Six thousand funeral flowers
Looking at the corpse in front of her, Mi Yun should have known that after encountering such a strange thing at night, it was impossible for the culprit to have died so inexplicably.
Even the one lying on the ground might not be the true face of the culprit.
Between continuing to whip the corpse and urging the water ripples and moon shadows to escape, Mi Yun chose the latter.
When she arrived at the second door, she pushed it open again.
She hadn't encountered this kind of formation often, but in martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon. As long as she ran fast enough, she would definitely be able to find the opponent's weakness, even if it was a formation.
Since breaking formations wasn't her forte anyway, she decided to go all out and use her profound internal strength to break through them by force.
"You can't leave."
In a daze, Mi Yun actually heard the woman's voice again.
"Even with the ripples and moonlight reflected on the water, you still can't leave."
Who exactly is this person? It's obvious they're after her, and they even know she can use the Water Ripple Moon Shadow technique.
Having roamed the martial world for so long, Mi Yun was certain she had almost never had a direct conflict with anyone, let alone exposed her identity. Yet now, someone had deliberately set up an array to trap her. Was it someone with stealth abilities far superior to hers, or...?
"You are a traitor to the Moon Worship."
Upon considering this possibility, Mi Yun sneered, "Who is it? Oh... I just met someone today. Could that person be your friend, Lan Zhiyun?"
She turned around and looked at the woman on the ground: "When you defected, you disguised yourself as a man and even knew how to change your appearance. How dare you leave your real name? Were you so sure we couldn't go to such a far place as Jiangnan?"
"Ha ha ha ha."
The corpse on the ground laughed a few more times, slowly twisting its body as it got up, looking at Mi Yun and saying, "You don't analyze anything at all, you just use whatever intelligence you have on hand."
Mi Yun frowned, watching the other person move stiffly toward her, and subconsciously took two steps back, preparing her silver needles again.
Instead of waiting to listen to the other person speak, she threw the needle directly, and then turned around and continued running towards the door.
This time, the inn was still outside the door, but the difference was that there was another "her" on the other side. The corpse on the ground continued to slowly rise and turned to her, saying, "I told you, you can't leave."
Besides formations, there were also illusions, all of which hit Mi Yun in areas where she was least proficient.
I really have no experience in dealing with illusions.
But we should try it no matter what.
Mi Yun rushed out of the door, and as she passed the corpse, she killed both the corpse and the other self along with it, though she didn't know if the corpse could be killed again, or if the one she killed was herself.
Don't let other factors cloud your thinking.
She continued forward, killing herself and the woman in various ways, but when she reached the next room, the scene was always the same.
Luckily, she's quite easygoing and doesn't overthink things like people from the Central Plains, otherwise she would have gone crazy by now.
However, this was not a solution. After dealing with the two people at a certain inn, Mi Yun fell into deep thought.
There is a way to get out quickly without actually having a significant impact on myself.
That means listening to what the other person wants.
Then, once they get out, they'll find someone and kill her.
However, I don't know to what extent she has been exposed. I must return to Southern Xinjiang before things get complicated, and preferably... preferably find the Broken Jade.
If I can't find it, fine, but I'm about to lose my life.
Having figured this out, she prepared to push open the door to the next room and confront the other party.
With a creaking sound, the world outside the door was revealed to her.
Amidst peach blossoms, fragrant grasses, clear waters, and verdant mountains, a beautiful woman holds an umbrella, her back to the viewer.
Ha... I had just made up my mind, and the other person seemed to be quite in sync with me. Perhaps it was God trying to tell me that I shouldn't give up at the last moment.
What are you thinking about?
The beautiful woman turned around, her eyebrows curving upwards. Although her attire was exactly the same as before, she looked noticeably different.
The person in front of me has internal strength; he is a real, living person.
Mi Yun began to feel that she had seen her before. If she really was a traitor to Baiyue, then she could explain where this feeling of familiarity came from. Perhaps it was from a chance encounter within the sect.
"Young lady, you just said you've seen me before. Do you remember who I am now? If you don't, I'll be very sad."
The woman tilted her head sadly. If it weren't for the lingering smile in her eyes, Mi Yun would have believed her.
She could sense the depth of this woman's internal strength. Although it wasn't weak, it wasn't enough for her. Mi Yun didn't understand why the other party dared to let her out of the battle and even dared to provoke her to her face. But she knew that the other party had something to say and didn't really want to take her life. Otherwise, she should have continued to trap her.
Since that's the case...
Liu Lihua waved her umbrella to block the sudden attack of the silver needles, and smiled at Mi Yun, saying, "Miss is indeed decisive, not even giving Lihua time to listen to a story."
"What's your name?" Mi Jun frowned.
Liu Lihua smiled and said, "I am Liu Lihua, the 'Liu' of willow tree, the 'Li' of pear tree, and the 'Hua' of painting scroll."
Mi Yun nodded: "I don't know him."
Liu Lihua continued to smile: "Don't you know who I am?"
Mi Yun looked up at her: "You have something to say to me, right? I don't know how you found me, but since you have something to tell me, I can give you a chance. If what you have to say is not what I want to hear, I will kill you."
Liu Lihua covered her lips with one hand and said in surprise, "You are so clever, Miss. You even knew that I had something to say to you."
She ignored her threats and instead seemed to be provoking her. After all, if Mi Yun really wanted to hear her talk, she would have compromised in the formation long ago.
Mi Yun was about to take action again when Liu Lihua spoke up at the opportune moment:
"Don't panic, young lady. There's still plenty of time. Why don't you listen to a story first?"
Mi Yun twitched the corner of her mouth: "I just want to hear things."
Faced with Mi Yun's rejection of conventional approaches, Liu Lihua continued calmly:
"Do you want to know how to get out of the illusion?"
She folded her umbrella and slowly walked towards Mi Jun.
This hit Mi Yun's weak spot.
She enjoys pursuing power and killing, but she absolutely dislikes being trapped in an illusion and being threatened.
"If you tell me how to leave this illusion first, I'll agree to listen to your story. After all, you'll ask me to do something after you finish telling the story, right?"
Mi Yun looked at the umbrella in her hand: "The umbrella looks nice."
Thank you.
Liu Lihua smiled faintly: "You can rest assured, what I want you to do is not murder or arson, I will not make things difficult for you."
As for Mi Yun, she originally wanted to suggest that killing/arson might be easier, but other things... probably wouldn't be a problem.
"sit."
Liu Lihua gestured for Mi Yun to sit down on the stone bench. Seeing that the other party had sat down, she also sat down and poured two cups of wine.
Mi Yun took the wine, picked it up and tasted it; her mouth was filled with the fragrance of pear blossoms.
She glanced at the clear ripples in her cup: "Your illusion is quite impressive; it can even conjure up wine."
Liu Lihua laughed and said, "These are just some simple tricks. If you want to learn, you can learn them in one night."
She generously handed the cultivation technique directly to Mi Yun. Mi Yun only glanced at it a few times, but she indeed memorized most of it. She closed the scroll, looked up, and asked the other person:
"Is your story long or short?"
She looked at Liu Lihua's unchanging smiling face.
Liu Lihua shook her head: "It's not long, but there are quite a few people in this story."
Anyway, it's fine as long as she's not around.
Mi Yun looked at her and said, "Let's begin."
Liu Lihua nodded, her eyes half-closed, as if she were recalling something.
"It must have been something that happened in the previous dynasty, so you probably don't know much about it either."
Wait, the previous dynasty? Isn't this a story about the martial arts world? Mi Yun lost some interest; she wasn't particularly interested in matters of the imperial court.
"In the sixth year of Heyan, which was also the last year of the previous dynasty, Emperor Zhao was incompetent and obsessed with immortal arts, neglecting state affairs. The treacherous officials in the court took the opportunity to cause trouble and betrayed the military intelligence to foreign enemies."
Mi Yun swirled her wine glass. Speaking of which, the Southern Frontier, where she was located, could also be considered part of the external enemy.
"Many border cities have fallen, and the flames of war from the Northern Barbarians are about to spread to the capital."
Liu Lihua poured Mi Yun another cup of wine and continued, "His Majesty rose up in rebellion and, together with many ministers and fierce generals, finally quelled the war."
Now everything is much easier to discuss. Mi Yun nodded and said, "Then there will be internal strife within the royal family, and Gu Anmin will seize the throne in accordance with the will of the people."
"What I'm about to say is far more interesting than these stories that allow historians to make up whatever they want."
Liu Lihua picked up her wine glass and smiled enigmatically, saying, "Secrets of the royal family, when passed down to later generations, become like unofficial history."
"Unofficial history? That's just made up."
Mi Yun noticed that she was very young and did not seem like someone who had lived from the previous dynasty to the present.
"It's just something that's not exactly highbrow, but there's a secret about it."
Liu Lihua took it upon herself to clink glasses with Mi Yun, and then said, "The princess of the previous dynasty is not dead."
Haha, classic plot.
“Even more shocking is that she is still a princess.”
Liu Lihua feigned mystery, then smiled and asked her, "Guess who it is?"
Mi Yun didn't know much about the royal family, but thanks to Tu Xiao's picture album and her good memory, she was able to casually recall a few things.
"Gu Mingmei? Gu Mingzhao? Gu Mingyu?"
Liu Lihua shook her head. "Let me think about it some more."
Since she made her guess, she must not be an ordinary princess.
"Gu Jiuyu".
After thinking for a moment, Mi Yun said a special name.
The most beloved princess of the current emperor.
However, this princess has always been well protected and has never been involved in any royal disputes, so it's unknown what secrets she might have.
"She is not the emperor's daughter."
Liu Lihua said.
Mi Yun put down her wine cup, somewhat surprised.
The princess's birth mother is so audacious? The royal family is truly in disarray.
Liu Lihua seemed to know what she was thinking and continued, "The most ridiculous thing is that there is no one in the palace who is her biological mother. Her nominal mother has no relation to her at all."
She said with a half-smile, "And the sad thing is that neither the Emperor nor the Empress knows the truth. The only ones who truly know the truth now are you and me."
Mi Yun was somewhat skeptical of her words, after all, there was no apparent cause or effect.
"You don't need to doubt me. The midwife who knew the truth beforehand is already dead."
Liu Lihua shook the wine pot; it was empty.
"Gu Jiuyu was so favored because she was born on the day Gu Anmin became emperor, and she was surrounded by everyone, with even all the flowers in the palace blooming at the same time."
"The emperor doted on her and even gave her such a name. The empress dowager loved her and raised her herself. Her mother was favored, her brother was promising, and she was born with the extraordinary phenomenon of a thousand flowers blooming. Gu Jiuyu's life was the envy of all."
"If what you're saying is true, then it's rather absurd."
Mi Yun commented.
"Hahaha, it is indeed absurd." Liu Lihua shook her head with a smile: "But no one knows it, and the absurdity only exists in the conversation between the two of us."
"There's something even more absurd, do you want to hear it?"
Mi Yun looked at her and said, "Speak."
"Gu Jiuyu is very likely the daughter of Emperor Zhao."
Mi Yun was troubled by the complex relationships among the people of the Central Plains.
"The midwife was very well disguised, but people from the royal family are bound to reveal some details. Fortunately, she escaped early, otherwise she would have been discovered long ago."
"If you can help me, I will tell you... well, the whereabouts of a little trinket called Broken Jade." Liu Lihua took out a folding fan from somewhere and began to slowly wave it like a storyteller. The moment she suddenly mentioned Broken Jade was when Mi Yun was truly moved.
She narrowed her eyes, and that murderous aura began to resurface: "How do you know about the Broken Jade?"
This was the real question that puzzled her. The exact location of the Broken Jade could be found out gradually, but why someone knew about the Broken Jade was what she cared about most.
Only those who worship the moon know about the shattered jade.
"I?"
Liu Lihua covered half of her face with her fan: "I wonder if you have ever heard of that all-knowing scholar of the martial arts world?"
"He was poisoned to death by me."
Mi Yun's words were concise and to the point.
"He's just a fool who knows a little bit but dares to call himself a genius." Liu Lihua laughed. "I suppose you went to kill him because of Suiyu, right? I was the one who spread the news, leaving it specifically for you."
The more she said this, the less Mi Yun could figure out her identity.
Who's behind you?
This doesn't seem like something one person could do.
Liu Lihua closed her fan and shook it from side to side: "No, not at all. Don't worry, Miss. What I wanted to tell you is that if Gu Jiuyu is a princess of the previous dynasty, then the broken jade is very likely related to her."
Why?
"You are a follower of the Moon Worship Cult, yet you are unaware of the relationship between Emperor Zhao and the Moon Worship Cult?"
Liu Lihua looked at her with amusement: "It's really not easy for your sect to let you roam the world with peace of mind."
Mi Yun didn't ask her how she knew she was a member of Baiyue's faction; her expression grew increasingly grim.
Liu Lihua is right. She really can't understand these social skills. The reason she's been able to survive until now is because of her extraordinary ability to hide and escape, as well as her deadly assassination techniques.
But the world is vast, how could she be sure she had never been discovered? It's just that the person who did discover her might not even look at her, if there were no conflict of interest.
"Just tell me what I need to do."
Mi Yun was too lazy to listen to her explanation; wasn't she just trying to tell him that the Moon Worship Cult was related to the former emperor?
"Since you understand my intentions, I will speak frankly."
Liu Lihua chuckled and said, "Please help me investigate Gu Jiuyu's identity."
This was within Mi Yun's expectations. Liu Lihua only knew that Gu Jiuyu was the emperor's biological daughter, but she couldn't confirm her identity. So she had to find someone to investigate. The palace was heavily guarded, and only someone with superb lightness skills and martial arts skills could successfully infiltrate. Since she wanted the Broken Jade, she was the perfect candidate.
"But you must also understand that while short-term infiltration of the palace is still within my grasp, if it's a long-term operation, even the most capable person will be exposed." Mi Yun had been there and knew the situation there very well.
Only by playing a minor role like Tu Xiao, who quietly climbs up the ranks, can one avoid being noticed. Even if one has some martial arts skills, it doesn't matter; it can be considered a means to protect the Empress Dowager.
"You can rest assured about that. Princess Gu Jiuyu, who is ignorant of worldly affairs, has often disguised herself and her personal maid to leave the palace in the past few months."
A personal maid? Disguised as a guest outside the palace? Mi Yun suddenly remembered something.
“She has an alias outside the palace, called… Ling Yuanwei.”
So it was from that day... Mi Yun also remembered Ling Yuanwei.
The story should have ended here, but Mi Yun wanted to ask something more. Suddenly, the illusion dissipated, and a finely decorated tea room appeared before her eyes. It was Mingzhulou again.
It was already dawn; a whole night had passed.
Well, for a master like Mi Yun, staying up all night is commonplace.
"Miss, would you like some more tea?"
The waiter knocked on the door and asked.
"Is there any wine?" Mi Yun looked at the empty cup, reminiscing about the wine in the illusion.
Yes, but which one would you like, young lady?
"Pear wine."
"Miss, we don't have pear blossom wine here. Please try something else."
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