It's said that the foundation layout of the palace holds profound mysteries, and when powerful individuals enter the palace, their spiritual powers are suppressed.
That malicious Mu Qingge is also in the palace. If by any chance she instigates Emperor Suyu against my Shifu…
Ranran became more and more worried. Just then, the little Vermilion Bird jumped onto her head again, hopping around and asking for peanuts.
Ranran looked at the little bird and suddenly had an idea. Why didn't she think of this before!
She reached out and tied a talisman to the Vermilion Bird's foot, then patted its head and said, "Be good, go to the largest courtyard in the Imperial city. If my Shifu is in danger, come back and inform me immediately. Remember, don't get too close to the soldiers with swords and weapons. I'm afraid your abilities won't work inside the palace either, and if you're caught and caged, it will be disastrous."
After entrusting the bird with these earnest instructions, Ranran let it fly away. She then sat cross-legged in her room, connecting with the Vermilion Bird and using its eyes to observe the situation in the palace.
The Vermilion Bird quickly flew over high rooftops, and with its bird's eye view, Ranran saw Su Yishui being led by palace attendants towards the palace gate.
The little Vermilion Bird was quite a lively one, circling in the air from time to time and darting around curiously. It flew to the west side of the palace at one point.
Ranran could hear what sounded like furious cursing coming from a palace building on the west side.
When the little Vermilion Bird stopped on a branch by the window, Ranran could clearly see a disheveled woman smashing things and cursing, "What kind of rubbish useless elixirs? Why hasn't the scar on my face healed?"
Ranran focused her gaze and was startled because the woman was none other than Mu Qingge! After all this time, her facial scars hadn't healed properly. Although they had scabbed over, they were still deep red, marring her once beautiful face, just like Wen Hongshan…
Ranran remembered how Wei Jiu's claws had once torn open the Black Flood Dragon, so his claws were dipped with its blood. Perhaps it was due to the blood of a spirit beast that Mu Qingge's wounds couldn't heal.
But after she gave Qin Xuanjiu the medicated ointment, she had specifically asked her Shifu, and he had said that the medicine could neutralize the Black Flood Dragon's poison and heal the wounds?
Ranran tried hard to recall the ointment she had made. It was indeed effective, even on herself and senior brother, who had been bitten by Immortal Devouring Bugs multiple times. After applying it, not a single scar or mark was left.
Why didn't it work on Mu Qingge?
Ranran did not know that Mu Qingge had thrown away the medicated ointment sent by Qin Xuanjiu. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with her concoction.
Although she detested Mu Qingge, the medicine she gave was genuine. If Mu Qingge had used it, at least the wounds on her face wouldn't have festered like this…
Just then, a palace maid spoke tentatively, "Battle Goddess, the place has been cleared at Hui Xiang Spring for you tomorrow . They say soaking there can heal scars miraculously. You should go there more often; it will certainly benefit your wounds."
Mu Qingge said coldly, "Let me try. If it doesn't work, I'll skin you alive!"
Watching the disheveled Mu Qingge scolding the palace maid angrily, and remembering that this woman might be liked by her Shifu, Ranran felt quite distressed and didn't want to see anymore.
Just then, the little Vermilion Bird flapped its wings again, chasing after Su Yishui. It finally landed on a branch outside the study, peeking inside.
As Su Yishui had anticipated, Emperor Su Yu was indeed receiving the "Bao Ming" whom he valued highly in the study.
However, when Su Yishui entered the study, guards came to search him and signaled for him to wait in the outer chamber, not allowed into the inner chamber.
At that moment, behind the heavy pearl curtains, a refined male voice slowly came through, "Is the gentleman Bao Ming waiting in the outer chamber?"
Su Yishui bowed slightly with clasped hands and said, "Indeed."
Seeing that he didn't kowtow, a eunuch nearby scolded sharply, "How dare you not kneel and pay respects to His Majesty?"
Su Yishui remained standing steadily, showing no intention of kneeling. The eunuch was about to reprimand further when the man inside the chamber said indifferently, "Cultivators view wealth and status lightly. In the eyes of the gentleman, all beings are equal. I, like any other, do not care much for worldly etiquette… Since the gentleman has come, it seems you agree to my previous proposal."
Su Yishui lowered his eyes and said, "Now that I've met Your Majesty, please clarify the proposal in person to avoid any misunderstandings from previous letters."
The man behind the curtains chuckled, "Why worry about misunderstandings? Didn't you clearly express in your letters that you've admired Mu Qingge for years and longed to be intimate with her? If you hand over the Seven Evil Transformation Curse, perhaps I'll arrange for you to meet, whether you can succeed then depends on your abilities."
To outsiders, Emperor Su Yu appeared to highly regard his former benefactor, Mu Qingge. But the man behind the curtains spoke of Mu Qingge as if she were a trivial item, easily given away as a reward.
Su Yishui hadn't expected that the Bao Ming he is impersonating actually harbored desires for Mu Qingge's beauty. His brows furrowed slightly at this realization.
Even though Mu Ranwu was a fraud, she was using Mu Qingge's identity. Did she ever think that the "Little Yu" she affectionately called was such a despicable man?
He said coldly, "Mu Qingge has always been arrogant and disobedient. I'm afraid she won't obey Your Majesty's orders, will she?"
The man inside the chamber replied coldly, "You need not worry; just say whether it's possible or not."
Su Yishui had originally come here just to meet Su Yu. However, since arriving in the Capital, he had sensed something amiss. Now, meeting Su Yu confirmed his suspicions.
Apart from other matters, what angered Su Yishui was how this man, who seemed to value Mu Qingge greatly, casually bestowed her upon such a vulgar man. Su Yishui felt his anger rising as his tone grew even colder as he said, "Your Majesty is indeed generous. But did you ever think, when Mu Qingge helped you ascend to the throne, that she was aiding such a despicable person!"
After saying this, Su Yishui suddenly moved, swiftly rushing into the inner chamber and grabbing the man behind the curtains by the neck.
Although the palace's Trigram foundation could suppress spiritual abilities, Su Yishui had started martial arts training at seven and became a disciple of the great hero Yan Fei at fourteen. His martial arts skills were exceptional.
Before anyone could react, he had swiftly leaped and captured Su Yu.
Defeat the enemy by capturing their leader. As long as he held Su Yu, everything else would be easier.
However, when Su Yishui looked at the trembling Su Yu in his hands, he was momentarily stunned.
The Bao Ming he impersonated was fake, but he didn't expect this Emperor behind the curtains… was also fake!
Although this young man resembled Su Yu greatly, Su Yishui recognized at a glance that he was only about seventy to eighty percent similar, a mere stand-in.
At that moment, all the doors and windows in the study suddenly closed, thick smoke billowed from the corners of the room, and from outside the room, a light laughter came from a sedan chair, "I am after all your little Imperial Uncle. Your defiance and readiness to fight at the slightest provocation is really like your father…"
Su Yishui's voice came from inside the study, "When did you discover my flaw?"
The person inside the sedan chair chuckled, "You've met Old Feng, who is the Divine Master Feng Thirteen. The Leopard Claw created from illusion spell couldn't deceive his eyes."
Su Yishui said coldly, "So you've seen through me early on but still led me here?"
"After so many years apart, I've missed you. Let's sit down and chat. But since your wild nature is hard to change, don't mind if I calm you down a bit?"
As they spoke, wisps of green smoke rose from the study's golden tokens, seeming to have their own consciousness as they hurriedly slipped through the cracks in the study.
At that moment, Su Yishui suddenly burst out from the rooftop, using martial arts lightness skills to dash towards a high tower in the palace.
At this moment, the Vermilion Bird perched on a tree branch outside the Imperial Study blinked its small black eyes, faithfully relaying the happenings in the study to Ranran.
The Vermilion Bird wanted to continue watching, but when Feng Thirteen, with his yin-yang eyes, happened to glance at it, he quickly turned his head, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He suddenly pounced towards the tree, preparing to catch the Vermilion Bird.
But the Vermilion Bird had already taken to the skies, avoiding the many arrows shot by Feng Thirteen on his orders, swiftly flying out of the palace.
Seeing the Imperial Study sealed off, Ranran jumped up with agitation. These people had acted swiftly and skillfully; it was clearly a trap that had been set.
The old man with yin-yang eyes was indeed capable. Not only did he see through her Shifu early on, but he also saw through the Vermilion Bird's disguise.
Her Shifu was trapped alone in the dangerous situation of the palace, powerless now. Wouldn't this make him vulnerable, at the mercy of others?
As she recounted the situation inside the palace to her Uncle Masters, both of them were also extremely worried.
Yu Chen immediately declared, "Even if we break into the palace, I will rescue our Master!"
Yu Tong, calmer than her brother, only said in a deep voice, "Our Master instructed me earlier that if he doesn't return by dawn tomorrow morning, I must take the few of you and leave the Capital. After sending you away, I will join my brother to enter the palace and rescue our Master."
Gao Cang said, "I won't leave. I'll stay and rescue our Shifu with you!"
At that moment, everyone was ready to sacrifice for their cause, but Ranran knew that sheer enthusiasm wouldn't solve the problem.
This wasn't an ordinary secular palace; it was a dangerous place designed specifically for Cultivators.
The group of scattered immortals kept in the Yiren Hall was likely just the tip of the iceberg, and Su Yu probably had numerous minions among the exotic beings.
If even their Shifu had fallen into jeopardy, then their unprepared group would be like moths to a flame upon entering the palace, exterminated with one blow, with no hope of rescuing their master.
However, Ranran had never seen Su Yu nor understood his character, making it challenging to plan how to save their master.
In some ways, Yu Tong was as stubborn as Qin Xuanjiu, with a rigid mindset. Since their Master had instructed her to escort Ranran and the others out of the city at dawn, there can be no compromise.
However, after they returned yesterday, it seemed they were being watched. Now, the entire courtyard was surrounded, and the annihilation of the Xishan sect seemed imminent.
But Yu Tong remained calm. She led everyone to an abandoned small courtyard in the house, pushed open a cabinet inside, revealing a hidden passage.
As they descended the underground passage, Ranran discovered a secret resting chamber along the way.
Seeing the dusty items inside, she speculated that someone had hidden here many years ago, evading pursuit. However, when Ranran's torchlight revealed claw marks on the walls, it was chilling, as if this place had once held… a trapped beast.
Following this hidden passage, which had been dug who-knows-when, they emerged outside the city limits.
"This is a refuge tunnel my Master dug twenty years ago. I didn't expect to use it today. You should return to Western Mountain now; Master forbids you from any delay on the road," Yu Tong instructed before turning back.
Shortly after they left the city, the city gate finally opened. Old Feng with his Yin-Yang Eyes was leading a search, seemingly looking for Su Yishui's accomplices.
Ranran thought her Shifu was meticulous; even their escape plan had been arranged thoughtfully. But when it came to himself, how had he fallen into the Emperor's trap so foolishly?
Yet, considering the saying about *a tiger may doze off and fall asleep, if her Shifu had a momentary lapse of judgment and fell into the Emperor's trap, it wasn't entirely impossible.
*老虎还有打瞌睡的时候 : 再厉害的人也会有疏忽的时候
Even the most powerful person might be negligent sometimes
Thinking back to the unusual atmosphere she sensed in the Capital, this place before her was filled with inexplicable danger and strangeness.
Although her Shifu's instructions were clear, she would never abandon him alone and flee!
Gao Cang and Qiu Xier also hesitated. Qiu Xier suggested, "The city is currently hunting people everywhere. Going back would be walking into a trap willingly… Maybe we can find our Shifu's friends and see if anyone can help us rescue him?"
After saying this, they looked at each other. Apart from Zeng Yi from Cha Ming Mountain, their Shifu had almost no friends. Where could they find someone to help him?
In fact, Ranran already had an idea a while ago. She calmly said, "For now, one of us must sneak back into the palace to find out our Shifu's whereabouts before we can plan further."
Gao Cang frowned, "The palace is an impenetrable iron-clad fortress ; even the little vermilion bird almost got caught flying in. Now that our Shifu has been tricked by the Emperor, it's probably as difficult as ascending to heaven to break in again!"
Ranran had already figured out a way when they were going through the underground passage. "Old tricks can still work. We will just use a decoy again, like Shifu did."
Qiu Xier blinked, "Are you going to impersonate one of Bao Ming's female disciples?"
Ranran shook her head, "I'm going to impersonate Mu Qingge!"
Tracking the Emperor's movements wasn't easy, but Mu Qingge, staying in the West Palace, had a predictable routine.
Yesterday, when the vermilion bird was spying, Ranran had overheard Mu Qingge planning to visit Huixiang Springs outside the city.
Now, with no other choice, Ranran decided to try her luck and see if she could find a breakthrough by finding Mu Qingge.
Although the wound on Mu Qingge's face had already stopped bleeding, it was leaving a red mark, which naturally make her anxious.
It was said that the Huixiang Springs south of the capital had a miraculous effect on healing. With the information gleaned from the vermilion bird, Ranran planned to wait at the springs and seize the opportunity. At worst, if she could capture Mu Qingge, she could negotiate with her to exchange for Su Yishui from the Emperor…
With this plan in mind, Ranran hurried with her senior siblings without stopping, to Huixiang Springs to the south of the city.
Gao Cang and Qiu Xier now followed their junior sister's lead. Even if Ranran told them to poke at a hornet's nest, these two would do it without hesitation. Ranran's mind worked differently, and they trusted her judgment without doubt.
Su Yu valued talents, and for War Goddess, he granted her the appropriate standing.
With a luxurious carriage and a long procession, even three extraordinary beings were assigned to escort her.
However, this bathing place for the nobles in the city, while guarded, still had blind spots and hidden corners.
Yu Tong originally wanted to use light body technique to leap over the walls, but Ranran said it was too risky.
Su Yu had many extraordinary beings working for him, and among the three escorts, there might be someone with extraordinary insight like Old Feng. It was better not to use spiritual power when infiltrating here.
Seeing carts of firewood being transported daily to the bathhouse, Ranran took advantage of her small size and blended into the pile of firewood. Meanwhile, Gao Cang and Qiu Xier kept watch outside.
The outer area of this bathhouse was easy to blend into, but the inner part where Mu Qingge was located was trickier.
Ranran noticed that the young and pretty maidservants shuttling back and forth in the bathhouse. She swayed her figure, lightly sneaking into the servants' quarters, changed into a maidservant's attire, and quietly slipped into the inner side of the bathhouse's steam room.
Her light body technique had reached an incredible level. Even without spiritual energy, her steps were light and agile. With clever movements, she moved like a feather, dodging guards and sneaking into the open-air bath where Mu Qingge was soaking.
Mu Qingge seemed to dislike interruptions and was resting with closed eyes, but the moment Ranran entered, she immediately sensed something was amiss.
She waved her hand, summoning the sword placed beside her, and directed it to attack Ranran.
If it was in the past, Ranran would have been unable to dodge the sword and would have been pierced by it.
However, when Ranran looked at the swiftly approaching sword now, it was like watching a slowly drifting feather. Without thinking, she reached out and caught the blade with two fingers.
As she firmly caught the sword, even she was surprised: why did Mu Qingge seem weaker than when they were on Tianmai Mountain?
When Ranran pushed the sword away and pressed her small dagger against Mu Qingge's throat, Elder Mu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Although Ranran had undergone the marrow-cleansing pool, it was unlikely for her to surpass Mu Qingge by such a large margin!
"How did you sneak in here?" Mu Qingge asked in a low voice.
Ranran replied softly, "Hello, Elder Mu. There is poison on the blade of my knife. If you make a big move and accidentally cut yourself, I'm afraid your face will add a few more scars."
Mu Qingge glared at Ranran but forced a smile. "What do you want?"
Ranran took out a golden talisman and placed it on Mu Qingge's forehead, immobilizing her slightly, then got straight to the point, "Where has the Emperor locked up my Shifu?"
Mu Qingge was stunned by this and said, "What are you talking about? Su Yishui was captured by the Emperor?"
Evidently, she was unaware of this before and, after a moment of shock, relaxed into a smile, "Heavens, Su Yishui actually did something so foolish, rushing into Su Yu's trap?"
Ranran blinked at her and said in a small voice, "Don't smile too broadly, or your face might hit the blade…"
Mu Qingge finally stopped smiling. She raised an eyebrow, and said, "Su Yu is the one who caught your master. What's the point of threatening me with a knife? Back on Tianmai Mountain, I had no choice but to try to use the Marrow Cleansing Pool to resolve the Grudge water Wei Jiu poisoned me with. If I've wronged you in any way, you should try to understand!"
Ranran didn't buy into her hypocritical words. She softly said, "I came here to ask Elder Mu for help in rescuing my Shifu."
Mu Qingge burst out laughing and insincerely replied, "Fine, I'll agree to help you, but you need to release me first before we talk further."
Ranran took out another Truth-Speaking spell talisman and stuck it to Mu Qingge's face again. "Sorry, you're too good at lying. I feel more assured after I question you again after placing this."
Then she asked, "Do you really not know about my Shifu's capture?"
Mu Qingge, with a grim face, honestly replied, "I really don't know. I only heard that there was some commotion in the palace last night, as if an assassin had entered…"
Ranran asked again, "Do you know where the captured assassin is being held?"
Mu Qingge, was reluctant to reply but compelled by the truth talisman, explained, "If Su Yishui was really captured last night, Su Yu would likely still have him detained within the palace. Only the unique Feng Shui of the palace can suppress his spiritual power."
Ranran asked once more, "Will you help me rescue my Shifu?"
Mu Qingge's scarred cheeks twitched slightly. "There is no way I will help. He doesn't care about me at all, all he has in his heart is you! I wouldn't mind if both of you died together!"
Oh dear, this response was far beyond Ranran's expectations. She was a little dumbfounded. How did Elder Mu know about the illicit incidents between her master and herself? And Elder Mu's tone was filled with jealousy.
Could it be that Elder Mu had misunderstood something between Shifu and her from before, hence the jealous rage and the plot to harm her with the bugs?
If that were the case, didn't she become a stumbling block in her Shifu's romance? Their twenty years of unrequited love turned into complete despair because of her interference?
But now was not the time for problems with romance. Ranran had not assumed that she could persuade Mu Qingge to help rescue Shifu in the first place. She shook her head apologetically, then asked, "Do you often meet with the Emperor?"
Mu Qingge was already irritated; being forced to speak truthfully felt like her protective shell was being stripped away, but her mouth was not under her control. She gritted her teeth and said, "Su Yu, that bastard, is just using me. Why would he meet with me every day... Damn it!"
Others thought the Emperor valued Mu Qingge highly, treating her like his own parent. Mu Ranwu also enjoyed this perception, proud of the vanity it satisfied.
But now, Mu Ranwu had to reveal that she was just someone's pawn, especially in front of Xue Ranran. This sense of shame, was almost bursting forth from her scars.