“Snow Soul Pill?” Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but ask.
Chu Li smiled faintly and nodded.
Receiving this confirmation, Mu Yunjin gasped softly, suddenly feeling as if she held a hot potato in her hand.
This gift from Yun Guangyao was truly too precious…
Mu Yunjin held the bracelet in her palm, observing it for quite a while before sighing, “Such a powerful secret medicine, one of South Court’s three treasures. I wonder who stole the Lotus Spirit Pill.”
Beside her, Chu Li’s mouth twitched as he looked at Mu Yunjin and unexpectedly said, “The Lotus Spirit Pill is in your stomach.”
“…” Mu Yunjin fell silent momentarily.
Then, turning to look at Chu Li with displeasure, she said, “Since when did you learn to joke? I’ve never even come in contact with the Lotus Spirit Pill.”
How could it possibly be in her stomach…
…
…
Chu Li chuckled and walked closer to her. “Do you remember one night when we were confronting the Thousand Leaves assassins sent by Chu Qingqiang in the bamboo forest? You took a sword for me and injured your arm.”
Mu Yunjin thought back and nodded.
“Those weapons were coated with East Lin Kingdom’s secret poison, Shadow Grass. At that time, I was desperate and gave you the Lotus Spirit Pill that I had kept for a long time.” Chu Li’s eyes fixed intently on Mu Yunjin. Thinking about how she had disregarded her safety to shield him from the blade, his heart still pounded.
Mu Yunjin was completely bewildered.
She knew she had been poisoned that time, but after waking up, no one told her about the Lotus Spirit Pill. She had assumed it was just some minor poison.
Unexpectedly, it involved the Lotus Spirit Pill.
But still—
“Wasn’t the Lotus Spirit Pill stolen years ago? How did you get it? Don’t tell me you stole…” Mu Yunjin pointed at Chu Li, who didn’t look like someone who would steal medicine at all.
Chu Li sighed helplessly and chuckled. “This Lotus Spirit Pill was given to my mother by the ruler of South Court years ago.”
“Because he feared people would criticize him for giving such a treasure to a woman, he announced that it had been stolen.” Chu Li explained.
Hearing this, Mu Yunjin raised her eyebrows. It had been nearly a year since she was poisoned and injured, and she hadn’t expected such a significant revelation.
If not for that Lotus Spirit Pill, she probably would have lost her life…
Unexpectedly, South Court’s three miraculous life-saving secret medicines—the Lotus Spirit Pill, the Snow Toad Pill, and the Snow Soul Pill—all had connections to her…
……
After simply packing some things, little Chu Mu woke up at this time, crying loudly in his little bed.
Mu Yunjin walked to the bedside, picked up little Chu Mu, and tried to comfort him.
Little Chu Mu seemed very unhappy today, continuing to cry despite Mu Yunjin’s efforts to soothe him.
Finally, Mu Yunjin gave up and asked Chu Li to try holding little Chu Mu.
But as soon as little Chu Mu was in Chu Li’s arms, he cried even more fiercely…
“What’s wrong? Could he be feeling unwell somewhere?” Mu Yunjin reached out to touch little Chu Mu’s forehead, finding no signs of fever.
As she prepared to go out and find an imperial physician, her sleeve was gently tugged by little Chu Mu’s small hand.
Mu Yunjin paused, took him back into her arms, and wiped the tears from little Chu Mu’s face. “Little Mu’er, what’s wrong with you?”
With these words, little Chu Mu’s crying somewhat diminished, but he still gripped Mu Yunjin’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.
Since the incident at Water Cloud Temple, when little Chu Mu had guided her to the Buddha statue, plus the fact that little Chu Mu possessed spiritual energy, Mu Yunjin knew this child might be different from ordinary children.
Now crying continuously and clutching her sleeve, perhaps he was hinting at something again.
“You don’t want us to leave?” Mu Yunjin asked tentatively.
This time, the crying stopped.
Seeing this, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li exchanged glances, each with a profound meaning in their eyes.
……
Eventually, Mu Yunjin and Chu Li decided to first send little Chu Mu to Phoenix Feather Pavilion, then depart directly for Tiansheng Continent.
……
At Phoenix Feather Pavilion, after arriving, Mu Yunjin briefly explained what had happened in Butterfly City.
After hearing this, Qiqi and Huaying were both astounded. Qiqi was particularly amazed: “These people have one scheme after another for creating obstacles. When internal strength fails, they resort to external forces…”
Mu Yunjin frowned. “I was also careless. I didn’t expect such a mishap at this critical moment.”
Qiqi and Huaying sighed.
“I’ll go see Grandma first.” Without saying more, Mu Yunjin carried little Mu’er to Fish Grandma’s place.
Arriving at Fish Grandma’s room, Mu Yunjin noticed that Fish Grandma’s complexion was much worse than before.
Thinking about Fish Grandma’s mention of her approaching end of life, Mu Yunjin felt an indescribable bitterness in her heart.
“Grandma…” Mu Yunjin spoke.
“It’s Huan’er who has come.” Fish Grandma smiled at Mu Yunjin, her gaze then falling on the infant in her arms.
Mu Yunjin sat down beside Fish Grandma’s bed.
“Is this your child with Si Qing?” Fish Grandma asked, looking at little Chu Mu.
Mu Yunjin nodded with a slight smile. “Grandma, would you like to hold him?”
Fish Grandma nodded, reached out to take little Chu Mu, and held him in her arms. She examined little Chu Mu’s features and smiled. “This child has spiritual energy gathered within him. He is blessed with good fortune.”
Little Chu Mu, knowing he was being praised, grinned.
“I’ve come today to trouble Grandma with looking after little Mu’er for a few days,” Mu Yunjin said, her smile fading as she sighed.
“Go without worry. I can endure for a few more days,” Fish Grandma closed her eyes briefly and spoke hoarsely.
Little Chu Mu began to wail loudly again at this moment, waving his hands, trying to grab Mu Yunjin’s sleeve.
Fish Grandma held little Chu Mu’s small hand and spoke softly, “Child, they will return safely. Stay with Grandma and wait for their return, alright?”
Little Chu Mu sobbed, gazing at Mu Yunjin with wide, tearful eyes.
At this moment, for some reason, Mu Yunjin’s eyes grew hot, and her heart ached terribly.
“I’ll be going now.” Mu Yunjin didn’t linger, standing up and looking at little Mu’er and then at Fish Grandma.
Fish Grandma opened her mouth slightly. “Go then.”
……
After settling little Chu Mu, Mu Yunjin walked down the mountain. Taoist Feng Xuan had already arrived sometime earlier and was now sitting on the grass at the foot of the mountain.
“I just returned from the palace and saw Chu Ye. I reminded him to keep that Buddha statue. He has now secretly returned the statue to Water Cloud Temple.”
“And Huaiyuan won’t be beheaded; he’ll just stay at the Court of Justice for a while.”
“As for that Noble Consort Liu, there’s no time to deal with her now, but there’ll be plenty of time to teach her a lesson later!” Taoist Feng Xuan said in a rush.
After a moment, Taoist Feng Xuan looked at Mu Yunjin. “Brat, doesn’t your Heaven God’s command match the mechanism behind the Buddha statue? While we all have time now, let’s try that mechanism and see what mystery it holds.”
With these words, Taoist Feng Xuan stood up, ready to leave.
Mu Yunjin was a bit startled.
“Let’s go.” Chu Li also, unusually, agreed with Taoist Feng Xuan’s suggestion.
Qiqi and Huaying were equally curious about this Buddha statue and agreed to Taoist Feng Xuan’s proposal.
Mu Yunjin had no choice but to follow them to Water Cloud Temple.
……
When they reached the secret chamber through the formless space, there was no one inside.
Outside, however, stood a circle of imperial guards.
Perhaps due to Chu Ye’s special instructions, those imperial guards heard some movement inside the secret chamber but didn’t rush in. They just obediently stood guard outside.
Inside the secret chamber, the Buddha statue had been returned to its original place.
Mu Yunjin walked to the back of the Buddha statue and felt the spot where she had seen the mechanism before. “I don’t know how to open this outer layer.”
After speaking, she looked around.
“I know this!” Taoist Feng Xuan raised his eyebrows proudly.
Mu Yunjin looked at Taoist Feng Xuan. “Master, how do you know?”
“Before coming, I had already visited Kong Shi and asked him about the Buddha statue. He said that although he didn’t know how to activate the statue’s mechanism, he did know how to open the outer shell.” Taoist Feng Xuan said.
After speaking, he bent down and gently tapped the floor.
Soon, a crisp sound was heard, and Taoist Feng Xuan excitedly said, “It’s right here.”
With that, he removed the hollow section of the floor.
Inside the floor was a string of prayer beads.
Taoist Feng Xuan reached out and turned the prayer beads once.
Then, at the back of the Buddha statue, a shell lifted, revealing the mechanism inside.
“If this Buddha statue had been kept in the palace instead of being returned, this shell could never have been opened. If they tried to destroy the statue by force, there might be other mechanisms inside the statue.” Taoist Feng Xuan explained.
Mu Yunjin silently marveled at this ingenuity and took out the Heaven God’s command she carried.
“Let me,” Chu Li took the Heaven God’s command from her hand, approached the Buddha statue, and examined the mechanism.
He compared the Heaven God’s command with the mechanism, confirming that they matched perfectly in size.
“Are we going to try this? It feels a bit scary,” Qiqi clutched Huaying’s arm, suddenly feeling anxious.
No one knew what this mechanism would open…
What if it were destructive?
Wouldn’t they all die here?
Mu Yunjin stood to the side, maintaining a wait-and-see attitude. Everyone was curious about the mystery of this mechanism, but whether it would bring benefit or harm was hard to say…
“Click…”
A crisp sound.
Chu Li placed the Heaven God’s command on the mechanism.
Almost simultaneously, everyone held their breath, watching the mechanism at the back of the Buddha statue without blinking.
“Rumble…”
The ground around them suddenly began to shake violently.
The entire secret chamber shook along with it, giving Mu Yunjin and the others a dizzy sensation.
“Look quickly, a bottomless pit has appeared under the Buddha statue!” Amid the chaos, Taoist Feng Xuan pointed at the Buddha statue, exclaiming excitedly.
Mu Yunjin looked and indeed saw a black hole appearing at the base of the Buddha statue.
“Rumble…”
“Clang…”
“Bang, bang, bang…”
“This is bad! The secret chamber is collapsing!” Taoist Feng Xuan, seeing stone fragments falling from the ceiling, cried out in alarm. He tried to run outside but found his feet heavy and immovable.
The others also experienced the same inability to move.
“The mechanism is activated, the secret chamber is collapsing—it seems we’re being forced into this bottomless pit!” Chu Li said in a deep voice.