Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 335 Gap
Pei Nian followed Min Yuanxiu and Ji Xianliang into the Inner Palace and looked around.

Thus, some memories of sounds and smells buried in the mind were explained.

These items came from various supplies provided to the palace by the eunuchs: lanterns, pastries, and perfumes. They also came from the old locust tree in the courtyard and the incense sticks inserted in front of the general's statue in the main hall.

"Go left," Pei Nian thought to herself.

Sure enough, Eunuch Xu turned in a different direction, to the left.

Ahead was a very large government office, so large that it exceeded the size requirements of the palace and even taller than the main hall to the north.

Pei Nian became increasingly puzzled.

She recalled that after making that left turn, she smelled a strange odor, like freshly turned mud.

At the time, she wondered why there was such a strong mountain and wild atmosphere in the palace.

But here there are only grand buildings, where are the mountains and fields?
As he was thinking, Eunuch Xu had already arrived in front of the government office and stopped. Six junior eunuchs stepped forward and together pushed open the heavy door.

As the wood creaked and twisted, Wang Qinghe, who was visiting for the first time, widened his eyes and muttered to himself.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable."

There was nothing else in this magnificent building except a mountain made of rock.

Within the palace walls, there was a rocky mountain, completely encased in buildings.

As soon as the group entered, a eunuch closed the door.

A breeze arose from nowhere, gently brushing against the hem of their clothes; light appeared from nowhere, illuminating the vast space.

Min Yuanxiu hadn't been here for a long time, and couldn't help but walk several steps inside, stopping in front of a protruding rock, muttering, "It's gotten bigger again."

Wang Qinghe, Pei Nian, and the others followed and stood behind him. Looking at it, they saw a crack, as if a huge rock had been broken in an earthquake, wide enough for two people to pass side by side.

The wind blows out from the crack, and the light shines through from there as well.

The building is only so big, yet there seems to be a vibrant life force emanating from the cracks.

"What is this?" Wang Qinghe asked.

"cough."

Min Yuanxiu's throat was dry and itchy, and he couldn't help but cough. The sound made Wang Qinghe's head ache, which was obviously beyond the range that Min Yuanxiu could usually control.

Here, his superpowers became noticeably stronger.

"The Garrison Commander... who is this?"

"gap."

The one who answered the question was Ji Xianliang, whose voice, though soft, carried a serious tone.

"A gap?" Wang Qinghe asked. "What gap?"

His ignorance prompted Ji Xianliang to sneer.

"The gap in Zhongzhou."

Wang Qinghe came from a prominent family and held an important position in the Kaiping Division. He was not ignorant of the world. Upon hearing this, he finally realized what was going on and his body trembled.

"How could this be? This is the heart of the Central Plains. If there's such a large breach, wouldn't it allow barbarian tribes from the foreign lands to invade?!"

Upon hearing this, a look of caution flashed in Min Yuanxiu's eyes.

Ji Xianliang pointed and said, "Gu Caiwei is inside. They hid her here, but I didn't expect Gu Jingnian to still be able to find her... Let's go."

He had planned to go outside the city tonight to capture Gu Jingnian, but he received the news at the last minute and rushed to the palace, which was indeed unexpected.

"Godfather, I'll go take care of my errands now."

Ji Xianliang bowed to Eunuch Xu, walked ahead, and was the first to enter the gap.

Min Yuanxiu then followed with a few of his men.

Wang Qinghe glanced back and saw that Eunuch Xu was still standing there, playing with his whisk, looking as if nothing was of his concern.

Perhaps, in Eunuch Xu's eyes, this was such a trivial matter that it was not up to him to personally handle it.

This wasn't Pei Nian's first time here; she had just been blindfolded before.

Beyond the crevice in the boulder, a thin curtain of light shone like a screen. Passing through the light, the view shifted, and the scene before me was clearly different.

It's daytime here, and it's springtime; the vegetation is lush, and the sun is shining brightly.

Looking up, there was a stone staircase leading upwards.

Climbing the steps, at the end there is another vermilion palace gate, with two stone sculptures standing on either side of the gate.

The stone sculpture depicts two imposing generals, each stepping on two evil spirits.

"Ji Xianliang, the Northern Garrison Commander of Kaiping Division, requests an audience!"

As Ji Xianliang shouted, the palace gates opened, and rows of stone sculptures stood on both sides of the palace road.

The crowd filed into the palace, while the stone sculptures on both sides remained silent.

The layout of this palace is roughly the same as that of the Bōkyō Palace, except that it is situated at a higher elevation.

"there!"

Wang Qinghe suddenly raised his hand and pointed.

In the distance, a figure was soaring towards them in the sky.

"Gu Jingnian!" Min Yuanxiu shouted, his voice echoing across the surrounding area.

The closer Gu Jingnian flew, the more startled he was by the sound. His body swayed in the air, like a bird that had been shot.

But Gu Jingnian did not back down; instead, he accelerated and swooped down toward them.

"call--"

A fireball hurtled towards the crowd.

Before the fireball could even reach them, Ji Xianliang casually waved his hand, and the fireball exploded, transforming into countless rockets that shot towards Gu Jingnian.

Gu Jingnian was hit by those rockets and instantly burst into flames, like a fiery cloud in the sky.

A whole ball of flames cascaded down like a waterfall, obscuring Gu Jingnian's body.

"Gu Jingnian!"

Min Yuanxiu roared again.

This time, Gu Jingnian did not react at all, and the fire waterfall continued to pour down on the palace.

The stone sculptures that had been standing silently came to life in an instant.

One by one, stone-carved generals leaped high into the air, brandishing their weapons as they attacked Gu Jingnian.

The evil spirits they were stepping on let out strange cries.

"He's been poisoned!" Ji Xianliang shouted. "Induce the poisoning!"

"Oh!"

One of the stone sculptures was tightly enveloped by Gu Jingnian's fiery wings, burning and shattering. After it shattered, a cloud of green mist emerged and quickly spread out.

Visibly, Gu Jingnian's fire wings began to extinguish.

But in the next moment, his figure disappeared.

"He sent his photos and left."

"compass!"

Everyone from the Kaiping Division took out their compasses and observed the direction of Gu Jingnian's teleportation.

Wang Qinghe was the first to notice something amiss, raising his gaze from the compass to the highest point of the palace.

"Chase."

The group hurried along, and after chasing for a while, Pei Nian suddenly stopped.

She deliberately lagged behind, and when the opportunity arose, she suddenly turned towards a palace and hid behind a bamboo grove.

After a while, the stone guardian statues that had been dancing wildly with demons stood up again on both sides of the road, and the palace returned to silence.

Pei Nian then came out, looked around, and then simply closed her eyes.

She didn't look at anything, but only felt the various sounds and smells around her, and walked in the direction she remembered.

The bells on the eaves rang out with a clear, crisp sound.

After hearing the sound, I walked more than ten steps to the right and could faintly smell the fragrance of flowers. After walking several dozen more steps forward, I would reach the place where Gu Caiwei was being held.

Pei Nian kept repeating this to herself as she walked.

“Gu Jingnian, come find me… Gu Jingnian, come find me… Your older sister is here…”

Suddenly, she tripped and almost fell.

Opening his eyes, he saw an inconspicuous palace garden in front of him, with its vermilion gates tightly locked and several guards standing by the gate.

"who?"

A cold shout rang out, and someone with a knife in hand approached Pei Nian.

But before Pei Nian could respond, the man's tone changed again, from wary to respectful.

"Regarding Pei Ji?"

Pei Nian looked over and said in surprise, "You Gui? You're still here?"

She truly hadn't expected that after going through so much, You Gui would still gain the trust of the Kaiping Division and become Gu Caiwei's guard.

"I've been here the whole time, investigating."

Yu Gui's appearance hasn't changed much, except that he looks much more composed and reliable.

Perhaps the reason the Kaiping Division kept him on to continue his duties was because of his calm and composed demeanor.

Of course, this is not Zhongzhou, so even if You Gui wanted to inform Gu Jingnian, he couldn't.

A glint flashed in Pei Nian's eyes. Without reminiscing, he said, "Gu Jingnian has arrived. I have been ordered by the Garrison Commander to take charge of matters here."

Having said that, she raised her token, not caring whether others saw it clearly or not, and put it directly into her bosom. Raising her voice and exuding an imposing aura, she loudly proclaimed, "Listen to my orders!"

Yu Gui was taken aback, his eyes darted around, and he replied loudly, "Yes!"

He followed behind Pei Nian with a bow, just as he always had.

Pei Nian strode towards the palace garden, worried that he would be stopped by the guards. However, You Gui waved his hand, and the guards opened the palace garden gates directly.

She walked straight in, turned the corner in the lobby, and heard the sound of a child crying.

(End of this chapter)