Fire in the Backyard

In the early morning, a ray of dawn shone into the bedroom.

Di Xin opened his eyes and saw Gun Juan sleeping soundly against his chest like a kitten.

With a cultivation that transcended mortals, Di Xin had actually reached Grain Avoidance and could go months without sleep without issue. However, he could still fall asleep whenever he wished, which was akin to entering a meditative state.

Gun Juan's restless tossing and turning on the bed last night was truly amusing. Di Xin, letting her youthful heart flutter, pretended to be oblivious.

He got up gently and left the bedroom for Daji's room.

Daji, already attended to by palace maids, had finished her ablutions and warmly welcomed King Zhou. She charmingly explained her drunken state from yesterday and then invited Di Xin to share breakfast.

It was a display of tender affection, yet she didn't mention Gun Juan at all.

Since she didn't bring it up, Di Xin naturally wouldn't either, acting as if nothing had happened.

This was fitting for his status; the Great King didn't need to explain to this Noble Consort whom he desired.

After a few bites, Di Xin waved to a eunuch to bring the potent tonic You Hun had presented yesterday. He washed it and, in front of Daji, devoured half of it with a crunching sound, like eating a large radish.

Daji's cherry lips remained parted for a long time, astonished.

After finishing, Di Xin wiped his mouth, flicked his sleeves, and left without a trace.

Not until Di Xin's figure disappeared did Daji's smiling face suddenly turn grim. "Follow me!"

She led a few palace maids, fuming, directly to King Zhou's bedroom and yanked the still-sleeping Gun Juan up.

Gun Juan was having a pleasant dream, imagining the Great King's mighty prowess, when she was abruptly awakened. Seeing the Noble Consort's furious face, she was terrified and quickly knelt.

"Noble Consort, the Great King summoned me last night. This servant dared not refuse."

"Gun Juan, I have treated you well. Even if the Great King summoned you, why didn't you report to me beforehand?" Daji's anger intensified as she sternly questioned.

This was outrageous! Her own palace maid had dared to steal the affections of the man she coveted. Daji had already been struggling to win the Great King's favor with little success, and now this little slut Gun Juan was interfering. Daji felt an unspoken threat.

"This servant knows her crime, this servant knows her crime. Last night, this servant intended to report to Noble Consort, but Noble Consort was drunk and asleep. This servant dared not disturb you. Please, Noble Consort, see the truth!"

Gun Juan repeatedly kowtowed and explained. In reality, she had only peeked at Daji earlier and, seeing her seemingly asleep, had secretly gone to Di Xin's bedroom.

Daji had indeed sensed Gun Juan's presence then but had pretended to be drunk and ignored it.

Hearing Gun Juan's explanation, her expression softened slightly. She continued, "Last night, for the entire night, what did you and the Great King do?"

Gun Juan quickly pointed to herself. "Noble Consort, look at my clothes. They are neat. I did nothing with the Great King. The Great King merely asked me to lie here and listen to him tell stories."

"Tell stories? I think you're telling stories to me? You and the Great King were alone together all night, and he just told you stories?" Daji clearly didn't believe her.

Gun Juan swore fervently, "Noble Consort, please see the truth. Even if I had the courage of a thousand men, I would not dare to deceive Noble Consort. If you ask the Great King about this, you will know. If there is even half a lie, I am willing to die as atonement."

Daji nodded slightly. "Then tell me, what story did the Great King tell you?"

"This... this... this servant didn't quite understand it!" Gun Juan's expression became vacant.

Daji snorted coldly and commanded, "You don't need to add your own understanding. Just repeat the Great King's words!"

"Yes!"

Gun Juan dared not disobey. Recalling the events, she began to recount, "The Great King said that once upon a time, there was a mountain, and in the mountain, there was a temple. In the temple, an old monk was telling a story to a young monk. The story was that once upon a time, there was a mountain, and in the mountain, there was a temple. In the temple, an old monk was telling a story to a young monk. The story was that once upon a time, there was a mountain, and in the mountain, there was a temple... In short, it was just these few sentences repeated over and over..."

"Nonsense!"

Daji's face changed, and her voice became stern again. "How could the Great King tell you such an absurd story? What old monk and young monk? I think the Great King took many tonics this morning. Was he trying to get you pregnant with a royal heir last night and failed?"

"Noble Consort, how the Great King thinks is truly unknown to this servant. But this servant truly did nothing. Noble Consort can verify my body!"

If the Great King had truly touched her yesterday, Gun Juan might have had some confidence, but now... In front of the Noble Consort, she trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind.

The Noble Consort held the power of life and death over her palace maids. She did not need the Great King's approval to handle matters within the harem.

"Gun Juan, I have no interest in verifying you. Since you have transgressed, you will now get out of the Royal Palace. Do not let me see you again, or you are dead! Guards, escort her out..."

After this incident, Daji naturally could not tolerate Gun Juan remaining in Shouxian Palace, lest it cause further trouble. Without further ado, she had people drag Gun Juan out of the sleeping quarters.

"Great King... Great King..."

Being dragged away forcefully, Gun Juan's heart cried out, searching for the Great King's figure, but alas, she found nothing.

At this moment, Di Xin was beside the ruins of the Imperial Study.

The palace required quiet at night, so the excavation of the meteorite had been halted. Work resumed this morning with a continuous clanging sound.

This was not only necessary for clearing the Imperial Study but also because Di Xin wanted to confirm what this Extraterrestrial Meteorite truly was. Only by completely shattering it could the truth be revealed.

From the crushed stones yesterday, he had found no valuable clues.

It was merely a special kind of rock.

From this meteorite incident, Di Xin felt a sense of danger. If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't feel at ease.

If there was something special inside the meteorite, it would confirm that the disaster was man-made, and someone was definitely trying to kill him.

Although he leaned towards this inference now, he still lacked concrete evidence.

Hundreds of Imperial Guards had taken turns excavating, and they had only managed to smash one-fifth of its size so far, demonstrating the meteorite's hardness.

After watching for a moment and finding nothing special, Di Xin slowly left the area.

After walking a dozen steps, two options suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[Option One: Continue to stay here and wait for death. Quest Reward: High-grade Innate Spirit Treasure - Immortal Slaying Sword.]

[Option Two: Leave this place. Quest Reward: High-grade Acquired Spirit Treasure - Monster Summoning Banner.]

What the heck, the legendary High-grade Innate Spirit Treasure - Immortal Slaying Sword!

I choose two!

Greatly alarmed, Di Xin suddenly drew the treasured sword at his waist and charged forward, shouting, "Imperial Guards, capture the assassin!"

While running, he wildly swung his sword as if fighting some invisible entity.

Seeing this, the numerous Imperial Guards flickered and charged towards Di Xin. Their original duty was to protect Di Xin's safety; mining the meteorite was merely a temporary task.