir Bao who looked like he was on the verge of tears and almost cracked up. He said to himself: I'm always scaring him and now he gets anxious whenever I ask for him.

　　"Minister Bao, don't look like that. I'm not asking you to go and capture them."

　　"Huh? I don't have to arrest them?" Sir Bao then livened up and continued, "Please go ahead, your majesty."

　　"Today is the first round of the imperial martial arts tournament. I want you to have two-thousand men guard the venue and keep the warriors safe. The Black Wings Thirteen Wings want to shame me? Let's see if they can succeed with thousands of men around."

　　"As you command!"

　　Sir Bao was relieved and quickly retreated a few steps, then turned around and ran to the Shun Tian Prefecture office. He ran faster than a young man in his prime.

　　The emperor shook his head and smiled helplessly: "Guard Tie, you solved this case very swiftly, so I shall reward you."

　　"It is my job to serve you, your majesty. Rewards are not necessary."

　　Tie Hanyi then added: "I was able to find out the ident.i.ty of the a.s.sa.s.sins thanks to the aid of our comrades from Liu Shan Men. I met our comrade from Liu Shan Men, Ming Feizhen yesterday at the main courtyard of the Qilin Guards. He shared details with me with his vast knowledge which allowed me to swiftly solve the case."

　　"Ming Feizhen… Ming Feizhen." The emperor felt the name was familiar but couldn't recall where he had heard it before. After thinking for a moment, the face of a guy with a face swollen like a pig-head appeared in his mind and he almost couldn't laugh.

　　"I see. Ming Feizhen, did you say?" The emperor then continued: "The punk is clever, but he's lazy. How did he end up helping you solve the case? Minister Song, you trained your subordinate well. He's not even on the official rankings and yet he could teach a Jia rank warrior solve a case. Both my entourage and Liu Shan Men will be given credit for this case.

　　Song Ou quickly thanked the emperor: "Thank you, your majesty!"

　　The emperor nodded. He then suddenly noticed the wound on Song Ou's face: "Hmm? Minister Song, what happened? Are the bruises on your face from fighting with somebody?"