Everyone was stunned by the two pythons' imposing presence, and a chill ran down their spines, fearing that a single sweep of their tails would sweep them all away. However, the two pythons didn't appear to be aggressive towards them. They simply glared at them before turning and crawling off into the night, disappearing moments later.
"Your Highness, this?" Yuan Daixu asked Fu Baiheng blankly.
"Retreat!" Fu Baiheng shouted. This place had already collapsed, and the two pythons had escaped. There was no point in them staying any longer.
Everyone then retreated, but before leaving, they warned the group of monks that anyone who dared to speak out would be killed without mercy.
It was already three in the morning, and Shi Mingyue hadn't slept yet. She was worried about the safety of Fu Yueli and Lu Lingyan, thinking that the two giant pythons were extremely dangerous, having devoured many people in their previous life. She paced back and forth in the room, wishing she could just leave, but she remembered Fu Yueli's instructions not to leave the palace. Besides, she didn't know martial arts, so going would only make things worse.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open. Shi Mingyue looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was Fu Yueli who had returned.
"How?" she asked anxiously.
When Fu Yueli came back, she saw that the light in the room was still on. She wondered if she hadn't slept yet. When she entered the room, she found that she hadn't slept yet. She said helplessly, "Didn't I tell you to go to bed early?"
"How can I sleep without you here?"
Fu Yueli was speechless. If it were him, he would probably not be able to sleep either. He smiled indulgently and said, "Okay, I'll tell you something to put your mind at ease. Just as you said, there are indeed guardian beasts under the ground of Yongjin Temple. They are two huge pythons, one black and one white. They were just released by my second brother and his friends. They must have poured realgar down there, and the two snakes went crazy underground, causing the ground to collapse and a large part of the meditation room to collapse."
"So how do we deal with this?"
"My second brother's men have already withdrawn. I think Father will know about this during the morning court session. As for what happens next, it all depends on Father's wishes." This was just Fu Yueli's guess. After he finished speaking, he looked at Shi Mingyue and said sternly, "You should go to bed. Staying up late is not good for your health."
Before Shi Mingyue could react, Fu Yueli lifted her up and carried her sideways. Startled, she quickly grabbed his sleeve. After she was safely laid flat on the bed, Fu Yueli lowered his head and kissed her lightly on the lips, saying softly, "Go to sleep. I'll take care of these things. Don't worry."
He took off her shoes and covered her with a thin blanket. Her heart settled down and she suddenly felt very sleepy. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she finally fell into a deep sleep.
Not long after, Fu Yueli changed his clothes and went to the palace to attend the morning court. From these few days on, he would also have to attend the morning court.
As expected, news of the Yongjin Temple reached the emperor, shocking him and his courtiers, who all called it a divine miracle. Some speculated about the possibility of treasures beneath the temple. After a heated discussion, the emperor finally ordered the excavation of the temple, assigning the first, second, and third princes to the task. The fourth prince, still young and studying at the Hongwen Academy within the palace, was not assigned.
When Fu Yueli and his two brothers arrived at Yongjin Temple, dozens of soldiers were already diligently clearing the dirt. After about two days of cleaning, something shocking happened: more than twenty dead bodies lay scattered across the ground, all dressed in monk's robes. However, their bones had been crushed by pythons and then covered by dirt, leaving them in a rather unpleasant state.
Fu Baiheng was most surprised. It turned out that the two pythons only strangled the people they threw down, but did not eat them.
After the underground was cleaned up, a dark hole was revealed. No one could tell if there was any danger hidden inside. So Fu Yueli ordered the pioneers to tie a rope around their waists and go in with a tinder. The people outside the cave pulled the other end of the rope to prevent anyone inside from getting into danger. The first five people to enter were tied to the rope like grasshoppers.
Fortunately, they came out in less than a quarter of an hour. After walking for a while, they arrived at a very open place, but there was a huge bronze door blocking the way forward.
The crowd was excited, believing that the bronze door held the legendary immortal treasure, so Fu Yueli and the others went in. Using several tinderboxes to illuminate the bronze door, they discovered a Bagua lock in the center, with keyholes in the center of each black and white side. The keyholes were much larger than ordinary keyholes, suggesting that they could open the bronze door as long as they found the key.
But where was the key? After a careful search, Fu Yueli and the others discovered a stone tablet next to the bronze door. Lighting it up with a tinder, they saw the inscription: "A Buddhist treasure land. Those with a predestined relationship may enter. Take the key from the two snakes' mouths and you will see the Buddha's treasure. Do not force it, or it will turn to ashes."
After reading the words engraved on the stone tablet, Fu Yueli felt secretly amused. Now that the snake has run away, where can he get the key?
Fu Baiheng was annoyed. The two pythons had escaped and it would not be easy to catch them.
Fu Fenglin walked to the bronze door and knocked gently. The sound showed that the bronze door was hollow, that is, there was a layer in the middle. As for what was inside, he could guess from the words "reduced to ashes and smoke" on the stone tablet that it must be explosives.
The emperor immediately ordered a nationwide manhunt for the two snakes. Soon, news of the two snakes came from Qingzhou, near Shangjing. A team of snake hunters went up the mountain and encountered the two snakes. The two snakes violently attacked the team. More than half of the team members were seriously injured and died, and the rest were also seriously injured.
After hearing the news, Fu Yueli slowly poured a cup of tea and said, "I don't know when this matter will be resolved."
Shi Mingyue paused her needlework, pondering. In her previous life, the two snakes seemed to have eluded capture, but there had been no reports of hidden treasure either. This meant the Yongjin Temple's meditation room hadn't collapsed. So, when Fu Baiheng's men learned they needed a key to open the door, they probably gave up on the idea and didn't spread the news. Surprisingly, the snakes hadn't actually eaten a single human. The supposed human-eating rumors in her previous life were merely rumors, unbelievable.
"The second snake is not easy to catch, but what makes people curious is what the Buddhist treasure is behind the bronze door," she said.
"Who knows?" He didn't care anyway. Fu Yueli peeled a few walnuts and handed them directly to Shi Mingyue's mouth, "Eat it."
Seeing Fu Yueli feeding her like a pet, Shi Mingyue felt amused. After eating the walnuts, she continued embroidering the belt. Fu Yueli liked the camel thorn purse she had embroidered last time, so she embroidered another belt for him this time.
The two of them were enjoying a leisurely afternoon when something unexpected happened. An order from the palace stated that they had prepared a potent realgar powder, and ordered Fu Yueli to pack her bags and lead the team to Qingzhou the next day.
The emperor was obsessed with the Buddhist treasure behind the bronze door and was determined to catch the two snakes and get the key to open the door.
Fu Yueli could only order people to pack up. Although Shi Mingyue wanted to go with him, she thought that she had no ability to go with him, and if she went, he would have to distract her from taking care of her. So she helped him pack up and told him to put his own safety first.
The next day, the elite troops of the court set out for Qingzhou.
Shi Mingyue only hated herself for not being able to help Fu Yueli in any way. She said that she was reborn, but what she knew was very limited. Moreover, many things had changed in this life, so there was no point in living another life.
That morning, she and Lu Lingjing were killing time by feeding the fish in the pond when Hongyin suddenly ran over and whispered to her, "Young Master Qin is here. He wants to see you for something."
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