Song Lin did not answer her question, but took the porcelain piece from her hand, rubbed her fingers with heartache, and said that he would do such rough work in the future.

Chen Xu asked Pei Zhiyuan if he could stop and rest for a few days before leaving. After all, if he went to the capital, he would have to act under the supervision of Master Hua, which would be very inconvenient.

Pei Zhiyuan said it was okay, Master Hua was obsessed with refining pills all day long, and was always paying attention to the movements of the rebels in the north, so he had no time to care about Gu Xuanjingsi.

Shen Xu nodded, handed the parts drawings of the two sets of equipment to Pei Zhiyuan, and made a long list of materials, asking him to find someone to make all these things.

Pei Zhiyuan agreed without hesitation, but did not delay his journey to the imperial city for even a moment. In the following days, he traveled almost non-stop.

Several people had lunch on the way. The weather was really hot and humid. Chen Xu said that the wound on his shoulder was itchy and painful, so he asked to stop and rest.

Pei Zhiyuan looked up at the scorching sun and the tall tower of the Rock Imperial City that was faintly visible in the distance, and agreed to her request.

They led the horses under the shade of a tree. Song Lin followed Xie Jun and Ah Hu to find water, while Pei Zhiyuan and Xiao Ba stayed behind to guard Xiao Mingcheng and Shen Xu.

"Hey, your name is Xiao Ba, right?" Shen Xu called Xiao Ba and waved him over.

Xiao Ba cautiously held Xiao Mingcheng's hand and walked over, impatiently asking, "What's wrong again?"

Shen Xu looked up and down at the Mirror User named Xiao Ba. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, a little short, with a childish look. She blinked and said, "Hey, you look like you're not even fifteen yet, are you?"

"Xiao Ba snorted lightly and said unconvincedly: "Humph, I'm eighteen this year."

Feeling that he had answered her question so frankly, he said fiercely, "What's it to you how old I am?"

"Haha, just ask."

"Don't try to get close to me." Xiao Ba didn't buy it at all, which was completely different from the attitude he had when he dragged her out of the carriage.

He said bluntly, "You two evil couple have killed many of our brothers, and you still want to go to the capital to seek wealth and honor. I think you are courting death. Master Hua will kill you sooner or later."

Shen Xu lazily leaned his back against the tree trunk and whispered mysteriously, "We want both wealth and lives. In fact, we went to the capital to assassinate the Imperial Master."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ba was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "Why are you telling me this? What evil idea are you planning? If you want to assassinate the Imperial Master, do it yourself, don't harm our Xuan Jing Division."

"But your ambassador has already boarded our pirate ship."

Xiao Ba turned slightly to the side, ignored her, and took care of Xiao Mingcheng while he drank some water.

Shen Xu's beautiful cat eyes turned around, looking around the surrounding woods, thinking for a moment, and said: "It seems that you and the other two mirror users don't have a very good relationship?"

Seeing that he ignored him, Shen Xu continued, "That guy named Xie Jun has been sending messages to the capital. Why didn't your Lord Pei stop him?"

Xiao Ba looked back at him without saying anything.

"He's one of Master Hua's men. He's been reporting our whereabouts all the time. He must be aware of our plan to assassinate the Master." Shen Xu stroked his chin and analyzed, "But why hasn't the Master sent anyone to suppress us yet?"

"Humph, there are many people who want to kill the Imperial Master." Xiao Ba snorted lightly and said disdainfully: "If the Imperial Master was really that easy to kill, how could the world be so chaotic!"

Shen Xu uttered an "oh" and murmured, "I thought our plan was perfect."

At this time, Pei Zhiyuan came over and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Master Pei, you've come at the right time. I heard that in Master Hua's alchemy hall, there is a rare treasure called the Blood Essence Dzi Bead." Shen Xu sat on a stone under a tree trunk, moved the grass in front of him, found a branch and began to write and draw on the ground.

"Rumor has it that this Dzi bead is the essence extracted from the blood of the ancient rare beast Qilin. I heard that the bead is oval in shape, about the size of a winter melon. Although it is Qilin blood, it has five colors: blue, red, yellow, white and gray. It is extremely magical."

"Taking the powder scraped from the pearl's body, you can revive the dead and turn bones into flesh. If you eat it, the dead can be brought back to life, the sick can be cured, and if you eat it, the living can be immortal."

"You believe this?" Pei Zhiyuan frowned slightly, not understanding her intention in saying these words.

Chen Xu continued, "It is said that Master Hua has set up many traps in the temple, alternating with ancient Qimen formations. He also raises ferocious birds and beasts in the temple to protect this Dzi bead."

"Who told you all this?"

"Your mirror users."

There were grooves drawn on the black mud ground. Pei Zhiyuan tilted his head to look, but could not make out what she had drawn.

Xiao Ba quickly added, "I didn't say that."

As Shen Xu painted, he said, “It is said that many people have seen Master Hua use that Dzi bead to heal His Majesty’s injuries and even bring the dying Concubine back to life.”

"Many treasure hunters and adventurers in the martial arts world covet this Dzi bead, but no one has ever been able to break through the traps and mechanisms in the hall. And no one who has entered the hall has ever left, except for the Imperial Master."

"Ahu told you all this, right?"

"Yeah." Shen Xu nodded, and when she looked up, she saw Pei Zhiyuan staring sharply at the picture she drew, "It seems to be true."

Pei Zhiyuan didn't answer, tacitly agreeing with her guess, "What do you want to do?"

"I was wondering, that Dzi bead is so magical, can it control people's hearts?"

Pei Zhiyuan's expression suddenly changed. He was silent for a long moment before he asked, "Why do you guess so?"

"Master Hua was once an unknown alchemist in the palace of the current emperor. Later, the late emperor was injured while hunting and fell into a coma, and the imperial doctors were helpless. Later, Master Hua saved the late emperor's life with dzi bead powder, and the late emperor began to pay attention to alchemy."

"Ever since the late emperor began focusing on alchemy, he gradually began to neglect state affairs, his personality became irritable and prone to murder. If the Dzi beads were truly so miraculous, why didn't the late emperor keep them for himself and seek immortality?"

Pei Zhiyuan remained silent, leaning against the tree trunk and pondering Shen Xu's intention in saying this.

"Oh, the previous emperor was dethroned by a regicide..."

Shen Xu stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject: "The Xuanhe Palace in the southwest corner of the Imperial City is so far away from the Alchemy Hall, why did Master Hua choose to take a rest there?"

Pei Zhiyuan was silent for a moment, then replied, "There's a natural hot spring in Xuanhe Palace. Master Hua goes there every afternoon to soak in the hot spring and then take a nap."

"Master Pei, we can take advantage of the Imperial Master taking a nap to sneak into the Alchemy Hall and steal the Dzi Beads."

Pei Zhiyuan's face darkened, and he asked in a cold tone, "What are you doing stealing the Dzi Beads?"

The corners of Shen Xu's mouth rose, his eyes fixed on Pei Zhiyuan, and he said in a cold voice: "Control people's hearts."

Pei Zhiyuan's mouth tightened. "Can you guarantee that you can steal it? The palace is full of traps and mechanisms. Even if there is no one guarding it, it would be extremely difficult to get access to the Dzi beads, let alone escape unscathed."

"You can give it a try."