Chapter 65: The Secret of the Garden

In the room.

The enchanting and beautiful Tang Feng was lying on the floor, facing up, struggling with everyone.

“Listen to me, everyone. Listen to my plan. We’ll deal with them one by one…” Tang Feng no longer felt shame or awkwardness. All she felt was fear.

People could die from this!

And this kind of death would surely shock the entire player community. Even a thousand years later, this event would still be “legendary and immortal.”

“You bunch of soldier scum, dare to compete with me?!” Li Yan couldn’t break free or touch anything. He immediately became anxious and grabbed one of the soldiers to fight.

“In matters like this, everyone is equal. You old thing, stop showing off your official status!”

“Beat him!”

“…!”

Everyone was already losing it. Who still cared about class? Who cared about status?

Three or four soldiers pinned Li Yan down and started fighting him.

In the crowd, a clever young man had finished his preliminary preparations and, completely naked, lunged at Tang Feng, preparing to attack like a dragon.

When Tang Feng saw him charge towards her, her exceptional intelligence kicked in again, and she suddenly shouted, “Li Yan, take me away! I want to duel with you!”

Li Yan, who had been pinned by three or four soldiers, froze, his eyes blank for a moment.

“Listen to your master’s command! Hurry… hurry and take me away!” Tang Feng shouted again.

Li Yan, who had been in a dazed state, wanting only to be close to his master, had forgotten about his own mission and how to use his abilities. But the moment Tang Feng shouted, he snapped back to reality.

That’s right, I have supernatural powers. Why should I fight for food with you?

“Gulu!”

On the ground, ink bubbles swirled, and both Li Yan and the originally pinned Tang Feng vanished into the earth.

“Boom!”

A loud noise came from outside the room. A spear beam smashed into the house like a piercing sun but only split a layer of ink. The house itself remained intact.

“Whoosh!”

Xing Tao landed with his spear and stared in shock at the house, “This strike didn’t break through the ink environment?!”

He refused to believe it, stepping back again, gripping his spear tightly.

The tip of his spear glowed brightly, like the blazing sun.

Xing Tao took another step forward, gritted his teeth, and swung both arms.

The spearhead shone brilliantly and struck the house with a loud bang.

“Boom!”

The roof cracked, and the ink swirling below quickly receded, like sea water being cut open.

Xing Tao jumped into the air, holding his spear, and when he turned to look inside, he saw several soldiers holding various cylindrical objects, venting their frustrations. But the target was gone.

“Damn it, a bunch of useless fools!”

Xing Tao almost had Tang Feng in his grasp, but now his eyes turned bloodshot with rage.

He swung his spear and those unlucky soldiers were instantly shattered, their bodies bursting into a mist of blood.

…

At the critical moment, Tang Feng certainly showed some quick wit. If it had been anyone else, it would have been hard to think of escaping with Li Yan, and they probably would have lost their sanity from the fear of the several giant snakes.

At the back garden of the Chief Historian’s residence.

The ground was swirling with black ink bubbles, and Li Yan and Tang Feng appeared.

“Master, we’ve escaped…” Li Yan, his eyes dazed, reminded her, “Then… let’s duel.”

Li Yan had just used his supernatural ability when he was struck by the enchantment. His thoughts became stubborn and singular, and instinct took over. Plus, the Ink World’s divine abilities had a time limit, and now, he was in an unstable state. The entire Chief Historian’s residence, with its ink scenery, was slowly retreating and crumbling.

“Duel my ass! Don’t follow me, forget about today…” Tang Feng stood up in disarray and was about to run.

“Master, don’t go!”

Li Yan grabbed Tang Feng’s ankle like a hungry tiger, pulling her back.

“I’ll fight you!” Tang Feng punched his head twice.

As they fought, Li Yan almost didn’t retaliate. He used all his strength to drag Tang Feng deeper into the flower garden’s small woods.

The moon was high in the sky, the willow branches swayed in the small woods, and no one knew… what exactly happened.

…

Outside the Chief Historian’s residence, in a dimly lit alley, the bodies of more than twenty soldiers lay scattered on the ground, blood flowing profusely.

Second Fool stood under the moonlight like a pine tree, staring at the slowly splitting palanquin at its center, frowning.

“Boom!”

The palanquin, split by a single strike, exploded into two pieces like a pile of broken blocks. Debris scattered everywhere.

The palanquin was shattered, but it was empty inside.

Second Fool’s face darkened, and a look of confusion crossed his eyes.

Since Tang Feng entered the Chief Historian’s residence, he had been hiding nearby, observing the situation.

When Xing Tao arrived with soldiers, Second Fool saw everything with his own eyes. The palanquin had been moved to two different hiding places, but he could still tell how many people were inside, no matter how well they hid.

Prince Huai had spent time with his concubines, and he could even hear the breathing and the sound of their bodies moving. So how could he not know how many were in that sedan?

When Xing Tao arrived, there were two people inside. From the sounds of their breathing and body movements, Second Fool could also deduce that one of them was a woman.

And just before he struck with his blade, this woman was still sitting inside the palanquin.

But when the blade fell and the palanquin shattered, she disappeared.

Second Fool felt somewhat disappointed, softly murmuring, “She must be a sorceress… a demoness.”

Whoosh!

As his words fell, Second Fool drifted away.

The alley was eerily quiet, with moonlight casting down, revealing the corpses of over twenty dead soldiers, lying motionless across the ground, their blood spilling freely.

After a short while, there was a swishing sound, and Second Fool’s figure reappeared.

He stood on the roof, looking down at the alley, shaking his head in disappointment, “She really left… This demoness’ magic is indeed powerful.”

Second Fool had originally planned to make a quick return, to see if the woman was hiding nearby, but once again, he gained no results.

On the small road leading to Qingzhou Guard’s Left Thousand-Household mansion, Guo Cai’er stopped in her tracks in distress. Suddenly, she pressed her left shoulder and vomited blood.

Drip drip…

The blood fell to the ground, and Guo Cai’er wiped the red from the corner of her mouth, then hurriedly continued fleeing.

…

Inside Chief Historian’s mansion, the chaotic magical aura gradually faded. Players, unable to distinguish friend from foe, broke free and fled in all directions.

Xing Tao’s net did manage to catch plenty of “fish,” but none of them were caught.

He was just one step away from catching Tang Feng. If he had entered the Princess’s tomb, he could have severed Prince Huai’s arm. But unfortunately… Li Yan had been enchanted and ran off with her.

In the courtyard, a Hundred-Household Officer rushed over, cupping his fists in respect and reporting, “Sir, our scout reports that the Governor of Qingliang Prefecture is coming with soldiers. He’s likely here to help Li Yan. Should we…?”

“Retreat,” Xing Tao replied with a dark expression. “Tonight, the Qingzhou Guard will heighten security to prevent retaliation from the civil faction.”

After speaking, Xing Tao quickly led his close Qingzhou Guard soldiers away.

…

About a quarter of an hour later, the Qingzhou Guard soldiers had just left when the Governor of Qingliang Prefecture arrived with a large group.

After briefly conversing with the mansion’s steward, the Governor discovered that Li Yan was missing—he had disappeared.

This was a huge matter; without the Chief Historian, what would they do? If he had been murdered, it would be a fatal blow to the civil faction.

The Governor immediately ordered soldiers to search the area. After about two incense sticks’ time, they found Li Yan in the garden behind the Chief Historian’s mansion.

At this moment, Li Yan was ragged, pale, and covered in dirt, looking as disheveled as could be.

When the group approached, the Governor shook Li Yan several times before the latter woke from his semi-conscious state.

Li Yan looked at them with a strange expression, instinctively touching the area just below his navel. “…where’s the other person? A woman!”

The others exchanged glances, and the Governor gently replied, “We didn’t see anyone.”

“…!”

Li Yan blinked, then propped himself up from the ground.

The Governor asked curiously, “Sir, how did you end up fainting here?”

“…!” Li Yan paused, then explained, “I fought with a female thief for several rounds… but her technique was truly exquisite. I let her escape.”

“Thank goodness, you’re alright.” The Governor paused, a serious expression forming on his face. “The Qingzhou Guard is acting recklessly, showing no respect for our civil faction! Sir, if you give the order, I’ll send soldiers tonight to destroy the Left Thousand-Household mansion.”

Li Yan glanced at him. “No need. You stay here and protect the mansion. I… I’ll return to my thatched cottage now.”

The Governor was taken aback. “I’ll go with you…”

“No need,” Li Yan waved him off, his expression strange as he hurriedly left.

The group stared at his back, feeling as though their superior had just gone through something indescribable.

…

Outside the mansion.

“Father, save me!”

“Father, save me!”

“…”

Tang Feng, in tattered clothes, stumbled through the night, calling out desperately.

Tap tap…!

The sound of footsteps on tiles echoed, and a shadow descended from the sky.

Whoosh!

Seeing Second Fool appear, Tang Feng let out a long sigh of relief and plopped down onto the ground.

Second Fool stepped forward, observing her with a strange look for a while before suddenly asking, “Where are your undergarments?”

Tang Feng pressed her legs together, eyes brimming with tears. “…That Chief Historian Li Yan is a beast!”

“If I hadn’t been sharp, he would’ve taken advantage of me.”

…

At the Left Thousand-Household mansion of the Qingzhou Guard.

Xing Tao stormed into the bedroom, looking up at Guo Cai’er, who was sitting in the dim light. “That Li Yan is really detestable. If it weren’t for him, I could have caught that player with the Songstress Identity tag tonight.”

“If we fail tonight, the other players from the Court Faction will isolate us…”

Weakly, Guo Cai’er wrote something down before suddenly leaning forward and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“You’re injured?!” Xing Tao froze for a moment, then immediately stepped forward.