Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 236 The Return of the Heart

After the dazzling light, the antique shop fell into silence. In the smoke and dust, Wu Tao's figure gradually became clear. She was unharmed, still holding the bronze mirror tightly in her hand, but the originally calm mirror surface was now showing strange ripples, as if connected to another world.

The men in black got up from the ground in a panic, their eyes full of astonishment and fear. They had never seen such a strange sight, and they had never expected that this seemingly weak girl could possess such a powerful strength.

"Boss, what should we do now?" one of the men in black asked in a low voice with a hint of trembling in his tone.

The leading black-clad man did not speak. He stared at the bronze mirror in Wu Tao's hand with greed in his eyes. He knew that this mirror was extraordinary. If he could get it, he would have supreme power and wealth.

"We can't let her get away! Charge at her!" He gave an order and the men in black surrounded her again. This time, their attack was more fierce and brutal, and it was obvious that they were determined to kill her.

Wu Tao did not dare to be careless. She nimbly dodged the attacks of the men in black while looking for opportunities to counterattack. During the fight, she keenly discovered that whenever the light of the bronze mirror shone on the men in black, they would feel an inexplicable tingling pain and their movements would become slow.

This discovery made Wu Tao happy, as if she had found the weakness of these men in black. So, she deliberately exposed herself to the attack range of the men in black, and at the critical moment, she raised the bronze mirror in her hand high.

"Ah!" The blinding light shone again, accompanied by the painful howlings of the men in black. Wu Tao did not hesitate at all, and took this opportunity to break out of the encirclement and ran out of the antique shop.

"Don't let her run away! Chase her!" roared the leader in black, his voice full of resentment and anger.

Wu Tao ran all the way, her heart beating violently. She knew that she was not out of danger yet, and the man in black would not give up. She had to find a safe place as soon as possible to find out what was going on.

After hiding in a secluded alley, Wu Tao finally had a chance to catch her breath. She opened her backpack and took out a mini laptop from it. This was specially prepared for this journey, and it contained a large amount of historical data about the Tang Dynasty and modern scientific and technological information.

"I hope you can help me..." Wu Tao murmured to himself, his slender fingers tapping quickly on the keyboard, lines of code jumping on the screen, and finally stopping on an encrypted file.

"What is this?" Wu Tao frowned slightly, and an inexplicable premonition came to her mind. She took a deep breath and clicked the "decrypt" button. The screen suddenly went dark, and then a line of bright red text came into view.

On the screen, bright red characters like dripping blood clearly read: "The Gate of Time and Space, Leaded by Bloodline."

Wu Tao was stunned. What did this mean? She could understand the gate of time and space, but blood was the guide... Could it be that in order to travel back to the Tang Dynasty, her blood was also needed?

She forced herself to calm down and continued to check the contents of the file. The file was short, and apart from the mysterious hint, there were only a series of complex formulas and diagrams. Although Wu Tao was not a scientist, with the knowledge reserves and strong learning ability of modern people, she roughly understood the meaning.

According to the document, traveling through time and space requires the help of a special kind of energy fluctuation, which can only be activated at a specific time and place with a specific "key". This "key" is the "bloodline" mentioned in the hint. The formulas and diagrams in the document are the design drawings of a device that can create this kind of energy fluctuation.

Wu Tao took a deep breath, and a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart. Now that she had a method, she must give it a try! She acted quickly, using the materials "borrowed" from the antique shop owner, and began to make this simple time-space shuttle device.

Time passed by minute by minute, Wu Tao was completely immersed in her own world, forgetting the fatigue and the danger. She was like a precision machine, assembling each part in an orderly manner according to the steps on the blueprint.

Finally, after several failures and adjustments, a strange-looking device appeared in front of Wu Tao. It looked like it was made up of various discarded electronic components, flashing a faint red light, blending into the dim environment of the antique shop, and looking particularly mysterious.

Wu Tao looked at her "masterpiece" with excitement in her eyes. Following the instructions in the document, she placed the bronze mirror in the center of the device, then bit her finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the mirror. The blood quickly merged into the mirror and disappeared, while the bronze mirror emitted a dazzling light, illuminating the entire room.

"It's just one step away..." Wu Tao whispered, her heart beating violently. She stretched out her hand and slowly pressed the start button on the device... Under the dim light, Wu Tao stared at the device in front of her nervously, her fingertips trembling slightly. Just as she was about to press the start button, a red warning light suddenly lit up on the top of the device, and a piercing alarm sounded at the same time.

Wu Tao's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and an ominous premonition came to her mind. She hurriedly checked the display screen on the device, and saw a line of words that made her unbelievable: "Insufficient energy, failed to start. Need to connect to a special energy source: XX energy stone."

"XX Energy Stone? What is that?" Wu Tao was stunned. She had never heard of this energy source. She flipped through the mysterious document again, but found that it did not mention any information about the energy source.

"Is it... Am I destined to never be able to return to him?" Wu Tao's heart sank, and she felt a deep sense of powerlessness. But she quickly cheered up again. She couldn't give up just like that!

Wu Tao began to frantically search through various materials, hoping to find clues about the "XX Energy Stone". She ran all over the city's libraries and museums, and even sneaked into the university's laboratory, but found nothing. This mysterious energy stone seemed to not exist in this world at all.

As time went by, Wu Tao's hope gradually faded. She became haggard and her eyes were bloodshot, but she never gave up. She kept telling herself that as long as there was a glimmer of hope, she must persevere!

Until one day, when Wu Tao was browsing an antique forum, he accidentally saw a photo. The photo showed a black stone with an irregular shape, a rough surface, and a faint glow. But the line of small words below the photo made Wu Tao's heart jump: "Suspected to be the legendary XX energy stone."

Wu Tao clicked on the photo with shaking hands, carefully examining every detail. Although the photo was very blurry, she was almost certain that this black stone was the "XX Energy Stone" she had been looking for!

She immediately contacted the netizen who posted the photo, but found that the other party had cancelled his account. The clues ended here, but Wu Tao did not give up. She believed that as long as the stone really existed, she would be able to find it!

Wu Tao quit her job, sold all her valuables, and embarked on a desperate journey to find the "XX Energy Stone". She traveled all over the country, climbed mountains and passed by death countless times.

Finally, after countless failures and setbacks, the goddess of fate finally smiled at her. In a remote mountain village, Wu Tao met an old scientist who had lived in seclusion for many years. This old scientist had studied "XX energy stone" for many years and mastered the secret of this mysterious energy...

"Child, have you really thought it through? This road is full of dangers..." The old scientist stared at Wu Tao with his cloudy eyes and said in a heavy tone. "I have no choice, right?" Wu Tao clenched her fists, her eyes firm, "I am willing to pay any price to get back to him!" The old scientist looked at the brave girl in front of him, sighed deeply, turned around and took out an exquisite wooden box from the safe.

"Here is the result of my years of research. Although it cannot be compared with the real 'energy stone', it should be enough for you to activate a time-travel device." The old scientist slowly opened the wooden box, and saw a crystal clear crystal ball lying quietly inside, emitting a faint blue light.

Wu Tao carefully took the crystal ball, her heart filled with gratitude and anticipation. "Thank you, thank you very much!" she said excitedly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Child, go and pursue your happiness." The old scientist looked at Wu Tao kindly and patted her shoulder gently. Wu Tao nodded solemnly and turned to leave the old scientist's residence.

She took the crystal ball carrying hope and rushed back to the secret laboratory without stopping. Under the dim light, Wu Tao installed the crystal ball into the energy slot of the crossing device. The blue light emitted by the crystal ball cast a layer of dreamy color on the entire device.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and tried to calm her excitement. She checked the parameters of the device again, and after confirming that they were correct, she resolutely pressed the start button.

"Om-"

With a low roar, the indicator light of the crossing device flashed wildly, and the blue light of the crystal ball became more and more dazzling. Wu Tao closed his eyes tightly, clasped his hands together, and prayed silently in his heart: Hu Bugui, wait for me...

Suddenly, a blinding light burst out from the device, illuminating the entire laboratory as bright as day. Wu Tao felt as if his body was sucked into a vortex by a powerful force, and his consciousness gradually blurred...

"My queen, you finally woke up!" A familiar voice came from her ears, and Wu Tao suddenly opened her eyes...