Huanzhu Time Travel: Yan Luo's Unbreakable Love in the Yong Dynasty

Inside the imperial study, the atmosphere remained oppressively tense. Hongli sat on the dragon throne, his brow furrowed, his eyes filled with anxiety and exhaustion. Xiao Yanzi paced back and forth beside him, pausing occasionally to gaze out the window, seemingly hoping for Princess Hejing's safe return at any moment.

At this moment, Su Peisheng walked in and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, Fu Lun and young Er Kang are waiting outside the palace, awaiting Your Majesty's orders."

Hongli nodded slightly. "Bring them in."

A short while later, Fu Lun led the young but dashing Er Kang into the imperial study. Upon seeing Hongli, the two immediately knelt and bowed: "Your humble servants Fu Lun and Er Kang greet Your Majesty!"

Hongli looked at Erkang, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. "Erkang, I've heard that you are highly skilled in martial arts at such a young age. Now that Princess Hejing has gone missing, I am extremely anxious and hope that you can lend me a hand."

Erkang raised his head, his eyes resolute, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, rest assured! Although Erkang is young, he will do his utmost, even if it means going through fire and water, to find Princess Hejing!"

Xiao Yanzi stepped forward, looked at Erkang, and said, "Erkang, Princess Hejing is kind and lovely, but her whereabouts are currently unknown, and we are all extremely anxious. You must investigate carefully and not overlook any clues."

Erkang clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "Princess, rest assured, Erkang understands the importance of this matter and will be extremely careful."

Fu Lun also said, "Your Majesty, Princess, although my son is young, he is steady in his actions and has excellent martial arts skills. He will do his best to find Princess Hejing this time."

Hongli nodded slightly. "Fulun, you have taught him well. This time, it's up to Erkang. Erkang, I order you to begin the investigation immediately. No matter what difficulties you encounter, you must report to me promptly."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Er Kang answered loudly.

Lin Yuhang leaned back in his chair, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Erkang, the clues we have so far are the symbols left at the scene of Princess Hejing's disappearance and a mysterious man with a scar on his face. You can start from these two aspects."

Er Kang nodded. "Don't worry, Lord Lin, I've got it. This symbol and the mysterious man will definitely be a crucial breakthrough."

Little Swallow added, "Erkang, those mysterious forces are treacherous and cunning. You must be very careful about your safety."

"Thank you for your concern, Princess. I will be careful," Er Kang said.

Hongli continued, "I will assign you some capable guards to assist you in your investigation. In addition, if you encounter any obstacles while investigating inside or outside the capital, you may act with my token."

As he spoke, Hongli handed a token to Erkang. Erkang accepted it with both hands and carefully put it away. "With Your Majesty's trust in me so much, Erkang will certainly not fail in my mission!"

Just then, Wu Daozi hurriedly entered the imperial study, holding several sheets of paper covered with symbols.

“Your Majesty, Princess, I have studied these newly discovered symbols for a long time and found that they seem to be related to an ancient code. However, this code is too complex, and I have not yet been able to fully decipher it,” Wu Daozi said.

Little Swallow asked anxiously, "Mr. Wu, how much longer will it take you to solve this? We still don't know where Princess Hejing is, and time is of the essence!"

Wu Daozi looked troubled. “Princess, this cryptic message is extremely rare and very difficult to decipher. But I will study it day and night and try to figure it out as soon as possible.”

Hongli said, "Mr. Wu, thank you for your hard work. This matter concerns the safety of Princess Hejing, and I hope you can resolve it as soon as possible."

"This humble subject obeys the decree!" Wu Daozi replied.

Er Kang stepped forward, looked at the paper in Wu Daozi's hand, and said, "Mr. Wu, could you give me a copy of the research data on these symbols? Perhaps I can find some clues during the investigation."

Wu Daozi nodded. "Of course. More people mean more strength, and I hope this will be of some help to you."

Afterwards, Wu Daozi handed a document to Erkang. Erkang looked at it carefully and put it away.

“Your Majesty, Princess, I will set off to investigate immediately,” Erkang said.

Hongli stood up, walked to Erkang, and patted him on the shoulder. "Erkang, I await your good news. You must bring Princess Hejing back safely!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured!" Erkang said, then turned and left the Imperial Study with Fu Lun.

Even after Fu Lun and Er Kang left, the atmosphere in the Imperial Study remained heavy.

Xiao Yanzi looked at Hongli and said worriedly, "Your Majesty, although Erkang is highly skilled in martial arts, he is still young. Those mysterious forces are so cunning, I am really worried that he will be in danger."

Hongli held Xiaoyanzi's hand and comforted her, "Xiaoyanzi, I understand your worries. But Erkang is a brave and resourceful boy, and I believe he will be able to complete the mission successfully. All we can do now is wait patiently and continue to look for clues from other sources."

Lin Yuhang also said, "Sister, His Majesty is right. We cannot panic. My health is gradually recovering, and once I'm better, I'll be able to help even more."

Little Swallow nodded slightly, "I hope Erkang can find Princess Hejing's whereabouts soon and bring her back safely."

At the same time, Erkang and Fulun left the palace and immediately began to deploy investigation work.

“Father, I plan to start by looking for that mysterious man with the scar on his face in the taverns of the capital,” Er Kang said.

Furen nodded. "Alright, this is the clearest lead so far. Take a few guards and inquire carefully, but be careful not to alert them."

“Yes, Father,” Er Kang said.

Soon, Erkang, accompanied by several guards, arrived at the tavern street in the capital. They went from tavern to tavern, asking questions and leaving no stone unturned.

Erkang and his guards entered a place called "Yuelai Tavern." The tavern was bustling with people.

Erkang walked to the counter, took out some silver and placed it on the table, saying to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, I would like to ask you about someone."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw the silver, and he quickly said, "Sir, please ask me anything. As long as I know the answer, I will tell you everything I know!"

Er Kang described him: "This man is tall and has a long scar on his face. Have you seen him before?"

After a moment's thought, the innkeeper said, "Sir, now that you mention it, I do remember such a person. He used to come to my tavern often for drinks a while ago, but I haven't seen him in the last few days."

Er Kang was secretly delighted. "Then do you know where he usually goes?"

The innkeeper shook his head. "I don't know about that. But, sir, you can ask the other customers; perhaps someone knows."

Erkang thanked the shopkeeper and turned to the guards, saying, "Everyone, go and ask around to see if anyone knows the whereabouts of this mysterious person."

The guards nodded and dispersed to inquire about the drinkers' needs.

After a while, a guard ran over and said, "Young master, I've heard that someone said this man with the scar on his face often goes to an abandoned warehouse in the west of the city."

Er Kang's eyes sharpened. "Let's go to the abandoned warehouse in the west of the city!"

The group quickly headed to the abandoned warehouse in the west of the city. The warehouse was surrounded by overgrown weeds and exuded a sinister atmosphere.

Erkang gestured for the guards to be careful, then slowly walked into the warehouse. The warehouse was dark and damp, filled with a pungent odor.

Suddenly, a slight sound came from deep within the warehouse. Er Kang immediately became alert and drew his sword from his waist.

"Who goes there?!" Er Kang shouted.

However, no one responded. Erkang and the guards cautiously walked towards the direction from which the sound came.

Just then, several dark figures darted out from the shadows and pounced on Erkang and the others. Erkang, undaunted, brandished his sword and engaged the figures in combat.

These shadowy figures were skilled in martial arts, but Er Kang, with his superior skills, gradually gained the upper hand. After a fierce battle, Er Kang subdued all the shadowy figures.

"Speak! Who are you? Are you related to Princess Hejing's disappearance?" Erkang glared angrily and asked loudly.

One of the figures in the shadows said in a trembling voice, "We...we're just here on orders to keep watch, we don't know anything else."

Er Kang frowned. "On orders? On whose orders?"

The shadowy figure lowered its head, not daring to speak.

Erkang increased the pressure, pressing his sword against the shadowy figure's neck. "If you don't confess honestly, don't blame me for being impolite!"

The shadowy figure turned pale with fright. "It's...it's a man with a scar on his face. We all listen to him."

"Where is he now?" Er Kang pressed.

“We…we really don’t know. He just told us to stay here and report to him if anything happens,” the shadowy figure said.

Erkang pondered for a moment and thought that what the shadowy figure said might be true. He said to the guards, "Take them back first and hand them over to the Emperor for interrogation."

"Yes!" The guards took the several dark figures away.

Just then, Er Kang suddenly noticed some strange symbols in the corner of the warehouse, which were somewhat similar to the symbols in the materials Wu Daozi had given him.

“Come and take a look at these symbols,” Er Kang said.

The guards gathered around and observed carefully.

“Young master, these symbols seem to be related to what we knew before,” a guard said.

Er Kang nodded. "It seems there must be some secret here. Record these symbols and take them back for Mr. Wu to study."

"Yes!"

Erkang and his entourage hurriedly returned to the palace with the prisoners and the recorded symbols. Inside the palace, Hongli, Xiaoyanzi, and others were anxiously awaiting news. Could they find Princess Hejing's whereabouts from these prisoners and symbols? What new moves would the mysterious forces make? End of this chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter.