Chapter 46

"... No, the little mute girl is dead. I buried her with my own hands..."

"No, those were the little mute girl's eyes! I saw them clearly!"

"But she died!"

"Maybe she came back to life. This is a baseline reality 0.7 world; it's very normal to have supernatural powers, extraordinary powers, and the like!"

"But even if she lived, she couldn't have so many guards and maids serving her. Wake up, that's not the little mute girl!"

"I have to confirm it!"

"You're looking for trouble! Heaven knows what the identity of this girl is. She looks like she's either rich or noble. You're still in the time-guarding period, and you're still in this unfamiliar ancient world."

"I have to confirm it!!"

"What about Amada and Xu Shilan!?"

In Wu Pifu's mind, it was as if two voices were arguing. Just as he was about to step forward, the faces of Amada and Xu Shilan flashed through his mind.

At this moment, he withdrew his steps, just took a deep look at the sedan chair, turned around, and jumped off the high wall.

Jiu Jiu wailed in mid-air for a long time, and the person in the sedan chair didn't appear. Jiu Jiu could only fly back toward Wu Pifu.

And at the same time, on the inner city gate tower far from the temple, a middle-aged man wearing red and yellow casual clothes, sitting on a rattan chair, narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, pointing at the temple to those on his left and right, saying, "Truly a lecher."

Beside him, a middle-aged man in purple robes had a stern expression and said, "Daring to spy on the Imperial Princess! Truly bold! There are more and more scoundrels in Kaifeng Prefecture! Your Majesty, I will immediately send people to capture him!"

The Emperor was noncommittal, just smiling. And on his other side, a man in Daoist robes laughed and said, "Why go to such trouble? Today is the Lantern Festival; we shouldn't disturb His Majesty's elegant interest. Let this poor Daoist make a move."

The Emperor nodded slightly. The man in Daoist robes smiled and reached out, taking a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve. His fingers traced something on the yellow paper with the tea water in front of him. Then, he threw the yellow paper forward, and it flew several meters away from the gate tower. Afterward, it actually transformed into a crimson bird, about half a meter long, with crimson feathers carrying a flame color. With a clear cry, it flew toward the temple.

There were more than thirty people on the gate tower. Aside from the beardless eunuchs and maids, there were more than a dozen officials wearing purple or scarlet robes. Their expressions all changed slightly, and each of their eyes carried a haze.

There were also several young men who were clearly not officials and had seats on the scene. The eyes with which they looked at the red bird were also full of deep meaning.

Only the Emperor's eyes were full of appreciation.

On the other side, Wu Pifu jumped down from the high wall in disappointment, just burying his head and walking back. But after walking only ten meters, he suddenly raised his head and looked toward the inner city, seeing a crimson bird rushing straight at him. The closer it got, the larger it became. In the blink of an eye, it covered a ten-meter radius above him. This crimson bird transformed into a giant firebird, spreading its wings and rushing down.

"Ah!"

Wu Pifu was both shocked and angry. Seeing this giant firebird rushing straight down, the surging flames had already reached his head. Jiu Jiu was the first to be unable to withstand the high temperature and heat, falling from his shoulder. He couldn't care about anything else and opened his mouth with a wild roar.

The next moment, all his martial arts Qi and blood gathered in his dantian, and his Human Immortal Martial Dao blood energy filled his skin and flesh. His body crouched slightly, and his hands hung down naturally. In an instant, Qi gathered in his dantian. Although he didn't assume the Lotus-Sitting Jin posture, his whole body's strength had already gathered at a single point in his dantian. The moment the firebird rushed in front of him, his roar accompanied his whole body's strength, and he blasted out. His palms struck the air, and in an instant, they hit the head of the firebird.

The scene of fire exploding and shattering that he imagined didn't happen. This firebird was actually a silver-tipped wax spear; as soon as it was touched by his palms, it immediately collapsed, turning into sparks. The sea of fire that seemed to be able to sweep across a radius of tens of meters also disappeared directly.

Wu Pifu's double-palm strike had almost poured in all his strength. Whether it was martial arts or Human Immortal Martial Dao, all his body's strength was condensed within it, and he even used the Lotus-Sitting Jin to explode it in the form of a virtual Dan Jin. The strength of this moment was so great that once the firebird dissipated, his palms followed the momentum and struck forward, directly hitting the high wall.

The high wall was nearly five meters high and two palms wide, but it was blasted by Wu Pifu's strike, directly exploding a large gap. And this power hadn't dissipated yet; the broken bricks flew tens of meters away. Although they had no power left, they smashed the guards at the sedan chair, making them cry out for their parents.

Wu Pifu was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand why the firebird, which looked so terrifying and had the posture of a small fuel-air bomb, only felt slightly hot on his palms when it fell, and then just disappeared like that?

He was stunned for a few seconds, seeing the guards in the distance surrounding him with knives and guns, and dozens of guards running in from the main gate of the temple, all surrounding him like they were facing a great enemy. He was at a loss for a moment and hurriedly said, "There was a fire monster just now, no, a bird monster, no, a firebird monster attacking me. I was forced to fight back, I..."

The guards didn't listen to what Wu Pifu said at all, each of them facing a great enemy. Wu Pifu even saw some guards with crossbows running in from the distance. He didn't dare to delay any longer, turned his head to scoop up the stunned Jiu Jiu from the ground, and then turned and ran back along the road.

The guards were all stunned. They had originally prepared for a bloody battle, but they didn't expect that this fierce man who broke the high wall with one palm would turn around and run away?

After being stunned for a few seconds, the guards shouted and followed in pursuit.

On the contrary, the person in the sedan chair was stunned for a long time before suddenly bursting into laughter.

On the other side, the more than ten people on the inner city gate tower were all silent. After a long time, the man in Daoist robes suddenly bowed to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I see that this person carries monster Qi. Please allow this poor Daoist to go and investigate."

The Emperor nodded in agreement and said, "Imperial Preceptor, don't be impatient. If it's just a wild spirit from the mountains, let him live. A small punishment and a big warning will suffice."

The Daoist lowered his head, turned around, and left the gate tower.

After the Daoist had left for a while, a purple-robed official suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the Daoist is lowly and very unreasonable. Furthermore, this person Guo Jing is narrow-minded and really shouldn't stand in the imperial court."

The Emperor didn't get angry, just smiling happily and saying, "Using his talent is enough... Everyone, can you see the origin of this man?"

The ministers were all deep in thought. An official with a firm expression said, "His blood energy is so thick that it doesn't look like a human's. Although there is a little monster Qi, it is not emitted from his body. His bloodline should undoubtedly be pure human. And what he used to break the Daoist technique was not the evil energy of the army. It's really hard to guess."

The Emperor raised his head and looked at an old eunuch beside him. The eunuch didn't speak, just nodded slightly and walked behind the gate tower. The Emperor, the Imperial Princes, and the high officials all remained silent, just watching the prosperity of Bianliang. Not long after, the old eunuch walked back and whispered a few words in the Emperor's ear.

"The strange person from the Mud Buddha Yaksha?" the Emperor said in surprise.

The ministers were all puzzled. On the contrary, two scarlet-robed officials were stunned for a moment. Seeing the Emperor's signal, they told the story of this strange case on the spot.

"Mud Buddha, Yaksha?" the ministers all murmured. A purple-robed official said, "Looking at this man's short hair and tight clothes, he has a rather exotic style, but his language is the accent of our Song people. Could he be a strange person from overseas?"

The ministers all had their own guesses, but none of them were certain. At this time, the Emperor said, "Let's see how the Imperial Preceptor's trip goes. Although the man was a bit rude, he only took a look from afar, which is not a big crime. Looking at his age, he's not old. Young men admire beauty, after all. If his background is clean, such a brave warrior is not suitable to be left among the people."

The ministers all nodded in agreement.

They were extremely vigilant against Daoist techniques and monster arts, but if it was just the bravery of blood energy, then it didn't matter. Now that the north was in need of brave warriors, if this strange person had a heart to serve the country, then pardoning his crime of spying on the Imperial Princess was not a big deal. After all, he just took a look from afar in the temple.

On the other side, Wu Pifu ran quickly through the crowd, his figure fast and slippery. After only two streets, he shook off those guards. The guards didn't actually pursue too hard. After all, for one thing, Wu Pifu only broke a temple wall and didn't hurt or kill anyone. For another, they didn't dare to press such a fierce man who could break a high wall if he got ruthless. So, as they chased, they gradually stopped their steps.

And Wu Pifu felt that there were no pursuers behind him, so he slowly ran back to the location of Amada and Xu Shilan. Soon, he saw the two of them standing in the crowd, watching the juggling with great interest.

Seeing Wu Pifu return, both of them asked about the little mute girl.

!

Wu Pifu hesitated for a moment and said, "I just took a look from afar, and I only saw her eyes... they were very much like the little mute girl's, but I can't be sure if it was her. And I buried the little mute girl with my own hands, so... I don't know either."

Amada said boisterously, "Why didn't you go up and see clearly?"

Wu Pifu shook his head. It wasn't easy to explain in detail here, so he said, "Let's go exchange the gold first, then find an inn or something to stay in before talking."

The two nodded. Just as they were about to walk forward with Wu Pifu, suddenly both of their shoulders were patted. They turned around at the same time and saw a young man carrying a sword box behind them, smiling at them.

Wu Pifu's hair stood on end instantly. He twisted his feet and blocked in front of the two, whispering to them, "Run into the crowd, this person is very..."

Xu Shilan was the first to be surprised and said, "Chu Minghao, why is it you!?"

Hearing Xu Shilan's voice, Wu Pifu slowly relaxed his guard, but his whole body was already soaked in cold sweat.

Chu Minghao smiled brightly, "Long time no see, Miss Xu, and the two human heroes. Hello, I am Chu Minghao."

Amada said boisterously, "Who? A maintenance staff member from another district?"

"No, he is not a maintenance staff member."

Xu Shilan's expression was complex, "Level 7 citizen, one with the qualifications to use the three major human super-brain auxiliary devices, a war hero in the Fourth War, the ace of aces of the Human United Government mecha troops, the strongest user of the Dragon Knight system, the youngest presidential candidate... Chu Minghao."

Wu Pifu asked in a low voice, "Friend? Enemy? Or... an enemy?"

Xu Shilan was stunned for a moment. She looked at Wu Pifu and said with a happy yet somewhat depressed smile, "No, he can't be considered an enemy, let alone an enemy. He is an idealistic fool, barely a good person, my college alumnus, and a man who almost became my marriage partner..."

She said to Chu Minghao, "Why are you here? No, what I want to ask is, why can you wake up? Isn't it said that all citizens are trapped in the Dream World, and only maintenance staff can wake up?"

Chu Minghao looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy, smiling very sincerely and brightly. He laughed, "It's a long story, and this isn't the place to talk. Let's go, find a restaurant to talk in detail... Don't worry, you two, I'm here to help you."

Xu Shilan seemed to trust Chu Minghao very much. She also nodded to Wu Pifu and Amada, and the two naturally agreed to go.

But after walking only two steps, Chu Minghao suddenly stopped. He looked at Wu Pifu, then looked into the distance, and smiled, "Wait for me for a few seconds."

The crowd was puzzled, and they saw Chu Minghao suddenly pat the sword box behind him. In an instant, the world turned black and white, and everyone was frozen. Even the falling leaves stopped in mid-air. Everyone even lost their thoughts. Only the Sleepless Spiritual Light in Wu Pifu's sea of consciousness suddenly shone brightly, and at the same time, the Yellow Lotus fragment he wore on his neck also emitted bright light. The two combined, allowing him to see everything clearly in this black and white world.

A sword light, brilliant beyond description, surged out from the sword box. In the blink of an eye, it flashed into the distance and returned. Amidst the ringing of the sword box, the world regained its color.

Xu Shilan and Amada were both confused and puzzled. Only Wu Pifu was full of horror and disbelief.

And on the imperial street of the imperial city in the distance, the Daoist who was riding a horse in a hurry suddenly screamed and rolled off his horse.

He touched his head and neck in terror. After touching for a long time, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the Daoist crown on his head suddenly cracked and fell off.

The Daoist looked at the Daoist crown.

The crack was as smooth as a mirror.

(End of chapter)