“You’ll all be buried with me! Buried with me!” Ge Shao rolled around beside the underground cauldron, disheveled hair flying as she laughed madly, pointing at the empty air and at those enemies who were here or not here. “Ge Lian! Great King! Queen! And all of you! You power-seeking, social-climbing, profit-forgetting scoundrels, are you comfortable staying in this majestic palace? I’ll have you all buried here right away, your bones mixed with the palace soil, trampled by ten thousand people, how wonderful hahaha…”

Jing Hengbo circled the cauldron looking for gaps, glaring fiercely at her. All dying people were mad – she was probably driven insane by Ge Lian, constantly mentioning Ge Lian. What a pair who loved and killed each other.

She had long known these two sisters, greedy and deeply scheming, who seemed close enough to share pants but would inevitably split apart and kill each other once their interests conflicted.

So-called sisterly affection was just self-deception. Haven’t you heard: guard against fire, theft, and best friends?

Her gaze suddenly focused as she discovered one wind port that wasn’t tightly closed, with a corner slightly raised. The fire inside had weakened, mostly using low heat to simmer and roast, in order to spread smoke upward.

She stared at that door, looked at Ge Shao, then gritted her teeth fiercely.

Ge Shao was still laughing and cursing, her voice gradually growing hoarse, when she suddenly felt wind beside her. Jing Hengbo had already grabbed her arm.

Ge Shao glared at her, trying to shake free but couldn’t. She lowered her head to bite, but Jing Hengbo grabbed her hair and yanked her head up sharply. Without letting her speak, she dragged her toward the cauldron. Ge Shao struggled, flailing wildly at Jing Hengbo’s clothes, but the hair-pulling caused excruciating pain to her scalp as she screamed.

Jing Hengbo dragged her all the way to the improperly closed wind port, grabbed her hand, raised it up, and forcefully grasped the wind port’s edge.

“Ahhhhh…” Ge Shao’s screams were heart-rending as the smell of burning flesh hit their nostrils. Jing Hengbo, being taller, stood on tiptoe and used Ge Shao’s hand to pull hard on the wind port edge. “Crack!” The wind port opened, and simultaneously Jing Hengbo sharply turned her face away, dodging to one side of the giant cauldron. Heat waves from the wind port struck, instantly burning away Ge Shao’s hair and eyebrows. Scalding black ash covered her face. She opened her mouth to scream but inhaled a belly full of ash. She tremblingly raised her hand to cover her nose, but when her hand lifted, it was already white bone – flesh had been burned off in whole pieces.

Jing Hengbo gritted her teeth. What she had done was already cruel, and what she was about to do was even crueler, but she had no choice.

Countless lives outweighed this woman’s worthless life.

Once the wind port opened, heat waves rolled out, and the entire room’s temperature immediately rose by more than ten degrees. Debris and ash flew out, making the air so foul it was unbearable. Jing Hengbo breathed rapidly, sweat pouring down, nearly unable to see clearly. Outside, Yélu Qi was anxiously pounding the door, wanting her to open it. But how could Jing Hengbo dare open the door to let him in? The situation here was so terrible, and Yélu Qi was already deeply poisoned – this would only make things worse.

She waved her hand, grabbed the collapsed, trembling Ge Shao from thin air, and lightning-quick stuffed her into the wind port!

From inside the cauldron came a vague, inhuman muffled howl.

The howl lasted only half a sound before abruptly stopping.

The temperature inside was too high – death came instantly upon contact!

The one who fantasized about having others buried in palace soil was the first to die beneath palace soil.

Ge Shao wasn’t particularly thin. Her considerable body blocked the furnace chamber completely, even plugging the wind port. The hidden fire in the furnace chamber was immediately extinguished.

The bubbling sounds immediately diminished greatly. Jing Hengbo looked up at the pipe – she didn’t know what gas it was or how much had escaped, but time-wise, it was still manageable.

She hoped Gong Yin and the others could discover it early.

The surroundings were gray and hazy. She barely managed to flash out of the underground chamber using her memory.

Yélu Qi, his face anxious and pale, breathed a sigh of relief seeing her, then was shocked again. “Your body…”

Jing Hengbo looked at herself – covered in black and yellow ash and smoke debris, completely disheveled. When the wind port opened briefly, though she had avoided facing it directly, she had to stay very close to the cauldron. The ash from inside the cauldron inevitably covered her face and body.

Though Yélu Qi had wrapped her head and face with cloth, the fabric had gaps.

Jing Hengbo said “Mm” and suddenly collapsed softly.

Yélu Qi quickly caught her and urgently began patting the ash off her body. Jing Hengbo weakly pushed away his hands. “…Don’t pat… I saw clothing fragments and human bones, rat bones at the top of the cauldron… don’t touch… find water to wash…”

Yélu Qi was thunderstruck.

The meaning of “clothing fragments and human bones, rat bones” – he naturally understood.

Buried deep underground, these couldn’t be normal human bones and clothing. They must be corpses of plague victims, with the cauldron using special methods to roast and spread the pestilence.

This was plague poison that everyone spoke of with terror, with almost no cure!

Jing Hengbo now understood too, smiling bitterly. No wonder Ge Shao dared say everyone would be buried with her. If this thing spread, killing the entire Luoyun City wasn’t impossible in this era!

Her body now felt alternately hot and cold, dizzy and weak, as if strength had suddenly been drained from her body. Knowing it was bad, she weakly pulled away Yélu Qi’s hand and smiled. “…Wrapped tightly… not too bad… I’m a bit tired, let me rest here first. You go ahead.”

Yélu Qi knelt halfway before her, gazing at her, then suddenly opened his arms and embraced her.

Jing Hengbo was startled and immediately struggled. “Don’t touch me! Let go! Or I’ll hit you!”

Yélu Qi seemed not to hear, only holding her tightly.

His voice was light and soft, yet every word reached her ears clearly.

“Don’t say things you can’t do. Just as you can’t abandon saving me, I also can’t abandon you at this moment.”

With this embrace, the ash on Jing Hengbo’s body immediately covered him. Jing Hengbo changed color and tried to brush it off, but he grabbed her hand.

“I can teleport…” Jing Hengbo forced a smile as she pushed him. “I’m faster than you. I’m just a bit tired – can’t I rest a moment?”

“We’ll rest after we get out.” Yélu Qi turned around and carried her on his back. Jing Hengbo was about to say something when he suddenly smiled. “I’m also deeply poisoned – whether I can live is uncertain. Hengbo, your lifetime will only be left to Gong Yin. Now, can’t you leave this short time to me, a dying man?”

Jing Hengbo lowered her eyelashes. The thousands of words of persuasion about to leave her mouth all turned into a sigh in her heart.

Yélu Qi was never forceful, yet always had ways to strike her softest, most unbearable spots.

He hadn’t fallen in love with her at first sight, but gradually turned back for her in the time that followed. This one turn was a lifetime, was losing everything.

Because of her, he lost his position, family, stable and honored life, and now his health. Before meeting her, he was still Dige’s illustrious, influential Left State Preceptor. He could have continued this bright and comfortable life. He had the chance to seize Dahuang’s supreme power when Gong Yin showed signs of retreat, if only he could let go, release, and forget her.

Yet now, in this dark, foul underground, meeting again after long separation, he was pale-faced, asking only for a final period of companionship.

She could only answer with silence.

So be it then.

Possibly already infected with a fatal disease, and with Yélu Qi unable to abandon her, in the end she could only be his burden too.

Suddenly she vaguely heard sounds vibrating inside, and the ground seemed to be trembling slightly. Jing Hengbo murmured, “It’s not going to explode, is it…”

Though the cauldron had a strange design, it didn’t seem to have mechanisms – there should be no reason for explosion.

“Whatever happens, let’s go!” Yélu Qi carried her on his back and ran forward madly.

The vibrations behind grew stronger. Yélu Qi carried her at a sprint – who knew where he found the strength – shooting forward several zhang in the blink of an eye. Just as they turned a corner, they heard a “crack” from the underground chamber behind them, like something shattering, sharp and piercing. Jing Hengbo looked back to see that somehow the tightly closed iron door had been smashed into deformation, protruding a long section. The shape looked like it had been punched out by a huge pipe.

She was momentarily puzzled – if there was an explosion, the cauldron should explode, so how could the pipe fly out and smash the iron door?

But there was no time to think. If the cauldron exploded and caused collapse, they would be buried alive underground.

Yélu Qi also knew the stakes. His figure flashed like lightning through the passage. The tunnel was now completely dark. After running for a while, they suddenly felt this passage seemed longer than when they came. Looking back, this road seemed different from before.

Had they taken a wrong turn in the darkness?

The two looked at each other in dismay.

Yélu Qi was still recovering from serious injuries, sustained earlier by the medicine. Now that he stopped, he couldn’t continue. Hearing his suppressed breathing, Jing Hengbo quickly took out the medicine she had collected earlier and said, “Let’s rest a bit. We’re so far away now, even if it explodes, it won’t hurt us.”

Yélu Qi wasn’t polite, taking the half piece of polygonum multiflorum from her hand. Fortunately, Jing Hengbo had wrapped it carefully – the medicine was cloth-wrapped and completely uncontaminated.

He tore off his undergarment, wiped the polygonum multiflorum again, wrapped his hand and divided it in two, offering half to her lips.

Jing Hengbo also ate some. Though she had decided to burden him, less burden would be better.

The two sat leaning against the damp earth wall, recovering their strength, when they suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

…

Time returns to a moment before the palace gate.

The blood of the ministers before the palace gate stained the white marble steps completely.

Just this one charge killed a whole court of Luoyun and toppled half the kingdom. Even if rebuilt, it would be severely damaged.

The cavalry commanders, seeing the severed limbs and arms everywhere, vaguely sensed something wrong. But Ge Lian said ominously beside them, “Is this the time to quibble over right and wrong? If we’re really wrong, would there be a good ending if we argue about right and wrong now?”

The generals were stunned, thinking that things had reached this point. If they had really trampled Luoyun’s high ministers, this crime would implicate nine generations with no forgiveness. The entire army had been forced into a dead end. Without fighting for it, even laying down weapons now would lead to family destruction.

Better to charge ahead blindly. Currently they had numbers and good odds. Winning would bring merit for founding a new dynasty; losing wouldn’t bring a worse outcome – just death.

The soldiers hadn’t yet understood, but the generals finally awakened in their hearts. Even if they now hated Ge Lian to death, they could only grit their teeth silently and follow her into the palace gates.

The palace gates had already been crashed open. The gatekeepers, seeing the ministers trampled below and fearing responsibility for not opening the gates, made a serious mistake by hastily opening them, directly allowing the rebels to pour in.

Ge Shen had already led people rushing to near the palace gate. Seeing this situation, his face changed greatly. The palace guard commander urgently ordered retreat and formation to protect the King.

At this time, Pei Shu and others had also rushed out from within the palace, just meeting the collision of both armies. Pei Shu, anxious to find Jing Hengbo and having no heart for battle, organized his group into a fighting unit, protecting Consort Li while fighting and retreating, searching for the exit Consort Li mentioned.

Fang Cheng, who could read qi, also saw the corpses everywhere at the palace gate at this moment. In his shock, tears actually rolled down – not crying for the ministers who died for their principles, but for his own abilities being correct.

Ge Shen was overwhelmed with grief and anger. Across the palace gate and armies, he saw his important ministers die in one battle, saw his daughter leading troops against him, repeatedly saying “The King is held by rebels, let me rescue him!”, saw his own army raising swords to force him to “hand over the King,” while his palace guards, outnumbered, retreated step by step.

Ge Shen’s old tears flowed freely.

He grieved for these ministers covering the ground – many had followed him for no less than ten years. If they hadn’t blocked the palace gate for a moment with their bodies against iron hooves tonight, perhaps before he could gather palace guards for battle here, the rebels would have already charged into the palace burning, killing, and looting.

He grieved for his daughter raising weapons against him. Since childhood he knew her nature was deep and wildly ambitious. After guarding against her for over ten years, in the end he still saw the white lotus become a blood rakshasa, grinning evilly before the battle lines.

He grieved for his momentary mistake that brought this catastrophe to Luoyun. Now regretting deeply, without thinking he knew that for things to develop this way, there must be the Queen’s reason. Such tremendous changes in one night – who the puppet master was was naturally those white-clothed people who claimed to “clear grievances” yesterday. Just one person overturned clouds and rain, calculating human hearts completely, causing ministers to die, palace gates to riot, forcing father and daughter to draw weapons against each other in one night. Even he, a King secure on his throne, now faced the most critical moment of his life, precariously balanced.

Now in the midst of chaos, still confused and puzzled, he couldn’t help wondering again and again: who was it, who was it?

White-clothed figures flashed repeatedly through his mind – tall, slender, upright, with distant yet steady gait…

Suddenly a figure flashed through his memory like lightning.

At the great ceremony, between red carpets, a white figure slowly approached, calmly ascending steps under ten thousand gazes, posture distant yet steady. Occasionally clear, cold eyes swept by, making everyone’s breath catch, as if ice and snow had fallen on their hearts.

He stood to one side below the platform, only seeing that person’s godlike sculptural profile, high collar with faint golden pearls glittering.

Two figures slowly overlapped… His whole body shook as he suddenly exhaled a long breath.

So it was him!

It was actually him!

Understanding only made his heart break more.

The familiar feeling in his memory was fate’s kind reminder, yet his temperament was too impetuous and he completely missed it.

Ge Shen suddenly raised his head, looking in all directions, his gaze unable to find the Queen and Gong Yin.

But he still shouted desperately without giving up.

“Your Majesty! State Preceptor! It’s Ge Shen who was blind and offended distinguished guests! I beg you, for the sake of our shared Dahuang heritage, for Luoyun being Dige’s loyal vassal, for Luoyun’s chaos ultimately harming Dahuang’s peace, forgive me once, help me once!”

“I beg you, forgive me! Help me!”

Ge Shen’s shouts made the soldiers look at each other in confusion, worried whether the King, unable to bear the shock, had gone mad.

Across from them, Ge Lian was startled. She knew who Your Majesty was, but State Preceptor?

She was only stunned for a moment before reacting, her face changing. She urgently ordered, “Charge!”

This battle still had variables – no more delays!

“That’s the King!” The Capital Guard general’s face changed.

“If I succeed and ascend the throne today, tomorrow you’ll be Grand Minister and Deputy Minister. I swear with my life to guarantee your families generations of unending glory!”

After a moment of gritting teeth, the attack order rang out. Drums beat three times, each beat bringing war fire to the palace gate.

Ge Lian’s eyes showed cold, savage laughter. Behind the palace gate was narrow space – relying on numbers, a few charges could scatter the palace guard formation and kill the King.

Horse hooves rolled forward thunderously, making cracking sounds on the bluestone pavement. Ge Shen’s shouts continued, sounding both miserable and determined amid the chaos.

Everyone thought he was overstimulated and had gone mad, not caring what he said, all urgently saying, “Your Majesty, stop shouting! We’ll protect you and escape first! As long as green hills remain, we needn’t fear lacking firewood!”

“State Preceptor!” Ge Shen, while being swept along by guards retreating into the palace, desperately reached out and shouted, “If today Shen can receive your protection for this remnant body and eliminate rebels, I will make a death oath: Luoyun will be Your Majesty the Queen’s loyal vassal for generations, half of Luoyun’s army and mineral resources will be offered before Your Majesty, and succession of Luoyun’s rulers through generations must have the consent of Your Majesty and her descendants. If this oath is violated, may Luoyun end here, and the Ge clan’s men become slaves and women become prostitutes for generations!”

The miserable shouts echoed before the chaotic armies.

Outside the palace gate, beside the plaza, before a necessary road, a white-clothed figure stood quietly with hands behind his back.

Behind him, the entire street was covered with ice and snow despite the midsummer weather – a large, smooth, hard area.

On the ice, a military unit struggled through difficult travel. Their leather-soled boots were very slippery on such hard ice – taking two steps and sliding one back. Their light armor and weapons clanged against the ice surface and often froze.

A group of Dragon family disciples cheerfully propped their chins watching, satisfied with the ice street their combined efforts had created.

The arriving army was the Imperial Guard, the royal city’s garrison force. Originally they would have been in time to intercept Ge Lian, but mysteriously encountered a slippery ice street in midsummer weather.

Ge Shen’s shouts faintly reached them.

Gong Yin remained silent until hearing Ge Shen’s final oath, then suddenly said, “Remove the ice.”

One command, one action. White shadows flashed busily, and moments later ice chips flew as two ice-free deep grooves appeared on the ground. Soldiers quickly stepped into the grooves and ran toward the plaza.

As soon as this army arrived, Ge Shen’s guards watching from high positions could see them and urgently reported. Ge Shen was overjoyed and urgently ordered flags raised and fireworks set off, summoning this army to “loyally serve and rescue the King, eliminate the Capital Guard rebels besieging the palace gate.”

Ge Lian felt the commotion in the rear ranks. Seeing that army suddenly appear, her face turned deathly pale.

The timing was too unfortunate!

Her side hadn’t yet captured the King or occupied the palace. Half outside the palace gate, half inside, now facing the King’s personal guards inside the palace and meeting the Imperial Guard outside – attacked from front and rear!

Whoever this was had timing like playing a zither – beginning, development, turning, conclusion, every step in his palm!

“Gather! Unite forces! First fiercely attack inside the palace – capturing the King is urgent!” she shouted fiercely, sweat covering her forehead, hair disheveled over her face.

Several white shadows swept past her. After Gong Yin abandoned obstruction, he headed straight for the palace gate, passing over Luoyun’s armies fighting in chaos, meeting Consort Li and others still anxiously searching.

At this time, Pei Shu and others were wandering near a screen wall on the west side of the palace gate. Consort Li was covered in sweat, turning everywhere, constantly muttering, “Where is it… where is it… too much time has passed, I really can’t remember clearly…”

“Hurry up!” Pei Shu impatiently urged. If Consort Li weren’t a woman, he probably would have whipped her already.

“What exactly is down there?” Tian Qi asked.

“I don’t know.” Consort Li wiped sweat from her forehead. “I only vaguely heard the King say that room was important ground where people weren’t allowed to enter. The King was very taboo about it. Once when I asked about it while he was drunk, he said that place absolutely couldn’t be touched – it wasn’t any hiding or refuge place, but was kept for when Luoyun faced extremely bitter, terrible circumstances before it would be opened. He also said something about if the Floating Water tribe dared play tricks again, he wouldn’t hesitate to mutually destroy and perish together. That night he was drunk and took me on a night tour of the palace. Drunkenly pointing in this direction, he told me the opening was at the palace gate – no one should think of trampling Luoyun palace soil. Anyone who could only enter this gate would forever guard Luoyun’s palace gate with their souls… At that time we were far away, and I vaguely remember there was a cluster of peonies there. Where are those flowers now…”

Yong Xue suddenly stepped forward, silently searching around, pointing behind the screen wall near a pond with a cluster of flowering trees, saying, “Here.”

Consort Li went to look but didn’t see peonies. Looking at the surrounding terrain, she said happily, “Similar! It should be here.”

“How did you figure it out?” Tian Qi asked.

Yong Xue used her toe to push aside grass under the trees, where transplanting traces were vaguely visible, along with some broken roots and branches of peonies remaining.

Everyone quickly began digging. All being masters, they worked with amazing speed. Soon they revealed a hole opening. Consort Li leaned over to look and said, “There seems to be a pipe…” Then she exclaimed in alarm, “So hot!”

She quickly retreated. As she stepped back, everyone saw her face covered in black and yellow ash. At the same time, a strange smell came from the hole – an indescribable putrid stench. Pei Shu was close to the hole and his face changed upon smelling it. He immediately pushed away Yong Xue who was leaning over to look. Everyone retreated as Qi Sha’s most medically skilled Si Si and the little medical sage Si Rongming simultaneously exclaimed, “This smell is wrong!”

“Bang.” A sound, and everyone turned to see Consort Li had already collapsed on the ground, her face blue-gray.

“Retreat! Retreat!” Si Rongming shouted loudly. “This might be concentrated smoke from burning plague…”

No one retreated. Everyone rushed forward in a crowd. Pei Shu tore off clothing to cover his nose and mouth, about to jump into the pipe.

A white shadow swept over and pulled him away. Pei Shu turned back, recognized the person, and his eyes instantly turned blood red. “You!”

Gong Yin threw him aside with a flick.

Pei Shu rushed over. “Jing Hengbo is down there!”

“I know.” Gong Yin ignored him, reaching out to summon his family disciples.

“This isn’t about claiming credit! You even compete for rescuing people!” Pei Shu was furious, veins bulging on his neck.

“I don’t mind watching you burn into human jerky, just afraid she’d be disgusted seeing it when she comes up.” Gong Yin answered without turning his head.

Pei Shu was stunned, leaning over to look, finally noticing the pipe was slightly red and hot waves emanated before getting close. Obviously it had been burned hot – if he really jumped down, whether human jerky or charcoal, it was unavoidable.

He blinked, somewhat unable to accept – unknowingly, he owed Gong Yin a life debt?

Gong Yin crouched beside the pipe, silently sensing for a while, then sighed in relief. “She’s not down there… but shouldn’t be far.” Then he summoned his disciples to hold their breath and stand beside the hole opening. “Ice seal, simultaneously, one, two, three!”

White light like electricity, temperature plummeting. Dragon family disciples shot ice and snow from their palms, shooting in clusters toward the pipe.

One cluster of ice and snow first sealed the pipe’s exit, preventing the smoke and ash that could spread plague from escaping. Then ice and snow extended downward. Hot and cold clashing, the pipe constantly made creaking sounds with continuous banging vibrations. Suddenly the ground shook with a tremendous bang, followed by a loud “clang.” The sound made everyone’s hearts jump and step back unsteadily. They heard Gong Yin say, “The pipe is broken.”

Then Dragon family disciples all worked together, carefully pulling out the upper half of the remaining pipe from underground, carefully avoiding everyone and placing it aside. Everyone saw the pipe was full of ice and snow wrapped around clusters of black and yellow matter. Looking back at Consort Li who had been sprayed in the face, her face was now blue-purple with weak breathing – she looked like she wouldn’t make it.

Everyone felt cold inside and extremely anxious – Jing Hengbo might be down there!

Pei Shu couldn’t wait and was first to jump down, gasping in cold air upon descent.

He saw the entire underground chamber, now full of broken ice and scattered snow, similarly wrapped around clusters of black and yellow matter. That section of pipe had crashed into the big iron door and now lay to one side. In the center of the room stood a giant cauldron still connected to half a broken pipe. The entire underground chamber emitted a nauseating smell.

Pei Shu was stunned, first relieved that Jing Hengbo wasn’t here, then relieved that Gong Yin had come. If not for his family’s ice and snow internal cultivation, other martial arts would have difficulty quickly cooling down, breaking pipes, and wrapping and isolating toxic substances. Using ice to kill poison, quickly making this place safe. No matter how good their martial arts, they couldn’t control high temperatures and isolate toxic materials – they could only either block the exit or jump down and be contaminated by these toxins.

Cool air intensified beside him as Gong Yin had already descended. He swept the room with one glance, walked to the cauldron, suddenly bent down and picked up a piece of cloth.

Pei Shu instantly felt the room’s temperature drop several more degrees.

Not wanting to speak to Gong Yin, he still couldn’t help asking, “What?”

Gong Yin didn’t answer, suddenly throwing away the cloth piece in his hand and quickly walking toward the iron door.

Pei Shu saw his face was extremely grim and rushed to grab the cloth piece, immediately recognizing it as remains from Jing Hengbo’s clothing, gasping in cold air again.

She had been here!

When did she come? When she came, was there smoke coming from this cauldron?

Half the cauldron’s wind port was open, in Gong Yin’s direction. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but now turning his head, he suddenly saw a human foot protruding from the wind port edge.

Calling it a foot was no longer appropriate – just a claw-shaped piece of charcoal. Only Pei Shu, this devil king who had killed countless people, could recognize it. He leaned close to the wind port and looked inside, feeling his brain “buzz.”

Then he suddenly turned and shouted loudly, “Hengbo!”

“Crash.” Gong Yin had already opened the iron door and quickly walked out. Ahead was the crude passage, dark without any lights.

Gong Yin’s footsteps echoed in the passage.

These were the footsteps Jing Hengbo heard.

The tremendous shock she had heard earlier, thinking it was the cauldron exploding, was actually the sound of the pipe breaking from hot-cold impact and striking the iron door.

Footsteps echoed in her ears – fast, steady, just slightly stiff.

Jing Hengbo listened quietly in the darkness, her wildly beating heart gradually calming.

This was Gong Yin. Gong Yin had come.

Her heart gradually calmed but also gradually sank, because the heat in her body slowly rose.

His footsteps gradually approached.

She blinked as hot tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.

…