Frost Concubine was the current favorite of Emperor Danzhen, although the old emperor changed his favorite concubine every month. At least this month was her turn, and all she had ever waited for was simply this one month.
But now, Emperor Danzhen had died—right on top of her. That wasn’t exactly part of the plan, so Frost Concubine was absolutely terrified. She remained frozen inside the emperor’s sleeping quarters, too afraid to move an inch. Wang Tao had promised her that the swordsmen would ensure her safety as long as she stayed here—no one would dare to break in.
Though Frost Concubine trusted Wang Tao deeply—he was the handsome man who had taken her from the heart of the empire to the planet Laimeng and then presented her to Emperor Danzhen—she still placed her faith in him. She knew that as long as Wang Tao’s sword remained, no one in the universe could ever harm her. And right now, Wang Tao should have been just outside the door.
This was safe—there was no safer place on the entire planet Laimeng.
Yet, just as Frost Concubine was trying to comfort herself with these thoughts, the situation suddenly changed. She felt a tremor, followed by a deafening noise from above. The palace ceiling, made of solid rock, began to emit a tremendous sound. It was like someone drilling through a wall, yet not quite like the sound of a motor. If Frost Concubine hadn’t been standing right in the center of the palace, she probably wouldn’t have felt the vibrations so intensely.
Being a woman, she was so frightened that her hands and feet turned icy cold. Only then did she think to call for help—the swordsmen had installed an alarm inside the palace. As soon as she touched it, a flood of guards would rush in.
But just as she was about to press the red button, the ceiling collapsed. Sand and stones rained down, creating a massive hole more than a person wide. At the same time, a blazing fireball plummeted through.
It felt as if a scorching sun had pierced through layers of rock, crashing down with lightning speed and smashing right in front of Frost Concubine.
Staring at the roaring flames before her, Frost Concubine’s vision went black, and she fainted dead away.
“Damn it! Damn it!!” Of course, that fireball was none other than Yang Hao. Rolling desperately on the ground, he managed to set fire to a table, three chairs, and nearly half the palace’s carpet before finally finding a bucket of water. Only then did he manage to save himself from being burned alive.
As to how Yang Hao nearly ended up roasted alive, the reason was truly absurd—it was all due to the old creep Hunyuanzi’s senile forgetfulness. Right now, Yang Hao was seriously doubting whether the old man genuinely suffered from dementia or was just messing with him. Every time, he ended up in a miserable state before Hunyuanzi was satisfied.
Just moments ago, Hunyuanzi had told Yang Hao to jump into the hole that had been drilled. Yang Hao had fallen quite a distance, proud of his own bravery, thinking that this feat was worthy of being recorded in history. But just as he was feeling triumphant, Hunyuanzi hesitated and spoke up again.
“Dear disciple, did I remind you earlier?”
“Remind me of what?” Yang Hao felt a prick in his heart. He knew all too well that whenever Hunyuanzi sounded like this, it meant he was in trouble—though he hadn’t yet realized exactly how much trouble.
Hunyuanzi’s tone was full of confusion. “Didn’t I tell you to watch out for fire?”
“Fire? Why would I need to watch out for fire?” Yang Hao asked, puzzled.
Hunyuanzi paused for a second before replying in a tragic voice, “Don’t you know about the basic physics concept of friction generating heat?”
“Of course I know that!” Yang Hao snapped. “It’s basic physics. Who doesn’t know that?”
“Then do you know that when a high-speed drill bit works for a long time, you need to add plenty of water to cool it down? Otherwise—”
“Otherwise what?” Yang Hao was already feeling the heat—it was unbearable, like being set on fire. His feet were burning with pain.
“It catches fire. It burns. It can burn a person alive,” Hunyuanzi said calmly, likely having already prepared protective measures inside Yang Hao’s body. “That’s why normally, when we use a flying sword as a drill bit, we make people wear asbestos fireproof suits before jumping down. Otherwise, even if you drill through, it’s useless.”
“Of course it’s useless!” Yang Hao didn’t need reminding anymore. With his own eyes, he could see the flames bursting from the gaps in the flying sword, igniting his shoes and pants. “What use is there in turning into roasted pork?”
Yang Hao’s screams of agony were drowned out by the deafening noise of the sword drilling through stone. The heat generated by the friction was terrifying. Especially as the flying sword struck against granite, the flames quickly engulfed Yang Hao completely. Only by summoning a surge of inner energy to protect his body did he avoid immediate death. However, his clothes and body hair were already mostly burned away. The only fortunate thing was that the fireproof medicine pouch tied around his waist remained intact—a small mercy in an otherwise disastrous situation.
This had to be one of the most humiliating moments in Yang Hao’s life. Though he had successfully drilled into the emperor’s bedroom, he was now soaked, smoking, and wrapped only in a wool blanket. Not far from him, Frost Concubine lay unconscious on the floor.
“I must have had eight generations of bad luck,” Yang Hao muttered angrily, stomping his feet. “What a brilliant plan! It nearly got me killed. Are you happy now that I’m burned to a crisp?”
“If you die, I die too. Do you really think I get to enjoy braised pork intestines?” Hunyuanzi showed no remorse. “Relax, this is the emperor’s bedroom. Just find some imperial robes to wear.”
“Easy for you to say!” Yang Hao hopped around grumbling. Being completely naked under a blanket was extremely inconvenient—every step risked exposing his “spring scenery.”
“Wait!” Hunyuanzi suddenly shouted.
“What now?” As soon as Yang Hao spoke, he fell silent. He had also heard the sound that Hunyuanzi detected. For Yang Hao, this was definitely not good news—it was like barely escaping one disaster only to run straight into another.
Outside the bedroom, hurried footsteps approached. From the sound, there were at least four or five people, all top-level experts. They must have heard the noise Yang Hao made while drilling through the ground and rushed over to investigate.
Sweat instantly poured from Yang Hao’s forehead. His internal organs, already nearly cooked from the fire, trembled again. This was definitely not the time for a fight. The guards outside were all elite swordsmen from the Royal Swordsmen Corps. Any one of them could easily match the strength of a Jin De warrior. Not to mention the top expert Wang Tao was also out there. If Yang Hao were discovered, he would probably die before he even had time to react—too quickly for any last thoughts.
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