Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 221 The Missing Eunuch Li

The news of Eunuch Li's disappearance was like thunder from a clear sky, and it caused a stir in the palace. Wu Tao was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth in the room, her delicate brows tightly furrowed. Seeing this, Hu Bugui pulled her to sit beside him and comforted her softly: "Tao'er, don't worry, we have sent people to search everywhere, and I believe there will be news soon."

Wu Tao took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down: "I just don't understand why Eunuch Li suddenly disappeared? He is a martial arts expert and has so many guards around him. Who could take him away so easily?"

"Could he be absconding for fear of crime?" Lin Yu speculated, "He may have realized that we were investigating him, so he fled in advance."

"Impossible." Hu Bugui denied Lin Yu's guess, "Eunuch Li has been operating in the palace for many years, and his power is deeply rooted. If he wanted to escape, he would have escaped long ago, and would not have waited until now."

Wu Tao nodded in agreement. They all knew what kind of person Eunuch Li was. He was greedy and cunning, and would never give up his power easily. So, where did he go? Who took him away? All this was like a fog, shrouding everyone's mind.

In order to find the whereabouts of Eunuch Li as soon as possible, Wu Tao, Hu Bugui and Lin Yu acted separately and launched a carpet search in the city. However, after several days, they still found nothing. Just when everyone was about to despair, Lin Yu finally sent a clue.

"I found some strange traces in the teahouse that Eunuch Li often went to." Lin Yu pointed to several drawings on the table and said, "These traces are very special. They don't look like they were left by an ordinary fight. They look more like some kind of mechanism or device."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui came forward to take a closer look, and saw some complicated patterns and symbols drawn on the drawing. They had never seen them before, and had no idea what they meant.

"What is this?" Wu Tao asked puzzledly.

"I used modern technology to analyze it," Lin Yu's face became solemn, "these patterns and symbols seem to be related to the device that travels through time and space..."

"Travel through time and space?" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, their hearts agitated. Could it be that Eunuch Li's disappearance was related to the travel through time and space?

Lin Yu's words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up thousands of waves. Wu Tao stared at the drawings blankly, her mind in a mess. Traveling through time and space, these four words were so familiar yet so strange to her. She thought that her coming to this world was just an accident, but she didn't expect that there was such a secret hidden behind it.

Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly, giving her silent comfort. Although he was also shocked, it was more important to find out the truth and protect Wu Tao's safety. He asked in a deep voice: "Lin Yu, are you sure these patterns are related to time travel? Are there any other clues?"

"I'm not completely sure, but these patterns are very similar to the data I studied in modern times." Lin Yu pointed to a symbol on the drawing and said, "This symbol represents the distortion of time and space, and this one represents energy transmission. If my guess is correct, Eunuch Li is likely to have been taken away by an organization that has mastered the technology of traveling through time and space."

"An organization that has the technology to travel through time and space..." Wu Tao muttered to himself, feeling uneasy. What kind of organization would have such a powerful force? What is their purpose? Why did they take Eunuch Li away?

"It seems that we must investigate this organization in depth to solve the mystery of Eunuch Li's disappearance." Hu Bugui said decisively, with a determined light flashing in his eyes.

Wu Tao also nodded, her eyes becoming firm. She knew that this matter was of great importance and she could no longer stay out of it. Moreover, the disappearance of Eunuch Li also made her realize that she was not absolutely safe in this world. Only by finding out the truth could she protect herself and the people around her.

After the three of them discussed, they decided to start from the dark room of Eunuch Li's mansion, hoping to find more clues about this mysterious organization. Based on Lin Yu's speculation, they searched carefully in the dark room and finally found a secret compartment behind a painting.

There was a wooden box in the secret compartment. When he opened it, he found a jade pendant and a letter. The jade pendant was engraved with strange patterns and emitted a faint glow. Wu Tao picked up the letter and unfolded it. It read:

"If you want to know the truth, go to Qingyun Temple outside the city at midnight, and someone will meet you there."

There was only a mysterious symbol at the signature, which was exactly the symbol that Lin Yu mentioned before, representing the distortion of time and space.

Just as the three were puzzled, a dark figure appeared silently behind them, and a deep voice sounded in the silent dark room: "Are you looking for me?"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui turned around suddenly and saw a man in black clothes, wearing a bamboo hat, and whose face could not be seen standing in front of them.

"Who are you?" Hu Bugui asked vigilantly, his hand already grasping the hilt of the sword.

The man in black sneered and slowly took off his hat, revealing an ordinary face. "I am the person you are looking for. I know you are investigating the truth behind Eunuch Li's disappearance, and I also know that you want to find that mysterious organization. I can tell you that Eunuch Li was indeed taken away by us, and you are from another world."

 Chapter 221 The Missing Eunuch Li

The words of the man in black were like thunder, exploding in the ears of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui. They looked at each other, and saw shock and doubt in each other's eyes. From another world? How is this possible?

"Who are you? Why are you telling us all this?" Wu Tao stared at the man in black, trying to see something from his calm face.

The man in black did not answer directly, but just smiled faintly: "You will know if you follow me." After that, he turned and walked out of the dark room.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to follow him. The truth about Eunuch Li's disappearance, the mysterious organization, and the claim that he came from another world, all of these were like a huge magnet, attracting them to find out.

The man in black led them through several remote alleys and finally arrived in front of an abandoned temple on the outskirts of the city. The temple had long been dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, and looked desolate.

"Is this the place?" Wu Tao looked around, his heart full of doubts.

The man in black said nothing, but walked to a dry well in the backyard of the temple and pressed a small stone brick. With a loud bang, the ground suddenly cracked, revealing a dark hole.

"Follow me." The man in black jumped down the cave first. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other and followed him in.

Below the cave entrance is a narrow passage. With the faint light of the fire, one can vaguely see some strange symbols carved on the stone wall, which are very similar to the symbols on the drawing that Lin Yu had shown before.

After walking for about an incense stick of time, they came to a spacious underground space. It was brightly lit and filled with various instruments and books, like a secret laboratory.

"What is this place?" Wu Tao asked in surprise.

"This is where we conduct research." The man in black pointed at the instruments and said, "We have been studying how to control the power of time and space."

Hu Bugui noticed some cages stacked in the corner, with a few monkeys in them, looking listless. "What experiments are you doing with these animals?"

The man in black said calmly, "Just conducting some experiments in time travel."

Wu Tao suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart, "Where is Eunuch Li? Where did you take him?"

The man in black did not answer, but walked to a table, picked up a parchment scroll and slowly opened it.

"This is..." Wu Tao recognized at a glance that the patterns drawn on the parchment scroll were exactly the drawings that Lin Yu had shown before!

"Who are you exactly? Why do you want to study time travel? What is your purpose?" Wu Tao asked a series of questions, his tone unable to conceal his anxiety and uneasiness.

The man in black was silent for a moment, then looked up at Wu Tao with a meaningful smile on his face. "You will soon know our purpose."

At this moment, there was a slight sound of footsteps in the distance, accompanied by a familiar voice: "It seems that I am a step late."

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui turned around suddenly and saw a man in eunuch's clothes and with an old face slowly walking out of the shadows.

"Eunuch Li?!" Wu Tao exclaimed.

The appearance of Eunuch Li made the already tense atmosphere even more solemn. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at the scene in disbelief, their hearts full of questions. Didn't Eunuch Li disappear? How could he appear here? Moreover, he looked unharmed, and even had a strange smile.

"Eunuch Li, are you okay?" Wu Tao asked tentatively, with a hint of worry and confusion in his tone.

Eunuch Li ignored Wu Tao and walked straight to the man in black. He bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Master, everything is ready."

Master? Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were shocked. This title made them realize that the eunuch Li in front of them seemed to be no longer the honest and loyal eunuch Li they knew.

The man in black nodded with satisfaction, turned to Wu Tao and Hu Bugui and said, "It seems that you have already met my butler. Now, I can tell you my plan."

The man in black walked to a table, picked up an ancient bronze mirror, and said slowly: "This mirror is the key connecting the two worlds. And you, Wu Tao, have the power to travel through time and space, and you are the key for me to open the door of time and space."

Wu Tao was shocked. She finally understood why she had traveled to the Tang Dynasty inexplicably, why Lin Yu said she was the "chosen one", and why the man in black said she was the key to opening the door of time and space. All this was because she had the power to travel through time and space.

"You want to use me to open the door of time and space and return to your own world?" Wu Tao looked at the man in black coldly, his tone full of anger and vigilance.

The man in black chuckled and shook his head: "No, my goal is not to go back, but to conquer. I will use the gate of time and space to bring my army to this world, conquer this world, and become the master of this world!"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were shocked when they heard this. They had never thought that the man in black would be so ambitious that he wanted to conquer the whole world!

"Don't even think about succeeding!" Hu Bugui shouted angrily, drawing his sword and pointing it at the man in black, "I will never let you succeed!"

The man in black ignored Hu Bugui's threat, but smiled faintly and winked at Eunuch Li. Eunuch Li understood and suddenly shot a dart at Wu Tao.

"Be careful!" Seeing this, Hu Bugui quickly threw Wu Tao to the ground and avoided the attack of the dart.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!" The man in black snorted coldly, and the bronze mirror in his hand shone brightly, and a beam of light shot towards Wu Tao and Hu Bugui.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui felt a black screen before their eyes and then lost consciousness.