Chapter 128: I Shall Offer the Crown Prince's Life in Exchange!

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Late at night.

Su Qingmeng slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying in Li Yunji's bed.

She instinctively felt her chest. There was no hand there, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

“But how did I end up in bed?”

As a fourth-rank expert, she remained alert even while sleeping. If anyone approached, she would certainly have noticed.

But if that person had been Li Yunji, perhaps things would have been different.

That was what Su Qingmeng thought.

“Awake?”

Li Yunji stood by the window, gazing at the river of stars scattered across the sky as he spoke.

“Mm.” Su Qingmeng sat up. After a night's rest, much of her energy had returned.

“When did you wake up?”

“Around the Hour of the Pig, I suppose,” Li Yunji replied indifferently.

Su Qingmeng gave a soft acknowledgment.

“Can't bear to leave the bed?” Li Yunji walked into the room and teased her.

Su Qingmeng threw off the quilt and stretched.

Her mouth denied it, but her body was perfectly honest.

The warm quilt still seemed to retain Li Yunji's scent, and she truly was a little reluctant to leave it.

“It's time.” Gu Xian'er called from outside. “Time to conceal your aura.”

Li Yunji opened the door and looked over the group with a faint smile.

“Conceal Su Qingmeng and Yuntian's auras.”

“Leave everyone else's untouched.”

The others froze for a moment. Yuntian asked, “Why?”

Li Yunji's lips curled up.

“That old thief Tuoba Mu is certainly with the Crown Prince right now.”

“If we want to sneak into the Crown Prince's bedchamber, we have to lure the tiger away from the mountain.”

Yuntian suddenly understood.

“Tuoba Mu must be extremely cautious at this moment. Once our auras are exposed, he will surely take action!”

“When that happens, I can slip in unnoticed and take the opportunity to destroy his formation!”

“Excellent!”

Li Yunji smiled approvingly and patted Yuntian on the head.

“As expected of a member of the Yun family.”

Yuntian's little face instantly flushed red.

His body trembled as though he had been struck by lightning.

So this was what it felt like to be acknowledged?

Ever since he could remember, he had trained arduously every day, seeking only his father's approval.

Yet over the years, his father had never once praised him.

It had always been a hurdle in Yuntian's heart.

At times, it had even made him doubt himself—could he truly shoulder the Yun family's duty of protecting all living things?

Now that Li Yunji had entrusted him with such an important task, an inexplicable joy suddenly welled up inside him.

Watching Yuntian nod vigorously, his expression resolute as though he had been injected with a surge of spirit, Li Yunji was momentarily stunned.

What was with the kid?

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Had I somehow hit his switch again?

“What about me?” Su Qingmeng asked. “Concealing Yuntian's aura is meant to help him destroy the formation core. What purpose does concealing mine serve?”

Li Yunji turned around and replied solemnly, “You have to bring someone to me.”

“Who?”

“The Second Prince of the Northern Desert.”

“Pfft—”

Su Qingmeng nearly spat up a mouthful of blood. She stared at Li Yunji with her eyes wide.

“Are you serious?”

“That is the Northern Desert royal family!”

Li Yunji paused, his expression grave.

“I know.”

Seeing his expression, Su Qingmeng realized that he was not joking.

“What are you kidnapping him for?”

Li Yunji cast an inadvertent glance at Eleven from the corner of his eye and said in a low voice, “I have my uses for him.”

A bead of cold sweat appeared at Su Qingmeng's temple.

“But the prince's bedchamber is heavily guarded. How am I supposed to get close?”

“And Han Jitong—”

“You only need to go there openly,” Li Yunji said calmly. “I have already made arrangements with Han Jitong.”

“When did you arrange that?”

Su Qingmeng still felt deeply uneasy.

After all, kidnapping a prince was no trivial matter.

“While you were asleep.”

Su Qingmeng pondered for a long while, then pursed her lips and agreed.

After all, she had been by Li Yunji's side for so long, and he had never failed.

Li Yunji looked up at the sky and said to Gu Xian'er, “Begin.”

The two exchanged a glance and nodded.

...

Late that night, at the Crown Prince's bedchamber.

Dozens of Black Tortoise Guards surrounded the palace.

With the sense of security provided by the guards, Zhao Heng slept soundly while embracing a delicate palace maid.

In the main hall, Tuoba Mu sat with his eyes closed, calming his mind and conserving his strength.

Suddenly, a sinister breeze swept past, and Tuoba Mu abruptly opened his eyes.

“Master?” Murong Lanyue stepped forward, her expression solemn. “What is it?”

Tuoba Mu's eyes narrowed as he said coldly, “I sensed several familiar auras.”

“Whose auras?”

“Li Yunji's,” Tuoba Mu replied heavily.

“Wasn't he...” Murong Lanyue hesitated.

Li Yunji and his companions had clearly been sealed inside Momentary Eternity by Tuoba Mu. Given their cultivation, they should have had no chance of breaking through the formation.

Yet waves churned through Tuoba Mu's heart, and his voice grew heavy.

“This Li Yunji actually possesses such methods. It seems I underestimated him.”

“What do we do now?” Murong Lanyue asked anxiously. “If he finds this place, it may ruin our plans.”

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The instant her voice fell, a brazen shout suddenly came from outside the door.

“Tuoba, you old thief!”

“Didn't expect me to get out, did you? Your master here has escaped!”

“Your second-rank formation isn't much to look at.”

“I dealt with it effortlessly.”

Tuoba Mu's brow furrowed. He looked furious.

“You old bastard, why are you hiding? If you have the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!”

“Is the entire Tuoba clan of the Northern Desert this worthless?”

“Coward! Hiding like a turtle!”

The more Li Yunji spoke, the more provocative he became.

Outside the room, the Black Tortoise Guards looked around, but saw no one.

Tuoba Mu suddenly rose to his feet and ground his back teeth together, struggling to suppress the fury in his heart.

His black robe stirred despite the absence of wind, yet he still forcibly restrained his murderous intent.

Murong Lanyue clenched her fists as well, her slender nails digging into her flesh. All she could do was silently swallow her anger.

“That old bastard isn't taking the bait,” Li Yunji sighed from the shadows.

“Young Master, shall we charge in and kill our way through?” Eleven asked, his blade already bared and his eyes full of fighting spirit.

“No.” Li Yunji waved a hand. “Even a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. Though that old monster has sacrificed much of his life force, his cultivation remains at the third rank.”

“If he were alone, he would still be manageable. After all, the Medicine Immortal is no pushover.”

“But with those Black Tortoise Guards added to the equation, our odds won't be good if we force our way in now.”

With that, Li Yunji looked toward the distant darkness.

“Once Su Qingmeng brings him here, our chances will improve by far more than twofold.”

Gu Xian'er followed his gaze and asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Could the Second Prince of the Northern Desert actually help us deal with Tuoba Mu?”

“Of course not,” Li Yunji replied.

“Tuoba Mu may not even care about that second prince.”

“Bringing him here serves another purpose.”

Gu Xian'er rolled her eyes at Li Yunji and muttered, “You just love being mysterious.”

The group remained hidden in the darkness for a long while. Then, suddenly, Su Qingmeng appeared.

Seeing the man from the Northern Desert slung over her shoulder, the corners of Li Yunji's mouth lifted slightly.

“How did you manage that?” Su Qingmeng asked, lowering the man to the ground with a puzzled expression.

The moment Su Qingmeng entered the Northern Desert's sphere of influence, people from the Temple of Literature had led her straight to the Second Prince's bedchamber.

They had helped her bind him without the slightest difficulty.

No matter how influential Li Yunji was, it was impossible for him to make the Northern Desert's Temple of Literature treat their own prince this way, was it?

“I vouched for the Crown Prince's life.”

Everyone was startled by his words.

Li Yunji declared righteously, “I told Han Jitong that if anything happened to the Second Prince while he was with me, I would use the life of the Great Qian Crown Prince to repay it!”