"I never expected Chu Chu to be the genius who descended back then!"
A smile appeared on the Han Emperor's face as he waved his hand: "Issue an edict: confer the title of Ice凝结 (Ning Bing) Princess upon Chu Chu, and bestow a thousand taels of gold..."
Upon hearing the Han Emperor's reward, everyone present changed color, especially the imperial grandchildren. Unless they were direct heirs, they could never inherit a princely title, so their gazes toward Chu Chu were filled with envy.
"Thank you, Grandpa Emperor!"
Chu Chu quickly expressed her gratitude.
Originally, she had wanted to take the opportunity to ask the Han Emperor to allow Lin Yu to return to the imperial city, but remembering that Lin Yu had told her he liked living in the imperial mausoleum, free and unrestrained, Chu Chu held back the words on her lips.
"Good, good! From now on, whatever cultivation resources you need, just ask. The Great Han royal family's library and armory are fully open to you!"
The Han Emperor nodded with a smile and waved to announce the end of the banquet.
...
"Great Wizard, I can't swallow this anger!"
In the posthouse where the Southern Wilderness delegation was staying, after the imperial physicians left, Tuo Ba Hong immediately got up from his bed and whispered to the Great Wizard: "Why did you stop me earlier, Great Wizard? You should know I have the Spirit Fire Jade Pendant in my hand. I could easily kill that Chu Chu!"
Tuo Ba Hong was still indignant.
"Young Master, you were too reckless! We were in the Great Han's Imperial Garden, where there are more than a dozen Innate Realm experts!"
The Great Wizard shook his head with a bitter smile: "Moreover, the imperial palace is protected by formations. If you had taken out the Spirit Fire Jade Pendant regardless, killed Chu Chu, all of us would have died in the palace!"
"But if I don't kill Chu Chu, I won't be reconciled!"
Tuo Ba Hong's face was铁青 (livid) as he said in a deep voice: "By activating the power in the Spirit Fire Jade Pendant, I can temporarily raise my cultivation to the third level of the Innate Realm. Killing Chu Chu would be easy. With you, Great Wizard, the two of us could definitely fight our way out of the palace!"
His eyes were only on the Great Wizard; as for the rest of the delegation, their lives meant nothing to him.
"Young Master, even if the two of us could escape Great Han after you kill Chu Chu, Great Han would surely pursue a life-and-death struggle with Southern Wilderness. We came to intimidate Great Han, to make them dare not send troops against us, not to make enemies of them!"
The Great Wizard continued to persuade Tuo Ba Hong: "If Great Han really musters its entire army against us, Southern Wilderness will be in danger of destruction!"
The barbarians of Southern Wilderness have strong bodies and fast cultivation, but they are single-minded. If they understood strategy and patience, they might have already emerged from the Southern Wilderness mountains.
Thinking of this, he felt helpless!
Tuo Ba Hong shook his head: "Great Wizard, you must help me find a way. If I don't kill Chu Chu, I will develop a mental demon in my cultivation!"
He had followed the Great Wizard to the Great Han imperial city because he possessed a treasure like the Spirit Fire Jade Pendant, so he thought highly of himself, believing no young person in the world could match him.
The geniuses of the Great Han royal family were his stepping stones.
Who would have expected Chu Chu to appear out of nowhere, making him the laughingstock.
Tuo Ba Hong would never allow anyone to stand in his way on the path of cultivation—whoever it was, they must be eliminated.
"Young Master, be patient a little longer! There will always be an opportunity."
The Great Wizard could only continue to persuade him now.
"I can't bear it!"
Tuo Ba Hong shook his head. He was dead-set on killing Chu Chu to vent his anger.
"Young Master, killing Chu Chu openly is impossible, but if you really want to kill her, you can only do it in secret."
After a moment of hesitation, the Great Wizard whispered: "We'll find out Chu Chu's habits and find an opportunity to eliminate her."
"Good! Let's do as you say, Great Wizard!"
Tuo Ba Hong was overjoyed, laughing: "Great Wizard, you have the means. Why didn't I think of assassination?"
"Don't worry, Young Master. Tomorrow, I'll have someone contact that Great Han noble who sold us information in the past. Once we find out Chu Chu's habits, it will be her death day."
The Great Wizard smiled proudly.
...
The next day at dusk, the Great Wizard and Tuo Ba Hong sat in a room as a Southern Wilderness warrior reported to them.
"Great Wizard, Young Master, I've found out that Chu Chu is said to visit the imperial mausoleum every half month to pay respects to the Third Prince Lin Yu, who was defeated by us in the southern campaign. Calculating by the date, Chu Chu will go to the imperial mausoleum in three days."
"In three days..."
Tuo Ba Hong could hardly contain his excitement, clapping his hands: "Good! In three days, it will be Chu Chu's death day!"
He turned to look at the Great Wizard: "You won't stop me this time, will you?"
The Great Wizard chuckled: "Of course not. I didn't expect Lin Yu to be guarding the imperial mausoleum. Although we annihilated his army in that battle, his troops caused countless deaths among our Southern Wilderness warriors. This is the perfect opportunity to settle old scores with him—kill him when we kill Chu Chu."
Thinking of Lin Yu, the Great Wizard felt a surge of fear.
Even though someone had betrayed Lin Yu's marching route, allowing them to surround Lin Yu's army, they had only annihilated the army at a heavy cost: over 100,000 Southern Wilderness warriors had died.
If there had been no infighting in Great Han and no one had betrayed Lin Yu, his 100,000-strong army could have definitely conquered Southern Wilderness.
This was why Southern Wilderness had not pursued the victory after winning—they were actually severely weakened and could only recuperate!
"Good! I've long heard that Lin Yu is a great enemy of our Southern Wilderness. This time, we'll eliminate him too!"
Tuo Ba Hong狞笑着 (grinned ferociously), whispering: "I hear he's already a cripple. I'll torture him thoroughly before sending him on his way."
"In three days, we'll first take out the Dark Guards埋伏 (ambushed) outside the posthouse, then go to the imperial mausoleum to kill. After succeeding, we'll return to Southern Wilderness immediately."
The Great Wizard smiled confidently: "By the time the Great Han royal family reacts, we'll already have left the imperial city, and they won't be able to catch us."
He and Tuo Ba Hong exchanged a glance, then both burst into laughter.
...
Three days later, the Southern Wilderness delegation suddenly struck, eliminating all the Dark Guards埋伏 (ambushed) outside the posthouse. Then, a group of them quietly left and rushed toward the imperial mausoleum.
"I heard the Great Han imperial mausoleum is protected by formations, but it seems insignificant. We can come and go as we please—what can the formations do to us?"
Tuo Ba Hong looked at the mausoleum of the founding emperor ahead and laughed: "Great Wizard, after we kill Chu Chu and that Lin Yu, let's place their heads on the founding emperor's mausoleum. What do you think of this idea?"
The Great Wizard knew the mausoleum's formations only protected the tomb; entering the mausoleum wouldn't trigger them.
However, since Tuo Ba Hong was in high spirits, he didn't contradict him.
"You've been dawdling outside the mausoleum for a long time. Why did you only get here now?"
Just then, a voice sounded in their ears.
Immediately, the Great Wizard, Tuo Ba Hong, and the others looked up ahead, only to see a figureStartlingly (Startlingly) appear before them, blocking their path.