“……White Hawk!” Prince Lan, Li Bai, spat out the true identity of the guard holding the White Hawk plume with burning hatred.

Prince Gao Yang paid no mind to the fact that one of his guards had been slain; instead, he was captivated by the two words “White Hawk” and scrutinized Qiu Huan from head to toe.

“She just looks like a little girl—yet she’s remarkably bold. Emperor Liangqiu, no wonder you dared to come to Gao Yang in person for this meeting; it turns out you’ve managed to win Tonglou as an ally. But do you really trust this Tonglou Louzhu so much? Or has she offered you some irresistible terms?”

Gu Yonghuang didn’t respond. “Since we’ve both laid bare our cards, you must know why I’m demanding that you hand over Prince Lan. So what will the Gao Yang Emperor do now—will he still try to kill both me and the White Hawk together? The only question is whether you even have the strength to pull it off.”

A gleam of sharp intent flashed in Prince Gao Yang’s eyes. “Well then, let’s see if I can actually do it!” Before he could finish speaking, numerous guards launched a coordinated assault on Gu Yonghuang.

Meanwhile...

“Damn it,” Yuan Mo thought frantically, but the relentless tide of enemies made it impossible for him to break free and reach the Renshou Hall.

After sifting through the corpses of the enemy, he recognized the tokens as belonging to Li Bai’s personal troops, which meant Li Bai was planning a desperate counterattack. Thinking of this, Yuan Mo grew deeply worried about Qiu Huan’s predicament. While Qiu Huan herself might not find it too hard to escape, Gu Yonghuang was completely unarmed—and ensuring her safety at the same time would be a real challenge.

With a swift swing of his sword, Yuan Mo felled a group of Li Bai’s private soldiers; their clothes were already soaked in blood, making it impossible to tell their original color. He hurried down the dim, narrow passageway.

Around a corner, sure enough, he saw more private soldiers on alert. He had no time to confront them or shout warnings—just slash, slash, slash. His heart felt almost numb. Yet at that very moment, Yuan Mo suddenly sensed a large contingent of powerful, menacing presences approaching. He quickly steadied himself, continuing to strike while keeping an eye on the direction from which they came.

The private soldier standing opposite Yuan Mo noticed the change in his expression and thought he’d struck gold. Overjoyed at the prospect of scoring the biggest victory of his life, he lunged at Yuan Mo with both swords. But before his blades even touched Yuan Mo’s body, a searing pain shot through his back, his fingers loosened, and his weapon clattered to the ground. “Who’s attacking me…?” The words died on his lips as he breathed his last.

Looking up to see where the hidden weapon had come from, he saw a group of dark-clad figures, radiating murderous intent, charging forward with weapons in hand. They immediately clashed with Li Bai’s private soldiers, quickly gaining the upper hand. Yuan Mo swiftly dispatched several of the nearby private soldiers, when a figure resembling the leader of the black-clad band arrived, moving with exquisite light-footedness. After bowing slightly, he said, “We are under the command of the Crown Prince. Upon hearing Princess Jin’an (Duan Yunhe)’s warning, the Crown Prince sent us to hold off Prince Lan’s private troops. From here on, we’ll take charge of blocking the path ahead—please hurry, Master Yuan Mo, and make your way to the Renshou Hall to rescue King Liangqiu and Lady Qiu Huan.” With that, he presented Yuan Mo with a token.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Mo knew that Duan Yunhe’s prophetic dream had come true once again. After examining the token, he nodded, handed over Li Bai’s private soldiers to the black-clad men, and slipped away into the fray.

Sure enough, the rest of the journey became much easier. Yuan Mo excelled at remaining undetected; in such a chaotic battle, he needn’t worry about being recognized. About fifteen minutes later, he finally reached the exit of the secret passage.

The passage was dimly lit, but the Renshou Hall itself shone with golden splendor. Perhaps Li Bai had been overly confident that his forces were strong enough to pin Yuan Mo down, so all the hall’s guards had gone to surround Qiu Huan, leaving the entrance to the secret passage undefended.

Even with her formidable inner strength, Qiu Huan found herself struggling against so many foes. And if Gu Yonghuang weren’t there, she could simply channel her true qi into the musical rhythm to directly shock and injure her opponents’ heart meridians—rather than fighting them with a fan as she was doing now.

Seeing that Qiu Huan was clearly at a disadvantage, Li Bai seized the opportunity to unleash his ultimate weapon:

—a small yet incredibly powerful firearm.

End of Chapter 36: Wielding the Spear to Turn Back the Sun