Si Fengwu chuckled and turned to those behind him, "Did you hear that? Do as the Princess Consort says.
Find the Hanxiao Hall and confirm what Duan Yue just said. If the information is correct, immediately locate the most authoritative branches or headquarters of the Sansheng Tower and Hanxiao Hall on the continent."
Once the other party confirmed the authoritative locations of the Sansheng Tower and Wu'an Palace, they could beat the gongs and drums and deliver the two sect leader tokens.
"Understood."
A muffled voice sounded, and a figure clad in black, riding a horse as black as charcoal, rode forward.
It was as if he had materialized out of thin air, startling Lu Qingwan.
She hesitantly called out, "Wufeng?"
The man in black on the horse responded in a low, muffled voice, "It is your subordinate, Your Highness. Do you have any other instructions?"
Lu Qingwan shook her head blankly, "Your stealth skills are comparable to invisibility. Are there more people behind you?"
As she spoke, she stretched her neck to look behind Wufeng.
Immediately, Lu Qingwan heard a uniform chorus of "Your Highness."
Before long, a cluster of black shadows slowly approached.
Lu Qingwan's eyes widened, "How did they achieve this invisibility?"
"Their clothes perfectly blend with the night. Their masks cover them from head to toe, and their mounts are also devoid of any color. Cotton cloth is used to wrap their horse hooves, which not only reduces the sound of their movement but also prevents their tracks from exposing their whereabouts."
Si Fengwu highly praised the competence of the Wufeng Hall's hidden guards.
"There's a reason Wufeng Hall is the royal secret guard of Daqian."
Lu Qingwan nodded, not questioning his words at all.
She then pointed into the distance, "We've arrived at the Northern Wei Imperial Mausoleum. Shall we act now?"
"Let's set up the formation first."
Si Fengwu spoke casually, but his deployment was already meticulously planned.
"Duan Yue and Wufeng, go help me and the Princess Consort set up the formation. Shi'er Yue, go scout ahead. The rest, advance silently and deal with the flowing water around the imperial mausoleum."
The group sprang into action upon receiving the order, quickly dispersing into the darkness.
The Northern Wei terrain was flat, and the imperial mausoleum was built underground. Most of the effort was put into the subterranean construction, so on the surface, the mausoleum did not appear extravagant. It looked ordinary, and its entrance was very well concealed.
If they hadn't sent people to scout in advance, they might not have found it upon arriving rashly.
At this moment, Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu exchanged a look. "This is it. Let's begin."
Si Fengwu nodded and took out a handful of seemingly ordinary chess pieces from his怀中, eight white and one black. Lu Qingwan's eyes lit up, "The Pluto's Life and Death Chess?"
"It seems the Princess Consort is well-versed in this formation as well. Shall we do it together?"
"Alright!"
Lu Qingwan picked up a white piece. "I'll set up the formation eye and the gate of life. The rest are up to you."
Wufeng and Duan Yue consciously stepped back. "Your subordinates will protect the King and Princess Consort."
As Wufeng finished speaking, the two of them retreated in unison, one facing the imperial mausoleum and the other facing forward, vigilantly guarding Si Fengwu and Lu Qingwan.
Lu Qingwan, standing in the center of the mausoleum entrance, measured the positions with her steps, chose the formation eye, sat down on the ground, and began drawing patterns with a vermilion peach wood brush.
Si Fengwu, on the other hand, was much busier.
Finding the卦位 and setting up the Pluto's Life and Death Chess, though it seemed as simple as placing them on the ground, consumed an amount of energy that only those deeply versed in the five elements and eight trigrams would know.
Duan Yue, who had initially just followed orders, watched as the visible scenery within his sight was replaced by a dense white mist. It was then that he truly realized that Lu Qingwan and Si Fengwu were genuinely setting up a formation, not just some casual trap.
He no longer dared to be negligent and fully immersed himself in the task.
Lu Qingwan was unaware that during the time she and Si Fengwu spent setting up the formation, Duan Yue's perception of them had been refreshed yet again.
Finally completing the task, both her legs were numb. She shakily got up and called out to Si Fengwu, "It's done. You can call the brothers over."
As she finished speaking, her body swayed and she was about to fall.
Si Fengwu, disregarding whether his body was cold or not, rushed forward and scooped her up.
Lu Qingwan, still mindful of her location, fiercely covered her mouth to suppress any cry.
Si Fengwu, startled by her sudden fall, asked, "What's wrong? Why did you fall all of a sudden?"
He said softly, "My legs are numb. Take me out first. Tell them the route when they arrive, and then we can begin."
Si Fengwu breathed a sigh of relief. "No rush, let's take a moment to recover."
He looked up at the sky. "It's not yet Yin hour. We'll go in when they're all asleep and the guards are dozing off, so we don't have to exert so much effort."
Her legs, from the soles of her feet to her thighs, were so numb that Lu Qingwan flailed about like a dehydrated fish.
"I suggest we don't force our way in. This is, after all, an imperial mausoleum. I don't know if there are any mechanisms or formations inside. If there are, they'll be familiar with them, and we'll be at a disadvantage.
I'll toss in a smoke bomb to knock everyone out. Even if a few escape, they'll be trapped by the formation and won't be able to get out.
Then we can go in and deal with him peacefully, wouldn't that be better?"
Si Fengwu carried Lu Qingwan further away from the mausoleum entrance and found a spot sheltered from the wind before saying, "The smoke bomb method is acceptable. However, you don't need to worry about mechanisms or formations. No one would be so idle as to install so many mechanisms in an imperial mausoleum."
Lu Qingwan dangled her feet, very curious. "Really?
But that's how it's always written in storybooks.
It's said that when the sons and grandsons of royalty die, they're buried with many gold and jade artifacts. To prevent these from being stolen, they have artisans set up many mechanisms and formations. I always thought that was true."
Si Fengwu chuckled. "The burial is true, and the mechanisms are also true. But the primary purpose of the mechanisms is to prevent natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, not to deter people.
Ordinary imperial mausoleums are located very deep underground. Before the tomb master is interred, there's nothing inside, and tomb robbers won't find much.
Once the tomb master is buried and the entrance is sealed, it's difficult for ordinary people to open it.
It's simply not cost-effective to expend so much effort setting up mechanisms and formations."
Lu Qingwan pouted. "Alright, another day of being deceived by unofficial histories.
Put me down, I'll go set off the smoke bomb."
Si Fengwu put her down but did not leave. He said to Duan Yue, "You can let them come over now."
Then he reached out to Lu Qingwan, "Give me the smoke bomb. I'll deploy it."
There were no smoke bombs in the space laboratory. The smoke bombs were modified by Lu Qingwan herself as a precaution.
She had thought that if the Xuanjia Army ever encountered a formidable enemy and suffered too many casualties, she would use the smoke bombs.
However, the Xuanjia Army had been too formidable, and Lu Qingwan's smoke bombs had not yet found a use. Now, they were finally coming into play.