The “little girlfriend” they were talking about was actually Aise, Yang Hao’s long-lost love. These days, Yang Hao had been fully occupied preparing to forge the “Binghuo Jiuzhongtian,” and naturally had no time to visit Aise or Amanda. He had already gathered all the auxiliary materials needed for forging the artifact, but two key ingredients—Huohai (Fire Child) and Bingshuangyu (Frostfish)—were still missing. With only three days left and no progress at all, Yang Hao was hesitating whether he should take his friends and flee together.
Just when time was running out, Mingyuan Shih, who had been out for several days, returned with good news. Mingyuan had already bought her freedom and was now staying at home, fully devoted to serving Yang Hao. Upon hearing that Yang Hao was searching for these two treasures, she was equally anxious. As the top courtesan of Lingfei Star Sea in the past, she naturally knew many influential figures, so she went out to gather information for Yang Hao.
The news she brought back was about the palace on the planet Laimeng. From an official responsible for transporting goods to the royal family of Laimeng, Mingyuan learned that within the protected area of the palace, there was a special storage facility known as the “Wanwu Hall”—a legendary treasure vault. This warehouse supposedly contained every rare and precious item in the world, including some extremely rare medicinal herbs that were impossible to obtain elsewhere.
The official mentioned that once, elders from the Imperial Council had requested to visit the Wanwu Hall to view its collection of medicinal herbs. However, the royal family of Laimeng, led by Empress Dan Zhen, had consistently refused. They feared that after seeing these treasures, the elders might develop greedy intentions, eventually leading the Empire to overthrow the entire royal family in order to seize the Wanwu Hall for themselves.
This palace alone held such treasures that even the Imperial Council members—who had seen the rarest and most valuable items in the world—would covet them. Thus, one could imagine how astonishing the contents of the Wanwu Hall must be. Therefore, Mingyuan believed that the medicinal ingredients Yang Hao needed were likely hidden inside.
Yang Hao found this reasoning convincing. After all, the natural habitats of Huohai and Bingshuangyu were exactly the kind of extreme environments found on a planet like Laimeng. While it would be nearly impossible for an individual to collect them, the royal family, with its advanced technological resources, might have already done so and stored them away.
Determined to save his friends, Yang Hao resolved to sneak into the palace and search for these two treasures. To make things easier, he even contacted Aise, who was still at school, and specially asked her to draw a map for him.
But now, it seemed this decision might have backfired. Following Aise’s map, Yang Hao had already bypassed three hidden royal guard posts. If not for his “Feihua Huanying” (Flying Flower, Phantom Shadow) technique, which made others think it was just a gust of wind passing by, he would have been caught long ago.
Just as Yang Hao began to suspect that Aise might have intentionally led him into trouble out of spite for not visiting her in a long time, he finally spotted a vast forest ahead. Beyond it stood a magnificent palace, glittering with golden light.
This palace was by far the most awe-inspiring structure they had seen since entering the protected area. Towering high, its walls and roof were intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes, and appeared to be made entirely of gold, gleaming under the moonlight.
“According to the map, this must be the place…” Although Yuanyuanzi said this, his tone was still hesitant.
“I don’t think so,” Yang Hao slowly walked forward, pondering whether he should enter. “Who builds a warehouse this beautiful? Even the palaces of nobles and officials are low and plain, nothing like this.”
“Well, that may be true,” Yuanyuanzi couldn’t resist lecturing, “but you must admit, people have all sorts of strange tastes. Take you, for example—you always pick skinny girls, not at all like your master, who prefers plump and full-figured women.”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Yang Hao snapped. “It’s already bad enough that I’m forced to become a thief, but having an old ghost in my belly nagging me all day makes it even worse.”
“Let’s go in and take a look,” Yuanyuanzi suggested.
“No way,” Yang Hao stood beneath the dazzling palace, feeling overwhelmed by its majestic presence, and began to lose his nerve. “This might be Empress Dan Zhen’s private residence. If I sneak in, I’ll be caught and executed for sure.”
“Her Majesty’s private quarters!!!” Yuanyuanzi’s voice sounded as if he were drooling. “I heard she has dozens of beautiful concubines. My dear apprentice, if this really is the imperial harem, we should definitely go in and have a peek.”
“Peek at what? You pervert!”
“Peeping is one of life’s greatest pleasures,” Yuanyuanzi chuckled. “For example, watching you take a bath is quite entertaining. If others could hear me, I’d love to describe it in detail to those girls.”
“Ugh!” Yang Hao felt like throwing up. “You go peek at yourself, naked.”
“My dear apprentice,” Yuanyuanzi coaxed, “just use your Feihua Huanying technique to dash in, take a quick look around, and then run. Empress Dan Zhen and her concubines won’t even notice. Besides, you’ve never seen how an emperor makes love to his women, have you?”
“I don’t care to see,” Yang Hao replied, turning to leave. “I can barely handle my own women. Why would I waste time watching someone else?”
Yuanyuanzi sighed, “How did I end up with such a morally upright apprentice?” He muttered helplessly as Yang Hao walked away resolutely.
But suddenly, Yang Hao stopped. It wasn’t because Yuanyuanzi’s words had finally convinced him, but because his “Rui Min Shu” (Acute Perception Technique) had suddenly sent a signal. The signal was very strong, indicating that something was inside the palace. However, strangely, unlike before, the signal only flashed briefly, like a shooting star, giving Yang Hao just a fleeting hint.
“What’s wrong?” Yuanyuanzi asked.
“My Rui Min Shu… there’s something inside the palace,” Yang Hao hesitated, unsure.
Yuanyuanzi, of course, knew that Yang Hao’s Rui Min Shu only activated when he was thinking about something specific, so he probed, “What were you thinking about just now? Treasures, or those concubines?”
“Well…” Yang Hao was clearly conflicted. At that moment, he had thought about both, so he couldn’t be sure. “Maybe it was a woman.”
“My good apprentice!” Yuanyuanzi praised, “You truly have inherited my style!”
“Style my foot! I might have been thinking about medicine too. I’m confused now,” Yang Hao grumbled. “It’s all your fault, talking about peeping in such a dangerous place.”
“Now that it’s done, you might as well go in and check it out,” Yuanyuanzi’s tempting voice sounded like Satan himself. “Don’t miss any opportunity. What if Huohai and Bingshuangyu are really inside?”
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