#362 - Bai Youheng appears
From the Imperial Palace to Fengyuan City.
Bai Youheng's words sounded a bit backwards at first.
After all, the Imperial Palace is within Fengyuan City, so to enter the Imperial Palace, one must first enter Fengyuan City.
Therefore, the man was inevitably stunned when he heard this, but then he guessed something.
"Young Master, are you saying..."
"Yes, someone will be there to meet us and take us in."
Bai Youheng nodded: "However, a hundred Dragon Guards are too many after all. Select three people to enter the city with me, and the rest will stay outside the city to provide support."
"Yes."
After responding, the man asked again: "Young Master, may I ask approximately how many days we will need to stay in the city?"
"One night."
Bai Youheng didn't hide anything and gave the answer without hesitation: "The longer we stay, the more dangerous it will be. We will come out before dawn tomorrow at the latest."
"Understood, I will go and select the men now."
"Mm."
...
The man quickly left in a hurry, leaving only Bai Youheng alone in the makeshift, dilapidated shack.
He raised his eyes and looked distantly at the tall city walls of Fengyuan City, and the people constantly涌out from the city gate, slowly clenching his fists.
Wei Changtian, I admit defeat this time.
But remember, one day I will make you pay back double what I have lost today.
Definitely.
That night, at midnight.
North of Fengyuan City, a small forest five miles away.
Five figures passed through a silent, messy shantytown, and unnoticed, slipped into the woods like ghosts, then stopped in front of a bluestone.
Although this bluestone was large, it was no different from other stones, and it blended in well with the surrounding environment.
However, after it silently shifted half a zhang on the ground, its strangeness became self-evident.
"Young Master."
The man in black glanced at the large hole in front of him, then at Bai Youheng, and immediately jumped into the hole without hesitation.
The already faint moonlight disappeared instantly, and his surroundings were plunged into darkness.
From bright to dark, the human eye always needs an adaptation process to changes in environmental brightness.
As a fourth-rank martial artist, the process was much shorter for the burly man than for ordinary people, taking at most two breaths.
But just as he landed and barely regained his sight after two breaths, the first thing he saw was several cold, gleaming long sabers resting on his neck.
As for the owners of these long sabers... they were all hidden in the darkness, their appearances unclear, only the red tokens hanging from their waists were faintly visible in the moonlight falling through the hole.
Neither side spoke, but the Dragon Guard's burly man could feel the cold blades on his neck pressing against his skin little by little.
Until a calm voice slowly sounded from behind him.
"I am Bai Youheng."
...
Seemingly a password or riddle, after Bai Youheng, who came in from outside the cave, said this, the long sabers quietly and slowly lowered, and several Imperial Guards silently stepped aside, clearing the way.
"Let's go."
Bai Youheng glanced at these Imperial Guards and said softly to the man: "Nothing will happen."
"Yes, Young Master."
The man, who was originally from the Dragon Guards, was not afraid of death, and now that he had figured out the situation, he immediately strode forward along the secret passage.
The walls were covered with black stones, and a torch was placed diagonally every few tens of steps.
Bai Youheng and the five of them walked along the road for almost two quarters of an hour, and encountered many expressionless black-armored Imperial Guards along the way.
However, like the first few at the entrance of the cave, they were equally silent, and would only let them pass after Bai Youheng said his name.
A long tunnel, Imperial Guards on guard, heading south all the way...
The situation was already obvious.
This was clearly an "emergency passage" directly from the Great Feng Imperial Palace to outside the city.
For the Imperial Palace of any country, as well as the lairs of larger aristocratic sects, it is very necessary to build such a secret passage.
Some people even have more than one, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows.
After all, no one can say when they will encounter a life-or-death crisis in the future, and having one more "retreat" often means one more life.
Therefore, it is not surprising to have such a secret passage outside Fengyuan City.
What is truly strange is why Bai Youheng can walk so openly in it.
"Da!"
The ground under their feet slowly began to become steeper, and a light that was clearly different from the torches appeared at the end of their vision.
The Dragon Guard man looked back at Bai Youheng, still didn't ask any more questions, just slightly placed his hand on the hilt of his saber.
He knew that they had now entered Fengyuan City, even inside the Great Feng Imperial Palace, and that the light ahead was the exit of the tunnel.
It was just that he didn't know whether it was their own people or a trap waiting outside the exit.
Or perhaps...
"This..."
Standing in front of the exit of the cave, he looked up.
The burly man had imagined many possible scenarios before, but the scene before him was something he had never expected.
A golden skirt draped down, a phoenix coronet held her hair in place, and a face that could topple kingdoms and cities looked down, the icy coldness in her eyes a stark contrast to her exquisite beauty.
Why is it a woman?!
The burly man opened his mouth slightly, stunned in place for a moment.
However, Bai Youheng was not surprised, he just stepped forward and cupped his fist slightly towards the woman outside the cave:
"I am Bai Youheng, greetings to the Empress."
The moon hung in the sky, south of Fengyuan City.
While Bai Youheng and Yu Pingjun met in the Great Feng Imperial Palace, Wei Changtian personally led a team out of the city quietly, heading straight for a low mountain outside the city called "Little Leaf".
More precisely, he was heading straight for the "shantytown" at the foot of the mountain.
Just after nightfall, Chu Xianping received intelligence that a group of foreign merchants who clearly did not resemble "refugees" had been discovered here, numbering nearly a hundred, and most of them were carrying weapons.
Obviously, such a group of people looked very much like Bai Youheng and his hundred Dragon Guards, so Wei Changtian decided to personally verify it.
If it was true, then he could kill Bai Youheng on the spot to prevent the latter from escaping again.
Of course, with Gu Diao dead, Bai Youheng probably no longer possessed the luck of the Son of Heaven.
But it was still better to be cautious.
...
"Old man, when do you think we'll be able to come back?"
"Didn't the government say it would be July 16th?"
"Oh! There's still half a stone of grain at home, I forgot to hide it!"
"You woman... Forget it, anyway, there aren't many people left in the city, just bring out the valuable items..."
...
Although it was already midnight, the evacuation work was a 24-hour operation, so there were still people lining up to leave the city.
In order to avoid alarming the enemy, Wei Changtian and others disguised themselves as ordinary people and walked little by little towards the distant shantytowns, mixing in with the crowd.
"Young Master."
Du Chang next to him hesitated for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice and asked: "When did we arrange manpower outside the city?"
"I asked Chu Xianping to do this."
Wei Changtian glanced at Du Chang: "After all, Bai Youheng might have a way to sneak into the city without us knowing, but before that, he would definitely show up around Fengyuan City."
"Therefore, I had Chu Xianping place some manpower outside the city, just in case."
"Yes, I understand."
Du Chang nodded, his eyes glancing at Chu Xianping again.
However, the latter turned a blind eye to this, his eyes constantly fixed on another person not far away, until that person slowly approached the three.
“Young Master Wei, Young Master Chu, I am Zhang Hua, a night watchman.”
“Was it you who sent the information that night?”
Chu Xianping didn't waste any words and asked directly, “What exactly is going on? Explain it in detail.”
“It was me.”
Zhang Hua replied in a low voice, “I have been hiding among the refugees in the south of the city under your orders, constantly watching for anyone acting strangely.”
“...”
Soon, the night watchman named Zhang Hua carefully explained the whole story.
In fact, the process was not complicated. He discovered this group of “merchants” in the afternoon, became suspicious, secretly watched them for a while, and then felt that something was increasingly wrong, so he reported it to his “superior,” who then relayed the information to Chu Xianping.
After listening to his brief description, Chu Xianping didn't rush to speak but turned to look at Wei Changtian.
The latter pondered for a moment before asking:
“Where are those people now?”
“Reporting to the young master, they are at the foot of Little Leaf Mountain, but they are mixed in with the refugees, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to identify them one by one.”
“Well, you don't need to identify them all. Just knowing their general location is enough.”
Wei Changtian nodded, and with just a look at Chu Xianping, the latter immediately understood and quickly left with Zhang Hua.
Du Chang, however, was still completely confused.
“Young Master, what should we do next?”
“Naturally, we quietly find Bai Youheng.”
Wei Changtian said slowly, “There are as many as a hundred Dragon Guards accompanying Bai Youheng, and they are mixed in with the common people. It is undoubtedly impossible to catch them all in one fell swoop.”
“However, we have Bai Youheng's portrait and now know his approximate location, so there is no need to make too much noise. We just need to find him secretly.”
“Chu Xianping has gone to arrange this.”
“...”
The tacit understanding between Wei Changtian and Chu Xianping, which could be achieved with just a look, surprised Du Chang and made him feel somewhat frustrated.
But before he could speak, he heard Wei Changtian continue:
“Brother Du, take some men and do another thing.”
“Without alarming anyone, capture as many Dragon Guards as possible for me.”
“Remember, alive.”
“Yes.”
Du Chang didn't bother to think about the tacit understanding anymore and immediately obeyed the order, leaving only a few guards to protect Wei Changtian in the shadows.
After glancing at his hurried departure, Wei Changtian withdrew his gaze, his expression much more relaxed than before.
Double insurance, a two-pronged approach.
Even if Chu Xianping couldn't find Bai Youheng, he could interrogate the Dragon Guards and make them reveal Bai Youheng's location.
Moreover, the latter no longer had the luck bonus of the Gou Diao.
Hmph, Bai Youheng is doomed this time!
At this moment, Wei Changtian was full of confidence, as if he had already seen the 1500 system points waving at him.
He didn't know that Bai Youheng was no longer here but was sitting opposite Yu Pingjun in the Dafeng Imperial Palace.
He also didn't know that, in fact, the Gou Diao was not dead yet.
Or rather, the last trace of it was still alive.
The Tiaoyue Sword can indeed cut off the luck of divine beasts.
Old Zhangtou's long sword did indeed contain a Tiaoyue Sword technique that was infinitely close to perfection.
Qin Zhengqiu also did indeed strike Yanluo with this move.
Everything that happened a few days ago seemed exactly the same as sixty years ago.
But in reality, there were some subtle differences.
First of all, there was the Gou Diao's strength.
Sixty years ago, the Gou Diao had not recognized a master, and all its actions were based solely on instinct.
But this time, it had a Child of Heaven behind it.
The tens of thousands of dead souls that Bai Youheng absorbed on the Yuanzhou battlefield were not absorbed in vain. In addition to greatly increasing his own realm, they also had a “feedback” effect on the Gou Diao, making the latter's strength far greater than it had been sixty years ago.
Secondly, there was the timing of the Tiaoyue Sword's execution.
Tiaoyue, Tiaoyue, as the name suggests, this sword technique needs to be executed when there is a moon to be powerful.
For example, the night Old Zhangtou killed Zhang Benchu on Tianshan Mountain, or the time he “slayed Yanluo” sixty years ago.
But a few days ago, Qin Zhengqiu unleashed this sword at noon, which was precisely when the Tiaoyue Sword's power was at its weakest.
So, to summarize simply: Yanluo became stronger, and the Tiaoyue Sword became weaker.
This ebb and flow also led to another result.
Yanluo was not completely dead, destroying nine and saving one.
This meant that about 10% of the Heavenly Dao's luck was still blessing Bai Youheng, and he also controlled the Gou Diao, whose strength was only 10% of what it had been.
For Bai Youheng, this should be considered the luckiest of misfortunes.
Although he lost a lot, fortunately, he did not lose everything.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to enter the Dafeng Imperial Palace now, and whether he could even be alive at this time would be a question.
“...”
“Young Master Bai, since you can appear before me...”
In the small, brightly lit dark room, Yu Pingjun glanced at Bai Youheng sitting opposite her and asked softly, “It means that Yanluo is not dead, right?”
“Yes.”
Bai Youheng certainly wouldn't tell her that 90% of the Gou Diao had been destroyed, so he just nodded.
“Hehe, that's very good.”
Hearing that the monster that had plagued Dafeng for 180 years was not dead, Yu Pingjun laughed instead.
She chuckled for a while and then asked, “Then I wonder what I should do next?”
“This...”
Bai Youheng took out the secret letter that Ning Yongnian had given him before he left and gently pushed it in front of Yu Pingjun, “The Empress will know after reading this letter.”
“Is that so?”
Yu Pingjun smiled, picked up the envelope, broke the fire lacquer, and shook out a page of Xuan paper.
She began to read the letter word by word, and before she had read a few lines, a hint of uncontrollable astonishment appeared on her face, and then this astonishment turned into an increasingly exaggerated smile.
This kind of smile is difficult to describe. If you had to compare it...
It should be the kind of smile that appears on the face after personally killing a mortal enemy, due to excessive excitement leading to mental derangement.
Even Bai Youheng, a “heretical cultivator” who didn't blink an eye when killing, felt a little chilly when he saw Yu Pingjun's appearance at this time.
“Empress...”
After waiting for a while, seeing that the latter had read the letter back and forth several times, he slowly opened his mouth to speak.
However, at this moment, a burst of rapid knocking suddenly sounded.
Bai Youheng immediately turned his head to look at the door, his hand also resting on the weapon at his waist.
However, Yu Pingjun was quite calm, just restrained the creepy smile on her face, and casually responded:
“Come in.”
“Creak ~”
The door opened, and a Forbidden Army general wearing silver armor immediately walked quickly to Yu Pingjun's side and whispered something in the latter's ear.
Yu Pingjun didn't have much reaction after listening, just nodded, and at the same time reached out and gently wiped the sweat from the general's forehead.
The meaning of such an action was self-evident, and Bai Youheng's expression, who had witnessed a “royal scandal” with his own eyes, was very calm—until he heard Yu Pingjun say lightly:
“Young Master Bai, the people you brought have been captured by Young Master Wei outside the city.”
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