My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Mount Rokko is covered in ice and snow year-round, and the ice blocks appear to be extremely hard.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

Qu Zhili was standing on the edge of a cliff when, without paying attention, the ice beneath her feet shattered, and she slipped and fell off the cliff.

Qu Zhili screamed, "Your Highness, save me!"

Li Chenggan had not expected such a change to occur.

He quickly swung the grappling hook and secured it to the cliff face.

Then, without hesitation, he jumped down the rope with a "whoosh".

Qu Zhili was in the air when her body rapidly fell to the ground.

In a moment of quick thinking, she drew her sword and plunged it into the smooth, mirror-like cliff face.

Grasp the sword hilt with your right hand to stabilize your body.

She looked down and saw a sheer cliff below; if she were to fall, she would be instantly shattered to pieces.

She felt a wave of dizziness and dared not look anymore.

Just then, Li Chengan climbed down the rope and grabbed Qu Zhili's waist.

Qu Zhili collapsed into Li Chengqian's arms: "Your Highness, you are so brave."

Li Chengan steadied himself: "Don't panic, draw your sword, and I'll take you up!"

Upon hearing this, Qu Zhili drew the sword.

Li Chengan wrapped the rope around Qu Zhili's body.

With a quick effort, Li Chengan leaped up the rope, making three or two bounds, and landed on the cliff.

The two reached the top of the cliff.

Li Chengan was also exhausted, after all, Qu Zhili was a martial artist and not light in weight.

Li Chengan was panting for a long time when he found that Qu Zhili was still hiding in his arms, hugging him tightly with her eyes slightly closed.

"Princess, you are safe now."

Qu Zhili then opened her eyes, loosened her grip, and blushed: "Your Highness, thank you so much just now. If it weren't for you, I would have fallen."

"Why are you being so polite? If I should thank you, it's you who should thank me for accompanying me up the mountain to search for the Snow Lotus Mushroom."

With me here, how could I let you fall?

but,

From now on, we need to be careful.

You wrap the other end of the rope around yourself.

"Understood, Your Highness!"

Qu Zhili gently smoothed her wind-blown hair with her hand.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Li Chenggan shivered, only then realizing that a strong wind had picked up.

Moreover, snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

"Your Highness, it's snowing!" Qu Zhili pointed to the sky.

Li Chengan stretched out his right hand, palm up, and sure enough, a few snowflakes fell down and quickly melted.

Li Chengan looked up at the sky, his worries only growing.

He thought that if the snow fell, the snow lingzhi would be buried under the snow, making it even more difficult to find.

Li Chenggan was very anxious.

He said to Qu Zhili, "Let's hurry up and find the Snow Lingzhi."

"If we wait until dark, and then it snows heavily all night, we won't be able to see anything. How will we find it then?"

Qu Zhili comforted Li Chengan: "Your Highness, don't worry, I believe we will find the Snow Lingzhi soon."

"I hope so."

The two people were hiking on a cliff face.

but,

Unfortunately,

About an hour later, they still hadn't found anything.

Li Chengan couldn't help but feel a little discouraged: "It seems that Sun Simiao was just fooling me. Where on Mount Liujia is there any snow lingzhi?"

There isn't a single bird here; it's a place where even birds don't lay their eggs.

"Your Highness, you can't say that."

I think Sun Simiao is very reliable; he never lies. Don't rush, let's keep searching.

Actually, even though Ju Zhili said that, she wasn't sure herself.

She didn't know if she could find it at all.

Just at this time,

suddenly,

A strange, grating laugh came from above, a sound that was both jarring and familiar.

Li Chengan and Qu Zhili were both taken aback.

They looked up and saw a person sitting cross-legged on the summit.

He was dressed in a baggy black shaman's robe and wore a hat.

His face was covered in wrinkles, and he looked like a skeleton.

That person was none other than the Blue Bharadvaja.

When Li Chengan saw this, he thought to himself, "What a small world!"

No matter where you go, you'll run into this old hag.

Li Chengan stopped, raised his head and straightened his chest, and asked, "Blue Rakshasa, what are you doing here?"

The blue Rakshasa woman stopped laughing, holding a single-pronged vajra in her right hand: "I've been watching here for quite a while now, and I've finally figured it out."

"What did you understand?"

"I originally thought the Crown Prince of Tang was a man of great affection and righteousness, but I never expected him to be flirting with the Princess of Gaochang here."

But come to think of it, you two are really a perfect match.

A prince and a princess, they're a match made in heaven!

Li Chengan coiled the rope around his shoulder and pointed at her, saying, "Blue Rakshasa, what nonsense are you spouting at your age?"

The blue Rakshasa woman stood up: "Li Chenggan, you dared to do it, don't you dare to admit it?"

Am I, an old woman, blind?

Did I see it wrong?

Just now, I clearly saw you two being all lovey-dovey, inseparable.

It's broad daylight, and there's no tatami mat.

If it were nighttime and there were a tatami mat here, I bet the two of you would have gotten down to business on it.

"Shut up!" Li Chengan roared, veins bulging on his forehead. "You wretch, Lan Poluosha, I should have arrested you long ago and sent you to Chang'an to be punished according to the law!"

However, considering your advanced age, I've repeatedly been unable to bring myself to harm you.

but,

But you persist and won't let go.

Do you think I'm easy to bully?

The Blue Rakshasa woman sneered: "You don't need to say such nice things. I am the one who is most clear about gratitude and resentment. Do you still remember the last time in Chang'an?"

You two lured me out with a centipede.

then,

Two people are beating up an old woman like me.

Li Chengan drew his Qinggang sword and roared, "You deserved to be hit!"

"I was caught off guard and was injured by the sword energy of the two of you."

That hateful Sun Simiao! I went to him, begging him to cure my illness.

But he absolutely refused.

I was furious and wanted to kill him, but you and Qin Ying arrived just then.

I am seriously injured and no match for you.

I heard that someone in the Japanese kingdom can heal my injuries, so I had no choice but to cross the sea again and come to this Japanese kingdom.

Luckily, I survived and my sword wound was healed.

Today, it's time to settle this score.

"You were doing just fine in Yanqi, but you came to Chang'an to cause trouble."

What exactly is the relationship between you and Consort Yan?

Why are you trying to sow discord between Consort Yan and my mother?

This time,

Consort Yan actually went to my mother's palace and made a huge scene, which made my mother so angry that she vomited blood.

He's still unconscious, and all of this is thanks to you!

I haven't settled this score with you yet.

Qu Zhili spat at the blue-robed demon woman: "Sun Simiao is a highly respected divine physician, how could he treat someone as filthy as you?"

Upon hearing this, the Blue Rakshasa woman's face trembled with anger.

Li Chengqian stared intently at the Blue Rakshasa woman: "You came to the Wa Kingdom to seek medical treatment and preserve your life, that's one thing, but what kind of agreement did you reach with King Shuming?"

You Yanqi and the Wa people want to join forces to attack the Tang Dynasty from both sides, is that right?

You've really got a clever plan in store for yourself.

Let me tell you,

"With me here, your schemes will not succeed."

The blue wrathful woman chuckled strangely: "You only know one side of the story, not the other."

I came here partly for medical treatment.

On the other hand, I am developing a poison that can kill people silently.

Today I'm going to test you two out.

As the blue wrathful woman finished speaking, she took out a package from her bosom.

She opened the package, and inside was a purplish-black scorpion.

The scorpion was several times larger than a normal scorpion, and its back glowed, making it look quite eerie.

The scorpion crawled around on the palm of the blue wrathful woman's hand.

The scorpion's tail was held high.

The two large clamps in front waved incessantly, as if ready to strike at any moment.

The blue Rakshasa woman sneered: "Do you know what this is?"

Qu Zhili retorted, "Isn't this a scorpion?"

"Yes, it's a scorpion, but it's different from a regular scorpion."

It is exceptionally large and of a different color; this type of scorpion's venom is several times more potent than that of a regular scorpion.

Its name is the Giant Scorpion of the East Sea.

"No matter who it is, once they get stung by it, even a god can't save them." The Blue Rakshasa woman said smugly, as if she were proclaiming her research results to Li Chenggan and Qu Zhili.

"You're such a monster, always hanging out with centipedes or scorpions."

No wonder no man liked you when you were young.

The saying goes, "Don't expose someone's shortcomings," and Lan Po Rakshasa's emotional life back then was also very frustrating.

Upon hearing Qu Zhili's words, she immediately became annoyed and let out a strange laugh.

Qu Zhili noticed that the scars on her face trembled incessantly with her laughter, making them look extremely ferocious and terrifying.

The wind was still blowing, and the snow was falling heavier and heavier, with snowflakes dancing in the air like goose feathers.

Blue Rakshasa threw the giant scorpion at Qu Zhili.

Qu Zhili felt a wave of nausea and her scalp tingled.

She drew her sword and with one stroke, she cut the giant scorpion to the ground.

The blue Rakshasa woman looked down and became even more enraged: "Fine, you've killed my precious one!"

Do you know how much money I spent on this giant scorpion?

You better pay me back right now!

"What am I supposed to compensate?"

"I'd rather sit with you for a while!"

"You've really gone too far!"

To Li Chengqian's surprise, the giant scorpion that the Blue Rakshasa woman had just pulled out was only one of them.

Who knows how many giant scorpions were hidden inside her witch's robe.

Enraged, the Blue Rakshasa woman decided to go all out.

She took out all the giant scorpions hidden in her witch's clothes, a hundred or two, and threw them at Li Chengan and Qu Zhili.

Li Chengan quickly brandished his Qinggang sword, creating a protective barrier around his body.

Caught off guard, Qu Zhili managed to cut down 99% of the scorpions she threw at her, sending them crashing to the ground.

However, one giant scorpion managed to slip through the net and stung her right arm.

The giant scorpion's hook, like an awl, was embedded in Qu Zhili's right arm.

Qu Zhili shook her head three times, but couldn't shake it off: "Your Highness, I've been stung."

Li Chengan killed all the giant scorpions.

He heard Qu Zhili's voice, turned around quickly, and was startled.

He swung his sword and thrust it towards the left shoulder of the Blue Bharadvaja.

Seeing that she had succeeded, the Rakshasa woman knew that continuing the fight might not bring her any advantage.

She stepped back more than ten feet, quickly raised a kite, and then, incredibly, jumped off the cliff.

Li Chengan followed closely to the edge of the cliff, leaned down to look down,

The Blue Bharadvaja flew smoothly.

Li Chengan thought to himself that this old witch had been prepared all along.

Li Chengan wanted to catch up with the Blue Rakshasa, but it was too late, so he had no choice but to let her fly away.

Li Chengan approached Qu Zhili and noticed that her right arm was suddenly swollen.

Moreover, her once delicate arms suddenly turned purplish-black.

Li Chenggan understood that this was a consequence of the giant scorpion's extremely potent venom.

Li Chengan quickly tore a piece of cloth from his clothes and tied it around Qu Zhili's right arm to prevent the poison gas from affecting her heart.

Looking at Qu Zhili's expression, she was in great pain, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down her forehead.

Li Chengqian decisively grabbed Qu Zhili's arm and sucked the venom from her wound with his mouth.

In fact, the risks Li Chenggan took in doing this were quite significant.

However, at this point, Li Chenggan couldn't care less about anything else.

He couldn't just watch Qu Zhili die.

Li Chengan sucked out a mouthful of purplish-black blood and spat it onto the snow.

"Your Highness, am I about to die?" Qu Zhili asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't talk nonsense! With me here, I will never let you die!"

Li Chengan kept sucking on the wound until bright red blood flowed out, then he stopped.

Even so, Qu Zhili turned pale and gradually lost consciousness, unable to open her eyes.

Li Chengan knew that with the weather so cold, he absolutely could not let Qu Zhili fall asleep.

He hugged Qu Zhili: "Princess, don't fall asleep!"

"Your Highness, I...I'm afraid I really can't make it!"

"You'll be alright."

"I'm going to die anyway. Before I die, I have one last request, is that alright?"

At this moment, Li Chenggan felt extremely guilty.

He wondered what Qu Zhili was after.

They came to help me find the Snow Lingzhi.

If Qu Zhili loses her life this time, how can I face her?

How will I explain this to her parents when I meet them in the future?

"Just tell me what you want."

"Can I have a kiss from you?"

"This—," Li Chengan choked, because he hadn't expected Qu Zhili to make such a request, "Could we change it to something else?"

"No, I only have one request: kiss me. Even if I die, I'll be at peace." Qu Zhili looked at Li Chenggan with her beautiful eyes.

Seeing the intense longing in Qu Zhili's eyes, Li Chengan was torn.

After thinking it over and over, and seeing that no one was around, Li Chengan kissed Qu Zhili on the forehead.

"Your Highness, you're so kind. Hold me tight, I'm so cold!" Qu Zhili murmured.

Since Li Chengan had just given his outer garment to Su Wan, he had no extra clothes left to take off.

He could only hug Qu Zhili and try his best to warm her with his own body.