Chapter 382 Princess: I am willing to serve you faithfully (5,000 words)
We meet again...
Zhao Duan was lying on his back in the shape of a "big" character in the barren winter mountains. Beneath him were piles of dead branches and leaves. In his sight, huge trees pierced the gray sky.
When the cold wind blew, scattered leaves swirled down from the branches.
He smiled and stared at Princess Lu who was pointing a sword at him, his eyes extremely strange.
When he caught a glimpse of the silver mask, he understood the source of the indescribable "familiarity" that had characterized their meeting that day.
It's about temperament.
Princess Lu had a unique aura that he had only seen in Pei Niannu. It was difficult to describe, but it was real.
After a brief recollection, when I met the shadow guard named "Hongye" in Linfeng Road in the past, there were vague similarities between them, but they were far less similar than Lu Yan'er and Pei Niannu.
Prince Jing's wife is a powerful sorcerer? Not too surprising.
But he was really surprised that he was Pei Niannu's successor.
"I ask you questions and you answer them, not listen to your nonsense."
The gentle princess, wearing a green long skirt and a silver visor, spoke in a cold voice, the tip of the sword in her hand drooping an inch:
"How did you recognize me? If you don't answer, I don't mind letting you experience the pain of slow slicing before you die."
What a cruel woman... Pei Niannu opened my skull, and now you want to torture me to death. It really is the same... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, and the smile on his face spread:
"When I first met the princess, I felt like someone I knew well, so I was impressed. That day, I asked her if she practiced cultivation, and she was indeed deceiving me."
Princess Lu was furious, feeling like she was being played a trick:
"Even when death is imminent, he still has the mind to flirt with her. He deserves to be killed."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his sword and beheaded the thief Zhao.
"Pei Niannu...Princess, what you are practicing is the inheritance of this lineage, right?" Zhao Duan said calmly.
The long sword stopped again!
Behind Princess Lu's visor, a sharp light suddenly flashed in her eyes: "How do you know it?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"I once met a shadow guard of the imperial court. She also wore a visor like you. Do you know her?"
Shadow Guard? Lu Yan'er was stunned for a moment, somewhat bewildered.
Six hundred years have passed, and the former Pei family has long since branched out, with countless bloodlines branching out, not to mention the inherited methods, which can be practiced by anyone with a good foundation.
Therefore, it is not surprising that there are people in the court who practice the same method.
Lu Yan'er wasn't even sure whether the other party was a relative of hers. Even if they were, they were probably five generations apart.
"It seems we're not familiar with each other," Zhao Duan sighed regretfully. "Princess, could you please explain to me where this mask inheritance came from? And how is it connected to Prince Jing?"
Princess Lu pressed her sword down again, directly against Zhao Duan's chest, and said coldly:
"Are you interrogating me? Tell me everything you know about Pei Niannu. If you say another nonsense word, I'll cut off one of your arms!"
Zhao Duan felt helpless and sighed softly, thinking that women with cold personalities were indeed difficult to communicate with.
He closed his eyes, visualized the Six Chapter Sutra in his mind, and murmured softly:
"Please come, senior."
In an instant, in the depths of the sea of consciousness, in a dilapidated ancient temple that was barely visible, the sorceress who was sitting bored on the roof of her daughter's wedding raised her head, and her sight seemed to penetrate the boundary between the scroll and reality.
Zhao Duan clearly felt that a powerful, negative force suddenly descended upon his sea of consciousness and quickly spread to his body.
At the Divine Chapter realm, one can summon the gods one has cultivated to descend into the mortal world.
At this moment, Pei Niannu was like a ghost possessed, and with the surging magic power, he merged into one with Zhao Duan.
In the woods.
Princess Lu suddenly felt a strong sense of uneasiness. Without hesitation, she pressed her fair and tender palm on the hilt of the sword and stabbed it down fiercely!
However, Zhao Duan's right hand, which was covered with a faint red light, quietly grasped the tip of the sword.
Calmly...
Hold on.
Hold on?
Princess Lu was stunned, her expression suddenly changed, and she looked at Zhao Duan's face.
He suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils surging with plasma-like red. He seemed to have lost all human emotions, like an angry god.
"You provoked me." Zhao Duan said this and stood up straight.
Princess Lu was horrified as she watched the long sword in her hand being dissolved by the scalding crimson aura and transformed into drops of iron liquid.
In a hurry, she only had time to put on three layers of magical armor around her body, and then she saw Zhao Duan punch out.
"Bang!"
The surging magic power surged out along with the punch, and in an instant, the three layers of armor were torn apart like paper, and Princess Lu's figure flew backwards like a cannonball.
The violent power of the spell stirred up a strong wind, and countless fallen leaves in the entire forest were lifted up like tiles and scattered into the air.
The silver armor on the faceplate of Princess Lu, who had just been so powerful and in control of everything, flickered and almost cracked.
A mouthful of blood spurted out of the corner of his mouth, and he rolled like a sandbag and slammed into the rocks in the distance. Almost all the bones in his body were broken, and his eyes were filled with unspeakable horror!
In her perception, Zhao Duan's magical power was not much stronger than hers, and was still at the "worldly" level.
Logically speaking, a clash of magic powers at the same level would definitely not leave her completely helpless.
But when Zhao Duan took action, Princess Lu was horrified to find that her cultivation seemed to be suppressed by some kind of power that was almost like blood.
It is like a mortal encountering a tiger in the mountains, his legs trembling and unable to move.
At this moment, she saw Zhao Duan as if he was afraid of a tiger.
He couldn't even display even 10% of his cultivation. He was completely restrained and weakened to the point where he was almost a mortal.
"How could it be...you..."
Before Princess Lu could come to her senses, she saw Zhao Duan standing up in the distance and raising his right hand to grab her.
Princess Lu's face changed drastically and she was about to escape.
Immediately, the falling leaves flying in the sky suddenly condensed into two long "chains", tied her up, and dragged her back to Zhao Duan's feet along the way she came!
No way to fight back!
Lu Yan'er felt a strong sense of fear and confusion in her heart. She wanted to say something, but Zhao Du'an raised his hand and grabbed her fair neck in mid-air.
Her feet kicked wildly in the air, and her hands tried to pry open the iron hands that were restraining her neck. Her face turned pale, like a weak woman in the mortal world.
"No……"
"No……"
Princess Lu opened her eyes as wide as she could, having realized something. A surge of magical power rushed into her pupils, opening her third eye.
As the "Heavenly Eye" opened, Lu Yan'er saw a horrifying scene.
Behind Zhao Duan, illusory red lines formed by magic power extended towards the sky.
One end of the red strings was connected to Zhao Duan, like a puppet, and the other end was held in the slender white hands of an illusory figure in mid-air.
She was a woman in ancient costume, wearing a simple red wedding gown, with a mysterious dark golden mask covering her face, revealing only half of her snow-white and delicate chin.
One hand held the red thread and transferred the magic power to Zhao Duan.
The other hand held a strange scale rod that was intertwined with gold and red.
At this moment, she was suspended in the air, majestic and awe-inspiring like a god.
Six hundred years ago, the number one female sorcerer in the world, Pei Niannu, came to the world!
The moment their eyes met, Lu Yan'er, who had been struggling violently, was struck by lightning. She widened her eyes and stared at the dark golden mask and the appearance of the sorceress who was marrying her daughter. There was a gleam in her eyes, mixed with endless shock and surprise.
At the same time, after seeing the almost cracked silver mask on the other person's face, Pei Niannu frowned and suddenly retracted half of the red lines.
The plasma-like red in Zhao Duan's eyes suddenly faded away. He felt his body suddenly become empty, his magic power was drained away, and his right hand could not restrain the other party, so he threw the green-clothed princess to the ground.
"Cough! Cough cough cough!"
Lu Yan'er knelt on the ground. As soon as she was freed, she covered her throat and gasped for breath, accompanied by coughing.
Extremely embarrassed.
Zhao Duan, who lost the blessing of the red buff, felt the energy in his sea of qi being consumed continuously. He turned his head to look at Pei Niannu and raised his eyebrows.
He conveyed a thought: "Senior, this is..."
Pei Niannu ignored him, frowning.
The princess on the ground immediately raised her head, opened her third eye, and looked at the sorceress standing in the air with excitement and disbelief, and asked tentatively: "Ancestor... Ancestor?!"
Ancestor?
Zhao Duan's eyes became more and more strange.
"Ask her... identity... for me..." Pei Niannu's voice came to his ears.
The way she came to the world was almost like a god. She could not communicate directly with outsiders and had to rely on Zhao Duan, a "believer", as a medium.
Zhao Duan looked down at the kneeling princess, smiling:
"Senior Pei asked me to interrogate you, Princess. Can you tell me now? What is your origin?"
Lu Yan'er was still immersed in great shock. She came to her senses only after being questioned. She also realized that she could not communicate directly with her ancestors, and her mind was in a mess.
She couldn't understand why the ancestor that her family had been searching for for hundreds of years in vain would end up in Zhao Duan, a pretty boy.
The first thought was doubt, but it was dispelled in an instant. The rest could be disguised, but the real suppressing force based on inheritance coming from Pei Niannu could not be faked.
That is a characteristic that only this lineage has. Gold armor is the most important, silver armor is the second, and bronze armor is the last.
Clear hierarchy.
The superior can not only completely suppress the subordinates, but can also punish them from a distance of thousands of miles.
As for the dark gold visor, according to historical records, only Pei Niannu was able to master it.
"Yes... yes..." Lu Yan'er answered subconsciously.
As expected, he is indeed a descendant of the Pei Niannu family. Because Pei Niannu offended too many people back then, after his death, the entire Pei family hid their identities and scattered everywhere to avoid being hunted down.
Lu Yan'er's branch changed its surname to "Lu". She had great talent in spiritual practice since she was a child. Later, she lost her relatives due to feuds in the martial arts world and became the only remaining bloodline of this branch.
Whether it is to inherit the family mission, to find the ancestral heritage, to complete the promotion, or to take a step further.
In short, Lu Yan'er searched for Pei Niannu's whereabouts for many years. Later, because the clues pointed to the royal family, and she was obviously unable to enter the palace to investigate, she unexpectedly got the promise of Prince Jing to work for him.
The whole process is not complicated.
After hearing this, Zhao Duan also felt that fate was amazing. Who could have thought that such a coincidence could happen...
Moreover, the rules of this mask suppression sound evil... It doesn't seem like the right way, but rather a bit like that of an evil sorcerer.
Could it be that the deity that Pei Niannu cultivated is considered an evil deity?
"Ancestor!"
Kneeling on the ground, Lu Yan'er, in blood-stained green clothes, looked excited:
"We have searched for you for hundreds of years. Our elders have always said that you are not dead. Now that we have seen you, we beg you to return and gather our scattered clansmen..."
Pei Niannu listened quietly. Although he was wearing a visor, he still revealed a sense of vicissitudes and loneliness.
She looked at Zhao Duan and said calmly:
"Tell...her...that I am...dead. There's no need to dwell on it..."
After saying this, without waiting for Zhao Duan's response, he took the initiative to cut off all the red lines of magic power, disappeared from the world, and returned to the Six Chapter Sutra.
Hang up... Zhao Duan's eyelids twitched, and he called out "Senior" a few more times in his heart, but Pei Niannu seemed to have touched upon something sad, and didn't respond to him at all.
"Ancestor? Ancestor?!"
Lu Yan'er watched the wedding dress sorceress turn around and disappear. She looked around blankly and let out a shrill cry.
Zhao Duan smacked his lips, feeling the little energy left in his body that had been consumed to sustain Pei Niannu's arrival, and he took the initiative to stop visualizing. In this way, Pei Niannu could no longer feel what was happening outside.
He looked down at Princess Lu and said in a mocking voice, "Don't shout, Princess. Senior Pei has already gone back."
Lu Yan'er looked at him blankly, expecting an explanation.
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"Senior Pei said she was very disappointed in you. It would have been fine if she had participated in the secular court's struggle, but she was willing to serve a traitor like Prince Jing, becoming a lackey of the mortal dignitaries. This has humiliated her and even this inheritance. How dare you, a descendant of this kind, invite her back?"
Lu Yan'er was struck by lightning, her face turned pale, she slumped to the ground, her lips trembling:
“I…I…”
As he spoke, tears began to roll down his face. He felt ashamed and embarrassed.
Yes.
What a magnificent figure our ancestor was six hundred years ago! He was on par with the Great Yu Emperor Taizu and ranked among the strongest in the world.
Moreover, he used secret techniques to almost become a god, being able to remain immortal for six hundred years, which was unheard of.
How proud should such an ancestor be?
And what about yourself?
So, the ancestor attacked me just now because he was angry that I didn't fight back and wanted to punish me angrily, right?
Seeing her distraught and shattered faith, Zhao Duan changed the subject:
"But... Senior Pei also told me to tell you that when you are truly worthy of being her descendant one day, then come back to see her."
Lu Yan'er's eyes, which had been as dead as ashes, lit up again. She climbed up and looked at Zhao Du'an impatiently, her tone excited:
"What should I do so that my ancestors will be willing to see me again?"
Zhao Duan looked at him as if he were an idiot and said:
"You still don't understand? Of course, you should abandon the dark and join the light. Senior Pei is on my side, but you are with a traitor like Prince Jing. Being my enemy means being an enemy of your ancestors."
Lu Yan'er suddenly woke up as if she had been hit by a stick. She showed joy at first, but then she realized something was wrong:
"But you just said that our ancestors resented me for being a lackey for the rich and powerful, but aren't you also..."
Zhao Duan had a blank expression on his face and rebuked:
"Do you know that I was taught by Emperor Taizu? And that I cultivated the same path of martial arts as you?
If we put aside the ordinary emperors and generals, and talk about the inheritance of the monks' master-disciple relationship, I am from the same school as the current empress, and also as the fellow disciple of Hai Gongsheng.
"Fellow disciples are one. Do you know why Senior Pei was summoned by me? It's because Senior Pei also joined the sect of Emperor Taizu. Don't you understand?"
Lu Yan'er suddenly understood.
Yes, she overlooked this point. The world of monks is different from that of ordinary people. What matters is the master-disciple relationship.
Once it was revealed, she immediately said:
"I am willing to abandon the dark and join the light, and join the Martial God lineage. I only ask Lord Zhao to help me explain to my ancestors..."
Zhao Duan smiled teasingly and shook his head:
"Princess Lu, you just tried to assassinate me, and you still have the identity of a princess. How can I trust you?"
Lu Yan'er stood up, her eyes cold behind her cracked visor:
"I'll go back to Huting right now and kill Prince Jing and his son as a token of my loyalty. How about that?"
Pei Niannu's appearance made her change her stance on the spot. Compared to Prince Jing's blank check, Zhao Duan's side was obviously more trustworthy.
“…Wait a minute!”
Zhao Duan was startled, but he stopped the other person and started thinking.
Kill Prince Jing directly? He had to admit that this was an extremely tempting offer, and he was indeed tempted.
But Zhao Duan thought about it again and felt that it was inappropriate.
First, killing Prince Jing would inevitably lead to unpredictable changes in the entire political landscape of the Dayu Dynasty.
The current situation, which is barely stable, will be broken in an instant. From a global perspective, this may not be a good thing.
After all, there are still seven of the Eight Princes. Apart from Prince Jing, Prince Mu of Yunfu also has the potential to be the Dragon Throne. The existence of the Eight Princes can still check and balance each other. If this is broken, it is impossible to clearly judge whether it is good or bad.
Secondly, as an inspector, he cannot make such a big decision.
He was just a minister and had not reported to the empress, so he did not have the authority to do such a big thing privately.
In official circles, exceeding one's authority is dangerous even in wartime, let alone in peacetime?
The third and most important thing is that Zhao Duan suspected that Prince Jing was not so easy to kill.
Otherwise, why didn't the empress, who possessed the combat power of the celestial realm, simply go to the south of the Yangtze River alone and kill all eight kings directly?
Whether it was because he was worried about being infamous for eternity, or because the structure could not be easily broken, or because the old shady Prince Jing must have hidden some means of saving his life.
In short, there must be a reason why the empress did not do this, and Zhao Duan could not do it either.
"Are you sure you can kill him? He has no way to save his life?" Zhao Duan asked calmly.
Lu Yan'er was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said:
"I can't be sure. Xu Wen is... a man of deep scheming. I'm definitely not the only one guarding him. Moreover, when he asked me to join him, I tried to show my murderous intent and sensed something in him that I feared."
This makes sense... If someone has the guts to fight the Empress, how could he not have some background? Zhao Duan asked:
"Do you know what cards he has?"
Lu Yaner shook her head and said:
"I know very little. Although I am his bodyguard, I don't get involved in his affairs. He is also quite wary of me. Not only me, but even his son Xu Jinglong only knows a less important part.
All I know is that Prince Jing has some secret connections with Qingshan. He's secretly training troops in Jianchengdao and hollowed out a mountain to make a firearms factory."
Then, as if to make her feelings clear, she told him all the information she knew in one breath.
Zhao Duan gained a lot, but the core things were indeed very few.
It's not surprising. Prince Jing must be crazy to give this explanation to the princess who said betrayal without any hesitation.
"Let's do this." Zhao Duan thought for a moment and said with his hands behind his back:
"I need you to continue lurking in Prince Jing's mansion. When you return today, tell them that I have a trump card and that I summoned a god to injure you. Don't tell me anything else.
After that, don't intentionally collect any intelligence. Just continue as usual and wait for my orders.
Don't worry, as long as you turn from evil to good and work for me, I will speak for you on Senior Pei's side. Of course, the choice is always yours. You can trust me or Prince Jing."
Lu Yan'er didn't hesitate, and suddenly knelt on one knee, like a surrendered general in the army, and said seriously:
"As you command."
She knows very well what attitude and approach to use when dealing with officials.
Since she can serve Prince Jing in pursuit of her ancestors, there is nothing wrong with her changing her career to serve Zhao Duan.
Zhao Duan raised the corner of his mouth slightly and waved his hand, saying, "Go."
"yes!"
Lu Yan'er picked up the half-broken sword on the ground. With injuries all over her body, a formation slowly emerged under her feet and she disappeared.
Large flakes of fallen leaves scattered all over the ground, leaving only Zhao Duan alone. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking in the direction where she disappeared, his mouth twitching.
"Wait, you haven't told me how to get back."
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
Thanks to grapeforest for the 500 coins and 2022...7230 for the 120 coins.
(End of this chapter)
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