"Hehehehe..."
Before An Qingyu and the others even entered the hall, they heard a familiar foolish laugh coming from deep within.
"Cao Yuan?"
An Qingyu and the others exchanged glances, then quickly headed inside.
Taibai Jinxing held his whisk and smiled helplessly as he followed close behind them.
Passing through the rear door of the main hall, their view suddenly opened up onto an ethereal garden.
It was a vast lake. Snow-white clouds drifted through the sky, while endless emerald lotus leaves swayed gently across the water in the breeze. A bluish-gray covered walkway stretched over the lake, leading directly to an octagonal pavilion at its center.
Standing by the lake, they could vaguely see a familiar figure seated in the middle of the pavilion. Several maidservants attended him, each holding a fan and apparently cooling him off.
"Damn, I was wondering where Cao the Traitor had gone. So he was hiding here and enjoying fairy maid service?" Baili Pangpang said in shock.
"Something seems off. Let's go take a look."
Listening to the unbroken laughter in the distance, An Qingyu frowned slightly. The group crossed the covered walkway and soon arrived before the octagonal pavilion.
"Hehehehe..."
Only when he reached the pavilion did An Qingyu see Cao Yuan's condition clearly. Cao Yuan sat cross-legged atop a snow-white cushion, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the distant lake and laughed foolishly. Strands of black flame rose from his skin, but before they could ignite the surroundings, they were extinguished by the spiritual wind stirred up by the maidservants' enormous green fans.
"What's wrong with Cao Yuan?" Shen Qingzhu asked with a frown.
Taibai Jinxing slowly approached from the corridor behind them.
"Queen Mother once said that four of the seven Fate Locks within him have already broken. The Black