He Lan Tianxia

The palace was in a state of extreme tension. A group of imperial physicians took turns diagnosing and treating Murong Junlan, but they were all helpless. Murong Junlan remained unconscious, and the emperor's face turned as black as a pot.

“Your Majesty, last time the Princess Consort was poisoned, it was Brother Lingyi who saved her,” Jiang He boldly stepped forward to remind her.

"Then please come quickly," the Emperor said urgently to Jiang He.

"But I don't know where he lives?" Jiang He was troubled.

“Guard Jiang, I know.” Yan’er suddenly spoke up, and the Emperor remembered that there was someone standing there beside him. Although the Emperor had erased the memory of the treasure room, Murong Junlan was her husband, and the memory of crossing the Cliff of Broken Hearts and falling off the cliff had not been erased. She remembered that Lingyi lived in the Spirit Serpent Cave.

The Wubei Kingdom outside the city had not yet withdrawn its troops. To facilitate the operation, the emperor sent ten elite imperial guards, along with Jiang He and the woman, to set off through a secret passage to Broken Heart Cliff.

The Cliff of Broken Hearts remained unchanged, its mountains high and forests dense. Where was Lingyi? The Imperial Guards watched Jiang He, who in turn stared at the woman hesitant on the cliff edge. The woman didn't want anyone to know that Lingyi was a snake, so she asked Jiang He to lower her down the cliff with a rope. Jiang He hesitated. He thought to himself, what if something went wrong and the princess accidentally fell? He dared not attempt such an experiment. Jiang He inwardly grumbled at Lingyi's choice to live on a cliff—why did she have to live anywhere else? Ah, perhaps it's just a matter of personal preference.

Since they dared not go down, the only option was to shout loudly from the cliff. Starting with Jiang He, the ten guards took turns shouting. But after shouting all morning, there was no response from below. With no other choice, Jiang He had to follow the woman's suggestion. However, he dared not let the woman go down alone, so he immediately tied himself up and had himself lowered down.

The large tree was found, but the cave was nowhere to be found. The woman clearly remembered a spirit snake cave at the top of the tree's roots, but she just couldn't find it. She thought to herself, even if Lingyi was a spirit that had cultivated itself, the spirit snake cave couldn't have vanished into thin air. Her mind automatically conjured up certain scenes from Journey to the West. However, little did they know that Lingyi had gone into seclusion after returning from the Yan Kingdom and had even set up a barrier around himself, so those outside couldn't see anything. Since they couldn't find it, the group had no choice but to return home.

In the palace's rear courtyard, Murong Junlan remained unconscious. The Emperor's anxious expression made everyone in the palace hold their breath.

The woman sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her husband, who was deeply poisoned and had never become her husband, overwhelmed with mixed feelings. She thought, "Finally, Murong Junlan didn't reject me, but he's going to die young. What's the point of transmigrating? I'm no different from someone who's swallowing a bitter pill." No, she couldn't let him die so easily. She had to wake him up. Just as she reached out, she noticed something familiar around Murong Junlan's neck. Upon closer inspection, she smiled—it was a glass lock. Wait a minute, why was the glass lock around Murong Junlan's neck? She remembered asking him last time, and he said he'd help her find it. She hadn't expected him to hide it. Not only did he not return her things, but he was wearing them too—what did that mean? A prince of such stature was making such a despicable move. The woman's anger flared. In her anger, she forgot about Murong Junlan's poisoning. She slapped Murong Junlan's shoulder, saying with a hint of disapproval, "I can't believe a prince of your stole someone else's things! Explain yourself!" Then she reached for the glass lock.

At this moment, Murong Junlan was truly wronged. He had hidden her glass lock, but how could he dare to wear it? It was only when the maid was changing his clothes that she saw the glass lock on his waist and thought that this lock might protect the prince, so she helped him put it around his neck.

The Empress Dowager was displeased when she saw the woman taking her grandson's things. She loudly warned, "Who dares to touch my grandson's things?"

“Grandmother, this glass lock is mine,” the woman argued.

“How can you say that something worn around my grandson’s neck isn’t his?” The Empress Dowager reached out to protect the woman, preventing her from taking it off.

"If you don't believe me, just ask him when he wakes up." The woman sat there angrily, and taking advantage of her grandmother's inattention, she quickly reached out to pick it.

"Stop!" The Empress Dowager was furious and pounded the ground with her dragon-headed cane. "Guards, throw this witch out!" Jiang He stood still, while two guards stepped forward and dragged the woman away.

"Give me back my glass lock! It's mine!" the woman cried, struggling desperately.

"Get out. Keep a close eye on her and don't let her step into the Prince's bedroom." The Empress Dowager said angrily, "She dares to act so presumptuously in front of me. It seems she's tired of living."

The woman thought to herself, if she didn't retrieve the glass lock today, she might never get it back; it was her only hope of returning to the 21st century. So she pretended to go out, then suddenly broke free from the two guards' grasp and rushed back to Murong Junlan's bedside to unlock the lock. She had only half-unlocked it when a cane struck her with a sharp crack, causing excruciating pain in her back. Ignoring the pain, she continued trying to unlock it. Another cane fell crisply, but the woman clung tightly to the lock.

"Let's see if your bones are harder, or if my cane is harder." Another blow landed with the cane. Jiang He couldn't bear to watch, but he dared not step forward, worried that if the beating continued, the princess would suffer serious injury.

The glass lock was finally removed, and the woman was about to stand up when her grandmother's cane struck her back, causing her to faint with a thud. Her head had just hit Murong Junlan's head.

"Empress Dowager." Jiang He's palms were sweating with fear.

"Yan'er." Murong Junlan was jolted awake by the impact. He looked at the person lying on top of him, then at Jiang He, and said weakly, "Call the imperial physician."

"Grandson, you're awake!" The Empress Dowager exclaimed excitedly, throwing down her cane.

"Grandmother, please don't make things difficult for Yan'er." After saying that, Murong Junlan closed her eyes again.

"Lan'er, wake up, don't scare me!" the Empress Dowager called anxiously by the bedside.

At this moment, the imperial physician arrived. He assumed the physician was to treat Murong Junlan, but Jiang He stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve, gesturing with his chin towards the woman. However, Jiang He immediately realized this wouldn't be conducive to treatment, so he instructed a maid to help the woman to a guest room next door for treatment.

……

Lingyi had been in seclusion in the Spirit Serpent Cave, mainly to remove the toxins remaining in his body from the previous incident and to absorb some nourishing supplements. Today was the day he was to emerge from seclusion, and the snakes had already lined up outside the cave to wait, having specially caught a lot of delicious food for their cave master to celebrate with.

Just as the cave door opened, a loud rumble suddenly came from the treasure room, followed by a crack in the stone wall. A cloud of sand and stones swept in, and an old man with white hair and a youthful face walked out of the cave.

"Why are you still in seclusion? Your master is about to die. If you miss this life, who knows how many thousands or tens of thousands of years you'll have to wait."

"Master?" Lingyi was completely confused.

"It's that Murong Junlan from the Du Yan Kingdom." The old man plopped down on a large rock and said in a bad tone, "I don't know if that fellow has offended some god recently, he keeps getting poisoned."

"Poisoned? Prince Murong has been poisoned?" Lingyi asked.

"Who else could it be? It must be that couple who's addicted to the poison." The old man grabbed a few small stones and threw them around haphazardly.

"I'll go save him right now."

"Wait. This time, Murong Junlan's poisoning is much more severe than that of his queen, and he is on the verge of death. However, because you have already damaged your vital energy the last two times, if you try to save him again this time, I'm afraid your thousand years of cultivation will be wasted, and you will only be able to return to your original form."

“This…” Lingyi’s mind went blank for a moment.

"It's true that Murong Junlan saved your and Cangying's lives from the hunters back then, but you two have loyally served him for generations, which can be considered as repayment. Whether you save them this time or not, think it over carefully." After saying that, the old man turned into a white light and disappeared on the spot.

"Senior." Before Ling Yi could even say thank you, the old man had vanished, and the treasure room returned to its original state. No wonder he had felt a sense of déjà vu with Murong Junlan and his wife; it turned out to be his master. Ling Yi immediately decided to set off for the Du Yan Kingdom.

Upon emerging from the pass, he was greeted by rows of his sworn brothers, snakes, who had prepared a celebratory feast for him. He was grateful. However, he could not delay; he had to set off immediately. So, he instructed the leading snake generals to prepare an antidote for him to take with him. But this time, the snakes were not as enthusiastic as before; they simply stood there motionless.

"What, you're not listening to me anymore?" Lingyi glanced sternly at the neatly lined-up snakes.

"Cave Master, did you go to rescue someone again?"

“Hmm.” Lingyi wasn’t lying to them.

"Cave Master, you cannot go."

“Yes. We can’t let you go to save people.” The snakes said resolutely.

“You’ve been poisoned every time you come back. You’re our cave master, we can’t let you get hurt anymore.”

Lingyi's eyes instantly welled up with tears. He smiled and said in a forced tone, "Lingyi thanks you for your concern, brothers and sisters. Don't worry, I will try my best to be careful."

Suddenly, all the snakes bowed their heads to the ground and cried out in unison, "Master, you cannot go."

"It is my blessing to know you, Lingyi." Lingyi bowed to the snakes and said, "As the saying goes, a drop of water in need should be repaid with a spring of water. Today, I am going to save my savior, who has been poisoned."

The snakes dispersed after hearing this. Considering the severity of Murong Junlan's condition, Lingyi decided to gather antidotes along the way while traveling. He transformed into a giant python and soared through the mountains. Upon reaching the border of the mountain city, Lingyi was stunned. Rows of snakes stood with their heads raised, waiting for him, before them piles of antidotes. Moved, Lingyi bowed deeply three times to the snakes, then coiled up the vines and soared into the sky.