The light from the oil lamp reflected off the walls of the secret laboratory, revealing the vague silhouette of a man examining a forbidden fruit placed in a glass box. Li An, a renowned research genius in the imperial court, sat down at a table littered with notebooks and experimental equipment.
He picked up the forbidden fruit and held it in his hand. A force from it radiated out slightly, creating a sense of pressure in the air. Li An stared at the fruit with a resolute gaze. "In my hands… this will become an important asset to protect this palace," he said softly, as if talking to himself.
"And everyone will respect my abilities. The era of Zi Rong is over!"
Suddenly, the eldest prince, Li Cheng, unexpectedly opened the door to the laboratory. The sound of the door opening startled Li An slightly, but he immediately calmed down when he saw who it was.
"You have no right to come here!" Li An said coldly, as Li Cheng stepped in with a solemn gaze.
"I just wanted to ask you," Li Cheng spoke slowly, his tone filled with pressure. "Do you know how dangerous that fruit is?"
Li An sneered and placed the fruit in the glass box. "I know… but it's just as dangerous as the enemies that surround us. If we don't use everything we have, this garden will fall into the hands of people we can't trust."
"Aren't you afraid that your experiment will bring disaster?" Li Cheng asked further.
"Every success has risks," Li An replied, picking up a notebook. "And I'm ready to accept the consequences."
At the same time, a figure moved in the dark corner of the room. Xiao Yang, the second prince, seamlessly infiltrated. He watched the scene in front of him with interest. His gaze was fixed on the forbidden fruit.
"How amazing. I really admire you," Xiao Yang said from the dark corner, causing both Li An and Li Cheng to look in his direction.
"What are you doing here?" Li An asked displeasedly. "This is the researcher's territory. You two have no right!"
Xiao Yang stepped out of the shadows, his face filled with slyness. "I just doubt your courage… Are you brave enough to experiment with it? But are you ready to accept the consequences?"
Li An did not answer, but his eyes showed complete confidence.
Meanwhile, Mei Ling, Princess Ling Ya's personal maid, was hiding outside the laboratory. She was ordered to follow Li An and find out the secret of the forbidden fruit. She eavesdropped on the conversation quietly and memorized all the details to inform the princess.
The conversation in the room was filled with tension, as everyone had different goals. Xiao Yang smiled faintly when he noticed Li An's restlessness, while Li Cheng continued to stare at the forbidden fruit with a troubled gaze.
Mei Ling sighed softly, trying to hold back her unease. She knew that what was happening in the laboratory would inevitably affect the future of the palace.
Suddenly, a shriek of some energy rang out in the air. The entire laboratory was filled with a terrifying, dim green glow. Li An stood in the center of the room, his hands trembling as he tried to control the forbidden fruit that was now emitting boundless energy. All around him, the experimental equipment was scattered and the wooden table was broken into pieces. The once solid ground suddenly shook as if it was going to collapse.
"No... It shouldn't be like this!" Li An muttered, his voice filled with panic, his eyes wide with fear.
Suddenly, Punya and Li San ran into the ruined laboratory, followed by Princess Meilin who was rushing just as fast.
"What did you do, Li An!" Punya shouted in shock, seeing the damage and the uncontrollable energy spreading out.
Li An turned to look at her in a panic. "I was going to create something that would help us... But the fruit... It didn't listen to me!"
The energy from the forbidden fruit began to transform the surrounding space, the surface of the walls turning into sharp vines that sprouted terrifyingly. The cold air made it hard to breathe.
"We have to stop it before it destroys the palace any further!" Li San said, drawing his trusty sword. He lunged forward to try to reach the fruit, but the energy from it knocked him back immediately.
"It's too strong!" Li San gritted his teeth, standing up again, despite the pain from the impact.
"I'll save you!" Princess Meilin stood behind him. She took out the light blue fruit she was carrying. It was the "Blue Shield Fruit" that had the power to create a shield.
Mei Lin closed her eyes and concentrated. She raised her hand, releasing the blue light that spread out to create a protective shield around Punya, helping her get closer to Li An.
"I'll block the power, you have to hurry!" Mei Lin said firmly.
Punya nodded, her eyes filled with determination. She tried to walk through the obstacles to get closer to Li An. The ground around her shook, sharp vines rushed towards her, but Mei Lin's protective shield helped block it.
"Li An! You have to stop now. Do you see what happened!" Punya shouted, reaching out to Li An who was being overwhelmed by the power of the fruit.
"I'm trying! But the fruit isn't listening to me!!" Li An replied, his tone filled with despair.
Punya closed her eyes and used her special power to touch the spirit of the forbidden fruit. She tried to find the weakness hidden in the uncontrolled power.
"This fruit doesn't want to hurt anyone... It's protecting itself from being forced!" Punya said in a soft but confident voice.
Li Shan, who tried to help again, looked at Punya with confusion. "What can we do then? Its power is beyond our ability to resist!"
Punya turned to look at Li Shan and Mei Lin. "We have to calm it down, not fight it."
Princess Mei Lin nodded in agreement. She channeled power through her sky shield, allowing Punya to get closer to the fruit.
"I'll try again," Punya said, before reaching out to touch the forbidden fruit that was emitting terrifying power.
--
The sky above the palace began to turn dark. The sound of an energy explosion shook the area. The remains of the laboratory flew out along with a green light that shot into the sky. The courtyard in the palace, which used to be a quiet place, Now it was a chaotic energy field.
Punya was almost knocked off her feet by the energy that exploded from the forbidden fruit. Li Shan rushed over to support her as the thunder roared.
"Are you okay?" Li Shan asked urgently, his eyes looking around for a way to deal with the increasingly dire situation.
Before Punya could answer, the sound of thunder slashing was heard. Weng Qing appeared on the scene like a storm. She held the "Thunder Mango" fruit in her hand, golden light swirling around her.
"Everyone, get out!" Weng Qing shouted, her voice resolute. Her eyes were fixed on the berserk energy spreading in the middle of the courtyard.
She raised the Thunder Mango above her head, before releasing golden lightning energy to run across the ground, trying to create a boundary to limit the spread of that energy.
"It's not enough!" Punya shouted. She tried to find a way to stop the energy that was still rampaging. "We have to find its weakness!"
Xiao Yang appeared again. This time, he smiled faintly, his eyes filled with mystery. He wore a long robe that seemed to allow him to move in that energy without being harmed.
"Didn't I tell you that you should choose a side?" he said to Punya as he walked through the energy field and approached the forbidden fruit.
"What do you think you're doing, Xiao Yang?!" Li Shan shouted in distrust.
Xiao Yang simply smiled. "I'm helping… in my own way."
He raised his hand to deflect some of the energy that was emitted from the fruit. The green light exploded into small lines around him. It slowed down the energy spreading out, but it made the situation even more confusing.
"All of you, stop fighting over control!" Punya shouted at the top of his lungs. "We have to work together, not go our separate ways!"
Weng Qing gave Punya a solemn look before nodding. "You're right. I'll create a safe space for you first."
Weng Qing unleashed another burst of lightning mango energy, creating a lightning field around Punya and the forbidden fruit. Punya had enough space to get to work.
"Li Shan, guard this area for me!" Weng Qing ordered. Li Shan tightened her sword grip and nodded.
"I understand."
Punya closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and used her analytical powers. She felt the energy of the forbidden fruit and found the abnormality in it.
"I know! Its power is unbalanced because it was used in the wrong way. We need to seal it back to its original state!"
"Then what are you going to do?" Li Shan asked.
"I need to use another fruit with the opposite power to block its power!" Punya replied.
Xiao Yang chuckled before taking out another fruit from his robe. It was a fiery red fruit. "Do you mean this?"
Punya looked at Xiao Yang with hesitation, but there was no time to waste. "Yes! Give it to me!"
Xiao Yang threw the red fruit to Punya, and she immediately used it. She placed the red fruit next to the forbidden fruit and released its power to seal the emitted power.
A final explosion rang out before everything fell silent. The surroundings became quiet again, leaving only a thin layer of smoke floating in the air.