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

Xiao Yanzi also said, "I can also go and discuss it with my brother to see if the Prime Minister's residence can provide some assistance."

Hongli nodded: "That's excellent. With more help, our chances of winning will increase."

Little Swallow turned to leave, but then stopped and looked at Hongli with some worry: "Fourth Prince, do you think there might be a lot of danger in Lingxu Cave? I'm not afraid, but I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

Hongli felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, "Little Swallow, don't worry about me. I'm not that fragile. But you, once we get to the cave, be sure to stay close to me and don't wander off."

Little Swallow pouted: "I won't run around! I know martial arts, maybe I can even protect you."

Hongli joked, "Yes, yes, Little Swallow is incredibly brave. However, it's still best to be cautious."

Xiao Yanzi returned to the Prime Minister's residence and found Lin Yuhang.

"Brother, I have a favor to ask," said Little Swallow.

Lin Yuhang looked at her: "Sister, what is it? Please speak freely."

Little Swallow recounted her plan to explore the secrets of the Shadow Pavilion at Lingxu Cave.

Lin Yuhang frowned: "Lingxu Cave? I've heard that place is quite mysterious and dangerous. Sister, why do you want to go?"

Xiao Yanzi's eyes were firm: "Brother, this concerns the safety of many people, I must go. And the Fourth Prince will go with me, we will definitely return safely. If the Prime Minister's residence can provide some supplies or manpower, that would be even better."

Lin Yuhang pondered for a moment: "Sister, since you've made up your mind, I will naturally support you. Take all the supplies from the Prime Minister's residence. I will also select a few capable servants to accompany you."

Little Swallow hugged Lin Yuhang happily: "Brother, you're so good!"

Meanwhile, Hongli was also arranging various matters in the palace. He summoned Su Peisheng.

"Eunuch Su, I need to go to Lingxu Cave. Please prepare some necessary items for me. Also, please don't spread this news." Hongli instructed.

Su Peisheng respectfully replied, "Yes, Fourth Prince. This old servant will go and make the preparations immediately. However, Fourth Prince, you must be careful on your journey."

“Yes, I know,” Hongli said.

After everything was ready, Xiao Yanzi and Hongli met outside the city.

"Fourth Prince, look, my brother has prepared a lot of things for us, as well as several highly skilled servants," Xiao Yanzi said, pointing behind her.

Hongli glanced at it and said, "Lord Lin and Young Master Lin are indeed very thoughtful."

They led their men towards Lingxu Cave. Along the way, Little Swallow excitedly looked at the surrounding scenery.

"Fourth Prince, look at these wildflowers by the roadside, they're so pretty!" Little Swallow exclaimed.

Hongli smiled and said, "It is quite beautiful. However, we still need to speed up and get to Lingxu Cave as soon as possible."

As we walked into a forest, we suddenly heard a commotion.

"Who goes there?" Hongli called out warily.

A group of men in black suddenly emerged from the woods.

"Are you Hongli and Xiaoyanzi?" asked the leader of the men in black.

"Who are you? Why are you blocking our way?" Hongli asked.

The leader of the men in black sneered, "We are from the Shadow Pavilion, and we are here on orders to stop you from going to the Spirit Void Cave."

Little Swallow angrily said, "Why is your Shadow Pavilion always hiding its true colors and doing such shady things!"

The leader of the men in black stopped talking, waved his hand, and the men in black behind him rushed forward.

Hongli and Xiaoyanzi were not to be outdone and fought with the men in black.

"Little Swallow, watch out on your left!" Hongli shouted.

"Fourth Prince, there are people behind you too!" Little Swallow called out.

They worked together seamlessly, and the servants fought bravely. After a fierce battle, they finally repelled the men in black.

"Hmph, these Shadow Pavilion people are really troublesome," Little Swallow said, panting.

"It seems they don't want us to get close to Lingxu Cave. This also means that there must be a major secret inside Lingxu Cave," Hongli said.

They continued on their way and finally arrived at the entrance of Lingxu Cave.

"This cave entrance looks eerie," Little Swallow said.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Hongli held Xiaoyanzi's hand.

They entered the cave, which was dark and damp, filled with a mysterious atmosphere.

"Everyone be careful," Hongli said softly.

Suddenly, some strange symbols began to flash on the cave walls.

“Fourth Prince, look at these symbols. They seem a little different from what we’ve seen before,” Xiao Yanzi said.

Hongli observed carefully: "Indeed, they are different. These symbols seem to hide a deeper secret."

They slowly made their way along the cave wall and discovered some branching paths inside.

"Which way should we go?" Little Swallow asked, somewhat confused.

Hongli thought for a moment and said, "Let's try the one on the left first."

They took the left fork in the road and soon heard the sound of flowing water.

"There seems to be a water source ahead," Little Swallow said.

As they approached, they discovered some strange creatures swimming in the water.

"What is this?" Little Swallow asked curiously.

Hongli also looked puzzled: "I have never seen such a creature before. Everyone, do not approach it."

Just then, a voice echoed in the cave: "You dare to trespass into Lingxu Cave? Today will be your burial ground!"

"Who is it? Come out!" Hongli shouted.

An old man dressed in a black robe slowly walked out.

“You ignorant juniors, the secrets of Lingxu Cave are not something you can pry into,” the old man said.

"Who are you? Why are you stopping us?" Little Swallow asked.

The old man sneered: "I am the guardian of Lingxu Cave. The secrets within this cave concern all living beings and cannot be known by people like you who harbor selfish desires."

Hongli said, "We are not acting out of selfish motives. We want to uncover the Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy and stop them from harming humanity."

The old man said dismissively, "You think you can stop the Shadow Pavilion? Their power far exceeds your imagination."

"No matter what, we have to give it a try," Little Swallow said firmly.

The old man looked at them, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes: "Then I will grant your wish!"

Having said that, the old man swung his cane and attacked them. Hongli and Xiaoyanzi hurriedly went to meet him.

"This old man is highly skilled in martial arts; we must be careful," Hongli said.

"Okay, I understand," Little Swallow replied.

They engaged in a thrilling battle with the old man inside the cave. The old man's moves were fierce, and Hongli and Xiaoyanzi gradually found themselves outmatched.

"Fourth Prince, this can't go on," Little Swallow said anxiously.

Hongli suddenly thought, "Little Swallow, let's try attacking his lower body."

"Okay!" Little Swallow replied.

They changed tactics, focusing their attack on the old man's lower body. The old man panicked for a moment, revealing an opening.

"Now!" Hongli shouted.

They seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack and finally drove the old man away.

"You... you actually managed to break my moves." The old man looked at them in surprise.

“We just don’t want to be stopped by you. We must uncover the secrets of the Shadow Pavilion,” Hongli said.

The old man pondered for a moment: "Alright, alright. Since you are so persistent, I will give you a hint. The secret of this cave lies in a secret chamber deep inside, but the chamber is full of traps and mechanisms, so you'd better be careful."

"Thank you, senior," Hongli said.

They continued deeper into the cave, their hearts filled with both anticipation and some apprehension.

"Fourth Prince, the mechanisms in this secret room must be very powerful. What should we do?" Xiao Yanzi asked.

"We'll see how things go when the time comes. Let's find the secret room first," Hongli said.

They proceeded cautiously and finally came to a stone gate.

"This must be the secret room," said Xiao Yanzi.

Hongli stepped forward and carefully examined the stone door: "There seems to be a mechanism lock on this stone door. We need to find a way to unlock it."

They searched for clues around the stone gate, when suddenly, Little Swallow noticed some strange patterns on the ground.

"Fourth Prince, look at these patterns, aren't they related to unlocking?" Little Swallow said.

Hongli squatted down to examine it: "That's possible. Let's try following the order of these patterns."

They operated on the stone door in the order of the patterns, and with a loud bang, the stone door slowly opened.

"It's finally open!" Little Swallow exclaimed excitedly.

But when they saw the scene inside the secret chamber, they were all stunned. The chamber was filled with various gold and silver treasures and precious artifacts, as well as some strange instruments and books.

“These things…” Hongli said in surprise.

Little Swallow entered the secret room: "Fourth Prince, look at this book. It seems to contain the secrets of the Shadow Pavilion."

Hongli took the book, opened it, and his expression became serious: "So the Shadow Pavilion's conspiracy is so grand. They want to use these treasures and secrets to control the entire court, and even the world."

"Then what should we do?" Little Swallow asked.

"We must take these secrets out and make them public, then unite all forces to stop the Shadow Pavilion," Hongli said.

Just as they were about to retrieve the items from the secret room, an alarm suddenly sounded inside.

"Oh no, the mechanism has been triggered!" Hongli shouted.

Many hidden weapons were shot out from the secret room.

"Watch out!" Little Swallow shouted.

They dodged the hidden weapons in all directions, and the scene was chaotic.

"Fourth Prince, how are we going to get out?" Little Swallow asked anxiously.

While dodging the hidden weapons, Hongli observed the secret room: "We need to find the control switch of the mechanism to stop the hidden weapons from being fired, and then we can get out."

They searched painstakingly in the secret room, and finally, Little Swallow found a switch hidden in a corner.

"Fourth Prince, over there!" Little Swallow called out.

Hongli rushed to the switch and pressed it. The hidden weapons finally stopped firing.

"Phew, that was close." Little Swallow breathed a sigh of relief.

“Let’s quickly take these important things with us,” Hongli said.

They selected some key books and artifacts and then left the secret room.

"Finally out," Little Swallow said.

“Yes, let’s leave here quickly and study these things properly when we get back,” Hongli said.

They walked back along the cave passage, only to find that the path they had come from was blocked by a huge rock.

"What's going on?" Little Swallow asked in surprise.

"It seems we triggered the mechanism, and the boulder is blocking the exit," Hongli said.

"What do we do then? Are we trapped here?" Little Swallow asked anxiously.

"Don't panic. Let's look for other exits," Hongli reassured him.

They searched around the cave and found a narrow passage.

“This passage might lead to the outside,” Hongli said.

They proceeded along the path, which was rugged and difficult to traverse, with stones frequently falling down.

"Everyone be careful!" Hongli shouted.

They struggled through the passage until they finally saw a glimmer of light.

"The exit is over there!" Little Swallow exclaimed excitedly.

They quickened their pace, walked out of the passage, and came outside the cave.

"We're finally out! It feels like ages have passed," Little Swallow said.

"Yes. Although this trip to Lingxu Cave was fraught with danger, we also gained a lot," Hongli said.

"Once we get back, we need to plan carefully how to deal with the Shadow Pavilion," Little Swallow said.

“Yes, we also need to tell these secrets to Father Emperor and other trusted people, so that we can fight against the Shadow Pavilion together,” Hongli said.

They embarked on their journey back to the capital, carrying with them their gains and hopes, and their final showdown with the Shadow Pavilion was about to begin.