The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Yan Yu was enjoying the long-lost happiness when he felt something was wrong. Ping An was already vomiting and his body was tilting, about to fall off the horse.

Yan Yu quickly pulled the reins to slow the horse down gradually, and Yan Yu grabbed Ping An who was about to fall off the horse.

After the horse had completely stopped running, Yan Yu dismounted and lifted Ping An off the horse's back.

Seeing Ping An in pain, Yan Yu blamed himself in his heart. He had lived two lives and his age added up to several times that of Ping An, but he still had a childish nature and suffered from the second-year syndrome from time to time.

"Ping'an, why don't you wait here? I'll go to the front and rent a carriage." Yan Yu looked at Ping'an's pale face and had no doubt that if he continued like this, Ping'an would be dead before they reached their destination.

"No, no, I'm fine." Ping An waved his hands weakly. He knew better than anyone that Yan Yu was broke, and he didn't want to spend all his money on him and make things difficult for Yan Yu. "I just wasn't used to it at first. I'll be fine after a few more times."

Yan Yu looked at Ping An, hesitant to speak. He knew Ping An was afraid of spending money and embarrassing himself. At this moment, Yan Yu suddenly felt quite useless.

"Master, I'm really fine." Ping An raised his head and gave Yan Yu a smile that was uglier than crying.

"It's so ugly, stop laughing." Yan Yu turned his face away and didn't look at Ping An.

After a short rest, Ping An stood up and took the initiative to say, "I'm fine, sir, let's go."

It was getting dark, and if they didn't hurry up, they would have to rest in the wild at night.

"Okay, let's find a place to rest here today. It's not too late to continue our journey after we have rested. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time if you rush like this." Yan Yu looked around. This place was really a wilderness. Forget about having a house for them to sleep at night. There was not even a place to shelter from the wind.

"Master, let's leave quickly. It's impossible to live in this wilderness." Ping An himself didn't care, but his young master was a pampered child. He had been in poor health since childhood and he always fell ill even though he was well taken care of. If he fell ill in this wilderness, it would be terrible. They were on the run now.

"Okay, I've decided. Let's rest here tonight. There's no hardship that two grown men can't endure. We'll just make do for one night. After a good rest, we'll continue our journey tomorrow." Yan Yu waved his hand and made the final decision.

When the two of them left home, they were in a hurry. Apart from the two of them, they only had a horse and ten taels of silver.

Even if he had money, he couldn't buy food in this desolate wilderness, so Yan Yu's first priority was to solve the problem of food and clothing. After all, if he couldn't fill his stomach, how would he have the energy to travel tomorrow?

"You wait here, I'll go find something to eat." Yan Yu observed the surrounding environment. They were now in a mountainous area. If they were lucky, it would be no problem to go into the mountains and catch some pheasants or the like.

"Sir, let me do it." Ping An quickly stood up from the ground. His son was only devoted to reading books of sages and philosophers. He was lazy and didn't know the difference between grains. How could he find anything to eat?

"Just sit still and don't move!" Yan Yu grabbed Ping'an and stopped him from moving. If Ping'an followed him, he wouldn't be able to display his abilities, and they would definitely go hungry tonight.

Ping An, who was scolded, sat back down with a feeling of grievance. He didn't know why he was sometimes really afraid of Yan Yu. He always felt that there was an aura and pressure from Yan Yu that made people inexplicably submit.

Without Ping'an, his little follower, holding him back, Yan Yu ran much faster. He was lucky as he encountered a rabbit just as he reached the foot of the mountain.

Yan Yu ran towards the rabbit at an extremely fast speed. Before the rabbit could figure out what was going on, Yan Yu caught it and held it in his hand by its ears.

"Wow, this rabbit is really fat. Just one is enough for Ping An and I to have a full meal." In his previous life, Yan Yu was always on the march and fighting, so it was common for him to sleep in the open and catch wild game to satisfy his hunger. Small and medium-sized prey such as wild boars and roe deer were no problem for him, and a rabbit was even less worth mentioning to him.

After Yan Yu caught the rabbit, he did not continue to walk into the mountains, but chose to return the same way. Although Ping An was a boy, he had no experience in survival in the wild and was very timid. Yan Yu was afraid that if he stayed outside for too long, Ping An would be scared if he was alone.

Seeing the sky getting darker and darker, Ping An could no longer sit still. Although he had no experience in surviving in the wild, he was not stupid and knew that he needed to light a fire to keep warm when he was outside at night, and the fire could also drive away wild animals.

So even though he was very afraid of the dark, Ping An still encouraged himself and plucked up courage, and went out alone to collect a lot of firewood.

When Yan Yu came back, he saw Ping An had already lit the fire and was waiting for him.

Yan Yu walked over to the fire, nodded with satisfaction, and praised: "Well, not bad, you even remembered to collect firewood and light the fire first."

Before Ping An could respond, Yan Yu held the rabbit in front of him and boasted, "Look, I caught a rabbit. We're going to have a meaty dinner tonight. We're going to have rabbit meat."

Ping'an looked at the rabbit in Yan Yu's hand with his eyes wide open. He couldn't believe that Yan Yu had caught the rabbit. After all, Yan Yu's previous image of being weak and vulnerable was deeply rooted in his mind and was difficult to change.

Yan Yu knew from Ping An's expression that he didn't believe he had caught the rabbit. Without further explanation, he pulled out the dagger he carried with him and quickly skinned the rabbit, then roasted it over the fire. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, leaving Ping An stunned.

As Ping An stared in amazement, in complete disbelief and inability to accept, Yan Yu roasted the rabbit and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

"My jaw is about to drop." Yan Yu handed the cut rabbit meat to Ping An, "Eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Ping An took the rabbit meat but didn't eat it. Instead, he looked at Yan Yu and asked, "Master, is this also a new skill you learned in your dream when you were sick and unconscious, and your soul was wandering in the void?"

Yan Yu almost choked on the meat he had just swallowed. He coughed a few times and wanted to laugh but didn't dare. This was when he had just come through. When Ping An found that something was wrong with him and asked him about it, he made up a story and said that when he was unconscious, he met a god in his dream, who gave him guidance and taught him some things, so he became different from before.

At that time, he just wanted to temporarily appease Ping An and prevent him from suspecting that he was the owner of a replaced core. He didn't expect that Ping An actually took his nonsense seriously.

"Yeah, that's right." He had to cover up his lie even if he had to grit his teeth. Yan Yu suddenly felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

"Did I teach you anything else?" Ping An stared at Yan Yu with a frighteningly persistent look.

"Yes, I taught you, I taught you." Yan Yu lowered his head and ate the meat in his hand frantically. He just wanted to get over this matter as soon as possible. If Ping An kept asking questions like this, he wouldn't know how to continue.

"What did you teach?" Ping'an was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I've taught you a lot of things, and you'll understand when the time comes. Okay, stop asking questions and eat quickly. It won't taste good if it gets cold. There's nothing else for you to eat in this remote place."

Ping An fell silent. Just when Yan Yu thought the matter was over, Ping An suddenly spoke up, "I'm so envious! If only I could get a serious illness and pass out, and then my soul could wander into the void, then I could become as powerful as you, young master."

Yan Yu couldn't hold it in any longer, and the meat he hadn't swallowed yet suddenly spurted out. What a sin! People really can't lie. One lie requires countless lies to make up for it.

In Yuxiu Palace, it was already late at night, and Shen Tianjiao was still reviewing memorials.

"Master, why don't you take a rest first? It's not too late to look at these tomorrow." Chunchao felt sorry for Shen Tianjiao. It had only been a few days, and Shen Tianjiao had become much more haggard at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Today's work must be done today, there will be tomorrow's work waiting for you." Shen Tianjiao rubbed her sore neck. This was really killing her. She had thought it would be very hard, but she didn't expect that the reality would be harder than she imagined.

But it was too late for her to regret now. No matter how hard it was, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and deal with it. Fortunately, Qiong Niang was by her side and helped her a lot, otherwise she would have gone crazy long ago.

"Master, you are looking for me." Qiu Tong came in from outside, saluted Shen Tianjiao, and stood aside.

When Shen Tianjiao saw Qiu Tong coming, she put down the memorial in her hand and asked, "How is Bai Yunchi?"

"He still looks half-dead. He eats and sleeps all day long. He's almost turned into a pig." Shen Tianjiao had instructed Qiu Tong not to blame Bai Yunchi for the time being, otherwise Bai Yunchi would never have lived such a carefree life.

If it was just that lifeless look, Qiu Tong could still tolerate it, but the key point was that the ignorant brat actually dared to tease her in front of her. But she could only endure it and could not do anything to that brat.

"Master, can't I really hit him?" Qiu Tong felt that her patience with Bai Yunchi had reached its limit. If she allowed Bai Yunchi to continue to be so arrogant, she would definitely go crazy.

Seeing Qiu Tong's exasperated look, Shen Tianjiao couldn't help laughing. This girl was always so calm and composed that it was scary. She often made people feel that she was not a flesh-and-blood person. This was the first time she had seen her so angry. However, Shen Tianjiao quite liked her. Qiu Tong, who could get angry and furious like this, seemed like a living person.

"Please bear with it for two more days. Once his father, Bai Qishan, leaves the capital, you can deal with him as you please. After all, dealing with his son in front of Bai Qishan is a bit excessive."

Shen Tianjiao's comfort worked, and Qiu Tong soon calmed down.

"Master, I have one more thing to report to you." Qiu Tong calmed down and quickly returned to her normal self.

"Well, go ahead." Shen Tianjiao was really tired. It would be nice to listen to something else to change her mood.

"It's about Hongying." Qiu Tong's calm expression showed a hint of uneasiness and worry.

"Oh, what's wrong? She finally couldn't hold on any longer and wanted to confess?" Shen Tianjiao was so busy that she almost forgot about Hongying. Only when Qiu Tong mentioned her did she remember that there was such a person.

"Well, it's just that the things she said were a bit too extreme. Whether they are true or not remains to be verified." Qiu Tong, who has always been decisive in her words and deeds, stuttered for a rare time.

Shen Tianjiao looked up at Qiu Tong, and for some reason her heart suddenly started beating faster. She had a feeling that what Qiu Tong was going to say must be very explosive, at least jaw-droppingly so.

"Hongying is from Southern Xinjiang. She came to the capital from Southern Xinjiang with her master. Five years ago, her master sent her to the palace and made her obey Concubine Feng."

"Witchcraft is prevalent in Southern Xinjiang. She has been learning it from her master since she was young. She is not only an expert in using witchcraft, but also a master in using poison."

"Her main purpose in entering the palace is, is..." Qiu Tong was thinking about what words to use to describe what she was going to say next.

"Just say it directly. There's no need to hide it. I can accept any result." Shen Tianjiao became inexplicably nervous.

"Her main purpose in entering the palace was to help Concubine Feng inflict a love poison on the Emperor. Once infected with this poison, a person will remain devoted to one person until death."

"But the longer this kind of Gu stays in the human body, the more it will slowly enter the person's internal organs and begin to corrode them. Finally, after the internal organs are completely devoured, the person's body will melt into water and disappear."

Even someone as calm and composed as Qiu Tong couldn't help but feel a chill and fear after hearing this secret. Hongying, such a terrifying person, had actually stayed in Yuxiu Palace for three years without anyone noticing anything unusual about her. Fortunately, the master had noticed something was wrong with her this time, otherwise who knows what terrible things would happen in the future?

Shen Tianjiao shuddered all over, and suddenly thought of something. After Li Rui ascended the throne, he held a large-scale beauty pageant to enrich his harem, and he spent a long period of time in a life of luxury.

At that time, new people came to the harem from time to time. Not only Shen Tianjiao was neglected, but also Feng Yuanyuan, who was once favored.

Later, for some unknown reason, Feng Yuanyuan suddenly regained his favor. Others said that Li Rui had not forgotten his old love and was truly in love with Feng Yuanyuan, his childhood sweetheart. At that time, Shen Tianjiao did not think much about it and thought that Li Rui was deeply in love with Feng Yuanyuan.

But I never thought that there would be such a big secret hidden behind it. There is no such thing as invincible true love and unchanging old love. Behind the whitewashed lies is human greed and terror.