The woman retrieved from the water by the fish demon was none other than Princess Han Yue, the Crown Prince Consort of Yao Kingdom.
Then the “child” she mentioned must naturally be her son Miao Feng Xian, the grandson of the old Yao King, whose childhood name was Xiao Zheng. Princess Han Yue was brought up alone—where had the child gone?
In this instant, Feng Miao Jun suddenly understood why the Wei people had gone to such lengths to hold the entire Imperial Garden:
Because Princess Han Yue was still on the run, and neither she nor her son had left the Imperial Garden’s boundaries. To capture these two trump cards, the Wei cultivators had to guard the entire garden, searching it over and over.
According to the intelligence she had received earlier, Princess Han Yue and her son, like the old Yao King, had been taken hostage by the Wei people in their surprise attack. But the scene before her now made it clear that Princess Han Yue had actually been fleeing all along, and only now had fallen into the hands of Wei cultivators.
Yun Ya and his people had taken over the Imperial Garden two days ago. Though the place was large, Princess Han Yue was after all just an ordinary person—how could she have evaded their search?
Feng Miao Jun knew she had used a shape-changing Gu, but she also had a child with her. Even if she could disguise herself and blend in with the palace staff, where could she hide a child not yet two years old who could cry and make noise?
Yet by all appearances, Princess Han Yue had just been captured—where had she been hiding before?
“Stop making noise.” The fish demon impatiently stuffed a bunch of water plants into her mouth to prevent her screams from attracting unwanted trouble. “Old Third left in a hurry and took the little brat with him.”
The black-clothed man nodded: “The situation has changed. The Yao army suddenly attacked, the escape route has been blocked, and we can’t return to the main palace complex now.”
The fish demon was startled: “They’ve broken in? What should we do now?”
“The master instructed to throw this woman back to the bottom of Reflection Moon Lake,” the black-clothed man said urgently. “We can’t let the Yao people know she’s not in the palace.”
Throw Han Yue back to the bottom of the lake? Feng Miao Jun frowned slightly at hearing this.
She knew about Reflection Moon Lake, not large in area but beautiful in scenery. The black-clothed man’s use of the word “back” was telling—had Princess Han Yue originally been staying at the bottom of the lake? There were many treasures that allowed underwater breathing, and the water bodies in the Imperial Garden were interconnected, no wonder the Yao people couldn’t find her.
Moreover, Princess Han Yue was an important hostage, and these two fellows wouldn’t dare easily drown her, so the princess’s safety was not a concern.
While Feng Miao Jun was pondering, the fish demon had already accepted the order and left.
He was about to dive back down with Princess Han Yue when suddenly he heard a “splash” behind him as if something had fallen to the ground. The fish demon quickly turned around to see the black-clothed man lying on the ground, unconscious.
He immediately knew something was wrong and quickly plunged forward into the water. At that moment, he felt a breeze pass his ear—a powerful enemy was attacking from behind!
The attacker seemed to be wielding a sharp weapon, first piercing through his protective energy, then about to stab into his temple. The movement was as fast as lightning, and the demon had no strength to resist. Only one thought remained in his mind:
I am finished!
Then, suddenly, a bright flash of lightning streaked down from the sky, striking exactly where the black-clothed man had been standing!
Everyone alive at the scene was stunned.
Then, the fierce wind at his ear suddenly stopped, and the scene before his eyes did not blur.
Sinking back into the green lake water, the fish demon was delighted to discover that he was still alive!
Without thinking, he carried Princess Han Yue and quickly dove deeper. Water could block divine sense, and land creatures had reduced speed and agility in water. Even if a powerful being entered the water, whether they could catch up with him was uncertain. So the deeper he dove, the safer he would be.
On land at this moment, the lightning-struck ground showed a charred mark, with wisps of smoke rising, and surprisingly, it could still squirm a bit. At first glance, it looked like a lump of iron; what it originally looked like was unknown, but it had been struck beyond recognition by the lightning.
Feng Miao Jun was quite depressed.
The mass on the ground that had been struck senseless by lightning was, of course, her number one henchman, Bai Ban. Earlier, she had ordered him to take down the fish demon while she would deal with the black-clothed man. As a result, just as Bai Ban had disabled the fish demon and thrown him back into the water, lightning fell from the sky, striking it with perfect precision, and shattering its invisibility illusion array in the process!
Witnessing this scene, Feng Miao Jun was first stunned, then quickly realized:
Heaven’s Punishment!
Bai Ban had triggered Heaven’s Punishment.
The Heavenly Way had actually considered the act of “rescuing Princess Han Yue” as a breach of contract.
Yes, in the contract between New Xia and Wei Kingdom, there was a clause: New Xia was not allowed to support the military actions of Wei’s opponents. Her attempt to rescue Princess Han Yue might seem like a personal action at first glance. But don’t forget, one of Zhao Ru Shan’s objectives in attacking the Imperial Garden was also to rescue the Crown Prince Consort and her son.
Had the Yao people taken military action? Yes.
Would her intervention help the Yao people achieve their goals? Also yes.
So calculated this way, Bai Ban acting under her orders was a breach of contract and deserved Heaven’s Punishment.
It had acted a step ahead of her, otherwise the punishment would have fallen on her.
And somewhere in the vast consciousness, she was told that this lightning strike was just a small warning. If she dared to offend again, she should not blame the Heavenly Way for being merciless!
Therefore, Feng Miao Jun forcibly withdrew her sneak attack to avoid suffering the terrifying punishment of Heaven.
She picked up Bai Ban, seeing it could still move a little, which reassured her somewhat that its injuries weren’t fatal. Now her forehead ached even more.
If she intervened, she would face Heaven’s Punishment; if she didn’t, would she let her friend be taken away?
She had always been decisive and straightforward in her actions, never so restrained before.
Feng Miao Jun put Bai Ban away, then without hesitation jumped into the lake.
By now, the daylight was brightening and the lake water was clear. Feng Miao Jun could see the huge fishtail swishing ahead. This fish demon was over a zhang (three meters) in length, with silver scales the size of bowls reflecting the light in the water, indicating its considerable cultivation—those brought by Yun Ya to participate in the secret operation in the Yao capital were already the elite among Wei cultivators.
Its swimming speed was also quite astonishing, darting forward more than ten zhang with just one swish of its tail. Feng Miao Jun was a good swimmer, but trying to overtake it in its element was impossible.
Fortunately, the lake in the Imperial Garden was not endless, and she had heard the black-clothed man mention “Reflection Moon Lake” earlier. There must be some mystery at the bottom of that lake, otherwise, even if Princess Han Yue could breathe underwater, humans couldn’t stay submerged long-term—how had she managed these past two days?
So she also set her direction firmly and swam tirelessly. As for what to do after catching up, she continued to ponder.
Forcibly snatching Princess Han Yue from the fish demon was no longer an option; the Heavenly Way would not permit it. Feng Miao Jun even suspected that if she merely released Princess Han Yue, she would still incur Heaven’s Punishment.
Ah, this Heavenly Way was too intelligent, actually understanding the principles of logical deduction.
After chasing for over a hundred zhang, she gradually saw the familiar fish body again.
This wasn’t because she was swimming faster, but because the other party had suddenly slowed down. The rhythm and frequency of its tail movement… how to put it? Rather than swishing, it was more like twitching and convulsing.