The voice was so terrifying that it made the hair on Liu Qi’an’s back stand on end. He reflexively turned his head to look at Sangbo Lake.

As a night watchman responsible for guarding the surroundings, Liu Qi’an was not supposed to turn and watch the ceremony. He was already overstepping.

He saw Emperor Yuanjing in his golden-yellow robes, slowly ascending the platform, kowtowing every three steps. He saw the civil and military officials, princes, and princesses observing from the shore. He also spotted Wei Yuan and his two adopted sons.

He saw the majestic temple, the imperial guards, and the eunuchs.

The moment he turned his head, the voice disappeared.

Was it an auditory hallucination?

I haven’t visited Fuxiang in three days, but my eyes aren’t blurry.

Liu Qi’an took a deep breath. Not daring to look longer, he turned his head back and asked, “How much do you know about Sangbo Lake?”

Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng replied, but their information wasn’t very valuable—just things Liu Qi’an already knew, like “the place where the founding emperor attained the Dao,” “the Xuanwu sword gift,” and “the imperial family’s ancestral worship site.”

“Save me, save me…”

The voice came again as if an evil spirit was clinging to his back, whispering in his ear.

Liu Qi’an stiffly turned his head inch by inch, once again seeing the ceremonial scene. And the voice, at the moment he turned, vanished.

An intangible fear filled his heart, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

The founding emperor of Great Feng had attained the Dao at Sangbo Lake, and it had been the site of imperial ancestral worship for years. Now, eerie cries for help were coming from it… In the cold wind, Liu Qi’an slowly shuddered.

“Save me, save me…”

“Save me, save me…”

Liu Qi’an felt his hair stand on end, and thoughts of fleeing, of getting far away, arose in his mind. He forced himself to stay calm. No longer concerned about his colleagues nearby, he took out the small jade mirror.

[Three: How much do you know about Sangbo Lake? Tell me immediately, it’s very important.]

[Two: Oh, Three has replied! So you are at the ceremony, at Sangbo?]

Liu Qi’an ignored Two and waited a few seconds before seeing Four’s message.

[Four: Sangbo is where the founding emperor of Great Feng attained the Dao. After Great Feng was established, Sangbo was chosen as the capital. However, the legend of Xuanwu is unverifiable and not very credible.

[But the divine sword is real. In the temple on the platform in the middle of the lake, the founding emperor’s sword that he once used is enshrined.]

After Four finished, Golden Lotus Daoist added:

[Nine: That’s the divine weapon symbolizing Great Feng’s destiny.]

[Four: Indeed. During the Shanhai Pass battle years ago, Emperor Yuanjing entered the temple to retrieve the divine weapon and personally gifted it to the King of the Northern Frontier. The victory at Shanhai Pass was not only due to Wei Yuan’s brilliant military tactics but also the King’s formidable combat prowess, which cannot be overlooked.]

A divine sword enshrined in the temple?

Is the sword calling for help?

Even if the sword had self-awareness, why would it call to me for help?

“Save me, save me…” The voice suddenly became shrill, as if dissatisfied with Liu Qi’an’s indifference.

The cries for help echoed in his ears, shaking Liu Qi’an’s spirit, causing him slight dizziness and mental confusion.

He took a deep breath and input: [Three: Is there anything else? I need more comprehensive information. I want to know everything recorded in history, whether true or false.]

After sending the message, he turned his head to look again, hoping to silence the whispers in his ears.

But this time it didn’t work. He turned his head, but the pleas for help persisted.

“Save me, save me!”

The veins on Liu Qi’an’s forehead bulged. The voice was like steel needles piercing his mind.

[Four: You’ve stirred up my memories, reminding me of a record I saw when revising history books years ago.

[Sangbo Lake is now surrounded by the camps of the Five Guards of the capital, heavily guarded. No one is allowed to approach privately. Yes, no one.

[Because five hundred years ago, the crown prince at the time was boating on Sangbo Lake for pleasure when he accidentally fell into the water. After being rescued by his guards, he fell seriously ill and developed hysteria. Half a year later, he was found drowned in Sangbo Lake.

[The imperial family believed that the crown prince had offended the spirits of the ancestors, incurring punishment. To prevent such incidents from happening again, they sealed off Sangbo Lake, only opening it for ancestral worship ceremonies.]

The crown prince fell into the lake and developed hysteria… Did he hear the same pleas for help as I’m hearing now… Will I suffer the same fate and eventually be found drowned in Sangbo Lake?

At this thought, Liu Qi’an felt as if he had plunged into an ice cave, his face turning pale.

There must be some secret in Sangbo Lake. It couldn’t simply be about offending ancestral spirits. But that unfortunate crown prince didn’t know about this, otherwise, he would never have gone boating on Sangbo Lake for pleasure.

It’s conceivable that only the emperors of each generation knew this secret.

But why didn’t the emperor who knew the inside story seal off Sangbo Lake? Why did it take the crown prince’s death to prompt action?

Liu Qi’an, skilled in deduction, had one question after another flash through his mind.

[Six: Why is Three asking about this?]

By now, Liu Qi’an had no energy left to answer their questions. He tremblingly stuffed the Book fragment back into his robe, then powerlessly fell to his knees, clutching his head, his expression pained.

“Save me, save me…”

The cries for help entered his ears, echoing in layers, turning his brain to mush, as if steel needles were piercing his skull.

His head felt like it was about to split open.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao noticed their colleague’s abnormal state and were startled by Liu Qi’an’s bloodless face.

“What’s wrong with you? Can you hold on? We can’t mess up now. If we interrupt or disturb His Majesty’s ancestral worship, it’s a capital offense,” Song Tingfeng said anxiously.

Zhu Guangxiao shifted his feet, wanting to come over and check on the situation.

…

At this moment, Emperor Yuanjing had already ascended the high platform. The drums and music stopped, and the Minister of Rites knelt to read the prayer. When he finished, the music resumed.

Emperor Yuanjing personally burned the prayer and performed the ritual of three kneels and nine kowtows to the ancestors.

The ancestral worship ceremony was only halfway through at this point.

Wei Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked towards the Empress not far away, dignified and graceful, with a natural imperial bearing.

As the birth mother of the eldest princess, the mother and daughter didn’t look alike, but the Empress was still a beauty who could topple a nation. Even now, she remained dignified and graceful.

One could imagine how stunning she must have been in her youth.

But the years had washed away her prime, and she was no longer the girl with delicate features, innocent and pure.

Yet he remained as he was back then, still in his blue robes.

Wei Yuan’s expression became distant.

As if sensing something, the Empress, mother to the nation, gently turned her head. Their gazes met across the distance.

The Empress’s eyes softened for just a moment.

But Wei Yuan, as if electrified, quickly withdrew his gaze and hurriedly bowed. All emotions in his eyes settled, leaving only profound vicissitudes.

“Foster father, something’s wrong over there,” Yang Yan said in a low voice.

Wei Yuan followed his gaze and saw a night watchman kneeling on the ground, with two others beside him, saying something to him.

Many experts had already noticed Liu Qi’an’s situation.

But as there was no immediate crisis, they refrained from inquiring. As long as there were no assassins, everything else, no matter how big had to wait until the Emperor finished the ancestral worship.

Including settling accounts with this young night watchman afterward.

Wei Yuan recognized at a glance that it was the promising young man he had his eye on. He raised his chin slightly: “Go check the situation and bring him away.”

This was to protect Liu Qi’an.

…

“Save me, save me…”

The voice kept calling relentlessly like a death messenger. Liu Qi’an’s spirit began to tear apart. One moment he felt like he was a detective living in modern times, the next he felt like he was a native of the capital city.

The pain in his brain grew more and more intense. He was on the verge of collapse.

My head hurts so much, stop shouting, please stop shouting… Liu Qi’an covered his head, large beads of sweat rolling down.

He was already drenched in sweat.

The eerie cries for help were targeting his primordial spirit, not his physical body, but the pain was no less than physical torture.

Amidst the strange, persistent cries for help, Liu Qi’an finally broke down. He no longer cared about the emperor’s ancestral worship, the strict rules, or anything else.

When facing the brink of death, nothing else matters anymore.

He clenched his fists and pounded the ground heavily, roaring with all his might:

“Shut up!!”

In that instant, the wind and clouds changed color.

On the high platform in the lake, the temple suddenly began to shake. Then, a golden sword energy burst through the roof and shot into the sky.

With this sword light, the lake water suddenly surged, waves upon waves rising. Sangbo Lake seemed to have come alive.