With a single glance downward, cloud patterns gradually appeared on that chest.

Gong Yin raised his eyebrows, quite surprised to witness such a scene in this situation. Was it Yélu Qi or Pei Shu? That person’s face was blocked, so he couldn’t see clearly from his angle. Just as he was about to move closer, he suddenly heard Jing Hengbo cry out in alarm from below, and immediately couldn’t care about anything else, tumbling downward.

As he descended all the way, he disturbed even more debris. Amid the clattering and clanging sounds, something seemed to fall down. A woman’s voice cried out, followed by rolling sounds. Due to the rolling, some things shifted positions again. In the blink of an eye, even Gong Yin couldn’t determine where those people had gone.

Just as he was about to get a clear look, suddenly a pair of hands grabbed his collar. Jing Hengbo’s breathless voice sounded by his ear: “Oh my, I finally managed to pull my leg out! Quick, quick, lift me up. The ground below is covered with rolling thunder bombs – if I step on one, we’re done for.”

Eager to lean out and look, she hung half her body on Gong Yin’s neck, gripping tightly. Suddenly realizing this position was somewhat dangerous – she mustn’t strangle the great god to death – she hurriedly loosened her grip. As her fingers pulled downward, there was a “rip” sound as Gong Yin’s collar tore open.

Jing Hengbo naturally wanted to peek at his collarbone and such. Gong Yin blocked her with one hand while adjusting his collar with the other, saying: “Why so eager and lustful?”

“Why so stingy?” Jing Hengbo felt the skin beneath her fingers was particularly smooth and pleasant to touch. Her whole body immediately tensed, and she uncontrollably swallowed. While pretending to look up at the sky and glance around, her fingers refused to leave, crawling around below his neck. When Gong Yin reached to remove her hand, she’d switch directions and continue crawling. As she crawled about, she suddenly felt her wrist tighten, and her body was pulled up like a radish. The next instant, she was sitting on Gong Yin’s lap.

She felt his muscles tense, even his entire body was taut. The skin at his neck had already changed, becoming white, smooth and translucent like a piece of jade. Her hand naturally slid down, slipping into his open collar and landing on his chest.

Then she froze.

That extremely cold sensation came again – yes, right at the heart area, as if the blood vessels in his heart were ice-cold, as if an extremely thin ice sword was hidden there. The moment she touched it, her fingers were already numbed by the cold.

The next instant, Gong Yin forcefully removed her hand and pressed it against the wall. In the moment her hand left, her fingertip hurriedly traced over it.

At this moment his skin seemed particularly thin – she felt she had touched the shape of that thing.

Needle-shaped.

On the side of his heart.

This sensation made her dazed for a moment, unable to understand immediately. Gong Yin had already pressed down her hand and bit her shoulder, saying: “Rather than you touching me, how about I touch you…”

This bite was neither light nor heavy. She only felt a slight pain mixed with slight itching. All the blood in her body seemed to rush with a thunderous sound, concentrating at this small area under his teeth and lips. Blood was surging, meridians were singing joyfully. She was uncontrollably burning all over, her shoulder arching into a beautiful bridge. She couldn’t help but stretch out both arms, tightly embracing his neck, whispering in his ear: “Gong Yin, Gong Yin, when can we finally be together…”

“Aren’t we together right now…” His voice was somewhat muffled, his lips and teeth grinding delicately. The subtle sensation traveled through her body like electricity. Her consciousness floated, having long forgotten what was happening around them. She only felt her body both empty and satisfied, longing for either release or embrace. She couldn’t help rubbing against him, yet mindful that there were still people not far around them, she bit her lip and giggled, then reproached him: “Always being evasive…”

Gong Yin raised his head. In the dim light, that woman’s face wasn’t clear, but her eyes flowed cool and bright like a living spring, rippling as if to entangle him. He couldn’t help but lower his head to peck at her lips. She immediately retaliated with a little bite. The melodious sound of lips and teeth touching, each smiling slightly.

Both were somewhat aroused at this moment, both gritting their teeth and enduring, trying not to touch on certain topics lest they truly lose control.

Jing Hengbo regretted the timing was so wrong – with men and women around them, they couldn’t indulge freely. Gong Yin was grateful the timing was so right – with men and women around them, they couldn’t indulge.

The two looked at each other, one sighing, the other breathing heavily. Suddenly there was another thunderous sound, as if there was movement outside. Scattered footsteps approached, followed by the sound of clearing heavy objects. It seemed the guards of the Shang Kingdom outside had begun to slowly clear the debris in the hall, preparing to rescue the people inside.

Gong Yin embraced Jing Hengbo, holding her in his arms to prevent debris from sliding down and injuring her if it was disturbed. Jing Hengbo lay against his right chest, but her eyes looked toward the left. After thinking for a moment, she finally couldn’t help asking: “What’s the matter with your heart area?”

Having been prepared since she first touched that needle, Gong Yin calmly said: “Hereditary family condition.”

Jing Hengbo had prepared herself for him to either refuse to answer or lie, and had already thought of arguments to refute. Hearing this sentence now, she was stunned – this was the first time Gong Yin had proactively mentioned his family in front of her.

Her attention was indeed diverted as she asked: “Hereditary? A hereditary disease? What family are you from exactly? You’re not related to that immortal Purple Micro, are you? You’re not connected to Snow Mountain, are you?”

“Though not exact, you’re not far off.” Gong Yin stroked her long hair. “Have you heard of the Longying World Family?”

“That awesome family where even the founding empress was their servant!” Jing Hengbo’s eyes lit up. When she first heard about the Longying World Family, she had inexplicably thought of Gong Yin, always feeling such a high-class family would perfectly match the most high-class great god.

Gong Yin’s gaze flashed, seeming to smile coldly, then said: “The Longying World Family is one of Dahuang’s century-old families. Tracing back to the origins, the Longying World Family, Nine Heavens Gate, and Kunlun Palace where Purple Micro belongs, originally came from the same school. After a split occurred in the first generation, each took the unique arts of their sect and established their own schools. Originally their relationships were good, but gradually due to changes in the styles of their leaders, disagreements and even enmity developed. Over several generations, they became strangers.”

“Then what?”

“Great families inevitably decline after reaching their peak. The first to decline was the most worldly Longying World Family. Due to the founding empress, the Longying World Family was devastated. I needn’t elaborate on the specific reasons – those ancient old affairs, I don’t know much about either. The Longying World Family was forced to turn to the shadows, hiding in seclusion for generations, avoiding the pursuit and persecution of the current dynasty. Meanwhile, Nine Heavens Gate gradually established its reputation as the foremost otherworldly hidden sect, transcendent above Snow Mountain. Aside from Kunlun Palace, it virtually held sway over the martial world.”

“So Nine Heavens Gate didn’t like having anyone who could stand as their equal, and designed to destroy Purple Micro’s mountain gate?”

“The specific conspiracy is probably only clearly known to Purple Micro himself. That also belongs to the grievances between them. We needn’t interfere.”

“What does this have to do with the problem with your heart?”

“Prajna Snow belongs to the Longying World Family. Due to the original split of the three schools, each of their martial arts was left with defects. Originally they could complement each other, but as relationships soured, they gradually lost the original meaning of mutual support. The problem with the Longying World Family’s Prajna Snow is that before reaching great mastery in cultivation, ice will condense into needles in the body. Those needles are actually concentrations of ice-cold true qi, initially as thick as bamboo sticks, becoming finer as power becomes more refined, equivalent to another small dantian.” Gong Yin lied with a straight face.

“So when power reaches great mastery, will it become so fine that it disappears?” What Jing Hengbo cared most about was still his health.

“Yes.” He answered definitively.

“Then why is it in the heart? Isn’t that location very dangerous?”

“If it’s not in the heart, it would be in the lower abdominal dantian. Would you prefer that?” he asked back.

“What does my preference have to do with it…” she instinctively retorted, then realized – lower abdomen? Wouldn’t that be near important parts? If that needle accidentally got out of control and severed that tube, her scenic views and scenic blue would be hopeless!

“That won’t do!” she blurted out.

“What won’t do?” He turned his head to look at her.

“Scenic views and scenic blue!” Her gaze was determined.

Gong Yin looked at her steadily, thinking the names Palace Views, Palace Blue sounded really ugly – couldn’t her brain contain something more noble?

“Is it dangerous in the heart?” she asked incessantly again.

“If you don’t constantly get handsy, it’ll be fine.” he answered.

Jing Hengbo snorted with laughter, but truly didn’t dare move anymore. Her eyes glanced around, and she couldn’t help asking again: “How long do we have to wait?”

“Soon.” He wore an expression of serene radiance, appearing holy and trustworthy.

Some things, when constantly concealed, become more suspicious. She was never a foolish woman who could be deceived long-term. Rather than let her overthink and investigate everywhere, it was better to give her an answer that was seventy percent true and thirty percent false.

“Then you…” Jing Hengbo wanted to ask more when Gong Yin suddenly pressed her lips. “Shh, there’s movement behind the hall!”

Before his words ended, “Boom.” Another explosion even louder than before!

…

Before the explosion began, Yélu Qi was leaning back against a damaged box at an angle, with Ji Wen pressed in front of him.

Their four eyes met – he frowned slightly while her cheeks flushed red.

After a moment, Yélu Qi skillfully shifted, moving Ji Wen out of his embrace.

Ji Wen’s expression was somewhat wistful. Supporting herself on the box with both hands, she gazed at Yélu Qi’s romantic eyebrows and features, sighing softly.

“Good waist strength,” she said.

Yélu Qi was caught off guard by her teasing and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Ji Wen smiled at him: “Women of the Ji Kingdom, growing up on the highlands, nurtured by heavenly winds, naturally possess an unbridled boldness that ordinary women lack. Sir, rather than struggling inch by inch in this tangle of complications, why not broaden your vision to behold the highland scenery? It would surely be a new flavor.”

She hinted openly and generously, invited without concealment. Her gaze at Yélu Qi was calm yet determined, fearless yet cautious.

She was different from Jing Hengbo’s vivacious willfulness, also different from Meng Potian’s passionate boldness. She didn’t forget to maintain nobility while not forgetting passionate pursuit.

Yélu Qi averted his gaze, looking into the distance with a slight smile.

“In everyone’s lifetime, they will travel to many places and see countless beautiful scenery, but only one place is truly home.”

Ji Wen remained silent for a long while before answering: “Where the heart belongs is home.”

Yélu Qi smiled gently, his gaze falling on the center of the hall where Jing Hengbo was. How was she now? From the sounds, Gong Yin had already gone over. Would Jing Hengbo and he…

He silently watched in Jing Hengbo’s direction while Ji Wen silently watched him. Each had a position in their hearts that hadn’t shifted, waiting for the right person to fill it.

Seeing he never turned his gaze away, Ji Wen quietly gripped something in her palm – a small snow-white tooth-like object, seemingly jade but not jade, with intricate patterns carved on it.

Her palm made the object damp with sweat, but because of his gentle rejection, she couldn’t hand it over.

She was still hesitating when suddenly a violent explosion sounded from behind the hall!

…

The moment before the explosion, Pei Shu and Meng Potian – the pair with the least self-control among the three couples – were embracing each other, covered in sweat.

Yang energy constitution, passionate man and woman, fiery temperaments – when these two first came into contact, they were like dry kindling meeting fierce fire, explosively igniting sparks of desire.

Pei Shu wasn’t clear what he was doing, just as Meng Potian herself didn’t quite understand what she was doing. After some panting and wrestling, both their clothes were already disheveled.

In the dim light, his hand suddenly grasped her soft, tender skin.

Meng Potian eagerly leaned closer, resting against his shoulder like a gracefully submissive Persian rose.

Pei Shu murmured by her ear, his voice low and urgent, full of joy: “Bobo, Bobo, I finally…”

As if cold water had been poured over her head, Meng Potian suddenly stiffened all over.

Pei Shu still hadn’t noticed. His fingers deftly pulled, and with a swoosh, Meng Potian’s sash flew over the gap between debris.

She suddenly reached out, gripping her skirt. Crossing her arms, she trapped Pei Shu’s hand.

Not expecting to be rejected, Pei Shu was stunned. With a forceful twist, he pried Meng Potian’s hands apart and pressed forward.

Meng Potian curved her knee to block him, but he smoothly scooped her up, flipped her over, and pressed her against a wooden board.

The broken, rough wooden board scraped against her skin. Her face pressed against the cold lacquered surface, and suddenly her heart ached.

After the pain came realization.

Why become another person? Why forget one’s true self? Why cater to anyone’s preferences?

Even if she momentarily responded to his preferences and memories, she would be automatically replaced by that person in his heart. For a woman, the greatest humiliation is becoming someone else’s substitute.

His weight and breath were so real, so close at hand – to obtain would be forever.

Pei Shu wouldn’t be irresponsible to her. This might be her only chance.

Meng Potian suddenly laughed coldly.

With one punch, she shattered the wooden board beneath her.

Quickly grabbing a sharp fragment, she thrust it backward.

Pei Shu froze, looking down at the wooden board pressed against his lower abdomen. The broken edge was sharp enough to pierce his belly.

Meng Potian had used real force – the sharp point penetrated three parts into flesh, enough for him to feel pain.

Pei Shu gradually came to his senses. Looking down at the woman beneath him, red anger floated in his eyes. He abruptly rose, grabbed his clothes still lying to one side and threw them on, then threw Meng Potian’s clothes over her head.

“Get lost,” he said.

Meng Potian grabbed the clothes and held them to her chest, suddenly sitting up and glaring at him furiously.

“You’re the one who should get lost!”

Like fighting roosters, the two faced off, each breathing heavily, each annoyed yet not knowing exactly why they were annoyed.

Pei Shu stared at the disheveled Meng Potian, breathing in the floating dark fragrance of Persian roses. He actually found the current Meng Potian – clutching her clothes, face red, angrily glaring at him – several degrees more lovely than the earlier strange woman who had been like silk vines and dodder flowers.

This moment’s her had the wild nature and burning flavor of Persian roses.

Suddenly an explosion sounded, smoke filled the air. With a thunderous crash, half the area beside them collapsed. The collapse was right behind Meng Potian, and her body leaned backward. Without time to think, Pei Shu lunged forward, grabbed Meng Potian, and held her in his arms.

The explosion came from the rear hall, closer to him. Then explosions also sounded outside. The approaching footsteps from before continuously retreated, withdrawing far outside the hall. The stacked debris crashed down with clattering sounds. All three couples were busy dodging and protecting the women in their arms.

Pei Shu was closest to the rear hall and immediately saw a thin shadow carrying a large bucket of water, with several pieces of clothing draped over his other arm, sneaking ghostily through the smoke and beckoning to him repeatedly.

Pei Shu squinted and looked – yo, that kid who had been hanging naked up high.

“Young Marshal! Young Marshal!” Yu Wuse covered his nose and called out strangely, “It’s exploding outside! The guards of Shang Kingdom are scared to death and don’t dare come in for now. I’ve also blown open this rear hall – you all come out quickly!”

“You little brat,” Pei Shu angrily said, “exploding so recklessly without care – what if someone gets hurt?”

“Won’t happen, won’t happen.” Yu Wuse smiled sincerely, “I calculated beforehand and chose the most suitable explosion point, guaranteed to blow away part of the obstruction without hurting anyone. Look, you can come out now, right?” He also raised the water bucket and clothes in his hands, “Afraid of fire, I brought water and clothes. Aren’t I considerate?”

“When someone offers excessive courtesy, they’re either treacherous or thieving.” Pei Shu snorted coldly, seeing his own clothes were torn. He grabbed a piece of clothing and put it on, then turned back to shout to the debris pile in the hall: “Come out! There’s an exit here!”

Yélu Qi and Ji Wen responded and emerged. Yélu Qi carried the injured Ji Wen, his arms extended far out. Seeing the water bucket in Yu Wuse’s hands, he set Ji Wen down and smiled: “Give me a bucket.”

Yu Wuse splashed a scoop of water over. The cold water doused his body, extinguishing his lustful fire. Yélu Qi breathed a long sigh of relief.

The cloud patterns that had appeared halfway on his abdomen gradually faded in color as his lustful fire subsided.

A figure flashed – Gong Yin appeared leading Jing Hengbo. His first glance went to Yélu Qi’s still unclothed upper body.

Yélu Qi’s upper body was dripping wet, with nothing but some scars visible – no other traces.

Gong Yin was stunned.

Jing Hengbo looked on with a strange expression – didn’t the great god disdain everyone? Why was he staring at Yélu Qi’s naked body the moment they came out? Oh my, had his sexual orientation changed? Though to be fair, Yélu Qi’s physique and skin were still so good-looking – those v-lines, those eight-pack abs…

A pair of hands took her hands and turned her around. Someone calmly blocked her line of sight. The eternal iceberg had appeared.

Jing Hengbo sighed. This kind of boyfriend was very annoying – he wouldn’t let her feast her eyes, nor let her have eye candy.

Gong Yin glanced again at Pei Shu. Pei Shu had already dressed, his face still flushed, busily dunking his head in the water bucket to wash away his heated passion. Gong Yin glimpsed the red, crystal-clear skin of his neck, his eyes showing slight uncertainty.

Earlier due to lighting and angle issues, he had only seen those cloud patterns but hadn’t seen the face clearly. Both Pei Shu and Yélu Qi were tall and handsome – half an upper body was hard to distinguish. But from current appearances, Pei Shu seemed slightly more likely.

At this time, the outside of the hall was blocked by collapsed bricks and tiles from the explosion. Inside the hall, because Yu Wuse had exploded so cleverly, a passage had been cleared. Yu Wuse stood in front of a large hole that had been blown open, pointing to a palace not far outside, ingratiatingly saying: “That’s where the real secrets of Shang Kingdom are hidden. I’ve already found the entrance. While Shang Kingdom’s guards are in chaos now, I’ll take you there.”

Yélu Qi smiled slightly, Pei Shu glanced at him, Gong Yin nodded: “Thank you.”

Yu Wuse was overjoyed.

Having caused trouble, he originally wanted to flee, but thinking of those people’s methods made his scalp tingle. After much consideration, he decided to make merit to offset his faults, selling them a favor. Those guys, seeing that he had helped them escape and guided them to the correct secret palace, would surely not strike again.

Now it seemed this move was right.

Yu Wuse settled his mind and diligently led everyone out through that opening, pointing out the route, telling them the method of entry, and volunteering to help divert the guards.

Yélu Qi smiled slightly, Pei Shu stroked his chin, Gong Yin nodded: “That’s fine too.”

Yu Wuse felt as if granted amnesty and took off running. Feeling no one pursuing, he immediately felt the sky had brightened, the wind had softened, the road had widened – Young Master had escaped calamity! Going back, there would be much to boast about – three pairs of great masters were trapped by young master in a pile of debris in a great hall, stripping and pouncing, many inappropriate things happened…

Then he suddenly felt his back tighten and wind rush.

The approach was too fast for him to make any resistance. The next instant he was flying, flying over the destroyed hall, flying over tilted eaves. When he flew over the great hall, he saw Shang Yueyue cowering in a corner by the hall entrance, looking up in panic. The next moment, Shang Yueyue was also flying, flying into his arms.

He instinctively embraced her, not knowing what was happening. Then he flew into the sight of the heavily surrounding guards of Shang Kingdom, and with a thud, landed bottom-first in the very center of the crowd.

With successive clanging sounds, countless swords immediately pointed at him.

Someone exclaimed: “Princess!”

“How could the princess be here?”

“The princess was kidnapped by this little thief!”

“This hall must have been exploded by this little thief – there are thunder bomb ashes on his pouch!”

A moment later, the Shang King’s furious voice rang out:

“Someone come! Throw this assassin who kidnapped the princess and destroyed the palace with thunder bombs into the heavenly prison for strict interrogation!”

…

Yu Wuse howled toward heaven:

“Too foolish, too naive!”

…

Meanwhile, the three men over there, hearing Yu Wuse’s distant howl, walked forward without changing expression.

Yu Wuse’s little tricks were completely inadequate before these three. When he wiggled his bottom, the three knew what kind of thunder bomb he was dropping.

That restless little rascal – sending him to Shang Kingdom’s prison to sober up, no need to worry too much. The kid could get himself out.

The adjacent palace chamber was where the Shang King hid secrets. Earlier, the guardian, worried about that area’s safety, had already gone to inspect it, which Yu Wuse had witnessed. After the guardian’s inspection found nothing wrong, he was reassured. Just now when that hall exploded again, the guardian naturally had to rush back to the Shang King’s side to protect him, so at this moment, that palace had no master guards.

Because the explosion in the adjacent chamber had shaken this area, partially opening the mechanisms, with the abilities of Gong Yin and others, they easily solved the mechanisms and entered the secret palace. Following Yu Wuse’s intelligence, in an inconspicuous servant’s room in the palace, they found a hidden room in the wall’s partition.

To save time, the six people still split into three groups for separate searches. Jing Hengbo and Gong Yin remained in the outer hall, solved several mechanisms, and found an extremely detailed map and a registry.

The map showed the defensive layout of the inner mountain of Treasure Terrace Mountain. Key medicinal materials like Purple Orchid Vine were cultivated in the royal imperial pond in the rear mountain of Treasure Terrace Mountain.

Looking at that map, Jing Hengbo discovered that the imperial pond where Purple Orchid Vine grew wasn’t, as she had imagined, growing in the open air, but required passing through special terrain. At the very center of the map, instead of drawing Purple Orchid Vine flowers, a human figure was marked, with a flower drawn on the figure’s abdomen.

Jing Hengbo couldn’t quite figure out what this meant – did it indicate that Purple Orchid Vine needed to be cultivated with vital blood, or was there a master guard there?

The registry was the arrangement of masters in the inner mountain, patrol times, with many arrangements written in code. Many of the names, according to Gong Yin, were illustrious names in the martial world.

The two memorized and recorded the contents, put them back in their original places, and when searching again found nothing else, so they gathered a batch of spiritual medicines treasured by the Shang King.

Jing Hengbo, seeing no other gains, turned to leave, but suddenly noticed Gong Yin silently staring at the registry, as if he had discovered something.

“What is it?” She leaned over to look and found Gong Yin staring at a name at the very top of the registry – “Long Yin” – and couldn’t help laughing: “Hey, this person has the same name as you, just a different surname.”

Gong Yin turned his head to look at her: “No, they’re both the same.”

Jing Hengbo was stunned, then remembered Gong Yin’s original surname was Long.

Could this be Gong Yin’s original name? Then who was this person? Could he also be from the Longying World Family?

“Who is he?” She saw that name occupying the first position in the registry – he must be a master that Shang Kingdom relied on to protect spiritual medicines, but this name was quite unfamiliar.

“I don’t know.” Gong Yin also shook his head.

Jing Hengbo thought of an important question:

“Where are the rest of your family members now?”

Gong Yin was slightly silent: “They’ve disappeared.”

“Your background…” Jing Hengbo remembered hearing from Tie Xingze before that Gong Yin had once fallen on a stormy night into a poor villager’s home, was adopted by the villagers, and spent a very difficult childhood. Now it seemed he had been separated from his family since childhood. How did such a small child become separated from his family? Being smashed through a roof on a stormy night and landing in a villager’s home didn’t seem like something his parents would do – it was more like an enemy’s doing.

“I’m not clear either. I’ve never stopped searching all these years.” Gong Yin said, “There have been no clues all along.”

Jing Hengbo opened her eyes wide in disbelief. With Gong Yin’s abilities and status, searching for a vast family for years without even getting clues? How formidable must the opponents be?

“I was sent to a mountain village and grew up in that small village until age ten. During those ten years, a mysterious person saw me once every year, teaching me martial arts. Prajna Snow was founded during that period.” Gong Yin said calmly, “After age ten, this person also disappeared. I left the mountain village and learned arts elsewhere. I also searched for his whereabouts but never got news. In my memory, he was in poor health and had mentioned in his words that he was going to seek medicine to solve the root illness in his bloodline. I once thought he might be in Shang Kingdom, the medical kingdom, so I personally came this trip.”

“Then he should be someone from your family.” Jing Hengbo was quite delighted. If a relative Gong Yin had searched for many years could unexpectedly gain clues in Shang Kingdom, that would truly be an unexpected harvest.

Gong Yin remained silent. Although Nine Heavens Gate controlled his main clan members, the Longying family had branches that stayed away from the whirlpool and might not all be controlled by Nine Heavens Gate. Over the years he had also thought of finding his clan members through searching for that branch, but later discovered that the Longying family’s branches were not on good terms with the main line and had long since broken relations.

Things change, wealthy family grudges – though blood relations existed, they might not be able to claim kinship or friendship. Sometimes, relatives were more frightening than enemies.

In the Longying family, male descendants with single-character names were mostly from direct noble bloodlines. Especially in each generation, only the most outstanding male descendants could have names similar to the family name.

Such a person also called “Long Yin” – if he truly was a relative, even an elder, it would be truly unpredictable fortune or disaster.

Gong Yin suddenly remembered the rumors about the Longying World Family’s strict rules and harsh marriage requirements, and couldn’t help frowning slightly.

Jing Hengbo was still chattering joyfully, expressing that she must meet this “Long Yin.” Gong Yin suddenly reached out and embraced her tightly.

“What’s wrong?” Jing Hengbo sensed his abnormality and looked up at him.

That man in the shadows had frost and snow gathered between his brows, without the joy of suddenly gaining clues about relatives.

“Hengbo,” he held her in his arms, saying softly, “remember this. Whether my empire or my family, though very important to me, they will never be more important than you yourself.”

Jing Hengbo looked at him steadily. In his clear, cold bright eyes, the tumultuous life of beacon fires and empire was reflected, but before all chaotic backgrounds, he placed her first.

“Alright. I’ll remember.” She hugged his waist tightly.

I will walk forward, without hesitation, without fear. Because I am so greedy.

Your empire, your family, your completeness, and most importantly, you – I want them all.

…

Night wind swept through, the smoky scent in the wind lingering.

Yu Wuse had already been dragged away by Shang Kingdom guards, his voice shouting innocence echoing throughout the palace, but unfortunately no one paid attention. Only one Shang Yueyue, full of worry, quietly followed.

Yu Wuse’s shifty eyes stared at that young girl who looked delicate and pale but refused to give up, lifting her skirt to follow. He suddenly felt this girl was actually not bad.

At least better than going back to marry the rural big-faced, big-bottomed Wang Juhua as a live-in son-in-law, right? At minimum, she could save him from current fire and water.

Yu Wuse rolled his eyes and began seriously considering how to deceive the naive sweet girl.

The Shang King still didn’t know his eldest daughter had already been targeted by a little rascal. He stood with sleeves folded in the wind, squinting at the ruins ahead.

The guards behind him exchanged puzzled glances, not understanding what the great king was thinking.

There had been a palace explosion in the palace. The great king brought people to investigate. Knowing there were people in the hall, logically they should immediately enter to search and rescue them. The great king originally seemed to have this intention but suddenly changed his mind, stubbornly holding back and waiting, no one knew for what.

After the second explosion, someone had investigated and reported that the rear hall was blown open and people had left through the passage. Logically the great king should immediately pursue and investigate, but the great king still waited here.

The Shang King waited a while longer before waving his hand. The guards immediately rushed into the hall.

A black shadow slowly moved like a black cloud, appearing silently beside the Shang King after the main force of people left.

He was completely shrouded in a huge black cloak, merging with the surrounding shadows, his face indiscernible.

“You had me wait here and not act,” the Shang King squinted, not looking at the cloaked person beside him, saying leisurely, “Now those people have already broken into the secret palace.”

“Perfect timing for them to break in.” The cloaked person’s voice was muffled within the cloak, sounding like muffled laughter.

“What’s displayed in my palace are the secrets of Treasure Terrace Mountain, related to protecting this batch of spiritual medicines in my Shang Kingdom – truly important matters.” The Shang King turned to stare at that black mass, his gaze sharp.

“Great King, rest assured.” The cloaked person said nonchalantly, “Even if they know, it’s useless. They can come but cannot return.”

“You said these people want to stay for Purple Orchid Vine, you said someone bought the medicine to ripen Purple Orchid Vine early and would definitely act against the spiritual medicines ahead of time, you said the key to the outer mountain has definitely been stolen, you said all these things and this king believed them all. To protect this batch of spiritual medicines, this king agreed to cooperate with you, using all the real secrets of the inner mountain as bait, letting them steal freely. You mustn’t bungle things and actually lose this king’s treasures in the end.”

“If Great King doesn’t cooperate with me, your Purple Orchid Vine and other spiritual medicines will definitely be ripened early by these people, who will break from the outer mountain into the inner mountain, sweeping away all the spiritual medicines you’ve painstakingly cultivated, thereby affecting your business with various foreign countries this year and your Shang Kingdom’s domestic and foreign affairs,” the cloaked person laughed, pointing toward the secret palace direction, “Don’t underestimate this group of people – they’re the most formidable group in our Dahuang.”

“Then why did you have me add the name Long Yin to the registry?” The Shang King’s expression showed some confusion.

The cloaked person stared toward the secret palace, calculating that the group of men and women must have returned with full loads. These people full of questions and joy surely hadn’t thought that since stepping into Shang Kingdom, they had been walking step by step into his trap.

Everyone had weaknesses – whether fame, profit, power, background, or lovers. He was becoming increasingly clear about these people’s weaknesses.

Victory was within reach.

He slowly smiled and slowly raised his sleeves.

“For this sealed secret, for this Dahuang empire, for him and her who are about to fall into the trap.”