Chapter 273 Two Lotus Cult Leaders, Which One is Real and Which One is Fake?
Li Qingluo let out a soft cry and quickly reached out to hug the person in front of her tightly.
Granny Zheng called out from behind, "Miss, Your Highness, wait for this old servant—"
However, when Granny Zheng finally managed to mount her horse, Prince Su and Li Qingluo were nowhere to be seen.
Only a fleeting afterimage of cold light remained, and then it too vanished.
Just then, Nangong Di, acting suspiciously, along with several other guards of Prince Su who appeared out of nowhere, slipped out of the back door of the Lisboa Casino.
Granny Zheng saw that Nangong Di was still holding a knife in his hand, with blood dripping from the tip.
Granny Zheng quickly rode off after them.
"Mr. Nangong, what is this—?"
Granny Zheng stared in shock at the figure wrapped tightly in black gauze on Nangong Di's back, her heart pounding wildly.
Nangong Di: "This is the witch that was stolen at the request of King Su."
Granny Zheng thought to herself: They're really bold.
This is the first time I've seen you today, isn't it?
So Prince Su dared to entrust such an important matter to the people of General Xiuli's mansion?
Perhaps it's because they trust her daughter?
Nangong Di is a ruthless man; he can even steal people away with ease. It's true that Prince Su was right to have misjudged him.
But when did he become so eager to help others?
He used to be someone who didn't care about things that didn't concern him and preferred to mind his own business.
However, they had only uttered one sentence when someone from the Lisboa Casino came chasing after them.
"Here it is!"
"Grab them—don't run!"
"You audacious thief, put the person down right now! How dare you steal someone from our Lisboa Casino! Today, we'll make sure you never leave Qingsong Town alive!"
"kill--"
People inside the gambling den kept rushing out to intercept and kill them, but Nangong Di was prepared.
He tied the witch to his back, then turned and started fighting with the men.
Prince Su had at least assigned him a few guards, and those from Prince Su's residence were all highly skilled. They actually managed to fight their way out of the gambling den and force the attackers to retreat.
Having finally caught her breath, Granny Zheng shouted, "Mr. Nangong, mount your horse—"
However, just as Nangong Di leaped onto his horse, Zheng Wanxiu led her men out.
Granny Zheng quickly turned her horse around and led her people out!
"Trying to run—? Chase after him!"
Outside Qingsong Town.
Li Qingluo followed Prince Su along another shortcut and soon arrived at the back of a hillside. Before they even crossed it, they could hear the sounds of fierce fighting coming from there.
At this moment, Duan Rongshi was only accompanied by Leng Dian; Zhui Yu had disappeared without a trace.
But seeing that Prince Su was still so calm and relaxed, Li Qinglu couldn't help but wonder: Could it be that he had already planned everything before he asked Zhuiyu to do it?
She could only suppress her curiosity for the time being and follow Prince Su to the hillside to look down.
The place was packed with people, making it look like a marketplace.
But upon closer inspection, one can discern that this is not a lively scene at all, but rather a fierce battle where people from all sides are fighting and plundering for their lives!
"You audacious traitors! Get out of here at once! This is His Highness Prince Jin's carriage; are you plotting a rebellion?"
"Everyone, stand back! Stand back!"
Amidst the chaos of war, Prince Yun and Prince Jin were both surrounded in a sorry state. Although they still had guards, apart from sending some out to resist the looting and fighting, the number of people remaining by their side was dwindling.
Moreover, these men in black who suddenly appeared seemed to come in an endless stream, with one after another emerging and rushing forward with knives.
"The Prince of Jin? Ha, so what if he's just the Prince of Jin?"
"If you want to live, you'd better hand over that blood worm!"
"Even if the emperor himself came today, we would still kill him without hesitation!"
Such arrogance caused both Prince Jin and Prince Yun to feel a jolt of fear!
Could it be the Lotus Sect?
Were they ambushed by the Lotus Sect?
Little did they know that the casino they visited today was actually a den of the Lotus Religion.
Moreover, these blood worms were not intended to be sold to the two of them at all.
Now the Lisboa Casino is in a dilemma. Since they haven't managed to lure out the person they wanted to, they pretended to give the Blood Gu Worm to the Prince of Jin.
But do you really want to take it with you?
But there wasn't even a door!
Prince Jin and Prince Yun were being slaughtered and forced to retreat. The Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion, which was watching the commotion from the shadows not far away, was about to escape when they were stopped by someone.
"Where are you going, Prince Zhuang?"
When Prince Zhuang saw the person who had suddenly appeared before him, he couldn't help but gasp: "How...how is it...you—?"
"W-What do you want to do!?"
Li Qingluo seemed to hear a scream.
Looking in the direction of the sound, they could see figures moving about in the deeper woods.
However, Prince Su remained focused on the situation down the hillside, showing no interest in seeing Prince Yun and Prince Jin being forced into retreat.
At this moment, Prince Yun and Prince Jin had already been forced to gather together. Seeing the situation, they were so angry that they jumped up and down and cursed: "Since your Lotus Sect wants this Blood Gu Worm so much, why don't you go to the Lisboa Casino and buy it yourselves?"
"How can stealing the fruits of others' labor be considered honorable?"
"Doesn't your Lotus Sect always pride itself on fairness, justice, and the principle of equality for all?"
"While they themselves are engaged in acts of arson, murder, and looting, this evil cult dares to dream of shaking the foundations of our Great Liang—they are truly dreaming!"
"In the future, I will uproot you all and punish you all for your crimes!!"
Prince Yun roared and shouted, when suddenly an arrow flew by. If Prince Jin hadn't reacted quickly and pulled him down with him, Prince Yun would have surely died on the spot!
Prince Yun turned pale, and Prince Jin nearly couldn't get up.
As the guards around them fell one after another, and it seemed that Prince Jin and Prince Yun were about to be captured, another group of people suddenly rushed out and intercepted the carriages of Prince Jin and Prince Yun, who were already under the control of the Lotus Sect.
"It's Prince Su!"
Someone shouted, "The Prince Su's men!"
However, before Prince Jin and Prince Yun could even rejoice, several men dressed as guards from Prince Su's residence rushed into Prince Jin's carriage. They quickly and accurately located one of the carriages, rushed up, and without saying a word, drew their swords and killed the maid who was holding a jar wrapped in black cloth. They then snatched the jar and were about to leave.
Even Prince Yun and Prince Jin didn't give him a second glance, let alone offer any assistance.
Li Qingluo gasped when she saw this.
"Your Highness, is this one of your people?"
It wasn't because he didn't save Prince Yun and Prince Jin, but because everyone in the court knew that Prince Su was imprisoned and reflecting on his mistakes. How could he possibly act so openly?
Moreover, they were openly dressed as guards from the Prince Su's mansion to intercept the goods. Wasn't that just giving others ammunition against them?
Duan Rongshi said expressionlessly, "You know this is a frame-up, but the two of them didn't expect it."
Li Qingluo's heart skipped a beat: So, even the dignified Prince Su was like himself, without any sibling ties.
Sure enough, Prince Yun seemed to finally realize what was happening and immediately roared, "Fifth Prince!!!"
"You damned fifth prince! You've been hiding behind the scenes, you scoundrel! I'm going to report you to the Emperor for disobeying the imperial edict..."
However, before Prince Yun's overwhelming rage could be fully unleashed, a melodious blend of flute and pipa music drifted from the horizon, growing louder as it approached...
Li Qingluo looked up and saw petals falling from the sky.
She reached out and caught a petal, discovering it was a lotus flower petal.
Although it is not the season for lotus flowers to bloom, these lotus flowers have miraculously remained fresh and fragrant. I wonder how they managed to do it.
In the woods littered with corpses, everything suddenly seemed to slow down.
All the men in black knelt down instantly.
The blood flowing on the ground seemed to become nourishment for the flowers.
Evil and purity merge into one in that instant, indistinguishable from black and white.
As the melodious music played, a group of women who looked like fairies drifted in from the horizon.
Four women carrying flower baskets led the way, followed by four elegant women holding pipa or flutes.
Surrounding these eight people was a woman dressed in pure white, untouched by worldly troubles, her face veiled like a goddess descended from heaven, her true appearance hidden from view.
Everyone who had never seen such a scene looked up in utter shock, and even Li Qingluo was almost mesmerized.
She whispered, "Lotus Sect Leader?"
Such a grand display makes it seem as if this person is the only one in the world who can pull it off!
It turns out that the Lotus Sect Leader is actually a woman!
Li Qinglu was taken aback, seemingly surprised, yet also finding it somewhat reasonable.
If it weren't for women, how could they have proposed the idea that everyone should be treated fairly, that women should also be able to go to school and work, and that they should be able to hold up half the sky just like men?
As the nine 'fairies' suddenly appeared and landed, the Lotus Sect followers kneeling on the ground chanted in unison: "Welcome our leader—may our leader live forever—to journey together to the ideal kingdom—"
"Welcome, Master!"
However, before the shouts of welcome could be heard three times, another angry roar came from afar: "How dare you! Who dares to impersonate me—if you are the Lotus Sect Leader, then who am I!?"
With that angry roar, a blurry figure appeared rapidly, instantly appearing before everyone's eyes.
Everyone looked up and asked, "Who is this?"
Wait, she just said she's the Lotus Cult Leader!?
If she is also one, then wouldn't we now have two Lotus Cult Leaders?
For a moment, even the Lotus followers were stunned.
Everyone looked at each other, bewildered.
After all, to this day, no one in the entire Lotus Sect has ever seen the true face of the sect leader.
The leader usually entrusts the affairs of the sect to the four protectors and only shows himself occasionally.
Even if she appears, she will inevitably be accompanied by a sky full of lotus flowers and even maidens, just like a celestial being descending to earth.
How could it be this ordinary, unremarkable person who just popped up and called her the one without any preamble?
The two Lotus Cult Leaders at the moment, one of them is dressed as a holy goddess, with a grand entrance as is the usual way a cult leader appears.
The other one... was just someone who appeared out of nowhere... or even just an ordinary person wearing a white cloak and a white veil.
People couldn't even tell whether he was a man or a woman from his disguise.
So, which is true and which is false?
Most of the Lotus followers had already made up their minds instantly.
In an instant, the Lotus Cult members drew their swords and charged at those who came after them.
"How dare you impersonate our leader! You're asking for death!"
However, Li Qingluo did not share the same views as the Lotus Sect followers.
"It's him? That masked young man from the Lisboa Casino!"
"Although his mask has turned white and he has changed his cloak, he is definitely that person."
"And she's not a young man at all, she's a woman!"
Li Qingluo instantly understood: "So this newcomer is the real Lotus Sect Leader, right?! Your Highness, am I right?"
Previously, Li Qingluo had guessed that the masked young man was the leader of the Lotus Cult, and Prince Su did not deny it.
Now that this person has come forward, this must be the real one!
But if this is true, then who are these fairies who are disguised as the leader of the Lotus Sect?
Li Qingluo turned her head and looked at Prince Su with an indescribable expression, vaguely guessing in her heart: Could it be that he was behind this?
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