196: The trail went cold!

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

"Bang!"

The Emperor of Great Xia slammed the memorial in his hand onto the dragon desk, his usually majestic face covered in frost.

"Bastards! A bunch of bastards!"

"At the capital's gate, right under my nose, to commit such a malicious act!"

Li Qing was the consort he had chosen.

For such a thing to happen on the eve of the wedding, wasn't this a slap to Great Xia's face?

A terrifying imperial pressure, like a physical storm, swept through the entire Imperial Study.

Below, Crown Prince Xia Yuan and several high-ranking officials responsible for investigating the case knelt on the ground, their bodies trembling, not daring to lift their heads.

"Father, please appease your anger!"

Xia Yuan spoke quickly, his voice also carrying uncontrollable rage.

"I have already mobilized the Jingzhao Prefecture, the City Guard, and all the Hidden Dragon Guards of the Eastern Palace to seal off the capital and am fully investigating the whereabouts of the perpetrators!"

"Investigating? How will you investigate?"

The Emperor of Great Xia laughed out of extreme anger.

"They delivered the 'congratulatory gift' right to your doorstep, and only now do you think to investigate?"

"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"

Xia Yuan was scolded severely but did not dare to offer the slightest rebuttal.

This was indeed his dereliction of duty.

As the Crown Prince in charge of the capital's defense, he had allowed the murderers to so easily deliver such a resounding slap to Li Qing and the entire royal family at the city gate.

"Father." Xia Yuan took a deep breath and repeated Li Qing's original words.

"Marquis Wuan asks for Your Majesty's permission to open the treasury and grant him a stalk of healing precious herbs. This kindness, he will repay manifold in the future."

Repay manifold?

Hearing this, the fire in the Emperor of Great Xia's eyes subsided slightly.

He fell silent for a moment.

Inside the Imperial Study, it was so quiet a pin drop could be heard.

After a long time, he finally spoke slowly, his voice regaining its imperial majesty and calm.

"Granted."

"Pass my decree, the Royal Treasure Token: to see this token is to see me in person! Go into the treasury, take a stalk of sacred healing medicine, and deliver it to Marquis Wuan without fail!"

As he spoke, he picked up a token made entirely of gold and carved with nine five-clawed golden dragons from the dragon desk and threw it to Xia Yuan.

"Thank you, Father!"

Xia Yuan took the token, overjoyed in his heart!

He knew that this time, his father was standing with Li Qing!

"Furthermore." The Emperor of Great Xia's voice rang out again, this time carrying an unquestionable, icy killing intent.

"Tell Li Qing to focus on saving the person. I will handle the matters outside."

"This matter will definitely not end like this!"

"I want to see which blind fool dares to cause trouble on my head!"

"Your servant obeys the decree!"

Xia Yuan kowtowed heavily, then took the token and exited the Imperial Study.

Without stopping for a moment, he rushed back to Guanhai Garden at top speed.

When he handed a box emitting an astonishing medicinal fragrance and life aura to Li Qing,

Li Qing's face, which had been like an ice sculpture from start to finish, finally showed a slight flicker of emotion.

He didn't say thanks.

He only gave Xia Yuan a deep look.

Then, he nodded.

Everything was understood without words.

In the time that followed, Li Qing completely locked himself inside the bedroom.

He cautiously refined the sacred healing medicines—which were enough to make any Martial Artist go mad—bit by bit into the purest life energy.

Then, wrapping it with his own surging blood-qi power, he slowly channeled it into Xiao Chen's body.

This was a process that extremely exhausted both mind and physical strength.

Even with Li Qing's current physique, which was comparable to a Vicious Beast, he felt waves of fatigue.

But he did not stop.

One hour.

Two hours.

Time slowly flowed by in the oppressive waiting.

Under the accumulation of a massive amount of top-tier resources, Xiao Chen's flame of life, which had been so weak it could have gone out at any moment, was finally stabilized.

His face, which was as pale as paper, gradually gained a hint of color.

The next morning.

Xiao Chen, who had been unconscious, suddenly twitched his eyelid.

"Xiao Chen?"

Li Qing, who had been guarding the bedside, felt a stir in his mind and immediately noticed this subtle change.

He called out softly.

"Ugh..."

A painful groan escaped Xiao Chen's throat.

He slowly, very slowly, opened those hollow, lifeless eyes.

His blurry vision gradually focused.

When he clearly saw the familiar face before him, filled with anxiety and heartache,

Those hollow eyes were instantly filled with tears.

"Big... Big Brother Li..."

He opened his mouth, his voice as raspy as if it had been ground by sandpaper.

"The children... the children..."

He remembered the tragic scene on Black Wind Ridge.

He remembered those small figures lying in pools of blood.

An indescribable, heart-wrenching pain consumed him once again!

Pfft—!

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black, stagnant blood. The violent fluctuation of his emotions caused his newly stabilized injuries to show signs of collapsing again!

"Don't talk!"

Li Qing's expression changed, and he quickly reached out a finger to tap on the center of Xiao Chen's brow.

A gentle life force was channeled into his body again, forcibly calming his rampaging, broken blood-qi.

"Big Brother Li..."

"They... they're all dead..."

"All dead..."

Two lines of blood-red tears flowed from Xiao Chen's eyes.

The tears slid down his pale cheeks and dripped onto the bed, a shocking sight.

"It's my fault for being useless..."

"It's because I didn't protect them well..."

"I'm sorry, Big Brother Li..."

He muttered to himself in a desperate tone filled with endless self-reproach.

Every word was like a heartless steel needle, stabbing deep into Li Qing's heart.

Li Qing remained silent.

He simply reached out and gently wiped away the bloody tears from the corners of Xiao Chen's eyes.

He didn't know what to say.

Any comfort appeared pale and weak in the face of the bloody facts.

"Sleep."

He could only say softly, in an almost hypnotic tone.

"Sleep, and everything will be fine."

"When you wake up, I'll take you to see the grandest fireworks display."

Xiao Chen's blood-red eyes gradually lost focus.

Under the soothing of Li Qing's gentle power, his extremely tense spirit finally relaxed.

Boundless fatigue consumed him like a tide.

He slowly closed his eyes and fell back into a deep sleep.

Only this time, the corners of his eyes still bore undried, blood-colored tear stains.

Li Qing quietly tucked him in.

Then, he slowly stood up.

He turned and walked out of the bedroom.

Outside the door, Crown Prince Xia Yuan was waiting there with a heavy expression.

"How is he?"

"For now, he won't die." Li Qing's voice was terrifyingly calm.

Xia Yuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

But immediately after, his face became incredibly unsightly.

"Brother-in-law, I..."

He looked at Li Qing and opened his mouth, his face filled with unconcealable guilt and anger.

"I sent people to investigate."

"All clues were cut off at Black Wind Ridge outside Jinling City."

"The opponent's methods were clean and efficient. At the scene, besides charred corpses and traces of battle all over the ground, nothing was left behind."

"Everyone, including the Imperial Guard I sent to deliver the good news, is dead. No survivors."

"We don't even know how many people there were or where they came from."

"The only clue is that the chest was shipped through an ordinary Escort Agency in Jinling City. But the employer was a strange face we've never seen before."

"The clues are all broken."