Xuan Yang styled Qixue’s hair according to his own tastes, adorning it with pearl flowers and a golden hairpin, dressing him up beautifully. Only then did he take a small puppet corpse from his sleeve and gently toss it onto the bed.
The puppet corpse suddenly enlarged, transforming into a face with delicate and alluring features identical to Qixue’s.
It was the “corpse” Qixue used as a body double for his fake death. Its main material was made from Qixue’s rabbit fur, mixed internally with his fingernails and a few drops of blood. The fur turned into skin, the blood into flesh, and the fingernails into bones, creating an extremely lifelike body.
No matter what spell was used to inspect it, no flaws could be detected, because the raw materials came directly from Qixue himself.
The only shortcoming was that this puppet corpse was merely an empty shell without consciousness. It could neither speak nor move. To make it react like a living person, Qixue needed to attach a strand of his divine sense to control it.
“This will do.”
Xuan Yang positioned the puppet corpse properly and covered it with a brocade quilt, making it look as if it were soundly asleep. “In less than an hour, the great fire will ignite. Let’s go.”
With that, he extended his hand to Qixue, waiting for him to take it of his own accord.
Qixue gave the puppet corpse on the bed one last glance, suppressed his sadness, and gently grasped Xuan Yang’s hand. Together, they left the sleeping palace.
The sky was overcast, the rain curtain dense. Groups of palace halls rose and fell with their eaves, rainwater cascading down the roof ridges and pooling into shallow, flat puddles in the depressions of the stone slabs—like blurred mirrors reflecting the silhouettes of the two walking side by side.
Xuan Yang held a paper umbrella in one hand and lightly embraced Qixue’s waist with the other. In a warm voice, he said, “Come closer. Don’t let the rain wet you.”
“…”
Luxiangqiu quietly flew behind them. She had no claws to hold an umbrella with, but her feathers remained water-repellent as always, because Xuan Yang had cast the Water Avoidance Art on her before they set out.
As for why the Holy Monarch had cast it only on her and not on A Xue, the reason was obvious: the Holy Monarch wanted to get close to A Xue… So it was best if she didn’t disturb them.
However, Luxiangqiu was a straightforward little bird. She didn’t understand—if the Holy Monarch wanted to be close to A Xue, why didn’t he just say so? Why use such an indirect and roundabout method?
Perhaps the Holy Monarch had his reasons…
The two people and one bird shuttled through the Summer Palace as if it were empty, encountering the occasional palace servant sweeping or tidying up, who paid them no mind.
This great fire would consume several palace halls, and Qixue couldn’t bear to implicate innocent lives. At his request, Xuan Yang had replaced the palace servants near the sleeping palace with puppet corpses. Xuan Yang had cast a few spells on these puppet corpses, enabling them to perform simple activities.
Of course, Xuan Yang didn’t care about the lives of these mortals. He had initially disagreed with the replacement, as it might reveal flaws, but he couldn’t resist Qixue’s repeated pleas and eventually agreed.
In the end, he could never refuse A Xue. He figured it wouldn’t cause any major issues—who would notice the puppet corpses once the fire started? As long as they burned up in the flames, it would be enough to destroy the evidence.
They headed toward the palace gates. As they passed the palace where Helan Ji handled state affairs, Qixue glanced over from afar. Unfortunately, the doors were tightly shut, so he couldn’t see Helan Ji in the study. He had no choice but to give up and follow Xuan Yang out of the Summer Palace.
Once outside, Xuan Yang used an escape art, bringing Qixue and Luxiangqiu to a nearby mountaintop.
The mountaintop had sparse vegetation and an open view, allowing a clear overlook of the scenes below. They could simultaneously see the Imperial Mausoleum and the Summer Palace.
“Let’s stay here.”
Xuan Yang put away the paper umbrella and casually cast a water avoidance spell, enveloping the three of them. He said to Qixue, “I know you’re worried about Helan Ji’s safety and want to confirm he’s unharmed after the fire dies down before leaving. I’ll indulge you.”
Qixue was stunned. He hadn’t expected Xuan Yang to be so considerate. In gratitude, he naturally thanked him. “Thank you, Qing Yuan.”
“No need to thank me, A Xue. I just don’t want you to dwell on old affections and keep thinking of them in the future.”
Xuan Yang lowered his gaze and slowly caressed Qixue’s delicate cheek with his hand, his fingertip sliding over his red lips. “Promise me—from now on, forget them. Love me wholeheartedly, alright?”
Qixue’s eyelashes trembled as he softly replied, “…Alright.”
He couldn’t hide his sad expression, and his response sounded insincere. Xuan Yang saw it all but said nothing. He merely lightly stroked Qixue’s lower back and gazed at the scenery below with him.
“Whoosh…”
The wind and rain raged, thunderclouds roiled on the horizon, and silver-white lightning flashed between the thick, pitch-black rain clouds like silver serpents tearing through black silk, spewing venom onto the ground.
The rain grew even heavier, showing no signs of letting up. Luxiangqiu watched for a long time before she couldn’t hold back her doubts. Hesitantly, she asked Xuan Yang, “Holy Monarch… With rain this heavy, can the palace really catch fire later?”
“It can.” Xuan Yang nodded. “Because it’s not ordinary fire—it’s Earth Fire. Have you heard of Earth Fire?”
Luxiangqiu and Qixue both shook their heads. Xuan Yang explained, “Beneath the Imperial Mausoleum lie the Earth Veins—what mortals call the ‘Dragon Veins.’ If the Earth Veins are unstable and Earth Qi leaks out, struck by heavenly lightning, it ignites Earth Fire. Earth Fire can melt gold and stone; once lit, it can’t be extinguished with water. It’s a terrifying true fire.”
“Can’t be extinguished with water?”
After hearing Xuan Yang’s explanation, Qixue’s heart tightened instantly. He anxiously looked toward the Summer Palace. “If the Earth Fire can’t be put out, won’t His Majesty be in danger?”
Xuan Yang said, “Don’t worry. Earth Fire can be extinguished. Once the Earth Qi burns out, it stops naturally. The leaked Earth Qi this time isn’t much, so the fire won’t last long.”
“Besides, there’s Xie Shu. The Earth Veins concern the fate of the Dayong Kingdom—he won’t stand by. As long as he’s there, Helan Ji will be safe.”
“At worst, I’m here. I guarantee you—Helan Ji will be fine.”
Xuan Yang stroked Qixue’s hair and gently comforted him. “I had no choice but to ignite the Earth Fire. Think about it—you’re a Rabbit Demon with magical powers, and Xie Shu is guarding nearby. He could arrive in an instant. How could ordinary mortal fire take your life?”
“Since you’ve chosen to fake your death to escape, it must look convincing enough. Only if they all believe you’re truly dead will they stop searching for you, and you’ll truly sever ties with them.”
“I understand…”
Qixue nodded, hiding his inner unease and responding docilely. “I was overthinking it… You considered everything thoroughly.”
“Relax.”
Xuan Yang smiled faintly and looked down at all things below. His gaze remained gentle and compassionate, yet chillingly cold.
“Look… It’s about to begin.”
As if in response to Xuan Yang’s words, the next instant, a muffled roar came from underground at the Imperial Mausoleum, like a mountain collapsing. The ground began to shake violently, even affecting their mountaintop.
The peak trembled and swayed, loose stones on the ground suddenly bouncing up. Before Qixue could react, he felt his body tilt uncontrollably, his feet going numb—he nearly fell. Xuan Yang quickly grabbed his arm. “Careful.”
The quake startled countless birds into flight. They ignored their heavy, wet feathers and panicked into the sky, forming dense black clusters like swarms of insects.
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, the earth quaked and mountains shook. Qixue watched in horror as the ground at the Imperial Mausoleum cracked open.
It started with a pitch-black fissure that widened and multiplied rapidly, spreading like shattered glass. Murky yellow water surged up from below, gradually submerging the nearby mausoleums and tombs.
“Whoosh…”
A bizarre gale arose from the fissures, the gusts so powerful they whipped the underground water into waves. At first only as tall as a person, the waves grew larger, forming massive ten-zhang walls that crashed down like avalanches, smashing the tombs to pieces!
Luxiangqiu saw this and felt as if she herself had been shattered. Her feathers fluffed up in fright, and she tremblingly hid her head under her wings.
She saw nothing now, only hearing the terrifying clamor outside. The roar continued for a while before suddenly falling silent—eerily still, save for the sound of falling rain.
“I-Is it… over?”
The little parrot cautiously lifted her head and looked toward the Imperial Mausoleum. The entire mausoleum had been flooded, broken walls and ruins faintly visible in the filthy water. Shattered coffins and exposed bones floated on the surface.
But this was only the beginning. The floodwater bubbled as if boiling. With a piercing “pop,” the silence shattered. Massive columns of gas erupted skyward, and the ground collapsed with a boom!
The solid earth became like fragile thin skin. Countless thick gas pillars pierced and tore through it, riddling the ground with holes in an instant. All the gas surged out, causing the surface to rapidly deflate and sink.
Thick dust mixed with floodwater and rain into filthy torrents and towering waves, carrying the heaven-piercing Earth Qi pillars that destroyed everything in their path. In a flash, most of the Imperial Mausoleum was swallowed into the dark chasm.
The chasm spread at terrifying speed, forming a bottomless, abyssal pit at the center of the Imperial Mausoleum.
This apocalyptic scene filled Qixue with dread and regret. He had only wanted to fake his death with a fire, never imagining it would trigger such a catastrophe.
The Former Crown Prince and Late Empress’s mausoleums were in the Imperial Mausoleum—likely destroyed. Qixue didn’t even have time to worry about his two benefactors’ tombs. What concerned him most was Helan Ji in the Summer Palace, fearing the disaster might endanger him.
“Qing Yuan, I…”
He looked worriedly at Xuan Yang, who squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry. Xie Shu will arrive soon.”
In just a few breaths, several silver-white streaks appeared in the gray sky.
Leading them was Xie Shu’s jade carriage, followed by a large group of Cloud Moon Temple disciples riding silver-white demonic beasts—like blazing white comets illuminating the sky.
The jade carriage halted swiftly above the pit. Xie Shu stepped out, his snow-white Daoist robes flapping wildly in the gale.
His expression was icy and murderous as he ordered the disciples, “Form the array.”
The disciples swiftly formed a massive, orderly sword formation, with Xie Shu standing at its center as the eye.
He spoke coldly, “The Emperor and Noble Consort have not yet left the Summer Palace. We must suppress the Earth Qi within the Imperial Mausoleum and prevent the Summer Palace from being engulfed. The Emperor and Noble Consort’s safety cannot be compromised.”
The disciples responded in unison, “Yes, Palace Lord!”
The sword formation activated, the eye exploding with vast magical power—like a brilliant flower bud blooming into a lotus, its petals turning into millions of silver-white streams of light plunging into the bottomless dark pit below.
Most of the escaping Earth Qi was contained within the sword formation, though a small portion still slipped away.
At the center of the sword formation, Xie Shu gazed toward the distant Summer Palace, his heart heavy with unease over Qixue there.
Though the Summer Palace hadn’t yet been hit by the chasm or flood, the earlier quake must have affected it, and the escaped Earth Qi might threaten its safety.
Xie Shu had entered the formation personally. Before the Earth Qi was forced back into the Earth Veins by the sword formation, he couldn’t leave. To check on Qixue in the Summer Palace, he could only send an avatar—but his avatar had to take its demonic form, exposing his Dragon Clan secret to all eyes.
One side was a secret guarded for a century, the other a minor risk. Xie Shu didn’t hesitate and separated an avatar.
A silver-haired, golden-eyed youth with dragon horns peeled away from Xie Shu’s back. The faint shadow solidified into entity and streaked toward the Summer Palace like a shooting star.
“What was that that just flew off? The Palace Lord’s avatar?”
