Chu Yanjun pushed aside the guards standing in front of him and stepped forward slowly: "Since the body has been destroyed, why don't we find another place to talk?"
Lou Mu nodded. The ghostly aura had not completely dissipated. Staying here for too long would be harmful to the body of an ordinary person, let alone Tang Nian, whose current condition was not suitable for staying here for long.
After leaving the artificial hill, Lou Mu quietly took a bead from his bracelet and forcefully stuffed it into Tang Nian's hand.
A warm current flowed to every corner of Tang Nian's body, diluting the damage caused to her by the ghostly energy.
Chu Yanjun led the two to the study and brewed them a cup of tea.
Tang Nian drank a cup of hot tea, and her pale complexion eased considerably.
"Your Highness, if I may be so bold as to ask, where did you find this corpse?"
Lou Mu gently held Tang Nian's hand through his wide sleeves. Just as Tang Nian was about to pull away, she felt a warm current spread from her fingertips to her whole body.
Tang Nian glanced at Lou Mu in surprise, but Lou Mu acted as if he hadn't noticed anything or done anything.
"It was found in the palace of Master Wang, the alchemist whom my father trusted." Chu Yanjun sighed. It had taken a lot of effort to get the body out of the palace, but it just disappeared like that.
It was him after all.
It seems that even this corpse was deliberately discovered by Chu Yanjun and taken out of the palace.
"Then why did the Third Prince summon me here?" Tang Nian didn't believe that a corpse that had already been examined needed to be examined again by an outsider like her.
“Father’s actions were too conspicuous. Not only me, but my eldest and second brothers also noticed. My people found that Father had been frequently entering and leaving a long-abandoned palace. Out of curiosity, I sent people to investigate and found Master Wang and the corpse. They looked like those missing people. But unfortunately, we had no evidence.” Chu Yanjun explained what he had been doing these past few days.
“My men guarded the place for many days before they finally found an opportunity to steal one of the corpses. But because of this, the palace of Master Wang became heavily guarded, and my men no longer had the chance to go in and investigate. I would like to ask you two for help to bring out all the remaining corpses.”
All the celestial masters in the imperial city had been driven away. Even if Chu Yanjun didn't trust Tang Nian, he knew that he could only rely on Tang Nian to do things for him now.
However, stealing corpses from the palace is no small matter; even living people cannot be transported out, let alone these corpses.
“I know that Father has invited you to Grandmother’s birthday celebration.”
Tang Nian felt that Chu Yanjun's idea was somewhat dangerous: "So Your Highness wants us to take this opportunity to steal the corpse?"
“That’s right. The corpses are piled up in the corner of the palace. As long as you can transport them outside, my men can secretly assist you,” Chu Yanjun suggested, twirling the jade ring on his finger.
Tang Nian and Lou Mu exchanged a glance. Now that things had come to this, they had no choice but to help the Third Prince.
Tang Nian was also very curious about what Wang Tianshi was really up to.
As dusk fell, the two got up and left after having dinner at the Third Prince's residence.
Fearing being spotted by spies, the two boarded the carriage through the back gate of the Third Prince's residence.
"Why did you act so tough at the Third Prince's residence just now?" Lou Mu suddenly produced a hot water bottle from somewhere and stuffed it into Tang Nian's arms, while also taking back his prayer beads.
Tang Nian leaned against the soft carriage wall: "If the Third Prince doesn't trust me, and I refuse again, it won't be good for your cooperation."
Although she was reluctant to admit it, it was truly embarrassing that she had forcibly expelled the snake venom that day, leaving her unable to withstand even such a small amount of ghostly energy.
"Then you shouldn't be joking about your own life." Lou Mu was somewhat agitated.
He had been taking care of Tang Nian these past few days, and he knew her health all too well.
Hearing Lou Mu speak in such a tone, Tang Nian looked up at him in surprise.
"I'm sorry, I got a little agitated." Lou Mu knew he shouldn't have treated Tang Nian this way. "However, from a doctor's perspective, I hope you won't use your magic for a while."
"I'll try my best. Besides, I promised to help the Third Prince seize the throne with you, so I can't let such a small matter ruin our relationship. Moreover, no one expected that Master Wang would seal the ghost energy in the corpse and wait for me to take the bait."
The wind on the street was faint, yet it was enough to stir the carriage curtains.
Tang Nian found it strange and quietly lifted a corner of the carriage window. It wasn't late, and there was no curfew in the capital, but there wasn't a single commoner to be seen on the streets. The doors of the large shops along the street were wide open, and the lanterns were lit, but there was no one inside.
Tang Nian sensed something was wrong and quickly called out to Lou Mu, "Lou Mu, look!"
Lou Mu also lifted the curtain on the other side and found that it was exactly the same as what Tang Nian had seen.
The two exchanged a glance, and Lou Mu, not forgetting Tang Nian's illness, said, "Tang Nian, hide behind me."
Although Tang Nian wanted to be strong, she didn't dare to make any empty promises given the current situation. She shifted her body slightly, leaning towards Lou Mu, and gently tugged at the back of Lou Mu's clothes with her fingers.
Lou Mu abruptly lifted the carriage curtain, and the coachman was nowhere to be found, leaving only two horses pulling the carriage wildly through the deserted streets.
A thin layer of mist rose from the street, and upon closer inspection, one could vaguely make out a person standing in the mist.
"Should we jump out of the car?" Tang Nian stuck her head out and looked at the scene in front of her, somewhat unsure.
Before Lou Mu could answer, a flash of silver light came toward the two of them. Before Lou Mu could grab Tang Nian's hand, she lifted the curtain and tumbled out of the carriage.
Lou Mu quickly jumped out of the car, staggering a few times before regaining his balance.
The moment she rolled out, Tang Nian felt her ears ringing. When she stood up and looked around, the carriage had been split in two!
The two horses were startled, reared up and neighed, and quickly fled into the fog, disappearing without a trace.
What is that thing?!
Suddenly, a silver arrow pierced the air and shot towards Tang Nian from the opposite rooftop.
Before he could even complain about the dust on his body, he rolled over and barely dodged the arrow, but his calf was cut by the arrow and blood seeped out.
"hiss……"
"Are you alright?" Lou Mu quickly ran to Tang Nian, squatted down, and reached out his hand.
Tang Nian shook her head, and just as she was about to get up, she found that she couldn't get any strength in her legs.
“The arrow is imbued with ghostly energy. Let me carry you.” Lou Mu glanced at the wound and could see the faint ghostly energy on it. Looking at the approaching shadowy figure and the carriage that had already disappeared, he said softly.
He was about to grab Tang Nian's hand and lift her up in his arms when, unexpectedly, Tang Nian had already awkwardly climbed onto his back.
"What's wrong?" Tang Nian noticed that Lou Mu's body stiffened for a moment. "I just thought it might be easier for you to fight like this. If you're not used to it, then we can still hug?"
"No...no need, just like this." Tang Nian's icy body temperature traveled through his robes to Lou Mu's back, and his ears involuntarily felt hot.
He was somewhat relieved that it was dark now and no one could see his unease.
Unexpectedly, seeing Lou Mu standing there blankly, Tang Nian gently patted his shoulder: "Hey! Don't get distracted, look up!"
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