Chapter 1 Looking at the Li Changshi Before Him, Zhang Yuanqing First Showed a Look of Surprise, and Then Said Joyfully

“Tianxia Guihuo?”

He didn't expect Li Changshi to be a teammate. After all, this was the imperial palace, and Zhang Yuanqing instinctively thought that male teammates were all on the front lines or somewhere in the capital.

As for why he thought it was Tianxia Guihuo, the reason was simple. The Grand Eunuch was a Fire Master and directly guessed his identity. This level of intelligence could only belong to Tianxia Guihuo.

Li Changshi's face darkened, “Forget it, I'm Hong Ji-ge.”

“???” Zhang Yuanqing didn't believe it, “How did you guess that I'm Yuanshi Tianzun?”

Could it be that I underestimated Hong Ji-ge's IQ?

Li Changshi, no, Hong Ji-ge, proudly raised his chin, “As soon as I entered the instance, you found three women to serve you. Fu Qingyang, Demon Eye, and Zhao Chenghuang don't get close to women, and Tianxia Guihuo isn't greedy for beauty. Who else could it be but you, Yuanshi Tianzun?”

I really didn't underestimate Hong Ji-ge's IQ. The corner of Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched, “Those three female assassins are our teammates.”

Hong Ji-ge was shocked, “Those three little bitches, no, three assassins are teammates? But why did they try to assassinate you? Although I learned about the absurd things Zhao Shun did when I first entered the instance, I really wanted to slap him to death, but my mission is to protect Zhao Shun, and Zhao Shun is you, we're on the same side.”

No wonder your attitude towards me was so bad yesterday. With a Fire Master's personality, it's really hard for you to endure for so long. Zhang Yuanqing said:

“I guess there are two reasons. First, the identity of a fatuous ruler is special and the most difficult. Second, the instance is simply increasing the difficulty for me.”

The two points are actually the same thing. Because he is a fatuous ruler, the difficulty level is high, so there will be assassins.

Hong Ji-ge understood and said “Oh”, then stopped delving into it and continued:

“My main mission is to protect the fatuous ruler for five days, and the side mission is to help the fatuous ruler find the spy. When I woke up this morning, I suddenly found that the side mission had been completed. Did you find the spy?”

“Let's talk about the instance's plot later.” Zhang Yuanqing took a sip of tea, “The mechanism of this instance is gradual. Each time you complete a side mission, you unlock part of the seal. What level are you now? Has the side mission changed?”

“My strength has recovered to level 4, but it's one level away from my peak. There are two side missions, one is to protect the fatuous ruler for 72 hours, and the other is to protect the fatuous ruler for ten days. But I'll leave as soon as I complete the main mission. I feel that reaching ten days, the difficulty has reached the Dominator level. Staying here is like courting death,” Hong Ji-ge said.

Zhang Yuanqing hissed. Hong Ji-ge is now a level 4 Saint, which means that enemies at the Saint stage will assassinate him within 72 hours.

And he has only recovered to the Extraordinary Realm.

A Saint killing an Extraordinary is like crushing an ant. My situation hasn't improved, but has become more and more dangerous. At this rate, when I recover my Dominator status, the enemies I encounter will probably be level 8, or even higher. Zhang Yuanqing grimaced.

A Dominator-level A-grade instance is even more difficult than the S-grade instances he has encountered.

At this moment, a eunuch's loud call came from outside the palace:

“Consort Ya has arrived!”

Zhang Yuanqing and Hong Ji-ge looked at the palace gate together. The former revealed an expression that said, "As expected." Most of the five imperial consorts he deduced from the daily records were correct.

The only uncertainty was Consort De, because Consort De didn't resist physical contact, but her indifferent attitude matched the character's background.

The palace gate was pushed open, and a woman wearing a plain white palace dress stepped over the threshold and walked gracefully.

She was about thirty years old, with delicate features and a cold, quiet temperament. Her black hair was styled into an exquisite bun, adorned with golden hairpins and jade hairpins, and her autumn-water-like eyes were clear and cold.

Consort Ya stopped in the outer hall and said softly:

“This concubine heard that Your Majesty was assassinated and was concerned, so I came to visit.”

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. He sensed confusion, bewilderment, and solemnity from Consort Ya's emotions, which didn't seem like the state of recognizing a teammate.

Consort Ya isn't a teammate? She really came to visit the emperor and found him alive and kicking, so her emotions are bad?

He restrained his joy, stared at the extremely mature and charming Consort Ya, and smiled:

“Beauty is so kind. Beauty, you don't have to go back today. Stay in my bedroom. I haven't been intimate with you for a few days.”

He didn't forget to maintain the persona of a fatuous ruler.

Consort Ya stood expressionlessly in the hall, her voice faint:

“This concubine heard from the palace maids that Your Majesty was inspired by the God of Literature in a dream last night and wrote a poem. Is this true?”

“Yes.” Zhang Yuanqing replied calmly.

“This concubine also has a poem here, but only half of it. I wonder if Your Majesty can complete it,” Consort Ya probed.

“Tell me!”

Consort Ya pondered for a few seconds, “Hoeing millet under the midday sun, sweat dripping onto the soil beneath the millet.”

Consort Ya is really a teammate. What was with those emotions just now? Zhang Yuanqing changed to a more identity-revealing way to reply: “There are too many people hoeing millet under the sun.”

Consort Ya's expression thawed in a second, and joy appeared between her brows. She walked quickly into the bedroom, looked at Zhang Yuanqing sitting on the soft couch, and smiled: “It's me, Xiao Yuan.”

Zhang Yuanqing also smiled: “Quickly come and join me in a tryst!”

Hearing this, Hong Ji-ge on the side said unhappily, “Guan Ya isn't here, and you're already so promiscuous?”

Among Yuanshi Tianzun's group of “ambiguous” women, Hong Ji-ge still favored Guan Ya. After all, they had been teammates fighting side by side for several months.

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him, “Do you want to be thrown out?”

Hong Ji-ge shrugged, “You're the fatuous ruler, you're the boss.”

With Hong Ji-ge being a nuisance, Zhang Yuanqing and Xiao Yuan could only remain polite, inviting her to sit on the soft couch and seriously exchanging their respective tasks.

“My side mission is to assassinate the fatuous ruler, and my main mission is to destroy the Southern Dynasty. The side mission hasn't been completed, so my level remains at 3.” Speaking of this, Xiao Yuan's expression was a little strange, and she said:

“I always thought that our team was in the Northern Dynasty camp, and the core plot of the instance was to help the Northern Dynasty overthrow the decadent Southern Dynasty regime. I didn't expect you to be the fatuous ruler.”

Zhang Yuanqing was shocked and immediately understood why Xiao Yuan's mood was so heavy. Her main mission was to destroy the Southern Dynasty, which meant that she was the Dominator of the enemy country. In this kind of death instance, failure of the main mission meant death.

In other words, no matter who clears the instance in the end, the other party has to die.

Hong Ji-ge scratched his head, “That's not right. We're teammates in the same camp, how can we be on opposite sides?”

This doesn't conform to the Spirit Realm mechanism.

Xiao Yuan frowned, “I suspect it's related to my profession. After all, I'm an evil profession.”

Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts moved, “Demon Eye is also an evil profession. I wonder what the situation is on Fu Qingyang's side. We can write a letter to ask. This is the White Tiger Army's gang instance. Qian Gongzi knows more than we do.”

Although it doesn't conform to the Spirit Realm mechanism, the fact is already in front of them. Now all they can do is find a way to solve the problem. To take a step back, if they can't solve it, they can temporarily sacrifice Xiao Yuan and Demon Eye, leaving behind clones and flesh with spirituality for future resurrection.

Or, ask his uncle for help to help her escape the instance.

Of course, these are last resorts.

Thinking of this, he shook his head again, “No, if it's a profession problem, then why did the three beauties also try to assassinate me?”

Jiang Jingwei and the others aren't evil professions, right?

Xiao Yuan pondered slightly and said:

“Since you are the fatuous ruler, presumably the three beauties are still alive. Later, bring them to the bedroom and ask about the situation.”

She continued to talk about the information about her character. Xiao Yuan found a set of night clothes, a human skin mask, and a waist tag in Consort Ya's box under the bed.

“All three items are ordinary, but I think the waist tag is more important than the night clothes and the human skin mask, so I carry it with me.” Xiao Yuan took out a palm-sized copper tag from her arms. The tag was engraved with a Taiji fish.

Zhang Yuanqing took the copper tag and looked at it, “It should be a mission item. Hmm, Xiao Yuan's main mission is to destroy the Southern Dynasty. She is likely from the Northern Dynasty. I understand. She was sent by the Northern Dynasty as a spy lurking in the imperial palace, a hidden piece that hasn't been exposed.”

Hong Ji-ge was overjoyed, “In that case, we can use her to ambush the Northern Dynasty in reverse and give false information. Haha, we've struck gold!”

Alas, having our own people become enemy spies is theoretically a big win, but Xiao Yuan's side mission is to assassinate the emperor. If the mission cannot be completed, her strength will always be sealed. We are equivalent to losing a Dominator-level Witch Gu Master. Zhang Yuanqing wasn't as optimistic as Hong Ji-ge.

It's hard to say whether it's a gain or a loss.

“You were the one who saved them last night, right?” Zhang Yuanqing looked at Consort Ya's beautiful face.

Xiao Yuan nodded and told the story of yesterday in detail. She refused to meet the emperor on the grounds of physical discomfort because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to play Consort Ya well and be discovered.

In addition, the fatuous ruler was lustful, and she was an imperial consort, so it was difficult to resist any possible indecent acts. There was also no chance to assassinate him during the day.

So she chose not to meet him.

After nightfall, she wanted to sneak into the bedroom to see if there was a chance to assassinate the emperor, but she found that the three beauties also wanted to assassinate him.

Based on the fact that everyone's missions were the same, she suspected that the three beauties might be teammates, so she took action to save them.

At this point, Consort Ya's plot line has been roughly sorted out.

Zhang Yuanqing said, “I'll go get the three beauties out first. There should be people from the Zheng family in the Imperial City Division. We have to be careful not to be seen. Let me think... Xiao Yuan, you stay in the bedroom. Hong Ji-ge, go get three sets of palace maid costumes and bring them to the artificial rock forest by the lake.”

He whispered a few words to his two teammates, and then said loudly:

“I want to have a tryst with Consort Ya. All of you, leave.”

The palace maids and eunuchs in the outer hall acknowledged, lowered their heads, and left one after another.

Hong Ji-ge, with graying temples, strode to the outer hall, put down the gauze curtain to separate the bedroom from the outer hall, then opened the door of the bedroom and left with the palace maids and eunuchs.

Entering Night Tour mode, Zhang Yuanqing quietly followed Hong Ji-ge out of the bedroom and rushed towards the artificial lake outside the palace without saying a word.

Wan Meiren had told him the “suppression” location of Jiang Jingwei and the other two. After the assassination incident last night, the Imperial City Division started a vigorous blockade and search operation this morning.

Therefore, she chose to suppress the three beauties at the bottom of the lake to hide them from the Imperial City Division's search.

He easily hid from the Imperial City Division's guards stationed at various intersections and halls, hid from the passing palace maids and eunuchs, successfully arrived at the lakeside, and carefully stepped into the lake.

If someone looked at the artificial lake at this time, they would find suspicious ripples on the shore.

Submerging into the lake, Zhang Yuanqing immediately opened his item bar, took out the Yin-Yang Magic Robe and put it on, gaining the ability to control water and quickly diving towards the bottom of the lake.

About half a minute later, he arrived at the “suppression” location and saw three beauties of different ages floating in the water, their hands and feet entangled in chains, chains made of condensed water.

They were suspended at the bottom of the lake like balloons, with a blood-colored talisman drawn on each of their foreheads.

Wang Geji and Wan Meiren were unconscious, while Chu Meiren was listless and weak, pulling the "chains" on her wrists from time to time in frustration.

This should be the "water-repelling talisman" mentioned by the die-hard Wan Meiren, and the reason why the three beauties were listless was that they had been implanted with germs in their bodies and were suffering from serious illnesses, which was why they were so weak.

This was to prevent them from making too much noise at the bottom of the water and being discovered by the Imperial City Division's guards.

“Glug, glug...”

Chu Meiren saw the fatuous ruler diving towards them and was shocked. She opened her mouth to scold him, her voice turning into gurgling bubbles.

Zhang Yuanqing pointed to the robe on his body.

Chu Meiren remained unmoved and continued to gurgle.

Brainless Jingwei. Zhang Yuanqing complained inwardly, raised his hand and wiped his face, using illusion to transform into Yuanshi Tianzun.

The instance no longer restricted communication of identities between teammates.

Chu Meiren was stunned, then overjoyed, gurgling even louder.

Zhang Yuanqing raised his index finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet, then used his water control ability to break the weak chains. He carried Wang Geji himself, threw Wan Meiren to Jiang Jingwei, and the four of them quickly surfaced.

On a certain part of the river covered with withered yellow lotus leaves, Jiang Jingwei and Zhang Yuanqing poked their heads out, looking around suspiciously at the shore and in the distance.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, the two of them submerged again. A few seconds later, they emerged from the shore, carried one person each ashore, and disappeared into the artificial rockery forest on the bank.

“Assassinate me, assassinate me, assassinate me...”

In the rockery forest, Zhang Yuanqing raised his palm and slapped Jiang Jingwei's head again and again.

Fourteen or fifteen-year-old Chu Meiren flailed her arms, resisting him unwillingly, but she was weakened by the disease and her resistance was feeble.

After Zhang Yuanqing finished teaching her a lesson, he poked Jiang Jingwei to the ground with a finger and said unhappily:

“Tell me your character information.”

(End of this chapter)