The Empress Was Stunned: Was There Really an Assassination Attempt?

Bang!

The diary slammed down, cracking the stone beneath it and shaking the great hall.

Throughout the imperial palace, the gathered experts trembled violently and looked toward the hall in shock and bewilderment.

"What happened? Why is Her Majesty so furious?"

"Some blind fool probably wrote something outrageous and offended Her Majesty again..."

The experts all agreed.

Inside the hall.

Qi Yueli took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Not only did he pry into the dragon vein's secrets, he even dared to plot rebellion. His crimes warrant death!"

"Hmph!"

Once she had investigated Gu Yuan's identity, she would teach that arrogant fool who spouted nonsense a proper lesson.

She would show him what happened to those who betrayed Great Qi!

A quarter of an hour later, a guard arrived with a case file.

"Your Majesty, I have completed the investigation."

"Gu Yuan is the heir of the Marquis of Pingxiang. Seven days ago, he drunkenly wandered into the imperial mausoleum and insulted the late emperor. The Mystic Shadow Guard arrested him and locked him in the imperial prison. The case file is here for Your Majesty's review."

Qi Yueli raised her delicate hand and drew the file to her from a distance.

A moment later, she frowned.

"Gu Yuan is simple-minded?"

"Your Majesty, Gu Yuan has suffered from a mental affliction since childhood. His mind is unclear, and he is no different from a child. For that very reason, the Mystic Shadow Guard found the matter suspicious and is still investigating. We have not yet had time to report it to Your Majesty."

Qi Yueli snorted softly.

Every word in the diary was clear and coherent. How was he simple-minded?

Pretending to be a fool? Hmph, what a cunning traitor!

"Go to the imperial prison at once and bring him here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The guard rose.

The next moment.

Blood splattered, and a head fell to the ground!

A chilling flash suddenly appeared, piercing the guard's body before slashing toward the empress at an inconceivable speed.

A look of shock appeared on Qi Yueli's face.

It was not because of the sudden, lightning-fast attack, but because she had never expected... that someone would actually try to assassinate her tonight!

Was everything written in the diary true?

Could Gu Yuan foresee the future?

Then wouldn't Great Qi's destruction, and my falling to demonic cultivation and dying, also...

No, impossible. How could anyone in the world foresee the future?

This must all be a coincidence!

Qi Yueli's phoenix eyes narrowed. True qi surged around her as she raised a hand and stopped the chilling flash.

A white flying sword abruptly halted in midair.

"Who dares attempt to assassinate Her Majesty?!"

The experts of the Mystic Shadow Guard sensed the disturbance and emerged throughout the palace, but none of them could find the assassin.

Just then, an aged laugh echoed from above.

"Hahaha! So this is all the Mystic Shadow Guard of Great Qi's imperial palace amounts to. There are so many of you, yet you couldn't even find one old man. What utter trash."

"There he is!" The Mystic Shadow Guard experts soared into the air and surrounded the black-clad old man.

Qi Yueli crushed the flying sword and stepped out of the hall. Raising her phoenix eyes, she fixed them on the black-clad old man.

Could he be the person from the diary?

She hesitated, afraid to approach and confirm it.

When the black-clad old man saw the empress appear, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Empress of Great Qi, you got lucky. If that scapegoat hadn't blocked my flying sword, you would already be dead by my blade!"

Qi Yueli said coldly, "Who are you? Why have you tried to assassinate me?"

"Why?"

"Hahahaha! You tyrant, you brought about your mother's death and murdered your father, and you still have the gall to ask me why?"

"Back then, if your lowborn mother hadn't secretly climbed into the emperor's bed and become pregnant with a bastard like you, my sister would never have died!"

"Today, I'll avenge my sister!"

The Mystic Shadow Guard experts' expressions changed, and they stared at the black-clad old man in horror.

The events of those years had caused an uproar throughout the capital, and everyone knew about them. They were a sore spot no one could touch, yet this old man had dared to reopen the empress's wounds in public.

He was simply courting death!

As expected, the empress would erupt in fury any moment now...

Yet several breaths passed, and the empress still made no move.

Everyone was astonished.

Had she not seen the diary, Qi Yueli would have already charged at him.

She would not have stopped until she had torn the old man to pieces.

But now, she merely spoke slowly:

"The Thief King, Bu Liuhen."

Bu Liuhen's breath caught. Qi Yueli had actually guessed his identity! Her calm tone was also far beyond his expectations.

Now that he had been discovered, there was no need to conceal it any longer. He removed his mask and snapped:

"That's right, it's me!"

It really is him... exactly as the diary described...

Gu Yuan really can foresee the future!

That means the prison break, the King of Qingzhou's rebellion, my fall to demonic cultivation and death, and Great Qi's destruction will all come to pass.

Qi Yueli was shaken to her core.

Now, she cast aside all other thoughts. There was only one thing she desperately wanted to do: see Gu Yuan.

"Seize him."

At the empress's command, the experts swarmed forward.

"Hahaha! You think you're worthy of being my opponents?" Bu Liuhen laughed, his body becoming an afterimage as he circled around the experts and charged at the empress. "Qi Yueli, die!"

Qi Yueli frowned and struck out with her palm.

Bu Liuhen retreated the instant he met the blow, using its force to fly out of the imperial city without lingering to fight. "Hahaha! Bastard, I'm done playing with you."

His laughter echoed over the imperial city.

"Stop right there, villain!" The Mystic Shadow Guard members moved to give chase.

"There's no need to pursue him."

Everyone stopped in their tracks, their faces full of astonishment.

Qi Yueli spoke calmly, her voice betraying neither joy nor anger.

"To the imperial prison."

The imperial prison.

Gu Yuan lay on a broken plank bed, silently running through the Gu family's cultivation technique in his mind several times.

The next moment, his true qi broke through the barrier, and his martial cultivation advanced once again.

"Eighth rank."

"As expected of the Martial God Physique. Cultivating martial arts is as easy as eating and drinking."

"At this rate, surpassing the empress isn't just a dream!"

"Speaking of which, where are those guys who are supposed to break into the prison? Why aren't they here yet?"

Boom!

Before the thought had even finished, the imperial prison gates shattered with a crash.

Four figures in black emerged from the dust, surveying their surroundings.

"How dare you villains break into the prison!"

The jailer and several prison guards charged forward, but in a single exchange, the black-clad intruders chopped the guards in half.

"Impressive!"

Gu Yuan hid in a corner and couldn't help exclaiming. He also pulled at the ragged straw around him, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

After several exchanges, even the formidable jailer was no match for the black-clad intruders' combined assault, and his head soon fell to the ground.

But before he died, the jailer had managed to tear the mask off one of the black-clad intruders.

As luck would have it, Gu Yuan happened to meet the man's eyes.

"Oh-ho!"

"Now I'm screwed..."

As everyone knew, masked men generally liked to silence witnesses...

They stared at each other, the man's features plainly visible.

Gu Yuan was in danger!

"Leave no one who saw his face alive."

The four black-clad men split into pairs. Two headed for the room deep within the imperial prison, while the other two stayed behind to clean up, their chilling gazes sweeping over several prisoners, Gu Yuan among them.

In just a few breaths, the heads of several prisoners near the black-clad men fell to the ground, without even a scream.

The two men kept closing in on Gu Yuan.

Danger, danger, danger!

"System, can I beat them?"

[Ding! The Martial God Physique possesses inconceivable potential. The host can temporarily unleash its latent power by biting the tip of his tongue.]

"Burning essence blood. I know this move. How long does it last?"

[Ding! Twenty breaths. Once the duration ends, the host will enter a weakened state.]

"Being weak is better than being dead!"

Gu Yuan bit down hard, and a torrent of true qi poured endlessly from within him.

The expressions of the two black-clad men changed.

"He's an expert too. We can't let him get out alive!"

Two surges of powerful true qi struck at Gu Yuan at once.

But the next moment.

Gu Yuan's entire body became a ghostly afterimage, vanishing from where he stood.