The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1196 - 643: The Last Emperor’s "Confession of Guilt," The Priestess Appears! (5k)
"Hehehe..."
The silence on the square was broken by the unrestrained laughter of Pei Niannu, successfully dispelling the awkward atmosphere between the three.
Zhao Douan instinctively stepped back, gritting his teeth:
Deliberate! This old feud is definitely deliberate!
It’s very likely that Pei Niannu is purposely smearing him... just like back under the Grand Temple, the old feud sternly criticized the Empress for her lack of etiquette, appearing frustrated at Zhao Douan’s inability to assert his authority.
The odd thing is, he couldn’t explain, since it was indeed his own hand that acted.
"Hmph!"
Yu Xiu’s eyes were deep, but she ultimately did not erupt, only walked a few steps away, pretending nothing happened.
The female Taoist had a personality of enjoying watching drama, but she absolutely didn’t wish to become the drama.
As for Jin Jian, the young girl was still naive, only somewhat confused about being hugged by Zhao Douan.
Seeing her Second Senior Sister with a "calm" demeanor, the girl silently sighed, thinking she was still not mature enough, and should learn from her Senior Sister...
"Ahem, it seems my plan worked well, so this is the core of La Garden, isn’t it?"
Zhao Douan solemnly surveyed the surroundings.
In sight was a vast open space, devoid of weeds.
Under the night sky, a towering temple stood ahead, with a long staircase extending downward.
Midway up the steps, there was a gentle platform, on which was a giant circular stone platform, flanked by huge bronze cauldrons!
At this moment, flames burned in the cauldrons, and the temple shone with lights.
"Yes," Yu Xiu cleared her mind, looked up at the stone platform guarded by the bronze cauldrons, and said:
"That is the altar, also known as the position of the shrine.
During rituals, the offerings are placed on that altar. As for the higher temple buildings, I have not entered. Even at the Liao Clan’s decennial ceremony, the rites end at the altar."
Zhao Douan said seriously:
"There must be caretakers in La Garden; these flames aren’t lit by divine servants. Also, these steps are quite clean, showing signs of being swept."
Yu Xiu pondered for a moment, then suddenly said:
"I’ve heard that there are priests in La Garden, but I don’t know more details."
Priests... Zhao Douan silently tightened his grip on the knife handle and stepped onto the first step:
"In any case, caution is best."
The three ascended together, but to their surprise, they encountered no danger along the way.
Passing the altar, they reached the exterior of the rugged-styled "shrine," with the stone door wide open, leading to a vast hall.
Inside, dozens of fires burned, with the dim light illuminating the entire building.
Carefully, Zhao Douan held the knife as he stepped inside, surprised to find it simply furnished, the hall empty except for a prominent half-human-height stone pillar in the center.
The pillar had grooves, and beside it were two strange, seemingly jade-like "balls."
"Is there no one?"
Zhao Douan was puzzled, his Divine Sense spread wide, and after a thorough investigation, he found no one present.
"Perhaps they temporarily left." Yu Xiu analyzed calmly:
"Our intrusion certainly alerted the people in the courtyard, but they didn’t expect us to sneak in quietly.
Anyway, our time is limited, where is the thing you’re looking for? Is it this?"
She hopefully pointed at the jade ball on the stone pillar, it was the most conspicuous thing.
Jin Jian was slightly shorter, standing beside the pillar, reaching to grab it but was blocked by Yu Xiu’s hand, looking flustered and fierce:
"Don’t touch around recklessly; this is the resting place of the Great La Ba, very dangerous!"
"...Oh." Jin Jian retracted her hand, still gazing longingly, softly saying: "Second Senior Sister."
"Hmm?"
"It seems like it’s worth a lot."
"??" Yu Xiu held her forehead, feeling powerless.
"This is a Memory Stone, harmless."
Pei Niannu drifted over, the female sorcerer walked with grace, like taking a leisurely stroll, showing no sign of urgency despite sneaking in.
Beneath the dark gold mask, her eyes were curious, with pale, translucent fingers pointing at the jade ball:
"It’s a Magic Artifact used to record images from my era. Place it in the groove and inject mana; it will project."
An ancient version of the "Recording Scroll"?
Zhao Douan was astonished.
Why would the residence of the Great La Ba have this thing?
Slight hesitation aside, he boldly grabbed the larger, better-looking "jade ball" and placed it in the groove.
Seeing this, Yu Xiu used her palm to deliver threads of mana across the air, infusing the pillar.
Then.
Under the dim light, first, fine lines lit up on the jade, and then, complex patterns glimmered on the dull surface of the stone pillar.
Silently, the jade ball suddenly brightened, a beam of light rising and slowly unfolding in the air.
It formed a phantom light screen!
It truly is a recording... so this technology existed six hundred years ago?
Astonished, Zhao Douan held his breath, then was stunned to see the light screen first tremble violently, then at the center appeared a young emperor clad in a Dragon Robe with a crown on his head!
His appearance was handsome, but he couldn’t hide his fatigue, with eyes full of solemnity and sorrow.
Behind him, figures vaguely moved to and fro at a distance, seemingly busy with something.
"Who is this?"
As the group wondered, they heard the "emperor" within the light screen speak:
"Today marks the first year of Guangqi, also the coronation day of the new emperor of Qi Country, my ascension to the throne."
An opening strike!
Zhao Douan froze momentarily, realizing: "Is this the Crown Prince of Qi Country? Did he leave this image?!"
