Longzang

Chapter 453 The Truth
The night is deep.

Consort Yuan helped Wei Yuan up and chuckled, "Lord Wei, have you not eaten for days? Why are you so frail?"

Wei Yuan was furious and tried to fight back, but failed.

Wei Yuan felt that this was truly not a fault of war, and could be explained.

Consort Yuan beckoned to her maid and said, "Hurry up and bring the tonic! Can't you see that Lord Wei is overworked and about to faint?"

A maid immediately brought over a jade bowl containing a soup that had been prepared beforehand, the ingredients of which were unknown. Consort Yuan let Wei Yuan lean against her chest, said, "Little Yuan, it's time for your medicine," and then fed him the medicine.

After the medicine entered his stomach, Dao power continuously surged out from his abdomen, dispelling the increasingly heavy fatigue in Wei Yuan's body.

Wei Yuan was finally able to stand up, and Consort Yuan led him towards the inner palace. Wei Yuan had been to Chunhua Palace twice before, but had never been to the inner palace before.

Passing through an exquisitely decorated courtyard, Wei Yuan entered the rear hall. Beside Consort Yuan's own bed, he saw a small bed with a swaddled baby inside. However, Wei Yuan felt a slight blur before his eyes, as if he were seeing something different.

He rubbed his eyes hard, secretly added a little bit of immortal energy, and then the scenery in front of him suddenly changed.

The bedroom was filled with a blood-red hue, the light dim, like dusk, with only a faint glow emanating from a formation in the corner illuminating the room.

The stroller didn't contain a swaddled baby, but a doll made of cloth and straw! It sat up, its big eyes wide open, and was actually looking at Wei Yuan and smiling, with traces of blood still lingering at the corner of its mouth.

The light from the array flickered, casting long shadows on the objects in the room, which swayed violently, giving one a dizzying sensation.

Throughout the room, Wei Yuan was overwhelmed by an extremely strong smell of medicine, blood, and a strange stench of decay, which made even his constitution feel uncomfortable. Just then, the medicine he had just taken took effect; a pungent aroma dispelled the stench, and Wei Yuan realized that the putrid smell had unknowingly seeped into his body, almost penetrating his internal organs.

Wei Yuan was secretly alarmed. He didn't know where this stench came from, but it was able to deceive his senses. Even his physical body couldn't withstand it. It was either a rare poison or an extremely powerful curse, on the same level as the Blood Curse of the Witch Clan.

“This room contains eleven kinds of strange poisons and three kinds of curses. The baby in the stroller is a vengeful spirit that has been around for ten thousand years. If it bites you, one of your three souls and seven spirits will be destroyed,” said Consort Yuan.

Wei Yuan was shocked. This was no longer a concubine's boudoir, but a deadly poison cave! An ordinary Dharma Aspect would die without even knowing how he died if he stayed in this back hall for a little longer.

Wei Yuan recalled his previous encounter and suddenly realized that the magic array set up in the main hall and the pervasive fragrance complemented each other. The fragrance would seep into the body regardless of whether it was inhaled or not, and then be activated by the array to greatly enhance the array's suppressive power, while also dissipating the power of the physical body.

After Wei Yuan entered the hall and bowed, he was asked a few questions by Consort Yuan, and his strength was reduced to one-tenth or one-twelfth of its original strength.

With such strength, he was naturally no match for Consort Yuan, and was brutally exploited until he was reduced to ashes.

Consort Yuan led him to the array, gently stroking it with her hand. An infant appeared in the center of the array. He was fast asleep, looking adorable, but his fair body was covered in runes written in blood!
Suddenly, a hoarse laugh rang out: "So that's where you were hiding!"

A twisted figure suddenly appeared and lunged at the baby on the ground!

A murderous glint flashed in Wei Yuan's eyes as he reached out to block the infant. The figure exuded a violent aura and roared, "Boy, you're courting death!"

Then the shadow wrapped around Wei Yuan's hand and instantly corroded all the skin below Wei Yuan's elbow!

However, an indescribable, terrifying power surged from Wei Yuan's hand, washing over the shadows like a raging torrent, using the most primitive and brutal method to wear down his magical power!
In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan almost completely exhausted the Shadow Assassin's magical power, and then Wei Yuan's power shattered his physical body and sea of ​​consciousness, leaving him riddled with holes!

The assassin revealed himself to be a gaunt old man, his face contorted with disbelief and terror, clutching a crooked, dull dagger. He simply couldn't believe that, as a fellow Dharma Aspect cultivator, he couldn't even withstand a flick of his finger!
Consort Yuan appeared silently behind him, and in an instant, a white rope wrapped around his neck twice before tightening it!
The assassin reacted with lightning speed, raising his dagger to his throat in a split second, attempting to sever the thin white thread. However, Yuan Fei tightened her grip, instantly constricting the coil, sending the assassin's head and half of the dagger flying into the air!

The assassin was dead, and his head and body, no longer protected by magic, immediately emitted white smoke. The baby in the crib grabbed the edge of the bed and stuck his head out, constantly inhaling the white smoke and several faint souls into his stomach.

In the blink of an eye, the assassin vanished completely, while the doll lay back on the bed, her little belly bulging high.

Wei Yuan looked at the crib with normal vision and saw only a baby in swaddling clothes, fast asleep.

At this moment, Consort Yuan shook the white thread in her hand to let it spread out, and Wei Yuan then realized that the white thread that could cut through the magic weapon dagger was actually the white sock on her left leg!
Wei Yuan was a little puzzled. Were these socks really that sturdy? He hadn't noticed them at all!

Wei Yuan looked down at Consort Yuan's legs and saw that the white sock on her left leg had indeed disappeared, leaving only a smooth, round, fleshy leg with a glistening sheen on the skin.

She was still wearing a black stocking on her right leg, but it was riddled with holes of all sizes, torn raw. Seeing these holes, Wei Yuan blushed deeply.

Consort Yuan chuckled, "These socks could easily cut through ordinary magical artifacts, yet Lord Wei tore them apart with his bare hands. You really have a thing for your physical body!"

If Wei Yuan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that these socks could sever a magical dagger and even kill a Dharma Aspect assassin.

Wei Yuan arrived at the front of the formation, gazing at the sleeping infant. His brow furrowed, increasingly finding the blood-red runes glaringly unsettling. In his eyes, each rune twisted and writhed, like a hideous demon. These runes had absolutely nothing to do with orthodox Taoism. Wei Yuan couldn't even discern whether they were protecting or imprisoning the infant.

Consort Yuan said, "These are runes written by a master using the blood I used when I gave birth to him. As long as these runes don't fade, he can be saved..." At this moment, a sinister voice rang out again: "Not necessarily!"

A withered, large hand reached out from the void and grabbed at the baby in the magic circle!
Consort Yuan's expression changed drastically. She reached out with both hands and locked the large hand tightly, but her face instantly showed extreme pain. Then she screamed silently as all ten of her fingers were blown apart!
But while she screamed silently, she desperately used her bloodied palms to clamp down on the large hand, and even used her body to block the large hand!

But how could she withstand Yu Jing's attack with her magical power? The tip of that giant finger instantly pierced her chest, and in just a moment it could pass through her body and kill the baby in the magic circle!
Wei Yuan gritted his teeth, and the image of the girl's yin and yang appeared. Holding the Scarlet Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, he thrust the sword into the void with a backhand!
A faint scream echoed from beyond the sky!
The giant hand vanished, and the girl Yin Yang retrieved the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword, its blade pierced by an eyeball, along with a string of blood droplets. A full moon seemed to appear in the room before slowly disappearing.

The girl, Yin Yang, plucked her eyeballs from the sword's edge and vanished. Only the drops of blood that had followed the sword's edge fell to the ground, transforming into red gems the size of longan fruits.

Wei Yuan quickly helped Yuan Fei up, looking at the wound on her chest, he was extremely anxious. He had no medicine on him at all. In the past, no matter how serious the injury, he would rely on his body to heal naturally, but now he was helpless.

Consort Yuan's face was deathly pale, but she hadn't fainted yet. She whispered, "The medicine bottle by the bedside, give me three pills, only three."

Wei Yuan flashed and found a medicine bottle by the bedside. He poured out three pearl-sized pills and fed them to Consort Yuan. After a moment, the medicine took effect, and Consort Yuan's complexion improved. The wounds at the base of her fingers also stopped bleeding.

Wei Yuan glanced at her wound and his body trembled slightly.

The magical power left by the assassin on the wound was of a special nature, containing a trace of Buddhist power, which could double the sensitivity of the injured person. In other words, the pain of Yuan Fei's finger being ruptured had been doubled, and it was truly a mystery how she endured death without letting go.

Consort Yuan's face was pale. She finally let out a breath and said weakly, "I'm a little tired. Let me sleep for three breaths."

Wei Yuan nodded. After silently counting to three, Consort Yuan opened her eyes again.

She looked up at Wei Yuan, gently stroked his face with her fingerless hand, and suddenly kissed him on the lips, saying for the first time sincerely, "Thank you."

"Who are these people?"

Consort Yuan said, "They are the same people we met in the secret realm."

Looking around again, Wei Yuan realized that the warm walls surrounding the hall were also part of a grand formation. Only then did he understand that the strange fragrance and powerful formation in the hall were not aimed at him, but rather at suppressing assassins.

Consort Yuan sighed softly, pulled up her robe to cover the wound on her chest, and said, "During this time, Xiao Yinguo has been assassinated eleven times and poisoned four times. Even a maid I brought from Zhao Palace was bribed; I risked my life to save him that time. This time, they actually disregarded the vow made before the Buddha's Pure Land and sent Yu Jing. If it weren't for your last resort, my child and I would have died here tonight."

Wei Yuan didn't know what to say. If he had been even a little slower in activating the girl's Yin-Yang energy, or if the shadow in the moon hadn't borrowed the heavenly fortune, Yuan Fei would have died in front of him.

Wei Yuan sighed, "You can have another child if you lose one, why are you doing this to yourself?"

Consort Yuan gently shook her head and said, "You don't understand. This child has suffered so much. He was already suffering before he was even born. Now that he has come into this world, I will not allow anyone to harm him. If you want to kill him, you'll have to step over my dead body!"

Wei Yuan really didn't know what to say.

Consort Yuan suddenly smiled, took Wei Yuan's hand and placed it on her heart, saying, "Put your hand on my conscience and tell me the truth. If one day we encounter an insurmountable enemy again, would you be willing to sacrifice your own life to protect us, mother and son?"

Just as Wei Yuan was about to ponder, Consort Yuan suddenly said, "Those who lie will never achieve their dreams!"

Wei Yuan was taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "You really want to hear the truth?"

"Of course!"

"...I will do everything in my power to avenge you."

Consort Yuan was stunned, never expecting this answer. She gritted her teeth, grabbed Wei Yuan's handicap tightly, and pinched him with all her might, but due to her serious injuries, she couldn't break free.

Consort Yuan struggled to her feet, kicked Wei Yuan, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Get out of here!"

Just as Wei Yuan was about to explain, Consort Yuan pointed to the gradually brightening sky outside and said, "You have to attend the morning court session today! Hurry up and go!"

Wei Yuan left Chunhua Palace somewhat dazed, where Liu Quangong was already waiting. He gently grasped Wei Yuan's wrist, and in an instant, the two were in a carriage near the palace, where a new set of court robes had been prepared.

The carriage started moving, Wei Yuan changed his clothes, and then arrived at the palace gate before the deadline. The palace guards verified Wei Yuan's identity and then made way for him to enter the Jin Prince's Palace.

The road from the palace gate to the main hall looks very long, so long that many people cannot walk it in their entire lives.

But Wei Yuan didn't look at the main hall; instead, he looked up at the sky.

(End of this chapter)