Chapter 246: My Home Was Raided
Xiao Yu looked at her face which was crying like a little cat, his pale lips twitched upwards slightly, he wanted to laugh but it affected his internal organs, causing him to cough softly twice.
"Don't cry." His voice was still hoarse, "I'm fine."
"You said you were fine, but you were coughing up blood." Jiu's tears fell even harder. She tried to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth in a panic, but he raised his hand and grabbed her wrist.
His palm was large and warm, not scalding hot as before, nor cold either.
Chu Xuanyi and Xiao Yu also gathered around.
"Your Highness, how do you feel?" Chu Xuanyi stepped forward and took Xiao Yu's pulse. After a moment, a look of surprise finally appeared on his tense face.
"This...this pulse...is not only steady and strong, but the spiritual energy contained within is even more pure and powerful than before. Your Highness, you...are not only unharmed, but even better than before."
Xiao Yu slowly sat up, feeling the endless power surging in his body.
"It's just a matter of breaking it down and then rebuilding it." He said calmly, "This time, it's all thanks to you."
His gaze moved between Chu Xuanyi and Ajiu, and finally fell back on Ajiu's pale little face. His eyes became particularly gentle, "Especially you."
Ah Jiu felt a little embarrassed by his gaze. He sniffed and muttered softly, "As long as Xiong Xiong is okay."
"Cousin, you're really okay." Xiao Yu rubbed his hands excitedly. "That's great, really great. I wonder what that old bastard, the Xian Wang, would look like if he knew that you're not only alive but your power has greatly improved."
When the wise king was mentioned, the relaxed atmosphere in the cave suddenly froze.
The gentleness in Xiao Yu's eyes quickly faded, "How long have we been away from the capital?"
Chu Xuanyi said in a deep voice, "From the time we set out until today, it has been exactly seven days, no more, no less."
"Seven days..." Xiao Yu's eyes turned even colder. "That's enough time for a lot of things to happen. We can't stay here for long. We must set off for Beijing immediately."
As he was about to get up from the ground, Jiu quickly supported him, "Brother Xiongxiong, you just woke up, do you want to rest for a while?"
"No need." Xiao Yu shook his head. "The capital, I'm afraid, can't wait any longer."
At this moment, there was a movement in Ajiu's sleeve pocket, and a small snow-white fur ball came out with sleepy eyes.
"Chiu."
Little Dumpling yawned, and then saw Xiao Yu who had sat up.
Its big black bean-like eyes lit up, and it jumped onto Xiao Yu's legs and rubbed him affectionately with its furry body.
Xiao Yu stretched out his finger and tapped the small green leaf on its head. This little creature that had been so powerful in the Blood Moon Valley now looked harmless and well-behaved like a real furry ball.
"Xuan Yi, pack up, we'll leave immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The group did not delay any longer and quickly left the cave after packing up.
Instead of taking the official road, they headed south along a secret path at full speed.
On the evening of the third day, Xiao Yu, who was exploring the way ahead, suddenly heard a short bird call, which was the emergency signal they agreed upon.
Chu Xuanyi immediately urged his horse to catch up.
In a clearing in the dense forest, Xiao Yu was supporting a bloodied and damaged Black Armor Guard. The Black Armor Guard had clearly been through a tough battle, with more than a dozen wounds of varying sizes on his body, and his breath was already very weak.
"Your Majesty..."
Seeing Xiao Yu, the black-armored guard struggled to salute.
"No need to be so polite." Xiao Yu asked in a deep voice, "What happened? Why are you so embarrassed?"
"It was... it was an ambush." The Black Armor Guard pulled out a black bamboo tube sealed with wax from his bosom and handed it over with difficulty. "I was ordered... to deliver the capital's top-level... urgent report. On the way, we were ambushed... by... unidentified experts. Our team... was completely wiped out. Only... I... managed to escape at the risk of my life."
After saying this, Xuanjiawei tilted his head and died.
Xiao Yu silently laid him down with an extremely ugly expression.
The Xuanjiawei's top-level urgent report will never be used unless the country is on the verge of collapse.
Xiao Yu crushed the sealing wax and pulled out a very thin silk cloth from the bamboo tube.
With just one glance, the air pressure around him suddenly dropped, and a murderous aura caused the temperature around him to drop by several degrees.
"Cousin, what did the letter say?" Xiao Yu couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Yu did not answer, but handed the silk cloth to Chu Xuanyi.
The letter only said two things.
First, after the Regent left the capital, the Virtuous King joined forces with several old ministers in the court to force the emperor to abdicate in the name of "clearing the imperial court". Now the commander of the imperial guards has been replaced by the Virtuous King's men, and most of the officials in the court have either surrendered or been imprisoned. The entire capital has basically fallen into the control of the Virtuous King.
Second, strange phenomena have been occurring frequently in the imperial mausoleums outside Beijing. For two weeks now, late at night, sounds like ghosts and wolves howling have been heard from the direction of the mausoleums, their voices resonating for miles. Initially dismissed as rumors, the guards have since begun to die mysteriously, one after another. Their deaths were gruesome, as if their vital energy had been drained away. The mausoleums have now been completely sealed off and declared a restricted area, with no one daring to approach.
"How ridiculous!" Chu Xuanyi was so angry after reading it that he punched the tree next to him. "How dare this old bastard, the Xian Wang, plot treason! Your Majesty, we will return to the capital and tear him into pieces."
Xiao Yu didn't say anything, but just stared at the description of the imperial mausoleum in the letter, his eyes dark and unclear.
Ah Jiu also felt uneasy, and subconsciously grabbed the corner of Xiao Yu's clothes with her little hands, "Brother Xiong Xiong, why is there a ghost crying in the imperial mausoleum?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chu Xuanyi beside her suddenly raised his head, his expression becoming uglier than ever.
"Your Highness." His voice trembled slightly. "Do you still remember what the jailer said before Prime Minister Yun died?"
Xiao Yu's pupils suddenly shrank as he recalled the scene at that time.
"Your Highness," the jailer slumped to his knees, "I, I have something important to report. It's about... it's about the condemned Prime Minister Yun. I was in charge of guarding Yun for his last night."
The jailer swallowed his saliva and trembled as he said, "He couldn't speak a complete sentence at that time. He just made a hoarse sound in his throat. I only heard one word when I got closer..."
"He said 'door'..."
"Door……"
"Xuan Yi, what you mean is..."
"The Imperial Mausoleum." Chu Xuanyi's voice trembled slightly. "Your Highness, have you forgotten what the Imperial Mausoleum is? It is not only the resting place of our Great Xia emperors, but directly beneath it lies the very foundation that suppresses our Great Xia dragon veins. If there is any place in this world that can be called the 'gateway' to a taboo, it is none other than the Imperial Mausoleum."
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's mind.
All the previously unclear links suddenly became clear at this moment.
That mysterious black-robed guardian.
The dragon's saliva fruit that requires dragon energy and resentful souls to mature.
Everything pointed to the North, to the Blood Moon Valley, making them all think that the enemy's goal was to kill Xiao Yu.
But now it seems that it was just a cover.
A huge and carefully planned strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
"They lured us to the northern border not to kill you." Chu Xuanyi's speech became faster and faster, a hint of fear in his eyes. "Killing you was only part of their plan. Their real target has been the capital from the beginning. They wanted to take advantage of our absence, when the capital was at its weakest, to attack the foundation of the dragon vein... the imperial mausoleum."
"What a plan that kills two birds with one stone." Xiao Yu's fists clenched until they creaked. "If I die in the northern border, the capital will be leaderless, and they can easily take it. If I don't die, by the time I get the ambergris fruit and rush back, the imperial mausoleum... I'm afraid it will have been taken by then."
They were fooled from beginning to end.
The ambergris fruit that was retrieved after much effort and risk of death was nothing but a bait thrown by the enemy.
While they were desperately trying to get this bait by traveling all the way to the north, someone had already quietly reached their lair and cut off their roots.
"Xuan Yi, pass the order down immediately."
"All Xuanjia Guards outside the capital no longer need to hide their whereabouts and return to the capital at full speed to serve the king."
"I must return to the capital within a day."
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