Once Yun Qian Yu and Gong Sang Mo have left, Ying Zi reappears in the courtyard. His usually expressionless face is very gentle, at the moment.
“Did everything went well?” Long Xiang Luo’s eyes are icy when she asks that.
Ying Zi’s eyes darken a little. “Everything went as Your Highness wanted it to be.”
“Bring me there,” she smiles lightly, the corner of her lips curling up in a smirk.
Ying Zi freezes, not moving.
“What? Are you daring enough to ignore my order, now?” Long Xiang Luo coldly narrows her eyes.
“No. It’s just, that place is too dangerous,” Ying Zi explains.
“I will be watching from afar. I just want to see Yun Qian Yu dying with my own eyes. I want Gong Sang Mo to be in so much pain that he does not wish to live anymore.”
Ying Zi’s eyes darken as he steps in front of Long Xiang Luo. He brings her into his chest and takes her to the Cang Bao Pavilion.
Long Jin steps out from a dark corner. “I didn’t think Xiang Luo’s trick would work.”
“The princess is indeed smart,” his helper says.
“It is more like Yun Qian Yu falling for a trap than Xiang Luo being smart. Yun Qian Yu cares too much for Murong Yu Jian that she cannot bring herself to think things through. As for Gong Sang Mo, he was muddle-headed from the rashness of his loved one. If everything did not fall into place like that, Xiang Luo’s plan would have never worked.”
“What Your Highness said is right. No matter what, your purpose has been achieved. Gong Sang Mo has followed her.”
Long Jin smiles, his purpose of coming to Nan Lou Kingdom can be said to be because of Gong Sang Mo. Without him, the border’s gate is up for Mo Dai Kingdom to open.
The border between their two kingdoms is long, and the people in charge of guarding them are the people from Gong Sang Mo’s Long Wei Camp.
Back then, the camp was under the care of Gong Sang Mo’s grandfather and father. It was pretty much untouchable. Since they could not break through the border, they could only try to break it from within. They knew how foolish the Gong men were when it comes to love.
Sure enough, once the wangfei was poisoned, Gong Sang Mo’s father was ruined in one stroke. He concentrated on how to cure her, over everything else. Once the wangfei died, he lost his will to live. That gave them the opportunity to lay down their plan and kill him. They originally thought that with him dead, they could now break through the Nan Lou Kingdom’s border. Who would have thought that the old wangye would bring the 10 year old Gong Sang Mo into the battlefield? He was like the God of Death. Within three days, he beheaded the general who killed his father.
Gong Sang Mo’s fame in the battlefield spread out. None of the generals in Mo Dai and Jiu Xiao Kingdom can be his opponent.
After the war dragged on for three years, Mo Dai Kingdom and Jiu Xiao Kingdom could only sign a peace treaty. In the blink of an eye, five years have passed.
The purpose of his trip today is to figure out ways on how to get rid of Gong Sang Mo. Unfortunately, Gong Sang Mo is tricky like a fox. He does not even know how high his martial arts skill is.
The only reason he comes this time is because he heard rumors about how unusual Gong Sang Mo acts towards a newly stated princess, Princess Hu Guo. He realizes that his opportunity might have just arrived.
Obviously, he was right.
The smile on his face deepens. Gong Sang Mo has gone to Cang Bao Pavilion, a place that one can enter but cannot leave. Is Gong Sang Mo the same as his father? Helpless when it comes to love? He is anticipating of what is to come out of this.
Yun Qian Yu rushes to the Cang Bao Pavilion. Within a second, she has reached a wall right outside the pavilion. Just as she is about to rush in, she is held back by Gong Sang Mo who is rushing after her.
“Calm down!”
Yun Qian Yu immediately stops. Then, she nods at Gong Sang Mo.
She knows that Gong Sang Mo is right. They are currently in this predicament because she cannot keep her cool after hearing that Yu Jian has gone missing.
She takes a deep breath before jumping over the wall. She looks at the pagoda that is surrounded by tall grasses. The silver moonlight made it look even more sinister. Before they even approach the pagoda, they can already feel the cold air radiating from it.
Yun Qian Yu unconsciously hugs herself.
She uses her qinggong to lightly steps on the grasses, heading straight for the pagoda. The closer she gets, the colder the air becomes.
Gong Sang Mo follows her through everything. Before long, the two of them reaches the entrance of the pagoda.
Gong Sang Mo pushes open the door. Dust filled the air. Gong Sang Mo flings his sleeve and in a moment, the dusts disappear. They enter the pavilion, and with the help of the moonlight, they can see what the inside of the pagoda is like.
Yun Qian Yu looks at Gong Sang Mo in shock. He looks back at her calmly, as though he already knows how it is like in here.
Turns out, the entire pagoda is empty. Yun Qian Yu looks up and discovers that even the upper levels are empty. The moment she sees what is floating at the very top, her eyes turns icy. It is Yu Jian.
Yu Jian’s hands are tied as he is suspended from the very top of the pagoda. He is still unconscious.
Gong Sang Mo’s eyes are filled with never-before-seen fury. It is Long Jin! With her brain, Long Xiang Luo will never be able to come up with this trick. By doing this, it means that she already knows the secret in Cang Bao Pavilion.
The thing he worries about most has finally happened. Gong Sang Mo fists his hands inside his sleeves. Long Jin, you actually wanted to use the same method as the one you people used on my father?
Gong Sang Mo turns to Feng Ran and San Qiu who are about to enter the pagoda with them. “Both of you wait outside. Wait for our order.”
San Qiu and Feng Ran looks at each other before waiting out of the pagoda.
Gong Sang Mo trains his phoenix eyes on the petite figure in front of him. “Qian Yu!” The voice in which he calls her name is full of love and affection.
Yun Qian Yu looks at him only to find him looking at her in reluctance and love.
“What’s wrong?” Yun Qian Yu can tell that Gong Sang Mo is hiding something from her.
“Qian Yu, promise me, if anything happens, you must continue to live on well,” Gong Sang Mo’s words feels heavy.
Yun Qian Yu has a bad feeling about this. She grasps Gong Sang Mo’s sleeve.
“Is there something I should know?”
Gong Sang Mo does not reply to her question. He simply takes out a palm-sized pure gold in the shape of a dragon and hands it over to her.
“This is the dragon seal for Long Wei Camp. Take it, Long Wei Camp will be under your control.”
Yun Qian Yu returns the seal to Gong Sang Mo, “You should keep it. It belongs to you, after all. Long Wei Camp will never listen to me.”
He looks at Yun Qian Yu’s worried eyes before laughing, “Everything I own belongs to you. I am just worried that I will drop it. Please keep it for me. I will take it back once we get out of here.”
After saying that, he hands over the seal to Yun Qian Yu. Without waiting for her reply, he says, “Let go up one by one, so we can have an easier time catching him.”
Yun Qian Yu looks at the dragon seal in her palm, before keeping it inside her sleeve.
The two of them uses qinggong to get to the top of the pagoda.
Yu Jian wakes up at just the right moment. When he sees where he is at, he begins to panic.
“Don’t be scared, Yu Jian. Imperial sister is here!” Yun Qian Yu quickly says to comfort him.
Sure enough, when he hears her voice, Yu Jian calms down a little. He looks at her, asking, “How did I get here, imperial sister?”
“You were set up by someone. Don’t be afraid, I will get you!”
“En, with imperial sister here, I am not afraid.”
“Your Brother Sang Mo is also here,” she motions towards Gong Sang Mo.
Yu Jian turns his head to look at him, looking very happy, “That’s great! I’m even less afraid now!”
Gong Sang Mo secretly gives a bitter laughter; your Brother Sang Mo is not omnipotent.
Purple mist floats out of Yun Qian Yu’s right hand, breaking the rope that is bounding Yu Jian’s hands. Then, she flies to catch Yu Jian, holding him while descending down.
Gong Sang Mo closely flies next to her, looking around the pagoda as though waiting for something. Just as they reach the 10th floor, a loud noise bellows throughout the entire pagoda. The floor of the pagoda collapses, revealing a black hole. Golden lights are flashing from it.
The speed of the three of them falling suddenly increases. It is during that moment that Gong Sang Mo grabs Yun Qian Yu and Yu Jian and throws them towards the door. “San Qiu, Feng Ran! Catch!”
Yun Qian Yu finally understands everything now. Gong Sang Mo knows that this place in dangerous. He also knows that she will not back down from saving Yu Jian, so he decided to sacrifice himself for her.
Yun Qian Yu is caught by Feng Ran while Yu Jian, by San Qiu. Gong Sang Mo has stopped struggling. His pale blue silhouette is swallowed by the dark pit. His eyes are trained on Yun Qian Yu from the beginning till the end.
“Feng Ran, go and find the Grandmaster Tian Yi. Take care of Yu Jian for me.”
Yun Qian Yu’s eyes are misty, her heart aches like never before. She cannot simply watch him leaving her like that.
She breaks free from Feng Ran’s grip and jumps after Gong Sang Mo.
“Wait for our return!” Her last word rings inside Feng Ran’s ears as she enters the dark pit.
Feng Ran freezes as he stares into thin air. After Gong Sang Mo and Yun Qian Yu entered the dark pit, the floor of the pagoda reassembles. One cannot notice anything off about it.
“No!” Feng Ran screams as he jumps into the pagoda and touching the floor, waiting for it to open again.
San Qiu is shocked as well. He takes Yu Jian with him as he enters the pagoda. He search for any form of entrance on the floor, but cannot find any.
Yu Jian stands there without moving, stunned.
This is all his fault. Had he not been too weak, none of this would have happened. Even though he is the weakest amongst them, he is also the calmest. His imperial sister once told him, only once one is calm can they come up with the best solution.
“Both of you calm down a little.”
San Qiu and Feng Ran freeze, before looking at Yu Jian.
“This place is the previous dynasty’s Cang Bao Pavilion. It is suppressing a mighty energy. People can only come back out once they mastered the energy, if not, they will remain down there.”
Feng Ran and San Qiu immediately lose their willpower and collapse helplessly on the floor.
“Believe in them. They are the smartest, most talented people in Nan Lou Kingdom. Once they come back out, they will be the most powerful people as well. Believe in them!” Yu Jian has never been this calm.
San Qiu and Feng Ran calms down.
Feng Ran says, “Mistress asked us to look for Grandmaster Tian Yi.”
Yu Jian looks at the floor underneath his feet, “Let’s go. Didn’t imperial sister told us to wait for them? Let’s not disappoint them.”
The three of them leaves the pagoda, the air outside seemingly brewing. Autumn rain drips down from the sky. Yu Jian ignores the rain and heads towards the Grandmaster’s courtyard.
When Long Xian Luo sees that Yu Jian is the only one coming out, she collapses.
Did you love her that much? You were actually willing to die with her! I have chased after you for 8 years and you have never paid me any heed, what am I to you?
She kneels on the floor as the rain falls on her body. There isn’t a trace of happiness on her face, at all.
Ying Zi stands next to her, staring at her in heartache. He continues keeping her company, watching her cry.
