"Young Master, where should we go first?" Xue Shou asked, walking beside Ye Kunlun and holding an umbrella for him. "Kyoto hasn't had such heavy rain in a long time. Please be careful." Xue Shou was now immensely impressed with Ye Kunlun.
Feng Tutu couldn't help but laugh beside them. "Xue Shou, do you know what you sound like right now?"
"What?" Xue Shou glanced at Feng Tutu.
"Like a dog trying to please its master!" Feng Tutu mocked openly.
Xue Shou was speechless. "You're the dog, a female dog! I'm happy to do manual labor for the Young Master, what business is it of yours!"
"Enough!" Ye Kunlun said, feeling a bit speechless as they started bickering again. "Let's head towards Shanhe Terrace."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shou and Feng Tutu exchanged a look.
"Young Master, you're not planning to cause trouble for Shanhe Terrace, are you?" Feng Tutu asked cautiously.
Ye Kunlun looked at the tense pair and shook his head. "The woman from the sub-alliance ceremony, she's near Shanhe Terrace."
Xue Shou recalled something. "You don't mean... that place?" Xue Shou exclaimed in shock.
"What place?" Ye Kunlun asked curiously.
"Young Master, Xue Shou is probably referring to the Wuxiang Palace," Feng Tutu explained to Ye Kunlun. "Wuxiang Palace originally belonged to Shanhe Terrace, but for some reason, it was expelled from Shanhe Terrace."
Hearing Feng Tutu's words, Ye Kunlun became interested. "Elaborate."
"Your subordinate has only heard rumors. It's said that Wuxiang Palace used to be the living quarters of a concubine from the previous dynasty. That concubine was extremely powerful. Because she overstepped her bounds, she angered the sage of Shanhe Terrace. Since then, Wuxiang Palace became a place of banishment."
"After that, the concubine in Wuxiang Palace calmed down significantly, but she continued to cultivate her own forces in secret. Over the years, Wuxiang Palace has trained many experts."
"However, with Shanhe Terrace suppressing them all along, they dared not cause too much of a disturbance, as the ban from the previous dynasty had not been lifted."
"Therefore, the people in Wuxiang Palace are still considered criminals!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Kunlun couldn't help but laugh. "Matters of the previous dynasty, and the current sage still bothers with them? Truly troublesome."
"Even though it's from the previous dynasty, they are still part of the lineage of the sages," Feng Tutu cautiously explained.
"Who cares who it is? If they provoke me, they should be prepared for me to come knocking for retribution!" Ye Kunlun replied coldly.
The heavy rain continued to fall relentlessly. After walking for a while, a black car stopped by the roadside.
"Mr. Ye, our Patriarch Changsun requests your presence." A middle-aged man in a suit and tie stepped out of the black car, appearing polite towards Ye Kunlun.
"Changsun Changkong sent you?" Ye Kunlun looked indifferently at the man blocking his path.
"Indeed."
Ye Kunlun replied coldly, "If Changsun Changkong wants to see me, he can come to Wujian Prison himself!"
The middle-aged man's eyes showed a hint of displeasure. "Our Patriarch's status is noble..."
"Scram!" Ye Kunlun spat out the word. The middle-aged man staggered back as if struck, bumping into the car. He looked at Ye Kunlun in terror.
"Take our Young Master's words to Changsun Changkong!" Feng Tutu quickly added to the middle-aged man.
Thirty minutes later, Ye Kunlun and the other two walked into an ancient alley.
"Young Master, we have entered the vicinity of Shanhe Terrace," Xue Shou said. "There are a few pairs of eyes watching us."
"Let them watch," Ye Kunlun said dismissively. He wasn't looking for trouble with Shanhe Terrace. Moreover, the person from Shanhe Terrace had made Eunuch Yuwen appear and directly force Feng Zhan's people to retreat. In that regard, he owed them a favor, even if he felt they were meddling!
As they walked, Ye Kunlun suddenly stopped. At the end of the gray alley, a tall woman dressed in a goose-yellow palace gown, holding a paper umbrella, blocked their way.
"Three, please halt!" the woman said, her lips parting slightly. The oil-paper umbrella concealed half her face, and the three of them could only see her crimson lips.
"Yo, someone's blocking the path already," Feng Tutu stepped forward, killing intent flashing in her eyes. Being a woman herself, she could sense the killing intent from the other woman.
"Young Master, leave this woman to me!" Feng Tutu requested of Ye Kunlun.
"Make it quick!" Ye Kunlun replied lightly.
Feng Tutu wasted no more words and attacked directly. The palace-clad woman gently spun her oil-paper umbrella, and the raindrops on it instantly transformed into several water arrows, shooting towards Feng Tutu. However, such an attack was nothing to Feng Tutu, a strong cultivator in the Kai Ling realm. With just her protective spiritual energy, she blocked all the incoming attacks and directly reached the opponent.
Upon closing the distance, Feng Tutu finally got a clear look at the woman's face. It was a face covered in makeup, with willow-leaf eyebrows, but it was wrinkled and old.
"Heh heh, so it's an old hag!" Feng Tutu sneered and attacked with her palm.
The palace-clad woman, enraged, retracted her oil-paper umbrella. The tip of the umbrella, like a spearhead, suddenly pierced towards Feng Tutu. The umbrella tip was incredibly sharp, and this strike was imbued with ninety percent of her strength. The rain seemed to momentarily pause!
"Well done!" Feng Tutu exclaimed, unable to help but praise. Despite her words, Feng Tutu actually used her bare jade hand to catch the strike! Just as the umbrella tip was about to hit Feng Tutu, a cold glint shot out from Feng Tutu's sleeve, aiming straight for the woman's chest!
The palace-clad woman's expression changed drastically. She never expected Feng Tutu to hide a projectile weapon in her sleeve. She tried to dodge, but it was too late!
*Thwack—*
The sleeve dart pierced directly through the palace-clad woman's body. Feng Tutu's jade hand rotated, sliding along the umbrella tip, and delivered a palm strike to the woman's chest!
*Puff—*
The palace-clad woman spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered back several steps, and collapsed onto the ground.
"Cough cough... *cough*..." Her grayish-white hair scattered, and her aged face showed a hint of dishevelment. She stared fiercely at Feng Tutu, and behind her, Ye Kunlun and Xue Shou.
"The Empress will avenge me!" she declared, then fell down unwillingly.
Feng Tutu let out a scoff. "What era is this, still calling someone 'Empress'..." Feng Tutu gently beckoned with her jade hand, and the sleeve dart returned to her hand. "Even if it were the Queen Mother, this granny would still kill her!"
Ye Kunlun and Xue Shou walked over and glanced at the dead woman.
"Young Master, are all the women in Wuxiang Palace this old?" Xue Shou asked.
Ye Kunlun replied, "It's not impossible. After all, Wuxiang Palace used to be part of the imperial harem. Besides women, there should only be eunuchs, right?" As he spoke, Ye Kunlun walked towards Wuxiang Palace. As expected, the alley ahead led to Wuxiang Palace after turning right.
Xue Shou quickly held up his umbrella and followed.