The main hall of Han Xiao Palace and Qing Huang Palace stood like two people side by side, separated by a wide palace road and a garden, situated on the east and west sides of Han Xiao Palace.
When Si Fengwu and the others rushed over from Qing Huang Palace, strangely, while the outside was in chaos, the main hall was completely silent.
Lu Qingwan sidled up to Si Fengwu and whispered, "Do you think what that man in black said earlier was true?"
Trapping them on the island, and then having the Tuyuhun and Nan Qi armies attack Tian Feng, the whole thing sounded utterly unreliable.
But Lu Qingwan also knew that Meng Fuyuan had schemed for over forty years. If he were truly determined to fight to the death, this struggle for supremacy under heaven might indeed be stirred up by him.
However, Si Fengwu was not the least bit afraid.
"I hope not. But if it is as he said, believe me, we will not be the ones to regret it in the end."
Lu Qingwan was immediately satisfied upon hearing this. She knew that as the ruler of a nation, how could Si Fengwu be away from court for several months without any preparations? Seeing him like this, she knew Si Fengwu had everything arranged.
She turned on all the equipment in the laboratory, pushing her x-ray vision to its limit. Even before entering the main hall, she had already thoroughly understood the situation inside.
Then, she squeezed close to Si Fengwu's ear and whispered, "That scoundrel is lying to us. Meng Fuyuan is in the main hall. I can already see Father and Mother. But this scene... it looks a bit strange. This underground palace, it looks a bit like the royal tombs of Da Qian and Bei Wei, doesn't it?"
Si Fengwu couldn't share Lu Qingwan's vision, so he could only ask step by step, "That's not important. First, find the explosives. Once the danger of the explosion is resolved, Father and Mother can protect themselves. We just need to deal with Meng Fuyuan."
Lu Qingwan made a gesture and continued to scan every corner of the main hall comprehensively. Suddenly, she pulled out Da Bai. "Have you seen everything clearly?" Da Bai, as the guardian spirit of the laboratory, could share its five senses with Lu Qingwan. Everything Lu Qingwan had seen was naturally in Da Bai's mind. The latter nodded cutely, "I've seen it clearly, so what?"
"Find a way to sneak in and break that fuse. If you could get some water on that gunpowder, that would be even better," Lu Qingwan said with a smile as amiable as possible. Da Bai, however, rolled its eyes in annoyance. "Lord Meow is just a cat. Doesn't your conscience hurt asking Lord Meow to do such things? And what about that smelly bug? Why does it always curl up there doing nothing?" With a flick of its tongue, it revealed its original intention.
Lu Qingwan casually pulled out Teng She. "Don't worry, I'll have it go help you." As she spoke, she flicked her slender hand and tossed Teng She, thin as an earthworm, into the courtyard wall of the main hall. Seeing that Teng She was in the same predicament as itself, Da Bai felt a sense of balance and disappeared into the night sky with a whoosh. Its black body blended perfectly with the darkness, requiring no special camouflage. Lu Qingwan nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go. We'll go meet Meng Fuyuan." Saying this, she actually stepped forward and knocked on the door politely, but loudly.
Si Fengwu was quite surprised. "Meng Fuyuan is in the main hall?"
"Yes, he's right in front of the altar. That's why I said it was strange, wasn't it?" After knocking, she said slowly, "If we lure the people out, it will be much more convenient for Teng She and Da Bai to move around." As soon as her voice fell, footsteps could be heard from inside, and the two fell silent. When the door opened, it was finally not a man wrapped from head to toe in black. Lu Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief, which was out of place. If a group of men in black had come out again, her eyes wouldn't have been able to distinguish colors tonight. A young man in a white robe with a lotus hairpin opened the door and calmly stepped aside. "The Great Elder invites you both in."
Lu Qingwan raised an eyebrow. "It seems your Great Elder knew we were coming? I wonder if the Great Elder still likes the gift we sent him?" A cold snort came from within. "A mere impudent child, you destroy my Han Xiao Palace's thousand-year foundation, and you dare to boast? Do you really think this old man fears you?" The speaker's voice was forceful, deliberately amplified with internal energy, as if to give Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu a little warning.
However, Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu were not the least bit uncomfortable. Si Fengwu even used his more powerful internal energy to shout back, "You don't need to fear us. You only need to fear that you will have no face to meet the ancestors of Han Xiao Palace after your death. I believe the ancestors of Han Xiao Palace know better than you or I who caused Han Xiao Palace's downfall?" He didn't speak with the deliberate intonation of the old man, but this simple sentence caused the guards who were preparing for combat to vomit blood on the spot. The internal energy of the people inside also became briefly disordered, then returned to normal.
Si Fengwu continued, "Han Xiao Palace, which once saved the suffering and aided the distressed, like gods and buddhas descending to the world, has been turned into such a mess by you. You still want to stir up chaos in the world and bring Han Xiao Palace back into prominence. When you do these things, have you asked the ancestors of Han Xiao Palace? Have you asked the tens of thousands of disciples of Han Xiao Palace who are outside, whether they are willing to re-enter the world with such a notorious reputation?"
As his words fell, with a bang, Lu Qingwan stood before Meng Fuyuan, holding a handgun of unusual design. The old man with white hair and beard, his face shriveled and thin, was perched on the dragon throne beneath the Nine Dragons Facing the Sun screen, occupying less than a third of the vast imperial seat. His hair was loose, and the hairpin couldn't hold it, so it was wrapped with a dark purple hairband. A dark purple cross-collared robe was draped over him, like a shroud over a skeleton.
Meng Fuyuan, touching his slightly stinging heart, said mockingly, "You are that little girl who has always styled herself as the Empress of Qing Huang? Look at this marksmanship, it truly disgraces the Empress of Qing Huang's prestige!" The man, on the verge of death, was actually still here criticizing her marksmanship. Moreover, Lu Qingwan had never styled herself after anyone; she didn't have that habit, nor did she need it. However, she was too lazy to argue with this old man who had a serious mental problem. She simply said, "Since you are the Great Elder of Han Xiao Palace, you must have received some true teachings from the Empress of Qing Huang and the Grand Tutor of Nan Xuan. Perhaps, you should know, there is something called a tranquilizer gun?"
Meng Fuyuan had never heard of a tranquilizer gun, but he knew the word "tranquilize." Upon hearing the word, he hurriedly struggled to get up, reaching for the spot that had just pained him, his cloudy eyes fixed on Lu Qingwan. The latter, with a stylish turn of her wrist, put away the tranquilizer gun. "Don't bother. It's a single-head made of highly efficient anesthetic crystals. Once it enters the body, it quickly disappears into the bloodstream. Don't move now, and you can still maintain some dignity later. Sit there and watch us take the person away. If you struggle again, you won't know where you are when you wake up."