From cute to empress

Chapter 339 The Hidden Murderous Intentions of the Mysterious Organization

He moved, and my heart tightened. He reached out from under his cape, his movements slow and deliberate, as if he were displaying something precious. It was a translucent blue stone, emitting a faint glow in the moonlight and exuding an eerie aura.

The cheers and music of the crowd seemed to fade away at that moment, leaving only that sliver of blue and that figure hidden beneath the cloak. He slowly raised his head and gazed at me through the throng of people. Although I couldn't see his face clearly, I could sense the undisguised defiance and malice in his gaze, like a cold, poisonous needle piercing my heart.

"Mengmeng, what's wrong?" Youcai followed my gaze, but saw only a dense crowd of people. "What are you looking at?"

I squeezed his hand and said in a deep voice, "With talent comes danger!"

Before he finished speaking, the shadowy figure suddenly threw the blue stone in his hand into the air! I was startled and was about to intercept it, but I saw the stone trace a strange arc in the air and then vanish into thin air!

The crowd was startled by this sudden change and began to stir. The dark figure took advantage of the chaos to turn around and disappear into the crowd like a ghost.

"Chase!" I made a quick decision and signaled the guards to follow me and chase in the direction where the black shadow disappeared.

However, when we arrived, the place was already empty, leaving only a vacant space dyed white by the moonlight and a faint smell of blood in the air.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent..." The commander of the guards knelt on one knee, feeling extremely ashamed.

I shook my head and motioned for him to stand up. "I don't blame you. That man is very skilled and obviously came prepared."

"Damn it! How dare you mess with this!" Youcai angrily hammered the stone pillar next to him. "Investigate! We must find him!"

After some searching, we found a black metal plate engraved with strange patterns where the shadow disappeared.

"What is this?" Youcai asked in confusion.

I looked at the token carefully, and a familiar feeling came over me.

"I seem to have seen it somewhere..." I tried hard to recall and finally remembered, "This is... the symbol of the Shadow Gate!"

The Shadow Gate, a legendary ancient organization with mysterious powers, is said to be proficient in various assassination and sorcery techniques. They once caused a bloody storm, but later disappeared. Unexpectedly...

"Mengmeng, what's wrong with you?" Youcai asked worriedly when he saw that I was pale.

I took a deep breath, held the token tightly in my palm, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that a storm is coming..."

The appearance of the Shadow Gate was like dropping a huge rock into a calm lake, causing a thousand waves.

That black metal plate with a strange pattern on it became our only clue. I ordered the image to be distributed and a city-wide search for any suspicious individuals was conducted. At the same time, the palace security was reinforced, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

However, the Shadow Gate is like a ghost crawling out of hell, invisible and yet everywhere.

One evening, Youcai and I were strolling in the Imperial Garden. All was quiet, save for a few fireflies flickering among the flowers. Suddenly, there was a sound of piercing air, and a sharp arrow, accompanied by a strong wind, shot straight at me!

"Be careful!" Youcai reacted very quickly and threw me to the ground. The sharp arrow flew past my scalp and nailed into the rockery behind me. The tail of the arrow was still buzzing.

Before we could even catch our breath, several more dark shadows flashed out from behind the rockery, holding sharp blades and attacking us!

"Protect His Majesty!" The guards reacted quickly, surrounded Youcai and me, and started a fierce battle with the assassin.

Each of these assassins was exceptionally skilled, their moves ruthless and brutal; they were clearly specially trained warriors. Youcai and I were protected in the center, watching the fight unfold in terror.

At this moment, a golden light flashed, accompanied by a Buddhist chant, and a familiar figure joined the battle.

"Amitabha, benefactor, please put down your butcher knife and turn back!" This was the eminent monk who appeared at the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven that day!

He was seen holding a Zen staff. His movements seemed slow, but were actually as fast as lightning. Every swing carried a tremendous force. After several rounds, he actually forced several assassins to retreat.

"Evil monk! Stop meddling in other people's business!" An assassin roared and threw a black spherical object at the monk.

"Be careful! It's poisonous smoke!" I screamed in surprise.

The monk's expression remained unchanged, he muttered something, slammed his Zen staff on the ground, and a powerful airflow rose out of nowhere, blowing away the black smoke without a trace.

However, just when we thought the crisis was over, something unexpected happened! The clear night sky suddenly became overcast, the wind blew violently, and bean-sized raindrops mixed with hail came crashing down fiercely.

"Oh no! Someone's casting a spell!" The weather officer's voice came from the crowd. He was pale and pointed at the sky and shouted in fear, "There's something strange about this rain!"

Before he could finish his words, the guards who were drenched by the rain fell to the ground in pain, foaming at the mouth and convulsing all over!

"Hahaha! You're all going to die after being hit by my 'Bone-Eroding Rain'!" A cold voice came from a distance, sounding particularly harsh in the storm.

I was terribly anxious, but there was nothing I could do. Was this really going to be my death today?

At this moment, Youcai held my hand tightly and said in a deep voice: "Mengmeng, don't be afraid, I will definitely take you away from here!"

As he spoke, he pulled me towards the palace. The high monk and the weather officer followed closely behind, escorting us...

"It's too late, he's already here..." The meteorologist suddenly stopped, his tone filled with fear. He pointed behind me, his voice trembling, "He...he is..."

I turned back in horror, only to see a figure in a black cloak and mask appear before us like a ghost. He exuded a chilling aura that sent shivers down my spine. The strong wind blew his cloak up, revealing the golden spider lily embroidered beneath, eerie and strange.

"Who are you?" I asked sternly, suppressing the fear in my heart.

"I am the one you are looking for," he said in a low, hoarse voice, like a call from hell, "the master of the Shadow Gate."

"Why are you attacking us? What is your purpose?" Youcai stepped forward, protected me behind him, and stared at him with sharp eyes.

The master of the Shadow Gate sneered and said, "You will soon know my purpose. However, before that, I would like to make a deal with Her Majesty the Empress."

"What deal?" I asked warily.

He slowly took off the mask, revealing a handsome face, but his eyes were cold and ruthless, which was out of tune with this face.

"Give me that black metal plate, and I can guarantee that your country will be safe from now on." His tone was calm, but with unquestionable majesty.

I was shocked. What on earth could this metal plate possibly be that had him going through so much trouble? As I was hesitating, I felt Youcai tighten his grip on my hand. He whispered in my ear, "Mengmeng, promise him first. We'll wait and see what happens."

I nodded and said to the owner of the Shadow Gate, "I can give you the metal plate, but you have to promise not to harm my country and my people again."

"It's a deal." He put on a strange smile and stretched out his hand.

I pulled the black metal plate from my pocket and handed it to him. He took it, examined it carefully, and then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! It's really like searching for a needle in a haystack, but finally it comes to me without any effort! With it, I can..." His laughter stopped abruptly, and his face suddenly changed. He covered his chest and bent over in pain.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked in surprise.

He raised his head, glared at me with resentment, and said through gritted teeth, "You...you actually..."

Before he could finish his words, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground, dying.

All this happened so suddenly that before I could react, I saw the monk quickly walk over to the owner of the Shadow Gate, tap him a few times, then shook his head and sighed, "He's dead."

"Dead?" I looked at the scene in disbelief. It was all too strange.

"Someone has tampered with his heart. Once he gets hold of this metal plate, he will die of poisoning." The monk explained.

"Who wants to kill him?" I asked doubtfully. Could there be a bigger conspiracy behind this?

The monk shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

"It seems that we still have to take a long-term view." Youcai said in a deep voice, his brows furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.

Over the next few days, we intensified our investigation into the origins of the Shadow Gate and the black metal plate, but found nothing. Just when we were at our wit's end, the high monk suddenly brought us a message, saying he knew a place where we might find the answers we were looking for.

We followed the monk to a hidden temple. In the temple's underground chamber, we met a mysterious old monk. The old monk told us that this black metal plate was the key to a secret treasure, and this treasure was related to an ancient prophecy...

"Prophecy? What prophecy?" Youcai and I asked in unison.

The old monk took a deep breath and said slowly: "This prophecy is about..."

Before he could finish his words, the door of the secret room was suddenly opened from the outside, and a man in black rushed in and attacked the old monk!

"Be careful!" Youcai reacted quickly, threw me to the ground, and avoided the attack of the man in black.

Seeing that his attack missed, the man in black turned and ran away, with Youcai chasing him. I was about to follow him when the monk stopped me.

"Your Majesty, leave this to me. Go check on the old monk. He seems to have something to say."

I quickly ran to the old monk, helped him up, and asked anxiously, "Old man, are you okay? What did you want to say just now?"

The old monk grabbed my hand, a gleam of light flashed in his cloudy eyes. With his last bit of strength, he said intermittently: "Children... yours... yours..."

"Our what?" I was extremely anxious, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Your...background..."

The old monk's voice became weaker and weaker, and finally, his hands dropped weakly and he closed his eyes forever.

I stared blankly at the old monk, my heart filled with doubt and uneasiness. My life? What secrets did my life story hold?