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After washing up, Xuanyuan Tianyi and the other two sat around the table, drinking hangover soup and continuing their conversation from the previous day.
"The imperial court has treated the Chai family well. What more could Prince Chai possibly want? Is the throne really that important?" Zhan Zhao's words were unclear, whether he was asking Xuan Yuan Tianyi or simply stating a fact.
“Actually, it’s not just Chai Wenyi who wants this empire.” Seeing that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were waiting for him to continue, Xuan Yuantian sighed almost inaudibly, “There’s also Chai Siyi.”
"Princess Anyang?" This answer was clearly unexpected by Zhan Zhao, who couldn't help but ask.
Looking at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, Xuan Yuan Tianyi said quietly, "A woman's obsession with love is often terrifying. Since she can't be your wife, then she can be your enemy. Whether you succeed or not, you will never forget her for the rest of your life."
After hearing Xuan Yuan Tianyi's words, Zhan Zhao understood that the person in Chai Siyi's heart was the one on the throne. Zhan Zhao couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The last thing a woman should fall in love with is someone high and mighty, let alone compete with such a woman for a man's heart. Thinking of this, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but look up at Xuan Yuan Tianyi.
Compared to Zhan Zhao's composure, Bai Yutang was much more straightforward. Without thinking, he blurted out, "Does Chai Siyi like the current emperor?" After seeing Xuan Yuan Tian nod, he continued, "What should we do next?"
"Let's go back to the inn." Xuan Yuan Tianyi lowered his head and continued drinking the hangover soup.
"Go back? We haven't done anything, and we're going back?" Bai Yutang looked at Xuan Yuan Tianyi's indifferent expression with exaggerated surprise, and even Zhan Zhao looked at Xuan Yuan Tianyi with confusion.
"Nobody said anything or did anything. At least we know that our original guess was correct. What else do you want?" Xuan Yuan Tianyi's tone was relaxed, as if this matter had nothing to do with her.
“At the very least, we should explore this sacred altar,” Bai Yutang said matter-of-factly.
"You go if you want, but this place is full of poisonous creatures. Just thinking about it makes me sick. I'm not going," Xuan Yuantian said after finishing the last sip of soup and wiping his mouth.
After hearing Xuan Yuan Tianyi's words, Bai Yutang was stunned for a moment, then obediently lowered his head and continued drinking his soup. Bai Yutang was fearless, but he was helpless against poisonous creatures. If it were just one or two, it would be easy to deal with, but they were everywhere, and he was still a little scared. Seeing that Xuan Yuan Tianyi did not agree with his idea, he guessed that she already had a plan, so he did not insist.
When Chai Siyi entered the room, she saw Bai Yutang finish the last sip of the hangover soup and push the bowl away from her. "Tianyi, I heard you ordered hangover soup, so I came to see you right away. As far as I can remember, you've never been drunk before." Chai Siyi's usually charming voice sounded a little hoarse, probably because she had drunk too much the day before. She was leaning against the door frame, one hand on her head.
"You've come at the right time, Siyi. I was just looking for you. I'm heading back now." Xuan Yuantian narrowed his eyes, exuding a lazy aura.
Chai Siyi looked up at Xuan Yuantianyi: "Are you sure you're alright?"
"When have you ever seen me drunk?" Xuan Yuan Tian stood up and beckoned to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "Aren't you getting up? Are you really planning to stay?"
Unexpectedly, Chai Siyi turned around and pressed herself against Zhan Zhao: "Then leave him here for me."
Zhan Zhao was caught off guard by Chai Siyi's reaction and took a step back somewhat awkwardly. Chai Siyi seemed to have anticipated this and followed suit, trying to get close to Zhan Zhao again. However, Xuan Yuan Tianyi grabbed her hand and said, "You've raised this Mandarin Duck Gu with great difficulty, why waste it on him?"
Chai Siyi hadn't expected that Xuan Yuantian would see through her Gu poison, and she couldn't help but laugh awkwardly, saying, "The Imperial Cat is Brother Zhen's treasure, I wouldn't dare to hurt him." After saying that, she released Zhan Zhao.
"You know that's good. If you hurt him, Zhen won't let you off." Xuan Yuantian said this with a slight smile, but his eyes held no real joy. "Let's go." Without waiting for Chai Siyi to speak, he pulled Zhan Zhao away. Bai Yutang followed closely behind. Although he knew Chai Siyi's target was Zhan Zhao, to cripple Zhao Zhen's right and left hands, it didn't mean she wouldn't target others. Therefore, Bai Yutang proceeded cautiously the entire way, only letting out a long sigh of relief after leaving the altar. Looking back at the canyon behind the waterfall, Bai Yutang had a vague feeling that things wouldn't be so simple, but he never expected his intuition to come true so quickly…
As they left the altar, Bai Yutang noticed Zhan Zhao's continued sullenness and was about to say something to cheer him up when, before he could speak, Xuan Yuan Tianyi's voice rang out: "Mount Ailao is shrouded in mist year-round, with beautiful scenery. Since this is your first time here, let me show you around." Without waiting for their agreement, he dashed off. Zhan Zhao, who was preoccupied with the Chai family matter and wanted to return to the post station to report to Bao Zheng, had no choice but to follow Xuan Yuan Tianyi, along with Bai Yutang.
After about half an incense stick's time, the three arrived at the back mountain. Before them was a flat area. Xuan Yuan Tian slowed down, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. Before Zhan Zhao and the other could think further, more than ten masked men in black surrounded them. The three stopped, carefully examining the men in black. They noticed that the weapons in their hands were all different, and their exposed eyes were filled with a murderous aura.
Bai Yutang was originally feeling quite frustrated because he didn't dare to wander around the altar. But seeing the men in black, he thought it would be a good opportunity to stretch his muscles and vent his frustration. He suddenly perked up and started teasing Zhan Zhao: "Cat, let's talk. Let me feed Huaying with them. I'll treat you to drinks later."
"White mouse, you have quite the appetite. Be careful not to overeat." Zhan Zhao said, but he didn't dare to relax at all. From the moment these men in black appeared, Zhan Zhao had already recognized them by their clothing as belonging to the same organization as those who attacked him a few months ago. These people were well-trained and left no room for error. It seemed that today would be a tough battle.
Before Zhan Zhao could finish speaking, Bai Yutang's sword, Huaying, was already unsheathed, and he dashed out like lightning. Zhan Zhao, secretly annoyed by Bai Yutang's recklessness and fearing he wouldn't be able to withstand the attack, hadn't even drawn his own sword yet when he was already in the arena. Seeing a four-sided mace at Bai Yutang's shoulder, he didn't say a word, raising his sword to meet the attack and freeing Bai Yutang from the back: "Little white rat, I told you long ago your appetite wasn't that big."
When Bai Yutang saw Zhan Zhao teasing him, he was about to retort, but then he remembered that Zhan Zhao had just helped him out of a predicament, and it would be unkind to provoke that petty cat now. So he could only remind him, "You stinky cat, mind your own business." As he spoke, he used several moves to force back the enemy who was close at hand.
While Zhan Zhao and his companion were already engaged in combat with the men in black, Xuan Yuan Tianyi wasn't idle either, as several men in black had already swarmed him. However, Xuan Yuan Tianyi didn't seem to be using his full strength. While exchanging blows with the men in black, he constantly observed them, and soon noticed that they seemed to be heavily guarding the rocky cliff on the right. Xuan Yuan Tianyi suspected there was more to the scene behind it, so he fought and retreated, slowly approaching the rocky cliff.
Just as Xuanyuan Tianyi approached the cliff face, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were forced to the edge of the precipice. Zhan Zhao turned to the right, his Juque sword thrusting back, barely blocking the fatal blow. Turning back, he saw the man in front of Bai Yutang flick his right hand, sending a golden light towards Bai Yutang's face. Without thinking, Zhan Zhao leaped in front of Bai Yutang, instantly feeling a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Looking down, he saw a small golden snake biting his left shoulder. Zhan Zhao swiftly slashed the snake in two with his sword, and was about to raise his hand to seal his acupoints when the man in black in front of him struck him squarely in the chest with a palm strike. Zhan Zhao lost his balance and plummeted off the cliff. All these events happened in the blink of an eye. Bai Yutang rushed forward, barely managing to grab Zhan Zhao's wrist, but slipped and also fell off the cliff.
Bai Yutang plummeted, his hand still tightly gripping Zhan Zhao. Suddenly, he felt a tightening around his waist, realizing something was binding him and slowing his descent. Before he could react, a red shadow flashed before his eyes, hurtling towards Zhan Zhao. Bai Yutang knew it was Xuan Yuan Tianyi; the slowing of his fall was Xuan Yuan Tianyi using this momentum to catch up with the injured Zhan Zhao.
Meanwhile, Xuan Yuan Tianyi wrapped his left arm around Zhan Zhao's waist, and with his right hand, he tightly gripped the snake's head, forcing the dead snake to open its mouth, and removed the snake from Zhan Zhao's shoulder. Then he sealed Zhan Zhao's acupoint to stop the snake venom from spreading. After everything was done, he looked at Zhan Zhao, whose eyes were closed and whose face was pale, before raising his head to look at Bai Yutang above him: "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Bai Yutang listened to the whistling wind in his ears, unsure if Xuan Yuan Tianyi could hear his voice. "How's Cat?"
"Not good..." Xuan Yuan Tianyi's words had already faded away with the wind.
When Bai Yutang was awakened from his coma by being splashed with cold water, he opened his eyes and saw Xuan Yuantian sitting next to him. He immediately thought of Zhan Zhao, struggled to sit up, and looked around: "Where's the cat?"
"have no idea."
Hearing Xuan Yuan Tianyi's nonchalant tone, Bai Yutang couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Weren't you protecting him when he fell?"
“We fell into the river, and the current is too strong. We don’t know where we’ve been swept away.” Xuan Yuantian said as he stood up. “You search downstream, and I’ll search upstream.” He then walked upstream.
Bai Yutang noticed that Xuan Yuan Tianyi was completely dry except for the parts that had just been wet. He couldn't help but admire her profound inner strength and quickly got up to swim downstream. After about half a cup of tea's time, Bai Yutang saw Zhan Zhao half-submerged in the water and hurriedly pulled him out. Just as he was about to think of a way to notify Xuan Yuan Tianyi, he turned around and saw her rushing towards him. Bai Yutang quickly waved to Xuan Yuan Tianyi, saying, "Cat's here."
The two settled Zhan Zhao under a tree not far from the river. Xuan Yuan Tianyi sucked out the snake venom from Zhan Zhao's shoulder and treated the wound. Seeing that Zhan Zhao was already soaked, he said to Bai Yutang, "Go and find some branches."
Bai Yutang nodded and walked towards the dense forest behind him. After a short while, he returned carrying a bundle of branches. He lit a fire beside Zhan Zhao and saw that Zhan Zhao's clothes were completely dry. He knew that Xuan Yuan Tianyi had used his internal energy to dry his clothes. He looked at Xuan Yuan Tianyi's somewhat tired face and said softly, "You get some sleep. I'll keep watch tonight."
Xuanyuan Tianyi glanced at the darkening sky and nodded, "Keep an eye on him. Call me if anything happens." Though he said this, his eyes were fixed on Zhan Zhao.
Seeing her like this, Bai Yutang couldn't help but smile: "Are you worried about the cat?"
“I’m worried about those people from earlier. If they come looking for us, there will definitely be a fierce battle. Given Zhan Zhao’s current condition, I’m afraid he can’t withstand any more trouble.” A look of worry flashed across Xuan Yuantian’s face, so fast that Bai Yutang couldn’t catch it.
"Are those people from the Holy Sect?" Bai Yutang carefully recalled the martial arts of those people, which did not seem to be from the Southern Frontier.
Xuanyuan Tianyi shook his head: "Those people are the retainers of the Chai family."
"The Chai family's retainers?" Bai Yutang was puzzled. Given the Chai family's status, they shouldn't be openly keeping so many retainers.
Knowing Bai Yutang's confusion, Xuanyuan Tianyi gently explained, "When Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he enfeoffed Chai Zongxun as the Prince of Zheng and relocated him to Fangzhou. At that time, the Imperial Guards were all iron-willed men who refused to serve two masters, so they collectively resigned, and overnight, all three thousand soldiers disappeared. Emperor Taizu dared not make a fuss, sending people to search while simultaneously rebuilding the Imperial Guards. However, after many years of searching, they found no clues whatsoever. In fact, those three thousand Imperial Guards had been secretly protecting Chai Zongxun and his mother in Fangzhou all along. Soon after, Emperor Taizu passed away, and Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, and the matter was dropped. Thus, these three thousand Imperial Guards became the Chai family's retainers. To prevent spies from infiltrating, they did not accept outsiders, only their own descendants, who were instilled with the ideas of loyalty and righteousness from a young age. In a sense, they were also the Chai family's loyal followers."
"Such a large group of people, hiding in Fangzhou back then, were they not discovered?" Bai Yutang immediately grasped the key point in Xuan Yuantian's words.
Seeing Bai Yutang ask this question, Xuan Yuantian nodded without thinking: "They broke up into smaller groups and did not enter Fangzhou together. According to reliable sources, it took about ten years for all of them to enter Fangzhou. A considerable number of them went with their wives and children, so naturally they did not arouse suspicion."
"Ten years? The Xuanyuan family has been monitoring the Chai family all this time?" Bai Yutang pondered Xuanyuan Tianyi's words carefully. The so-called reliable information was, of course, the Xuanyuan family's intelligence network.
Xuanyuan Tianyi knew what Bai Yutang was up to: "It's not really surveillance. The Chai family isn't worth the Xuanyuan family going to such lengths for. However, the head of the Xuanyuan family did try to plant his own people among the three thousand Imperial Guards, but he didn't succeed."
Upon hearing Xuan Yuan Tianyi's words, Bai Yutang frowned slightly: "Doesn't that mean that Fangzhou has already become the Chai family's base?"
“That’s right, but we don’t need to touch this foundation. Little do we know that to catch the thief, we must first catch the king.” Seeing Bai Yutang’s puzzled look, Xuan Yuantian reached out and touched Zhan Zhao’s forehead. “Although the snake venom has cleared, he’s been in the water for too long, and the wound is infected. If he doesn’t develop a fever tonight, he’ll be fine. Keep an eye on him; call me if anything happens.” With that, he leaned back and fell into a deep sleep. Bai Yutang was left alone to ponder the meaning behind Xuan Yuantian’s words. “Catch the thief by capturing the kingpin” and “The iron scroll”—these are clearly two contradictory things.
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