Chapter 74 Not in Control of One’s Own Fate

However, the subsequent task of erasing all traces would prove to be an extremely vexing problem.

Late that night, after symbolically instructing Xie Shen’ai to focus on her studies, get proper rest, and refrain from wandering, Li Tianming ventured outside.

Having taken a circuitous route and meticulously concealed his tracks, he eventually arrived at the dimly lit basement where he was scheduled to meet with the Sakura Nation remnants.

“Why haven’t our people returned?”

The moment they met, Hijikata Toushi, the liaison, questioned him with an evident lack of cordiality.

“My deepest apologies.

I had no idea the puppet master who arrived on the scene would be that volatile individual.”

Li Tianming bowed his head in a show of feigned remorse.

Truth be told, even he wasn’t entirely certain how many puppet masters the Kingdom possessed.

However, from an outsider’s perspective, there were at least three or four, with the fire-attributed Xie Hai Zhu being the most renowned recently.

“Hmph, I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw something he shouldn’t have and you silenced him!”

Despite his words, Hijikata Toushi actually found the explanation quite plausible.

Li Tianming immediately spread his hands wide.

“If you don’t trust me, you are welcome to kill me right here.”

“Kill you? Heh, you wish!”

Hijikata Toushi gestured, prompting the ninjas lying in ambush to temporarily sheath their weapons.

“Tell me, how do you intend to compensate me?”

“Don’t tell me you dared to come here utterly unprepared?”

Seeing that the discussion had shifted to the negotiation phase, Li Tianming’s lips curled into a subtle, involuntary smile.

“Naturally.

Regarding the search for the Heavenly Empress Palace…”

Li Tianming paused, his gaze sweeping over the visibly agitated Hijikata Toushi, before continuing.

“Though the person has yet to be found, intelligence suggests that the Xiao family is currently overseeing this matter.”

This was, of course, a lie, but the blatant objectives of these individuals meant that even with suspicions, they would undoubtedly investigate first.

“Do not misunderstand; this is not about using another’s hand to kill.

It is merely a small lesson for disobedient fools.”

“Is there more?”

Hijikata Toushi feigned composure as he asked, yet his eager eyes already betrayed his impatience.

He yearned to rush out immediately and direct others to conduct a nocturnal visit to the Huangfu family residence.

Consequently, when Li Tianming offered a trivial piece of information, it was enough to secure Hijikata Toushi’s commitment.

“Speak, what do you wish to know?”

“I’ve heard that Sakamoto Gyuma has arrived.

Is that true?”

Upon hearing this, Hijikata Toushi’s expression subtly shifted, and his eyes darted around, circling repeatedly before he ultimately decided against provoking Li Tianming.

“Indeed, he has arrived.

If you do not act swiftly, our cooperation will cease immediately!”

Hijikata Toushi spoke in a tone that, while superficially a threat, was in essence a plea for aid.

The reason was simple: the Sakura Nation remnants were not a monolithic entity; internally, they were fractured into three factions.

Hijikata Toushi’s Shogunate faction, primarily composed of eminent noble families from the Sakura Nation, pursued a strategy of outward compliance with the Kingdom while secretly undermining it.

Their ultimate goal was to establish a new order when the Kingdom inevitably clashed with the Empire.

Allied with the Shogunate faction was the Heavenly King faction, consisting of the Sakura Nation’s clergy.

Their path was to go into hiding, change their names, and flee far away once the Heavenly King’s descendant was found.

Finally, there was the Western faction, the most numerous, comprising ambitious youths from the Sakura Nation.

Their strategy involved exploiting and submitting to the Empire, waiting for the Kingdom’s strength to wane.

They aimed to destabilize the Kingdom and even sought to assassinate the Heavenly King’s descendant.

Sakamoto Gyuma, moreover, was the leader of the Western faction and their most formidable puppet master.

Contrary to external perceptions, the intelligence Li Tianming had gathered indicated that the Sakura Nation already possessed numerous ruins.

However, the puppets they unearthed were not particularly powerful, mostly residing at the Martial Lord rank.

Their sole advantage lay in their superior protective mechanisms.

Naturally, the Sakura Nation was not entirely without its foundational strength.

They possessed a total of three nation-guarding Battle Lord-rank puppets: Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi.

Amaterasu had been destroyed by Xie Hai Zhu five years prior, while Tsukuyomi’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Susanoo, however, was in Sakamoto Gyuma’s possession.

Suffice it to say, even if Hijikata Toushi’s Shogunate faction combined their forces, they would be no match for Sakamoto Gyuma alone.

Not to mention the Dogwood Empire that stood behind him…

The only silver lining was that the Western faction’s mission to destabilize the Vermillion Kingdom’s internal peace necessitated a direct confrontation with Saintess Zhu and the Deep Sea Crimson Knights.

Thus, the Shogunate faction’s primary objective was to locate the Heavenly King’s descendant before Sakamoto Gyuma.

Their secondary objective was to withdraw from the Royal Capital and allow Sakamoto Gyuma and the Western faction to be purged by the Kingdom.

This was why they had chosen to cooperate with Li Tianming; after all, apart from recovering the Heavenly King’s descendant, their faction had few conflicts with the Kingdom.

Indeed, many within the Shogunate faction had already whitewashed their identities, living as law-abiding citizens within the Kingdom.

You might ask about the previous attacks?

Those were at Li Tianming’s behest, a singular occurrence.

Any earlier attacks within the Royal Capital had been orchestrated by the Western faction.

Regrettably, even with the Shogunate faction’s apparent “good behavior,” Li Tianming’s true intention was to instigate conflict between them and the Western faction.

After all, if they were willing to cooperate with him and carry out attacks for their own objectives now, would they hesitate to commit even more heinous acts if future goals demanded it?

Dangerous elements deserved complete eradication!

In truth, when Li Tianming tasked them with this charade, he had already decided to use it as justification for their future purge.

Pondering this, Li Tianming suddenly recalled something.

“Oh, right, I have one more request.”

“What is it?”

“The person you’ve planted by my side—could you hand her over for me to deal with?”

Hijikata Toushi initially intended to feign ignorance, but a swift reconsideration told him that pretending would only make him appear foolish, given that the person had already been exposed.

He promptly changed his tune.

“Are you interested in her?”

“Something like that… Why, unwilling?”

“Since she was foolish enough to be discovered by you, we naturally have no reason to continue employing her.”

“Then, my thanks.”

‘Truly useless.’

Li Tianming mused inwardly.

This wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular, but rather at the entire Shogunate faction.

As high-ranking members of an organization, they evidently lacked even the basic understanding of protecting subordinates or winning over hearts.

During negotiations, they proved capable of nothing beyond bluster, even exposing their weaknesses with glaring clarity.

Such a group, yet they harbored ambitions of success?

Admittedly, not everyone in the world was a fool, and Hijikata Toushi’s subordinates might well include talented individuals.

However, as Xie Shenhong had once analyzed, when talent goes unused and incompetent individuals hold high positions, such adversaries are simply not to be feared.

Of course, whether it was he, Hijikata Toushi, or even Sakamoto Gyuma… they were all, in truth, quite pathetic.

Before that absolutely formidable power, they amounted to nothing more than dust.

After their discussion concluded and he left the basement, Li Tianming walked along the street, gazing towards the Xie family’s direction.

He muttered bitterly,

“Why… do I not possess such immense power?”

****

“Based on my preliminary investigation, I find Captain Li Tianming to be highly suspicious.”

The following day, during lunch break, Xie Shenhong and Lyte managed to evade Wendy.

They proceeded to exchange intelligence in the exclusive lounge the school provided for them.

In fact, when Lyte had previously reported to her while she was disguised as Xie Hai Zhu, this suspicious information had been included.

However, Lyte was not one to casually suspect his comrades.

He had objectively presented both favorable and unfavorable intelligence, without injecting any subjective bias.

As for Xie Shenhong… at the time, deeply mired in self-reproach and despondency, she had not seriously analyzed the circumstances of others.

Now, upon closer inspection, it became clear that not only Li Tianming but even Wendy was highly suspicious.

“Shenhong, what do you plan to do?”

After Xie Shenhong had reviewed the documents, Lyte inquired.