Imperial Palace, Imperial Garden.
As one of the most renowned places in the entire cultivation world, the Imperial Garden of the Great Yan was naturally vast beyond reason. An entire mountain range was encompassed within it.
“Hurry up! Quickly now! Get moving!”
“Did you hear me? Move it! If this isn’t set up before Her Majesty arrives, you’d better be ready to lose your heads!”
Eunuch Cao was barking urgent orders as he commanded a group of junior eunuchs to arrange the scene.
At that moment, a young eunuch approached Eunuch Cao, respectfully presenting a cup of tea with both hands.
“Godfather, you’ve worked hard. Please have some tea to soothe your throat.”
Eunuch Cao took the cup, took a sip, and asked, “Have you done what I instructed you to do?”
“Godfather, everything’s taken care of. We’re just waiting for Her Majesty now.”
“Good.”
Eunuch Cao nodded approvingly.
The young eunuch then asked, “Godfather, what is Her Majesty doing all this for?”
Not long ago, Eunuch Cao had summoned a large number of eunuchs to the enormous Imperial Garden to prepare the place. Not only had they excavated a passageway, but they had also brought over a third-rank demonic beast with undeveloped intelligence.
“There are some things you shouldn’t ask about. If you ask the wrong question, you may lose your head.”
Of course, Eunuch Cao knew exactly why Her Majesty was doing all this, but since she hadn’t given him permission to speak, he wouldn’t dare say a word.
“Is the nearby cave fully carved out?”
“Reporting to Godfather, the arrangements are complete.”
“Very good. When someone passes through here later, release the beast. Remember… whatever happens, you must not harm Young Master Chu Feng. Otherwise, not even I can save your heads.”
Eunuch Cao repeated the Empress’s instructions once more.
Upon hearing that, the young eunuch turned pale with fear and said, “Godfather, but if Her Majesty gets injured, we’ll lose our heads too!”
Eunuch Cao gave his newly adopted godson a look as if staring at a complete idiot.
“You pig-brained fool! Her Majesty is at the eighth cultivation rank! A mere third-rank demonic beast couldn’t even break her skin!”
***
“By the way, Sister Wan’er, what brings you here?”
“I came to look for spiritual herbs.”
“Spiritual herbs?”
“That’s right. What about you, little brother?”
“Me? I just wanted to find out where I might come across some signs of civilization.”
As they walked, Chu Feng followed the newly acknowledged “big sister”. After all, he was completely unfamiliar with this place.
“Little brother, do you not like the Empress? Why did you run away? A lot of people would kill for that kind of opportunity.”
Ji Yuhuang asked with some dissatisfaction. In her previous life, it was understandable that her little husband was wary of her. He had already spent years traveling the world by then and was mentally mature.
But now? Her little husband was still like a blank sheet of paper, completely naive. And even so, he was still wary of her.
Ji Yuhuang had family background, strength, beauty, a great figure, and grace.
She was furious.
Chu Feng had no idea what was going on in Ji Yuhuang’s mind at that moment and said,
“Sister Wan’er, it’s precisely because she’s the Empress that I need to get away as soon as possible. There’s a saying: ‘Serving a monarch is like accompanying a tiger’. If the Empress ever gets into a bad mood and snaps…I’d be done for.”
Just thinking about the Empress’s cold, merciless gaze and her icy tone from that morning filled Chu Feng with tremendous pressure.
If he really married the Empress, he’d probably be completely crushed….in every possible sense of the word.
Besides, his master and Senior Sister Yuyan treated him so well. Sure, he was fine with mooching a bit, but becoming some opportunistic scumbag who turned his back on them? No thanks.
“If little brother got to truly know the Empress, you’d find that she’s actually very kind. Although she seems cold on the outside, deep down, she’s really gentle.”
Ji Yuhuang began boosting her “main account’s” favorability rating in front of her little husband.
Chu Feng figured that since the Empress was Sister Wan’er’s older sister, it made sense that she’d speak well of her.
“Maybe so. But still, Sister Wan’er, I think for now, it’s better if I keep my distance from the Empress.”
Getting too entangled with too many women… he’d end up in a true bloodbath.
Chu Feng definitely didn’t want to face that kind of scene.
Ji Yuhuang pursed her lips and stopped defending the Empress. Fine. If her main account’s affection level stayed low, so be it. She’d just max out her alt account instead.
Besides, once her main account married her little husband, she could have secret rendezvous with him using her side account.
Just thinking about it was so exciting!
As they walked, Ji Yuhuang spotted a marked tree. She flicked her finger, and a strand of true qi shot out.
Chu Feng obediently followed behind her, gazing at the towering ancient trees around them.
This place was way more awe-inspiring than what he had seen when he first arrived in this world.
One had to admit, the trees in the cultivation world were far more awe-inspiring than anything he’d ever seen before crossing over. Back in his original world, even finding one ancient tree this massive would’ve been a big deal.
As Chu Feng walked, his steps suddenly halted.
Hmm?
He sharply turned his head and stared behind him, eyes narrowing.
Just now, he had heard something unusual behind him.
Although the sound of flowing water was nearby, he was certain the noise wasn’t from the river.
Could it be… some kind of wild beast?
In the next instant, Chu Feng summoned Little Bai and gripped it tightly, instantly on high alert.
Suddenly, a massive black shadow leapt out.
“Roaar!”
A beast’s roar echoed.
Crap!
Chu Feng quickly stepped back. But when he finally got a clear look at the black figure, he froze for a second.
It was something like a cat, yet not quite. Its entire body was pitch black, with sharp fangs and a ferocious look.
But the scariest part was its towering height!
“Little brother!”
Ji Yuhuang rushed over, her pretty face filled with alarm.
“Sister Wan’er, stay behind me. This thing… is dangerous.”
Sweat beaded on Chu Feng’s forehead.
This beast was at least third-rank in cultivation.
Third rank, huh…
He had never fought against strength like this before.
If Chu Feng were alone and unsure of victory, then retreating would have been the wisest choice.
But now, that wasn’t an option!
Out of the corner of his eye, Chu Feng glanced at the red-robed figure behind him. Sister Wan’er was so delicate and frail. If he ran, wouldn’t he be leaving her to die?
But if he tried to flee with her, they wouldn’t be able to outrun the beast.
Before Chu Feng could think further, the beast made its move or rather, it struck with its claw.
“Roar!”
A claw came slashing toward Chu Feng, lightning-fast.
It was too late to dodge. Chu Feng raised Little Bai to block in front of him.
Clang—
The beast’s claw smashed into Little Bai’s blade, sending sparks flying.
The tremendous force pushed Chu Feng back several meters, his feet sinking slightly into the ground.
“Roar!”
The beast lunged toward Chu Feng again.
Damn it! No choice but to fight!
Gritting his teeth, Chu Feng gathered all his true energy and activated the Azure Needle Talisman.
Just then, a red figure appeared in front of Chu Feng.
His eyes widened in shock. Sister Wan’er!
“Roar!”
The beast’s sharp claws came down. Blood splattered, and the red-robed figure was struck by the force, sent flying and crashing into the river.
“Sister Wan’er!”
Chu Feng shouted in panic, and without a second thought, he dove headfirst into the water after her.
The beast saw Chu Feng dive into the river and was just about to jump in as well when, all of a sudden, a Binding Beast Rope flew out from the nearby forest and tightly bound the creature.
Snap! Snap!
A soft-featured man stepped out. It was Eunuch Cao.
Immediately after, over a dozen figures appeared, all dressed in the garb of palace eunuchs.
“Mhm! Very good. Our part ends here. Next, it’s time for the court ladies to take over.”
“Godfather! It’s all thanks to your brilliant planning!”
One of the young eunuchs quickly flattered him.
Eunuch Cao was quite pleased with that. Everything had gone exactly according to Her Majesty’s script….perfect!
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