Chapter 233
Flames, explosions, collapse—Lin Qingyang had only experienced such a situation in Wuxin Mountain. But now it was worse; it seemed like the entire palace had been meticulously planned for destruction.
This was the emperor’s firm decision to bury both Qi Ci and Ning Ziheng, to bury the past.
Lin Qingyang’s ears rang from the blast, his brain buzzing. When he finally reacted, he realized Chu Lishu had been shielding him the whole time, almost entirely bearing the weight of the debris falling down.
Within Lin Qingyang’s field of vision, he saw objects continuously being flung off him—some small, some large, carrying sparks of firewood, sharp stones, and even some stained with blood. Lin Qingyang instantly felt a pang of heartache, making it difficult for him to breathe.
But Chu Lishu remained silent throughout, his eyes gradually filling with redness. Some kind of restraint on his body was quietly loosening, and he forcibly kept himself composed as he led Lin Qingyang outside.
In an instant, a beam crashed down directly. The warning sounds from the system almost merged into one in his ears.
【Host, please be aware, the male lead’s life is in danger! Take action quickly.】
【Emergency alert!! The host’s life is in peril.】
At that moment, Lin Qingyang’s mind went blank, without time to think. He pushed Chu Lishu away directly, and the beam came crashing down. Due to the angle, it didn’t hit Lin Qingyang directly, but it still knocked him unconscious.
Chu Lishu, unable to contain his growing frenzy of emotions at the thought of Lin Qingyang being in danger, his eyes turning bloodshot. In an instant, he flew to Lin Qingyang’s side and lifted him up in his arms.
But even with his restored martial arts skills and agility, Chu Lishu couldn’t withstand this fierce disaster. The roof collapsed in an instant, burying Chu Lishu and Lin Qingyang underneath. Chu Lishu could only use his inner strength to push away the heaviest boulders, but he remained trapped.
Meanwhile, Lin Qingyang found himself in a void of white space.
In the moment he rushed to save someone, he remembered that although he had no other options, he had just activated his self-rescue mode. At the same moment he acted, his mind also applied to activate it. By the time he was knocked unconscious, he had already entered this space.
It seems that even when the body is unconscious, transactions with the system can still occur in emergencies.
【A self-rescue method has been calculated for the host. Time pause can be activated for five minutes, requiring 2000 points to be deducted from the host’s balance.】
Time pause? That’s advanced! 2000 points… Oh well, tears are streaming down my face, but for the sake of my life, I’ll exchange anything. Confirm!
Lin Qingyang was about to confirm when suddenly the alarm about the two of them stopped.
What’s going on?
【Upon examination, the host and the male lead are not currently in a critical condition, so the self-rescue mode cannot be activated.】
Wait, tell me what’s happening outside!
However, the system didn’t respond. Instead, it callously threw him back into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, in the burning palace, someone was laboriously digging out Chu Lishu and Lin Qingyang. Chu Lishu still had consciousness at this moment, but his energy was depleted, leaving him in a weakened state. If he hadn’t used his energy to support them just now, both of them would have been buried alive.
But the moment he emerged, he still held Lin Qingyang tightly.
The surrounding collapse had reached its limit, providing temporary safety.
Chu Lishu looked up and saw Ning Ziheng, his face frosty, holding a wet cloth and covering both of them with it.
But the cloth was only large enough to cover the two of them, so Ning Ziheng wrapped them in it, then embraced them and rushed into the fire.
Here, everywhere was a path of fire, and there was no other choice. The flames gradually ignited Ning Ziheng’s clothes.
Chu Lishu glanced at Ning Ziheng but remained silent, only holding onto Lin Qingyang tightly and moving forward.
Suddenly, he heard Ning Ziheng speak.
“Your Highness, for the past, I have wronged you. Today, I will repay it all. I am giving you Qi Ci, but if this time, you delay me from seeing him down there early, I won’t spare you even if I become a ghost.”
Chu Lishu gritted his teeth and finally spoke, “Find a way to stay alive to see Qi Ci. Otherwise, you will meet him down there immediately.”
But the next moment, Chu Lishu felt someone behind him push with internal force. Accompanied by the final collapse sound, he and Lin Qingyang broke through something, and instantly the air around them changed.
“Your Highness!”
Chu Lishu heard Qi Ci’s voice and immediately lifted the fireproof cloth and threw it to Qi Ci, pointing towards the direction they had just broken through. Behind the wall of fire, there seemed to be a blurry figure.
Qi Ci’s face changed drastically, instantly understanding the situation. He directly wrapped himself in the fireproof cloth and rushed in.
In no time, Qi Ci emerged, lifting the fireproof cloth to reveal a body that was both unrecognizable and horrifying. The clothes were already burnt, and if not for the relatively intact half of the face, it would have been difficult to identify him as Ning Ziheng. Severely burned, his life was in danger.
Trembling, Qi Ci held Ning Ziheng, looking at Chu Lishu with despair.
Chu Lishu immediately remembered the pills Lin Qingyang had insisted he take. “Force-feed him the pills. Go to the Wenbo Pavilion and find Mu Huichun, who treated you last night! Be cautious of your movements.”
Qi Ci, like others, felt hopeful whenever commanded by the Crown Prince, no matter how dire the situation. They believed there was still hope and would immediately act accordingly.
What Qi Ci received was actually the ginseng pills Lin Qingyang had exchanged earlier. They melted upon contact with the mouth, requiring no swallowing. Otherwise, the current Ning Ziheng wouldn’t have been able to ingest them. Qici could feel his faint breath, although at first glance, Ning Ziheng appeared almost lifeless.
Qici immediately carried him, utilizing his lightness skill to swiftly leave under the cover of night. With his memory restored, Qici naturally knew every corner of the palace. He quickly returned to the Wenbo Pavilion and found the room from the previous night.
“Mu Huichun, save us!”
Meanwhile, Chu Lishu, who remained in place, had already confirmed that Lin Qingyang was simply unconscious. He breathed a sigh of relief. The outburst had left Chu Lishu completely drained, his body pushed to its limits. Fortunately, Lin Qingyang’s little pill prevented him from falling into unconsciousness.
Suddenly, a voice from afar reached them, belonging to Huo Luo.
“Lishu, Qingyang! Thank goodness, you’re both okay,” Huo Luo exclaimed breathlessly.
“What’s the situation outside? Have we been exposed?” Chu Lishu immediately asked, his tone calm. He had already observed the surroundings; they were at the other end of the palace. Looking around, he saw that the entire palace had been destroyed by the explosion, and several nearby buildings had also been affected. There was a lot of commotion outside, indicating that many people were busy fighting the fire.
“No, Yue Chen asked me to come in first to assess the situation. He lied to those people outside, saying there might be more explosions, so I came in to check. They’re only focusing on fighting the fire outside. Before I came in, I met with Big Brother Qi. He was chasing Baya when the explosion occurred and wasn’t affected.”
“I see. Just now, Ning Ziheng saved us, but he got burned. Qi Ci has taken him to the Wenbo Pavilion.”
Huo Luo was astonished. “So that’s it… Could it be that Ning Ziheng did it for… for Big Brother Qi?”
In fact, Huo Luo and Yue Chen were nearby. As soon as the explosion occurred, they rushed over. Huo Luo, being skilled in martial arts, naturally wanted to come in and check the situation, but they encountered guards and the Saintess fleeing in all directions.
Thanks to the information provided by the Saintess, they learned that Lin Qingyang had also entered.
So Huo Luo hurried in to rescue people and happened to encounter Qi Ci. Qi Ci was completely enraged at the time because he thought it was all Baya’s scheme. After all, Baya even brought fireproof cloth, clearly anticipating being trapped, and was prepared in advance.
So Qi Ci, furious, killed Baya and was about to rush in to rescue people, but the ground near them exploded, delaying them for a moment.
At that moment, Huo Luo noticed someone flying over the wall, and the fireproof cloth that had been searched out was nowhere to be found. He saw that the departing figure looked like Ning Ziheng. He quickly informed Qi Ci.
Qi Ci’s face changed dramatically, and he immediately disregarded the danger and rushed in.
Now thinking back, it should be that Ning Ziheng knew that Qi Ci would risk his life to save others regardless of his own safety. But he also knew that Lin Qingyang and Chu Lishu were inside. With the fireproof cloth being so limited, Qi Ci would definitely prioritize saving Chu Lishu and Lin Qingyang, even at the cost of his own safety.
So Ning Ziheng chose to risk his life to save them for Qi Ci’s sake.
He didn’t want to see Qi Ci getting into trouble because of Yuan Ran, but he knew he couldn’t stop Qi Ci, so he decided to go in himself.
“What do we do now?” Huo Luo asked.
Chu Lishu looked around at the nearby gap and said directly, “When you go out later, distract the people here. I will take Lin Qingyang and leave while the opportunity arises.”
“But what if they haven’t seen Qi Ci’s body…” Huo Luo began to speak.
Chu Lishu’s face suddenly changed, and his gaze swept directly towards the nearby wall. In an instant, Huo Luo reacted and immediately flew up, followed by two guards dressed as attendants falling to the ground.
The two men glared fiercely at Huo Luo and Chu Lishu, their eyes alert and wary. Just as they were about to speak, a hidden weapon flashed past, piercing the forehead of one of them, who fell to the ground instantly.
The remaining man looked in shock at Chu Lishu, only to find Chu Lishu already aiming his arm at him, a silver-sheened sleeve arrow glinting at his sleeve.
“Tell me, how many people did the Emperor send to track Ning Ziheng?” Chu Lishu demanded.
The man naturally wouldn’t easily reveal the information and immediately retaliated, but Huo Luo quickly subdued him with a few moves.
As Huo Luo held the man’s neck tightly and began to lift him up slowly, the man finally panicked and hastily said, “Lord Huo, please don’t kill me. We… we have many people coming. If you kill me, the Emperor will surely…”
“Kill!”
At Chu Lishu’s command, Huo Luo instinctively obeyed and snapped the man’s neck, but afterward, he looked somewhat puzzled at Chu Lishu.
“The fact that he resorts to such threats proves that there are only two of them. They probably want to uncover more secrets to gain merit, hence why they stayed until now,” Chu Lishu sneered. “Their timing is perfect. Huo Luo, throw them into the most intense flames. As for the shorter one, neuter him. When you lead the team, delay as much as possible to give this place enough time to burn.”
Huo Luo was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. The prince intended to leave behind two decoys for the Emperor.
If Ning Ziheng came to kill Qi Ci, it would appear that both had met with accidents here.
Huo Luo immediately complied. Once they were gone, Chu Lishu leaned against the fractured wall with Lin Qingyang, resting until the sound of the guards leaving outside could be heard. Soon, Yu Chen whispered, “Your Highness, it’s safe to come out now.”
Only then did Chu Lishu carry Lin Qingyang out from among the rubble.
Yu Chen provided cover for the two disheveled individuals all the way, until they finally returned to the Wenbo Pavilion.
When Lin Qingyang woke up, it was already dawn. He abruptly sat up and found Chu Lishu sleeping beside him, this somewhat eased his tension.
Lin Qingyang hurried over to check, finding Chu Lishu sleeping beside him, his injuries already treated.
While Lin Qingyang was observing, he suddenly heard the sound of the door opening, followed by Yu Chen walking in with a tray of water.
“You’re awake? Don’t worry, he’s fine.”
Their injuries had all been attended to by Yu Chen, as Mu Huichun hadn’t left his room yet.
Feeling relatively well, Lin Qingyang got up energetically after waking up.
In Yu Chen’s account, Lin Qingyang learned about what had happened the previous night. Learning that it was Ning Ziheng who rushed into the fire to save them left him speechless with shock.
While they were discussing, Huo Luo managed to find some time to visit and informed them that the fire had just been extinguished on their side. Naturally, they discovered two charred corpses in the innermost part of the palace, along with the burnt remains of the Crown Prince of the Western Moon Kingdom, Baya
Now the situation was grave. Tianheng Kingdom and Western Moon Kingdom were currently in negotiations with the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the situation was escalating rapidly. It seemed unlikely that the issue would be resolved within a day.
However, the Emperor had been deceived before, and naturally wouldn’t consider so many variables. Upon hearing about the two charred corpses, one of them being disfigured, he immediately assumed they were Qi Ci and Ning Ziheng. He even attributed Baya’s death to Ning Ziheng’s hand. As for his missing two guards, the Emperor hadn’t had time to inquire yet. Therefore, for the safety of Qi Ci and Ning Ziheng, they had to leave the palace as soon as possible, without giving the Emperor a chance to realize the truth.
These were instructions given by Chu Lishu before he went to sleep. If the Emperor stopped suspecting, and Ning Ziheng’s condition stabilized, they would send the people out of the palace immediately, if conditions allowed, by nightfall.
Huo Luo said he would assess the situation and make preparations accordingly before continuing with his duties. Then, Yue Chen was summoned and had to leave as well.
Leaving only Lin Qingyang guarding the Wenbo Pavilion, dealing with occasional unexpected visitors.
Until he heard two chimes in his mind.
【Main Mission 2, Mission 2: Help the male lead eliminate Chief Steward Ning, failed.】
【Unlock Special Mission: Successfully aid the male lead in rescuing Qici.】
Since Ning Ziheng’s life was saved, it could be considered a successful rescue of Qi Ci, right? It seems they really managed to completely deceive the Emperor.
Despite losing two hundred points, Lin Qingyang was rewarded with another mystery box, making a total of three now. He decided he would find an opportunity to open one and see what’s inside.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Qingyang saw Mu Huichun staggering out. He hurried over and caught Mu Huichun as he collapsed. Clearly exhausted, Mu Huichun fell asleep right there in Lin Qingyang’s arms. Lin Qingyang had no choice but to carry him back to his own room.
As he approached the bed, Lin Qingyang noticed Chu Lishu stirring. Chu Lishu opened his eyes, looking dazedly at him.
“Still tired? Do you want to keep sleeping? It’s evening now,” Lin Qingyang whispered. “Mu Huichun is exhausted and fell asleep. It’s not safe elsewhere. Can he sleep here?”
Chu Lishu blinked lightly, casting a somewhat disdainful glance at Mu Huichun before closing his eyes and acquiescing.
Lin Qingyang then carried Mu Huichun to the bed.
While tending to Chu Lishu’s wounds again, Lin Qingyang heard Mu Huichun mumbling in his sleep as soon as he smelled the medicine. Chu Lishu frowned, clearly annoyed. If he had the strength, he might have kicked Mu Huichun off the bed already.
“Rest well. I’ll be outside keeping watch,” Lin Qingyang whispered after tucking Chu Lishu in.
Chu Lishu stirred slightly, his cheek brushing against Lin Qingyang’s hand as he adjusted the blanket. Lin Qingyang’s heart melted at the gentle gesture.
Suppressing the urge to cuddle with Chu Lishu and sleep together, Lin Qingyang quickly left the room to give them both some quiet rest. However, as soon as he stepped out, he encountered Qi Ci.
The two of them were complete strangers, so Lin Qingyang could only say, “Are you here to see Mu Huichun? He’s asleep. I’m Lin Qingyang, Chu Lishu’s cousin. We’re all part of the same group.”
Qi Ci paused for a moment. “I know. Thank you.”
Lin Qingyang wasn’t sure what Qi Ci was thanking him for, but he remembered that he had once knocked Qi Ci unconscious.
Qi Ci had come out to assess the situation, so Lin Qingyang quickly briefed him on what he knew. He anticipated that they would leave tonight and instructed Qi Ci to stay cautious and hide in the room while he handled things outside.
Qi Ci naturally understood that it was not advisable for him to show himself again, so he returned to his room.
Lin Qingyang took on the responsibility of caring for everyone. When delivering food, he also happened to see Ning Ziheng.
Ning Ziheng was almost entirely wrapped in white cloth, with only half of his face exposed. His eyes were tightly closed, his complexion pale, and yellowish-red fluid seeped through the white cloth, making the sight extremely gruesome.
Lin Qingyang’s breath hitched slightly, and he couldn’t help but ask, “What did Mu Huichun say?”
Qi Ci’s expression turned grave as he said, “We don’t know when he will wake up.”
Lin Qingyang comforted him, saying, “He’ll be fine. With Divine Physician Mu here, everything will be alright.” Since the system confirmed that everything was fine, it was highly unlikely that anyone would die from this incident.
Although his smile was somewhat faint, Qi Ci still thanked him.
As they were talking, suddenly there was a commotion outside. Someone was approaching.
Lin Qingyang hurriedly went out to check and saw a woman’s figure. She was wearing a black robe, taking advantage of the cover of the night to quietly enter. When their eyes met, they were surprised to find that it was the Saintess.
“You…” Lin Qingyang looked at her in astonishment.
The Saintess bowed apologetically and said, “I apologize for the intrusion. Please rest assured, I am alone. I am… concerned about Qi Ci’s condition. I believe you are the most likely to know about his situation. I’m not here to take him back. I just want to know if he is safe. Is he sure he won’t come back with me to the Kingdom of Tianheng? If he is confirmed safe, I will do my best to assist with other matters.”
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