Chapter 938 - The Tortoise City
Chapter 938 The Tortoise City
Xiahou Hongxiang said, “Before we set off, my wife returned to Tortoise City to ask for the help of Imperial Preceptor, Zhangsun Chengdu.
“You take our men back to Golden Horse City now. I will go and meet the Queen.
“His Majesty trusts Shangguan Qiong the most. Just now I saw with my own eyes that she had been shot with so many arrows, she looks like a hedgehog. She will definitely die.
“Now there is only Princess Xingyue left. If the Queen is willing to help me, she won’t make any trouble if she is alone.”
Jiang Bin said, “General, you are indeed a man with outstanding abilities. I greatly admire you.”
Xiahou Hongxiang said, “You take our men back to Golden Horse City now. I’ll find a place to rest and rush to Tortoise City after daybreak to meet the Queen.”
Jiang Bin agreed and disappeared into the night with 3,000 soldiers.
Xiahou Hongxiang originally wanted to check the location where Qin Haodong and others had disappeared. However, he was scared away by the swarm of Illusory Spirit Flying Ants before he could get close.
Qin Haodong took everyone back to the Seven Storeys Pagoda. He first examined the injuries of the Three-legged Golden Toad.
It was worthy of being the demonic beast with the dragon bloodline. At this moment, the wounds shot by the God-killing Arrows on its body had already healed. However, it was a little dispirited because it had lost too much blood.
Seeing that it was fine, Qin Haodong put it directly into the Spirit Beast Pouch to recuperate. Then he turned his head and saw Shangguan Qiong.
At this moment, the Vice Commander of the Royal Guard, who had been shot by nine God-killing Arrows, remained unconscious on the ground. Her breath became weaker and weaker. She was about to die.
Qin Haodong checked her injuries. Among the nine God-killing Arrows, only the one that penetrated her right chest caused the most damage. The rest were all superficial wounds.
Fortunately, Qin Haodong was here today. Otherwise, Shangguan Qiong would have died.
He first locked the acupoints on her chest with silver needles. Then he slowly took out the God-killing Arrow. Next, he used the Revival Acupuncture Method to repair her injured meridians.
After a series of treatments, Shangguan Qiong’s face slowly became ruddy. It seemed that her life was saved.
Qin Haodong applied healing medicine on her and fed her a healing pill. Then, he locked her sleeping acupoint.
The Seven Storeys Pagoda was his last trump card, so he did not want Shangguan Qiong to know about it. That was why he could not wake her up for now.
Seeing that Qin Haodong had finished his work, the Little Witch came over and said, “Little Brother, it’s a good thing you have this treasure. Otherwise, all of us would have died today.”
Zhao Xingyue said angrily, “This Xiahou Hongxiang is really crazy. How dare he use the God-killing Arrows on us? When we return to Tortoise City, I will definitely report this matter to my father.”
Qin Haodong said, “You’d better not say anything when you go back. Leave it to Shangguan Qiong. Let her tell your father about this matter. Only in this way will it appear more convincing.”
Zhao Xingyue, who was used to the intrigue in the court since she was a child, immediately understood the meaning of Qin Haodong’s words.
She nodded and said, “Big Brother Qin, you’re right. I’ll listen to you.”
The Little Witch said, “Little Brother, can we go back directly to Tortoise City from the Seven Storeys Pagoda? It’s too troublesome to cross the Doomsday Forest.”
When they heard what she said, the others also looked over. They did not know if the Seven Storeys Pagoda could do it.
Qin Haodong shook his head and said, “You think too much. It’s good enough that the Seven Storeys Pagoda can teleport us here. If we want to get out, the exit can only be the place where we just disappeared from.
“That is why we need to wait until Xiahou Hongxiang’s men are gone before we can go out.
“You take a good rest and take the time to recover your cultivation. We will go out and go straight through the Doomsday Forest after dawn.”
After that, he picked up a God-killing Arrow and began to study it slowly.
The arrow contained a thick evil spirit. When he held it in his hand, he felt as if it could tear apart his body-protecting Genuine Qi.
How powerful the evil spirit was! No wonder it was able to hurt a master at the stage of the Combination Realm.
Qin Haodong sighed in his heart. He became even more curious about the Evil Spirit Gathering Furnace.
If he could condense such a strong evil spirit on his bullets, they would be ten times more powerful than that of the God-killing Arrows.
A few hours later, when he felt that it was almost time, Qin Haodong took them out of the Seven Storeys Pagoda and returned to the valley on the edge of the Doomsday Forest.
At this moment, the sun was gradually rising. The traces of the battle from last night were still there. However, Xiahou Hongxiang’s army had already completely retreated.
Qin Haodong put all the Illusory Spirit Flying Ants into the Seven Storeys Pagoda. Then he unlocked Shangguan Qiong’s acupoint.
“Where am I? Am I dead?”
At the moment when she was hit by the God-killing Arrows, Shangguan Qiong thought that she would definitely die. She did not expect to see the sunrise again. Could it be that there was also a sun in hell?
The Little Witch said, “You are not dead. It was my Little Brother who saved you. Otherwise, you would have died!”
“Thank you for saving my life, Brother Qin!”
After a night’s rest, she had recovered about 80% from her injuries. She stood up from the ground and turned to look at Zhao Xingyue.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Zhao Xingyue said, “I’m fine!”
“It’s good that you are fine!” Shangguan Qiong heaved a sigh of relief and cursed angrily, “That old bastard Xiahou Hongxiang, I will never let him go!”
After calming down, she asked again, “Brother Qin, how did you get us out of that situation last night?”
Qin Haodong had already thought of an excuse. “Yesterday, we were already on the verge of death. Later, a large number of Illusory Spirit Flying Ants suddenly appeared. Xiahou Hongxiang’s men were forced to retreat by these demonic beasts.”
With that said, he pointed at the skeletons beside him. “Look! Those are all Xiahou Hongxiang’s subordinates that died.”
Shangguan Qiong was not a scheming person. After seeing the skeletons and the God-killing Bows on the ground, she immediately believed what Qin Haodong said.
“That is because Her Highness is blessed and Xiahou Hongxiang deserves to die!”
Princess Xingyue said, “Let’s get back quickly to Tortoise City and report what happened here to my father as soon as possible.”
Shangguan Qiong nodded. They all rose into the air and flew toward Tortoise City.
After flying for six or seven hours, they finally arrived at the capital of Tortoise Kingdom near noon.
Compared to Golden Horse City, Tortoise City was twice the size of Golden Horse City in terms of area. The city walls were high and the population was large. It looked extremely prosperous.
Shangguan Qiong said, “Flying is forbidden in Tortoise City. Let’s go down and enter the city through the gate.”
After that, she landed on the ground and showed her pass to the guard at the gate. Then, she led the people into Tortoise City.
After entering the city, Qin Haodong vaguely felt the fluctuation of the formation. It should be a large formation that restricted all the cultivators from flying.
Shangguan Qiong said to Zhao Xingyue, “Your Highness, when we came out, His Majesty had specially told us that as long as we take you back to Tortoise City, we should go to the palace to meet His Majesty immediately.”
Zhao Xingyue nodded. She knew that she had to get through this, so they walked toward the palace together.
The palace of Tortoise City was grandiose and magnificent, slightly bigger than The Forbidden City on earth. Its buildings were higher and bigger.
It was tightly guarded. Palace guards ready to take action could be seen everywhere.
Shangguan Qiong was the Vice Commander of the Royal Guard, so she was extremely familiar with the situation here. She quickly brought these people to the resting palace of the King, Zhao Xianlong.
After announcing their arrival, Zhao Xingyue took Qin Haodong and the others to see the King.
This was a resting palace, not the main hall, so it didn’t look so majestic.
After entering the door, Qin Haodong saw a middle-aged man in his 50s opposite him sitting in the main seat. There was a dignified look between his eyes and eyebrows. This man should be the King of Tortoise Kingdom, Zhao Xianlong.
Next to him sat a middle-aged woman with a phoenix coronet and dressed in a luxurious robe. She was the Queen, Wu Yuenian. Although she was already a mature milf, she still looked beautiful and attractive.
What’s more, compared with Zhao Xingyue and other girls, she appeared sexier and more mature.
However, if one observed carefully, one could see that there was a trace of viciousness between the woman’s eyebrows. She was not a good person to be with.
Shangguan Qiong stepped forward and bowed. She said, “Your Majesty, I have already brought Her Highness back safely.”
Zhao Xingyue immediately said, “Father, mother, I’m back.”
Zhao Xianlong looked at his daughter whom he had not seen for many days and snorted coldly. “You little girl are getting bolder and bolder. How dare you sneak out of the palace? Do you know how much your mother and I worried about you these days?”
Zhao Xingyue said, “Father’s reproaches are justified. It is Xingyue’s fault this time.”
Wu Yuenian replied, “Your Majesty, it is good that Xingyue has returned safely. Don’t put too much blame on her.”
Seeing the woman smiling and speaking up for Zhao Xingyue, Qin Haodong thought to himself, “It seems that this woman is quite shrewd. She is very good at hiding knives behind a smile. I must be careful when I deal with her in the future.”
Zhao Xianlong said, “Since your mother pleaded for you, I’ll let it go this time. Don’t do it again in the future.”
Zhao Xingyue bowed again. “Thank you, father, mother!”
Zhao Xianlong’s face softened a lot. He then said, “How are you doing outside? Did you suffer any grievances?”
Zhao Xingyue said, “I’ve been doing very well at the Tortoise Academy. Moreover, I’ve learned a lot. My cultivation has improved from the late stage of the Apotheosis Realm to the late stage of the Voiding Realm.”
According to what Qin Haodong had advised, she did not take the initiative to tell the king about Xiahou Hongxiang and waited for Shangguan Qiong to bring it up.
“Not bad!”
Zhao Xianlong nodded with satisfaction. He didn’t expect his daughter to improve so much after she had gone out for only a short time.
Moreover, he could see that Zhao Xingyue’s character had changed a lot compared to her previous personality that was submissive and as timid as a hare. She now had the majesty of a Princess from a royal household.
At this time, Shangguan Qiong, who had a straightforward personality, stepped forward and saluted. Then she said, “Your Majesty, I have something important to report to you.”
Zhao Xianlong said, “Just say it!”
Shangguan Qiong recounted the assassination attempt on Princess Xingyue from beginning to end. In the end, she said, “Your Majesty, Xiahou Hongxiang actually led his men to attack Her Highness. Your Majesty, please punish him.”
“How dare he!” Zhao Xianlong was furious. “How dare Xiahou Hongxiang touch my daughter? Is he trying to rebel?!”
At this time, Zhao Xingyue said again, “Father, I have been offended by the Xiahou Family many times in Golden Horse City this time…”
As she spoke, she recounted how Xiahou Zhen wanted to abduct her to be his thirteenth concubine, how Zhangsun Lan came to her place to catch them in the act of adultery and how Xiahou Chun bullied people in a teahouse.
After hearing this, Zhao Xianlong became angrier and said in a cold voice, “Shangguan Qiong, immediately send twenty thousand soldiers to Golden Horse City and arrest Xiahou Hongxiang and bring him back to be punished.”
“Your Majesty, wait a minute.”
At this time, Wu Yuenian, who was sitting nearby, spoke up. “Your Majesty, there’s actually another story behind this matter.”
Zhao Xianlong turned to look at her. “What’s the story? How did you know?”
“Please calm down, Your Majesty. Let me tell you slowly.”
Wu Yuenian said, “Your Majesty, in fact, Xiahou Hongxiang is now in my palace. He came early in the morning to ask for forgiveness. There are actually a lot of misunderstandings in this matter.
“Xiahou Hongxiang is loyal to Tortoise Kingdom. He had no intention of rebelling, let alone offend the majesty of the royal family.”
Zhao Xianlong angrily said, “Their Xiahou Family has disrespected my daughter repeatedly. He openly dispatched troops to intercept and kill her. Isn’t this a rebellion?”