Floating life reflects two lotuses

Xiao Jinlian gently traced the cold, hard stone wall with her fingers, her eyes filled with caution and composure. The atmosphere inside the imperial mausoleum was heavy and oppressive; the surrounding stone paths resembled bottomless, dark tunnels, so quiet that only the footsteps of a few people and the occasional dripping of water could be heard.

"Lian'er, watch your step," Li Heng whispered, holding a tinderbox. The faint light flickered on his face, reflecting the solemnity between his brows.

Xiao Jinlian nodded, her steps becoming even more cautious. Silan followed closely behind, clutching the talisman copy she had brought from the Taoist temple. "Princess, is this road really alright? Have we taken the wrong path?" Silan asked in a low voice.

“No mistake.” Xiao Jinlian’s tone was firm, her gaze falling on a stone tablet that was faintly visible in front of her. The stone tablet was engraved with runes, exactly the same as the murals in the Taoist temple. She reached out and touched it, her fingertips tracing a fine line. “This is the entrance marker to the Spirit Offering Secret Land.”

Li Heng frowned slightly, glancing around warily. "It's too quiet. This isn't like an imperial tomb; there should be guards or traps here, but there's nothing."

Xiao Jinlian's gaze darkened. "This is exactly what I was worried about. Consort Yan's people should have anticipated our arrival."

Li Heng nodded, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist. "Regardless, we will continue forward and be ready to respond at any time."

The three of them stepped onto the path behind the stone tablet, and a faint, fishy smell gradually filled the air, like the stench of decay. They cautiously approached a huge stone gate, its surface carved with intricate runes that almost perfectly matched the final part of the mural.

“Princess, this is it!” Silan said softly, a hint of excitement on her face. “As long as we can break this rune array, we should be able to find the true entrance to the Spirit Offering Secret Land.”

Xiao Jinlian crouched down, her fingers quickly tracing the rune markings, her keen eyes capturing every detail. She took out the copied materials from her bosom and quickly compared them.

Li Heng stood guard to the side, his gaze occasionally sweeping towards the darkness in the distance. He suddenly raised his hand, signaling the two to stop. "Someone's coming."

The three immediately held their breath and hid to one side of the stone door. Flames gradually approached from the distant passage, accompanied by the echoing sound of footsteps. Soon, several dark figures came into view—the assassins sent by Consort Yan.

"Confirm they're in. Seal off the exits," the lead assassin commanded in a low, cold voice.

Xiao Jinlian's heart sank, and she whispered to Li Heng, "They're blocking our way. It seems Consort Yan was prepared."

Li Heng sneered, gripping the hilt of his sword. "Blocking the exit will only make it easier for me to deal with them."

Xiao Jinlian grabbed his wrist, her gaze resolute. "Now is not the time for a head-on confrontation. We need to find the entrance to the Spirit Offering Secret Ground first, otherwise this operation will be in vain."

Li Heng's gaze met hers briefly, and he finally nodded. "I'll cover you. You focus on deciphering the runes."

Silan quietly handed her a tinderbox from the other side, "Brother Liheng, be careful."

Li Heng revealed a confident smile, lightly turned the long sword in his hand, and stepped forward to stealthily approach the assassins.

Xiao Jinlian took a deep breath and returned her gaze to the rune array. Her fingers slid rapidly as she whispered the steps to break the spell: "Three on the left, one on the right... This rune represents 'balance,' so you must press both places simultaneously."

Silan nodded and quickly followed her instructions. With a deep rumble, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a winding passage leading downwards.

"We succeeded!" Silan suppressed her excitement and turned to look at Xiao Jinlian. "Princess, let's go in quickly."

“Li Heng is still covering for us.” Xiao Jinlian gritted her teeth and looked into the darkness in the distance.

At that moment, the sounds of close combat rang out from inside the passage. Li Heng dodged the assassin's blade with a swift movement, struck down his opponent with a backhand sword, and then turned and ran towards them. "Run! They'll seal this place off!"

Xiao Jinlian nodded, grabbed Silan's hand, and quickly entered the passage. Just as they stepped inside, the sound of assassins chasing after them came from behind. Li Heng turned around and blocked the assassins' attacks with his sword, but the enemy outnumbered them, and several sword strikes pressed down on him, leaving a bloody gash on his left arm.

"Li Heng!" Xiao Jinlian stopped and turned to go back.

"Don't come back!" Li Heng shouted, gritting his teeth as he broke through the assassins' encirclement and staggered into the passage.

Silan grabbed Xiao Jinlian's arm, "Princess, let's go first! Brother Liheng will catch up!"

The three ran at breakneck speed, the assassins clearly unable to keep up with the complex routes within the passageway. Soon, they finally stopped in a spacious underground hall, in the center of which stood a massive runic array, slowly emitting a faint blue light.

Li Heng, clutching the wound on his left arm, panted heavily and said, "It seems we're safe now."

Xiao Jinlian quickly took out a bandage from her bosom and walked to his side. "Let me see."

"It's just a minor injury," Li Heng said casually, seemingly unconcerned.

Xiao Jinlian lowered her head and focused on bandaging the wound, her voice carrying an unyielding tone: "Stop talking nonsense and sit down."

Li Heng looked at her, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. He said softly, "Lian'er, no matter what happens, I will protect you."

Xiao Jinlian was taken aback, then whispered, "But I don't want you to get hurt, Li Heng."

The brief silence between the two was broken by Silan's exclamation, "Princess! The runic array here... it seems to be guiding something!"

Xiao Jinlian stood up, walked to the array, and observed it carefully. She slowly reached out and touched the groove in the center of the array, and immediately felt a strange energy flow through her body.

“The runes here… seem to be pointing to a place,” Xiao Jinlian said softly.

Li Heng also came over and asked, "Where are you?"

Xiao Jinlian raised her head, her eyes flashing with determination, "The deepest part of the imperial mausoleum—the true place of offering sacrifices."

The air in the laboratory was stagnant, the lights were cold and white, reflecting a glaring gleam onto the metal equipment. Chu Wanlian stood in front of the rune fluctuation device, her fingers trembling slightly, yet involuntarily reaching out towards the control screen in front of her.

"Chu Wanlian, what are you doing?" Li Chenyao's voice came from behind, deep and with a hint of warning. He strode closer and grabbed her wrist.

“This device…it seems to be calling me.” Chu Wanlian turned to look at Li Chenyao, her tone filled with undisguised confusion and urgency.

“Summon?” Li Chenyao frowned and pulled her aside. “Do you know how dangerous this device is? Every piece of equipment here can cause unforeseen consequences, especially with your reckless operation!”

Chu Wanlian did not answer, but stared at the runes and light slowly emerging in the device, and whispered, "These runes... I feel like I've seen them somewhere before."

Li Chenyao paused for a moment, then followed her gaze to the device. The arrangement of the runes seemed to follow a certain pattern, and the interplay of light and shadow seemed to carry a heart-stopping rhythm. He was also mesmerized for a moment.

“Director Li, the structure of this rune is very similar to the murals in ancient ruins.” Chu Wanlian’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I must figure out the connection between it and those runes.”

"Are you sure?" Li Chenyao released her, his expression grave. "If you really want to try, I'll keep watch for you."

"Thank you." Chu Wanlian nodded, a complex emotion welling up inside her. She knew what Li Chenyao's cooperation meant—he was beginning to trust her.

On the control screen, the frequency of the rune fluctuations gradually increased. Chu Wanlian carefully adjusted the parameters, watching the changes in light and shadow with bated breath. Suddenly, Xiao Jinlian's voice rang in her mind.

"Hey! You're not planning to cause some big commotion, are you?" Xiao Jinlian's tone was tinged with nervousness.

"Shut up! I need to concentrate!" Chu Wanlian whispered to herself, her fingers quickly swiping across the screen.

"If you mess this up, I'll lose my life too!" Xiao Jinlian persisted, her voice full of complaints.

Chu Wanlian suppressed the urge to roll her eyes: "Now is the time when you can't help, so stop arguing!"

The runes on the screen suddenly began to pulsate violently, the light and shadow twisting wildly, and a powerful white light erupted from the core of the device. Chu Wanlian instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, and at the same time, her body jolted violently, as if her consciousness had been forcibly pulled back by some force.

In a daze, she saw a strange world.

Ancient palaces, dark tomb passages, runes gleaming with cold light... these images flashed through her mind like a movie, finally settling on one scene.

It was a magnificent imperial mausoleum. Xiao Jinlian and Li Heng were struggling in a stone chamber filled with runes. The walls of the chamber were covered with complex symbols, emitting a blinding light. Li Heng's shoulder was stained with blood, his expression pained, yet he firmly protected Xiao Jinlian's figure.

"Li Heng!" Chu Wanlian called out involuntarily, her palms turning white from clenching her fists so tightly.

The scene shifts, and Xiao Jinlian's urgent voice comes through: "Chu Wanlian! We can't hold out here any longer! We need to find a crucial clue quickly!"

"A crucial clue?" Chu Wanlian's mind was in complete chaos.

A flash of light jolted her back to reality; cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her chest heaved. Li Chenyao stood beside her, his expression tense as he gripped her shoulders: "Are you alright?"

Chu Wanlian raised her head and looked at him, a complicated look in her eyes: "Director Li... I might know where the place of offering spirits is."

Li Chenyao froze, then his expression darkened: "What did you just see?"

Chu Wanlian was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I saw an ancient place... and two people were calling for help. They were in danger, and that place is the place of offering sacrifices."

Li Chenyao's gaze was deep, as if he wanted to discern the truth from her expression. But he didn't press further, instead nodding: "In that case, we must take immediate action."

As night deepened, the two hurriedly left the laboratory and returned to Chu Wanlian's apartment to continue organizing the clues. Chu Wanlian described the images in her mind in as much detail as possible and compared them with the laboratory data with Li Chenyao.

“The arrangement of these runes perfectly matches the mural runes we discovered before,” Chu Wanlian said firmly, pointing to the pattern on the screen. “If we can decipher them, we can find the exact location of the Spirit Offering Site.”

While taking notes, Li Chenyao responded in a low voice, "But if the lab knows we're close to the truth, they will never stand idly by."

“Then we can only be more careful.” A resolute glint flashed in Chu Wanlian’s eyes. “In any case, finding the answer is only a matter of time.”

The first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room through the curtains. Chu Wanlian leaned back wearily in her chair and closed her eyes. Xiao Jinlian's voice echoed in her mind once more: "Looks like you're not entirely useless after all."

"You're not bad either~" Chu Wanlian muttered softly, but a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.

The fates of the two timelines are gradually intertwining in a wondrous way.