He Lan Tianxia

The pale-faced scholar woke up the next day. He opened his eyes but couldn't see Yan Mei. Panicked, he sat up and got out of bed, but everything went black and he fell headfirst off the bed.

"You've vomited so much blood, do you want to die?" Yan's voice came coldly from behind. Even though he was lying on the ground, the pale-faced scholar felt a warmth in his heart. However, the next sentence made his heart sink again: "Open the stone door, I want to go out."

"Cough... Sister Yan, I..." The pale-faced scholar tried to get up from the ground, but he was shaking violently. He shook his head a few times, stumbled a few times, and finally sat back down on the bed, holding onto the edge of the bed. The poison he had made himself was quite potent.

"Are you going to open the stone door or not?" Yanmei impatiently threw the small bottle on the table to the ground. Then, with a crash, the remaining bottles on the table fell to the ground and shattered.

Was this courting destruction? A hint of helplessness flashed across the pale-faced scholar's brow, a sigh escaped his lips, and he gazed intently at the once obedient and demure Yan-mei in the harem, a fleeting sense of unfamiliarity crossing his mind. "It's alright if you forget me, but how could you forget yourself?" A pang of pain shot through the scholar's heart, and at that moment, he made his decision. He would bring back the pure, lovely, and captivating Yan-mei of yesteryear—the longing he had waited for for ten thousand years, the yearning he had cherished for a lifetime.

"I've been poisoned," the pale-faced scholar said slowly.

"Serves you right," Yan said bluntly. "You should have been poisoned long ago."

"Heartbroken? What cruel words!" The pale-faced scholar forced a smile, a helpless grin spreading across his face. But his eyes remained burning with desire as he gazed at the beautiful face before him. If he could, he longed to gently embrace her slender waist, just as he had in her past life, then to yearn for the delicate beauty behind her dark pupils, her rosy cheeks and spring-like eyes—how breathtaking that would be… But then, with the appearance of his elder brother, the tenderness in Yan's eyes vanished. Thinking of this, a flash of resentment and ruthlessness crossed the pale-faced scholar's face. Since he had lived forever, he had been waiting for Yan and his elder brother. Now, both of them had forgotten each other and were poisoned by his "Deeply Rooted Love"—this was the most perfect arrangement from heaven! Thinking this, the pale-faced scholar's anger turned to joy.

Looking at the pale-faced scholar's ever-changing expression, Yan couldn't help but complain: "He's practically a lovesick cat."

"What shameful words! How could such words come from a woman's mouth? Even Yan-mei has forgotten shame; what a sin!" A sudden sense of urgency for redemption surged through the pale-faced scholar's mind. Yes, he, Murong Dubai, not only had to poison Murong Junlan, but also awaken Yan-mei. He was determined to be with Yan-mei forever. Thinking this, the pale-faced scholar felt a heavy responsibility. He churned in his stomach, coughed up blood again, and collapsed to the ground.

It took Yan Mei a long time to turn around. She glanced at the pale-faced scholar and said emotionlessly, "Dead? How annoying. Ugh, no way, how am I supposed to get out if you're dead? If I can't get out, won't I be trapped here to die? You headless ghost, are you trying to ruin my bright future after I transmigrated here?"

Yan Mei walked over and kicked the pale-faced scholar. There was no movement. She then reached out and checked his breath. He seemed to be alive. Without thinking, she pinched the pale-faced scholar's philtrum with her thumb.

The pale-faced scholar winced in pain, inwardly complaining, "Sister Yan, your nails are too long, you pinched me!" But recalling the gentle touch of her fingertips, even the pain felt sweet and pleasant. As long as it was his Sister Yan, even if she strangled him to death, it would be happiness. Before the scholar could even enjoy his bliss for a second, Sister Yan kicked him again. "My darling, the sole of your shoe is hard!" The scholar decided to pretend to be asleep, thoroughly enjoying the precious time he spent with Sister Yan.

While things seemed bizarre and grotesque on this side, someone else appeared relaxed and carefree. At that moment, the old pine tree spirit was urging two fiery red hares carrying four large jars of wine toward the strange tree. This was the sixth trip already. To prevent the jars from falling, the old pine tree spirit simply transformed back into a pine tree, extending its branches to protect them. The fiery red hares, having recognized the old pine tree spirit before, obediently followed its commands.

The old pine tree spirit had witnessed every move of the pale-faced scholar from beginning to end, but dared not venture out rashly. It could only quietly hide in the shadows, waiting for its opportunity. Knowing that wine could counteract poison, it seized the chance to summon two fiery red hares to help carry the wine. The hares' cooperation pleased it greatly; after this trip, there would be twenty-four jars, enough to awaken the person in the tree hole. Even if it wasn't enough, it dared not go further, for it had seen the pale-faced scholar return to "darkness and despair." It dared not provoke this formidable opponent. However, upon seeing the princess being abducted, its heart immediately filled with anxiety. Its most pressing matter now was to awaken Prince Murong and the others, so they could rescue the princess.

The old pine tree spirit pondered for a moment, then patted Fire Red Hare's body. The previous times, it had placed the wine in the grass on a slope; this time, it could carry it directly to the tree. Good heavens, it wasn't even as tall as the wine jars when standing; how could it carry them up? Fire Red Hare couldn't climb trees. It hesitated for a moment, then immediately transformed itself into a T-shaped branch, instructing Fire Red Hare to hang the four wine jars on its back at both ends. Then, it huffed and puffed as it climbed the tree, grumbling to the dwarfs about why they had to live in a tree when there were so many other places to live.

Finally, they reached the entrance to the tree hollow. It was eerily quiet inside; something was wrong. Had the pale-faced scholar poisoned everyone? The old pine tree spirit wanted to go in and see for itself, but it didn't want to unload the wine jars, so it carried the wine directly inside. As soon as it entered, the old pine tree spirit gasped. It was pitch black inside, filled with a sinister atmosphere. Where were they? Where had they all gone? Had the pale-faced scholar poisoned them all and turned them into powder? That freak couldn't be reasoned with normally; the old pine tree spirit felt a chill run down its spine.

"Prince Murong, Guard Jiang, Chanyu Luo, Brother Lingyi." The old pine spirit trembled as it mimicked their titles, suddenly feeling a sense of familiarity, but received no reply. The old pine spirit called out several more times, but only the echoes from the cave walls remained. The old pine spirit stood there like a helpless child, at a loss.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, followed by a startled cry, a gorilla leaped out from the front. Although the old pine tree spirit had seen gorillas before, this sudden jump in the dimly lit tree hollow truly terrified him. The old pine tree spirit gasped, his foot slipped, and with a "bang," all four jars of wine shattered. The Spicy Eagle Ancient Wine spilled all over the ground. The old pine tree spirit looked at the spilled wine with regret; it had been so difficult to carry it all this way, what a waste! The old pine tree spirit even had an urge to give the gorilla a good beating.

*Puff puff puff.* One by one, the lights in the tree hollow were lit, and little heads popped out of the darkness, each yawning as if they had just woken up. Only the broken gorilla darted over, busying itself searching for drops of wine on the shards of the broken wine jar, licking them repeatedly. The old pine tree spirit glared resentfully at the gorilla, not daring to scold it. The gorilla ran over, grabbed the old pine tree spirit, and lifted it in front of him, opening its long, protruding black maw to ask, "Is there any more?"

The old pine tree spirit didn't understand at first, but the gorilla asked again, and it suddenly realized what it meant, then stammered, "Yes."

The gorilla threw the old pine tree spirit to the ground and said, "Give it to me."

The old pine tree spirit fell hard on its backside, wincing in pain and about to lash out, when it saw Murong Junlan stand up. The old pine tree spirit smiled: "Your Highness, you've finally woken up."

Murong Junlan was still in a daze. He glanced at the old pine tree spirit, then at the mischievous monkey, before turning his face away, lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, the mischievous monkey felt a lump in his throat, his lips curled into a sneer, and he kicked the old pine tree spirit. Caught off guard, the old pine tree spirit flew towards the cave wall, glaring angrily and desperately at the gorilla, bracing itself for the devastating impact. Ah, it stopped, enveloped in a warm aura—how comfortable! It lingered there, reluctant to leave. Just then, Murong Junlan's magnetic voice rang in its ears: "You wretched monkey, do you want to die?"

The gorilla was still persistent, mainly because it kept mentioning the Spicy Eagle Ancient Wine, so it kicked Murong Junlan's hand again: "Old man, bring the wine."

Murong Junlan used his left hand to move the old pine tree spirit aside, and with a push of his right, he unleashed a powerful strike at the gorilla. The gorilla, ever the combatant, exchanged dozens of blows with Murong Junlan in an instant, both growing increasingly excited. The poor old pine tree spirit in Murong Junlan's hands was being tortured to the point of disintegration. At one point, Murong Junlan even had to throw the old pine tree spirit away to avoid a sneak attack from the gorilla. Good heavens, Your Highness, this old man's life is precious! The fight finally ended when an apple fell. The old pine tree spirit was extremely grateful for the apple. It landed on the mouth of the Fire Red Hare, hurting it. Enraged, the Fire Red Hare roared to the sky, a roar that finally brought Murong Junlan back to reality.

He stopped and asked, "Where are Jiang He and Ling Yi?"

The old pine tree spirit immediately fawned, "He's not awake yet, he's in the tree hole."

Murong Junlan: "Wake them up."

The old pine tree spirit guessed that the prince and his companions had broken free of the dream because of the wine: "Your Highness, I need to go out and get some wine; this wine is the antidote."

Seeing the old pine tree spirit hesitate, Murong Junlan realized it was afraid of the gorilla. He immediately pulled out a thin rope and flicked it, using the "Silver Ring Illusion" move to immobilize the gorilla. The gorilla squeaked and cursed at Murong Junlan, while the old pine tree spirit immediately slipped away, calling for Red Hare to fetch some wine.

Soon, the twenty jars of wine were brought back. Murong Junlan had the old pine tree spirit distribute the wine to everyone before releasing the wretched monkey. The gorilla, furious, snatched a few unfinished jars, licking and drinking them to appease it, and then beat it mercilessly before finally venting its anger. It couldn't understand why Murong Junlan hadn't been able to immobilize it in "Darkness Without Sunshine," but here it was completely helpless. Little did the gorilla know that the pale-faced scholar in "Darkness Without Sunshine" possessed a special technique to break the "Silver Ring Illusion."

Jiang He was the first to wake up after being poisoned by the Dream Powder, but Luo Xie and Ling Yi were still asleep, having already been given the wine. Everyone was at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, a dwarf brought over a black banana, a black apple, and a bunch of black grapes, and handed them to Jiang He to feed to Ling Yi and Luo Xie. After feeding them, the two still showed no signs of waking up.

"It's like being in a dark, hopeless place." Murong Junlan estimated that Ling Yi's body was already too large, so the amount of poison might be a bit too little, which is why he couldn't detoxify.

"Where is the Princess?" Jiang He suddenly remembered. Prince Murong didn't remember, but he couldn't possibly forget. He grabbed the gorilla.

"Where is the princess?"

The wretched monkey glared at Jiang He for no apparent reason, then flung his hand away and launched an attack. Jiang He, however, was far from being so lenient and instead asked:

"Where is the queen who calls you husband?"

As Jiang He spoke, he glanced at Prince Murong and noticed sweat beading on his forehead.

The gorilla ignored Jiang He completely. Seeing that Jiang He wouldn't respond, it kicked and stomped on the pile of broken jars with its hind legs, as if enjoying the pleasure of venting its anger.

Murong Junlan suddenly grabbed the gorilla and said in a very impatient tone:

"Guard Jiang is asking you, where is the other monkey?"

Huh? Jiang He was inwardly protesting, "When did I say the princess was a monkey?" Just as he was about to explain, he heard Murong Junlan continue:

"How can someone who looks like a monkey possibly find a wife?"

Huh? Jiang He was speechless. He clutched his heart and said, "Your Highness, would you go crazy if you remembered that its wife was your princess?" Jiang He couldn't bear to watch any longer; he had to remind the prince to rescue her. But where was she? Only then did Jiang He realize that the pale-faced scholar was gone. The princess must have been kidnapped by the pale-faced scholar again.

"Go back to the darkest of times." Jiang He repeated what Murong Junlan had just said, but the difference was that he wanted to go back to save the princess, while Prince Murong wanted to save Luo Xie and Ling Yi.

"Jiang He, put them on the horses." Murong Junlan lightly touched the ground and jumped onto the horse. Jiang He quickly helped Luo Xie and Ling Yi onto the horse as well. After saying goodbye to the dwarf, he also leaped onto another Red Hare.

"You two, you rascal, come along and have a good drink over there." The gorilla hadn't wanted to go, but the mention of alcohol made his mouth water. He scratched his cheek, puffed out his furry body with an air of arrogance, and followed. The old pine tree spirit happily transformed into a tree and followed as well. It even offered to let Jiang He put Ling Yi on a branch, but Ling Yi declined, considering safety.

Running ahead, Murong Junlan found the monkey too noisy and swung it with a "Silver Ring Illusion." The monkey, not to be outdone, leaped from a tree branch onto Murong Junlan's back. As it tried to pat Murong Junlan's shoulder, Murong Junlan slashed back with a backhand strike. The monkey parried, and the two fought on horseback all the way to the winery.

Just then, the young pageboy of the pale-faced scholar presented a large plate of boiled bird eggs to the winery manager. The manager peeled one and was about to put it in his mouth when a hairy hand snatched it away, leaving him with only his gaping mouth. The manager glared angrily at the gorilla chewing on the bird eggs, his eyes practically spitting fire. The gorilla, however, spat out a small piece of shell, grabbed an egg, and threw it resentfully at the manager's face. Enraged, the manager grabbed a handful of eggs and flung them away.

Murong Junlan frowned upon seeing this. He immediately cast his Silver Ring Phantom to cover the plate of steaming bird eggs. Just as he reached out to take them, the young page suddenly rushed out, snatched the entire plate away with both hands, and loudly proclaimed, "This plate of bird eggs is mine!"

"Here you go." Murong Junlan abruptly dispelled the silver ring illusion. The young page boy, having exerted too much force, lost his balance and fell backward. The plate of bird eggs he was holding was about to spill out when, in a flash, a bag appeared out of thin air and caught the eggs perfectly. Then, an old hand grabbed a handful and handed it to Murong Junlan, fawningly saying, "Your Highness, please have some bird eggs."

Murong Junlan glanced at the old pine tree spirit with satisfaction, then flicked out a pill that he had prepared in his hand at some point before leisurely peeling and eating a bird egg.

Murong Junlan: "It tastes good."

The old pine tree spirit caught the pill, put it into its pouch, and then placed the entire bag in front of Murong Junlan: "Your Highness, please eat slowly."