Chapter 147: Entering the Scholar's Paper

Shuyu chose to follow Gu Yi almost unconditionally, completely pushing the matter of helping Her Majesty out of her mind. Besides, the Empress hadn't given her any signal to begin with.

At this time in the imperial palace, most remote areas were deserted. The majority of people had gone to protect the emperor, though naturally, some bold individuals wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape the palace.

There were quite a few people clutching bundles tightly while running desperately through the heavy rain.

They were terrified upon seeing Gu Yi, as he clearly did not look like an ordinary person, but Gu Yi simply ignored them.

The whereabouts of the talent paper was what concerned Gu Yi the most.

"To the left is the inner palace, and the right wing is the Eastern Palace. The Eastern Palace has no master and should be empty right now." Shuyu was familiar with the layout.

However, location wasn't the main issue at the moment.

If they went straight down the middle, the area directly ahead seemed to be the epicenter of the battle, where spiritual energy fluctuations were the most intense.

"I'll take the left, you take the right. Make some noise if you spot anyone suspicious. No matter how large the imperial palace is, we can cross it in an instant." Gu Yi's arrangement was quite reasonable.

Yet Shuyu seemed reluctant. She immediately grabbed Gu Yi's arm, her meaning entirely clear. Gu Yi was momentarily surprised, and finally said, "Alright, let's go together."

"I really am something else—drifting from Luyang to the Great Rain Palace, and then from the Great Rain Palace to Xiaqiu. And that's not even the most impressive part; the most impressive part is that I managed to abduct a young lady and bring her home."

Shuyu said, "I wasn't abducted by you."

In short, this journey of drifting was filled with surprises at every turn.

He hoped there would be surprises here as well.

"There's a ghost! There's a ghost!"

Not far along the left path, Gu Yi heard someone shouting, the voice shrill and trembling with terror.

He stepped forward, grabbed a man, slapped him across the face with a loud *crack*, and demanded, "Calm down! What's going on? Where is there a ghost?!"

Gu Yi wanted to snap him out of it and make him realize that he was looking at a living person.

But the scoundrel somehow caught sight of Shuyu, immediately scrambled over, and dropped to his knees. "Fairy, Fairy! There's a ghost over there, save me, Fairy!"

Gu Yi: "..."

Did people really think that being extremely good-looking meant you could do whatever you wanted?

Shuyu maintained a dignified composure. She asked softly, "Do not panic. What on earth happened over there? Tell me slowly. Rest assured, your life is safe."

"Right over there, in the Huaqing Palace! There's a faceless ghost, and whoever it touches dies!"

"Huaqing Palace?" Shuyu confirmed.

"Yes! Fairy Sister, you should run too! That ghost is too terrifying!"

Of course, Shuyu didn't budge. The young eunuch didn't dare waste another second; even though Shuyu wasn't running, he had to flee for his life immediately, grabbing the nearest path.

Gu Yi stood to the side, looking slightly awkward as he dug into his ear, completely ignoring his surroundings. The bitterness in his heart was known to no one.

Sigh, a thought suddenly struck him: if things went on like this, whenever people introduced him in the future, they wouldn't call him Mr. Gu anymore, but rather Shuyu's husband?

Shuyu didn't possess such delicate thoughts; she felt none of that mattered. "Shall we go over?"

Gu Yi nodded. "Of course we're going. Let's go see what a ghost looks like; I've never seen one in all my years. But in a place this exciting, if we don't call that long-legged cat, he'll throw a tantrum later and complain that we didn't tell him there was a fight to be had."

With that, Gu Yi flicked his palm slightly, manifesting spiritual energy into a talisman, and tossed it into the air, where it sent out wave after wave of spiritual ripples.

Both of those beasts recognized his spiritual energy.

The journey to the Huaqing Palace went smoothly enough, but upon reaching the entrance, both of them were somewhat shocked.

Corpshes were strewn all over the ground amidst the rain. The most miraculous thing was that these bodies bore no traces of blood.

"Where's the blood?" Gu Yi found it hard to understand.

Shuyu guessed, "There were no sharp blades involved; they must have been directly crushed to death by the overwhelming pressure of spiritual energy."

Whoever had entered that door must have possessed exceptionally formidable strength.

After all, the bodies lying on the ground were not merely ordinary people, but cultivators as well.

Shuyu felt a trace of tension—not for herself, but for Gu Yi. "Be careful."

As she spoke, both of them quietly circulated their spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, to the right, at the center of the imperial palace, the clash of powerful figures still seemed to be at its height.

Gu Yi took the lead with Shuyu following closely behind. They stepped lightly into the room, but apart from luxurious furnishings and decorative items, there was no one here—only dead silence.

The room wasn't very large either.

"What is the Huaqing Palace used for?"

Shuyu replied, "Years ago, when His Majesty was still young, he studied here. Later, he moved away, and the place has been vacant ever since."

Though called a palace, it was actually just a very large room with no other doors—only this single exit. Sunlight slanted through the windows, making some areas bright and others dim.

"Did they leave, or is there a secret chamber?" Gu Yi couldn't guess.

"Let's take a look." Shuyu shifted to the right, sizing up the room.

Gu Yi had watched too many martial arts dramas, so he headed straight for the bookshelf. According to the tropes, behind these neatly bound rows of books, a mechanism might well be hidden.

Therefore, he began flipping through the books.

Shuyu found it strange. "Do you really think the talent paper would be hidden inside a book?"

"I'm not looking for the talent paper; I'm looking for a mechanism." Gu Yi remembered when he was searching for the dream paper—it had come to him on its own, meaning that when he displayed his 'talent,' these items would be attracted to it. However, wasn't the Emperor forbidding him from exposing himself? He was doing it to protect Shuyu.

"A mechanism? What kind of mechanism?"

Gu Yi smiled and said, "It's a standard plot progression trope; they're usually hidden right here. But somehow I can't find it..."

He searched up and down, and finally his eyes landed on an odd detail. "Look at the paintings hanging on the wall."

"What's wrong with the paintings?" Shuyu looked up.

"On the left is a painting of willow branches in spring, to the right is a autumn hunting scene, and further right is a winter plum blossom appreciation painting, placed in order without any disorder."

"Mmm."

"Then where is the summer one?"

"Perhaps summer hasn't been painted yet."

Gu Yi lowered his gaze to where a stack of rolled-up paintings sat neatly, and reached out to unroll one.

Shuyu made a slight motion to stop him. "Those were painted by His Majesty himself."

"It's fine, we're just taking a look, not stealing them. We'll put them right back when we're done, be a good girl."

Gu Yi unrolled it, and instantly his shock grew—it was a portrait of a person!

And it was a portrait of a woman!

However, just as he peeled it back as far as the forehead, before seeing the rest, Shuyu reacted with lightning speed, snatched the painting away, rolled it back up, and hugged it behind her like a precious treasure.

Gu Yi was baffled. "What are you doing? Let me look."

"You can't look!" Shuyu said with a hint of spoiled coyness. She returned the painting to its original spot and deliberately mixed it up with the rest of the paintings so Gu Yi couldn't find where it went, since they all looked identical from the outside and Gu Yi wasn't a cat who could track where she put it.

"You're so strange. Why won't you let me look?" Gu Yi was amused yet exasperated, completely unable to comprehend her behavior.

Shuyu provided an explanation: "The palace master is in the painting."

Gu Yi was startled. "How do you know?"

"Look at the headwear. Although I've never seen the palace master either, His Majesty is fond of her, and given such similar headwear, I'm sure it must be her."

Gu Yi still couldn't follow the logic. "So what if it's the palace master? Even if it is, I'm allowed to look."

Shuyu grew anxious. "Her forehead is exposed, the palace master isn't wearing her veil, you can't look!"

Gu Yi: "..."

"Just because of that?"

"What if you think she's prettier?"

Gu Yi wanted to burst into laughter; this young lady was simply too adorable. "Even if that were true, I, Gu Yi, am not the fickle kind of man who falls in love with every pretty face he sees. Do you really think I only like you for your appearance?"

"Well, what else?"

Gu Yi: ???

"If you thought that, wouldn't you be angry?"

Shuyu shook her head. "Why would I be angry? Mo tribe women are the prettiest, and whatever you like, I have."

She added as an afterthought, "Except for the palace master, for now."

What a fascinating train of thought.

Gu Yi shook his head. "Fine, I won't look. But aren't you curious? You've never seen her either; don't you want to know what the palace master looks like?"

Shuyu's heart fluttered at his words, sparking a shred of temptation, and she hesitated slightly. But weighing the pros and cons in her mind, compared to Gu Yi getting to see it as well, her petty curiosity didn't matter.

"I won't look! Neither of us will look!"

She was truly resolute, so Gu Yi let it go. Actually, he could have looked back when they left the Great Rain Palace, but he simply had no interest in Gu Baici.

Shuyu was quite pleased with Gu Yi's decisive choice to drop the matter. However, as she laughed, she suddenly noticed a rather strange book in the back.

The strangeness lay in the fact that it was far too dry.

Xiaqiu City had been plagued by continuous heavy rain for dozens of days now, and the moisture in the air was extremely high. Therefore, even though this place was sheltered from leaks, the humid environment still affected books and paper.

Yet that single book was bone-dry to an absurd degree.

"What is it?"

Shuyu didn't answer Gu Yi. She walked over on her own, reached out, and gently touched it. Miraculously, a ripple of spiritual energy bloomed outward.

"Is this it?" Shuyu asked with a hint of excitement.

Gu Yi noticed it too, but before he could expect it to happen so fast, as he took a step closer, he suddenly sensed an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual energy from that direction!

"Watch out!"

Before the words had even faded, a dark shadow lunged out from the book in a flash!

At that exact same instant, Gu Yi wrapped his arm around Shuyu's waist and pulled her rapidly backward!

A claw-like apparition swiped past the tip of Shuyu's nose—missing her by a mere hair's breadth!

It was truly a moment of extreme peril. Fortunately, Gu Yi's reflexes were lightning fast.

"What is that?!"

The sudden change caught Shuyu off guard. She had only ever heard stories about the talent paper, so seeing something of a similar shape had caused her to lower her guard.

Gu Yi reacted swiftly as well; that malicious wave of spiritual energy was nothing like what he had encountered with the dream paper.

"I don't know what it is, but it's definitely nothing good."

The dark shadow extracted itself from the book, growing thicker and larger until at last it formed a complete humanoid shape.

The gloomy, eerie sensation grew increasingly heavy.

"You people... what are you?" The voice was hoarse and devoid of emotion.

"Are you even human?" Gu Yi looked at his all-black attire, finding it a bit hard to figure out. "And who are you?"

The dark shadow extended its right hand, which was shockingly silver in color. He pulled back his black hood, revealing the appearance of an old man with a full head of silver hair. "Knowing who I am is of no use to you. You don't look like people from the palace either. Since nothing is amiss here, we shall part ways."

Seeing him turn to leave, Gu Yi spoke up: "Hold on!"

"What is it?"

Gu Yi said, "You don't need to play the part of an innocent bystander. When you ambushed Shuyu just now, you were vicious and ruthless—you clearly intended to kill one and then deal with the other. Now that your sneak attack failed, you want to make a clean getaway? You can't expect to have things all your own way in this world, can you?"

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Then what do you want? Do you intend to start a fight with old man here?"

"I'm not afraid of a fight, but you almost hurt someone of mine. Did you really think I'd just let you walk away without a word?"

"Ignorant child."

The old man suddenly unleashed a massive surge of black spiritual energy swirling around his body, causing his robes to flutter wildly. This intimidating aura instantly blasted apart the scrolls and famous paintings scattered across the room.

Yet Gu Yi remained unfazed by his threat. "Don't judge a book by its cover. Just because we're young, you think we're no match for you?"

He similarly cloaked himself in spiritual energy, deflecting the black miasma so it flowed around them.

"Haven't you ever heard of geniuses in this world?"

The old man was spitting mad.

He had sensed that these two youths possessed extraordinary strength, which was why he had initially tried to hide and figure out a way to slip away.

He had originally planned to lie low for a moment.

However, Shuyu had discovered him.

Thus, he changed his strategy. Just as Gu Yi had said, fighting two opponents was daunting, but he still had to find a way to survive. Therefore, his plan truly was to assassinate one first and then slowly deal with the other.

Gu Yi said, "I know. You must be the other person from the Two Peaks, and you're here for the talent paper."

"If I give it to you, will you let me go?"

Both Shuyu and Gu Yi were somewhat surprised. For him to utter such words went entirely against the usual behavior of villains.

And not only did he speak of it, he actually produced it.

In the dim room, two thin sheets of paper hovered above the old man's palm, emitting a soft white glow filled with temptation.

It was Shuyu's first time seeing them.

"So, this is the talent paper from the *Eight Records of a Rainy Night*?"

Sensing it closely, there was indeed a rather unique, pristine, and profound sensation.

"You want it? Then take it." The old man stepped forward, looking as though he were truly full of sincerity.

But Gu Yi wasn't a fool.

Such a clumsy trick to hook his prey was far too crude.

"Put it down and walk out yourself."

The old man chuckled softly, then tossed the papers into the air. "No need to be so troublesome, I'll just throw them to you."

This maneuver genuinely stunned both Shuyu and Gu Yi.

The man was surprisingly decisive.

Shuyu even reached out to catch them.

However, as the talent papers drifted closer and spiritual energy vortices began to manifest upon them, Gu Yi suddenly realized something. His expression drastically changed, and he shouted in alarm, "Shuyu, get away from them!"

Yet the warning came just a fraction too late.

As the talent papers drew near, the vortices swelled violently. In the briefest of moments, Shuyu hadn't grasped the danger; being sucked into the paper didn't feel particularly alarming.

Because the process itself wasn't dangerous.

However, Gu Yi knew that once drawn inside the paper, where they would be transported was entirely up to whoever 'held' the paper—just like when he entered the dream paper in the wooden hall of the scripture pavilion, but later emerged in the Fourth Princess's quarters.

Why?

Because the Fourth Princess had taken the dream paper away.

By the same logic, seeing that he and Shuyu were too much for him to handle, this old fellow had tossed the talent paper out. If both of them were sucked inside, danger might not be guaranteed immediately...

But this old bastard could take them all the way back to the Two Peaks' lair just by holding a single piece of paper!

That would spell real danger!

And indeed,

that was precisely the old man's plan. The desperate look on Gu Yi's face as he tried to pull Shuyu back seemed rather odd to him, though with a *swish*, both of their figures vanished entirely, sucked into the talent paper.

Still, the fact that Gu Yi had reacted a step ahead of time felt unusual.

"Who was that youth?"

*Clack.*

The talent paper lost its glow and fluttered down onto the floor.

The old man furrowed his brows in deep thought, unable to find an answer. In the end, he figured geniuses might just possess such terrifying capabilities.

Never mind, he should just take the talent paper back. Although he was no match for those two brats, once he brought it back with him, there was nothing those two could do anymore.

He raised a foot and bent down.

Mid-motion, his movement suddenly froze.

His hand never reached the floor.

Instead, a bead of sweat fell from his forehead first.

Looking closely, one could see his pupils dilated and his body locked in rigid paralysis.

"Found you at last, Yan Lang."

*Whoosh!*

With the arrival of an expert at the Dao-Convergence realm, a heaven-shaking aura instantly flooded the entire room, roaring outward and blasting the talent paper back into the air.

"What is that?" Yan Lang moved at blinding speed, darting forward to intercept and snatch the paper out of the air, inspecting it left and right as if finding it rather peculiar.

"Who are you?" The long-legged cat crossed his arms, pacing around the old man. "I clearly sensed Gu Yi was here just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, even his spiritual energy fluctuations vanished. Three people became one! Did you kill him?"

*Crack!*

A slap landed squarely across the face.

"Hey, didn't you learn about respecting the elderly and cherishing the young just the other days? Everyone says it's bad for people to see you doing things like this. Besides, look how old he is, how could he possibly be a match for Gu Yi?" Yan Lang walked over to mediate, casually shutting the door of the Huaqing Palace.

Then he turned around and began a fierce beatdown on the old man, raining down a flurry of punches and kicks. "This Wolf King is at the Dao-Convergence realm! There were clearly three people in this room! When I came in, only you were left. Did you really think you could pull that over on me?!"

Suddenly recalling the teachings of a very learned old scholar from a few days ago, the long-legged cat quickly stepped in to pull Yan Lang away. "Stop, stop, stop! Don't hit him so viciously, you're going to shake this old skeleton to pieces."

The old man looked truly pitiful, his voice raspy as he coughed twice. If he had still been thinking of ways to win when he first met Gu Yi and Shuyu, now he had only one thought left in his mind: escape.

Fortunately, these two maniacs were bickering amongst themselves, their emotions running high as they muttered about all sorts of bizarre things he couldn't understand.

*Whoosh!*

Taking advantage of the opening, he bolted toward the door, threw it open with a crash, and sprinted outward at what was nearly his absolute limit.

Hmm?

Seeing the fellow attempt to run, the long-legged cat's fiery temper flared instantly. A terrifying wave of pressure descended, and in a fraction of a second, he intercepted the old man, blocking his path.

*Bang!*

His legs were far deadlier than his hands; he had used his hands earlier, but this time he used his foot. "Running?! Run again why don't you?!"

"Cough... cough..." The old man looked utterly pathetic, his robes soaked completely through by the rain. "Two... two seniors, the talent paper... the talent paper is already in your hands, won't you spare my life?"

"Talent paper?" Yan Lang lifted it to his nose and sniffed. "What kind of worthless trash is this? Doesn't smell good at all."

As if that weren't enough, he casually tossed it away—very, very far away...