Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

The secret method of the Twelve Caves involves feeding the Gu with flesh and blood for ten years, and the excruciating pain is still unforgettable.

But this man in front of him could see right through him.

"There is no immortal Gu in this world, nor is there an immortal person." Qin Chuan's voice was soft, yet it sent a chill down Li Maozhen's spine. "If that strike had landed, the Gu worms in your spleen would have been annihilated long ago."

A night breeze swept through the hall, stirring up the scattered wine flags on the ground. Li Maozhen suddenly felt a chill.

"How does Yuan Tiangang compare to you?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Only stronger, not weaker." Qin Chuan's gaze was profound. "If he wants to kill you, I can't stop him."

Li Maozhen smiled bitterly. He finally understood why Qin Chuan had come—this wasn't a provocation, but a genuine rescue.

"Ten days later, Yuan Tiangang will elect Li Xingyun as emperor at the Xuanwu Gate in Chang'an." Qin Chuan gazed into the distance. "I want you, not her, to go there as the Prince of Qi."

Qin Chuan's gaze darkened, his fingers unconsciously stroking the hilt of his sword: "Li Xingyun will not declare himself emperor. Refusing in front of all the feudal lords is tantamount to completely severing Yuan Tiangang's three-hundred-year-old obsession."

The night wind suddenly turned fierce, swirling withered leaves and slapping against the mottled wall.

"At that time..." Qin Chuan's voice trailed off, "he will definitely use his own death to usher in a true era of chaos, forcing Li Xingyun into the game."

"But you're still here..." Li Maozhen suddenly realized the key point, "Even if he dies, the feudal lords won't dare to act rashly, and his scheme won't succeed."

"Exactly." Qin Chuan sneered, "So he'll definitely eliminate me, this variable, first. Either at Xuanwu Gate or at the Longquan Treasure."

The moonlight shifted, illuminating half of Qin Chuan's face. There was no fear on it, only a chilling fighting spirit.

"If it's the latter, there's still room for maneuver. But if it's the former..." He turned to look directly at Li Maozhen, "She absolutely cannot be present."

This statement carries immense weight. Li Maozhen seemed to see the scene of blood surging into the sky beneath the Xuanwu Gate—Yuan Tiangang's final strike was bound to be earth-shattering.

Qin Chuan added, "I'm confident I can protect myself, but I can't protect others."

"I will go and retrieve the Qi King's Sword immediately." Li Maozhen crossed the moonlit dividing line and stood shoulder to shoulder with Qin Chuan. "Although we are no match for him, we can hold him off for a while. If things become unbearable, you must leave first."

He spoke casually, yet every word carried immense weight. The world can exist without a misguided King Qi, but it cannot lose someone capable of ending the chaos.

Qin Chuan shook his head: "For her sake, neither of us can die."

Their eyes met, and the hostility they once felt vanished.

The night wind swirled fallen leaves around their feet, and the distant sound of a night watchman's clapper could be heard.

By evening, Qin Chuan was less than thirty li from Luoyang.

He strode forward swiftly, his robes fluttering in the wind, his brows furrowed with an unyielding chill.

Last night's conversation with Li Maozhen still echoed in my ears, and Yuan Tiangang's bronze mask seemed to float right before my eyes.

The gap in power over three hundred years has not yet been bridged, but Qin Chuan can feel that the power within his body is growing at an astonishing rate.

"Give me three more months..." Qin Chuan clenched his fists, feeling the surging internal energy in his meridians. "No, perhaps just one month..."

The outline of Luoyang's city wall is already clearly visible in the distance.

Qin Chuan slowed his pace, adjusted his breathing, and stepped into the city.

After turning through several familiar streets and alleys, the headquarters of the Xuanming Sect was not far away. Just then, a commotion came from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion by the roadside.

"Brother, drink! Whoever collapses first today is a coward!"

Qin Chuan recognized the voice all too well—it was Li Xingyun.

Through the half-open carved window, one could see Li Xingyun exchanging drinks with a ragged middle-aged man.

The man, with slightly graying hair and a gourd of wine hanging from his waist, was clearly a generation older than Li Xingyun, yet he slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Brother, that's a good drink! We won't leave until we're drunk!"

Lu Linxuan sat to the side, covering his face with his hands, so ashamed that he wished he could crawl under the table.

"Li Cunyi..." Qin Chuan's eyes flickered slightly.

This Yi-character sect leader of Tongwen Hall, the fifth of the Thirteen Protectors, was originally supposed to become sworn brothers with Li Xingyun in the original timeline.

Unexpectedly, despite my intervention, the wheels of history still rolled along a similar trajectory.

Qin Chuan's lips curled into a playful smile as he stepped into the tavern.

"Brother Qin!" Lu Linxuan was the first to spot him, rushing over like a swallow returning to its nest, her eyes filled with joy. "You're finally back!"

Li Xingyun pursed his lips and let out a drunken hum.

While Li Cunyi appeared to be quite drunk, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes the moment Qin Chuan entered, before quickly disappearing beneath his drunken state.

Before Qin Chuan could ask, Lu Linxuan had already grabbed his sleeve and told him everything about Li Xingyun and Li Cunyi in a very straightforward manner.

It turns out that Prince Li Keyong of Jin once sent Li Cunhui to assassinate Li Xingyun. Although he failed, it made Li Xingyun wary, and he set up many traps in his residence.

As a result, Li Cunyi, who happened to be passing by, fell into an ambush.

The two fought from inside the house to outside, using fists and feet, and then weapons, and somehow ended up becoming friends.

After news of Li Keyong's death arrived, the two met up every few days to enjoy wine.

"Senior brother said he wanted to test the other party's intentions, but I think he's just making excuses for his drinking!" Lu Linxuan glared angrily at Li Xingyun. "What's even more outrageous is that he actually became sworn brothers with someone so much older than him..."

"Miss Lu, you are mistaken," Li Cunyi retorted, shaking his head and slurring his words. "Although I, Li Dabai, am a few years older, I have the heart of a young man. How can I not become sworn brothers with you, my worthy brother?"

"Li Dabai?" Lu Linxuan asked in surprise. "Aren't you called Li Cunyi?"

"Junior sister, you don't understand."

Li Xingyun let out a burp and explained with a grin:

"My elder brother believes his martial arts skills, talent, and drinking capacity are no less than those of the poet Li Bai, only that his appearance is slightly inferior, hence his nickname 'Big White.' If you ask me, he's too modest; as for his appearance..."

Lu Linxuan spat out a mouthful of tea, then held his forehead, utterly speechless.

She finally understood why these two clowns hit it off so well – they were both equally shameless!

Qin Chuan chuckled upon hearing this.

He had a hunch that Li Cunyi's approach to Li Xingyun was no accident.

This person may not have been acting on Li Keyong's orders, but rather was secretly assigned by Yuan Tiangang to protect Li Xingyun.

No wonder Yuan Tiangang remained so calm about the assassination attempt in the Hidden Soldiers Valley that day.

"Junior sister, now that this guy is back, shouldn't you two get married?"

Li Xingyun stood up unsteadily.

"Senior brother!" Lu Linxuan's pretty face flushed red, and she stamped her foot, "Actually, it's because you have something important to tell me..."

In order to "invite" her senior brother to Luoyang, the Black and White Impermanence actually told such a lie.

"Me?" Li Xingyun looked bewildered. "What important thing could I possibly have done?"

He doesn't even have someone he loves, so how can he be thinking about marriage?

"Yuan Tiangang and the feudal lords of the land intend to enthrone you as emperor at Xuanwu Gate in Chang'an; this matter has been widely known." Qin Chuan shook his head, his tone laced with sarcasm. "You are probably the only person in history to find out at the very end that you are to become emperor."

The tavern suddenly fell silent. Li Xingyun sobered up considerably in an instant, and the wine glass in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," shattering into several pieces.

"To...to become emperor?" he stammered, his face turning deathly pale. "What a joke! I, Old Li, am used to a carefree life. What do I need an emperor for!"

A glint of light flashed in Li Cunyi's eyes, and he interjected, feigning drunkenness:

"My dear brother, what's wrong with being an emperor? A harem, fine wine and delicacies..."

"Brother, you're drunk!" Li Xingyun waved his hand irritably. "I absolutely will not go to Chang'an!"

"You're not going to Chang'an."

Qin Chuan said calmly:

"Li Xingyun will also become emperor at Xuanwu Gate."

"That person really is a scoundrel?"

Li Xingyun frowned.

The person who looked similar to him a few days ago was indeed someone arranged by Yuan Tiangang.

"To be precise, he is the shadow that Yuan Tiangang prepared for you. He learns what you learn, imitates what you show, and even shares your name."

Qin Chuan continued:

"Every moment you experience, he has experienced; and every moment he has experienced, you can never imagine."

"This man is wicked; if he were to become emperor, the world would become even more corrupt!"

Li Xingyun fought against the fake Li Xingyun many times and knew his twisted nature well.

He cannot stand idly by and watch this man wreak havoc on the world!

He had no choice but to go to Chang'an...

Outside the window, the setting sun painted the sky crimson. A storm that would shake the world was brewing over Chang'an.

What will happen in Chapter 97? Even Heaven doesn't know!

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the dilapidated city walls of Chang'an, casting mottled shadows that resembled the scars of history.

The night wind howled through the collapsed battlements, stirring up fine dust, as if telling the story of the vicissitudes this ancient capital had experienced.

Li Xingyun stood in front of Xuanwu Gate, his fingers gently tracing a crack in the wall bricks, a mark left by the war.

His fingertips could feel the rough texture of the bricks and the deep crack that ran deep into the brick's core—like the wound of the Tang Dynasty, which could never heal.

"Zhu Wen's fire burned down more than just palaces and pavilions," Li Xingyun said in a low voice, his tone filled with indescribable complexity, "it also destroyed three hundred years of the Tang Dynasty's destiny."

His gaze passed over the broken city walls and looked into the city.

The once magnificent palace is now nothing but ruins, with a few charred beams pointing forlornly into the night sky, like a hand reaching out to the heavens for help.

Under the moonlight, the entire city of Chang'an resembled the corpse of a giant beast whose internal organs had been ripped out, silent and desolate.

"Waaaaah—"

A piercing flute melody suddenly broke the silence of the night.

Hou Qing had somehow climbed up half of the broken wall and was puffing out his cheeks as he played his bone flute. The sound of the flute was like the cry of a night owl, echoing among the ruins.

He seemed to be trying to create a desolate atmosphere for Li Xingyun, but the tune he played only had strange rises and falls, and no discernible pattern.

The sadness on Li Xingyun's face instantly turned into helplessness, and she complained to Qin Chuan beside her: