mesbooks Chapter 275 Breaking Through the Dilemma
Chapter 275 Breaking Through the Dilemma
The morning light had barely begun to shimmer over the eaves of the Yun family mansion when the imperial envoy's motorcade arrived in a grand procession. The grand spectacle, with its fleeting carriages and horses and the throng of attendants, was like a heavy, dark cloud, instantly weighing heavily on the hearts of everyone in the Yun family.
The imperial envoy strode into the mansion with his head held high, his eyes like a hawk, looking around unscrupulously, as if every inch of his scrutiny was to reveal some secret.
Yun Mengting moved gracefully, leading the entire family in a respectful greeting. Her demeanor was neither humble nor overbearing, like a plum blossom proudly standing in the snow. She bowed slightly and spoke softly, "Your Excellency, please understand. My Yun family has been blessed with the Emperor's grace for generations. We have always adhered to our duties and dedicated ourselves to the court. We would never violate the law or transgress the law in any way."
The imperial envoy just snorted lightly, waved his hand, and the accompanying officials began to rummage through the mansion like wolves. For a moment, the house was filled with a tense atmosphere.
Just as tensions were rising, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar, and Ling Xuan galloped towards them. He dismounted, his robes swirling in the wind, and stepped forward, presenting a sheaf of letters. He declared in a clear voice, "Sir, do not be deceived by appearances! The one with the true ulterior motives, disturbing the peace of the court, is not my Yun family, but that Liu Tianjiao. These letters are irrefutable evidence of his collusion with the ministers!"
The Imperial Envoy took the letter, glanced at it briefly, his expression changing dramatically. He had come here to uphold justice, but now he saw that the Yun family had truly suffered an unprovoked disaster. He softened his tone, promising to report the truth upon his return to the palace.
On the other side, Liu Tianjiao learned of the failure in the palace. He was furious and smashed all the treasures in the room to pieces, roaring: "A bunch of good-for-nothings who can't even handle such a small matter!" He knew very well that if the emperor kept on holding on to this matter, he would be in great trouble. After thinking it over, he decided to lie low for the time being and vent his resentment on the Shadow Cult.
Liu Tianjiao secretly sent people to contact the remnants of the Shadow Cult, promising them mountains of gold and silver, high positions and generous salaries, and bewitching them, saying, "The Yun family is now relying on the forbidden formation and is as strong as a rock.
But as long as we dismantle it from the inside, the formation will collapse on its own. "If you and I join hands, why should we worry about not being able to take it down?" The Shadow Cult leader was seriously injured in the last battle and was worried about not having the chance to seek revenge. Upon hearing this, he and Liu Tianjiao immediately hit it off.
They found a distant relative of the Yun family who was addicted to gambling and heavily in debt. After a series of threats and inducements, the relative lost his conscience and secretly put a chronic poison into the Yun family's drinking water source under the cover of night.
Within a few days, many of the Yun family's servants began to feel inexplicably weak and fainted one after another. Yun Mengting, with her keen mind, immediately sensed something was amiss and quickly summoned a renowned and respected physician from the city. Upon examination, the physician paled with shock: "This is a long-lost bone-eating poison! It's extremely potent, but fortunately, we discovered it early. However... the herbs needed for the antidote are incredibly rare and difficult to find."
Yun Mengting was extremely anxious. She rushed into the library at home and searched through ancient pharmacopoeias, but she had no clue. Just when she was at her wit's end, Xiaomei's eyes lit up. She suddenly remembered the mysterious old man she had met at the market before and said hurriedly, "Miss, maybe that old man knows the solution!" Yun Mengting rushed out of the house to look for him as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw. Fortunately, she found the old man in a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city. After listening to the whole story, the old man sighed and said, "This poison is very tricky. The herbs for the antidote can only be picked at the Cliff of Broken Souls. That place is full of dangers and is full of deadly traps."
Upon hearing this, Ling Xuan took Yun Mengting's hand without a word and said, "Ting'er, I'll go with you!" The two of them traveled day and night, and arrived at the Cliff of Broken Souls without stopping. They saw that the cliff was as steep as a knife, and it was shrouded in mist and clouds, revealing a hint of gloom.
As soon as he stepped onto the narrow path on the edge of the cliff, several arrows whizzed out through the wind. Ling Xuan reacted extremely quickly, drew his sword from its sheath, and with a flash of cold light, he accurately blocked the sharp arrows, protecting Yun Mengting firmly behind him, and moved forward cautiously.
Along the way, there were many traps, and the slightest mistake would have led to eternal damnation. Fortunately, the two were smart and quick-witted, and they managed to solve them one by one. After finally finding the herbs, before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, the Shadow Cult's ambushers appeared like ghosts.
The Shadow Cult leader emerged, looking up at the sky and laughing wildly, "There's a road to heaven, but you didn't take it. Today you've fallen into a trap, and this is your death!" Ling Xuan reacted quickly, hiding the herbs in his arms and thrusting his sword straight at the leader. The leader dodged to the side, and the two instantly engaged in a fight.
Yun Mengting showed no sign of weakness, whipping out with a whistling whip, lashing out at the surrounding cultists. In the midst of a fierce battle, Ling Xuan seized the opportunity presented by the cult leader's old injury, gathering all his strength and striking with all his might. The cult leader screamed in agony, his old injury recurring. He dared not fight any longer and could only flee in panic.
Unable to delay, the two hurried back to the Yun family, carrying the herbs. After taking the antidote, everyone was out of danger. After this incident, the Yun family became even more united in their hatred for the culprits who had repeatedly manipulated the clandestinely. Their hatred burned like a raging fire.