Go together
Xiao Wan'er is missing.
She locked herself in the house and did not let anyone in. The servants in the Duke of Ying's mansion did not know what she was doing, and it was even more impossible for them to discover that she had quietly left.
By the time Pei Yingguan learned that she had already escaped from the Duke of Ying's Mansion, problems had already arisen in cleaning up the remnants of Princess Taiping.
After being spitted on in front of the emperor, he dared not even breathe. After returning home, he went straight to the guest house.
"Has there been any change in this hospital in the past few days?"
The servant guarding the courtyard gate shook his head in bewilderment. Guarding Xiao Wan'er, while it might sound like a life-threatening situation, was actually a good job. Xiao Wan'er didn't need any servants to tend her. The servants could sleep and wake up as they pleased, spending their days as they pleased. After Xiao Wan'er closed the gate to the guest house, their lives became even more relaxed, to the point where they'd forgotten their original duties.
But Pei Yingguan did not forget.
"Waste!" He kicked a servant in the abdomen. "Have you forgotten what you are here for after living a comfortable life for so long? You can't even tell when someone leaves, and you still want to learn martial arts? Just serve your master first!"
These words were terrifying to the servants. Though they were servants, they were actually quite young. Having heard that the Duke of Ying would select young men of all backgrounds suitable for martial arts training or even cultivation, they hoped to be chosen. Unfortunately, at the crucial moment, they failed to complete their mission and were tragically eliminated.
Pei Yingguan ignored the young servants' grief-stricken expressions, for he, too, was in a state of panic. If Xiao Wan'er had escaped from his residence, he would undoubtedly have been held accountable by the Emperor. Furthermore, the restrictions upon her body were indestructible, even to a Half-Step Return to Truth Realm expert. Yet, she had silently broken free. What did this mean? He knew the answer, but he dared not dwell on it.
He left the guest house behind, picked up his sword, and quickly rushed to the secret guard office.
Mingshu had been on the run for days, the monks chasing her following her everywhere, leaving her no time to properly heal the wounds she sustained during the battle at Princess Taiping's residence.
She was constantly being chased, and she was fed up. Each time, the pursuers were few, allowing her to escape, but her injuries prevented her from fighting. Every time she escaped her pursuers and tried to rest for a moment, she saw new pursuers coming from elsewhere.
It was not until she was exhausted that the pursuers surrounded her. She took a quick look and found that all the remaining monks in the court except Pei Yingguan had come.
She thought she was going to die.
At this moment, she saw a figure falling from the sky, landing behind the pursuers. She simply raised her hand, and the pursuers quickly turned to stone, and then the newly formed stone statues were turned into powder at the fastest speed.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao!" Ming Shu was delighted. "I thought you were imprisoned by that bastard emperor. Luckily, you... you broke through to the Return to Truth Realm?"
As she was completely unable to sense Xiao Wan'er's breath, Mingshu's surprise instantly turned into horror.
How old is Xiao Wan'er now? This might be the youngest person ever to reach the Return to Truth Realm.
"You should take good care of your injuries first. After you have recuperated, leave the capital area completely." Xiao Wan'er left quickly after saying this. Ming Shu only saw a gradually disappearing afterimage.
"Really?" she muttered softly.
After rescuing Mingshu, Xiao Wan'er immediately headed straight for the Dali Temple prison. With her current strength, it would be easy for her to sneak into the cells unnoticed. She quickly found the one holding Liu Mingyin among the rows of cells.
Pei Yingguan kept his word and did indeed release Liu Mingyin from the forbidden technique as promised that day, but that was all. His injuries were not treated at all before he was placed under restraint and imprisoned in the most remote cell, without food or water.
He had been ignored until he heard the footsteps.
"Senior Sister?" He raised his head and looked at the person who came, thinking that he was hallucinating. After confirming that it was not an illusion, his first reaction was to ask Xiao Wan'er to leave. "Senior Sister, please leave quickly. It's dangerous here."
Xiao Wan'er pretended not to hear and walked forward step by step. She actually walked straight through the wall of the cell and went in.
But after not seeing him for a while, Liu Mingyin had become almost skin and bones, his face pale and lifeless. Xiao Wan'er placed her hand on his shoulder, and in an instant, his restraint was broken.
"Senior Sister?" Liu Mingyin was surprised. "You've made a breakthrough?"
"Quiet."
Xiao Wan'er simply said "quiet," and Liu Mingyin truly quieted down. He sat upright on the cell floor, allowing Xiao Wan'er to perform a hand gesture. Then, she roamed her hand over his injured area, and his injuries were largely healed.
"Okay, let's get out of here." Xiao Wan'er stood up, and he stood up too. Xiao Wan'er easily bent the iron bars into a shape that allowed people to pass through, and the two of them walked out of the cell.
A serious criminal escaped from the Dali Temple jail. The guards in Chang'an City searched for a whole night but found nothing. Until the next morning court session, everyone was horrified to find that the serious criminal actually appeared in the court session, and standing next to him was his senior sister who was even more terrifying than him.
"You two traitors, why don't you roll down here and surrender!"
Of course, Xiao Wan'er didn't take this scolding to heart. She just stood beside the dragon throne until the emperor stepped into the Xuan Zheng Hall.
"Why are you here?" The person who had been searched for a whole night but still could not be caught was standing so brazenly beside the dragon throne. The emperor felt like he was facing a great enemy. Unfortunately, all the monks under his command had died and only Pei Yingguan was left. He didn't even have the courage to call for help to capture Xiao Wan'er and Liu Mingyin.
"After all, I have served the Tang Dynasty for many years. Now that Your Majesty is in power, how can I not celebrate for Your Majesty?"
As Xiao Wan'er spoke, she began to form complex hand gestures. Liu Mingyin stood guard beside her, not allowing anyone to approach. The two of them, one in the Return to Truth Realm and the other in the Transcendent Realm, together exuded a powerful pressure. Under this dual pressure, none of the civil and military officials could even speak.
Soon, a huge map appeared in front of everyone present, and soon someone realized that this was not the map of the Tang Dynasty.
"Demon Dao, what exactly are you going to do?"
The massive map shifted from upright to flat, becoming a sand table, meticulously documenting every inch of the land. Xiao Wan'er raised her finger, tapped the emperor, then the map. The emperor felt an inexplicable connection with the land beneath his feet. Xiao Wan'er half-raised her hands again, and spiritual energy transformed into silk threads, wrapping around all the officials present. Suddenly, every official felt the same sensation as the emperor had felt.
"I've been thinking carefully these past few days, and I just can't believe this is happening." The emperor and the entire court were afraid to speak, but Xiao Wan'er continued, "Since ancient times, whenever there's been great chaos, the common people have suffered and lost their lives. It's you, the high-ranking emperors and officials, who flee early and then continue to wield your power elsewhere. Why do such good things always happen in this world?"
"Don't do anything rash!" The emperor had a premonition that a disaster might be about to happen.
At this moment, Pei Yingguan, who had been searching in vain, heard that Xiao Wan'er appeared in Xuanzheng Hall and rushed over.
"Junior sister, don't mess around!"
"Why do you all think I'd do something reckless?" Xiao Wan'er tilted her head in confusion. "I simply linked your fate to that of the Tang Dynasty. If chaos truly broke out, you would be punished. That day, you so confidently called me a demon, even going so far as to interrupt my divination. I guess you were absolutely certain that Your Majesty would be a wise ruler and wouldn't cause chaos in the Tang Dynasty, right?"
The ministers below felt bitter. They didn't trust the emperor at all; they believed Xiao Wan'er's divination and wanted to support the emperor, who was still the crown prince at the time! But could they really say that?
"It seems you all agree with my point of view," Xiao Wan'er said, taking the silence as tacit agreement. "In that case, I will continue. If Your Majesty is truly a wise and benevolent ruler, all of you will be safe. But if a great rebellion truly occurs, all those present who support Your Majesty will bear the blame. Then, after your death, you will suffer the pain endured by all the people who died in the rebellion. Your Majesty, as the principal offender, will bear half of that burden, and the remaining half will be shared equally by all of you. You will not be allowed to reincarnate until you have completed your punishment. What do you think of this solution?"
Curses rang out in Xuanzheng Hall, but Xiao Wan'er ignored them. A miniature version of the Tang Dynasty suddenly shone, and the thread connecting it to the people in Xuanzheng Hall also shone with dazzling brilliance. Some, unconvinced, attempted to sever the thread before them, but their efforts were futile.
"Junior sister, are you really going to do this?" Pei Yingguan stood far away from Xiao Wan'er. He had long been no match for Liu Mingyin, and now that Liu Mingyin was blocking Xiao Wan'er, he didn't dare to move forward to attack.
"Why not? People always have to pay the price for their choices, don't they?" Xiao Wan'er said, and then she cast another large-scale spell covering the entire Xuanzheng Hall. "I remember that Lord Pei firmly believes that the emperor is a wise and capable ruler. How about we make a bet?"
Pei Yingguan began to sweat on his forehead.
"How about I seal everyone's divination memories in Xuanzheng Hall, leaving only yours, and see if His Majesty truly becomes a wise ruler or causes chaos? What do you think, Lord Pei?" Xiao Wan'er seemed to be asking, but her hands continued to work, and everyone in Xuanzheng Hall felt a memory gradually blurring. "It's the same as the previous spell. If there's no chaos, then nothing will happen. If there is a chaos, their memories will be restored after they die. At the same time, all people without official rank will know that the Tang Dynasty officials, knowing that chaos would happen in the future, still worked hard to ensure that the person who caused the chaos would ascend to the throne. That would be very interesting, wouldn't it?"
Pei Yingguan looked at Xiao Wan'er silently. After a while, he smiled miserably.
"Xiao Wan'er, you are really crazy."
"What is not crazy? Staying in the rear palace as the emperor requested, offering the position of abbot as you wished, giving up my cultivation, watching the emperor commit evil deeds and bring about chaos, and devoting everything to you or anyone else, is that not crazy? Then I am crazy."
Pei Yingguan didn't dare move forward, but Xiao Wan'er, gliding past Liu Mingyin's protection, appeared before him in the blink of an eye. She extended her fingers, condensing spiritual energy on them, and tapped each of Pei Yingguan's vital acupoints. After tapping, Pei Yingguan discovered that he could no longer use spiritual energy. The restrictions imposed by a cultivator in the Return to Truth Realm were impossible for a cultivator in the Transcendent Realm to break.
From then on, Pei Yingguan became an ordinary person with only the realm of transcendence.
"Junior brother, let's go."
At Xiao Wan'er's word, Liu Mingyin followed her, and the two of them floated away like all the legendary immortals. They flew out of the capital and landed on the ground.
"Senior Sister, is it worth it?" Liu Mingyin frowned and watched Xiao Wan'er's breath gradually weaken, and she actually fell back to the transcendental realm.
"It's worth it," she said without regret, "not only because someone should pay the price for this future that cannot be changed no matter what choice is made, but also because I need a place to release my resentment."
"Fellow Daoist Xiao!" Ming Shu was also resting nearby. Seeing Xiao Wan'er and the others, she immediately ran over. "Why are you back in the Transcendent Realm again?"
"You know, some techniques come with a price." Xiao Wan'er smiled and told her the whole story.
Mingshu suddenly felt extremely regretful.
"Why didn't you take me with you?" After she finished expressing her regret, she noticed a detail, "Will you erase the memories of everyone except Pei Yingguan, making the disaster that they could have avoided become unavoidable?"
"Unfortunately, they won't," Xiao Wan'er replied firmly. "I used the Tian Yan technique countless times that day, and the result was always that they wouldn't be the slightest bit wary of the known prophecy. Moreover, it was precisely because of their memories that the people could understand the cause and effect after the incident. This is the price of activating this technique."
"Oh, I see," Mingshu nodded in understanding. "Such a big thing has happened. We must tell Qingyang! He must be getting anxious waiting for news from us!"
"Let's go together," Xiao Wan'er nodded. "Afterwards, we can stay for a while at the villa in Shuzhong where the sect competition was held last time. How about that?"
"Okay! Let's go!" Mingshu immediately slipped away.
In the sunlight, the figures of the three people disappeared in an instant and flashed into the distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
