Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 31 Terrible

The conversation that followed was much lighter.

The three men found common ground and had a pleasant conversation. After a satisfying meal, they each went home.

Lu Chenyuan returned to the princess's residence to continue being her male favorite. He first went to the Lingni Palace to play the zither for Jinni for two hours, which pleased the big cat. He also took the opportunity to review the techniques he had learned that morning and improve his proficiency. Then he borrowed books from Yuan Qingshuang's collection and began to read.

His knowledge is still too limited.

Sometimes, even with insightful guidance, doubts still linger.

Take the [Qing Shang Talisman Array] for example. It is described as "one of the simplest talisman arrays, consisting of only three strokes, but the stroke order, cinnabar, and carrier are all indispensable." It seems like there is nothing worth elaborating on, but for Lu Chenyuan, who is a complete novice, this simplest talisman array is still completely incomprehensible. He does not understand the significance of the stroke order and cinnabar at all.

A discerning eye isn't like Baidu; it doesn't have hyperlinks. You still need to have something in your head.

Lu Chenyuan was completely absorbed in his studies.

During the day, he studied the zither and read books, and at night he rested in his bedroom—he no longer slept in Li Lingyue's bed, but instead had a soft couch set up for him.

At times like these, he begins to wonder if something is wrong with the world.

Taiping is so easily embarrassed!
Now that they're alone in a room, and their relationship is common knowledge, shouldn't they naturally move on to the main topic?

Wasn't the Tang Dynasty known for its open-mindedness?
The result was quite the opposite. Although she no longer had to stand guard, the woman was still prone to getting angry and embarrassed, and she couldn't even get to the next stage.

Lu Chenyuan thought to himself, "It's probably because the 'Taiyi Jade Palace Chapter' has some kind of side effect."

The last one who cultivated also remained unmarried her entire life...

Regardless of what she was thinking, Lu Chenyuan was startled by the [Holy Spirit Pill], and behaved himself very well for the next few days, even reducing his verbal expressions of love.

Li Lingyue sensed his change, even if it was just a little, the difference was still huge, but she was too embarrassed to ask, so she kept it to herself and became more and more frustrated.

On the third day, seeing that Lu Chenyuan was still behaving himself and only focused on learning the zither and reading, her expression darkened.

"Is the intelligence complete?"

Inside the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Li Lingyue's voice was icy cold, and the invisible killing intent made the maids standing on both sides hold their breath and lower their heads, even their breathing became soft.

The incense burner on the table emitted wisps of smoke, but it could not dispel the somber atmosphere in the room.

A hint of helplessness flashed across Yuan Qingshuang's eyes, followed by a fleeting glimpse of amusement, but the thought vanished in an instant. Her expression turned serious as she presented a scroll sealed with wax: "Your Highness, please calm your anger. It is complete. Please take a look."

Li Lingyue practically snatched it away, quickly untied the rope, and unfolded the paper containing the secret. The ink on it was neat and meticulous, recording the target's every move that day. The level of detail was chilling:
-

[Lu Chenyuan's Record of Deeds - October 11th, the First Year of Tian Shou]

From 3:45 AM to early noon: In the Lingni Hall of the mansion, I studied the qin piece "Yangchun Baixue" with Zen Master Yunhe. During this time, I was focused and only drank a cup of tea. I did not talk to anyone other than the Zen Master.

From noon to early afternoon: I returned to my home in Langganxuan, Lirenfang, and had lunch with my father, Lu Yashan, and my sister, Lu Ke'er.

Detailed Meal Record: Four dishes and a soup were laid out on the table: vinegared celery, sesame cakes, steamed pork, and sunflower soup, accompanied by freshly cooked glutinous rice. During the meal, Lu Chenyuan inquired about Lu Ke'er's martial arts progress, then took out three boxes of pastries for his sister, who was overjoyed. Lu Yashan asked about the recent situation at the Princess's residence, to which Lu Chenyuan replied, "Your Highness is well, and everything is going smoothly," his expression as usual. Lu Yashan coughed three times, and Lu Chenyuan immediately poured him half a cup of warm water. After the meal, Lu Chenyuan sat alone under the paulownia tree in the courtyard for a while, gazing at a few falling leaves.

-

None of this is the point.

Li Lingyue glanced at it and then impatiently flipped through the pages.

-

At 2:45 PM: I left home and walked to Yixianlou in Jishanfang.

At 3:45 PM: Arrived at Private Room No. 3, Tianzi, Yixianlou Restaurant. Ordered the following dishes:
Cold dishes: Minced fish with garlic sauce, and dried fish with lotus root knots
Hot dishes: Camel hoof soup, chopsticks spring rolls, scallion and vinegar chicken...

-

These aren't the main points either; let's turn the page.

-

At the beginning of the Shen hour: He sent a waiter from the restaurant to the Yuantai and the Imperial College to look for Wang Yizhi and Zhang Shuo.

Shen Shizheng: The one who called himself "Wang Yizhi" arrived first. The two talked in private behind closed doors for about an incense stick's time. The voices inside gradually grew louder. Then "Wang Yizhi" angrily pushed open the door and came out with a livid face. Lu Chenyuan sat alone in the private room and poured himself a cup of wine.

At 3:45 PM: Wang Yizhi and Zhang Yue arrived one after the other. The three entered the private room.

At the beginning of the hour of You (5-7 PM): hot dishes began to be served one after another, and the three of them officially began their banquet.

From the hour of You (5-7 PM) to the beginning of the hour of Xu (7-9 PM): The three chatted merrily in a private room, their voices growing louder and laughter occasionally escaping. The food and wine were almost finished, and four jugs of grape wine were drunk in one go.

At the beginning of the Xu hour: Zhang Shuo settled the bill, paying half a tael and seven mace of gold, for 320 coins. The three parted ways.

At 3:45 PM: We arrived safely at the Princess's residence and went straight to the Lingni Palace.

From the third quarter of the hour of Xu to the beginning of the hour of Zi: He played the zither in the Lingni Hall. The zither music was intense and full of killing intent, lasting for about four quarters of an hour. All the pieces played were new and could not be recognized. Throughout the time, the golden lion remained curled up three feet away from the zither table, looking extremely happy.

At the beginning of midnight: The zither music stopped. Lu Chenyuan washed and changed his clothes.

At midnight: He rested peacefully in a side room of the Lingni Hall, with the golden lion lying beside him as he fell asleep.

-

Li Lingyue's gaze swept over every word like a hawk's.

Especially noteworthy are the details inside Langganxuan and the interlude involving the real and fake Wang Yizhi in Yixianlou.

The intelligence network's tentacles are all-pervasive, a power that is enough to terrify anyone and to allow her to see everything she wants to see. Yet, she still can't understand why he has changed like this.

If there were even one woman in this group, she could have made some connections, but there wasn't one.

Moreover, this doesn't seem like he's "falling in love with someone else" at all; he's been diligently studying and learning the piano.

Why on earth?
Li Lingyue's brows furrowed more and more as she looked, and she finally focused her suspicions on the first person, Wang Yi: "Who is this person?"

Yuan Qingshuang said, "By order of the princess, two secret guards were tasked with protecting the Lu family and Lord Lu. Although this person's actions were suspicious, we failed to notice them in time. It was only when the second Wang Yizhi appeared that we realized the two were different, so..."

"Disguise technique."

Li Lingyue narrowed her eyes: "Remnants of the assassination attempt? What does he want with Lu Chenyuan?"

Yuan Qingshuang said, "The fact that they took the risk but didn't act suggests they were mostly trying to recruit..."

How to recruit them?

Of course, it's about slandering the enemy and elevating oneself.

Li Lingyue immediately understood; it must have been that bitch who said something while wearing Wang Yizhi's face.

court death! !
"But the underground palace was sealed off, so how did he get out..."

Li Lingyue frowned in confusion. Just as she was thinking, a maid outside the door suddenly reported, "Your Highness, the Emperor Wu summons you."

Yuan Qingshuang smiled and said, "Qiu Shenji has made no progress in three days. It seems that the Martial Emperor is getting impatient."

Li Lingyue nodded: "I'm going to see my mother. Tell Xie Tingyun to wait. What about Lu Chenyuan?"

Yuan Qingshuang said in a serious tone, "After practicing the zither this morning, he went into the library and should still be reading. In just three days, he has already flipped through the entire lower three floors. I have never seen anyone read so fast."

"Let him out!"

Li Lingyue said coldly, "It's time to get down to business. You're idle and lazy all day long, it's outrageous!"

Yuan Qingshuang suppressed a laugh: "...Yes."

"Qiu Shenji and Yan Siping, receive the imperial decree—"

The imperial edict, adorned with purple clay and gold patterns, unfolded in the dimly lit underground palace. A eunuch's effeminate voice rang out: "It has been discovered that Yan Siping, the Left General of the Golden Guard, has been falsely accused and framed. Without any evidence, he has been suspended from his post as a capable official, resulting in the failure to investigate the treasonous case! According to the 'Divine Merit Law,' he should be punished for false accusation! He shall be immediately stripped of all his official positions, his purple robe and silver tortoise-shaped pouch shall be confiscated, and he shall be demoted to a halberd bearer at the city gate!"

"Snapped!"

The silver tortoise pouch at Yan Siping's waist exploded with a bang, and the bronze tortoise talisman rolled to the ground, making a crisp impact sound.

His pupils contracted sharply, and his lips trembled as he murmured, "The city gate... the halberd..."

That was a third-class job outside the official ranks, a lowly position without even a grade!

The eunuch continued to proclaim the imperial decree: "Qiu Shenji failed in his supervisory duties and was biased in his listening to others. He is hereby fined three years' salary, suspended from his post to atone for his crime, and ordered to lead the Golden Guard to immediately seal off the underground palace and cooperate with the Kite Guard to thoroughly investigate the traitors!"

Qiu Shenji knelt on one knee, his golden silk armor crushing three blue bricks, his face taut: "Your subject... receives the decree!" Each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

In this deathly silence—

"Tack, tick, tick..."

The sound of red deerskin boots stepping on blue bricks grew louder as they approached.

Xie Tingyun arrived swiftly in a crimson robe, the gilded command arrow at his waist revealed as his clothes fluttered.

Behind her, Lu Chenyuan strolled over leisurely, casually flipping through a book in his hand, while Wang Yizhi followed respectfully on the other side.

Most striking were the four giants behind them, each wearing a copper coin mask—each as imposing as an iron tower, with dark red bloodstains seeping from beneath the mask, their heavy footsteps causing dust to fall from the underground palace.

"Kite Guard Qianling Xie Tingyun greets the Great General."

Xie Tingyun bowed respectfully, his voice as gentle as ever, but the words he spoke were extremely grating: "I am acting on imperial orders; all other personnel must step aside. I beg the General's understanding..."

Miscellaneous...

Qiu Shenji's temples bulged with veins as he glared at the group, his nails digging deep into his palms. Yet, he had no choice but to wave his hand and order, squeezing out the words through clenched teeth: "Golden Guards... retreat!"

In just three days, the arrogance he displayed when he was vying for credit has been matched by his current pathetic state.

The Imperial Guards silently made way for them.

Qiu Shenji's cold gaze was fixed on Lu Chenyuan, who was nonchalant and still reading quickly. The cover of the book in his hand read "Qianji Yulin Pu", a secret manual about making mechanisms.

Lu Chenyuan sensed the killing intent, looked up at Qiu Shenji, and smiled slightly at him.

Qiu Shenji's face grew increasingly grim, and his fists hardened even more!
"..."

Xie Tingyun found it amusing. This Lord Lu really wouldn't suffer any loss. You shouldn't provoke him. Qiu Shenji is already murderous. If you anger him, I won't be able to stop him. He quickly coughed and said, "Lord Lu, it's up to you."

Time was of the essence, and the longer it was delayed, the more likely problems would arise. Without further ado, Lu Chenyuan tossed the books to a servant accompanying him and leaped into the dark river.

Xie Tingyun and Wang Yizhi followed closely behind, and the four burly men also jumped down.

Qiu Shenji and Yan Siping looked grim. This Lu Chenyuan knew where the bandits' lair was all along, but he hadn't said a word! Although this was understandable, seeing this scene at this moment still made them lose their composure and their faces contorted with rage.

Lu Chenyuan had deduced the location of the entrance multiple times.

He clearly remembered the amount of [Sea Qi Stone] used in the iron barrel inside the Tiger-Dragon. He had a rough idea of ​​the distance; the only remaining question was whether it was upstream or downstream. The range of the Insightful Eye was the same as his visual range, which was only about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in the underground river, but that was enough. As long as it was within those three zhang, no clue could escape his eyes.

Soon, he discovered the entrance mechanism to the underground palace about 150 steps downstream.

—The protruding stone under the bluestone slabs of the riverbed.

A golden aura bursts forth from between the fingers.

With a click, the mechanism creaked, and the stone slab suddenly sank, revealing a dark tunnel entrance. The murky river water was blocked by an invisible barrier of light.

Water curtain barrier!

Xie Tingyun and Wang Yizhi showed their delight; this was the place.

Lu Chenyuan leaped into the water, followed closely by the other two. The four bronze-faced giants crashed into the water curtain like meteorites.

Alarms blared instantly throughout the city!

"what happened?"

Hui Yeqing and Ashina Yan were solving a puzzle in the deepest passage when they suddenly heard an alarm bell and were startled.

Ashina Yan looked at her senior sister and asked, "Didn't you say there was no problem?"
Hui Yeqing frowned, completely puzzled: "You keep an eye on things, I'll take some men to check it out! Tielekun!"

"exist!"

A man rushed out of the passageway; it was none other than Tielekun, the "prisoner" who had previously infiltrated Changyin Pavilion.

He followed Hui Yeqing with an icy expression, and the two disappeared from sight.

Ashina Yan looked anxiously toward the end of the passageway, where a different person had taken the Four Symbols Revolving Heart Wheel, and the bloodstains on the ground were even deeper.

The person who cracked the code this time was a middle-aged scholar, also wearing shackles. He was Shen Candeng, the most skilled mechanical master in Jiangnan, who was also the most proficient in Qimen Dunjia. However, he also showed the same terrified expression as Yuan Jiuzhang, as if the Four Symbols Revolving Heart Wheel under him was not a mechanism, but a ferocious beast that would devour people!
Another piece of trash...

Ashina Yan anxiously rubbed the curved knife at her waist.

This is the last one. My senior brother hasn't brought back any new recruits yet, and the enemy is already close at hand...

Is it really all doomed to fail at the last hurdle?
Sudden.

There was a crisp sound.

A change occurred above the central control mechanism, indicating that the first bronze gate had been opened, but all the other mechanisms had remained untouched!

It's exactly the same as when the underground palace was breached!
Her expression changed instantly, and she gritted her teeth: "Lu! Chen! Yuan!"

……

boom--

Lu Chenyuan unlocked the lock and kicked open the first bronze gate.

His eyes flashed with golden light, and his figure moved swiftly through the intricate tunnels and mechanisms.

With keen insight, the firing trajectory of the crossbow bolts on the wall and the trigger sequence of the floor tile flippers all transformed into golden threads flowing through the field of vision.

He stepped precisely into the location of the life gate with each step, while the clicking sounds of the mechanisms behind him echoed continuously.

The others followed closely behind.

Xie Tingyun's pupils contracted slightly. The first passage was made of Yin-Yang bricks, which required active stepping to trigger the mechanisms. Lu Chenyuan had led the way without making a single mistake, so she subconsciously assumed that the mechanisms here were nothing special. After passing through the door, they arrived at the second passage, where all the mechanisms were triggered in succession: the Fiery Crossbow, the Mysterious Iron Blade Wheel, the Midnight Soul-Slaying Nails, and the Wind Blade Rain Arrow Formation...

Only then did she realize how much danger was hidden in this seemingly ordinary corridor!
But even with such a dense and incredibly sophisticated array of traps and mechanisms, the person in front of him remained oblivious to them.

Running like lightning, strolling leisurely!
Those sword wheels and arrows, powerful enough to kill even experts at the third realm, couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes!

In contrast, Wang Yizhi was no longer surprised.

The group quickly passed through the corridor and arrived at the second bronze door.

Lu Chenyuan unlocked the gate quickly as usual, but the moment it opened, a thick black mist suddenly poured out from behind it, and from within the mist came Hui Yeqing's sinister laughter: "Lord Lu, how have you been—"

(End of this chapter)