Six thousand funeral flowers
It's another rainy day.
There was an eerie calm in the palace, as if some unpredictable event was brewing, yet nowhere to be found.
Tu Xiao held an umbrella in her right hand and a wooden box in her left. She glanced at the hurried guards beside her, tightened her grip on the umbrella, and continued walking forward.
"Aunt Mo! Aunt Mo!"
Tu Xiao paused, turned around, and saw a maid running towards her.
She recognized the person; it was Yinqiu, the personal maid of the Crown Prince's concubine, Consort Li.
Her expression hardened, and she scolded Yinqiu, who was running over, in a low voice: "Keep your voice down! Don't you know where you are? Have you forgotten all the manners I taught you?"
Yinqiu lowered her head meekly and replied in a tearful voice, "Auntie...please, please find a way to save me!"
Tu Xiao sneered: "What? Consort Li just died, and you're already planning to run away? Leaving the palace won't be that easy."
Yinqiu shook her head repeatedly in fear, biting her lip, unable to speak.
She was a maid from Consort Li's family. Consort Li was not a kind person when she was alive, so Yinqiu had lived in fear since she was a child and had seen a lot of storms. Logically speaking, even if she had to die with her young mistress, she shouldn't be so afraid.
The only possibility is that she knows some secrets more terrifying than death, but she is still alive.
What could be more terrifying than death?
"Aunt, if you could give me a simple end, that would be fine! But Her Majesty died under mysterious circumstances. I should have died too, but you spared my life. I can neither live nor die. I have no other choice, Aunt!"
Tu Xiao pulled Yin Qiu behind a nearby artificial hill and whispered in her ear, "Wait for me here at midnight tonight. I will find a way to save your life."
Yinqiu looked at her gratefully and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Aunt! I will definitely come at midnight."
"Go back now. Don't say you've seen me before. Do I need to teach you the rules of the palace again?"
Tu Xiao squinted at her.
Yinqiu wanted to kneel down and pay her respects, but Tu Xiao stopped her, saying, "Go quickly."
Yinqiu nodded repeatedly in fear and hurriedly left.
Tu Xiao watched her retreating figure, a cryptic smile curving her lips.
Everything is going according to plan.
Li Yanheng, the pitiful woman, Tu Xiao shook her head, then laughed at her own pitifulness.
The scorching heat of July and the gloomy weather were a source of distress for those outside the palace.
"I can't live like this anymore!"
The little beggar angrily smashed the broken porcelain bowl on the ground, but the bowl, having endured countless trials over the years, did not break. Instead, it splashed the little beggar with dirty rainwater.
The old beggar sat lazily to the side, took a couple of sips of wine from the jar in his hand, glanced at the angry little beggar, and chuckled twice.
"Dog Egg, why aren't you bragging to me about eating beef buns again today? You little brat, I've told you before, cultivating your mind and body is the most important thing." After saying that, he took two more sips of wine.
The little beggar sat unhappily in front of the dilapidated temple where the two lived, and said sadly, "Cultivation, cultivation! Old man, what else can our Beggars' Sect do besides begging for food? It's more interesting for me to go out and pretend to earn some money myself."
The old beggar smacked his lips, his face flushed from the smell of alcohol. He squinted comfortably, put down the wine jar, and stood up unsteadily, laughing, "I can do... a lot!"
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of silver needles mixed with rainwater appeared before the old beggar's eyes. The little beggar couldn't see them clearly, but he felt that there was a faint light in them.
The old beggar swung his palm back, and the internal force within transformed into a crimson dragon, deflecting the silver needles. The needles were scattered, but then a black giant eagle suddenly appeared and swung its wing, causing dozens of needles to merge into one and rush towards the old beggar's head.
The old beggar's expression changed. He took a step back with his right foot, and with both hands together, another crimson-black dragon appeared.
The eagle and the dragon restrained each other, and the silver needle eventually shattered under the pressure.
The person opposite seemed to have no intention of continuing the fight and was preparing to leave, but the old beggar's curiosity was piqued. He used the Beggar Clan's Drunken Cloud Step to chase after him, and unknowingly used all his lightness skill, only to see a dark black hem of clothing.
The old beggar sighed and returned to the entrance of the dilapidated temple, only to find the little beggar already standing there, stunned.
"Master! Master!"
Upon seeing him return, the little beggar hurriedly grabbed the old beggar's leg and shouted, "Please accept my bow!"
"You didn't even bend your back, you were just hugging my legs?"
The old beggar chuckled and tapped the little beggar on the head, then his expression turned serious.
“That person was no ordinary person. I’ve traveled the martial world for many years, and I’ve never seen such a technique before. But these silver needles… no, this isn’t a Tang Clan technique. But who else could it be but the Tang Clan? Could it be…”
The old beggar muttered to himself, while the young beggar was more concerned with another matter.
"Master, why didn't you catch up with him? Our Beggars' Sect can conjure dragons, why can't we fly like dragons?"
The little beggar asked.
The old beggar coughed awkwardly twice: "Ahem, of course I can fly, but I'm not feeling well today. It's raining and my legs are weak, so I can't use my lightness skill. But that person's lightness skill was truly superb. His internal energy mixed with the wind and rain, and his figure was just a shadow..."
As he spoke, the old beggar seemed to suddenly remember something and abruptly looked in the direction where the person had disappeared.
"Dog Egg".
The old beggar muttered, "The weather is about to change."
The little beggar looked up, puzzled. A raindrop fell into his eye, and he cried out in pain. He rubbed his eye and said with annoyance, "The weather has changed a long time ago!"
The old beggar picked up his wine jar, walked towards the dilapidated temple, and laughed loudly, "That's right! The world has probably changed a long time ago! Gou Gou Dan'er, tomorrow I'll take you back to the main headquarters to learn martial arts!"
"Why!"
Upon hearing this, the little beggar's eyes stopped hurting, and he followed along like a lackey.
It's bustling here, but quiet there.
Mi Yun squatted on the treetop and glanced at the rain falling like beads from the roof beam. She was the one who came to the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city to fight with the old beggar, but she was also the one who started this fight afterward for some unknown reason.
Although she hadn't had many direct confrontations with people from the Central Plains, she found fighting with other martial arts styles quite interesting. However, the old beggar possessed profound internal strength, and if she were to fight him head-on, she probably wouldn't gain any advantage, so there was no point in doing so. Therefore, she decided to run away as soon as possible.
She came here today only to investigate something that happened two years ago, not long after she entered the martial arts world.
Two years ago, she traveled from Baiyue to the Central Plains, passing through this area. Although it was on the outskirts of the city, it was actually quite lively, mainly because there was a mountain here called Qingyun Mountain, on which stood a famous temple called Qingyun Temple. At the foot of the mountain was a town called Lingyun Town, so the people in the town jokingly called this place the land in the clouds, the abode of immortals.
Lingyun Town is no ordinary rural town; its residents are all quite distinguished. It was originally comprised of retired officials from the city, renowned scholars from the capital, martial arts masters no longer involved in the martial world, and retired soldiers. With the help of their existing connections within the city, they built Lingyun Town nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Although the townspeople no longer participate in politics, military affairs, or economic matters, they are often visited by younger generations seeking their guidance, making it a miniature circle of celebrities.
Mi Yun had stayed here and found broken jade in the home of a man surnamed Mu. But that day, someone from the Mu family came to visit their ancestor. Being young and impetuous, she didn't use the Water Pattern Moon Shadow technique much and was caught in the act. She had no choice but to silence the person and dump him in the suburbs. But right after she finished dealing with everything, she stumbled upon something extraordinary in that dilapidated temple.
The strange sobbing and panting made Mi Yun realize what had happened in the temple. However, the person who worshipped the moon had instilled in her the principles behind these things since she was a child, saying that they were left behind by the missing leader of the Yan sect and that she had to remember them. Therefore, she did not feel as ashamed and indignant as the women from the Central Plains.
So she went to the rooftop to watch, and learned from her mistake, she used the Water Ripple Moon Shadow technique.
Incidentally, the weather that day was just like today—gloomy and rainy, making her observation from the rooftop not an easy position.
She had been watching the two men with curiosity, but when the woman turned over, revealing her smooth, white back, she noticed a palm-sized red flower on the woman's waist. The flower was very vibrant, and its stems spread across her alabaster skin like snake forks.
She was all too familiar with this symbol: the Love Flower Gu.
The Love Flower Gu and the Love Gu differ by only one character, but their effects are vastly different. The Love Gu is a Gu used by the Baiyue Gu poison branch to bind the heart of a lover. It requires the user's own blood essence to cultivate, taking ten years to produce a single Gu, and can only be used by women. The Love Flower Gu, on the other hand, is an aphrodisiac Gu, the kind of vulgar drug known in folklore. This Gu has a wide range of uses, and even those who don't know how to use Gu can use it. However, its production can only be done by members of the Gu poison branch, so the Love Flower Gu... is generally sold.
Mi Yun quickly realized that the woman was not acting voluntarily. As a not-so-kind holy maiden of the demonic sect, she didn't seem to have any reason to save her, but... she could kill her.
Just as Mi Yun was about to make her move, she caught a whirring sound from the town behind her. It was time for her to leave.
In her haste, Mi Yun threw a special Gu worm at the man.
That concludes the recollection from two years ago. The reason Mi Yun returned to this place was because she saw the portrait that Tu Xiao had given her.
When that guy sent it over, he solemnly claimed it was some kind of "Survival Manual"—over a thousand words of courtly trivia, with over a hundred pictures of his masterpieces.
From a young age, she had a desire to learn more, so she looked at them one by one. But what she could never forget were the two portraits of the Crown Prince and his concubine, Consort Li.
She had seen them in town two years ago.
Moreover, the man in that dilapidated temple looked exactly like this prince.
It is said that people in the Central Plains value etiquette, but the current crown prince has done such a thing. The so-called royal family is nothing more than this. In Mi Yun's opinion, the sect always talks about restoring its former glory, but being promoted by such a royal family, it is hard to say whether it is good or bad for the demonic sect. After all, there are some things that the demonic sect will not do.
Besides discovering the Crown Prince's shameful deeds, there was another matter that concerned Mi Yun: the Crown Prince had a son and a daughter in the past two years, both born to the Crown Princess.
It sounds normal, but what if the curse she cast back then was... a curse that would kill off her and prevent her from having children?
There are many intricacies involved here. Mi Yun wasn't particularly interested in such low-class gossip, but since this matter had been brought to her attention, she had no choice but to care. Besides the common option of the Crown Princess having an affair with an outsider, there was another possibility: that there really was such an extraordinary person who cured the highly poisonous Gu worms she had created.
If there really was a doctor skilled enough to cure him, the Crown Prince's son was only a little over a year old. If he wanted to be treated, after the incident, the Crown Prince would have to remove the Gu worm and expel the toxins as soon as he returned, then have his blood exchanged and take medicine. Moreover, the Gu would only manifest about three months after he was infected. Neither the time nor the conditions were sufficient for him to find such a divine doctor.
The second result was what she most wanted: the Crown Prince possessed fragments of jade. In the sect, these fragments were likened to the moon, a highly respected term. The effects of these fragments were incredibly powerful. Every time she collected a piece of jade, she would keep it on her person for a period of time. During that time, her cultivation would increase significantly, and her wounds would heal quickly. However, although that power was very familiar to her, it was too mysterious, so she cautiously kept it away from herself.
Another less desirable scenario is that someone within the cult might heal him. If someone from the Moon Worship Cult could discover and heal him quickly, that would be quite possible, but it would likely be a life-for-life exchange. The person capable of such a thing would either be a traitor within the cult, someone expelled from it, or someone threatened with their life. This possibility is also very small, because according to the information from Gu Zhi, there haven't been any significant changes in the Moon Worship Cult in recent years.
Mi Yun felt that she had to take action.
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