In the past two days, Ye Lingfeng and Heng led their men to prepare a lot of gunpowder. In order to prevent Feng Zixiao from ordering his men to lay an ambush in the lake, they made gunpowder on the spot. If they found anyone hiding in the water, they could use the gunpowder to injure these people and kill them without a burial place.
With everything prepared, Ye Lingfeng selected a thousand elite soldiers skilled in water combat and led nearly a hundred Feathered Guards to first probe Red Snow Lake. If there were any ambushes in the lake, they would eliminate them first to avoid confusion due to a large number of troops. Afterward, the main army would enter Red Snow Lake and attack the Great Zhou Dynasty.
A gentle breeze blew as several small boats sailed into Red Snow Lake, each carrying a number of people.
On the lead boat, two people stood side by side. One wore a white brocade robe with large plum blossoms on the hem, their fragrance filling the air. His ink-black hair fell over his shoulders, and his beautiful and gorgeous face featured long eyebrows that reached his temples and cold phoenix eyes. He looked like a proud eagle looking down on all others. He stood with his hands behind his back at the bow of the boat, exuding a refined and aloof air.
Beside him stood a pretty woman with a delicate face and bright, clear eyes that seemed to be shrouded in mist. The sunlight falling on her pupils made them even more lifelike.
Their eyes were calm and serene, without a trace of fear or panic, but rather a determination to win.
"Ling'er, you need to be careful."
Ye Lingfeng turned his head to give instructions to the woman beside him, and reached out to hold her hand. Although the road ahead was unknown and dangerous, with her by his side, he felt that he had nothing to fear.
After the boat had traveled several miles, a thin mist began to rise over Red Snow Lake, making the surroundings somewhat blurry and difficult to see clearly. Ye Lingfeng gave the order, and everyone followed closely behind, making sure not to lose their composure.
The deeper one goes into Red Snow Lake, the thicker the fog becomes, so every step must be taken with extreme caution. Moreover, in the center of the lake, there are more and more hidden reefs, whirlpools, and swampy areas.
The light boat slowly moved inward, not daring to be careless. Ye Lingfeng held Heng's hand tightly, shoulder to shoulder, looking around. Suddenly, with a splash, a pillar shot into the sky, and a figure actually leaped up from Red Snow Lake, attacking with a palm. Ji Shaocheng had already met it with a palm. His palm wind condensed, and his powerful internal force suddenly attacked. He struck the figure, and it fell into the water. The water in Red Snow Lake became even more crimson, like blood, and a string of bubbles rose up.
Upon seeing this sudden incident, Ye Lingfeng addressed the several light boats behind him: "There are people lying in ambush at the bottom of the lake. Be careful and don't panic."
"yes."
Everyone responded in unison, and the small boat continued forward. After traveling a short distance, they encountered a large whirlpool, spinning faster and faster. This section required navigating around the whirlpool, making it exceptionally dangerous. Ye Lingfeng instructed the boatman to carefully avoid the whirlpool. The boatman responded, but suddenly, a hand reached out from Red Snow Lake, grabbing their small boat and pulling it towards the whirlpool. Just as the boat was about to be sucked in, Ye Lingfeng's face turned cold. With a flick of his long sleeve, powerful internal energy was released, instantly severing the man's arm. He sank into the water with a splash. The boatman immediately steered the boat to the side, finally getting away from the whirlpool. But at that moment, several columns of water shot into the sky not far away, and several figures appeared narrowly behind them. Without thinking, Ye Lingfeng clenched his palms and swung them out.
Just then, several columns of water shot up from the river. Everyone rushed to deal with the ambush soldiers lurking in the water. Because they were very close, if they tried to use gunpowder to blow them up, not only would the ambush soldiers be injured, but they themselves would also be injured. So they could only fight the ambush soldiers in the river.
But because those people were in the water, it was impossible to defend against them, so the people on the boat eventually suffered some losses. Soon, some people fell into the water with splashes. These people who fell into the water were not afraid. They were all from deep water, so as soon as they fell into the water, they simply started fighting with each other. Soon, the surface of Red Snow Lake turned blood red.
Ye Lingfeng, Ji Shaocheng, and the others were also focused on dealing with the guys that jumped out of the water. Heng also used his Wind and Thunder Gloves, and Shi Mei and Shi Lan were not to be outdone. Seeing that someone was approaching, they used their power to repel those people one by one, preventing anyone from getting close to the ship.
Just then, the boatman, unable to control the direction properly due to the fighting on the boat, accidentally hit a reef with one corner of the bow and couldn't get away for a while. He was very anxious. Heng quickly went over to help the boatman, and he moved closer to the edge of the boat. The two of them worked together to get the boat away from the reef. Heng breathed a sigh of relief, but then a hand suddenly sprang out of the water, as fast as a ghost, grabbed Heng's body and pulled him into the water.
The boatman was shocked and shouted, "Your Majesty the Empress!"
Hearing the shouts, Ye Lingfeng, Ji Shaocheng, Shi Mei, and the others couldn't help but turn around. Their expressions changed drastically. Several figures moved almost simultaneously. Ye Lingfeng and Ji Shaocheng were faster and grabbed Heng's long robe one after the other. However, with a hissing sound, the person in the water actually cut the skirt ribbon with a knife, causing Ye Lingfeng and Ji Shaocheng to lose their grip. Each of them was holding a piece of the skirt hem.
Heng's figure disappeared into the water in the blink of an eye. She wasn't panicked; she was familiar with water, a frequent swimmer in her past life, and she knew the entire structure of Red Snow Lake by heart. There were no hidden reefs or whirlpools in this place, so she wasn't afraid of the person underwater. As soon as she entered the water, she activated her Seven Star Glazed Bracelet, took out a scalpel, and stabbed the person fiercely. The two became entangled. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed by, causing a large ripple in the water, making it difficult to open one's eyes. She could barely make out a dark, blurry shadow rushing towards her. In the blink of an eye, she couldn't react. She felt a powerful suction pulling her and the person she had stabbed down, falling, falling, stickily sliding down the narrow passage. Her face paled instantly. Had they perished in the fish's belly?
Everyone on Red Snow Lake was stunned. When Ye Lingfeng came to his senses, he roared furiously into the lake, "Ling'er!"
Suddenly, he leaped up and, without thinking, plunged into Red Snow Lake. From the small boats behind him, cries of "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You mustn't!" echoed.
Ji Shaocheng, Shi Zhu, and the others also changed their expressions and shouted at Ye Lingfeng, who had jumped into the lake: "Your Majesty!"
This Red Snow Lake is extremely dangerous. What if something happens to the Emperor? Ji Shaocheng and the others didn't dare to think about the consequences. Several figures followed Ye Lingfeng and jumped into the Red Snow Lake.
Meanwhile, on another small boat, Feng Qian grabbed Helian Qianxun, her face deathly pale and her lips bloodless. Ling'er had seen the scene of being pulled into the lake first, and her instinctive reaction was to jump off the boat to help her, but she was held back by Helian Qianxun. At this moment, she struggled in Helian Qianxun's arms and finally spoke in a deep voice.
"Helian Qianxun, go and rescue Ling'er, rescue Ling'er."
"Alright, but you must not go into the lake."
Helian Qianxun gave a firm order, then instructed Sese: "Keep an eye on the princess."
"Yes, my lord."
Sese nodded and reminded Helian Qianxun, "My lord, be careful."
Helian Qianxun leaped into Red Snow Lake like a white wave. Sese wasn't as afraid of Red Snow Lake as others, because these Yunjiang people had experienced all sorts of dangers since childhood. Compared to the grueling training in their Yunjiang Valley, Red Snow Lake might not be that difficult. So Sese remained calm, her eyes fixed on Feng Qian, holding her tightly as if afraid she would jump in too. She wasn't worried about her master, but rather about Princess Chang Le impulsively jumping into Red Snow Lake and getting into trouble. She wouldn't be able to explain it to her master then.
In the lake, Ye Lingfeng frantically searched for Heng, but there was no sign of him at all. Ji Shaocheng and Shi Zhu had already swum to Ye Lingfeng's side. He was like a madman, throwing punches and using his strength to attack the fish in the water. If he encountered any ambush soldiers in the water, he would attack them without saying a word, quickly killing those who couldn't dodge in time. He was also shouting Heng's name.
"Ling'er, Ling'er, where are you?"
The scream was incredibly pitiful, as if it had used up all its strength. Everyone followed him to search in the water, but there was no sign of Heng at the bottom. She seemed to have vanished into thin air.
This filled Ji Shaocheng and Shi Mei with immense sorrow, and they cried out from underwater, "Your Majesty the Empress! Your Majesty the Empress!"
The group seemed to have gone mad, desperately searching underwater, but there was no sign of anyone. Red Snow Lake was already extremely dangerous, and the further they swam, the more likely they were to encounter danger. If they couldn't find Heng now, and everyone else was in danger, then things would be really troublesome. Helian Qianxun, who had been following Ye Lingfeng and Ji Shaocheng, suddenly moved. He quickly swam past the group and reached Ye Lingfeng's side. With a sudden movement, he knocked the nearly insane Ye Lingfeng unconscious.
Because Ye Lingfeng was on the verge of collapse, he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings, so Helian Qianxun easily succeeded.
Ji Shaocheng and the others exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing?"
"go back."
Upon hearing this, Ji Shaocheng, Shi Mei, and the others were heartbroken and burst into tears. However, they knew that staying at the bottom of the lake would be of no use and they might all die there. They hadn't seen Ling'er in such a short time, and perhaps she had been taken away by Feng Zixiao.
Ji Shaocheng, holding the last piece of news, waved his hand and ordered everyone to return.
Helian Qianxun, along with Ye Lingfeng, Ji Shaocheng, and the others who had been knocked unconscious by him, returned to their original destination. Once everyone was on the ship, they learned that the Empress was missing and the Emperor had been knocked unconscious by Helian Qianxun.
When the Empress disappeared, everyone was overcome with grief, especially Feng Qian, who couldn't catch her breath and fainted.
Looking at the scene before him, Ji Shaocheng saw that everyone was so sad. If they continued to advance on Red Snow Lake, they would only face certain death. So he waved his hand and ordered, "Turn around and go back."
The boatmen received orders and all turned the boats around to head back. The return journey was much easier, with no ambushes or obstacles, and they reached the shore smoothly.
At this moment, nearly 100,000 elite troops were stationed on the shore. People were constantly moving around the camp. When several light boats docked, it naturally caused a commotion among the people on the shore. Many people gathered around, and when they heard that the Empress was missing, a heavy atmosphere of death immediately filled the air above the camp.
The people of Beilu Kingdom have all heard about the affair between the Emperor and the Empress. Now that the Empress is in trouble and the Emperor has been knocked unconscious, who knows what might happen if he wakes up?
Ji Shaocheng settled Ye Lingfeng in the largest tent in the camp and ordered the army doctor to come and treat the emperor immediately. The doctor found that the emperor had been overcome by anger and then knocked unconscious by a blow, so he had not woken up for a while, but he would wake up soon.
Ji Shaocheng finally felt relieved. He ordered Shizhu and others to help the emperor wash up and change his clothes before leaving to change his own. On the way, thinking about Ling'er's disappearance and the fear that she was probably in grave danger, he felt so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe. The dignified general of the Northern Lu Kingdom and the tough guy on the battlefield burst into tears and could not utter a single word.