Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Tang Ling's face was cold all the way from Yangxizhai back to Huaxi Villa. Although Qinglan was not sensible, he had been with Tang Ling for a long time and could still read her mood. Right now, Tang Ling had something on her mind, and it was something Qinglan couldn't ask.

Did Qi Xiao know about the Tian Ce Camp? He definitely did. Although Qi Xiao looked arrogant, he was actually very thoughtful and cautious. He wouldn't keep someone of unknown origin close to him. If he hadn't known Chi Yue was from the Tian Ce Camp, Qi Xiao wouldn't have let Zong Sheng keep an eye on him.

The Emperor of Chen gave the Tiance Camp to Qi Xiao?!

This thought frightened Tang Ling. Even if she hadn't given it to him, simply assigning it to someone else for Qi Xiao to use was extraordinary, and Qi Xiao himself probably didn't understand the deeper meaning behind it.

The three kingdoms of Chen, Zhou, and Qi each had their own Anbu, a ghostly presence that had existed since the Eight Kingdoms War. It was no secret. However, the Anbu of the three kingdoms were not entirely the same.

The Qi State's Zhanshi Office was directly under the jurisdiction of the Emperor of Qi. It was a government office and was responsible for guarding the emperor's carriage, patrolling and arresting people. As long as there was an imperial order, the royal family could be directly arrested, imprisoned, and tortured to extract confessions. Externally, it was also proficient in collecting intelligence from other countries and plotting assassinations, and its influence was enormous.

The Zhou state's Xingluo Guard, subordinate to the Privy Council, was divided into two groups, secret agents and guards, under the leadership of Tang Ling's father, Xun Anhou. It served as a military power. The Dushifu, similar to the Zhanshichu, also had its own office, but while publicly operating, its actions were reported only to the Zhou emperor. However, the Dushifu had been declining in power over the years, thanks entirely to the Tianceying.

The Chen Kingdom's Tian Ce and Xuan Ji Battalions were the most mysterious. Tang Ling only knew that the Xuan Ji Battalion was responsible for gathering intelligence, while the Tian Ce Battalion was responsible for carrying out operations. The Xuan Ji Battalion was numerous, like weeds—unable to be extinguished by wildfire, they would sprout again in the spring breeze, making them a real nuisance. However, they were not half as troublesome as the Tian Ce Battalion. All the members of the Tian Ce Battalion were masters of unfathomable martial arts, and their disguises were so advanced that their whereabouts were nearly impossible to track down, let alone apprehend.

Fortunately, there are only a few people in the Tiance Camp, otherwise the Three Kingdoms would not have been deadlocked for a hundred years.

Originally, Tang Ling hadn't understood why the Tian Ce Camp, with such formidable power, couldn't expand. Given the warlike nature of the Chen Emperor, he would have been more than happy to do so. Even if secret techniques like disguise couldn't be easily taught, training a group of secret guards wouldn't be too difficult. And just now, when Tang Ling saw Chi Yue, he finally understood the immense difficulty of training even one person in the Tian Ce Camp. The most challenging part wasn't teaching them martial arts or disguise skills, but tempering their souls and forging their minds. Only one out of millions could survive, and that one would become an indestructible divine weapon.

Qi Xiao himself might not even know how important Chi Yue was to him.

Tang Ling couldn't help but sigh. The Emperor of Chen actually wanted to pass the throne to Qi Xiao, a son he had practically abandoned?!

Tang Ling suddenly felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He didn't want Qi Xiao to be involved in the political affairs, let alone the fight for the throne. If he was no longer an idle prince, but a crown prince, or even the emperor of Chen, then what separated them was the Taihua River that was difficult to cross for a hundred years, and the Shura Prison where the two countries would fight on the Taihua River... It was absolutely impossible.

"Young Master? Young Master?" Qing Lan saw Tang Ling suddenly covering his chest with his hands, his face pale, and thought that he was suffering from heart palpitations again. But when he felt Tang Ling's pulse, it was not a disordered or intermittent pulse, but rather a pulse of worry and deep thought due to blocked Qi.

Qing Lan felt Tang Ling's pulse again and again, puzzled. How could the young master still be smiling just now and suddenly become unwell after leaving Yangxizhai?

"Sir, your old illness of palpitations is most afraid of excessive worry."

Tang Ling shook Qing Lan's hand, took a long breath, and shook her head gently: "I'm fine, go back quickly."

After returning to Huaxi Villa, Tang Ling did not go to see Huang Zexian, but went straight back to her room and ordered Qinglan to invite Huang Zexian.

Tang Ling spread out the paper and ground the ink, then picked up the brush and quickly drew Chi Yue's appearance. When Huang Ze presented it to him, the outline was already clear.

"Sir, who is this?"

Tang Ling did not answer, but wrote the three words "Tian Ce Camp" next to the portrait, which shocked Huang Zexian so much that he almost bit his tongue.

"This... how did you recognize him, sir? The Tian Ce Camp's disguise skills are superb, one person can have a thousand faces. Is this... true?"

Huang Zexian was shocked and then overjoyed. The Tiance Camp, the thing that made Zhou and Qi hate it so much, finally caught its tail!

Tang Ling painted very quickly, and in a short while she had drawn Chi Yue's appearance. The person in the painting had a smiling but cold look in his eyes, and it was so lifelike that it seemed as if Chi Yue himself was standing in front of Huang Zexian.

"Uncle Huang, please make sure this painting is delivered to my father. The fewer people who know about it, the better."

"I will definitely fulfill your mission." Huang Zexian carefully put the portrait away, but he couldn't help asking, "Sir, how can you be sure that this person is from the Tiance Camp? If he is an unrelated person..."

"I met him eight years ago in Yujin."

Eight years ago, Yu-Jin! Huang Zexian was shocked again: "Could it be that the one who assassinated Ni Jue back then..."

"Exactly."

"...So young? Then eight years ago, wouldn't he have been only about ten?!" Huang Zexian was shocked and suddenly figured out the mystery of the past. Yes, if he wasn't a child, how could he have been so close to Ni Jue, the Grand Commander of the Capital? How terrifying! How terrifying!

"We'll talk about other things later. First, please ask Uncle Huang to deliver the letter."

"Yes, yes, I'll do it right away!" Huang Zexian left in a hurry.

Tang Ling rested his hands on the desk, lowered his head and frowned. His fingertips turned white from exerting too much force. He could never have imagined that the Emperor of Chen would give the Tiance Camp to Qi Xiao.

***

"Do you know Tang Ling?" Zong Sheng watched Tang Ling and Qing Lan disappear from Yangxi Zhai, then turned to look at Chi Yue.

Chi Yue smiled and said, "We met once several years ago." Chi Yue was still young eight years ago, looking only ten years old, very different from now. It was just a quick encounter back then, and Chi Yue didn't expect that Tang Ling could recognize him at a glance.

Although Chi Yue knew that Qi Xiao and Tang Ling were entangled, Tang Ling's appearance in Yangxizhai was not completely unexpected, but if Chi Yue had known he was there earlier, he might have avoided her, but it was too late to say anything now.

"An assignment for the Tiance Camp?"

Chi Yue suddenly stopped smiling: "Zong Sheng, you ask too many questions."

"When I come back, you can report to me in person."

Zong Sheng didn't understand. Chi Yue's disguise was a supernatural trick, so how could Tang Ling not recognize him? Especially if the Tian Ce Camp had an errand in Zhou State, it would be impossible for them to reveal their whereabouts so easily.

Chi Yue needed to report this, but not to Qi Xiao, but to His Majesty. Tang Ling was a disaster. If His Majesty hadn't asked what was going on between Qi Xiao and Tang Ling, Chi Yue would have kept his mouth shut. But since Tang Ling had identified him, he couldn't hide it.

Chi Yue looked up at the horizon and sighed in his heart. He didn't know how much Qi Xiao liked Tang Ling, nor did he know how much Tang Ling liked Qi Xiao... He couldn't blame him, his life was also his life.

"I'm going out for a while and will be back before nightfall." Before Chi Yue finished his words, he disappeared without a trace, leaving Zong Sheng standing alone in the yard, at a loss.

Zong Sheng was not smart, but he was not stupid either. At this time, he already knew that something big had happened.