Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 617: The La Yue Color (Part )

Li Yao said goodbye to the young man, but picked up Li Heng's sword that was covered in blood, and walked out of the alley while holding his abdomen.

He was weaker now than before, but fewer people dared to look at him. As he walked along the street, people who met him would make way for him.

When he arrived at the palace gate, he could hardly recognize the place.

The outer wall was washed by fire and blades, and large patches of blood sank into the cracks of bricks and stones. It was difficult to clean it with water in winter, so it had to be deposited like that. Walking in from the palace gate, I saw people in mixed clothing, palace maids and eunuchs were busy shuttling back and forth, and people in blue and purple clothes and armored and holding guns stood together, most of them with silent and panicked expressions on their faces.

Li Yao knew where this expression came from. If the displaced people in the turbulent times were like duckweed that could only numbly follow their fate, then these people were still standing on the swaying boat. Some of them were boatmen and helmsmen, who were now listening to the creaking groans of the wooden boards under their feet.

"Stop! Who are you?!"

He walked about 70 to 80 feet before someone reacted and stopped him. A large gun was pointed in front of him. "Where are you from? Do you have an official seal?"

Li Yao said calmly, "I am Li Yao, the heir of the virtuous king. I have been ordered to enter the palace and return to my clan. I can use blood tests as proof."

It was hard to tell how the people around him reacted after hearing these words. The spear in front of him paused for a moment, then he slowly retracted it and performed a respectful salute. Several people nearby who heard the words also bowed and saluted, but none of them said anything.

Several soldiers who were sitting in the corner to rest glanced at him, showed no intention of standing up, and quickly looked away, pretending not to have heard.

Li Yao glanced at their blood-stained robes, holding two swords, one short and one long, and walked straight into the palace.

There was no need to look for a place to go. Gathering the clan members was the top priority for the next two days. Li Yao walked in and saw many people in royal costumes standing in the large area in front of the palace.

Obviously he arrived very late. His house was destroyed and he was hiding alone in the cellar. He was one of the people with the least access to information. Even if most of the clan members were forced to leave their homes, they were always accompanied by a group of personal guards or had already found a place to take refuge. They arrived here in the first hour after the announcement was made to the whole city.

"Heaven's will is not clear, and it has allowed the thieves to slaughter the emperor's blood..." The faces of those with superior facial features were still in shock. Li Yao walked over and heard the sobbing one after another.

Some of these faces looked familiar, but most of them were unfamiliar. They huddled together, and apart from the sound of crying, there were also low and hoarse murmurs.

"As our dynasty is attacking the interior, how can the Northern Kingdom not seize the opportunity? Then you and I..."

"If the destiny is with Li, why are you so harsh to us..."

Li Yao's eyes passed over their faces, looking at these uncles or brothers and sisters who covered their faces and talked, and at the many eunuchs and palace maids who stood around with their hands tied and their heads lowered, not moving at all. Only one thought came to his mind - if anyone here just went there and stared, how could the relief be so chaotic?

He stood there in silence for a while, and no one came to answer him. The warming formations had been set up around him, the desks had been laid out, and snacks had been served. After a month of anxiety, he was finally comforted.

People sat down one by one according to their seats, but Li Yao still did not see the legendary emperor. Before the rebellion, it was said that he had not attended court for three months.

An old man with gray hair at the head of the seat stood up. He was probably the oldest clan leader now. He turned tremblingly and raised the wine jar towards the yellow robe.

He wanted to say something hoarsely, but tears started to flow down his cheeks first: "God has mercy on me, and has allowed my blood relatives to be reunited after the danger, but... but today... there are only a few dozen people in the hall?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone at the table sobbed.

The old man wiped his tears and said, "Even so, the country is still there, and the long bloodline of my Li clan is still there. Our dynasty was established by the will of heaven. Our ancestors worked hard and were favored by heaven, so that the country has survived for 600 years. Now that I have summoned you here, you should follow the will of heaven and select an heir who can inherit the throne in the future... I wonder how many descendants of my clan are left now?"

Everyone at the table looked around, and young men or teenagers slowly stood up, while many people did not even dare to stand up straight, still shivering as if they had just escaped from danger.

Li Yao looked at them silently. He didn't know which person God would choose. He only heard from afar that there was a will of God above the imperial city. It favored the bloodline of the Li family, and only the king who obeyed God was the legitimate one.

The palace servants began to hold up books and record the names of the branches of each person who stood up. Different people spoke out the names, such as Prince Cao or Prince Guang, the eldest son or the youngest son... It was at this time that many people gradually noticed the thin young man who had been standing at the end of the seats.

Half of his body was covered in blood, and he was holding two weapons, just standing quietly at the end and watching.

There was no one around him. The clan members looked at each other, but no one stood up to claim him, until suddenly a surprised female voice said, "You...you are Li Yao?"

Li Yao looked up and saw a girl wrapped in a cotton cloak standing there. It took him two breaths to recognize that it was Lian Lin. Her face had lost its radiant glow, and the smile she always had was gone. She looked panic-stricken.

After many people's eyes were focused on her, she came back to her senses and waved: "Yao, Yao brother, you... your family has also met with misfortune... come to my side."

Li Yao did not move. He still looked at the people in yellow robes who were either sitting or standing.

“Brother Yao, what’s in your hand… have you seen Brother Liheng?” Lian Lin asked nervously, “There has been no news about him, but his body has not been found in the mansion, so I thought he might still be alive…”

"I killed him."

"..."

There was a moment of silence in front of the entire hall, and the palace servants' pens suddenly stopped moving.

At that moment, countless pairs of bewildered eyes fell on him. Li Yao looked at these people quietly and said, "When I came here, I met my cousin Li Heng in the alley. He killed the two families there and only kept a little girl to play with. He hid in the wine cellar for a month. When I met him, he was about to kill the girl and come here to recognize his ancestors. I couldn't stop him, so I had to kill him."

There was a slight commotion in front of the hall, and Lian Lin cried out, "Brother Yao, you! What nonsense are you talking about!"

"I'm not talking nonsense." The young man looked very calm and serious, like a student answering the teacher's questions in class. "I think he deserves to be killed. Just now this elder said that he would select the heir from among us. I was just about to ask how to select. If I hadn't killed my cousin Liheng just now, what if he came here and was selected? Wouldn't that be another disaster for our dynasty?"

"You little brat! Whose family are you from?!" Someone already stood up and slammed the table, "How dare you kill your own bloodline!"

"I am Li Yao, the heir of the virtuous prince. Today I entered the palace to return to my clan and meet all the elders and brothers and sisters. I can't help but wonder how many of you have Li Heng cousins." Li Yao looked at the dozens of people in black and yellow robes, "You are of noble blood, a descendant of the heavens. Shouldn't you be the pillar of the dynasty? The mountains and rivers are broken, and the last vein that holds them together is broken in my body; the country is shaken, and the first footsteps that stabilized it sounded under my boots. The world is in chaos, but the word Li cannot be in chaos. Shouldn't this be the right person to have the surname Li? But now there is no one."

"In a peaceful time, they are like pigs and parasites; in a chaotic situation, they become wild beasts... They are not human beings, let alone the bloodline of the Li family." Li Yao said seriously, "I killed my cousin Li Heng for that reason. There is no such thing as 'daring' or 'not daring'. Many of you are the same. If we run into each other, I will kill you, or you will kill me."

There was silence for more than ten breaths.

Then the boy was captured and thrown into prison.

……

The Imperial Guards Prison was worse than he had imagined. There were no clan members outside to speak for him, and the crimes he had committed would most likely result in him being sentenced to death by poison.

The wounds in his abdomen and shoulders had not yet been healed, and his body, without any training, was deteriorating rapidly. Li Yao gradually lost track of how many days had passed in the darkness.

"Are you a fool?" Until a crisp shout rang in his ears, Li Yao, who was shackled, was awakened from his coma by a punch. When he opened his eyes, he saw the girl's bright, wide-open eyes.

"Bai Bi!" he said in surprise, and then was hit on the head again.

"You are so handsome. You stood in front of the palace and shouted that you would kill all of you. I could only sneak into the palace." Zhao Baibi stared, her lips slightly pale.

Li Yao lowered his head in embarrassment, then raised his head and asked with concern: "Bai Bi, how did you get in? Are you not hurt?"

"Is there a place I can't enter? It's a piece of cake." The girl sat on the beam and tapped her chin gently. "I need to think about how to get you out."

The girl once again demonstrated her "supernatural powers". The Forbidden City Prison was as easy as walking on flat ground for her. She stole the key quietly, opened his shackles and cage, and then took him to shuttle around the prison, hiding in all the incredible corners, perfectly avoiding every inspection. Finally, she knocked out the two guards at the small door with a "clang clang" sound, and escaped with him.

"Bai Bi, are we escaping from prison like this?"

"No, I discussed it with the old emperor, and he agreed to let you go."

"Huh? Really?!"

"As real as you are a pig."

"..."

Zhao Baibi seemed to have planned everything. Li Yao followed him out, changed his clothes in an abandoned yard, then went out to the street and walked east. When passing Zhuque Street, he saw a large number of imperial guards pouring out of the palace, shouting to block the city gates.

Li Yao thought she was here to capture him, so he tensed up and glanced at Zhao Baibi. But the girl said, "Don't be afraid. We are not here to capture you. You don't have the nerve to do that."

"Ah? What's that?"

"The imperial seal was stolen from the palace."

"what?!"

As expected, those people were not trying to capture them, so the two of them walked to the edge of the city wall without anyone noticing. There was actually a hole there that was just big enough for someone to squeeze through. The two of them squeezed out, and Zhao Baibi hurriedly took him onto a small boat that had been prepared.

Taking advantage of the darkest night, the two floated down the river. There was a vast starry field, a cold sky, and below were farmlands and villages that had also suffered from the war. Everything was desolate and uninhabited.

The boat was moving very fast. They sailed non-stop for a whole day and night until night fell again, as if leaving the big city they had never left far behind in another world. Then they gradually stopped.

"Where...is this place?" Li Yao climbed up from the cabin.

The pain and fatigue made him a little weak, so Zhao Baibi was at the helm most of the way.

He looked up and saw that they were sailing into a long, flat, wide river. Not only had the torrent not frozen, but the mirror-like surface of the river had not thawed either. The stars and the moon were reflected in it, and they seemed to be sailing in the Milky Way.

The girl did not speak at this time. She sat quietly at the bow, looking at the river ahead. Her white dress was not stained by the moonlight, and only her soft black hair fell on her back, making her look like a fairy between the moon and the river.

"Bai Bi..." Li Yao murmured subconsciously.

"Of course you don't know where this is, you've never been here before." Zhao Baibi raised his head and said softly, "This is Luoshui. You often recited about it when you read poems before."

"Hmm..." Li Yao stared blankly. The ripples on the water, the cool breeze and the cold water made him dazed again.

"Li Yao, do you think it's a pity?" Zhao Baibi said, "Although we have escaped, we are far away from the capital, and even further away from your wish."

"...No, I never expected everything to go smoothly." Li Yao curled up in the cabin, hugged his knees with his hands, and looked at the distant stars. "I made up my mind today on the boat. What destiny is not destiny is not important. Let's go to the north. The invasion of the northern country may have already begun. We should join the war first and defend the country."

Zhao Baibi turned around and looked at him quietly, then suddenly smiled, raised his hand and spread something out for him.

Li Yao looked over and was stunned.

A square jade block with five dragon carvings intertwined into a pillar, holding a jade bead in its mouth. The four-character seal script facing him is clearly visible, which is "Received the Mandate from Heaven"... There is no need to take a second look, this is the imperial seal.

He looked at it in shock and confusion, while the five dragon figures were already running towards him. As soon as they touched his fingertips, they drilled into his body as if they were originally one.

Li Yao had never felt so clearly the sense of destiny deep in his blood. He raised his head. The sky was clear and the moon was bright. He looked deeply into the sky. At that moment, it seemed as if he had made eye contact with something.

The blood in his body was burning and boiling, his wounds began to heal, the seeds in his dantian burst and sprouted smoothly, and then rose higher and higher. When he came to his senses, he realized that he was enveloped by many rays of moonlight, and his whole body seemed to be floating.

……

"This is the secret decree passed down to him by destiny. Only by relying on this power can the ambitious young man rebuild the mountains and rivers in his heart." Qingluan in the mirror wrote the last few lines.

"At this moment he looked at the girl beside him, only to see that her face and lips were very pale. Before he had cultivated, he had never realized that she was so weak.

"Bai, Baibi, where did you get this jade seal?" The young man was inexplicably confused.

Zhao Baibi tilted his head and smiled playfully: "Don't worry about it. I discussed it with your old man Tianyi and he chose you."

Although Li Yao didn't believe it, he didn't know what to ask at this time. Zhao Baibi looked at him for a while, but then turned his face away and looked at the water. For the first time, his expression became a little weak: "Li Yao, do you remember the "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River" you told me last year?"

"Yes, of course I remember."

"You said, if the goddess of Luo believed in the friendship of King Chen and followed him to the shore, she would never be able to return to the water again... Then she would only have King Chen. If, if King Chen failed her, what would she do?"

'...'

'...'

"Bai Bi," Li Yao said seriously, "I will never let you down. '"

(End of this chapter)