Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Dust flew, gravel rolled, and Wu Tao's heartbeat was as deafening as a drum. Hu Bugui hugged her tightly, using his body to protect her from the possible danger of falling. After a while, the earthquake stopped, but the shadow of death still loomed over them.

"Are we still alive?" Wu Tao's voice trembled, as if it came from a distant place.

"Alive, we are still alive!" Hu Bugui's voice was firm and powerful, giving Wu Tao great courage.

They supported each other and stood up, looking around in the dim light. The originally spacious tunnel had been blocked by collapsed rocks, leaving only a small space. Despair, like a poisonous snake, wrapped around their hearts, but Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were not defeated by fear.

"A Tao, do you remember what that man said?" Hu Bugui's voice pulled Wu Tao back from the edge of despair, "He said he came from the future to prevent a disaster."

"I remember," Wu Tao took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, "he said that this disaster would destroy the Tang Dynasty, and we are the only hope."

The mysterious man's words were like a fog that enveloped them, making it difficult to see the direction. But one thing was certain: they could not just sit there and wait for death.

"A Tao, let's not tell anyone else about this," Hu Bugui pondered for a moment, "This matter is too unbelievable. We can't cause panic before we find out the truth."

Wu Tao nodded in agreement. The most important thing now was to figure out who the man who claimed to be from the future was. What was the disaster he was talking about? Could they really stop it from happening?

"Let's find a way to leave here first," Hu Bugui said, and began to observe the surrounding environment, "Maybe there are other exits."

They groped in the tunnel, looking for any hope of escape. As time passed, hope gradually became slim. Just when Wu Tao was about to despair, Hu Bugui suddenly shouted in surprise.

"A Tao, look!" He pointed to a slate in the corner, "This slate seems to be moving!"

Together they pushed open the stone slab, revealing a narrow passage.

"Maybe we can escape from here." Wu Tao's voice was full of hope.

Without any hesitation, they entered the unknown passage. The darkness swallowed them, but also brought them new hope and unknown challenges...

In the narrow passage, Wu Tao could not see his hand in front of his face. He could only hold on to the corner of Hu Bugui's clothes and grope his way forward. The air was filled with the smell of damp soil, mixed with an indescribable smell of decay, which made people feel depressed. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a faint light appeared in front of him, like a firefly in the darkness, bringing hope of life.

The two quickened their pace and finally crawled out of the passage. The scene before them shocked them greatly. It turned out to be a long-abandoned courtyard with overgrown weeds and broken walls. It looked even more desolate under the cover of night.

"Where is this place? How did we find this place?" Wu Tao looked around, his heart full of doubts.

Hu Bugui pondered for a moment and pointed to a stone tablet not far away, "Look, that's..."

Wu Tao followed his gaze and saw a few unclear words engraved on the stone tablet. He could vaguely make out the words "Royal Villa".

"Royal Villa?" Wu Tao exclaimed, "Could this be..."

Fragments of history flashed through his mind quickly, and Wu Tao suddenly remembered that according to historical records, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, a royal villa was built outside the city. Later, it was abandoned due to a fire and no one has cared about it since then.

"Could it be that we have found this legendary royal villa by accident?" Wu Tao murmured to himself, feeling mixed emotions.

Hu Bugui held her hand and said, "A Tao, don't worry. At least we are safe now."

Wu Tao nodded. "You are right. We cannot just sit there and wait for death. We must find a way to deal with the next crisis as soon as possible."

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "Bugui, I remember you once said that you learned some military tactics in the army. Maybe we can..."

"You want to..." Hu Bugui's eyes lit up and he instantly understood what she meant.

"That's right," Wu Tao's eyes flashed with determination, "Since we can't predict what will happen in the future, we can only do our best to strengthen our own strength and make full preparations."

She paused and continued, "We can use the modern technology I know to make some simple defense tools, such as..."

Wu Tao lowered her voice and told Hu Bugui her idea in detail. After listening to it, Hu Bugui's eyes were full of admiration, "A Tao, your idea is really great! Why didn't I think of it?"

"Let's start preparing without further ado!" Wu Tao said, and began to search for usable materials in the yard.

Hu Bugui was responsible for contacting friendly forces in the surrounding area, informing them of their current situation and possible crises, hoping to get their help and support.

Chuntao assisted and organized the maids to learn self-defense skills. She was also responsible for the allocation of supplies to ensure that everything was in order.

As the night deepened, the lights in the Royal Villa were brightly lit. Everyone was preparing for the upcoming challenge. The air was filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere. Thousands of miles away, a pair of eyes were silently watching all this, with a meaningful smile on the corner of their mouth...

The night wind blew through the ruins, making a humming sound like a ghost's whisper, adding a bit of eeriness to the quiet royal villa. However, the lights in the center of the courtyard dispelled some of the darkness, illuminating the busy figures and Wu Tao's determined eyes.

Chun Tao was organizing all the maids in the yard to do simple self-defense training according to Wu Tao's instructions. These women who usually only knew how to embroider and brew tea, now picked up wooden sticks and practiced stabbing and blocking seriously. Although their movements were still clumsy and there was a bit of fear on their faces, the instinct for survival made them grit their teeth and persist, not daring to slack off.

"Girl, do you think this is feasible?" Chuntao wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked Wu Tao for advice.

"Well, everyone is working hard," Wu Tao looked around and encouraged, "Remember, we must believe in ourselves, and even if we encounter danger, we must bravely protect ourselves!"

"Yes, young lady!" the maids answered in unison. Although their voices were childish, they revealed a firm strength.

Wu Tao looked at them, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. After coming to the Tang Dynasty for so long, she had already regarded these maids as her own relatives. No matter what, she would do her best to protect their safety.

"A Tao," Hu Bugui came over from a distance at this time, his face solemn, "I have contacted several reliable generals nearby, and they promised to send people to protect us secretly, but... the situation is still not optimistic."

"I understand," Wu Tao nodded, "We can't pin our hopes on others. We must prepare for the worst."

"Oh, right," Hu Bugui seemed to remember something, took out a neatly folded piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Wu Tao, "This is... that person asked me to pass it to you."

"That person?" Wu Tao took the parchment puzzledly and unfolded it slowly. He saw some information recorded on it with strange symbols and pictures.

"What are these?" Wu Tao frowned. She had never seen these symbols before, but they seemed inexplicably familiar to her.

“I don’t know either,” Hu Bugui shook his head. “That person said… you will understand after you read it.”

Wu Tao pondered for a moment and began to carefully study the contents of the parchment. Gradually, her eyes changed from confusion to shock, and finally to a gleam of joy.

"I know! I know what to do!" Wu Tao said excitedly, "These symbols...are some kind of code, recording some clues about future technology!"

"Future technology?" Hu Bugui was even more confused, "But...how is this possible?"

"There's no time to explain so much now," Wu Tao took Hu Bugui's hand, "Let's try these clues first, maybe... we can really find a way to break through the dilemma!"

As the night deepened, in the Royal Courtyard, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were carefully studying the contents of the parchment in the dim candlelight, and those technological clues from the future were about to open a door to hope for them...

In the distance, a pair of eyes were still watching all this in the darkness, and the meaningful smile on the corner of his mouth seemed to have a little more playfulness...

Wu Tao took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, pointed at a picture on the parchment and explained to Hu Bugui: "Look, does this look like the revolving lantern we saw at the market before? But its internal structure is much more complicated, and it seems to have some kind of mechanism hidden inside."

Hu Bugui took a closer look. Sure enough, the picture was somewhat similar to the revolving lantern, but it had many more parts and symbols that he had never seen before. "You mean..."

"If I'm guessing correctly, this should be a simple defense device made using the principles of gears and levers." Wu Tao pointed to the symbols on the picture and explained to Hu Bugui based on his basic knowledge of physics, "We can use the existing materials to make similar devices and place them in key locations such as courtyard walls and doorways. Once someone invades, the mechanism will be triggered, sounding an alarm, or even..."

Wu Tao didn't say anything more, but Hu Bugui already understood what she meant. A gleam flashed in his eyes, and his tone was full of praise: "A Tao, you are so smart! If we can really make this kind of defense device, then our safety will be better guaranteed."

"Let's get started now!" Wu Tao said, and began to prepare the necessary materials. She directed the maids to move wooden boards, ropes, stones and other items to the yard, and began to cut and assemble according to the instructions on the drawings.

At the same time, Hu Bugui was not idle. Relying on the connections he had accumulated over the years, he secretly contacted several monarchs of neighboring countries who were on good terms with him. These countries had been threatened by mysterious forces before, so they immediately agreed with Hu Bugui's proposal and expressed their willingness to send troops to help and fight against unknown enemies together.

After a few days of hard work, the fortifications designed by Wu Tao were initially completed. On the towering courtyard wall, a simple alarm device consisting of gears and levers was installed at intervals. Once someone tried to climb over the wall, the mechanism would be triggered, making a loud noise to remind the people in the courtyard to prepare for defense. Multiple traps and obstacles were also set up at the gate of the courtyard. Even if the enemy broke through the courtyard wall, it would be difficult to enter the inner courtyard easily.

Looking at the newly renovated villa in front of them, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui felt a little relieved. Although they didn't know what challenges they would face in the future, at least now they were fully prepared to deal with all unknown threats.

However, just when everything seemed to be on track, a mysterious letter arrived, breaking the brief tranquility of the villa. There was no signature on the envelope, only a bright red mark with a strange and mysterious pattern, as if foreshadowing that a greater challenge was about to come...

Just when everything seemed to be on track, a mysterious letter broke the brief tranquility of the villa. In the evening, Chuntao took a letter. There was no signature on the envelope, only a bright red mark with a strange and mysterious pattern, as if foreshadowing that a greater challenge was coming.

Wu Tao took the letter and her heart sank. She slowly unfolded the letter and saw a line of small words on it: "On the night of the full moon, I will be waiting for you at the Shili Pavilion outside the city." The handwriting was unrestrained and uninhibited, revealing a chilling chill.

"What's wrong? Whose letter is it from?" Hu Bugui asked with concern when he saw Wu Tao's serious expression.

Wu Tao handed him the letter and shook his head: "It's unsigned, but judging from the tone, it seems like the sender has bad intentions."

Hu Bugui read the contents of the letter carefully, his brows slightly furrowed, "Full moon night, Shili Pavilion outside the city... This is clearly an invitation to go out with us."

"Are you going or not?" Chun Tao, who was listening at the side, was terrified and couldn't help asking.

Neither Wu Tao nor Hu Bugui answered immediately, but fell into deep thought.

"Go! Why not?" Wu Tao suddenly raised his head, his eyes determined, "Hiding is not a solution. Since they dare to challenge us, we should face them head-on!"

Hu Bugui gave her an admiring look and said, "Okay! Just as you say! I want to see who is behind this!"

"But..." Chuntao wanted to persuade her further but was interrupted by Wu Tao.

"Chun Tao, don't worry. We know what to do." Wu Tao patted her hand soothingly. "You just need to follow my instructions and make preparations."

"Yes, miss." Although Chuntao was nervous, she knew she couldn't help much and could only pray silently for their safe return.

The full moon night soon arrived, and the silver moonlight spread all over the earth, adding a bit of mystery to the quiet night. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui had already changed into night clothes and quietly left the villa.

Under the cover of night, two horses galloped away, heading towards the direction of Shili Pavilion outside the city. However, they didn't know that behind them, a pair of eyes were staring at them closely, with a cold smile on the corner of their mouth...