The sun shines brightly, casting its light upon the towering palaces.
Qu Heng's twelve-person squad moved silently along the shadows of the vermilion palace walls, like drifting sand.
They wore the distinctive dark blue-black soft armor of the Qilin Guards, with the Qilin patterns embroidered on their shoulders gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
"Change of guard at the northwest corner tower in three breaths," Qu Heng gave the order via telepathy, and the eleven people behind him simultaneously pressed themselves against the dragon-shaped screen wall.
Sure enough, a group of guards turned and left from beside the white marble railing, the red tassels on their gilded helmets swaying gently in the night breeze.
The Divine Martial Realm expert in charge of perception sealed all the major acupoints on his body, concentrating his divine sense into a thin veil that could only cover the area of the small team.
This was an extremely dangerous choice, meaning that threats from afar could not be foreseen in advance, but it was also the only way to possibly avoid the perceptions of those in the palace.
After the guards had gone, Qu Heng, based on the map drawn by Yu Jingheng, made his judgment: "Go through Yongxiang to bypass the Shangqin Bureau."
It was an old court lady who had served in the palace for thirty years who used a vermilion brush to mark a hidden path on silk that most people did not know.
"The latticework window here has three broken railings, allowing one person to pass sideways."
As the squad silently passed through the abandoned Fragrant Garden, the youngest, thin, dark-skinned boy suddenly stopped.
Qu Heng immediately gave a hand signal, and the group instantly disappeared into the withered rose bushes.
The boy carefully picked up half a loose brick from the mud. Underneath it was a very thin silver thread. If he took another half step forward, he would trigger a mechanism.
"It's a series of startling bird bells."
Qu Heng nodded in acknowledgment, and the boy carefully fixed the silver thread back in place.
Cold sweat broke out on his back. Once this mechanism was triggered, the copper bells within a radius of a hundred feet would ring out in unison like startled birds.
Without Shangyi's meticulously detailed map records, the group would likely have been discovered long ago.
The closer you get to the core area, the thicker and more suffocating the air becomes.
When the team finally reached the final safe point marked on the map after experiencing many dangers, Qu Heng couldn't help but raise his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
The Moonflower Gate, three hundred paces ahead, is the inner court forbidden area directly under the jurisdiction of the Azure Phoenix Guard.
"To reach the Imperial Study, one must pass through three halls and two corridors." Qu Heng traced the route on his palm with his fingertips.
"Passing through Yuehua Gate, then Jiashou Hall, through the winding corridors to Chengrui Pavilion, and finally breaking through the plaza in front of the attached porch."
The crowd nodded silently, gripping their daggers in reverse, their muscles beneath the soft armor taut like a fully drawn bow.
They knew that Yu Jingheng's map ended there; the old court lady had made a note in tiny characters on the corner of the silk:
"The Qingluan Guard's defenses are changing daily, and I dare not presume to know for sure."
Sure enough, as soon as he entered the Moonflower Gate, the powerful martial artist suddenly opened his eyes and urgently reported via telepathy:
"There's something strange about the artificial hills in the northeast direction!"
Almost simultaneously, everyone saw a faint, cold light gleaming from a seemingly naturally formed crevice in the shadow of the artificial mountain built of Taihu stones.
"We've been exposed!"
Before the warning had even faded, the cold light shot into the sky, exploding into fireworks in the night.
A sharp whistle tore through the silence, like the wailing of a ghost in the night.
"Charge!" Qu Heng gave the order, and the twelve men transformed into arrows flying from a bowstring.
Two burly men immediately broke away from their group and rushed towards the artificial hill, engaging in a fierce battle with the hidden sentries who had jumped out amidst the flashing of their swords.
Just as they rushed past the dragon-patterned steps in front of the Hall of Longevity, the sound of armor clashing came from both sides simultaneously.
Two patrol teams of Azure Phoenix Guards rushed out from the east and west side halls, each team consisting of twelve men. Their heavy black iron armor made a dull thud as they ran.
"Form ranks!" Qu Heng roared, and four more people immediately turned to face the enemy.
One pair of twin brothers threw out the Dragon Binding Rope in perfect unison, and the iron chains intertwined to form a net, temporarily blocking the attack from the right flank;
The other two charged directly into the left flank, their short blades precisely piercing the soft leather connecting the armor.
The remaining eight rushed toward the winding corridor without stopping.
The winding corridors had now become a death trap, as the Azure Phoenix Guards were clearly familiar with the pincer attack tactics at every turning point.
People kept bursting out from the carved lattice windows and descending from the painted coffered ceiling by ropes.
"I'll cover your retreat!"
As another team member was dragged into the shadows by a hook-and-sickle spear, the woman wielding twin swords suddenly spun around and slashed back.
The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, severing three Soul-Chasing Ropes, but the swordsman himself was struck in the shoulder by a hidden crossbow bolt.
She took one last look at her companion's departing figure, then hurled her twin swords into the throat of a pursuer. She leaped into a trapdoor that suddenly opened, and a terrifying sound of mechanisms turning came from below.
When they rushed through the last hanging flower gate, Qu Heng had only five people left with him, and each of them was panting heavily.
Suddenly, a very spacious courtyard opened up before us.
In the center of the square paved with white marble stands a bronze sundial, and directly to the north is the Imperial Study with its double-eaved hip roof.
"Chengrui Garden," Qu Heng uttered the location marked on the map.
At this moment, the shouts of battle from the outside grew closer and closer, and the Azure Phoenix Guards were forming an encirclement.
On the nine-tiered steps in front of the Imperial Study stood a majestic figure.
This man was dressed in black, unmarked armor, and was over nine feet tall. His exposed skin had a bluish-black hue.
Simply standing quietly, it resembles a mountain protecting the entire Imperial Study behind it.
Qu Heng was breathing heavily when he suddenly reached out and tore off the disguise from his face.
Beneath the human skin mask was a gaunt face, and then the disguise on the left little finger was suddenly ripped off, revealing a grotesque centipede-like scar at the severed end.
He stepped forward three steps and stood at the very front; as he clasped his hands in a salute, his severed finger was particularly striking.
"This humble general, Qu Heng, a registrar under the late General Zhao Polu, requests an audience with Your Majesty!"
The sound echoed across the square, and the guards on the steps finally opened their eyes.
He was none other than Pan Yue, the commander of the Xuanji Guard, known as the best defender among the third-ranked warriors.
He took a step down, and suddenly a phantom mountain appeared above the entire Chengrui Garden, a "power" emanating from his Divine Martial Realm.
The last five team members, including Qu Heng, felt immense pressure, as if they were carrying a mountain on their shoulders.
With a muffled "hum," a stream suddenly appeared beneath the mountain, lying between him and his team members.
Just then, the pressure on the five people suddenly decreased, clearly because a Divine Martial Realm expert in the team had made a move.
A battle was about to break out, but at that moment, the golden-nailed door of the Imperial Study suddenly opened.
Qin Minghuang appeared at the door of the Imperial Study.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
