The girl traveled through another world and forced the prince to take the imperial examination

"Yun Qing...!"

As dawn broke, Mu Qingcheng awoke from a nightmare. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on a soft bed, covered with a thin quilt.

Last night in her dream, she dreamt that Yun Qing was tied to the altar... The heart-wrenching scene was still vivid in her mind, and the cold fear that gripped her heart tightly spread even more clearly the moment she regained consciousness.

"Yun Qing..."

The name was like a thorn, pricking every nerve. She jerked herself up, a wave of dizziness washing over her. Instinctively, she touched her still-flat stomach and took a deep breath.

She suddenly remembered that she had just found out yesterday that she was pregnant with a little life, and before she could even feel happy, she received the devastating news about Yun Qing.

"Awake?" a deep voice came.

Mu Qingcheng turned her head and saw her brother, Mu Qingyan, sitting on the edge of the bed facing her.

Only a small lamp was lit in the room, and the gradually brightening morning light outside the window made his face faintly visible. His expression was one she had never felt before, almost stiff and cold.

It turns out that her brother had been watching over her all along.

Mu Qingcheng had no time to think it through, and disregarded her physical weakness, so she threw off the covers and got out of bed.

Mu Qingyan pressed down on her shoulder, his brows furrowed: "Lie down, you need to rest."

"I can't rest!" Mu Qingcheng grabbed his wrist with astonishing strength, her fingertips icy cold, but she couldn't budge Mu Qingyan's hand.

"Brother, listen to me! I know who kidnapped Yun Qing! I know their purpose!"

Mu Qingyan's eyes darkened: "What good will it do to know? Can you save him, or do you want to go to your death with him?"

Mu Qingcheng was silent for a moment. Her brother was right. She didn't have the ability to save him, but her brother did!

She seemed to grasp at the last glimmer of hope: "Brother, please help me save him, okay?"

Mu Qingcheng revealed all the secrets she knew to Mu Qingyan without holding back. These included the truth about the previous emperor of the Great Qi Kingdom, Emperor Yong'an, not being dead, and the evil forces within the "Holy Domain."

Emperor Yong'an wanted to achieve immortality by changing his body... She spoke quickly but clearly, explaining every detail in great detail.

Finally, she stared intently into her brother's eyes and asked, "Brother, do you know about 'Eastern Sea Wonderland'?"

There was silence in the room.

Mu Qingyan certainly knew; having operated in this sea area for so many years, how could he not know about "Eastern Sea Wonderland"?

"The Holy Domain and Emperor Yong'an are hiding on that island in the Eastern Sea Wonderland. Yun Qing must have been captured and taken there by them."

Mu Qingyan didn't care much about Yun Qing's life or death, but he became interested in "body possession". As a person from the modern world, he had never heard of such a bizarre thing. Was this really not just wishful thinking?

---------

East Sea Wonderland

This place is truly like a fairyland, with exotic flowers and rare herbs everywhere! On the mountaintop, pavilions and towers are built against the mountain, shrouded in a light sea mist that never dissipates, like palaces in the clouds.

That is where the "Sanctuary" is located.

With her hands and feet shackled, Yun Qing walked along the rugged mountain path. Upon seeing the Holy Land, she couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

At the foot of the mountain is Xiaoyue Manor. Behind Xiaoyue Manor, there is a peach grove, and deep within the peach grove, there is a quiet and secluded mansion.

Yun Qing was led to the gate of the mansion. The gate opened, revealing a small, ordinary courtyard house. He was roughly pushed into the main room.

Upon entering, a complex odor hits you – a strong, pungent smell of herbs mixed with the musty dampness of rotting wood, and a hint of an indescribable, sweet, fishy smell, similar to the slow decay of flesh.

The light was almost entirely blocked by the heavy curtains, leaving only a vague outline of the interior.

In the center of the room, on the bed piled with heavy brocade mattresses, a figure was curled up.

It was hard to call it a "person" anymore. It was more like a skeleton draped in loose human skin, sunken into soft fabric, each tiny breath causing the hollow chest to rise and fall. Only those eyes, deep-set beneath the brow bone, occasionally turned in the dim light, flashing a murky yet unusually stubborn light, like will-o'-the-wisps at the bottom of a swamp.

Yun Qing lowered her eyes, letting the shackles rattle softly, controlling her "panicked and bewildered" breathing perfectly. Her gaze seemed to casually sweep over her surroundings, etching every detail of her surroundings into her mind.

Finally, his gaze fell on the withered figure on the bed. This was the monster who had wanted to steal his father's life and now coveted his body, his "grandfather," the former Emperor Yong'an.

"Qing'er..."

The sound rang out. Like a rusty piece of iron slowly dragging across gravel, each word was shrouded in a sticky dampness and a broken, dry quality.

The "skeleton" on the bed stirred, and the brocade quilt made a slight rustling sound. Those ghostly eyes were fixed on Yun Qing's face, and a twisted "kindness" that sent chills down one's spine spread through them.

“You’ve finally come… Come quickly to your grandfather’s side. Let your grandfather take a good look at you…” The last syllable disappeared into a low, hoarse, intermittent, eerie laugh, like the wailing of a night owl.

Yun Qing's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. When he raised his face, all color had drained from it, leaving only the genuine fear and disbelief of a young man who had suddenly experienced a great upheaval. His voice trembled with just the right amount of resistance: "You...who are you? What grandfather? I don't recognize you!"

"Hmph..." Emperor Yong'an let out a hoarse, cold snort, his feigned kindness instantly replaced by venomous resentment. "If it weren't for my unfilial son, and your good father! Would I be trapped here? The capital and the vast empire should have been..."

The word "father" was like a red-hot iron rod, suddenly piercing through Yun Qing's carefully maintained facade. His body stiffened abruptly, his lowered eyelashes revealing a coldness like that of an iceberg.

When he looked up again, all the fear and confusion on his face had vanished without a trace. In its place was an extreme coldness, so cold that a ghostly blue flame seemed to ignite deep within his pupils.

He interrupted the incessant venomous chatter, his voice eerily calm, yet each word like a poisoned icicle:

"My father was exceptionally talented, possessing both literary and military prowess, as well as virtue and ability. He was a rare and wise emperor! What are you to presume to occupy his body? You're just a rat that crawled out of a stinking ditch. How dare you even dream of such a thing?"

The room fell into a sudden, deathly silence.

On the bed, Emperor Yong'an's sunken eye sockets suddenly contracted, and the two ghostly flames flickered violently, locking onto Yun Qing.

After a long, suffocating breath, the corners of that withered, bark-like face slowly parted, twisting into a bizarre smile that mixed astonishment, rage, and manic excitement.

"You... you actually know?" The sound, like sandpaper rubbing, suddenly rose and then was forcibly lowered, turning into a hissing sound like a snake flicking its tongue.

"Good...good! It's good that you know! It saves me a lot of trouble. Since you know that this is the mandate of heaven, you should obey it and offer up your body; it is your destiny!"

"Destiny?" Yun Qing suddenly chuckled and took a step forward.

The shackles clanged together, the clear, sharp sound particularly chilling in the deathly silent room. He showed no fear, his gaze like the sharpest blade, scraping across the other's wretched form.

"Your destiny was severed the moment you harbored demonic thoughts and harmed your loved ones. You've lingered on until now, clinging to life by stealing blood to continue your filthy existence, and you still dare to claim it as your destiny?"

His gaze slowly swept over the other man's withered hands, sunken cheeks, and the decaying aura emanating from within, which even the strong smell of medicine couldn't mask—a mockery as tangible as reality.

“Look at yourself. You’re nothing but a wicked ghost that’s forced to stay in the human world by clinging to your obsession and using evil magic. Even all these medicinal herbs in this room can’t penetrate the stench emanating from your bones. Immortality? Is your so-called ‘immortality’ just turning yourself into this monster that dares not see the light and can only hide in this tomb to rot?”

"presumptuous!!!"

Emperor Yong'an felt as if his last veil of shame had been ripped away. His withered, claw-like hands clenched tightly around the brocade quilt beneath him, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged like earthworms.

He gasped for breath, his eyes burning with a terrifyingly intense ghostly light: "I am the Son of Heaven! I desire immortality, and Heaven and Earth shall bow before me! Your bloodline is my sustenance from birth! Your bodies being of my use is your supreme glory! I will borrow your bodies to reclaim my supreme position, to enjoy the vast empire, and to be immortal for eternity!"

His furious roar only made him appear outwardly strong but inwardly weak, revealing a desperate madness.

Yun Qing listened quietly until the roar gradually subsided in the room. There was no fear on his face; instead, a cold, mocking expression, almost one of pity, rose to his lips.

He stepped forward again, the shackles clanking softly. Before he even reached the bed, two guards pressed down on his shoulders, preventing him from taking another step.

But Yunqing still spoke each word clearly and distinctly into the other person's ears:

“Then let’s give it a try, my ‘grandfather’.”

"Let's see if your embers, long since burnt out, will be blown away by the wind first?" He curled his lips into a cold smile: "Or will I, the 'firewood' in your eyes, be the first to ignite a great fire and burn your painstakingly constructed tomb of the living dead, along with everything inside that cannot withstand the light of day, to ashes."

His voice was even lower, yet it carried a resolute determination like iron striking stone: "Trying to take my body? Beware... you'll be shattered to pieces, your soul scattered to the winds."