"Where is this? I... I feel like I've had a very... very long dream..."

A quarter of an hour later, although Emperor Xingyu, whose acupuncture points were unleashed, seemed a little drowsy, the bottle of detoxifying incense prepared by Feng Qingcheng was indeed effective, allowing his consciousness to escape the erosion of the Dream-Eroding Flower. However, it was unknown how long it could last. After all, the poisoning was very serious. In order to control the emperor's mind in a short period of time, Liu Yanguo took an evil approach. Only then did Emperor Xingyu regain consciousness. His lips and fingernails were all black, which was a counterattack from the large amount of toxins accumulated in his body.

"This is the Imperial Garden, a cave within the Taihu rockery. Imperial Master Liu Yanguo deceived Your Majesty, poisoned Your Majesty with his magic, and manipulated Your Majesty to harm the princes and court officials. I tracked him down and found that... it was General Ju who led Your Majesty out of the secret passage. At the time, the situation was urgent, and they were unable to apprehend Liu Yanguo."

"No..." Emperor Xingyu suddenly interrupted Mu Kaiwei's report and put his hand on Fu Jinxi's forearm. Fu Jinxi squatted and sawed beside him but said nothing. "It's you...it should be you...I saw you take action. You are very skilled and strong. You run...you run faster than the wind."

Mu Kaiwei's eyes twitched slightly, and his heart pounded. As expected, he couldn't hide it, and the emperor saw through everything.

Emperor Xingyu continued, "You look so much like me... you really look like... Tingdi! You are Tingdi!" His eyes widened suddenly, and the strength of his grip on his forearm increased.

"Your Majesty's twins were murdered long ago on the banks of the Sanchuankou River by assassins sent by Your Majesty, Yinqi." Fu Jinxi said expressionlessly, slowly but firmly pulling the emperor's hand away. "Your Majesty arranged for someone to infiltrate Prince Kang's mansion as a slave and secretly poison the Crown Prince. As if that weren't enough, to make the whole thing appear legitimate and justifiable, Yinqi disguised himself as a river pirate and launched a surprise attack, killing everyone on board the ship from Prince Kang's mansion seeking medical help." After a brief pause, her lips curled up. "Even then, Your Majesty still doesn't recognize me?"

Every time Prince Kang spoke, Emperor Xingyu, who was curled up on the cold ground, could not help but tremble, and finally called out in a trembling voice -

"Xiao Xi...you are Xiao Xi, I recognized you, I recognized you..." Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes in shock.

Fu Jinxi said, "I really wanted Liu Yanguo to take His Majesty away. His Majesty destroyed his entire nation. If it comes to revenge, he should be the one to do it." His eyes were stern, and his voice was cold. "But if His Majesty disappeared inexplicably like this, the former court and the inner court would be in chaos. Then the state would be at a standstill, a national disaster would occur, and who knows how many lives would be lost."

"You're committing treason and disobedience. You're the same as your father. I should have killed you long ago. It's all...it's all because of the Queen Mother's kindness that she's standing in the way. Asshole...Asshole...Aren't you afraid that after I recover, I'll order the raid on your Prince Kang's mansion and execute your entire family?"

With a clang, Mu Kaiwei's sword, worn at his waist, was already three inches out. His eyes were like daggers, pointed directly at the emperor. "Then let's see if Your Majesty can get out of this rockery cave first!"

"You...you...what do you want to do?!"

"Your Majesty mistakenly trusted the Imperial Master Liu Yanguo and was kidnapped by Liu Yanguo. I caught up with him and fought with him, and finally got Your Majesty back. However, it was too late. Your Majesty died of poisoning, or he was killed by Liu Yanguo and his body was abandoned in the Kingdom of Yuhua. The body was found by me..." Mu Kaiwei's voice was colder than Prince Kang's, and it was creepy when he was angry. There was no respect for the emperor at all.

"You can make up whatever you want about such things. Anyway, Your Majesty has been put to rest here, and there is no need for Your Majesty to worry about future matters. I think that if you follow my opinion, I can get the great merit of 'protecting the emperor'." She felt that Prince Kang beside her was looking at her with bright eyes, but she was in no mood to respond. She still had to be ruthless to the emperor.

"Your Majesty issued a killing order against Prince Kang's Mansion back then, and my mother was unintentionally implicated and met her end at the hands of the assassin known as Hidden Chess. This vengeance was difficult to avenge, but coupled with the fact that Your Majesty has been both secretly wary of and gracious to my Mu family over the years, my family has let go of the incident... However, if Your Majesty intends to harm Prince Kang's Mansion again, don't blame me for breaking the bond between monarch and subject and striking first."

Emperor Xingyu seemed to be unable to breathe, his eyes as big as copper bells darting back and forth between the faces of Prince Kang and his wife. His blackened lips trembled, and he suddenly vomited two large mouthfuls of blood.

"You two... you two are so good... give me that medicine bottle again. It seems like it can't be suppressed anymore. Something is about to come out and pull me... pull me into the abyss... I can't fall in again. If I fall in, I can't get out. I can't... give me the bottle quickly!"

Prince Kang and his wife looked at each other and nodded slightly, their minds connected without words.

Fu Jinxi turned to the emperor and said, "Write the decree thoroughly. It won't be too late to smell it later."

Emperor Xingyu's face was even paler than that of Prince Kang, who had been on the verge of death several times. He asked in a trembling voice, "Wh...what is the decree?"

Fu Jinxi tore off a large piece of the emperor's brocade robe with a "swish" and spread it flat on the ground.

"It is to keep everyone safe, loyal ministers alive, and the country safe from disaster. Such is the decree." After saying this, he grabbed Emperor Xingyu's finger and used it to wipe the blood that the emperor vomited on the stone ground.

After Chongyuan Pavilion was surrounded for most of the day by the Tiger and Wolf Guards who only obeyed the king's orders, the trapped royal nobles, court officials, and innocent palace servants finally received good news.

It must be that all the palaces had heard about the huge changes in Chongyuan Pavilion. All the palace maids and servants seemed to have disappeared in an instant, and no one knew where they hid. They ran all the way back from the Imperial Garden without meeting anyone. Emperor Xingyu asked Mu Kaiwei to carry him back on his back, and Prince Kang, who looked panicked, was following him.

Emperor Xingyu's face was pale and his breath was almost gone, but with just a few words he made hundreds of Tiger and Wolf Guards retreat.

Afterwards, the emperor handed a royal edict written in blood on a brocade robe to the empress and ministers who came over crying, and ordered the ministers to rewrite it immediately and let him use the seal. On the other side, the empress dowager, who was extremely frightened, only moved over to check on him after confirming that he had regained consciousness.

Facing the still wary eyes of the Empress Dowager, Emperor Xingyu could not help but smile bitterly. He said bitterly and meaningfully, "The mistakes I made, whether in the past or today, are all the result of cause and effect."

The Queen Mother said nothing, but shed tears, and continued to protect the Ninth Prince from a distance, not letting this only grandson of the emperor encounter any danger again.

Then naturally a group of imperial doctors came forward for consultation. However, they did not expect that Emperor Xingyu could only be conscious for two quarters of an hour before his mind became confused again, and he even seemed to be crazy. He no longer had the strength to wield a sword to hurt anyone, as he kept vomiting blood, and the color of his blood gradually turned from red to black, and his condition was getting worse and worse.

Prince Kang suddenly appeared and said that after hearing about Liu Yanguo's background, he was too worried that something might happen in the palace, so he couldn't help but run to the palace. As a result, halfway to Chongyuan Pavilion, he met his own princess carrying the emperor.

No one had any doubt about what he said. After all, the huge changes in Chongyuan Pavilion were so shocking that even those who had experienced it personally were still unable to calm down. How could they have the mind to question Prince Kang, who was so "inactive"?

Fu Jin? He didn't ask many questions, but just stayed by the side of the Empress Dowager and the still unconscious Fu Jinyi. However, when Fu Jinyi's biological mother, Concubine Yan Shu, saw that her own child finally woke up slowly under Prince Kang's unique care, she was so excited that she wanted to run down and kowtow to express her gratitude.

"Your Highness, Consort Shu, there's no need to be so reserved. His Highness the Ninth Prince... oh, no, once the Emperor's blood-written imperial edict is officially promulgated by the ministers, His Highness the Ninth Prince will be renamed His Highness the Crown Prince." Fu Jinxi presented a gentle, respectful, and modest demeanor. "I was just trying to say that this set of massage techniques was taught to me by my princess. It would be wonderful if it could be of some help to Jinyi... uh, to His Highness the Crown Prince. Furthermore, it must be the timely and correct use of acupuncture and medication by the imperial physicians, combined with the techniques my princess taught me, that has led to this improvement."

"Yes, everything is getting better." The Queen Mother spoke, and the ancestor said with emotion, "Your Princess Kang is very good. She is the Jade Rakshasa of the Heavenly Kingdom. She is really good. You kid, be more obedient in the future and don't make her angry." Although you are in the deep palace, the Queen Mother's eyeliner is also very long and wide. It must be because she heard the rumors that Prince Kang was "kicked out of the carriage" by her own princess and "beheaded in the dormitory". "Although she is not as gentle and elegant as an ordinary lady, she is very kind and cute, and she is also smooth and steady in dealing with things. You must get along with her well and be harmonious for the rest of your life."

Prince Kang liked what the Queen Mother said. A simple smile appeared on his pale and handsome face, and he nodded. "Grandson understands. I will be on good terms with her for the rest of my life."

When Princess Kang was mentioned, everyone's eyes naturally turned to the woman.

Mu Kaiwei was standing not far away, very close to his senior brother Meng Yunzheng, and they were talking in low voices.

Fu Jinxi roughly guessed what the brother and sister were whispering about. They must have been explaining what happened in the rockery cave. Thinking of her hearing the emperor threaten to deal with Prince Kang's Mansion, and her sword drawn, threatening back fiercely, his heart felt warm and he really wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her all over.

But at this moment, seeing her so close to Meng Yunzheng, talking so intently, with trust and intimacy in her eyes, he tried hard to remind himself not to fall into the sea of jealousy, but... it seemed to be ineffective. He was just jealous and resentful and couldn't control himself.

"Thirsty, right?" Seeing him rubbing his lips and his throat rolling, the Queen Mother lovingly handed him a cup of fragrant tea.

This pot of tea was freshly brewed by the palace maid and served to me. It will be fine. I just drank a cup, you can drink some to moisten your throat."

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Prince Kang retracted his longing eyes, coughed pretendly as if to cover up, and respectfully accepted the fragrant tea given by the ancestor.

Today's palace was in chaos. For some people, it almost turned into an unmanageable farce, but for most people who had experienced the disaster at Chongyuan Pavilion, it was truly a tragedy beyond repair.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, the eldest son of the Emperor and the Queen, had only one little princess. Now the Crown Prince died tragically at the hands of the Emperor's sword for no reason. How could the Queen feel?

Among the third prince, Prince Cheng, the fourth prince, Prince Qing, and the fifth prince, Prince Li, only Prince Qing is still alive. However, due to the severe sword wound and excessive bleeding, no imperial physician dares to guarantee whether Prince Qing can survive this most critical period.

If one must identify the beneficiaries of this disaster, they would undoubtedly be the Ninth Prince and Concubine Yan. However, Concubine Yan was also frightened to the point of breaking out in cold sweats, almost losing her soul. This was the kind of fear that would be hard to forget no matter how long time had passed.

It was almost midnight when Prince Kang and Princess Kang returned to their own palace.

Returning home so late, and without bringing back any news, Old Xue, Chief Steward Shao, Aunt Lan and the maids were naturally waiting anxiously. Only Feng Qingcheng was very calm. The small house in the backyard, which was almost isolated from the crowd, was as quiet as usual, without any disturbance.

After going through everything today, I am really tired. It’s not physical fatigue, but mental fatigue.

So Princess Kang was quite willful tonight and didn't want to answer any questions from Aunt Lan and the maids, and Prince Kang also didn't want to deal with Lao Xue's questions for the time being. For the first time, the couple worked together to skillfully ask the "outsiders" to leave the main courtyard, and after taking a bath in the small room separately, they returned to their shared bedroom.

"Let me help you... help you dry your hair, okay?" King Kang, who had just finished twisting his hair, saw his wife return to the room, so he waited by the couch with a clean towel in his hand. The candlelight made his cheeks slightly flushed.

Mu Kaiwei did not refuse. She went straight to the couch in a single layer of clothing and sat cross-legged with her back to Prince Kang. This was definitely a gesture of complete entrustment and absolute trust, which made Prince Kang behind her smile foolishly.

The next moment, the towel gently covered Mu Kaiwei's head, and he rubbed her scalp with gentle and moderate force, wiped the moisture from her hair, rubbed and pinched it, and then patted and wiped her hair through the towel... It was so comfortable, so comfortable that she closed her eyes and really wanted to fall back into his arms.

...I mean, why not? Why not?

She was just about to follow her desire, but the person behind her was one step ahead of her. After taking off the towel, he leaned his head over to her. It felt like he was rubbing the back of her head with his straight nose lovingly, and then he buried his whole face in her thick hair, breathing in her natural hair fragrance.

Mu Kaiwei held the man's arm around her waist, and her heart softened because of him. With pity, she took the initiative to speak, "Today, when you and I were lying on the top of Chongyuan Pavilion and spying, I knew that you were worried about the Queen Mother and His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince. Although the Queen Mother did not stop the Emperor from taking action against Prince Kang's Mansion, and although she pretended to be ignorant, she felt guilty and wanted to make amends during the years when you returned to the capital, and treated you sincerely, so gradually, you didn't hate her so much, and even liked this kind of grandparent-grandchild relationship and were willing to fulfill such a relationship." She was not asking a question, but simply explaining what she saw and thought.

She suddenly smiled, a hint of mischief gleaming in her sincerity. "Prince Kang, it turns out you have more love than anyone else. I see it now."

She couldn't see the man behind her at this moment, but she could clearly feel his breath becoming rough, his handsome nose rubbing her head harder, and it seemed... it seemed that he even opened his mouth to hold her hair. Eh, why is he so shameless? She didn't say anything.

"I, too... don't have feelings for everyone." A muffled voice, a faint chill, drifted through her hair. "Senior Feng is 99% certain of the antidote and alchemy techniques the Emperor has been poisoned with, but I have absolutely no desire to ask for your help. Even if I gave the Emperor the bottle of antidote incense, it would only maintain lucidity for brief periods, and each lucidity period is getting shorter and shorter. Furthermore, the fragrance in the bottle is almost gone, and the imperial physicians are helpless. The Emperor will inevitably fall into madness, and his time of death is approaching."

Mu Kaiwei knew his inner conflict. His revenge for Prince Kang's Mansion was different from her grief over losing her mother. Although the knife from her closest relative had pierced his heart and made it bleed, he still stubbornly took root and lived towards the sun.

"Those who do evil will eventually perish." Her voice was hoarse. "That's better. It saves me from having to do it myself."

"Weiwei..." Fu Jin laughed softly, thinking of the fierce and bandit-like spirit he had shown when threatening the emperor in the rockery cave. He immediately hugged her tighter, caressing her neck and ears like a clinging person. "Weiwei, for me and for Prince Kang's Mansion, you even dared to commit the crime of regicide. How can I repay you? Eh..."

Mu Kaiwei was amused by his feigned distress, but something was nagging her, so she couldn't help but ask. "Liu Yanguo escaped from the palace through a secret passage. All the gates of the imperial capital were locked, and a citywide manhunt was underway. He only knew you knew martial arts, so he probably didn't know your identity as 'Black Third Master,' right?"

The man behind her rubbed her to show that she was right.

Mu Kaiwei finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Then, even if we still can't find the person in the whole city, we can slowly make new plans and penetrate the enemy's shell." She pursed her lips lightly, and her mind drifted away. She began to think about how she would need to conspire with her eldest brother and the brothers of the "Six Gates" tomorrow, and maybe she could borrow the manpower from the patrol camp.

Suddenly, Prince Kang took a deep breath, as if his worries were like a huge stone pressing on his chest and he didn't know how to relieve it.

Mu Kaiwei's wandering thoughts were brought back by his melancholy and self-deprecating sigh, and he asked in a muffled voice -

"Weiwei, if... I mean if, one day, your senior brother and I were both in danger, for example... for example, we were surrounded by powerful enemies or fighting a large group of ferocious beasts, who would you save first?"

"Of course I'll save you first." He answered without hesitation, without even having to think about it.

"Really!" Prince Kang said happily.

"Seriously, after all, your martial arts skills are not as good as my senior brother's."

"...Oh." After hearing that sincere answer, Prince Kang, who had been happy for less than three breaths, turned into a withered flower again.

Mu Kaiwei simply grabbed one of his ears and pulled the man behind him to his front.

Fu Jin didn't want to resist at all and obeyed completely. She pulled his ear and he fell down with the force, landing on her thighs. His black hair was spread out, making his face look even more pale and decadent.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" She brushed a few strands of hair away from his face, and instead of pulling on his ear, she tapped his chin. "I'm too lazy to guess, so just tell me."

"This king... feels wrong. My whole body feels wrong." He covered his chest with one hand.

Mu Kaiwei was startled and hurriedly checked his forehead temperature and neck pulse, but heard him continue to say -

"Seeing you trust your senior brother so much and being so close to him... so, so close, my whole body feels off, especially my chest, which feels incredibly stuffy and uncomfortable."

"Fu Jinxi!" She pinched his chin again, with more force.

Prince Kang shouted, "You can't tell me to shut up. Weiwei made it clear to me."

Mu Kaiwei was both angry and amused, and pushed him. "Of course I'm close to my eldest brother. He's my family, my relative. We grew up together, fought together, faced difficulties together. How could I not be close to him? Besides, I trust you and rely on you. The prince and I are also very close."

"How can we be good friends? How can we be good friends? What the princess means by good friends is completely different from what I want. How can we be good friends? We...we have never been good friends!"

Mu Kaiwei was touched by his words, her eyes and heart trembled slightly, and she finally understood what he was worried about.

Seeing the phoenix eyes shining and dreamy, her heart was also moved, and suddenly she became a bully, "Okay, then come and be nice! What's the matter with you covering your chest all the time? Let me see with my own eyes how stuffy it is!"

You can't tell from the eyes that you feel "chest tightness", but no matter how foolish or stupid Prince Kang is, he would never say anything to refute the argument.

He was like a fish on a chopping board, lying there as the "fish", letting Princess Kang tear open his belt and collar, completely exposing his fair and lean upper body, with only his arms still in his sleeves.

The rise and fall of his chest was very obvious. Mu Kaiwei stared at him, her face flushed. She suddenly found herself being very reckless. It seemed that she should be a bully to the end, but she didn't know that she was still very shy in the end. If she gave up halfway, she would look down on herself.

The man's fingers reached out and quietly hooked the corner of her clothes, like a silent urging, or an irresistible attachment.

The man in front of her was obviously very able to endure pain, but he always loved to cry out in pain to her, and liked to ask for some pity from her, asking for something that he longed for in his heart. He wanted her to have him in her eyes and in her heart, and wanted her to be good to only him.

Loving someone too much, devoting too much to them, would inevitably lead to anxiety and fear of loss. Was it she who made him feel uncomfortable and uneasy? But... she did love him very, very much.

Wanting to pour out the overflowing emotions in her chest to him, she mustered her courage again and bent down to kiss his chest, hearing a slight moan from him.

She licked, bit and nibbled boldly, leaving red marks on Prince Kang's skin from chest to throat to ears. Her hot breath warmed his cool skin, and finally her tongue licked his beautiful earlobe, making him shiver.

"Your Highness knows that I laid an ambush in the 'Nuan Yue Pavilion' for nearly a month in order to catch a madman who specifically targeted girls in brothels. But what you don't know is that several girls in the 'Nuan Yue Tu' were good friends with me at that time, and they taught me a lot of 'moves' in private. I couldn't find anyone to try my skills on. Your Highness, will you accompany me to the end tonight?" She deliberately put emphasis on the word "moves", which is very imaginative!

Her provocation aroused the man to the point of being ferocious. Fu Jin suddenly closed his arms and hugged her tightly. He turned over and pushed her down, with her lower body in only a thin pair of panties pressed between her legs.

"I will absolutely accompany you. Princess, please try whatever you want. Do not show any mercy."

Mu Kai smiled slightly, touched his face, and suddenly asked, "Your Highness, are you still feeling uncomfortable in your chest?"

He brought his lips close to hers, kissing her again and again. "Well... that depends on how thoroughly your princess tests me, whether I'm thoroughly satisfied. If I'm truly satisfied, then my chest won't feel stuffy anymore."

"Okay." She was determined to do it. She pushed him away, quickly tore off his clothes with both hands, and then attacked the waistband of his underwear.

Fu Jin felt like he was about to be stripped completely naked. He was both excited and shy, and his heart was fluttering. But then he thought, everything should be fair. He was naked, but she wasn't. How could this be? So he started to strip his princess's clothes.

After a small "melee", the bed curtains suddenly became quiet.

The two naked people knelt on the couch, looking at each other with warm and shy smiles.

Later, it was really hard to tell who leaned towards whom first. They threw themselves into each other's arms, supporting each other, their hair tangled, their limbs intertwined, and the girl's clean and soft body fragrance gradually made the man's cold breath warm.

Most of the time, it was tender and lingering, though awkward, yet their skins were so close, their hearts so connected, and filled with sweetness. Only occasionally, when they "tested their skills" and both wanted to seize control, would a casual love affair turn into a physical fight, with close combat taking place.

When their two bodies were connected in the most intimate posture, Mu Kaiwei could feel the lifeblood of a man so deeply embedded in her flesh and blood, merging with her breathing and pulse. She loved Prince Kang's misty eyes at this moment, like a woven web of love and desire, entangling him deeply. He was willing to sink, falling very deeply...

But, perhaps, she was also looking back at him with those intoxicated eyes, but she herself was completely unaware...

Slightly...slightly...

This king wants to be with you... a real husband and wife.

He had longed for it so eagerly and anxiously, and she had suppressed her surging emotions and agreed devoutly—

My Lord, I'm waiting for you!

That night, the only thing she knew clearly was that she had finally waited for him, the complete him.

He poured his life into her flesh and blood without reservation, giving her his most original intention and the most complete version of himself.

That night, in a nondescript residential building in Gouwei Lane, some distance away from Prince Kang's Palace in the imperial capital, a tall man in black emerged from the darkness like a ghost, quickly slipped into the earthen wall of the residential building, and entered the low house.

Even after entering the house, he did not dare to light a candle. He pushed aside his hood, and the moonlight filtering through the paper window was faintly reflected on his gray hair.

He didn't plan to rest, but walked towards the backyard of the house.

There is a square cellar entrance at the bottom of the old locust tree in the backyard. It is not big, but it can accommodate one person in and out.

However, his revenge plan today was not completely completed. Even the "ace card" he used for self-defense was taken away, and he almost couldn't escape. Now the whole city is in panic. In order to hide back in this safe hiding place, he can be said to have put in a lot of effort tonight.

After finally reaching the cellar entrance, he pushed open the wooden door and walked down the stairs without thinking, not noticing that the fallen leaves that should have covered the cellar entrance were scattered around.

It was not until he stepped down the last stone step that he felt a sudden chill on his back and his breath tightened, and he realized that something was wrong.

There's someone in the cellar!

The phosphorus stone used for lighting in the cellar emitted a faint green light. The thin old woman was standing in a corner not far away, with her back to him and not moving. It seemed that she had heard the sound of him going down the stairs a long time ago, but did not care about his appearance at all, and was even... even waiting for him to show up.

Except for the day when the soldiers from the Celestial Empire and Fuli rushed into his Qiongcang royal court and burned, killed and looted, Liu Yanguo asked himself honestly that he had never been so panicked in his life as he was at this moment. The person in front of him came too suddenly and strangely, completely unfamiliar and completely beyond his expectations.

"...Who are you?" His forced calm demeanor was beginning to crack, and he inexplicably felt a sense of powerlessness and terror... "Now it's the end."

The old woman, who was nearly 70 years old, did not raise her round face, but just looked quietly at the two naked female bodies in the corner of the cellar that had become containers and fertilizers for the Dream-Erosion Flowers. The young girls' bodies had been feeding the Dream-Erosion Flowers for a long time, and they were no longer as white and plump as before, but were almost in a state of mummies. The flower stems crawled all over their bodies, drilling into their seven orifices, nail crevices, and even the jade doors between their legs. The female bodies and the flowers were combined into one, and could no longer be separated.

The old woman shook her head, her voice sounding like a sigh, "Qiong Cang was bullied, and you came all the way here and through untold hardships to seek revenge on the Emperor of the Celestial Empire. You wanted to drive the emperor crazy and make him kill all the princes to end his heir. You wanted to cause chaos in the court, so chaotic that the Celestial Empire would be overthrown... I can tolerate all this. You can do whatever you want to the emperor, and it doesn't matter what you turn him into, but... you chose to use this method to harm a girl in such a state. And as far as I see it, this method of refining the body into a weapon is very sophisticated, and it can't be the first time. You, tell me yourself, how many girls have you harmed along the way?" Finally, the old woman raised her eyebrows and looked over, her small eyes gleaming with a gleam.

Liu Yanguo's back was covered in cold sweat and he was trembling. "Who are you?"

The old woman didn't answer, but continued, "Poison is very good, and poison should be used with style, but the methods used by the Qiongcang royal family are dirty and vile. I once sternly warned the king of Qiongcang that if I saw such a practice of refining the body into a weapon again, I would not show mercy. I thought that with the destruction of Qiongcang, this evil technique would never be seen again, but who knew that you, this poisonous tumor, would still remain?"

Liu Yanguo immediately understood who was standing in front of him.

"...The Holy Hand of the Dark Valley...poison...poisonous throughout the world...Senior Feng once broke into the Qiongcang royal court alone seven times in a row, and no one could stop him..." Finally, his father was forced to restrain himself.

He retreated unconsciously, but then he thought, now that he had been targeted and there were pursuers outside, he had nowhere to retreat.

Secretly regulating his breathing, he forced himself to take two steps closer, then smiled calmly, saying, "Senior Feng once broke into my Qiongcang Royal Court. Tonight, he's even been able to find a place as secluded as mine, and he's still unstoppable... But I wonder where Senior Feng found him?"

Feng Qingcheng said slowly, "Since I know the poison is caused by the Dream-Eroding Flower, detoxification won't be difficult for me. Moreover, the monk Guanqin is imprisoned in the Dali Temple. I only need him to wake up for a moment to tell me what I want to know. It won't take much effort at all."

Liu Yanguo believed that with the other party's "Poisonous Steps in the World" method, it would be absolutely easy to dig out some powerful clues from Guan Qin's mouth.

He took another step closer, speaking in a sincere tone, "Please forgive me, senior. Due to the national hatred and family feud, I have to use magic and poison as a last resort. This time I came to the Celestial Empire to stir up this situation. Although it may not be entirely to my liking, it can indeed comfort my country of Qiongcang. I swear to heaven that I will never use this magic again..." He kept talking, and both hands hidden in his wide sleeves fired at the same time. Poisonous silver needles were between each fingertip, shooting at several acupoints on Feng Qingcheng's Ren and Du meridians at close range.

Like lightning, the opportunity is gone in a flash!

However, Liu Yanguo didn’t know what happened in this extremely short moment.

The silver needle in his hand had clearly erupted with his last breath, but how could he have collapsed to the ground the moment he tried to inhale?! His tongue was frozen, unable to form a single word. His eyes darted around in fear, and he saw a round, brown face hovering above him, looking down at him.

"You should be thankful that my temper has softened in recent years. I've become more approachable, and my words aren't as sharp. If you were in my hands in the past, I would have tortured you to death and then revived you. Once revived, I would have tortured you to death again using other methods, repeating this over and over again. Only then could I avenge the families of those innocent girls who died tragically."

"Hu...ah...ah..." The stiff man's eyes were wide open, almost popping out of their sockets.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die without anyone knowing. I'll keep what needs to be distinguished. Well, you've harmed so many women, and now I've only killed you once. You really are lucky."

The words "lucky" were the last sounds Liu Yanguo heard. As soon as the sound reached his ears, his whole body, except for the skin on his face, was on fire and he could not move. But the feeling was still there, real and existing, as if he was being burned alive. He was so burned that he couldn't even roll over and cry out in pain.

That night, a fire broke out in a small house at the end of Gouwei Lane. Fortunately, only the cellar in the backyard was smoldering. The people in the lane noticed white smoke coming out and quickly brought water to put out the fire.

Tonight, the entire imperial capital was on high alert, and the fire incident quickly attracted the attention of detectives of all ranks. After quickly helping to put out the fire, they unexpectedly found the criminal who had caused the city-wide alert in the cellar without any effort.