Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

As night fell, the lights on the palace walls flickered, illuminating the mess on the ground. Eunuch Li's words were like a sharp blade, piercing Wu Tao's heart fiercely, making her feel suffocated. The black token in his hand was like a branding iron, shaking in front of her eyes, emitting an unsettling chill.

"What is that?" Hu Bugui's voice brought Wu Tao back to reality from his shock. His sword-like eyebrows were tightly knitted, and his deep eyes were fixed on the direction where Eunuch Li disappeared, as if he wanted to see through the darkness.

Wu Tao opened her mouth but found that she couldn't say anything. Eunuch Li's words, the black token, and the sudden retreat of the man in black were all like a cloud of fog, surrounding her tightly and making her feel extremely confused and scared.

Just then, a deep voice came from behind them: "Do you want to know the answer?"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui turned around suddenly and saw a figure in a black cloak standing not far behind them. The shadow of the cloak covered his face, making it difficult to see his expression.

"Who are you?" Hu Bugui asked vigilantly, tightening the sword in his hand.

The shadow slowly took off his cloak, revealing a young and unfamiliar face. But his words made Wu Tao and Hu Bugui both freeze in their places.

"I'm here to help you. To be more precise, I'm here to help her." He pointed at Wu Tao and said calmly, "Because I'm from the future, just like you."

"What?" Wu Tao exclaimed, looking at the man in front of him who claimed to be from the future in disbelief. Could it be that time travel really existed in this world?

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth." The man seemed to see through Wu Tao's doubts. He sighed and continued, "I came here to prevent a bigger disaster. This war is just the beginning..."

The man's next words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. He told a terrible prophecy about the future, a dark age full of war, plague and death. And the root of all this was hidden in the era they were in...

The night wind howled, blowing Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's clothes, and also blowing away the man's last voice. The prophecy he left behind was like a huge rock pressing on their hearts, making them feel unprecedented heaviness and uneasiness.

Faced with this sudden change, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui fell into deep silence. They didn't know what to do, nor who to trust. But one thing was certain, their fate was closely linked to this mysterious man from the future...

 Chapter 77 The changing situation

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, both seeing incredible shock in each other's eyes. The amount of information brought by the mysterious man was too huge. Future, prophecy, disaster, these words hit their minds like huge waves, making it difficult for them to digest for a while.

"You...are you telling the truth?" Wu Tao's voice trembled slightly. She desperately wanted to grasp a glimmer of hope, but was afraid that behind the hope would be deeper despair.

The mysterious man looked at her with a trace of pity and determination in his eyes. "I guarantee it with my life. I am not lying. I came here to stop all that from happening."

Hu Bugui frowned. He was not someone who believed easily, but the situation was so strange that he could not help but believe it. "How are you going to stop it? What do we need to do?"

"The cause of the incident is related to a treasure that is about to be unearthed..." The mysterious man lowered his voice and told a shocking secret.

The more Wu Tao and Hu Bugui listened, the more frightened they became. They had never thought that such a huge crisis was hidden under the seemingly peaceful era. If what the mysterious man said was true, then everything they did would affect the fate of all people in the world.

"There is no time to lose, we must act as soon as possible." Hu Bugui made a prompt decision. He knew that time was precious and he must not sit and wait for death.

Wu Tao also nodded, his eyes becoming firm, "Tell me, what do you want us to do?"

The three of them discussed and formulated a preliminary plan. Hu Bugui was responsible for contacting various forces and secretly investigating the whereabouts of the treasure. Wu Tao stayed in the palace, using his identity to cover the actions of the mysterious man and to get more information.

"Chun Tao!" Wu Tao called her personal maid, "Take your sisters to comfort the frightened palace servants and tell them that everything will be fine. Also, strengthen the guards at the palace gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order!"

"Yes, Miss!" Although Chun Tao was nervous, she still carried out Wu Tao's orders firmly. She knew that in this turbulent moment, all they could do was to do their best to protect everything around them.

As the night deepened, the palace was filled with a tense atmosphere. In the distance, the sound of horse hooves could be heard. It was the emperor's imperial guards on their way. A bigger storm was about to sweep in...

 Chapter 78 The Storm is Coming

The emperor's carriage sped through the night, disturbing the originally quiet palace. The imperial guards looked solemn, and the torches in their hands illuminated their anxious faces. Obviously, they also felt the oppressive atmosphere of impending storm.

The lights in the imperial study were bright, but the atmosphere was so solemn that it was suffocating. The emperor sat high on the dragon throne, his face livid, and he threw the memorial in his hand hard on the imperial desk, making a dull sound. Below, several important officials were silent, not daring to make a sound.

"Ridiculous! Absurd!" The emperor's furious voice echoed in the empty imperial study. "I have been working diligently to govern the country, why did I suddenly encounter such a disaster?!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down and take care of your health!" Several old ministers knelt down and tried to comfort him.

The emperor took a deep breath and tried to calm his anger. He looked at an old official with white hair and beard below him and asked in a deep voice, "Lord Liu, you are well-versed in history and modern times. Do you know whether this prophecy is true or false?"

Prime Minister Liu stood up tremblingly, clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have read ancient books and have not found any records that completely match this prophecy. However, there are rumors among the people that whenever there is troubled times, strange phenomena will appear in the world, indicating a change in destiny..."

Before Prime Minister Liu finished speaking, the emperor interrupted him impatiently: "Enough! I don't want to hear these empty words! What I want to know is how to prevent this disaster!"

"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to strengthen vigilance, appease the people, and at the same time recruit talented people from all over the world to discuss countermeasures together." The Minister of War stepped forward and proposed.

The emperor nodded, and after a moment's silence, he issued an order: "Pass on my order, the whole country enters a state of emergency, strengthens the city defense, and strictly investigates suspicious people. In addition, pass on the order that anyone who can decipher the prophecy and resolve the crisis will be rewarded with a million taels of silver and be made a marquis and prime minister!"

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the entire court was in motion. For a moment, the entire country was shrouded in a tense atmosphere.

At this time, in a secluded courtyard in the harem, Wu Tao was sitting opposite the mysterious man. The table in front of them was filled with various books and drawings. Wu Tao was holding a brush in his hand, writing and drawing on the paper from time to time.

"Based on the prophecy you described and the clues we have collected these days, I roughly inferred that this disaster is likely related to an ancient formation." Wu Tao put down the brush in his hand, frowning, "This formation uses the right time and place to trigger huge natural disasters. The power is amazing."

The mysterious man's face became serious when he heard this: "If this is true, then things will be troublesome. This formation is extremely complicated. How easy is it to crack it?"

"Not entirely." Wu Tao's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "Although I don't know much about ancient formations, I understand modern science. As long as we can find the key nodes of the formation, it may be possible to use scientific means to crack it."

"The key point?" the mysterious man asked doubtfully.

"That's right." Wu Tao pointed to the blueprint on the table and explained, "Any formation must follow certain rules, and the key nodes are the core that controls the entire formation. As long as you find these nodes, you can find a way to crack it."

After listening to Wu Tao's analysis, the mysterious man had a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but it soon dimmed again: "But where can we find these key nodes?"

Wu Tao pondered for a moment, her eyes fell on the map on the table, and a bold idea gradually formed in her mind...

The solemn atmosphere in the imperial study was like a huge rock, pressing Wu Tao down so hard that she couldn't breathe. She knew that once the emperor's decree came out, the whole city of Chang'an would fall into a tense atmosphere. The people would be in a state of panic, the officials would be exhausted, and she and Hu Bugui would have to find a way to crack the prophecy in this vortex of chaos and protect the hard-earned peace.

After leaving the palace, Hu Bugui did not return home, but went directly to the military camp outside the city. He knew that the panic caused by the prophecy was most likely to breed chaos, and the stability of the border was the first line of defense against all disasters. He needed to strengthen military training and improve morale to deal with possible crises.

Wu Tao returned to their house on the outskirts of the city. This house was originally where Hu Bugui rested and recuperated, but now it became the base for their secret operations. Chun Tao was drying herbs in the yard. When she saw Wu Tao coming back, she hurriedly went to greet him: "Miss, you are back! Where is the prince?"

"Your Highness has important matters to attend to." Wu Tao walked into the study, spread out the map, and replayed the words of the mysterious man in his mind, "The prophecy is not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. Someone wants to use the ancient formation to cause a disaster and achieve their ulterior motives."

Hu Bugui rushed back to the border overnight, strengthened patrols and defenses, and frequently met with envoys from neighboring countries to consolidate alliances and gain more support. He knew that at this critical moment, it was crucial to unite all the forces that could be united.

A few days later, Hu Bugui received a secret letter from Wu Tao, which mentioned that she had found a way to break the formation, but he needed to go to the Western Regions in person to find a special ore that could interfere with the energy flow of the formation and prevent the disaster from happening.

Hu Bugui did not hesitate at all. He immediately arranged border affairs and rushed to the Western Regions with a few trusted men.

At the same time, Wu Tao secretly sneaked into an abandoned temple outside the city according to the clues provided by the mysterious man. This temple has a long history. Legend has it that it was once a royal temple, but was later abandoned due to a fire.

In the underground palace deep in the temple, Wu Tao finally found the core of the formation. It was a huge stone platform, engraved with ancient runes, exuding a strange aura.

Just as Wu Tao was about to study the formation structure carefully, a cold voice suddenly sounded behind her: "You are finally here!"

Wu Tao turned around abruptly and saw a man in a black robe and a bamboo hat standing behind her. She couldn't see his face clearly, but from the powerful aura emanating from him, Wu Tao could conclude that this man was no ordinary person.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Wu Tao asked vigilantly.

The man in black robe sneered and slowly took off his hat, revealing a handsome face. However, his eyes were cold and ruthless, as if nothing in the world could cause him the slightest ripple.

"It doesn't matter who I am. What's important is that I want to make this world run according to my will!" The man in black robe spoke arrogantly with a strong sense of self-confidence.

"Your will? What do you want to do?" Wu Tao had an ominous premonition in his heart.

"I want to change history, overthrow the Tang Dynasty, and establish a completely new order!" The man in black robe spoke with a firm tone, as if what he said was not just a foolish dream, but a reality that was about to come true.

Wu Tao was shocked. It turned out that this was their real purpose!

Just as she was about to fight to the death, the underground palace suddenly shook violently, cracks began to appear on the stone wall, and broken stones kept falling...

A bigger crisis is quietly approaching...

 Peach Blossoms Shining in Chang'an Chapter 77: The Situation Changes

The underground palace was shaking more and more violently, and gravel fell like raindrops, raising dust all over the sky. Wu Tao was so shocked by this sudden change that he took a few steps back, barely avoiding a falling rock.

"What's going on?!" she exclaimed, looking at the man in black robe opposite her.

The man in black robes did not answer. His brows were furrowed and a trace of panic appeared on his face, as if he was not prepared for this sudden situation. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the ceiling where rubble was falling continuously. He cursed in a low voice, "Damn it! The formation is out of control!"

Wu Tao was shocked. Could this be his real purpose? Not just to overthrow the Tang Dynasty, but to... destroy everything? !

"Do you want to destroy everything here?!" Wu Tao asked harshly, with a hint of trembling in his voice.

The man in black robe suddenly laughed wildly, "Destroy? No, I want to create! I want to create a whole new world!" As he spoke, his eyes were fanatical, as if he was possessed.

"You're crazy!" Wu Tao realized that the man in front of him had completely lost his mind. All he had in his eyes was his own twisted ambitions, and he didn't care about the lives of others at all.

The underground palace was still shaking, and a huge crack had appeared on the stone wall above his head, which could collapse at any time. Wu Tao knew that if he didn't leave here, it would be too late!

She no longer paid attention to the black-robed man who had fallen into madness, and turned to run back the way she came. However, just as she was about to run to the exit, there was a loud noise behind her, the entire underground palace shook violently, and the exit was completely blocked by collapsed rocks.

Wu Tao collapsed to the ground in despair. Was she going to be trapped and die here?

Just then, there was a sound of hurried footsteps in the distance, accompanied by a familiar voice, "A Tao! Where are you?!"

It's Hu Bugui! A glimmer of hope ignited in Wu Tao's heart. She struggled to stand up and shouted in the direction of the voice, "I'm here! I'm trapped!"

Soon, Hu Bugui appeared in front of her. He ran to her anxiously and hugged her in his arms. "A Tao, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine..." Wu Tao hugged him tightly, feeling his warm embrace, and her heart finally settled down.

"We have to leave here quickly, it's about to collapse!" Hu Bugui said, pulling her towards the depths of the underground palace.

However, before they ran far, there was a loud earth-shaking noise behind them, and the entire underground palace began to collapse violently...