Chapter 28: Climbing the Wall, Meeting a Black Robe
The young girl was called Luo Heng, and her nickname was Luo Luo. Since she was very young, she had a habit of adding extra words before she spoke. For example, when she called a hawk to land on her small hand, or when she told a giant crocodile in the river to quickly carry her to the opposite bank, she would always say, "Gugu, hurry up!"
Luo Luo was fourteen years old, still very young. For certain reasons, her appearance and figure made her look even younger than her actual age, exuding an innocent charm. (Please search for the fastest updated website!) Just like her naive demeanor, she had enjoyed a life of luxury and carefree happiness since birth, and this continued even after she left her hometown to come to the capital.
She had been living in the Hundred Herbs Garden in the capital for nearly a year, with very little contact with the outside world, so she inevitably felt a bit lonely.
She didn't mind this, however, because she only cared about how to cultivate—she had some problems in cultivation that she couldn't solve, problems that even her seemingly all-powerful father couldn't resolve, which was why she had traveled a great distance to the capital.
She had concealed her identity to attend lectures at the Heavenly Edict Academy and the Star-Plucking Academy, and she had privately sought advice from those renowned professors. She had even discussed related issues with the honored elders of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace. Unfortunately, those questions remained unanswered.
Just when she was at her most disappointed, one night she suddenly sensed a star being lit in the depths of the night sky. She didn't know where that star was, but she knew that its spiritual awareness was very powerful and very tranquil, and it was clearly different from the spiritual awareness cultivated by ordinary humans—she could perceive all this because she possessed a very special talent. Thus, she was certain that what she sensed was real, and she wanted to find that person.
She wanted to place those questions that had troubled her for many years before that person, hoping to get answers.
However, twenty days had passed, and she still hadn't found that person. The subordinates she had sent out, and even the honored experts from the imperial palace, were all helping in the search, but they found no clues, which made her even more disappointed.
Luo Luo was feeling a bit down, and even the precious Congyu new tea in her bowl couldn't capture her attention. Under normal circumstances, how could she, who was skilled in the art of tea, ignore such fragrant and delightful tea—such a rude act?
Just then, she smelled a fragrance.
Luo Luo's eyes widened, and her body stiffened.
This fragrance was very faint, but once it entered her nostrils, it suddenly amplified, becoming extremely clear, intoxicating like fine wine. The Hundred Herbs Garden was filled with countless rare fruits and exotic flowers, which emitted various fragrances after nightfall, yet none could suppress this fragrance!
The valley where she had lived as a child was covered in wildflowers, blooming all at once under the morning sun of early summer, yet even they weren't this fragrant!
She could swear to the stars in the sky that she had never smelled such a wonderful fragrance in her entire life.
And yet, this fragrance was so faint.
What kind of fragrance was this? Where did it come from?
As Luo Luo pondered these things, she suddenly noticed that the fragrance had disappeared. In an instant, the fragrance had vanished to who knows where, leaving no trace behind. She felt a sense of loss, as if she had missed something very important in her life.
She walked westward along the wall for several dozen steps, arriving at a spot where the ivy was in full bloom. She realized the fragrance didn't come from there. Subconsciously, she looked up at the ivy-covered wall and vaguely felt that the fragrance seemed to come from the other side.
What was on the other side of the wall? It seemed to be the abandoned National Education Academy. Since she had moved into the Hundred Herbs Garden, that place had always been silent, like a graveyard. But a few days ago, it had suddenly become lively, as if something was happening.
Should she go over and take a look?
Vaguely, she felt that this fragrance was connected to the person she had been searching for.
Luo Luo's hand tightened slightly within her wide sleeve, her mood growing tense. She didn't turn around, but glanced into the night with her peripheral vision.
In the distance, the light from an oil lamp behind a hanging basket flower cast its rays into the depths of the night, distorting before it disappeared.
That indicated someone was there, or some kind of power existed.
She knew who those people were—they were the clansmen responsible for protecting her. But at the same time, these clansmen also restricted her movements. Every time she wanted to go to the Heavenly Edict Academy or the Star-Plucking Academy, she had to prepare for a long time in advance, and they would never allow her to leave late at night.
Luo Luo looked at her own shadow on the wall, feeling useless and cowardly.
She suddenly smiled, shook her head, and pulled a button from her left lapel, then opened her palm.
That button, ground smooth from rhinoceros horn, fell from her small hand to the ground.
A soft click sounded.
Smoke enveloped the area beneath the wall, weaving in and out of the ivy.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—over a dozen figures shot out from various parts of the night like arrows.
A middle-aged man at the lead extended his palm and waved, dispersing all the smoke, only to find nothing under the wall.
These dozen or so people were clearly of extraordinary realms, and should be considered top-tier experts in the world. Yet at this moment, their faces were unusually pale, filled with extreme fear.
Someone said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness... Miss... is gone."
That middle-aged man's expression was extremely grim, and he shouted in a low voice, "Quickly report to the palace!"
...
...
Luo Luo hadn't gone far; she had only crossed to the other side of the wall.
She believed that her clansmen wouldn't find her in a short time—because the seemingly ordinary button she had just used was a Thousand-Mile Button.
A Thousand-Mile Button was a magical artifact that allowed a person to instantly travel a great distance. Even against the most powerful enemies, one could use it to escape far away. It was extremely precious, practically equivalent to a life. Even places like the Great Zhou Imperial Palace and the Eternal Life Sect only had a few of them.
But she had used it so casually, and only to climb over a single wall.
Undoubtedly, this was a wasteful act, and precisely because of this, she was certain that her clansmen would never imagine she had used a Thousand-Mile Button just to climb a single wall. She should have enough time to find the source of that fragrance.
As long as she could find that person, what did it matter if she wasted a Thousand-Mile Button?
She had always been a very generous person.
When she had moved into the Hundred Herbs Garden over half a year ago, out of curiosity and interest in the old stories from a decade or so ago, she had once climbed onto the wall to look into the National Education Academy. Now, months later, she was entering it for the first time, and she found it very different from before.
The surroundings were still quiet, but the wild grass by the lake had been trimmed into a lawn. Through the starlight, she could see that the algae in the lake had also been cleared a lot. The biggest change was in the buildings—except for the main building, which was too dilapidated, the other pavilions were almost completely renovated.
The night was deep, and only the library had lights on.
Luo Luo took a couple of steps in that direction when a breeze suddenly brushed her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, finally catching the lingering trace of that fragrance in the wind. A look of intoxication appeared on her face, and she knew she hadn't come to the wrong place.
When she opened her eyes, the intoxicated expression turned into vigilance, and a hint of coldness lurked between her youthful brows.
From behind a tree by the lake, a person slowly walked out.
That person was wearing a knee-length black robe, with sleeves cut off at the knees, looking very neat and agile. However, their head and face were hidden under the black robe's hood, giving them a mysterious air.
Luo Luo looked at that person and smiled slightly, while her right hand quietly reached to her left lapel. She secretly exerted force and plucked off another button made of rhinoceros horn.
That was also a Thousand-Mile Button.
She didn't know who the black-robed person was, but it was obvious that they had been waiting for her to appear. That was the problem.
She had been taught from a young age never to put herself in any danger. And she could clearly sense that the black-robed person—especially the dark object they were tightly gripping—posed a great threat to her.
So she didn't hesitate to prepare to use a second Thousand-Mile Button.
She was truly generous, truly wasteful, because she had the right to be.
She opened her palm, and the button fell toward the ground.
But at that moment, the person shrouded in the black robe also opened their palm.
In their palm was a dark object, seemingly made of iron, with sharp ends, a slightly thicker middle, and a smooth surface, looking like a shuttle.
That dark iron object hit the ground faster than the button, its sharp tail deeply piercing the soft soil of the lawn.
With a series of cracking sounds, the smooth surface of the iron object rapidly grew fine scales, which then burst open petal by petal, turning into countless tiny iron shards that silently shot out in all directions into the night sky.
As those iron shards flew away, a powerful aura instantly enveloped an area of several hundred zhang in the center of the National Education Academy.
The smoke gradually dispersed.
Luo Luo's figure was still standing in place, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth!
The Thousand-Mile Button had failed to help her escape!
She looked up at the night sky and saw that the falling starlight was slightly distorted.
What kind of magical artifact was that shuttle-like iron object, that it could seal off such a large space!
Her smile had faded, and she looked seriously at the black-robed person by the tree and said, "You worked hard to reach the upper realm of Tongyou... Oh, I forgot... you people don't have that term, but anyway, it's not easy. Are you sure you want to be annihilated, body and soul, and have your family and clan hunted down for generations, until not a single one is left? Is it worth paying such a price?"
This was not a threat, but an objective and calm statement, which made it especially powerful.
Anyone who tried to harm her would inevitably face the boundless fury of the Eight-Hundred-Mile Red River.
"Then, first, you need to know who I am."
The black-robed person slowly removed their hood, revealing a plain, unremarkable face.
This was a middle-aged man, with no special features. If thrown into the crowd in the capital, no one would remember his face.
Especially when he had his hair tied up in a bun.
Tonight, he had not disguised himself. His black hair hung loose over his shoulders, and thus, the two black demon horns were so clear under the starlight.
This middle-aged man from the demon race said with an unquestionable piety:
"...And if I can kill Your Highness in the human capital, I am willing to offer not only my life but also my soul."