Only she had a Nine-Colored Heavenly Pheasant in the entire Tianling Dynasty. The Thirteen Yue Guard had followed her for so many years, so they would not be mistaken.
“It’s precisely because of the feather that we believed the letter… Besides, from then on, we thought that you were actually alive.”
Chu Liuyue was caught between laughter and tears.
If one were to say she was dead, she was indeed here. If one were to say she was alive, she actually only woke up a few months ago.
“So after you left Heaven’s Canopy, we went our separate ways and secretly investigated your whereabouts. This time, I found some news, so I started suspecting your identity.”
Chu Liuyue nodded in understanding. “Therefore, you purposely made that gesture when you came here?”
“Yes!”
“You were so sure that it was me?” Seeing Qi Han’s determined appearance, Chu Liuyue couldn’t help but laugh.
Qi Han honestly said, “I heard that Mu Qinghe was here, so I followed him over.”
Chu Liuyue’s smile froze.
“At the start, I just wanted to know why he stayed here for so long. Later on, I realized that something was amiss, so I started investigating you in secret.” Qi Han said it simply, but he had actually made a lot of preparations before he came.
Before he came, he was already 80 to 90 percent confident. No matter if it were her outstanding talent in all three cultivation paths or the extremely similar gaze, they all made him overthink. However, the most important thing was—
“Especially when I saw that you brought a present for Hong Yao that day and how familiar it was with you. Thus, it confirmed my guess.”
Chu Liuyue was dazed. “You know all of this?”
Qi Han nodded honestly.
Chu Liuyue: “…”
I actually didn’t know at all! Even though my abilities can’t be compared to the past, my sensitivity and reaction speed has always been decent. In the end, I didn’t even realize that Qi Han was investigating me for so long! After a temporary silence, Chu Liuyue finally said slowly, “I haven’t seen you in more than a year, but you’ve gotten so much better at hiding.”
A suspicious red flashed across the half of Qi Han’s face that was not burned. “Thank you for your compliment, Your Highness! I still have a lot to learn!”
Chu Liuyue: “…”
This kid really thinks that I’m complimenting him! But seeing his half scar-filled face, Chu Liuyue’s heart ached. If everything was still okay…
“Is there a way to remove your scar?”
Qi Han was dazed as if he didn’t expect her to change the topic suddenly. He touched his face and said, “Actually, it’s pretty good this way. Many people can’t recognize me, so it’s more convenient for me to do things.”
However, Chu Liuyue suddenly remembered something. “Wait! Could it be… Due to that fire back then, was I—”
Back then, I was despondent and decided to commit suicide, wanting to drag both Jiang Yucheng and Shangguan Wan down. Thus, I burned all the strength in my body. The burning from a Tianjing Yuan meridian was extremely horrendous. If not, it couldn’t impact the two of them harshly. But I didn’t expect to implicate Qi Han…
Normal herbs simply could not deal with such scars as they have the Tianjing Yuan meridian’s strength in them. If I could recover my Tianjing Yuan meridian, I might be able to solve this problem easily. Chu Liuyue rubbed her glabella. “Okay then. Since you’re done talking, say it. Who told you about Situ Xingchen and made you come?”
Qi Han’s body froze.
…
At the same time, in the palace.
Blessing Palace was completely surrounded by the greenish-white fire as it shot toward the sky and illuminated half the night.
Many imperial guards and countless warriors tried to barge in from outside, but the phosphorus powder made the fire burn intensely. Hence, normal water didn’t even work.
Seeing that the fire was growing bigger and bigger, the crowd became increasingly anxious.
Emperor Jiawen stood at the side and refused to leave no matter what the rest said.
The bright and hot light from the fire shone on his face, making it seem extra gloomy.
“Your Majesty, don’t worry first. We’ve already set up another Xuan formation around Blessing Palace, and we have heavy defenses. Nobody inside can escape easily,” advised Chu Ning bitterly.
Speechless, Emperor Jiawen stood with his hands behind his back as he stared closely at Blessing Palace.
Nobody knew what he was worried about.
Seeing this, Chu Ning didn’t say anything else as he rushed to the front and brought the imperial guards to strengthen their defenses.
At this time, Elder Zong Ye finally crossed all the fire and rushed to the palace.
The moment he went in, he saw someone coming out from the ground below—it was Situ Xingchen!
Elder Zong Ye was elated as he immediately rushed over. “Xingchen!”
Hearing this familiar voice, Situ Xingchen immediately looked up. “Elder Zong Ye!”
Elder Zong Ye then saw her bloodied face, and his expression changed gravely. “What happened to you?!”
When he went near, he realized that not only was Situ Xingchen’s force locked, but her shoulders and ankle were also injured.
At this very moment, she couldn’t even walk normally.
Situ Xingchen’s eyes turned red with deep vengeance. “I-it’s Chu Liuyue! She stole my item and beat me up into this state! Elder Zong Ye, you must take revenge for me!”
Elder Zong Ye felt immense heartache as he hurriedly said, “Don’t worry! When we go out, I won’t let her off!”
Situ Xingchen was suddenly stunned as she grabbed his shoulders. “No, that’s not right! She just left from below. You should’ve seen her!”
