Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 222 The Trick of Fate

When Wu Tao woke up again, she found herself and Hu Bugui locked in a secret room. The stone walls were cold, and the air was filled with a damp and moldy smell. Hu Bugui was pacing anxiously in the room. When he saw her wake up, he hurried forward and held her hand, his brows full of worry, "Tao'er, you're awake! Are you feeling unwell?"

Wu Tao shook her head and struggled to stand up, but Hu Bugui gently held her down, "Don't move, you're still weak."

"What happened? Where is the man in black?" Wu Tao tried hard to recall the scene before he fell into coma.

Hu Bugui sighed, lifted her up and leaned her against his shoulder, "We were caught by him and are now locked up here. As for the man in black..." He paused, as if choosing his words, "He claims to be from the future and wants to use your power to open the door of time and space and return to his world."

Wu Tao's heart sank. She vaguely guessed the intention of the man in black, but she still felt a deep fear when she heard Hu Bugui say it with her own ears. What would happen if the man in black really opened the door of time and space? Would the Tang Dynasty fall into chaos?

"We must stop him!" Wu Tao clenched his fists, his eyes flashing with determination.

Hu Bugui nodded, but couldn't hide the worry in his eyes, "But, we are now imprisoned by him, how can we stop him?"

Just when the two were at a loss, the door of the secret room suddenly opened, and the man in black walked in with Eunuch Li. He had a meaningful smile on his face and held an exquisite box in his hand. "It seems that you two have already discussed it?"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other and saw helplessness and vigilance in each other's eyes.

"What do you want?" Hu Bugui stood up, protected Wu Tao behind him, and asked coldly.

The man in black ignored Hu Bugui's hostility and walked straight to the table and sat down. He opened the box in his hand, revealing a glowing gem inside. "I need your help to find a way to close the door of time and space."

"Close the door of time and space?" Wu Tao's heart moved. Could it be that the man in black changed his mind?

The man in black seemed to see through her thoughts and laughed at himself. "Don't get me wrong. What changed is not my determination to conquer the world, but the way of conquering it. Once this time and space gate is opened, it will cause chaos in time and space. I don't want my empire to be built on chaos."

After hearing the explanation from the man in black, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui fell into deep thought. They understood that the man in black was threatening them, but at the same time, it was also giving them an opportunity, an opportunity to stop his crazy plan.

"We need time to consider." Hu Bugui said in a deep voice.

The man in black nodded and did not force them. He just left a meaningful sentence: "I hope you won't make me wait too long."

After the man in black left, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui immediately began to discuss countermeasures. They knew that they didn't have much time left.

At the same time, Lin Yu was not idle. He used the knowledge he brought from the modern times to conduct an in-depth study of the time-travel device left by the man in black. After several days of hard work, he finally found a key button and excitedly told Wu Tao and Hu Bugui, "I found a way to turn off the device!"

"Really?" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui stood up excitedly at the same time, with hope shining in their eyes.

"But..." Lin Yu's tone suddenly became hesitant, "This button is in the core area of the device. We need to find a way to sneak in."

Suspense and tension spread among the three people. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other with determination in their eyes. In order to stop this catastrophe, they must give it a try... As night fell, the inner courtyard of the palace was silent, with only the footsteps of patrolling guards occasionally breaking the tranquility of the night. In a remote palace, a strange light shone through, which was where the time-travel device was located.

Wu Tao, wearing a nightgown and holding a dagger tightly in his hand, sneaked into the palace quietly under the cover of night. Hu Bugui and Lin Yu followed closely behind. The three of them cooperated tacitly, avoiding all the sentries and finally came to the room where the device was located.

The room was empty, with only the glowing device standing quietly in the center, like a sleeping beast, waiting to be awakened. Lin Yu pointed to a red button in the core area of the device and said in a low voice: "That is the button to turn off the device. We must hurry!"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, their eyes full of determination. Wu Tao took a deep breath, slowly walked to the device, stretched out his hand, and was about to press the red button.

At this moment, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a cold voice echoed in the empty room: "Do you think you can stop me like this? You are too naive!"

The man in black appeared at the door with Eunuch Li and other men, with a mocking smile on his face. He had expected that Wu Tao and others would come to ruin his plan, so he set a trap and waited for them to fall into it.

"Don't even think about succeeding!" Hu Bugui drew the sword from his waist, stood in front of Wu Tao, and stared at the man in black with a sharp gaze.

"You don't know your own limitations!" The man in black sneered and winked at Eunuch Li behind him.

Eunuch Li understood what he meant and immediately rushed forward with several guards, fighting with Hu Bugui and others.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Wu Tao tried to press the button again, but was grabbed by the wrist by the man in black.

"Do you think I will let you succeed?" The man in black pushed Wu Tao to the ground with force, then strode to the device and pressed another black button.

"No!" Wu Tao shouted in despair, but was powerless to stop it.

The device emitted a blinding light, and the entire room began to vibrate violently. Time and space seemed to be distorted at this moment...

The moment the device was activated, the whole room was engulfed by a strong white light. Amid the deafening roar, Wu Tao instinctively closed her eyes. When everything calmed down, she tried to open her eyes, but found herself in a white space, with nothing around her, only endless nothingness and dead silence.

"Bugui! Where are you?" Wu Tao shouted in panic, her voice echoing in the empty space, but she received no response. Fear entangled her heart like a vine, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

"Taotao, don't be afraid, I'm here." A familiar voice came from behind. Wu Tao turned around suddenly and saw Hu Bugui standing not far away with a trace of worry and confusion on his face.

Seeing that Hu Bugui was safe and sound, Wu Tao finally felt relieved. She quickly ran to his side and held his hand tightly, as if she was grabbing a life-saving straw. "What happened just now? Where are we?"

Hu Bugui shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. "I only remember that when the device was activated, a powerful force sucked us in, and then I lost consciousness, and when I woke up I found myself here."

The two looked at each other, their hearts filled with anxiety and doubt. This white space seemed to have no end, and there was no exit in sight. They were like mice trapped in a maze, unable to find the direction and no hope.

At this moment, Wu Tao suddenly remembered a cloth bag that Lin Yu gave her before leaving. She quickly opened the bag and found some strange metal objects and several pieces of paper covered with strange symbols.

"What is this?" Hu Bugui asked curiously.

"This is what Lin Yu left for us." Wu Tao explained as he looked through the contents of the cloth bag. "He said these are the products of modern technology and may help us survive in an unknown time and space."

Hu Bugui took a piece of paper and looked at the symbols on it carefully, frowning. "I have never seen these symbols before. Can you understand them?"

Wu Tao shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. "I don't understand it either, but Lin Yu wrote some instructions on the paper, which may give us some clues."

As she spoke, she picked up another piece of paper and read it carefully in the dim light. On the paper was a passage written in modern Chinese: "If you can see this text, it means that the device for traveling through time and space has been activated, and you have successfully arrived in another time and space. I don't know where you will go or what you will encounter, but I hope these things can help you. Remember, no matter what happens, don't give up hope, and you must live!"

After reading this passage, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui felt extremely heavy. They didn't know where they were, nor what challenges they would face in the future, but they knew that they had to cheer up and face the unknown bravely.

"Taotao, where do you think we will go?" Hu Bugui looked at the endless void, with a hint of confusion and worry in his tone.

Wu Tao took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She turned to look at Hu Bugui with a determined light in her eyes. "No matter where you go, I will be by your side and face it together!"

Wu Tao's words were like a small flame in the empty universe, bringing a touch of warmth and strength to Hu Bugui. He held Wu Tao's hand tightly, his eyes firm: "No matter what happens, I will protect you!"

The two of them were floating aimlessly in the vast white space, as if time had lost its meaning. They didn't know how much time had passed, nor did they know what the future would be like. Fear, confusion, helplessness, all kinds of emotions intertwined together, constantly impacting their hearts.

Suddenly, there was a violent shock, and the surrounding white light began to twist, forming huge whirlpools. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui instinctively hugged each other to resist the strong suction.

"Ah!" Wu Tao couldn't help but let out a scream. She felt like she was sucked into the clothes in a washing machine, the world spinning around and she couldn't control herself.

After an unknown amount of time, the vibrations and white light finally subsided. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui collapsed to the ground powerlessly, gasping for breath.

"Taotao, are you okay?" Hu Bugui struggled to get up and anxiously checked on Wu Tao's condition.

"I'm fine..." Wu Tao shook his head weakly, looked around, and found that they were in a completely unfamiliar place.

This is a dark cave, surrounded by rugged rocks. Water drops continuously fall from the ceiling, making a dripping sound, which adds a bit of eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

"Where are we?" Wu Tao's voice trembled a little. She had never seen such a strange place.

Hu Bugui helped Wu Tao up, and scanned the surrounding environment with sharp eyes, frowning: "I don't know, but this is definitely not the world we originally lived in."

The two men walked out of the cave carefully, and the view in front of them suddenly opened up, which shocked them even more.

The towering mountains in the distance, the lush primeval forests, and the rare and exotic animals running in the woods all indicated that this was a world that was incompatible with any era they had known.

"This...how is this possible?" Wu Tao murmured to himself, feeling that his cognition had been completely overturned.

"It seems that we have really traveled through time." Hu Bugui took a deep breath, and a complex light flashed in his eyes.

Just then, a noisy sound came from not far away, as if someone was arguing.

"Someone!" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts, perhaps they could get some useful information from these people.

They walked cautiously in the direction of the sound, pushed aside the dense bushes, and saw a scene that stunned them...

A group of people wearing coarse linen clothes and holding simple weapons are besieging a young man in gorgeous clothes. Although the man's clothes are messy, they can't hide his noble temperament.

What shocked Wu Tao and Hu Bugui even more was that they couldn't understand a single word those people said!

"What are they talking about?" Wu Tao looked at Hu Bugui with confusion.

Hu Bugui was also confused. He shook his head and whispered, "I don't know, but I have never heard of this language."

Could it be that they had traveled to a world where they couldn't speak the same language? Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hid behind the dense bushes, nervously watching the scene before them. The group of people in coarse linen clothes seemed to be very proud of their strange language, and their shouting was full of undisguised malice. And the besieged man in gorgeous clothes, although outnumbered, still maintained an upright posture, waving the long sword in his hand tightly, with an unyielding pride in his eyes.

"What should we do? Should we help?" Wu Tao asked in a low voice. Although she didn't know what was going on, she instinctively sympathized with the weak.

Hu Bugui did not answer immediately. He scanned the surrounding environment with sharp eyes, trying to find more clues. Although the weapons used by these people were simple, their moves were very fierce, and they were obviously professionally trained. And the man in fancy clothes, although he was highly skilled in martial arts, was obviously physically exhausted, and it was only a matter of time before he was defeated.

"Let's wait and see." Hu Bugui finally made a decision. Any rash action now would only put himself in danger.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred!

Suddenly, a black shadow appeared behind the man in gorgeous clothes. The shadow moved as fast as lightning, and a cold light flashed in his hand. The man groaned, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

"Be careful!" Hu Bugui exclaimed and threw Wu Tao to the ground, barely avoiding a gust of fierce wind.

"Who is it?!" The attacker, apparently not expecting that there were other people hiding in the dark, shouted loudly.

Hu Bugui ignored him. He protected Wu Tao behind him and stared vigilantly at the mysterious man who suddenly appeared in front of him.

The man was dressed in black, with a black cloth covering his face, revealing only a pair of cold and ruthless eyes. He was tall, holding a peculiarly shaped curved knife in his hand, with a faint blue light emitting from the blade, which was obviously poisoned.

"Who are you? Why did you attack him?" Hu Bugui asked in a deep voice. He knew that a fierce battle was inevitable.

The man in black did not answer, but sneered and pointed the scimitar in his hand at the man in fancy clothes lying on the ground again.

"Stop!" Wu Tao couldn't bear it any longer. She rushed out from behind Hu Bugui, "Come to me if you have anything to say. Let him go!"

The man in black was obviously stunned for a moment, as if he was very surprised by Wu Tao's behavior. He looked Wu Tao up and down, with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Interesting, there is actually prey that is delivered to our door." The man in black said in a strange tone, "In that case, don't blame me for being rude!"

After saying that, he flashed and pounced on Wu Tao like a ghost...