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

Hongli nodded and said, "Little Swallow is right. There may be a key secret of the Shadow Pavilion hidden here. We cannot let it go."

Lin Yuhang said worriedly from the side, "Sister, Fourth Prince, that Shadow Valley sounds eerie and terrifying, it must be fraught with danger, do you really want to go?"

Little Swallow laughed and said, "Brother, don't worry, Fourth Prince and I will handle it carefully."

Lord Lin also spoke up, saying, "Yan'er, you must be extremely careful on this trip. If anything goes wrong, return immediately."

"Father, don't worry," Little Swallow replied.

After making all the preparations, Xiao Yanzi and Hongli embarked on their journey to Youying Valley.

Halfway through their journey, they stopped at an inn to rest.

In the inn, Xiao Yanzi frowned and said, "Fourth Prince, I have a feeling this journey has been too peaceful. Could there be a trap?"

Hongli pondered for a moment: "There is indeed something unusual. We should be on high alert."

At this moment, a mysterious old man walked into the inn, glanced at them, and muttered to himself, "Two more fools who don't know their own mortality, trying to explore Shadow Valley."

Upon hearing this, Little Swallow stepped forward and asked, "Old man, why do you say that? Do you know about Shadow Valley?"

The old man sneered, "Hmph, that Shadow Valley is not a place you can set foot in. It is full of all kinds of traps and mechanisms, and is protected by mysterious forces. Many people have gone in and never returned."

Hongli said, "Old man, even so, we must go and find out the truth. Please tell us what's going on."

The old man shook his head: "You're courting death. I won't accompany you to your deaths." With that, he turned to leave.

Little Swallow said anxiously, "Old man, please be kind and give me even just a little hint."

The old man stopped and hesitated for a moment: "Never mind, I will only tell you that there is a misty forest at the entrance of the valley. The mist there can bewitch people's minds. If you don't want to be trapped and die there, you need to find the spirit pearl in the mist."

"Thank you so much, sir!" Little Swallow said gratefully.

After the old man left, Xiao Yanzi said to Hongli, "Fourth Prince, this Misty Forest sounds very troublesome, but we will definitely find the Spirit Pearl."

Hongli smiled encouragingly: "Yes, with you here, I believe we can do it."

Continuing onward, we finally arrived at the Misty Forest at the entrance of Shadow Valley.

As soon as she stepped into the forest, a thick fog rolled in, and Little Swallow immediately felt a little dizzy.

"Fourth Prince, why do I feel dizzy?" Little Swallow shook her head.

Hongli held her hand: "Don't panic, we need to stay calm. As the old man said, let's find the Spirit Pearl first."

They groped their way forward in the fog when they suddenly heard a strange sound.

"What's that sound?" Little Swallow looked around warily.

A swarm of black bats flew toward them.

"Watch out!" Hongli shouted.

Little Swallow used her martial arts skills to fight off the bats: "How can these bats be so ferocious!"

Hongli also drew his sword to defend himself: "It seems this is just an appetizer. We need to find the Spirit Pearl as soon as possible."

During the battle, Little Swallow noticed that the bats seemed to be avoiding a certain direction.

"Fourth Prince, look over there. Even the bats don't dare to come close. Could the Spirit Pearl be there?" Little Swallow said, pointing in a direction.

“Let’s go take a look!” Hongli said.

They followed that direction and found a bead emitting a faint light embedded in a tree.

"This must be the Spirit Pearl!" Little Swallow excitedly reached out to grab it.

The moment she touched the spirit pearl, the surrounding mist gradually dissipated.

"Great! We did it!" Little Swallow cheered.

They passed through the Misty Forest and entered the interior of Shadow Valley. The valley was gloomy and cold, filled with an eerie atmosphere.

"It's so eerie here, Fourth Prince. I feel like there are countless eyes watching us," Little Swallow whispered.

Hongli looked around and said, "Everyone be careful, there must be an ambush here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of men in black emerged from all around.

"You've finally arrived! Anyone who trespasses into Shadow Valley shall die!" shouted a leader of men in black.

Little Swallow angrily asked, "Who are you? Why are you blocking our way?"

The leader of the men in black sneered, "We are the guardians of Shadow Valley, and we will never allow anyone to pry into the secrets of the valley."

Hongli said, "We have no intention of offending you. We are just investigating the Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy, which may be related to Shadow Valley. Please do us a favor."

"Shadow Pavilion? Hmph, don't try to fool us with the Shadow Pavilion. Attack!" The leader of the men in black remained unmoved and ordered an attack.

Xiao Yanzi and Hongli stood back to back, engaging in a fierce battle with the men in black.

“These people are skilled in martial arts, Fourth Prince, we need to think of a way,” Xiao Yanzi said while fighting back.

Hongli pondered, "They have a large number of people and are powerful. We cannot fight them head-on for too long. We need to find their weakness."

During the battle, Xiao Yanzi noticed that there seemed to be a gap in the leader of the men in black's moves.

"Fourth Prince, I've discovered their leader's weakness. I'll lure him into an opening, and you can attack him then," Xiao Yanzi said softly.

“Alright,” Hongli replied.

Little Swallow deliberately created an opening, and the leader of the men in black fell for it, revealing a gap in his attack.

"Now, Fourth Prince!" Little Swallow shouted.

Hongli seized the opportunity and thrust his sword at the leader of the men in black. The leader of the men in black was unable to dodge in time and fell to the ground injured.

When the other men in black saw that their leader was injured, they all stopped fighting.

"You may leave. I'll spare you for now, but you're not allowed to venture any deeper into Shadow Valley!" the leader of the men in black said, clutching his wound.

Xiao Yanzi and Hongli exchanged a glance; they knew it was no longer wise to force their way forward.

"Alright, thank you for showing mercy today. Farewell," Hongli said.

They left Shadow Valley, and Little Swallow said somewhat unwillingly, "Fourth Prince, we were so close, are we really going to give up?"

Hongli comforted her, "Little Swallow, although we didn't go very deep today, we did get some clues. Let's go back and make some plans, and come again next time."

On their way back, they encountered Hongzhou, who had come to meet them.

"You've finally come out! I was so worried!" Hongzhou said anxiously.

Little Swallow laughed and said, "Hongzhou, we're alright. We even got some clues about Shadow Valley and Shadow Pavilion."

Hongzhou asked curiously, "What clue? Tell me quickly."

So, Xiao Yanzi and Hongli recounted their experiences in Youying Valley, and the three of them embarked on their journey home together. Their exploration of the Dark Shadow Pavilion continued, and what adventures and challenges awaited them in the future?