With a warehouse full of supplies, I stood alone as king in this chaotic world, gun in hand.

"Understood!"

Li Shan instructed a Flying Feather Guard to go back to the Prince's Mansion to find Fang Cheng. As the Princess said, send more people to find these shopkeepers.

"Yes!" The Flying Feather Guard rode away.

"We'll leave the city through the west gate," Nangong Wu instructed.

"yes!"

The carriage turned around and headed towards the west gate.

When some steamed bun shop owners saw them return, they stopped the carriage and asked, "Sirs, we've steamed quite a few more buns and mantou (steamed bread) in our shops. Would you like some more?"

"Yes." Nangong Wu's voice came from inside the carriage.

Upon hearing this, the Flying Feather Guards immediately dismounted and brought over the steamer.

They walked all the way to the city gate and continued collecting steamed buns and mantou.

It wasn't until half an hour later that they reached the west gate.

As they approached the city gate, Li Shan hung a sign that read "Zhenyuan Prince's Mansion" on the front of the carriage.

"Stop the carriage and submit to inspection." The city guards stopped them.

"How dare you! This is a carriage from the Prince of Zhenyuan's residence! How dare you stop us!" Li Shan shouted.

A captain recognized him, stepped forward, and bowed. "Lord Lishan, the Marquis of Qingyang's residence was robbed last night. His Highness the Crown Prince personally ordered that everyone leaving the city must be inspected. Anyone who refuses inspection will be punished for harboring assassins. We have no choice but to ask that you not make things difficult for us..."

"Leave the mountain, show him the token. Anyone who dares to obstruct you will be killed without mercy!" Nangong Wu handed over the token bestowed by the late emperor.

Li Shan took the golden token and held it up before the city guards: "The late emperor's token is here. Let's see who dares to block our way!"

When the captain and the city guards saw the four characters "As if the Emperor were here in person" on the gold plaque, their faces turned pale, and they dared not stop them any longer, so they all knelt down.

"Hmph!" Li Shan snorted coldly and spurred his horse forward.

After the carriage left the city and traveled about a mile, Nangong Wu got off and left two Flying Feather Guards behind.

"Li Shan and Li Ming, come with me. You two can wait here with the carriage, or you can go to the other courtyard."

"yes!"

The two remaining Flying Feather Guards responded.

"To Qingxu Temple." Nangong Wu flicked her whip and ran off first.

Li Shan and Li Ming followed.

"drive!"

The distance from Kyoto to Qingxu Temple is about forty li. It takes more than half an hour for a fast horse to gallop. Li Shan, who was leading the way, pulled on the reins and stopped the horse.

"Your Highness, we have arrived at Qingxu Temple."

Nangong Wu pulled on the horse's reins, looked up at her surroundings, and saw that the place was desolate.

"Are you sure this is Qingxu Temple?"

In the original owner's memory, there seemed to be no such thing as Qingxu Temple. Moreover, the mountain road leading in from the official road was desolate and rugged, indicating that few people usually set foot here.

"Your Highness, there is only one Qingxu Temple outside the capital," Li Shan replied confidently.

"Alright, let's take a look first." Nangong Wu dismounted.

Seeing that no one was around, she asked Huo Jing in the spatial dimension, "Father, we've arrived at Qingxu Temple. May I come out now?"

Huo Jing had been waiting for this moment. He stood up upon hearing her words and said, "Okay."

With a slight thought, Nangong Wu sent him out of the space.

"Father, is this the place?"

Huo Jing looked up at the surroundings and nodded slightly. "This is the place. Come up the mountain with your father."

"Yes." Nangong Wu handed the horse to Li Shan. "You all wait here."

Before going up the mountain, they left the two with some weapons, water, melon seeds, and snacks so they wouldn't be bored while waiting.

Turning around, I saw that Huo Jing had already gone up a small mountain path.

"Father, wait for me!" Nangong Wu quickly caught up. "Father, what kind of master are you looking for? If there's a Taoist temple up there, wouldn't it be a bit too deserted?"

"You'll know everything when you meet the person later," Huo Jing said, feigning mystery.

"Alright!" Nangong Wu assumed that her father was about to leave because he had come to see some old acquaintance.

The father and son walked up a seemingly ancient mountain path. The path was quiet, the gravel underfoot made a soft sound, and moss seeped into the cracks of the stones, turning dark green and growing wild grass, indicating that this place had once attracted a large number of pilgrims.

Seeing that Huo Jing didn't speak, Nangong Wu quietly followed beside him, picking a few foxtail grasses from the roadside and playing with them in her hands.

The father and daughter climbed up for about 25 minutes when the mountain path made a sharp turn.

"Father, how much longer until we reach our destination?"

Huo Jing glanced ahead. "We're almost there!"

As the two rounded the bend, Nangong Wu looked up and saw bamboo poles hanging straight down the mountainside like ink lines, with a corner of the eaves faintly visible. She guessed that Qingxu Temple must be there.

"The Taoist temple was originally hidden here. Judging from the environment of this area, the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the geographical location is unique. It is indeed a very suitable place for hermits to live in seclusion."

Huo Jing glanced at her, shook his head, and quickened his pace.

The father and daughter climbed for another two miles and finally arrived at a Taoist temple. The vermilion gate was tightly closed, and the plaque above it read "Qingxu Temple".

"Your Highness, you have arrived!" A distant voice called out.

Upon hearing this, Huo Jing quickly straightened his robes, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards the Taoist temple, and said, "Junior Huo Jing, on behalf of my daughter, requests an audience with Celestial Master Xuanwei!"

At this moment, the door of the Taoist temple opened, and a young Taoist priest of about twelve or thirteen years old came out and bowed to Huo Jing and Nangong Wu.

"Your Highness, Princess, the Celestial Master requests your presence."

"Thank you, young master!" Huo Jing returned the greeting.

"Your Highness, Princess, please follow me." The young Taoist priest led them into the Taoist temple.

As Nangong Wu stepped into the Taoist temple, the first thing that caught her eye was a solemn hall with flying eaves and brackets, exuding a magnificent aura. In front of the hall was a large square iron incense burner, from which smoke curled and a faint sandalwood fragrance filled the air.

Huo Jing took Nangong Wu's hand and walked to the square iron incense burner.

When Nangong Wu saw that her father was about to offer incense, she quickly stepped forward, took out six sticks of incense from the altar next to her, lit them with a lighter, and gave three sticks to Huo Jing.

The father and daughter bowed three times to the incense burner and then placed the incense sticks inside.

Huo Jing reached into his sleeve, took out several silver notes, and placed them on the altar.

Nangong Wu glanced at it and saw five silver notes, totaling 100,000 taels of silver.

He spent 100,000 taels of silver in one go; it seems my father has a close relationship with this Xuanwei Celestial Master.

The young Taoist priest, upon seeing this, quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Thank you for leading the way, young master!" Huo Jing said.

"The Celestial Master is at Zixiao Temple. Your Highness, please come this way." The young Taoist priest led the way, walking from the right to the back, following a small blue stone path up the mountain, and then into a quiet bamboo forest. There, a Taoist temple appeared before them, with the three characters "Zixiao Temple" written on the plaque.

The young Taoist priest stopped. "Your Highness, the Celestial Master is in the Zixiao Temple. I will leave you here. Your Highness, please come with the Princess."

"Thank you for your trouble." Huo Jing glanced at the Taoist temple and stepped up the stairs.