In the darkness between the palace halls, a woman’s voice could faintly be heard screaming hoarsely, as if she had suffered tremendous terror.

The sound was ethereal, sometimes distant, sometimes near, making one’s heart skip a beat.

In the night, black and white figures rapidly swept toward the rear hall of Fuyun Palace.

The white figure was Gong Yin. After rushing toward Changning Palace, he glanced at it from afar and immediately turned away.

The black figure was Yelu Qi, dragging Qiu Jinfeng as he rushed out of their quarters. Pointing to a secluded bamboo grove where there was a well, he said, “Hide here first. I’ll come find you later.”

Qiu Jinfeng jumped into the well, gripping the edge as he called out to the departing Yelu Qi, “Where are you going? What’s happening?”

“There were military-style crossbow bolts attacking us, which means the palace already knows of our presence. We can’t stay there anymore. Thinking of that princess’s strange expression when she came to report, I felt uneasy. I need to check the rear hall.”

“There is a problem. Just now…” Qiu Jinfeng knew something was wrong. This wasn’t the time to hide things for the sake of face, so he told Yelu Qi what had happened with Chan’er earlier. Before he could finish, Yelu Qi’s expression changed drastically, and he rushed out.

They headed in different directions – Yelu Qi appeared at the palace door, while Gong Yin appeared at the skylight on the roof.

By now, Jing Hengbo had already heard the commotion from the rooftop and the entrance – the sound of robes rustling in the wind. Nine times out of ten, it was Gong Yin and Yelu Qi.

How could she notify them?

With those two’s intelligence and alertness, just a small hint would suffice.

The two small insects in front of her mouth were flying back and forth, constantly circling around her. Sweat began to bead on Jing Hengbo’s forehead.

Her eyes darted around the hall and suddenly fell on Chan’er’s corpse across from her.

The little palace maid lay slanted on the ground, something glinting from within her robes – something shiny.

Jing Hengbo recognized it as a mirror. Pretty young girls always carried mirrors with them.

The mirror was sliding along her tilted body. Jing Hengbo carefully examined the silk threads binding her and felt that moving one or two fingers shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Moving one finger couldn’t manipulate heavy objects, but making a mirror slide down was manageable.

She moved her finger downward. With a “crack,” the mirror hit the ground.

Chan’er had died at the palace door, her body leaning against the door panel. The mirror fell directly outside the threshold, rolling all the way down with a clatter until it was gently stopped by a boot.

Yelu Qi looked down at the deformed mirror under his foot – a small bronze mirror stained with blood.

Just as he was about to rush up the steps into the palace, his figure paused.

Jing Hengbo took a long breath and relaxed slightly.

She had stopped one of them. Excellent.

Suddenly there was the sound of tiles being moved overhead. She raised her eyes slightly and saw a face faintly peering through the skylight – it seemed to be Gong Yin.

The skylight was covered with polished crystal tiles. Jing Hengbo knew that if those tiles were moved, the threads below would also be triggered.

Jing Hengbo tried her best to make expressions toward the top, but the hall was too high and too dark below for the person above to see.

Fortunately, Yelu Qi had been stopped and naturally knew there was trouble inside. He looked up and shouted, “Wait!” He threw the mirror up to the rooftop.

Gong Yin caught the blood-stained mirror in his hand, then looked down at the crystal tiles. He backed away carefully, avoiding what looked like spider silk under the crystal tiles.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a fire starter, lit it, and placed it diagonally in front of the bronze mirror, setting it on the crystal tile while slowly adjusting the angle.

Jing Hengbo suddenly saw spots of light appearing on the ceiling. The spots grew larger and larger, gradually illuminating a large area below the roof.

She marveled at this – the principle of light refraction was simple in modern times, but not many people in ancient times could think of it. The great master’s mind was truly useful.

The large crystal tile created an excellent diffusion effect, much better than candles. When a large area lit up, Gong Yin could immediately see the crisscrossing silk threads below.

Then he saw Jing Hengbo’s slightly upturned face at the bottom. She was making a strange expression, puckering her lips high.

Gong Yin was stunned. He had seen Jing Hengbo angry, seen her act coquettishly, seen her various expressions, but he had never seen her pout.

Jing Hengbo felt that pouting was something only young girls would do, not suitable for a mature, charming, and seductive woman like herself. So she never made such expressions normally. However, at this moment, under the roof in that chaos of black, with the crystal tile diffusing white light like moonlight, she was at the boundary between black and white. Her face seemed to glow with a halo, pure white and bright, but her lips were bright red. Because she was pouting forcefully, they were like pomegranate flowers, strikingly alluring.

Like peonies blooming in the mist, hazily enchanting.

Gong Yin stared at those red lips in a daze, his heart pounding violently. This unprecedented charming grace left his mind blank for a moment. In his trance, he only wanted to plunge into that halo of light and pluck that most beautiful flower in the mortal world…

The wind blew the fire starter’s flame into a slanted line, nearly burning his fingers, but he was completely unaware.

He was in a daze while Jing Hengbo was getting exasperated.

What was wrong with Gong Yin? Had his pressure points been struck? Her mouth was aching from pouting!

Fortunately, after a moment, Gong Yin slightly awakened and noticed Jing Hengbo’s mouth moving this way and that, seemingly indicating something. Following the direction of her mouth and gaze, he looked behind screens, curtains, under tables, beside beds…

By now Gong Yin understood that there must be hidden weapons or firearms set up below. These silk threads were the triggering mechanism, arranged densely without giving anyone a chance to squeeze through.

He made a gesture to Yelu Qi below. Yelu Qi was startled and quickly searched carefully at the palace door. After a moment, he discovered a bundle of fine threads behind the door.

These trigger threads must have a convergence point at the exit. Anyone entering and touching them would immediately set them off.

Having discovered the trigger threads, they couldn’t touch them. Both Yelu Qi and Gong Yin could see at a glance that these things couldn’t be burned, cut, or destroyed. No matter how high their martial arts skills, they were helpless. But they couldn’t remain in a standoff forever – they couldn’t guard at this palace door indefinitely. The Floating Water Royal Palace was already in chaos, and soldiers would soon come to surround them.

Moreover, whoever had set up this trap wouldn’t give them time. If they didn’t trigger it, the other party would find an opportunity to trigger it themselves.

Gong Yin and Yelu Qi’s eyes met. After scanning the hall, both had realized that evildoers usually came to the scene in person to watch the evil they had caused, gaining psychological satisfaction from it. So whoever had arranged all this was nearby.

The two scanned the entire hall and had already found the most suitable position for safely observing this situation. Yelu Qi nodded and suddenly swept up silently, shooting directly toward an old pavilion in the northwest of the palace complex.

After a moment, shouts and curses came from above – Yelu Qi had already engaged the opponent in combat.

Jing Hengbo relaxed slightly. She couldn’t think of any way the two could solve this deadlock, yet she felt extremely calm inside. This was the trust built over time – as long as they were there, as long as Gong Yin was there, there was no insurmountable obstacle in this world.

She looked up at Gong Yin, only now having the leisure to examine him carefully, wanting to know what had happened to him. Yelu Qi looked like he had recovered well. Such severe poisoning couldn’t be cured without paying a price. Who had paid this price had become her constant worry during this time. Now seeing Gong Yin, she stared without blinking, looking at his face, his figure, his posture. But through the hazy light, she could only see a blurred white shadow that seemed to make a “be at ease” gesture to her before gracefully sweeping away.

She could only wait quietly in the hall, carefully listening to the commotion outside. Yelu Qi and the cloaked figure seemed to be engaged in combat. The sound of rapid rustling robes continued from a tall building not far away. She was slightly puzzled – it was normal for the cloaked figure to set up this arrangement and want to see the results of his masterpiece. But once discovered, if he was smart enough, he should have fled immediately. Why was he still staying here?

She felt somewhat irritated, sensing something inexplicably strange about this whole affair. Time also seemed to pass slowly. After what felt like a long time, she heard voices outside becoming clamorous. It seemed the Floating Water Royal Palace was in great turmoil, with the clatter of military boots hitting the ground everywhere, the clash of weapons and armor, shouts and commands… She could faintly hear Pei Shu’s loud laughter and Qisha’s strange cries. Then a white shadow flashed at the palace door – Gong Yin was standing there.

Seeing his appearance, Jing Hengbo couldn’t help but want to laugh. His left hand held Feifei while his right hand carried Er Gouzi. Those two pets, usually arrogant and domineering, were obediently hanging their heads in his palms.

Strangely enough, even though Pei Shu was imposing with killing intent, even though Qisha was constantly causing mischief, Feifei and Er Gouzi had always been most wary of Gong Yin from beginning to end. With just one indifferent glance from him, Feifei’s tail would wave like a white flag, and Er Gouzi’s flattery would gush like the Yellow River.

Jing Hengbo sighed. This was presence…

At the palace door, Gong Yin casually drew several diagrams, showing the two pets what kind of deadly contraptions might be hidden in the corners. After perfunctorily patting their heads, he said, “Go ahead.”

Jing Hengbo was wondering what rewards he had promised to motivate those two lazy pets who never moved without profit when she heard him say, “I still need a fur collar, and there’s a peacock golden robe with a big hole that needs mending. If you touch even one thread, my collar and peacock robe will have their materials.”

Jing Hengbo clearly saw Feifei and Er Gouzi shudder in unison…

Er Gouzi went first, followed by Feifei. Gong Yin had tied a thread to Feifei’s tail.

Torches were lit outside, distantly illuminating the hall so the crisscrossing threads inside could be seen.

Er Gouzi and Feifei lifted their legs high and moved slowly, stepping through the gaps between threads, moving inch by inch.

Jing Hengbo stared unblinkingly at Er Gouzi’s wings and Feifei’s tail, her palms full of sweat. She was afraid these two would unconsciously spread their wings or wag their tail, causing herself, the two pets, and Gong Yin standing motionless at the palace door to all be finished.

Fortunately, the iceberg master’s intimidating presence was extraordinary. Those two walked more carefully than ever before. Er Gouzi gradually found the knack, hopping through the gaps between silk threads while occasionally scolding Feifei, “Keep up! Idiot! Where are you going! This way!”

The dog was triumphant. It had always been Feifei bullying it, but now it was finally its turn to boss around the little monster!

Jing Hengbo looked at Er Gouzi sympathetically, hoping it would have enough feathers left to patch the peacock robe after this was over. Judging by the murderous glint in Feifei’s little eyes, she wouldn’t be satisfied without plucking a layer of bird feathers once this was finished…

The two reached her side. Feifei comfortingly brushed her face with its tail, and seeing this, Er Gouzi perfunctorily patted her shoulder with its wing before strutting past with its head held high. Jing Hengbo responded with a smile, deciding that when she got out, if she saw Feifei beating up Er Gouzi, she definitely wouldn’t help Er Gouzi.

Neither of them tried to rescue her because she was bound most tightly by the silk threads and couldn’t be touched at all. They had to clear out those deadly contraptions first.

Jing Hengbo’s heart rose to her throat again. She didn’t know what kind of setup those things hidden in the shadows were. There should be some kind of collision trigger device to achieve maximum destructive effect. Could these two birds and beasts handle such complex contraptions?

The curtains swayed slightly. She couldn’t see what the two were doing. Precisely because she couldn’t see, she was on edge every minute, waiting for either silence or an earth-shattering explosion. This made her even more nervous, her back damp with cold sweat as if stuck to the ground.

This tense mood could only be relieved when she saw that quietly standing, slender white figure at the palace entrance. He simply stood composedly in the moonlight, merging with it like the most peaceful statue in the world, waiting there from the distant past to now.

Her heart seemed to find refuge in this.

That patch of icy moonlight had long been reflected in her heart, with brilliant light shifting shadows and subtle fragrance floating, a bright red peach blossom slanted across it.

The bomb-disposal bird-and-beast team emerged from behind a curtain. The curtain was lifted open in a gap directly facing Jing Hengbo. Only then could she see a gray-black round ball the size of a walnut placed at the base of the wall. The outside seemed to be an iron shell. The round ball was half-fixed to the ground by wooden blocks with curved grooves. The ball’s fuse was drawn out and tied together with those transparent silk threads, pulled taut. In front of the round ball, on the silk thread track, an iron plate was fixed in place.

When someone pulled the silk threads, the round ball would be dragged out of the groove and collide with the iron plate along the silk thread direction. At that moment, the pulling force of all the silk threads moving together would be enough for the gunpowder pellet to explode without needing to be lit, generating fire upon impact with the iron plate.

It was a very ingenious and malicious design. Everything was placed on the ground, requiring someone to crawl down slowly to disarm it. But with silk threads crisscrossing everywhere, people couldn’t get down to crawl.

Fortunately, there were Feifei and Er Gouzi. The beast and bird cooperated seamlessly. Feifei lay flat on the ground, slowly licking the iron plate’s base with her tongue. With time being short, the iron plate must have been temporarily stuck to the ground with paste – it couldn’t possibly be nailed into the ground. Feifei’s wet tongue licked away the paste and carefully moved away the iron plate. Then Er Gouzi slowly moved the gunpowder pellet out of the groove, and finally the two went to deal with the next one.

Jing Hengbo could tell at a glance that this must have been taught by Gong Yin. It was remarkable that without being able to see the arrangement inside, Gong Yin had accurately guessed the firing design. She just didn’t understand why Er Gouzi pushed these dangerous gunpowder balls out of their grooves – having gunpowder balls rolling around everywhere would still be dangerous.

Er Gouzi and Feifei were very careful, tiptoeing and moving gracefully past the gunpowder balls. After a while, having presumably found all the gunpowder pellets hidden in corners, Er Gouzi somehow found a wicker basket and together with Feifei carefully placed the gunpowder pellets into it.

Jing Hengbo didn’t know what these two were up to. By now, because the iron plates had been removed and repositioned, the silk threads had loosened. Unless touched forcefully, they wouldn’t cause a chain reaction from pulling force. At this point, they could completely separate the gunpowder pellets from the threads. Why take the risk of not separating them?

The two filled the basket with gunpowder pellets and placed it in a corner. Seeing the danger resolved, Jing Hengbo didn’t need the two to help her. She untied the silk threads herself and crawled out of the net.

Just as she was about to go out, Gong Yin at the door suddenly waved at her, then flashed away.

Then Jing Hengbo saw the basket full of gunpowder pellets also fly up.

The torches flickered outside. She saw a bundle of silk threads like flowing light, flying up with Gong Yin’s figure.

She suddenly understood and immediately realized what Gong Yin intended to do.

Using the enemy’s own methods against them!

Gong Yin’s figure flew out, rushing toward the tall building from afar. On the building, Yelu Qi was engaged in combat with the cloaked figure, not delivering killing blows or making direct contact, but constantly entangling him, not letting him have a chance to leave.

Gong Yin shouted from afar, “Get out of the way!”

Yelu Qi reacted quickly, immediately retreating three zhang and sweeping down from the high platform.

The cloaked figure didn’t pursue either, laughing heartily as he swept backward.

Just as he crossed over the pavilion and turned the corner, his figure about to disappear, the wide black cloak flashed at the corner.

A white shadow flashed as Gong Yin brushed past Yelu Qi. With a wave of his hand, a beam of flowing light flew out, wrapping around the cloaked figure’s waist and forcibly dragging him back.

The cloaked figure was startled. He could have removed his cloak but hesitated slightly. In just this moment of hesitation, the white shadow flipped and flew like falling snow. Gong Yin had already wrapped another circle around his figure like lightning before sweeping down from the tall building.

Yelu Qi immediately kicked up, sending a torch flying toward mid-air.

At this moment, the gunpowder basket pulled by that bundle of silk threads was flying toward the tall building, with the other end of the silk thread wrapped around the cloaked figure.

The two cooperated seamlessly, quick as rabbits and hawks. Black and white shadows danced gracefully. Jing Hengbo, who had chased out to watch, was dazzled by the sight.

The moment the torch met the gunpowder basket, Gong Yin and Yelu Qi retreated explosively!

“BOOM!” A tremendous explosion shook the ground with rolling dust and debris. Nearby palace buildings all swayed. Jing Hengbo, who had just rushed out of the hall, couldn’t maintain her footing and fell on the threshold. She watched as air currents rolled violently in the sky, suddenly contracting inward before expanding outward, blooming into a black smoke cloud as large as half a great hall. The edges of the smoke cloud flashed with red firelight. A pagoda-shaped tall building had half its top sheared off. The roof with its glazed tiles slowly tilted and fell like broken wood. After a moment, another thunderous震动 shook everything. Jing Hengbo, who had just gotten up from the threshold, was shaken and fell on the threshold again.

A white shadow flashed as Gong Yin swept over from the rolling smoke and dust, reaching out to pull her up. Seeing him, Jing Hengbo immediately relaxed, extending her hand while laughing, “This really finished off that guy…”

Before she finished speaking, her expression changed dramatically.

In the undispersed smoke before her eyes, two small red lights flew straight toward her mouth.

Jing Hengbo cursed inwardly!

How could she have forgotten there were still those two deadly insects by her mouth! These two insects were so persistent about that flower pollen scent that they had been following her all along!

In that split second, she had no time to dodge.

Gong Yin also seemed to notice something was wrong and immediately reached out to catch the insect while kicking toward her, shouting, “Get out of the way!”

“Don’t speak!” Jing Hengbo cried out desperately.

But it was too late.

Gong Yin’s loud shout and the airflow from his blocking sleeve caused the insect to turn and fly into Gong Yin’s mouth.