Chapter 27: Blazing Fire Asks About Love

  It's easy to enter the palace, but difficult to leave. Qing Xia entered the palace through the Xihua Gate with ease, and a simple report on the outside situation was enough to get by. This group of imperial guards, who were already in disarray due to the chaotic situation outside the palace, saw Qing Xia as if they had seen a lifesaver, and they all rushed forward to ask about the situation.

  Rushing through the Xiyuan Straight Road, everywhere is patrolled by the Imperial City Guards. Qing Xia's hands and feet are nimble as she carefully sneaks along, not revealing a single trace, heading towards the palace where Lan Tingdian and others are being held. Just as she arrives at the magnificent and noisy Yingge Pavilion, a deafening noise comes from the Zhenghua Gate on the other side of Bailihu Lake. Qing Xia suddenly stops in her tracks, half-crouching on the ground, holding down the bloodthirsty dagger in her boot, warily gazing out through the thick flowers.

  The imperial guards who were originally guarding the Yingge Pavilion also found something unusual, a burst of panic, and they all looked eastward with their hands and feet in disarray.

  Only to see the sky above, countless bright yellow lanterns rose into the air, and the loud shouts could be heard clearly even from a distance. The low-pitched shouting unique to soldiers was like a lion's roar, exuding an aura of grandeur, and the uniform sound of horseshoes quickly surrounded the entire imperial city. Suddenly, everyone knew that Chu Li, the crown prince of Nanchu who had inherited the blood of his ancestors and returned from a foreign land after nine deaths and one life, was launching a counterattack against tonight's rebellion.

  Any conspiracy or sneak attack would appear pale and powerless in front of the iron-blooded army. Qing Xia looked at those trembling imperial guards, suddenly understanding that Chu Li had already won this battle without even fighting it.

  Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the air from the direction of the Eastern Palace. Qing Xia looked up in shock, and saw that above the brightly lit Eastern Palace, a black cloud of smoke was shooting straight into the sky. The mournful cries echoed through the inner courtyard of the Chu Kingdom's imperial palace, where people were rushing about in an uproar. Countless people came running from the Eastern Palace, their clothes carrying the thick smell of smoke and fire.

  The East Palace is on fire!

  Qing Xia's eyes suddenly turned cold, and a terrifying thought flashed through her mind. Although she was shocked, her hands didn't stop moving, quickly stripping off the imperial guard uniform and putting on the loose servant girl clothes. Qing Xia instantly jumped out of the flower bushes, no longer caring about hiding her figure, and rushed towards the East Palace amidst the chaotic crowd. "Your Highness!" Le Song's face was pitch black, his armor also covered in a layer of dark soot. He stumbled as he ran to Chu Li's side and said in a low voice, "The fire is too big, we can't get inside."

  The young prince was dressed in armor, no longer the same as when he was bullied by Qing Xia in the Lan Ting Palace. He wore a silver-white armor that fit tightly on his body, with a wide dark blue cloak behind his shoulders, a cold helmet covering his head, and a flowing blue tassel hanging down from the back of his head. The upright white collar had an embroidered dark white dragon pattern, tightly wrapping around his slender neck. Chu Li's face was frosty, and it was impossible to discern any emotions, with only one mouth pursed into a straight line, a prominent nose bridge, icy cold eyes, staring intently at the dilapidated palace surrounded by flames, while the fists hanging down beside him clenched tightly!

  "Report!" A short and powerful voice suddenly rang out, the soldier in cyan armor jumped down from his horse with agility, and the heavy armor fell to the ground with a clang. The soldier knelt on one knee and said loudly: "General Li has already surrounded the Zhengyang Palace, Princess Xiao of Yan has been captured, and His Majesty is safe!"

  As soon as the words fell, a low murmur of cheers rose from the army, and everyone's face showed a relaxed expression, but no one dared to show it. Chu Li did not turn his head, still staring at the burning palace, as if he had not heard anything, without saying a word.

  That guard looked at Chuli with some confusion, remained silent for a while, and then said: "The unrest in all places has been quelled by our army, and now they are all suppressed in the martial arts arena waiting for your highness to deal with."

  A loud voice echoed through the air, with a cool breeze blowing slowly. Everyone's eyes widened in anticipation of Chu Li's instructions. But this prince who led them to storm into the imperial palace now seemed as if he had been enchanted, his eyes gleaming with anger, his fury gradually rising. Suddenly, he pushed aside Le Song who was blocking his way and strode towards the burning palace.

  "Your Highness!" A loud cry of surprise erupted simultaneously, and Yue Song reacted the fastest, rushing forward to grab Chu Li's shoulder, shouting loudly: "Your Highness, you must not!"

  "Get out of the way!" A low voice came from Chu Li's mouth, and Le Song couldn't help but stiffen all over, raising his eyes to look over cautiously. He saw that Chu Li's eyes were as black as a deep pool, as if a huge storm was slowly gathering in his eyes. His sword-like eyebrows rose slightly, his phoenix eyes narrowed, coldly staring at Le Song's eyes, and said in a chilly voice: "Don't make me say it again!"

  "No!" The soldier stubbornly replied in a low voice, "The fire is too big, the people inside are probably already burned to death. Even if Your Highness goes in, it would be of no use. Moreover, with Your Highness' precious body, rashly taking risks..."

  "Boom!" With a loud noise, Le Song's body was suddenly kicked out by a huge force, violently slamming onto the ground, raising a large cloud of dust. In the distance, only Chu Li's figure could be seen rushing towards the fire scene like a leopard. Without even rubbing his sore butt, Le Song loudly shouted: "Stop the prince!"

  Several guards rushed forward, but were nailed to the spot by Chu Li's icy gaze. By the time they reacted, Chu Li had already charged recklessly into the raging inferno!

  "Hurry! Save His Highness!"

  "With a loud crash, a massive horizontal beam suddenly fell, violently blocking the footsteps of the crowd. Several soldiers let out a miserable cry and were instantly crushed under the beam. Other soldiers quickly rushed forward to rescue those who had been pinned down, but just as they looked up at the palace, another wave of flames erupted, with large wooden beams blocking the passageway, making it impossible for anyone to enter."

  "Move the logs and pour water quickly!" Le Song's eyes were about to split open as he shouted loudly.

  Just as everyone was in a flurry, a white figure suddenly flashed into the crowd. Le Song's eyebrows rose, and he shouted vigilantly: "Who is coming? Take him down!" Several soldiers who were close by heard the words and raised their long guns to charge forward, but unexpectedly, the newcomer simply blocked them with one hand and easily took away several long guns. He turned his head and threw them back, just in time to insert them into the bodies of several people who were about to rush up front. This beautiful counterattack was smooth and effortless, and even though it was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, these simple-minded soldiers still couldn't help but cheer loudly.

  Luo Song was shocked and suspicious, just about to step forward and capture the mysterious person. Suddenly, he saw a flash in front of his eyes, and that person quickly moved to the side of the water bucket, grabbed the collar of a soldier's clothes, and somehow managed to pull off the soldier's cloak and put it on himself. He picked up the wooden bucket and poured it over his head, looking like a drowned chicken, then rolled around on the ground, dodging the attack of two soldiers, and in an instant, he rushed into the fire scene!

  Le Song woke up from his dream and shouted loudly, ordering everyone to quickly put out the fire. Many guards picked up water buckets and sprang into action.

  "Qīng xià!" A sudden, hoarse voice rang out. Chǔ Lí's body was already on fire in many places, but he didn't care at all. He rushed into the main hall, stumbling and staggering along the way. Looking at the palace maidens' corpses scattered all over the floor, charred black, he felt a chill suddenly rising to his head. With a swing of the long knife in his hand, he chopped through the wooden beam blocking his path and rushed inside.

  "Qīng xià!" Chu Lí's loud voice echoed, but only the roaring flames responded. His face was bright red, sweat dripping down, eyes wide open, his armor torn off, he sprinted into the inner chamber, looking at the tightly closed east wing door. With a flying kick, Chu Lí shattered the door panel and used his elbow to shield his face from the raging flames as he charged in.

  The flames here were more intense than outside, Chu Li frowned tightly, and when his eyes could adapt, he looked around, only to see that everywhere was a charred corpse, the ground was littered with gruesome bodies, all reminding Chu Li how ridiculous his current actions were.

  The people inside are probably already burned to death! The people inside are probably already burned to death!

  Luo Song's words suddenly seemed like a curse echoing in his ears, Chu Li's eyes were about to bleed for an instant, he kicked away a charred corpse with one foot, let out a fierce cry and shouted loudly!

  "Hmm..."

  A faint, low cry suddenly seemed to strike Chu Li's heart like a thunderclap. Even in the midst of such a noisy scene, that voice still made Chu Li's soul return to his body. "Qing Xia, where are you?" Chu Li swiftly swung his long sword, sweeping away the falling dust and debris, and rushed forward.

  The pale blue palace dress flashed into his eyes, a water tank that had already turned crimson like blood stood in the corner of the house. Chu Li knew it was a place for people inside the temple to wash their faces, and a huge excitement suddenly rose up in her heart. Was Qing Xia hiding there? Like a mad tiger, he rushed forward, eagerly looking around.

  Only to see that the water in the vat had long since dried up, a woman lay unconscious inside, her long hair scattered, many places already burned to show her scalp, and her face was even more red and swollen with festering sores, extremely terrifying. However, her clothes were actually the light blue palace attire that Qing Xia wore every day, and on her head was the precious jade pendant that had been awarded to Lan Ting Temple a few days ago.

  No longer caring about the already cracked hot water bottle, he pulled out the woman inside with one hand. Chu Li's face was terrified, tightly hugging the woman's waist, her eyes wide open in tension, violently shaking her body and loudly shouting: "Qing Xia! Qing Xia!"

  The woman didn't react at all, her face twisted by the big fire looked like a demon. Chu Li's eyes suddenly looked like a demon, revealing strong hatred, he tightly grabbed the woman's shoulders and shouted loudly at her face: "Zhuang Qingxia, I order you to wake up! If you dare to disobey my orders, I will kill your whole family!"

  "Damn it!" A crisp curse suddenly came. Chu Li's face was shocked, and he immediately cheered up, hugging the woman's body and shouting loudly: "Qing Xia, you're awake? Are you awake?"

  "Hurry up! Are you waiting to die here?" A soft voice suddenly came, Chu Li was stunned, and only then realized that the sound was coming from behind him. He quickly turned around, and saw Qing Xia wearing a white palace maid's uniform, with a woman in a bright yellow brocade robe on her back. She kicked open the slanted door panel with one foot, rushed in, grabbed Chu Li's hand and loudly called out saying something.

  She was right in front of him, but Chu Li couldn't hear any sound. He just stared blankly at her peaceful face, his heart suddenly filled with immense joy.

  "You're still alive." With a long sigh, Chu Li suddenly felt his whole body go weak and soft, his arms stretched out and pulled Qing Xia into his embrace. His voice was filled with an indescribable joy and relief, all of which was condensed into this one low, husky sigh: "You're still alive."

  Qing Xia's slender body stiffened, and a fleeting, indescribable glimmer flashed in her eyes. She immediately spoke curtly: "Let's go! We can't stay here for long!" She swiftly wrapped the cloak on her body around Chu Li's shoulders, and the wet cloak instantly extinguished the fierce flames on his body. Grasping Chu Li's sturdy arm, Qing Xia said calmly: "There are no survivors; let's leave."

  "Boom!" The massive palace finally collapsed in the raging fire, and Qing Xia and Chu Li leapt out of the collapsing palace at the last moment, landing on the scorching hot ground.

  The bright starlight shone on both of them, and everything seemed like a world apart.