The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 256 The Mystery of Time Travel

Qin Nian hurriedly bowed and greeted, "Grandmaster Kong Qi, this is my sect's newly accepted junior sister. She's just timid and was just confused from being frightened. Please forgive her for offending you." Another woman covered her mouth and smiled, her beauty captivating all. She turned her head to look at Kuang Zhi.

“I think this woman is unusual. Perhaps this year will be much more interesting.” Kuang Zhi’s face remained expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger. His plain white clothes were spotless, adding to his otherworldly air.

"Let's get straight to the point. This year, as always, only those who pass the civil and military examinations can enter the Taiji Hall." Kuang Zhi's voice carried an air of authority without anger. Kong Qi glanced at his two disciples, "Guofeng, Liao Ran, you two better perform well this year and don't lose to a monkey."

"Yes, Master, rest assured, your disciple will not disappoint you." Yin Quan was so angry that he jumped up and down. "Hey, is this Kong Qi surnamed Qin always so sharp-tongued?" Qin Nian shook his head gently. "This year is indeed a bit of an exception, but don't worry, I will stand in front of you if there are any problems." Yin Quan nodded.

The so-called written test was not a competition of poetry and prose as Yin Quan had imagined, but rather a contest of wits. The six of them went down the spiral staircase on the right side of the stone wall and saw a room designed like a chessboard.

Zhiyun and the disciples of Qingliao Xuanji were both stunned when they saw this. "What does this mean? Is it a chess game?" Kong Qi's voice came from above.

“This is indeed a game of chess, developed by the three of us over ten years. Moreover, this year we have increased the prize for first place. The first place winner will not only receive a secret of our sect, but will also be able to ask about a secret you wish to know.” Yin Quan glanced at Qin Nian, and an idea popped into his mind.

A woman's clear voice came, "You three sects stand in three different positions. I will explain the rules to you. Each of the three sects has six types of power: Emperor, General, Marshal, Minister, Servant, and Soldier. These are ranked according to the order I just mentioned. You can take turns using people of different ranks to eat people of the next rank. The sect whose Emperor survives at the end wins."

Looking at the simple grid formation, Qin Nian was the first to leap onto the chessboard. Above the chessboard were three indicator platforms; those on the platforms could oversee the entire board, while those below were responsible for execution. The three factions discussed their formation strategies separately.

Qin Nian kept his brows furrowed. He had originally planned to take on all the competitions by himself, but he never expected that this year's questions would be like this.

"Hey, can you have a little more confidence in me? I've played much more complicated chess games than this. Don't worry, I'll definitely be able to lead the game without any problems," Qin Nian said after thinking for a moment.

"This is the only way right now, and you can't move the pieces below either." After a brief discussion, Qin Nian escorted Yin Quan onto the stage.

The three people inside the secret room looked at the scene behind the wall. The woman asked curiously, "Senior Brother Kuang Zhi, did you sense that the girl doesn't know martial arts?"

Kong Qi curled his lips, "Junior Sister Piaomiao is right. In my opinion, it's not just that they don't have martial arts skills. I feel that it's just that old man Xuanqingzi randomly picked someone to come in. He's known for not wanting to take on disciples. Unlike our two sects, which are so prosperous."

Kuang Zhi's face remained expressionless, but a vortex gathered in his eyes, giving off an inexplicable sense of oppression.

The expressions on the faces of everyone in the chess room were all different, and no one made the first move. Zhiyun was the first to lose her composure. "Qiuran, what are you daydreaming about? Tell me how to move quickly!" Although Qiuran was also a young girl, she was obviously more composed than Zhiyun.

"No rush, our senior brother Guofeng hasn't made a move yet. He's always been very cautious," Zhiyun said disdainfully.

"What do you mean by being cautious? Qing Liao Xuanji has always been effeminate. Everyone knows that Senior Brother Guofeng is most like Sect Leader Yu Miaozi." Guofeng was somewhat annoyed by what was said and shouted at Liao Ran above.

"Junior brother, what are you thinking about if you don't make a move?" Liao Ran frowned, trying to find a flaw in the grid on the ground.

Guo Feng was clearly a little angry. "Junior brother, if you don't move, I'm going to move." Without waiting for Liao Ran's instructions, Guo Feng took the lead, mounted the general, and smashed the soldiers in Zhi Yun's territory next to him. Yin Quan's eyes lit up.

"Senior Brother Qin, this is a good opportunity! Use your troops to besiege the right flank breach of Qingliao Gate." Qiu Ran smiled knowingly. "Zhiyun will use her general to cover Senior Brother Qin's troops." Guo Feng, who had charged out of the camp, was caught in a dilemma. Liao Ran was somewhat angry. "Senior Brother, why won't you listen to me? What are we going to do now that you've acted so impulsively?"

Guofeng gritted his teeth and charged into the depths of Qiuran's team once again.

The game is actually very similar to Chinese chess. Although Yin Quan doesn't like to play, her grandfather used to play Chinese chess when she was a child, and she learned a few moves from him. She is quite adept at using this game. What surprised Yin Quan was that Qiu Ran could cooperate with her perfectly every time.

Just as Guo Feng and the other two were about to be driven to the brink of despair by the four of them, suddenly a black halo appeared beneath the feet of the civil official where Qin Nian was, and Kong Qi clapped his hands and laughed happily.

"Great, Qin Nian, you've fallen into a trap! Now your civil officials have been turned against you by the State Wind." Suddenly, the stone figure Qin Nian was sitting on turned black and swung its hands at Qin Nian. Fortunately, Qin Nian dodged quickly and landed on the stone figure's head, landing in another spot.

Yin Quan gritted her teeth in anger, "Why weren't you informed of the trap beforehand?" Kuang Zhi's voice was calm and unhurried, "Would others tell you if there was a trap on the battlefield?" Although Yin Quan was angry, she had no words to reply, and Zhi Yun comforted her.

"Yin Quan, don't be angry. There must be a reason why our master made this arrangement. We've only lost one civil official."

The loss of this civil official gave Guo Feng a chance to breathe. He used the gap left by the civil official to escape with the emperor. Liao Ran turned to Yin Quan and said, "I'll call you Junior Sister Yin. You don't mind, do you? Look at the current situation on the field. If you continue to cooperate with Zhiyun and the others, your chances of winning in the end are only one in half."

Yin Quan raised an eyebrow at him. "And then?" Liao Ran saw an opportunity and lowered his voice. "How about we cooperate now? I'm going to lose anyway, but I don't want to see Zhiyun win." Yin Quan gave a meaningful smile.

"Alright, but you have to create an opening for Zhiyun." Liao Ran said excitedly, "Leave it to me." He exchanged a glance with Guofeng and walked towards the encirclement. Yin Quan said to Qin Nian, "Senior Brother Qin, just kill Senior Brother Guofeng's general."

Since the two were now of equal skill level, the only way to determine their superiority was through martial arts. Liao Ran finally realized that he had been tricked by Yin Quan. Her feigned surrender was actually a ploy to lure him into a trap. Liao Ran hated himself for trusting Yin Quan so easily, pointing at her with a trembling finger.

"I trusted you so much!" Yin Quan chuckled. "All's fair in war, right? Don't be angry, Senior Brother Liao Ran. I'll make you apologize properly when we get out." Guo Feng and Qin Nian fought fiercely, and Qin Nian finally managed to cut Guo Feng off his horse after several trembling battles.

Although he lost, Kong Qi was still very happy. "Guofeng's skills have improved this year. He was able to exchange so many blows with Qin Nian. He only lost after a hundred moves. Not bad, not bad." Guofeng blushed and scratched his head.

"I've disappointed my master." Kuang Zhi's gaze towards Qin Nian contained a complex mix of emotions, and Qin Nian seemed to deliberately avoid him, not daring to look directly at Kuang Zhi.

The remaining two were Qiu Ran and Yin Quan. Although Qiu Ran was quite capable, she was still far less experienced than Yin Quan. Zhi Yun's martial arts were inferior to Qin Nian's. After a fierce battle, Yin Quan emerged victorious.

After leaving the chess room, the three of them had a short rest. The founders of each school gave instructions to their disciples. Qin Nian was called in by Kuang Zhi and did not come out for a long time. Yin Quan couldn't help but feel a little worried. That man was really hard to figure out.

When Qin Nian came out after a long while, he looked extremely dejected. He didn't respond when Yin Quan spoke to him. "Senior Brother Qin? Hero Qin? What's wrong? Say something!"

"Yin Quan, come in." Yin Quan hesitated for a moment before entering. In the sealed stone chamber, Kuang Zhi's shadow was cast on the wall, and Yin Quan felt that the scene was inexplicably eerie.

"Grandmaster, may I ask you a question?" Kuang Zhi nodded slightly, which was taken as agreement.

"Are you a human or a ghost?" This question seemed to be difficult for Kuang Zhi to answer. "I... I'm probably just a wisp of soul in this world, trapped here by forbidden magic, unable to reincarnate or perish."

Yin Quan detected a hint of helplessness in his voice, "So you mean you're dead..." Kuang Zhi nodded, "You're not wrong to think that way." Yin Quan closed her eyes tightly; as an atheist, she simply couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It would be a lie to say I'm not afraid. Imagine someone from a thousand years ago standing in front of you, and who was just a skeleton. The situation would be incredibly eerie.

"Open your eyes." Yin Quan's lips trembled, and her eyelids were forcefully opened, her eyes stinging and tears streaming down her face.

"Alright! Alright! I can open my eyes myself, okay!" With that, the strength in her eyelids disappeared. Yin Quan rubbed her eyes and decided to just pretend she was watching TV. After thinking this, Yin Quan's mood seemed less uneasy.

"Given your experiences, you shouldn't be afraid of me, right? To be precise, aren't you also a wandering ghost?" Yin Quan was struck dumb, unable to utter a single word.

"You don't need to look at me so shocked. I was just guessing, but it seems I was right. Tell me, how did you come to the Heavenly Mystery Sect, and what is your relationship with it?" Judging from his nonchalant attitude, she knew he had transmigrated.

"Are you also from another time?"

"Time travel? You call this kind of soul confinement time travel?" Yin Quan frowned. "What is soul confinement?" Kuang Zhi looked at the puzzled Yin Quan and said, "Actually, everyone has different magical energy, but you have two kinds of magical energy. Moreover, I vaguely see a forbidden spell on your body. Do you always feel a tightness in your chest?"

Although it wasn't obvious, Yin Quan did occasionally feel a sense of unease. "Then what do you mean by this forbidden spell?"

"The forbidden spell was used because someone knew that the original owner of this body wouldn't live long, so they tried to use a forbidden spell to forcibly retain her soul, as a way to prolong her life. But they didn't expect that when this soul was weak, you happened to pass through her body and were locked inside her by the forbidden spell."

Yin Quan was stunned, but no matter what, she finally understood why she had traveled through time. "Can I go back?"

"Yes, and it should be soon. The curse on your body is gradually weakening. Once the curse is completely gone, your soul will be free again. However, once your soul becomes a wandering ghost, it won't live long in the world. It will soon be digested by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."