Chapter 748: Trapped in a Cage

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“Is the one on duty in the palace today Pucha Ahutuo or Pucha Ahudie? How did such a commotion break out? If this startles my royal brother, what will they do then?” Wanyan Ping spoke with frustration at their incompetence.

In recent years, Emperor Xizong had been unpredictable, frequently executing ministers on a whim. The Pucha family had always been close to the imperial family, and if Xizong became enraged and killed them, it could create a rift with one of the royal family’s most loyal clans.

“Reporting to you, Chief, it is the Right Vice Commander who is on duty,” a subordinate quickly answered.

Fortunately, Song Qingshu had recently crammed knowledge about the Jin Dynasty, so he wasn’t completely lost. The security of the Jin imperial palace was primarily managed by the Palace Guards, whose leader held the title of Palace Guard Commander. This position was currently occupied by Prince Wanyan Tesi. Beneath him were two deputy commanders: the Left Vice Commander and the Right Vice Commander. The individuals Wanyan Ping had just mentioned—Pucha Ahutuo and Pucha Ahudie—were these two second-in-command officers.

“So it’s him…” Wanyan Ping murmured, falling into silence, deep in thought. If Pucha Ahutuo had been the one on duty tonight, she wouldn’t have hesitated to step in and help. However, since it was Pucha Ahudie…

Although they were brothers from the same Pucha family, there were subtle differences between them. Pucha Ahutuo was unwaveringly loyal to Emperor Xizong—Wanyan Ping had no doubts about that. But Pucha Ahudie was the brother-in-law of King Hailing, Wanyan Liang.

Wanyan Ping instinctively distrusted Wanyan Liang. She always felt there was more ambition in his gaze than in any of the other ministers. Because of this, she also found it difficult to fully trust Pucha Ahudie.

“Forget it, I should still go take a look,” Wanyan Ping finally decided. After all, her suspicions about Pucha Ahudie were just that—suspicions. It wasn’t enough for her to stand by and let someone else do the dirty work for her.

“Heroes, I’ll give you a little more time to consider. I hope that the next time I return, you won’t disappoint me,” Wanyan Ping said to Song Yuanqiao before turning to leave.

As Wanyan Ping turned away, Song Qingshu shrank deeper into the shadows and even held his breath, making sure not to release a single trace of his presence. He wasn’t particularly worried about Wanyan Ping detecting him—her martial arts skills were decent, but not nearly refined enough to notice him. The real threat came from the two men closely following her. Judging by their breathing and footsteps, they were slightly weaker than the Xuanming Elders but not by much.

‘I was too careless earlier,’

Song Qingshu secretly regretted. He had underestimated the Jin Dynasty far too much. If even two random palace attendants possessed such formidable skills, how many more experts surrounded the emperor himself?

Luckily, their attention was entirely drawn to the assassins outside. The thought of anyone else lurking in the heavily guarded prison simply never crossed their minds. As a result, they left the area without the slightest suspicion.

Hearing the door shut, the three Wudang heroes let out heavy sighs.

Yin Liting was the first to speak, “Senior Brother, if that witch really… really does what she threatens, what should we do?”

“That witch is young, but her schemes are vicious. She’s even more devious than Zhao Min was back then!” Zhang Songxi said angrily.

Song Yuanqiao sighed helplessly. “At this point, we can only take it one step at a time. If things become truly hopeless, then we’ll have no choice but to reveal our sect’s secret techniques.”

“Senior Brother, you mustn’t do that!” Zhang Songxi exclaimed in horror. In the martial world, stealing another sect’s martial arts was a grave taboo. A sect’s techniques were its very foundation—if they were leaked, it could lead to the sect’s downfall.

“I know it’s inappropriate, but what other choice do we have? If that witch really follows through with her threat, then we’ll go down in history as the ones who doomed Wudang,” Song Yuanqiao said. His words left the three men in a heavy silence.

“Since things have come to this, I’ll take the blame for revealing our sect’s techniques,” Song Yuanqiao suddenly declared. “I’ll negotiate with that witch and have her release you two first.”

“Senior Brother, you mustn’t say such things! We are brothers—if we live, we live together; if we die, we die together!” Zhang Songxi and Yin Liting said in unison.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I will find a way to get all of you out of here,” a teasing voice suddenly echoed through the room.

The three Wudang heroes were furious at first, but then they froze in shock. “That voice… sounds familiar…” When they saw Song Qingshu step out from the shadows, their eyes widened in disbelief. Their voices trembled, “Qing… Qing Shu?”

“Qingshu greets… Father, Fourth Uncle, Sixth Uncle,” Song Qingshu said reluctantly. He wasn’t particularly fond of acknowledging this so-called father, but in this world, unless he was willing to bear the name of an unfilial son, he had no choice but to accept it.

“Good… good…” Song Yuanqiao, who had remained composed even in front of Wanyan Ping, now found his voice trembling with emotion. “Good child, I know what you have done over the years. Admitting your mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue.”

Song Qingshu knew he was referring to the incident with Mo Shenggu. He wasn’t sure how to respond—after all, it was the former owner of this body who had committed that crime. However, since he now bore the name of Song Qingshu, he also had to bear his past grievances.

“Qingshu, why are you here?” Zhang Songxi quickly changed the subject, realizing it wasn’t the time to dwell on past matters.

Song Qingshu briefly explained how Zhang Sanfeng had gone to the Golden Serpent Camp, how he had later gone to Shaolin, and how he eventually traced them to the Jin Dynasty.

Upon hearing that Zhang Sanfeng had been injured, the three men were filled with grief. Tears welled up in their eyes. “It’s our unworthiness that forced our master to take such a risk,” they lamented.

Song Qingshu could see that their respect for Zhang Sanfeng was genuine. He couldn’t help but admire his grandmaster’s legendary character—few in history had possessed such undeniable charisma.

Clearing his throat, Song Qingshu said, “…the priority now is figuring out how to get you out of here.”

The three Wudang heroes exchanged glances before shaking their heads. “Qingshu, we’ve been poisoned with Rouge Drunkenness. Forget using our inner Qi—we’re weaker than an average person right now. Without the antidote, we can’t leave.”

Hearing their confirmation, Song Qingshu’s last bit of optimism shattered. “I can probably manage to save one of you, but if I alert the guards, the remaining two…”

“Qingshu, don’t worry about me. Focus on getting your two uncles out of here,” Song Yuanqiao suddenly said.

“Senior Brother, stop talking like that. We are brothers—if we live, we live together; if we die, we die together!” Zhang Songxi and Yin Liting declared.

“Rest assured, I will get all of you out. But first, I need to get the antidote from Wanyan Ping. Until then, you’ll have to endure a little longer,” Song Qingshu said.

“Don’t worry about us, Qingshu. We can handle this much,” the three men reassured him with smiles.

After discussing the details of their escape, Song Qingshu knew he couldn’t linger. He bid them farewell, but as he approached the tightly shut gates in the distance, he suddenly froze.

“Wait… how am I supposed to get out?”

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