'Zhan Beiye?
He's plotting against me? '
Meng Fuyao held her head in her hands and thought, 'Zhan Beiye is plotting against me? He wants to beat me up?
He looked at me so calmly in the imperial court today, and now he's plotting to beat me up? '
Fuyao's mind raced. One moment, she felt that the Battle Emperor wasn't that bad. It wasn't as if he didn't understand her temperament. The next moment, she felt that, judging from how he had kissed her in broad daylight on the streets, it wasn't entirely impossible.
Xiao Qi walked on top of her head, as if he had stepped on some kind of mechanism. Suddenly, the stone wall behind her flipped, and a few ropes flew out. They intertwined with each other, and a spring behind the stone wall swayed. The ropes retracted, and Meng Fuyao was tied to the stone wall.
Meng Fuyao immediately floated up, and in a flash, she passed through the gaps between the ropes. Seeing that the ropes were not tying her, she suddenly reached behind her to grab the jade stool that had fallen along with her and stuffed it inside. The ropes tightened, binding the jade stool to the wall.
Meng Fuyao squinted her eyes at the stool tied to the wall. The area where the rope was connected to the ground was shaking slightly. Xiao Qi could not see what was happening underground, but he could tell from the shape of the rope that something was tied to it. Naturally, he thought that it was Meng Fuyao. "Haha, I've finally tied this evil woman up. Let me beat you up!"
He was about to go down when he suddenly stopped. Tilting his head, he muttered, "She's not my wife, why should I beat her up? Of course, His Majesty should do it. "
Xiao Qi slapped his thigh and very cleverly turned around to leave. Outside the garden, he ordered the guards in a rough voice, "Guard this place well. Don't even let a fly out!"
"Yes!"
Meng Fuyao listened to Xiao Qi's footsteps getting further and further away, and the corner of her mouth twitched. 'There really are people in this world who are tired of living!'
She straightened her back and stretched herself. With her strength and the long time of soaking in the Mongolian doctor's tonic, she had already cultivated her body. Even if she was not at her peak condition because she had been recuperating, Xiao Qi's rice medicine was not enough to knock her out. It was already amazing that she fainted.
She lifted her head and frowned. The stone slab was extremely thick, and it would be difficult for her to break it in her current position. She had no choice but to find another way out. She calmed down and took a closer look at the stone chamber. Only then did she realize that it did not look like a simple underground chamber, but more like an ancient secret passageway. The walls were mottled, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of dust. It did not look like it was frequented.
Her gaze swept across the stone chamber. The Occult Eight Trigrams that she had learned from the old Daoist, as well as the Crown Prince's cramming, were immediately put to use. She stared fixedly at a qilin symbol on the wall and reached out to touch the protruding hind leg. There was a slight rumble, and the faint sound of a mechanical spring moving together could be heard. Meng Fuyao sensed that the sound was not right and quickly flipped away. Just as she leaped up, a sharp object pierced through the air with a 'swoosh' sound. A cluster of sharp needles that resembled neither needles nor arrows shot out like a storm. They were powerful and swift, spreading out in all directions and enveloping the entire stone chamber.
The small arrows that were as dense as rain and as black as clouds shot out like fireworks. The space, which was difficult to turn around, was instantly filled with arrows. Not to mention a living person, even a hedgehog would have to stab a few more arrows in the center of each spike. She had nowhere to run. She flipped her body over and stuck to the ceiling, desperately pulling in her abdomen and chest. In the darkness, the sharp needles whizzed past the tip of her nose. They were so close that she could smell the cold scent of poison on the tips of the needles. The chill that passed through her body was like passing through a hailstorm in an instant, chilling her to the bone.
She felt that her eyelashes could catch a needle in a blink of an eye. The hidden weapons were too dense!
She held her breath and did not dare to move. She lay there like a lizard. After a while, she heard the soft sound of a mechanical spring. After the hidden weapons had been shot, the walls around her let out a soft thud. She floated down and checked her clothes, still in a state of shock. She realized that there was a hole in her chest. It was only a few millimeters away from being shot.
'Amen … fortunately, my boobs are only 34B …'
At that moment, Meng Fuyao deeply felt that it was better to have smaller boobs in the martial arts world. The contact points were relatively short, and at critical moments, it was a matter of life and death …
The walls around her were densely packed with needle holes. This was a hard stone wall that was extremely hard, yet such a thin needle could penetrate it so deeply. One could only imagine the strength of the mechanical spring!
'Damn it, that bastard Xiao Qi, he's trying to kill me!'
At that moment, Meng Fuyao became even more suspicious of the instigator of this incident. Zhan Beiye would never kill her. She still had some trust in him, but that was all. The Battle Emperor's recent performance had not been good, and Meng Fuyao's evaluation of him was already below zero. She squatted in the darkness and rolled her eyes. There was an 80% chance that Zhan Beiye did not know about the terrifying mechanism underground. No matter what, Xiao Qi was his subordinate. Was he not strict enough with his subordinates, or was he purposely hinting or indulging them? In any case, the debt was definitely going to be put on his head!
The mechanical spring on the wall shot out all the hidden weapons and finally opened a secret door. Meng Fuyao stared at the dark tunnel and hesitated. 'Should I go in? The mechanism to open the door was already so powerful, who knew what else was inside? ' But she really did not want to squat there obediently and wait for someone to save or beat her up. That would be too embarrassing. King Meng was valiant and cool, but she had never felt so embarrassed before.
After thinking about it, she decided that a child who did not retaliate after being bullied was not a good child — Zhan Beiye!
She tore a few pieces of cloth from her outer robe, bit her fingertip, and dripped a few drops of blood on the ground and on the cloth. 'Hehe, dripping blood to reveal traces, but the person is nowhere to be seen. I'll let you guess, Zhan Beiye. You know about the Corpse Dissolving Poison in this world, but Zong Yue isn't around, so you can't detect the poison on the needles and arrows. The more you think about it, the more afraid you become. Wait until I get out of the secret tunnel and go behind you guys to observe. If it was really your idea, you'll be in for it. If it wasn't, you'll be in for it even worse — you'll be in for it! Haha! '
She furiously gathered the pieces of cloth and strangely formed a human shape. Actually, it would be illogical to form a human shape, but she believed that it would be more lethal.
She flashed into the secret tunnel, and the door behind her slowly closed. She thought about the Qilin symbol and felt a little strange. The Zhan family's totem was the Azure Dragon, so why would the Zhan family's secret tunnel have a Qilin symbol? And the Qilin seemed to be the totem of some country? … She had forgotten.
The secret tunnel was very dark and rough. It did not have the usual bluestone passageways and wall lamps of the imperial palace. The ground was uneven, too. The moment she entered, she was greeted by the muddy and rotten smell of the tunnel, but it was not too much. It was obvious that there were exits and vents. She walked carefully, not daring to touch the walls. She could vaguely feel that they were made of stone, and the gaps were especially tight, in contrast to the roughness of the ground. She did not know why such a situation would occur.
She held a handful of crushed stones in her hand and threw them with every step she took. Halfway through the tunnel, there was no movement, but she did not dare to let her guard down. She kept flicking her fingers, thinking about her own thoughts amidst the rustling sounds.
"Ding!"
A strange noise stopped her in her tracks. Meng Fuyao's pupils constricted as she picked up a bigger rock and smashed it.
"Chi!"
The ground three meters in front of her suddenly slid open, revealing a large hole with a radius of three meters. There was actually water in the hole. It was flowing water!
Was this tunnel built underwater?
She observed the direction of the tunnel and felt that it could not be completely underwater. The waterway was at a corner, and it was obvious that part of the tunnel was underwater. No wonder the walls were so solid. She thought about the topography of Pandu carefully and remembered that there was a river 1.5 kilometers to the side of Yu Mountain. It was said that the river flowed straight out of the city. Could she have left the city through the underground tunnel?
There were not many mechanisms here, but they were really powerful. Anyone who fell into the waterway would be swept away immediately. She jumped over the waterway, and the ground closed up again without a sound. Was this mechanism used often? Otherwise, why would there be no sound?
The rest of the journey was peaceful again. She finally reached the end of the tunnel. There was no secret room or anything, just a bare wall. It was the same as the place she had entered from before, with a qilin symbol on it.
Because of her previous experience, she naturally did not dare to touch the qilin. She swept her gaze around and saw a small protrusion below the qilin. From the layout, it seemed to be the real key to open the door. She heaved a sigh of relief, secretly glad that she had been cautious and not touched the qilin. She leaned to the side and carefully pressed on the protrusion with her finger.
"Hua!"
The entire wall suddenly shrunk upwards, and a huge wave rushed in. The surging river water instantly poured in from half a person's height, like a transparent hammer of a giant. It hammered Fuyao's chest and pushed her away, knocking her against the wall behind her. There was originally a long and empty tunnel behind her, but the moment the protrusion was pressed down, a wall silently erected two meters behind her. Fuyao was knocked against the wall by the water, causing her to feel dizzy and dizzy.
The force of the river water was like a punch to the chest by an expert. In an instant, her lips were already bleeding. To make matters worse, because of the sudden erection of the wall behind her, it had become a narrow room of two meters in length and width. In an instant, the water was already up to her neck, and the water level was still rising. The space above her head was getting smaller and smaller. She struggled and dived down, trying to get out through the gap that the river water had just flowed into, but the gap was closed again, leaving only a gap the width of a palm. Seeing that the water was about to reach her mouth, she opened her mouth and gulped down several mouthfuls of water. The air was getting thinner, and the water level was getting higher and higher. The dark wall was pressing down on her chest, making her feel like she was being suffocated. Even if she wanted to take a deep breath, it would only cause her to die faster. In a few more seconds, the water would reach her nose, and she would really drown in this damned stone chamber.
'Zhan Beiye, I'll definitely kill you when I get out …'
The thought flashed through her mind, and she smiled weakly. She did not even know if she could keep her life, so she did not have the time to think about such trivial things. She struggled and swam around in the water, knowing that it would consume more oxygen, but she did not want to give up any hope of survival until she touched the Qilin on the wall.
She hesitated for half a second as the cold metal, which was colder than water, entered her hand.
After the Qilin, there was a high possibility that the powerful mechanical spring flying arrow was behind it. There was no way for her to dodge, and if she was hit, she would end up like a hornet's nest.
If she did not end up like a hornet's nest, she would drown into a balloon. There was no other choice.
The water had already reached Fuyao's nose, and the veins on her forehead were bulging and throbbing from the pressure. Her face was flushed, and after a while, it gradually turned pale. The immense pressure was pressing down on her, and she felt as if she was going to suffocate and explode in the next second. It was too f * cking unbearable!
'I'd rather die faster!'
She reached out and broke off the Qilin's mechanism!
"Boom!"
Meng Fuyao, who was waiting for her death with her eyes closed, heard a strange sound. It wasn't the mechanical spring from before, and she felt a cool air rush into her head. Overjoyed, she leaped out of the water and looked up to see that there was another world above her. There was a gap, and she could vaguely make out a stone chamber. She quickly climbed up, and the stone floor immediately closed again, blocking the water below.
Meng Fuyao lay on the ground like a dead dog, gasping for air as she thought about how she had almost lost her precious life in that damned secret passage. She cursed in anger, "Zhan Beiye, I'll definitely let you experience the same thing …" After resting for a long time, she finally got up and looked around. The stone chamber was very similar to the one that Xiao Qi had trapped her in, but it was much bigger, with a circumference of about 15 meters. There was a long couch, a table, and a pile of clothes on the opposite side. This was probably the secret chamber of the secret passage. Two of the mechanisms on the wall just now were exits — one was a dead exit, leading to the bottom of the river, and the other was a living exit, leading to this secret chamber. The designer of the mechanism was actually an expert in psychological tactics. He had calculated that the person who entered the secret passage would definitely have lingering fears after the poisonous arrow shot by the Qilin, and would not dare to touch the real mechanism. Meng Fuyao sat on the ground resentfully for a long time. Only after a long time did she realize that the design of the secret passage was similar to the style in Da Gun's ancient tomb. 'Could there be a connection between the two?'
Before she could figure it out, she heard faint voices.
The voices were muffled and muffled, as if they were speaking from a long distance away.
In the dark stone chamber, there was barely any light, and the surroundings were filled with a strange smell. It was the smell of the stone itself, coupled with water vapor and a faint smell of blood. It made one think of a corpse that was still dripping blood in a grave in a deserted forest, a cold moon, and a clear stream … Then, in the extreme darkness and silence, there was suddenly a muffled conversation. The effect was extremely frightening.
Meng Fuyao was so shocked that her scalp went numb, and she jumped up.
She instinctively reached for the fire starter, but when her hand got wet, she remembered that it had long been useless. She calmed herself down, sat cross-legged in the darkness, and listened carefully.
There seemed to be a dense fog in the air, drifting slowly like black ribbons. The shrill cries of startled nocturnal birds could be heard, and the sound of flapping wings cut through the darkness. Meng Fuyao's bright eyes shone even more brightly in the darkness.
After a while, she suddenly jumped up and followed the source of the sound. Sure enough, she found a small hole on the top of the wall. She put her ear to it, and the sound became much clearer. It turned out that there was a ventilation hole, which led to the outside world. Someone was talking up there.
'What kind of serious matter could they be whispering in the forest outside the city in the middle of the night?' Meng Fuyao immediately put her ear to the hole and listened carefully.
"… It's said that it's nearby, but our brothers have been looking for it for a long time."
"It's most likely fake, isn't it? Crown Prince Wen Yi's entire family was sentenced to death, and all their belongings were buried in the palace vault. Even if one of them escaped, where would he find the financial resources to establish an underground force in the various countries? "
"There's no smoke without fire. The Regent said that we must search carefully and dig out his nest."
"Since we've already caught him, we can just interrogate him. Under torture, why worry about not being able to explain? Why waste our resources and manpower here, and even dig up graves in the middle of the night … "
"The Regent is a man of great talent and bold vision. He must have his reasons for wanting to find Zong Yue's nest … Stop nagging and tell us about the slip of the tongue. Zong Yue has a very high status in the various countries, and he has many friends. If people find out that he's been caught by us, we'll be in a lot of trouble …"
Zong Yue!
Meng Fuyao could no longer hear the rest of the conversation. Her mind was buzzing, and her eyes widened in shock.
Zong Yue had been captured? The Regent? The only person in the entire Five Continents with a Regent was the Xuanyuan Emperor.
Was it Xuanyuan Cheng who had captured Zong Yue? Judging from their tone, Zong Yue was the descendant of Crown Prince Wen Yi? Meng Fuyao had never studied the Xuanyuan Emperor's history, and only vaguely knew that Xuanyuan Cheng had launched a coup many years ago to seize the Regent's position. However, she did not ask why he had chosen a youth from the same clan to be his puppet instead of becoming the Emperor. Zhangsun Wuji, who had told her about it, did not say anything either. Who would have thought that it had something to do with Zong Yue?
Zong Yue roamed the continent, had a high status, was well-informed, and had countless secret forces by his side. His actions were also very mysterious. Add to that his relationship with Xuanyuan Yun, and he seemed to fit the identity quite well. Meng Fuyao took a deep breath and pressed her ears even tighter, wanting to hear if the two could reveal where Zong Yue had been captured. Unexpectedly, there was no movement from above. Only the faint sound of the wind could be heard, and the Old Aunty suddenly screamed, "Ah! Ah!"
His hoarse and terrifying voice sent a chill down Meng Fuyao's spine. She recalled that the two had mentioned that this was a mass grave, and could not help but laugh. 'Did they suddenly meet a ghost?'
Then, she heard ghostly footsteps.
Extremely light, extremely light.
Like a feather being brushed off a pillow, the fluff of a young bird falling from a treetop, or the lightest catkin on the tip of a willow tree, they drifted over almost soundlessly. If Meng Fuyao had not pressed her ears against the ground, she would not have noticed the almost non-existent vibrations and resonance.
In other words, an ordinary martial arts expert would not have noticed.
The footsteps floated over with a strange rhythm, light and fast. Things that were too light usually had no speed, but this footstep was different. It floated with the wind and seemed to travel thousands of miles.
"Swoosh!"
There was only one sound.
"Oh."
Then, silence returned. The Old Aunty's screams became even more tragic, but the ground was completely silent.
Meng Fuyao listened attentively, wondering what the last 'oh' was. Suddenly, she felt a chill in her ear, as if some liquid had suddenly flowed into it.
She was shocked. 'Oh no!' She had been too engrossed in Zong Yue's news and pressed her ears so tightly against the hole. If she was discovered by the people above, a drop of mercury would be enough to destroy her life!
This was no small matter. She quickly tilted her head, wanting to pour out the drop of liquid. Then, she reached out to touch it. Her fingers felt sticky, and when she looked through the hole, she saw that it was bright red!
Blood!
The two people above had been killed in an instant?
Meng Fuyao gasped. 'So that' oh 'was made by two people at the same time?' No wonder it sounded so strange. The opponent's sword was too fast, killing two people at the same time with just one strike. 'That muffled' oh 'in their throats was actually the last sound made by the two people who were still alive just now?'
Such a fast sword and such a clean and efficient way of killing. Meng Fuyao gasped in amazement, thinking that she had been too gentle when it came to killing people in the past.
The blood on the ground was still dripping down from the hole, forming a small puddle on the ground. It seemed like the opponent liked to kill people like a pig instead of playing with a little bit of elegance. Meng Fuyao stared at the puddle of blood on the ground and suddenly realized that there was some change in the reflection of the blood.
'It seems like … something is moving?'
Meng Fuyao immediately turned around and stuck to the top of the wall. She had already encountered enough strange things that night, so she had to be careful.
Her intuition was right. Just as she hid herself, the stone wall opposite her shifted soundlessly. The misty moonlight shone in without any obstruction, forming a layer of silver carpet on the ground.
In the middle of the moonlight, on the silver carpet, a figure dressed in black appeared without a sound.
He was tall, slender, and his tight black clothes were outlined by the moonlight. His body was full of elasticity and strength, but he was not thick at all. He had a strange sense of wild beauty. His tied up black hair was like silk, slightly loose. He walked in with a moonlight draped over his body. His steps had a strange rhythm, reminding people of the colorful leopards in the jungle.
'What a good body!' Meng Fuyao almost whistled. She had not even seen his face, but his body was already enough!
She held her breath and looked at the man lecherously. Silently, she pressed closer to the top of the wall. Although his body was good, his martial arts seemed to be even better. She did not want to fight yet.
The man walked in and pressed a button. The door to the secret chamber slowly opened. He walked to the pile of clothes and other miscellaneous items, lit a candle, and picked up a piece of clothing from the table. Meng Fuyao looked at the shadow of the candle and silently moved herself into the darkness again.
Then, she continued to look down, and then … her eyes popped out of their sockets.
Opposite her, in the dim light of the candle, the man was … changing his clothes.
Wearing the tight-fitting clothes was enough to make one unable to look away. Taking them off was even more … breathtaking.
Extremely beautiful skin, smooth and moist with a faint jade color. Under the pale yellow candlelight, it looked like flowing crystal honey. It was different from the delicate and pale skin of an exquisite man in Jiangnan. On the contrary, it was more primitive and wild sexiness. The candlelight outlined his whole body. His curves were tight and restrained, suffused with a faint halo. Every inch of his skin showed astonishing elasticity and explosive power, but there were absolutely no knotted muscles. It was just that the right amount of elegance overflowed and naturally seductive.
'Ah … a beauty … A beauty who looks more attractive after taking off her clothes is a true beauty …'
Meng Fuyao's sluggish and greedy eyes followed the body in all directions. It was an extremely beautiful inverted triangle, with broad shoulders and a slender waist, a smooth and clean back, and exquisite shoulder bones that elegantly folded downwards … Below … Jumping … Hmm, what long legs! They were still full of elasticity and strength, a perfect balance between sturdiness and frailty. The most wonderful, exquisite, harmonious and alluring body shape …
'It's a pity that time is too short … Why did he have to change his clothes so quickly … Sigh …'
The man did not turn around. He was still wearing black clothes, which he had previously changed into. Holding the blood-splattered black clothes in his hand, he continued to stride with a strange rhythm, opened the door of the secret chamber, and walked out.
Meng Fuyao waited for a while longer to make sure that he would not come back before slowly moving down. Her Cleaving Nine Heavens skill was getting more and more profound, so she could hold her breath much longer than ordinary people. Fortunately, otherwise, she would have been discovered sooner or later, even if she was far away.
After feeling around the wall for a while, Meng Fuyao found the mechanism based on her memory. She opened the door of the secret chamber and walked out. As expected, there was a mass grave outside, with broken tombstones and white skeletons that had been dragged out by wild wolves. A pale green moon hung on the branches of a withered tree. Old Aunty stood on the treetop, moaning intermittently. There was a thick stench of blood all around. Meng Fuyao looked around, but the two corpses were gone.
She stood under the cold moon in a daze. She turned around to look at the door that she had just come out of, but it was hidden under the withered branches and withered leaves. She thought about how she had encountered so many miraculous encounters tonight. Xiao Qi's unintentional plan had actually caused her to be in danger again and again. Arrows flying in the secret chamber, a hole that had no roof, blood gushing into her ears, a beauty stripping … and finally, she had heard such shocking news.
Zong Yue had been captured by Xuanyuan Cheng and brought back to Xuanyuan City.
Meng Fuyao looked in the direction of Xuanyuan Kingdom and smiled coldly. Without thinking, she returned to the city. With her lightness skill, she did not even need to report her identity to have the city gate open. She went straight to Zong Yue's room. Everything was as usual, and the owner could not be seen. She reached out to touch the bed and felt a chill on her hand. Judging by the appearance of the bed, it seemed that no one had slept in it for a long time. She stood in the room in a daze and began to reflect on how indifferent she had been to the sharp-tongued man. She clearly knew that he had been busy recently, but she had never thought to ask him what he was doing. Now that he had disappeared, she was the last to know, and she could not even find any of his acquaintances or subordinates to verify his whereabouts.
Perhaps she had gotten used to relying on Zong Yue's help and his sharp-tongued way of solving problems, so she had never thought that he would meet with trouble. There was another reason that she did not want to face. Was she subconsciously trying to keep as far away from them as possible? So that she could tear them apart in the future?
Standing in Zong Yue's empty room, Meng Fuyao suddenly realized her own selfishness. Even if she could not give love to a friend who had helped her time and time again, shouldn't she at least show some concern? As a friend, shouldn't she ask about things that she should, too? Wasn't it too heartless of her to hide as far away as she could to avoid arousing suspicion?
Meng Fuyao decided that she should stop being selfish and keep using the Mongolian physician's medicine. It was time for her to treat his illness.
She quickly packed up her travel expenses and stuffed the snoring Lord Ingot into her bag. She then looked at Ya Lanzhu's room and felt that she would probably choose to stay. Thus, she carried her bag and left. When she opened the door, she saw Tie Cheng sitting in front of it with his sword in his arms.
Meng Fuyao smiled helplessly and rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "I have no intention of abandoning you. I'm just in a hurry, so I'll leave first. Wait here for the Wuji secret guard to contact you, then …"
"I'll follow you." Tie Cheng was unmoved. "As for the secret guard, just leave me a secret signal. I know their secret signal."
Meng Fuyao smiled and threw her bag to him. "Well then, let's go!"
Their conversation was carried away by the wind and quickly dissipated without a trace, unable to reach the ears of those who wanted to hear where they were going.
Meng Fuyao, who was in a hurry to save people, had long forgotten that there was still an unlucky person who was about to face her tragic fate of not being able to see her dead body …
In the middle of the night, two black shadows flew across the quiet streets and over the high city walls like a whirlwind. The soldiers guarding the city could vaguely feel a cold breeze brushing past them. They rubbed their eyes and looked up, only to see withered leaves slowly swirling on the ground.
The two silhouettes had long since disappeared on the official road outside Pan Du City like a flash of lightning.
"Where are we going?"
"Xuanyuan."
= = =
Early morning, Mount Yu Imperial Residence.
All roads from the foot of the mountain to the foot of the mountain had been sealed off by the imperial army in black and golden armor. There was a sentry every few steps, and the security was tight. Woodcutters who habitually went up the mountain to chop firewood were stopped at the foot of the mountain. They raised their heads and looked at the faintly fluttering bright yellow dragon flag in the distance. They stuck out their tongues in surprise.
"I heard that His Majesty went up the mountain last night?"
"I don't know what happened, but I didn't hear anything."
"I heard that a great bandit ran away!"
"Oh …" A series of sighs of surprise and fear could be heard.
A farmer who had entered the city early in the morning to sell vegetables passed by with a load on his shoulder. He heard the conversation and came over with a smile. "Yeah, last night was really restless. I kept hearing the old witch's screams, but I couldn't see anything when I went out." He lived to the west of the Yu River outside the city.
"I'm afraid it was just a great bandit killing people," someone teased. "Why aren't you reporting to His Majesty?"
The farmer glared at him, shook his head, and walked away with his load.
Zhan Beiye didn't hear the last crucial sentence. Even if he had, he wouldn't have been able to immediately link it to her whereabouts. His mind was a mess, and there was only one thought — Fu Yao had gone missing!
What's worse was that this wasn't an ordinary disappearance. It was highly likely that her life was in danger!
When he received Xiao Qi's report last night, he almost vomited blood on the spot. He kicked Xiao Qi, who was still proud of himself, into a somersault, and immediately ran out of the palace. He didn't even bother with the imperial carriage. He randomly pulled a horse from the Imperial Stables and headed straight for Mount Yu Imperial Residence that night. The Imperial Stables' horses and saddles were kept separately, so he didn't have time to equip them. He galloped all the way, and by the time he reached the Imperial Stables, his thighs were bruised and dripping with blood. He didn't even notice it and threw the reins to go straight to the Huayin Pavilion.
Along the way, his mind was in a mess. He couldn't stop thinking about how to release Fu Yao later. If she misunderstood him, he would … he would … what should he do? He didn't know how to explain. Xiao Qi was his loyal subordinate, and if it wasn't for that, Xiao Qi wouldn't have been able to plot against Fu Yao. What Xiao Qi had done was equivalent to what he had done, and the responsibility was on him. If Fu Yao really wanted to blame him, there was nothing he could say.
However, there was something even worse waiting for him.
When the mechanism was opened, Fu Yao was nowhere to be seen.
Xiao Qi looked at the empty stone chamber in a daze. Scratching his head, he murmured, "Eh … I saw her fall."
At first, Zhan Beiye thought that she had escaped, which made him happy. However, he didn't want to see the few drops of blood, the human-shaped cloth, and the shocking number of poisonous arrows that had penetrated deep into the hard stone wall. His vision went black.
He jumped down and picked up the cloth. When he recognized that it was indeed Fu Yao's clothes, his heart sank.
He clenched his fingers tightly, and the cloth felt cold in his palm. It was like a pair of cold, pale hands that tugged at his heart, causing it to beat like a drum. His limbs went soft, and his forehead started to sweat profusely.
Seeing his expression, Xiao Qi knew that he had gotten into trouble. He pounced on the stone wall and searched around, as though he was trying to dig Fu Yao out. After a series of random searches, he accidentally touched the qilin, and the secret door slid open.
Zhan Beiye's spirits lifted. He wanted to be the first to enter, but was stopped by the guards. Xiao Qi knelt at his feet and kowtowed. "It's my fault, I'll go!" He then rushed in with the guards.
Not long after, Xiao Qi was dragged back by the remaining guards. When they stepped into the waterway, half of the guards were swept away, while the other half accompanied Xiao Qi to the end. At that time, they carefully formed a long line and protected Xiao Qi in the middle. When the few at the front were blocked by the overturned stone wall, the few at the back managed to grab Xiao Qi in time. Separated by a stone slab, they could hear their companion struggling and calling for help. Xiao Qi clung to the stone wall, scratching out white marks on the thick stone slab. His fingernails were all gone, and his flesh was a bloody mess.
Zhan Beiye looked at Xiao Qi's bloody hand and the frightened eyes of the guards. He took a step back and leaned against the stone wall. His expression was ugly and the guards didn't dare to look up at him. Xiao Qi knelt on the ground in a daze. He didn't say anything and didn't kowtow anymore. Suddenly, he jumped up and with a wave of his hand, a snow-white light lit up.
Zhan Beiye immediately threw a punch at him.
His punch was extremely fierce, and Xiao Qi was sent flying by him, crashing heavily into the wall. With a "kacha" sound, Xiao Qi's arm was dislocated and hung down softly.
Zhan Beiye stared at him fiercely. He hadn't slept for the whole night, and his face was pale. Stubble appeared on his lips, and his eyes were bloodshot. Those bloodshot veins connected and formed a net of blood and flames. "The one who died now is a coward! Get up and go look for her! If she's alive, I want to see her … She's not dead! Go look for her! If you can't find her, don't come back in this lifetime! "
He reached out and took the whip from a guard beside him, throwing it in front of Xiao Qi. "Carry this whip and go look for her! When you find her, give her the whip! Let the person who should whip you whip you! Whip you until you remember that recklessness and arrogance is a lesson that even death can't buy! "
Xiao Qi knelt on the ground, not making a sound. He grabbed the whip with one hand and carried it on his back. He bit his lips and kowtowed heavily to Zhan Beiye, then stood up shakily and walked out. Ji Yu, who had been standing beside Zhan Beiye and looking at him worriedly, subconsciously took a step forward. Zhan Beiye immediately said angrily, "If you take another step, you don't need to come back!"
Ji Yu silently stopped. Zhan Beiye stood straight, not moving at all. Only when Xiao Qi's figure was about to completely disappear outside the Huayin Pavilion did he turn his body slightly and look in the direction Xiao Qi had left.
That look was filled with anger at first, but it gradually turned into deep helplessness, and finally, it turned into indelible pain.
In his life, he had never driven away his own brothers. But today, he had personally forced this child to wander the world. From today onwards, Xiao Qi, who he liked because of his naivety and simplicity, was destined to die. All the things that he had been working hard to protect, the pure and unrefined qualities of this youth, were going to be destroyed by his own hands.
He was the one who had spoiled Xiao Qi's arrogance and willfulness. In the end, he was the one who had taught them a lesson and made them suffer. What a selfish master he was!
Zhan Beiye stood in the chilly autumn wind. In just one night, the bright jade mountain was about to be destroyed, looking haggard like frost.
Beside him, Ji Yu stared at him with tears in his eyes.
Zhan Beiye didn't look at anyone. He just stood there silently, waiting for the guard who had gone to the governor's residence to look for Meng Fuyao to report that the residence was empty. Little by little, his eyes dimmed like candlelight.
In the end, he personally walked through the secret passage. Finally, in front of the secret door that was blocked, he ruthlessly slammed his palm down with an earth-shattering force that caused stone fragments to fly everywhere!
"Fuyao, where did you go?!"
= = =
On the 20th day of the ninth month of the first year of the Han Dynasty, the only vassal king of the Han Dynasty disappeared after being conferred the title. The reason for his disappearance was due to a careless remark and a naive joke.
The entire Han Empire entered into an urgent state of searching for a person. Although this news was kept secret, and there was no shocking title of "Searching for the Han Emperor", all the prefectures and counties in the country were searching for a young man who "loved to disguise himself with a white mouse and a dark-skinned guard (this guard might also be in disguise)," like finding a needle in a haystack. Because of this, the conditions were too vague, and all the prefectures and counties in the country were scratching their heads while holding onto this document. Even the neighboring countries received a letter from the new emperor of the Han Empire. In the letter, it was against Zhan Beiye's disdainful behavior of not giving face to anyone. It politely talked about the weather, peace, economy, and politics. In the end, it skillfully and lightly mentioned, "If your country has found any young man, please be sure to inform my country in time.
To be honest, this method of searching for a person was really pitiful. After the new emperor of the Han Empire dug three feet into the ground of the whole country and even turned over the stones to see if there was a person hiding, he had no choice but to adopt this method. As for whether that heartless person could be found, it really depended on someone's luck.
In the first year of the Han Empire, the history of the dynasty was overturned. After the baptism of war and blood, the Han Empire restored its tranquility on the surface. Its neighboring country, Xuanyuan, was about to set off a monstrous storm in the imperial city because of the arrival of one person.
In the twelfth year of Xuanyuan Zhaoning, the sun and the moon shone brightly, and the four territories were peaceful.
At the border of Xuanyuan Kingdom, a young man in black with a white mouse squatting on his shoulder squinted at the city gate in front of him with a sly look.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She patted the honest young man beside her and whispered,
"Look, beauty!"
= = =
The third volume was finished. The second volume, "Xuanyuan's Heir".
Sorry for being one hour late tonight. I'm too busy. Thank you for your understanding.
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