Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 223: All the mechanisms are exhausted

The black-clothed man was as fast as a ghost. Wu Tao felt a flash before her eyes, and was thrown to the ground by a powerful force. Hu Bugui was quick-witted and grabbed her wrist and brought her into his arms. He drew out the long sword from his waist, and the sword light was like a silver snake spitting out its tongue, piercing the black-clothed man's face.

The man in black was not in a hurry, he dodged sideways, and turned the scimitar in his hand, drawing a dark blue arc of light, which went straight to Wu Tao's throat. Hu Bugui had no choice but to draw his sword to protect himself, protecting Wu Tao behind him, and fighting with the man in black.

The two fought back and forth, swords wielding and knifes flashing, and it was hard to tell who would win for a while. Wu Tao was extremely anxious, she knew that if she stayed here she would only become a burden to Hu Bugui, so she suppressed her fear and quietly retreated, wanting to take the opportunity to escape.

However, the man in black seemed to have noticed her intention long ago. He sneered and flicked his wrist. A hidden weapon flew out of the air and shot directly at Wu Tao's back. Wu Tao was unable to dodge and was about to be hit by the hidden weapon. At the critical moment, a black shadow flashed by and blocked the hidden weapon.

"Lin Yu!" Wu Tao was surprised and delighted. The person who came was Lin Yu who had disappeared for a long time.

Lin Yu didn't say anything, just looked at Wu Tao coldly, then joined the battle and joined forces with Hu Bugui to deal with the man in black. The three of them fought in a group, their figures intertwined, the swords and shadows were dazzling.

I don’t know how long it was before the man in black seemed to realize that he had no chance of winning. He suddenly threw a smoke bomb, then took advantage of the smoke to fly away and disappear into the night.

"Cough cough cough..." Wu Tao was choked by the smoke and kept coughing. When the smoke cleared, there was no trace of the man in black in front of him.

"He ran away." Hu Bugui put away his sword, frowning, "We must leave here as soon as possible."

Lin Yu ignored them, just walked to the strange machine, looked at it carefully, and his face became very ugly.

"What's wrong?" Wu Tao asked.

"This machine... has been tampered with." Lin Yu said in a deep voice, "The program I set up before was modified by someone, and now it is no longer under my control."

"What do you mean?" Hu Bugui had an ominous premonition in his heart.

"What I mean is..." Lin Yu raised his head and looked at Wu Tao and Hu Bugui with complicated eyes, "We may not be able to go back."

After a while of dizziness, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui woke up again and found themselves in a completely unfamiliar place. Surrounding them were towering trees that blocked out the sun. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, creating mottled light and shadows.

"Where is this?" Wu Tao looked around blankly, feeling uneasy.

"I don't know." Hu Bugui shook his head. "It seems that we were transported to another time and space by that machine."

They tried to find the way back, but after walking for a long time, they kept wandering in the dense forest, as if they were trapped in a huge maze. The backpack left by Lin Yu also disappeared, and they were left with only some small items they carried with them.

"Is it true that we can't go back?" There was a hint of despair in Wu Tao's voice.

Hu Bugui held her hand and gave her an encouraging look, "Don't worry, we will find a way back."

Just then, a noisy sound came from a distance, mixed with panicked shouts.

"Oh no, someone seems to be coming!" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and an ominous premonition rose in their hearts...

The noise was getting closer and closer. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hid under a huge tree canopy, holding their breath. Through the gaps between the branches, they saw a group of ragged people running towards them in a panic, and there seemed to be something terrible chasing them from behind.

"Help! Monster!"

Someone in the crowd was shouting in fear. Wu Tao's heart tightened. Could it be that there really were monsters in this world?

At this time, a huge figure covered with scales came running from a distance at an astonishing speed. Every step it took shook the ground and leaves fell, as if there was a small earthquake.

"It's it! That's it!" The crowd became even more panicked and fled in all directions.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were stunned. They had never seen such a horrible creature. It was beyond their comprehension.

"What should we do?" Wu Tao grabbed Hu Bugui's sleeve tightly, his voice trembling slightly.

Hu Bugui's face was solemn. He realized that they had to be extremely careful in this strange world. He took out a dagger from his arms, which was the only weapon he carried with him.

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you."

The crowd ran past them, and one of the stumbling young men accidentally bumped into Wu Tao, causing a metal box in her hand to fall to the ground.

"My things!" Wu Tao exclaimed and wanted to pick them up, but was stopped by Hu Bugui.

"Don't move!" Hu Bugui shouted in a low voice, "Now is not the time."

The young man also saw the metal box that fell to the ground. A gleam of greed flashed in his eyes. While Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were not paying attention, he bent down and picked up the box.

"What is this?" The young man curiously fiddled with the metal box in his hand, trying to open it.

"Give it back to me!" Wu Tao shouted anxiously. This metal box was left to them by Lin Yu. It contained some modern technological items that might help them find their way back.

When the young man heard Wu Tao's voice, he looked up at her with a hint of doubt in his eyes. He had never seen people dressed like Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, and he had never seen such an exquisite metal box.

"Who are you?" the young man asked cautiously, "Where are you from?"

Just as Wu Tao was about to explain, a deafening roar suddenly came from the distance. The monster had caught up with them. It opened its bloody mouth and pounced towards the young man.

"Be careful!" Wu Tao exclaimed, but it was too late. The young man was swallowed by the monster and he didn't even have time to scream.

"Ah!" Wu Tao was so frightened that her face turned pale and she grabbed Hu Bugui's arm tightly.

Hu Bugui was also stunned by the scene before him. He realized that this world was far more dangerous than they had imagined.

"Let's go!" He pulled Wu Tao up, turned around and ran.

They ran desperately, with the monster's roar behind them. While escaping, Wu Tao accidentally saw a mountain in the distance, on which an ancient temple could be vaguely seen.

"Look!" Wu Tao pointed at the mountain and said to Hu Bugui, "There seems to be a temple there!"

Hu Bugui also saw the temple and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart, perhaps he could hide from the monsters there.

"Let's go there and see!"

They ran towards the mountain with all their might, hoping to reach it before the monster caught up with them.

Just as they were about to reach the foot of the mountain, suddenly, a mysterious man in black clothes and a hat blocked their way.

"Who are you? Why are you intruding into my territory?" The man in black spoke in a cold tone with a chill in his eyes.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were shocked. Could it be that the man in black was the immortal they had been looking for?

"Excuse me..." Wu Tao was about to ask, but the man in black suddenly attacked, and a fierce palm wind attacked them...

 All the agencies are exhausted

The fierce palm wind came towards them, and Wu Tao and Hu Bugui had no time to react. They could only watch themselves being knocked away by the men in black. They fell heavily to the ground, their eyes went black, and they lost consciousness.

After an unknown amount of time, Wu Tao slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a dark and damp cave. The entrance to the cave was blocked by a huge rock, leaving only a ray of light. She struggled to sit up and found Hu Bugui also unconscious beside her.

"Bugui, how are you?" Wu Tao shook Hu Bugui's body anxiously.

Hu Bugui groaned and slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of confusion. He looked around, frowning: "Where is this? How did we get here?"

Wu Tao shook her head. She didn't know what happened. She only remembered that they were knocked unconscious by the men in black, and everything after that was a blank.

"Could it be that the man in black brought us here?" Hu Bugui guessed.

Wu Tao's heart sank. If this was true, then they were in danger. The man in black was highly skilled in martial arts and his origins were unknown. Who knew what he would do to them?

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the cave. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and a glimmer of hope rose in their hearts. Could it be someone coming to rescue them?

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and soon, a rough voice sounded outside the cave: "Boss, we caught two fat sheep! Judging from their clothes, they don't look like children from ordinary families."

"Oh? Bring him in and let me see!" Another low voice spoke with a hint of excitement.

The boulder was slowly moved away, and the dazzling sunlight shone in. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui subconsciously closed their eyes. When they adjusted to the light, they found themselves surrounded by a group of ferocious bandits.

"Who are you? Why are you arresting us?" Wu Tao asked with forced calmness.

"Little girl, don't try to play tricks on me now that you're in my territory!" A bandit leader with a face full of flesh stepped forward, looked Wu Tao up and down, and a lewd light flashed in his eyes. "If you know what's good for you, just obey me. Otherwise..."

The bandit leader didn't continue speaking, but the threat was obvious.

Wu Tao was filled with despair. It seemed that they had really fallen into the tiger's mouth this time.

"What do you want?" Hu Bugui asked coldly. He knew that begging for mercy was useless in the face of these vicious bandits.

"Money, and of course beautiful women!" The bandit leader laughed and reached out to grab Wu Tao.

"How dare you!" Hu Bugui kicked the bandit leader away and protected Wu Tao behind him.

"Good boy, you're quite brave!" The bandit leader was enraged. He waved his hand and said, "Come on, kill the men and take the women back to enjoy!"

The bandits rushed forward and surrounded Hu Bugui and Wu Tao.

At this critical moment, a flash of cold light appeared, and several bandits fell to the ground. A young man in a green shirt and holding a long sword fell from the sky and blocked Wu Tao and Hu Bugui.

"Who are you? How dare you do evil here!" The man in green shirt spoke with an ice-cold voice, like a sharp sword, piercing people's hearts.

The bandits were stunned by this sudden change. After a moment, they reacted and drew their weapons and rushed towards the man in green.

"Looking for death!" The man in green snorted coldly, unsheathed his sword, and the sword light flashed, like a silver dragon, shuttling through the crowd.

The bandits were no match for the man in green and were chopped to the ground one by one.

"Who are you?" Wu Tao looked at the man in front of him who looked like a god descending from heaven, his heart filled with gratitude and curiosity.

The man in green put away his sword, turned around and looked at Wu Tao, a complicated look flashing in his eyes.

"My name is Lu Li. I know where the immortal you are looking for is..."

"Immortal?" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui asked in unison, with hope in their eyes. Could immortals really exist? Could they really help them return to the Tang Dynasty?

Lu Li nodded slightly, but didn't say much. He just turned and walked out of the cave.

"Wait!" Wu Tao hurriedly chased after him, "Where are you taking us?"

"Of course, we are going to look for immortals." Lu Li said without turning his head.

"But..." Wu Tao wanted to ask more, but was stopped by Hu Bugui.

"Let's go." Hu Bugui looked at Lu Li's back, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, "I believe in him."

Although Wu Tao still had doubts in his heart, he still chose to believe Hu Bugui's judgment. They followed Lu Li out of the cave and found that the bandits were no longer visible outside.

Lu Li led them all the way over mountains and across rivers. After walking for a whole day, they finally stopped in front of a valley.

"This is it." Lu Li pointed to the depths of the valley and said, "The immortal lives in seclusion in there."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked up and saw clouds and mist shrouding the deep valley, like a fairyland.

"Let's go." Lu Li said, and walked into the valley first.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other and followed him in.

The valley is filled with birdsong and flowers, and the air is fresh; it seems like two different worlds from the outside world.

They followed Lu Li for a long time but still didn't see any trace of anyone.

"Is the immortal really here?" Wu Tao couldn't help but ask.

"Of course." Lu Li stopped and turned to look at them, with a mysterious smile on his face. "However, it is not easy to meet an immortal."

"What do you mean?" Hu Bugui frowned slightly.

Lu Li didn't answer, but just pointed forward.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked in the direction Lu Li pointed, and saw an ancient altar in the valley ahead!

Around the altar, there are various strangely shaped stone statues, each of which is lifelike, as if it would come alive at any time.

"What is this place?" Wu Tao felt a little uneasy.

"This is the only passage leading to the immortal's residence." Lu Li's voice was low and mysterious. "If you want to see the immortal, you must pass the test of this altar."

"Test?" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, "What test?"

Lu Li didn't say anything, but turned and walked towards the altar, leaving behind a meaningful back.

"What should we do?" Wu Tao looked at Lu Li's back, feeling uneasy.

Hu Bugui did not speak, but clenched the sword in his hand, with a determined light in his eyes. No matter what kind of test it is, he will do his best to protect Wu Tao!