Wen Dabao wanted to stop them so badly, yet he couldn't. Because Ping Yang had made this decision. Fang Zhengzhi did not object, and neither did Yan Xiu nor Nangong Mu.
So…
He could only reluctantly follow behind them.
Fortunately, Ping Yang did not brazenly enter the Eastern Palace. Instead, she changed into a black suit and masked her face with a black veil.
To witness her petite figure under the tight black suit was a small achievement indeed.
Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu, and Nangong Mu changed into black suits too. With their faces covered by veils, they were unrecognizable.
Wen Dabao was the last to follow, and at this moment he had to be quick and agile in covering up his face and body. He even smeared black coal on his face for better concealment.
The team of five walked out of Ping Yang residence and dashed to the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace was near the emperor's palace. With Ping Yang residence so close to the emperor's palace, the Eastern Palace was in fact not far away from Ping Yang residence.
In a moment…
Under Ping Yang's leadership, the team of five followed a secret path into a remote corner of the Eastern Palace.
With the aid of the moonlight, they leaped over a wall and silently made their way into a cluster of guesthouses in Eastern Palace.
Everything went successfully.
Ping Yang wasn't boasting indeed. From choosing the best position for climbing over the wall to the accurate grasp of time, everything seemed effortless to her.
"How was it? Easy as I said, right?" Ping Yang blinked her sparkling eyes, showing off to Fang Zhengzhi behind her.
"Yes." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu exchanged looks but remained silent.
But Wen Dabao had been sweating buckets. Although his expression was concealed, his eyes darted back and forth, assessing the area warily, while shivering in fear.
"The Eastern Palace… I have really entered it…" Wen Dabao was petrified. Well, he could only be petrified. If his father knew of this, he would be beaten to death.
"Which house shall we burn?" Ping Yang looked around. They were at a part of the Eastern Palace which was not very well-guarded.
And not many people passed by here.
These guesthouses were usually for esteemed visitors or guests of the crown prince's residence during their stay here. No one else stayed in these houses.
"There is no one here, let's burn this place. And it'll be easy to leave once we're done." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at an uninhabited two-story house a short distance away.
"Alright, let's burn this place and leave immediately!" Wen Dabao agreed.
"Burn this place? Wouldn't it be too easy?" Ping Yang was unsatisfied. "I made this effort to sneak here, to just burn this and leave? Not fun at all!"
"Your Highness, burning anywhere would be the same. But most importantly, if we burn this place, we could run away right after we are done and not get caught. This is the best place!" Wen Dabao advised.
"Would I be scared of getting caught?" Ping Yang said unhappily.
"Your Highness, of course not. But… but…" Wen Dabao wanted so badly to say that he was scared, but the remained silent after seeing Ping Yang's death stare.
"How about we burn a house between the guesthouses and middle houses?" The taciturn Nangong Mu suggested.
"Okay, let's follow Nangong Mu's suggestion, we'll find a place to burn after we leave these guesthouses!" Ping Yang was still unhappy but eventually compromised.
But…
At this moment…
A voice emerged from a hidden corner far away.
"Who are you? How dare you…"
The voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely stern.
Wen Dabao jerked in shock. Obviously, they were noticed.
The Eastern Palace!
What a heavily guarded place!
Although it was just a cluster of guesthouses, there were many covert guards keeping watch. They were eventually discovered in the midst of a soft discussion.
But this voice didn't finish its sentence.
Because when it spoke, Nangong Mu dashed over in an instant.
All that could be heard was a crack.
And the voice immediately vanished.
Nangong Mu was fast and efficient without any flamboyant display. Then, a body in the Eastern Palace guard's armor was dragged out.
"It's alright now." Nangong Mu pointed at the unconscious guard, his voice bland and expressionless as if he never fought.
Wen Dabao was bewildered.
It's alright?!
The five had just entered the cluster of guesthouses and they were noticed. Had they taken a few steps further, wouldn't they be beaten up?
"Your Highness, we…" Wen Dabao was on the verge of tears.
"Let's go." Ping Yang looked ahead and walked toward the exit of the cluster of guesthouses as though she hadn't heard Wen Dabao's cries.
"Young Master Fang…" Wen Dabao begged Fang Zhengzhi instead.
"Relax. I am here, everything will be fine." It was a rare instance of Fang Zhengzhi consoling Wen Dabao.
But this made Wen Dabao more fearful. He wanted to say that it was exactly because Fang Zhengzhi was here that would complicate things. If a fight broke out, where would Fang Zhengzhi run?
Wen Dabao clearly remembered, when they were leaping over the wall, Fang Zhengzhi was the slowest. To put in more accurately, he "climbed" over the wall.
Yet, he didn't dare say it.
It was suffocating, yet utterly hopeless.
Even more hopeless was the fact that, despite knowing these, he still had to follow behind Ping Yang, Fang Zhengzhi, and others. He had no way out.
…
Eastern Palace, the crown prince's residence. In the place where the crown prince lived.
It was just a cluster of guesthouses, but it was big enough for the group of five to reach the gate after 15 minutes of walking in the dark.
And in the process, Nangong Mu and Yan Xiu each killed two sentries in hidden corners.
Both moved superbly fast.
But Wen Dabao's face was still pale as ever. The black coal he smeared on his face could never mask the fear in him. His shirt was completely wet from sweating so much.
Ping Yang was a little intoxicated and walked a little unstable, but Wen Dabao's gait was worse because his legs were weak from fear.
Away from the guesthouses, it was better lit outside.
Occasionally, Eastern Palace guards dressed in shining armor patrolled these interweaving alleys with torches in their hands.
"This is really fun!" said Ping Yang as she looked at the teams of patrolling guards. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Fun? Oh yes, this is fun indeed…" Wen Dabao said, absolutely depressed. She was having fun while his heart was in his mouth.
"Hey, shameless fellow. Let's do something more exciting. Haven't you always said that I can't win you? This time, I'll show you what is true power. Do you dare to have a competition with me?" Ping Yang ignored Dabao and challenged Fang Zhengzhi.
"You're still playing?!" Wen Dabao wailed as a stream of tears flowed down his cheek.
Fang Zhengzhi did not object, instead, he simply asked a question.
"What are we competing?"
"It's simple. Let's see who'll reach there first!" Ping Yang pointed to a pavilion engulfed in darkness far away.
A house without any lights.
Erected some distance yonder and surrounded by a few towering trees, it seemed significantly more mysterious compared to the other houses.
It didn't take long for Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu to realize that Ping Yang wanted to set that pavilion on fire.
An unlit pavilion was the best target. As a matter of fact, burning a pavilion in the Eastern Palace didn't matter much to her.
But she didn't have any intention to burn anyone alive.
Although Ping Yang was willful, she was very particular in this matter.
But Wen Dabao did not feel this way. He would rather find a lighted house to set on fire, because that pavilion was too far away, and this made him anxious.
"Alright, I'll let you go first." Fang Zhengzhi looked at the pavilion and simply nodded without much thought.
"Haha… then I'll make my move first!" Ping Yang didn't bother being modest with Fang Zhengzhi. She rushed ahead and started following the grass by the side of the alley, moving in the direction of the pavilion.
Fang Zhengzhi saw Ping Yang scuttling over there, but he made no effort to chase her. Instead, he turned to Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu.
"I believe that once the Eastern Palace is on fire, panic would ensue. So, we need a few people here to secure a path to our exit." Fang Zhengzhi pointed at the cluster of guesthouses behind them.
"Yes, we need a path to exit!" Wen Dabao agreed immediately.
Yan Xiu and Nangong Mu exchanged looks. From their expressions, it seemed that they wanted to follow Fang Zhengzhi.
"Yan Xiu, your Dao of Asura would attract too much attention. It would be better for me to follow Fang Zhengzhi!" Nangong Mu suggested before Yan Xiu could speak.
"Okay." Yan Xiu nodded after some thought.
"This shall be the plan. Nangong Mu, you must protect Ping Yang from any harm." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
"Rest assured. I fully understand." Nangong Mu agreed.
"What do you mean? Aren't you the one who needs the most protection?" Wen Dabao did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi would let Nangong Mu protect Ping Yang.
And more importantly, from what Fang Zhengzhi had said…
It seemed as if he would not be together with Ping Yang!
What was he trying to do?
While he was lost in his thoughts, Fang Zhengzhi moved. But he didn't move toward that pavilion. Instead, he was heading to somewhere more secluded.
"Fang…"
Just as Wen Dabao started to speak, he saw Yan Xiu's icy glare, which stopped him immediately.
"We'll stay here." Yan Xiu said coldly.
"Okay." Wen Dabao nodded earnestly. When he wanted to look at Fang Zhengzhi, he had already disappeared.
How did he suddenly disappear?
Where did he go?
Wen Dabao was puzzled.
At this moment, Nangong Mu moved. With great agility, he lay on the floor like a leopard and started charging in Ping Yang's direction.
Wen Dabao suddenly had a different thought.
"You guys are actually…"
"Fang Zhengzhi never does something without reason. Especially something dangerous." Yan Xiu replied before Wen Dabao could finish his sentence.
Dumbfounded, Wen Dabao did not continue. He looked at the teams of Eastern Palace guards with their torches, dazed.
"Then… is it really okay for Young Master Fang to be alone?" After some time, Wen Dabao finally snapped back into reality.
Yan Xiu did not answer Wen Dabao. He stood in his position silently, staring at a palace far away which was significantly more heavily guarded.
And suddenly…
A torch lit up in the night. Unlike the other torches held by the guards, this fire only grew bigger by the second.
Red flames rose toward the skies.
"Whoosh!"
The whole Eastern Palace was lit up by this ball of fire, which cast a bright reddish glow on numerous pavilions and the faces of countless patrolling guards.
A sunset is infinitely glorious, except for the impending dusk.
This sentence is often used to describe a sunset. The beauty of a sunset lies in its reddish glow in the horizon. And currently, the Eastern Palace had such a 'sunset'.
Because half the sky was cast in the same glorious reddish glow.
Accompanying this glow was a searing heat wave emanating from the fire.
Countless guards watched the rising 'sunset', so shocked they were stunned. Beside these guards were servants and maids working in the crown prince's residence.
No one understood what had just unfolded. Everyone just stared at the blazing inferno with their jaw dropped, absolutely astounded.
Until a terrifying exclamation rang from the crowd.
"Fire!"