I was a mineral prospector in Chengdu, who transmigrated into the body of a mortal sword immortal.

The night was as dark as ink, and the walls of Qujiang Pool cast long shadows under the moonlight. Li Bai and Duan Qiniang stopped a hundred paces from the gap in the southeast corner, hiding behind a tree to observe. The wall was quiet, save for the rustling of the reeds in the wind and the occasional croaking of frogs from the distant pond. Duan Qiniang pointed in the direction of the gap and whispered, "That's it. I'll wait for you here for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn." Li Bai nodded, his figure darting out like a cat, reaching the foot of the wall in a few leaps. He pushed aside the weeds, squeezed through the gap, and felt the cool bricks brush against his clothes, carrying the damp scent of earth. Before him stretched an endless expanse of reeds, undulating in the night wind like black waves.

Li Bai took out snake repellent from his pocket and sprinkled it on his clothes and cuffs. The powder, carrying the pungent smell of realgar mixed with the earthy stench, filled his nostrils. He crouched down and slowly extended his spiritual sense outwards.

Ten zhang, twenty zhang, fifty zhang...

There was no sign of life in the reeds, only a few night birds startled and fluttering into the air. In the distance, there was the faint sound of fish leaping on the water. Further away, from the direction of the main gate of Qujiang Pool, came the faint sound of a clapper—the time signal from patrolling soldiers.

Safety.

Li Bai stood up and raised his true energy to its peak. The Azure Lotus Sword Intent flowed through his meridians, like a clear spring washing over his limbs and bones. His senses became exceptionally sharp—he could hear the subtle sound of reeds rubbing together, distinguish the scents coming from different directions in the night wind, and feel the softness of the soil beneath his feet.

He stepped into the reeds.

The reeds were taller than a person, dense and thick, their blades sharp as knives. Li Bai carefully parted the reeds, trying not to make a sound. Beneath his feet was soft mud, sinking half an inch with each step, making a soft "plop." The scent of snake repellent permeated the reeds, and several water snakes lurking in the mud smelled it and quickly swam away, creating a series of tiny ripples.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the reeds gradually thinned out, and an open space appeared ahead.

That is the apricot grove by Qujiang Pool.

It was early summer, and the apricot trees had long since finished blooming. Their branches and leaves were lush, casting dappled shadows in the moonlight. In the center of the apricot grove was a clearing with several blue stones for visitors to rest on. And at the edge of the clearing, near the pond, stood a tall willow tree.

Willow branches drooped down, swaying gently in the night breeze.

Li Bai did not go over immediately.

He stopped at the edge of the reeds, squatted behind a clump of dense reeds, held his breath, and pushed his spiritual sense to its limit.

The apricot grove was very quiet.

It's too quiet.

There were no chirping insects, no birdsong, and even the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves seemed deliberate. Li Bai closed his eyes, concentrating all his attention on his senses. The Azure Lotus Sword Intent, like an invisible net, slowly spread out, covering an area with a radius of thirty feet centered on him.

one two Three……

There was no sign of human presence behind the apricot tree, under the bluestone, or even in the canopy of the willow tree.

But Li Bai's heart sank.

Because it's too clean.

This apricot grove is a famous scenic spot in Qujiang Pool, bustling with tourists on weekdays, and even at night, it's often frequented by scholars and poets who drink and compose poetry. A place like this couldn't possibly be completely devoid of even a single night bird or insect. Unless… someone cleared it out beforehand.

Remove all living things that could potentially reveal their presence.

Li Bai took a deep breath, gathering his true energy by a third, making his breath even fainter. He slowly rose from the reeds, not heading directly towards the willow tree, but instead moving silently along the edge of the apricot grove, using the shadows of the trees as cover.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the ground. Li Bai's shadow blended into these patterns, almost indistinguishable. His footsteps were extremely light, making only a soft rustling sound on the fallen leaves, mingling with the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

He circled around halfway, approaching the willow tree from the other side of the apricot grove.

When he was still ten feet away from the willow tree, he stopped again and hid behind a sturdy apricot tree.

There was no one under the willow tree.

The appointed hour of midnight hadn't arrived yet, but if the other party truly wanted to meet, they should have arrived early, or at least sent someone to check the surroundings. But right now, besides himself, there was no sign of any living thing around the willow tree.

The possibility of a trap has increased further.

Li Bai took out a copper coin from his pocket and flicked it with his finger.

The copper coin sliced ​​through the air with a slight whooshing sound, landing on the grass under the willow tree with a soft "ding".

The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet apricot grove.

No response.

Li Bai waited a while longer, making sure there was no one lying in ambush around him, before stepping out from behind the tree and slowly walking towards the willow.

He walked slowly with each step, his consciousness constantly extended outward, alert to any disturbance.

He stopped under the willow tree and looked up at the moon.

The moon has risen high in the sky, its cool light bathing the earth. Midnight is approaching.

Li Bai stood under the willow tree, leaning against the trunk and facing the apricot grove. This way, he could observe the direction of approaching people and use the willow tree and the Qujiang Pool behind him to escape at any time. He placed his right hand on the broken sword in his sleeve, and held a green signal flare in his left hand.

Time passes little by little.

In the distance came the sound of the watchman striking his clapper—it was midnight.

He was still all alone under the willow tree.

A night breeze blew, and willow branches brushed against his cheeks, carrying coolness and moisture. The pond water shimmered under the moonlight, and occasionally a fish leaped out, splashing tiny droplets. The air was filled with the mixed scent of water plants and earth, and a faint floral fragrance—the scent of newly opened lotus flowers in the distant pond.

Li Bai's heart sank.

Could it really be a trap? The other party had no intention of showing themselves; they just wanted to lure him here, and then…

Just then, his divine sense detected something unusual.

It's not from the direction of Xinglin, nor from the direction of the reed marshes.

It's from the water's surface.

Beneath the surface of Qujiang Pool, a faint presence is approaching.

Li Bai's pupils contracted slightly, and his true energy instantly surged to its limit. The Azure Lotus Sword Intent coursed through his meridians, ready to erupt at any moment. He stared intently at the water's surface, his right hand already gripping the hilt of the broken sword.

The water rippled.

A dark shadow slowly rose from the water, about three zhang away from the shore.

The dark shape was small, unlike an adult. After it surfaced, it didn't immediately go ashore, but stayed there, seemingly observing.

Li Bai did not move or make a sound.

A moment later, the dark figure began to swim towards the shore. Its movements were very light, almost silent. Moonlight shone on the water, and Li Bai finally saw clearly—it was a figure draped in a black cloak, petite in stature, resembling a woman or child.

The figure swam to the shore, grabbed the water plants, and struggled to climb ashore.

The cloak was soaked through, clinging tightly to the body and outlining a slender figure. After reaching the shore, the figure did not immediately pull off the hood, but instead squatted on the bank, panting heavily, clearly having expended a great deal of energy during the underwater swim.

His breathing was very soft, with a suppressed tremor.

Li Bai remained motionless.

The figure, catching his breath, finally stood up and walked towards the willow tree. His steps were light, but somewhat unsteady, clearly indicating exhaustion. When he was about five steps away from the willow tree, the figure stopped, looked up, and gazed at Li Bai.

The moonlight shone on that face hidden by the hood, revealing only a pale chin.

"Is this...Young Master Li?" A trembling female voice rang out, soft and moist.

Li Bai did not answer, but just stared at her.

The figure seemed somewhat anxious and stepped forward again: "Young Master Li, I am... I am someone from Miss's side."

Miss?

Li Bai's heart skipped a beat, but he remained vigilant: "Which lady?"

"Miss Yang... Miss Yang." The voice was even softer, almost carried away by the wind, "Miss Yuhuan."

Li Bai gripped the sword hilt tightly: "Proof."

The figure hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised its hand and pulled down its hood.

The moonlight shone on that face.

It was a pretty face, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features, a straight nose, and lips slightly purple from the cold. Her wet hair clung to her cheeks, water droplets dripping from the ends. Her eyes were large, and as she looked at Li Bai, they quickly reddened.

Li Bai recognized the face.

Before Yang Yuhuan entered the palace, she was always accompanied by a young maid named Xiaolian. He had seen her at several banquets; she always stood quietly behind Yang Yuhuan, with her head bowed and eyes downcast, rarely speaking.

"Xiao Lian?" Li Bai asked tentatively.

The maid nodded vigorously, tears finally streaming down her face. "It's...it's me. Young Master Li, it really is you!"

She took two steps forward, seemingly wanting to get closer, but then stopped, looked around warily, and lowered her voice: "Miss... Miss asked me to find a way to tell you something."

Seeing her soaked clothes and pale face, Li Bai's vigilance eased slightly, but he remained wary: "How did you get out of the water?"

"To avoid being watched," Xiaolian's voice trembled with tears, "Miss was locked in the building, surrounded by Imperial Guards. Not even a fly could get in. I took the opportunity of going out to buy groceries to get out today, but people were following me the whole time. I circled around several streets, and finally jumped into Qujiang Pool and swam underwater to shake them off."

As she spoke, her body began to tremble uncontrollably; she was clearly cold and afraid.

Li Bai took out a tinderbox from his pocket, but didn't light it; he just held it in his hand: "You said Yang Guifei asked you to deliver a message. What did she say?"

Xiaolian carefully pulled an oiled paper package from her soaked cloak and opened it. It was wrapped in several layers of oiled paper, with a neatly folded letter inside. The letter itself was also wrapped in oiled paper and wasn't wet.

"This is a letter written by Miss herself." Xiaolian handed the letter to Li Bai, her hand still trembling. "Miss said she insisted on giving it to you personally."

Li Bai took the letter but didn't open it immediately. Instead, he looked at Xiao Lian and asked, "Is she alright?"

Xiaolian's tears welled up again: "It's not good... not good at all. After the banquet that day, Miss was taken back to her residence, and the guards outside were doubled. They weren't even allowed to open the windows. Anyone who brought food or water had to go through strict checks. Miss didn't speak all day, just sat by the window in a daze, and sometimes... sometimes she would secretly cry."

Her voice choked with emotion: "Miss said she didn't want to go to the palace; she was scared. The palace maids taught her manners, and she would be scolded for the slightest mistake. Sometimes they would even hit her palms with a ruler. Miss's hands... were all swollen."

Li Bai clenched his fist.

"What else did she say?"

"Miss said..." Xiaolian wiped away her tears, trying to keep her voice steady, "She said she was sorry to you. That day at the banquet, she didn't dare look at you, didn't dare speak to you, because there were eyes all around. She said she knew you would come looking for her, but she didn't want you to take the risk. This letter... this letter contains all her innermost thoughts, and... and her experiences before and after entering the palace."

She paused, lowering her voice even further: "Miss also said that it wasn't the Emperor's idea to send her to the palace, but... it was the idea of ​​Prime Minister Li and Lord Yang. They said that Miss's beauty is unparalleled in the world, an auspicious omen, and should be presented to the Emperor. Miss's father... Lord Yang... he agreed."

Li Bai's breathing became heavy.

Li Linfu. Yang Xuanzhen.

It really was them.

"Anything else?" His voice was a little hoarse.

"And..." Xiaolian was about to continue when her expression suddenly changed, and she abruptly turned to look into the depths of the apricot grove.

Li Bai heard it too.

Footsteps.

Numerous footsteps echoed from all directions of the apricot grove, hurried and orderly, clearly belonging to well-trained individuals. Interspersed among the footsteps were the faint clanging of metal—weapons.

A flame lit up.

A dozen torches emerged from the depths of the apricot grove, quickly converging towards the willow trees. The flickering flames illuminated the cold, hard faces of the men—all dressed in black, with swords at their waists and sharp eyes.

"Run!" Xiao Lian's face turned deathly pale as she grabbed Li Bai's sleeve. "They've found me! Young Master Li, run!"

Li Bai tucked the letter into his robes, then grabbed Xiao Lian's wrist: "Come with me!"

He grabbed Xiaolian and turned to rush towards the Qujiang Pool.

We came from the water, so we must go back to the water—that's the only way out right now.

But just as they reached the water's edge, the water suddenly burst open!

Three dark figures shot into the sky from underwater, creating a spray of water. In the moonlight, the three men's hands gleamed with a cold light—the Water-Splitting Daggers!

Xiaolian wasn't the only one lying in ambush in the water.

Li Bai's pupils contracted sharply. With a sudden flick of his left hand, three copper coins shot out, whistling through the air, aiming straight for the three men's faces. At the same time, his right hand drew his broken sword, unleashing the Azure Lotus Sword Intent, and a sharp sword aura swept out.

"Clang clang clang!"

The copper coin was knocked away by the water-splitting dagger, but the sword energy had already arrived.

The three men were clearly caught off guard by Li Bai's swift reaction and the incredibly sharp sword energy. In their haste, they could only raise their spears to parry.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Three muffled thuds rang out, and the three were sent flying backward by the sword energy, crashing heavily into the water and splashing up huge sprays.

But this delay allowed the pursuers to close in.

"There it is!"

"Grab him!"

"Don't let that maid get away!"

Shouts and cries erupted, and the torchlight illuminated the area around the willow tree as if it were daytime. Li Bai glanced around and saw that there were more than twenty pursuers, who had surrounded the area in a fan shape and blocked the path to the reeds. On the water, the three men in black who had been thrown back by the blast had resurfaced and were swimming towards the shore.

Pursuers were ahead, and enemies at sea were behind.

Xiao Lian trembled with fear, clutching Li Bai's sleeve tightly: "Young Master Li... what should we do..."

Li Bai did not answer.

His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, his brain working at lightning speed.

Force their way in? The enemy numbers are too large, and they are clearly elite; a direct assault offers little chance of success. Dive into the water? There are ambushes in the water, and Xiaolian is too exhausted to swim fast. Signal fireworks? Duan Qiniang is waiting outside, but she's too far away; by the time she sees the signal and gets there, it will probably be too late.

There is only one way.

Li Bai took a deep breath and pushed his true energy to its limit. The Azure Lotus Sword Intent surged and roared through his meridians, and his eyes gleamed with a faint azure light under the moonlight.

"Hold me tight," he said to Xiaolian.

Xiao Lian was stunned and hadn't reacted yet when Li Bai had already pulled her into his arms, his left hand forming a hand seal and his right hand holding the broken sword high.

"Blue Lotus—Open!"

With a low shout, a dazzling blue light erupted from the broken sword. The light was so intense that it resembled a blue moon rising beneath the willow tree, causing the pursuers to squint.

In that instant, Li Bai moved.

He neither charged at the pursuers nor jumped into the water.

Instead, it rushed towards the willow tree.

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Li Bai, carrying Xiao Lian, crashed headfirst into the tall willow tree.

But just as they were about to collide, his figure suddenly blurred, as if merging into the moonlight and the shadows of the trees. The next moment, the two vanished into thin air in front of the willow tree.

"What?!"

Where are they?!

The pursuers rushed to the willow tree, their torches illuminating the scene, but all they saw was empty grass and swaying willow branches. The willow tree stood there silently, its bark rough and its trunk sturdy, offering no place for anyone to hide.

"Search! Search them!" roared a man in black who appeared to be the leader. "They must be hiding nearby! Dig three feet into the ground to find them!"

The torchlight flickered through the apricot grove, accompanied by a cacophony of footsteps and shouts. The men in black began a meticulous search of every tree and every stone; some even waded into the water to search the area around the willow trees.

But they couldn't find it.

Because Li Bai and Xiao Lian are standing right now in the heart of the willow tree.

No, it's not the heartwood.

Instead, it is a narrow space hidden inside the trunk of a willow tree.

The space was small, barely enough for two people to stand. The surrounding walls were rough tree trunks, exuding the distinctive fragrance of wood and the damp, musty smell. A sliver of light shone down from above, moonlight filtering through a tiny hole in the tree trunk.

Xiao Lian clung tightly to Li Bai's chest, her body still trembling, but she had stopped crying. Her eyes widened as she looked around in disbelief: "Where...where am I?"

"The hollow willow tree," Li Bai said softly, his voice echoing in the narrow space. "I discovered it during the day when I was surveying the terrain. This willow tree is very old; the inside of its trunk is rotten and hollow, but it's not visible from the outside. The entrance is at the base of the tree, covered by weeds and moss."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "However, this space was originally very small, so I used some methods to expand it a bit."

Xiao Lian didn't understand what "methods" meant, but she could sense that Young Master Li was different from before. That beam of blue light just now, and the ability to disappear into thin air, were not things that ordinary people could do.

The sound of footsteps and shouts from men in black could be heard outside, very close, right around the willow tree.

"Search carefully! We must get that letter back!"

"Prime Minister Li said, 'I want to see the person alive or dead!'"

"Especially that maid, we absolutely cannot let her get away!"

Xiaolian was so frightened that she held her breath and didn't dare to make a sound.

Li Bai remained calm. He extended his divine sense to perceive the situation outside. There were twenty-three men in black, three of whom possessed strong auras and were likely their leaders. They had searched thoroughly, but clearly hadn't expected the person to be hiding in the tree.

Time passes little by little.

The search outside lasted for about fifteen minutes, and the men in black began to get anxious.

"Boss, I can't find it."

"Did they dive and run away?"

"We've searched the water too, but there's nothing there."

"That letter... if we can't get it back, we won't be able to explain it to Prime Minister Li."

The leader of the men in black was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "Run? They can't escape. A net has been laid around Qujiang Pool; unless they can fly or disappear into the ground, they won't be able to escape."

He paused, then raised his voice: "Send the order down to seal off all exits and search every inch of the road! I refuse to believe they can simply vanish into thin air!"

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the men in black began to expand their search to the outskirts of the apricot grove.

Inside the willow tree space, Xiao Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief, her body going limp, almost collapsing. Li Bai supported her, whispering, "Hold on a little longer, until they're a bit further away."

Xiao Lian nodded, leaned against the tree wall, and asked breathlessly, "Young Master Li... what do we do now?"

Li Bai did not answer immediately.

He took the letter from his pocket. The envelope, wrapped in oiled paper, seemed especially precious in the cramped space. He didn't open it, but simply ran his fingers over the surface of the envelope, as if he could feel the warmth and tears of that girl through the paper.

"Leave here first," he said. "Then, read this letter."

"How do we leave?" Xiaolian asked. "The outside is full of their people."

Li Bai looked up at the sliver of light overhead.

"Go up from there."