Jun You Ji Fou

Chapter 74

"What's going on?" Chu Mingyun abruptly stood up.

Jiang Yuan's face changed, just about to pull away when she was suddenly pulled into someone's embrace. Flying gravel grazed past her temples. If her movements had been any slower, it could have been fatal. She looked up in astonishment at Li Yanzhen. "Your Majesty..."

"Be careful." Li Yanzhen didn't have time to glance at her expression, hastily escorting her away with the guards.

The smoke and dust rolled in, obscuring the sky, causing the ground to tremble even more violently. Countless people were still immersed in the exquisite dance of the water, but in the blink of an eye, they were faced with landslides, scrambling to flee, losing their dignified demeanor, in a panicked frenzy. The thunderous noise of falling rocks mixed with the terrified screams of people, boiling over like water erupting from a pot.

Su Shiyu instinctively glanced across to the other side, but his view was obstructed by the haze of dust. Yet he could vaguely see that the seats were now empty. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried towards the upper seats, only to find them vacant as well. Su Shiyu turned around, desperately looking around, but everything was chaotic, and he didn't see Li Yanzhen's figure. He couldn't help but cough a few times from inhaling the smoke and dust.

At that moment, someone suddenly grabbed his hand, pulling him into their embrace. The person covered his mouth and nose with one hand, and amidst the murky smell of sand and soil, Su Shiyu caught a hint of sandalwood between their fingers. His heart trembled suddenly. The hand holding him was slender and powerful, gripping so tightly that it made his fingers ache, impossible to break free.

Chu Mingyun led him to a safe place on the other side of the lake, releasing his hand and turning back. He only left behind a sentence: "Wait for me here."

Su Shiyu quickly grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

Chu Mingyun turned around, the coldness between his eyebrows suddenly dissipating as he pulled a hint of a smile and asked, "Are you worried about me?"

"Are your people nearby?" Su Shiyu countered instead of answering.

"Are you worried about me?" Chu Mingyun stared at him intently.

Su Shiyu looked away towards the collapsed cliff, furrowing his brows slightly. "Was this landslide caused by you..."

Chu Mingyun interrupted his words by pressing a white finger against his lips. He chuckled softly, "I won't answer any of your questions." His index finger lightly traced along Su Shiyu's lips before he withdrew his hand and licked his fingertips. "You're not allowed to go anywhere. Wait for me here for a while." With that, he left directly, his figure disappearing into the chaos of smoke and dust in the blink of an eye.

Su Shiyu stood stiff in place, then took a few deep breaths to clear the images from his mind. After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly returned to the chaotic scene.

However, Chu Mingyun did not return to the banquet. Instead, he led Qin Zhao and the shadow guards up a small path to Li Mountain, standing on the edge of a cliff. The collapsed peaks were not far from here. Several shadow guards had already gone to investigate, while the rest of the black-clad guards lined up behind him, silent to the point of blending into the night.

Chu Mingyun looked down, and finally, the landslide stopped. The smoke and dust gradually dispersed, revealing scattered rubble and debris amidst the ruined seats. The lake water was murky from being stirred up, with the bodies of those buried alive lying on the ground. The surviving people were still in a state of panic, and the extravagant palace banquet had turned into a scene of chaos.