Chapter 1756: Chapter 1365: The First Cold Iron Key
Gu Changsheng’s words caused Borjigin Nian to pause in surprise, "A bunch? Why a bunch? My ancestors were only responsible for ensuring one key..."
Seeing Borjigin Nian’s puzzled expression, Gu Changsheng did not rush but instead turned and said to Yuan Bao, whose eyes were red like a rabbit’s from the peppers, "No hurry on this. Yuan Bao, let’s set the meal first!"
After such a commotion, both Gu Changsheng and Zhou Mu had eaten breakfast, but Borjigin Nian, having been "mistreated," was still hungry by then!
Upon hearing Gu Changsheng’s words, Yuan Bao slapped his unnoticeable plump waist, suddenly remembering that Borjigin Nian was still hungry, and hurriedly went off to prepare breakfast for him!
Watching Yuan Bao’s lively demeanor, Gu Changsheng was momentarily dazed!
He’s still alive!
He once died, yet now he still lives!
If Yuan Bao could, her parents could too!
Whether it’s obsession or relentless resolve, as a daughter, whenever she thought of her parents’ sacrifices, her chest ached. She would not give up, as this was the last bit of filial piety she could offer!
Even if the road ahead is full of obstacles and hope seems slim, if she abandoned it, the coffin set beside her would remain forever silent!
No!
She wanted her parents out of that cold coffin, to let them know that giving birth to and protecting her as a daughter was worth it, and it also gave her an opportunity to be a filial daughter!
With slightly lowered phoenix eyes, Gu Changsheng ignored Borjigin Nian’s questioning pursuit, while Yuan Bao hurriedly prepared the meal for Borjigin Nian along with Beauty Sai and Li Ji. Watching them glance at her as they dined, she finally returned her attention with a gentle smile on her lips!
Preoccupied with their thoughts, Borjigin Nian and the others unconsciously quickened their meal, and soon after they tossed their chopsticks aside, they surrounded Gu Changsheng!
With a wave of her hand, Gu Changsheng dismissed everyone else, leaving only those privy to the matter in the room. This time, she did not dismiss Beauty Sai and Li Ji, as they stood outside the carriage when she pursued the whereabouts of the key with Borjigin Nian. Moreover, they were rare masters among her group, the backbone capable of protecting everyone on this trip!
Skeptics need not apply, and those who do are not to be doubted. This was Gu Changsheng’s philosophy. Despite Li Ji being someone without a known background, Gu Changsheng had no choice but to trust her at this moment because she sensed an unknown feeling, and even if her Dark Night Army continued northward, reaching the Divine Demise Land, they might not have much opportunity to showcase their skills!
That was an unknown realm, bizarre and unpredictable, where Gu Changsheng dared not take risks. Therefore, genuinely wanting to put Beauty Sai and Li Ji, the primeval masters of the Transformative Realm, to good use, as they alone were indispensable!
Retrieving the string of keys she brought back from the bottom of No Return Cliff, Gu Changsheng tossed them before Borjigin Nian, "Here, this is the bunch of keys your ancestor was clasping tightly in his hand on his deathbed. See for yourself!"
While Borjigin Nian knew the whereabouts of one of the three keys that open the core of the National Treasury, in truth, her understanding of the key wasn’t deep. She’d only heard about it from her Father King. After all, time had passed through many hands, and by her generation, knowledge of past events was sketchy.
"This string of keys doesn’t look peculiar, just the typical style we use in Northern Mongolia, though they’re quite old. Which one is actually a key to the Cold Iron Gate?" Borjigin Nian and Beauty Sai turned the keys around several times but found nothing unusual. Unable to help themselves, they muttered, "Could it be wrong? Maybe the one we’re looking for isn’t even here?"
"Princess, don’t joke. Brother Mu and Brother Wood had quite an ordeal finding them. If we came back without the key, wouldn’t that have been in vain?" Beauty Sai frowned immediately upon hearing this.
The two resumed studying the key while Gu Changsheng turned to the silent Li Ji, a smile tugging at her lips, "Although finding this string of keys was tough, and fraught with danger, there’ve been unexpected gains!"
Catching sight of this, Li Ji looked at Gu Changsheng. Although she didn’t speak, her eyes were filled with curiosity.
"Another fragment of the Geomancy Map in the Sand Sea has revealed its whereabouts!" Gu Changsheng said with a soft smile, looking at Li Ji.
Due to her mother’s influence, Luoh Yurou had studied the affairs of the Sand Sea with great interest. As expected, Li Ji, her personal maid and lover, had heard of these matters!
Indeed, upon hearing this, Li Ji’s eyes lit up with joy, her voice as hoarse as ever, "Where is it?"
"In the hands of the hidden families!" Gu Changsheng lifted a cup of tea and spoke spiritedly.
"I’ll go and snatch it right away!" Although Li Ji wasn’t fond of talking, she was action-oriented. Hearing this, she immediately turned and walked towards the door, clearly eager about the Geomancy Map of the Sand Sea Divine Ruins!
"Hold on!" Seeing her so anxious, Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but smile, put down the teacup, and called out to stop her, "Why are you in such a rush? The people of the Sand Sea obtained that Geomancy Map and wouldn’t hesitate to attack the accompanying Gadatu, trying to kill him to silence any witness. I haven’t had the chance to pass the blame yet. Originally, I was thinking of finding a way to let them take the fragmented map from my hand, to let them lead the way!"
Li Ji stopped in her tracks after hearing Gu Changsheng’s words, turned back, and looked at her with confusion.
"But now, those people of the hidden families may not be of any use!" Gu paused and shook her head, with a tinge of regret, "Don’t rush, just wait. It won’t be long before the people of the hidden families deliver that Geomancy Map to us!"
"Why?" Li Ji immediately asked upon hearing this.
"Because they are cowardly and afraid of trouble, fearing death!" Gu Changsheng raised an eyebrow and pointed to herself, "Not as formidable as me!"
Li Ji couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth at Gu Changsheng’s words, but under the confident gaze of Gu Changsheng, she remained silent.
Borjigin Nian overheard their conversation, turned around, and upon learning it concerned the Geomancy Map fragments, immediately lost interest and pouted, "What’s the rush? Even if you can thoroughly map the Sand Sea’s terrain, without the key to open the Divine Demise Land, it’s a futile trip. Better to gather all three keys first and open the Thousand-Year Cold Iron Gate extended from the National Treasury!"
As Borjigin Nian spoke, she pulled out the set of keys in her hand, looking conflicted, "Gu Changsheng, this set of keys is not what we’re looking for! How can the key to the Thousand-Year Cold Iron gate be just an ordinary iron key? Can it even rust? This key isn’t right..."
"Haha..." Gu Changsheng laughed and reached out to take the keys, raising an eyebrow, "Not right? Would I risk my life to bring it back if it weren’t? It’s something your ancestors left behind, Borjigin Nian, aren’t you being a bit too blind to treasure?"
Saying this, Gu Changsheng picked through the keys and found a long, rusted key, holding it in her palm...
In an instant, a crimson inner strength emanated from Gu Changsheng’s hand, and specks of rust and iron dust fell from her fingers...
"Gu Changsheng, are you destroying it?" Borjigin Nian exclaimed in shock upon seeing this, "What if it is the one!"
"No ’what if’! Because it is the key we’re looking for!" Upon hearing this, Gu Changsheng’s lips curled into a slight smile. Her inner strength circulated, and when she opened her hand again, the rust-covered key had transformed completely: it shrank in size, and now its entire surface was black, glinting coldly...
"The Thousand-Year Cold Iron Key!" Borjigin Nian exclaimed and lunged forward, snatching the key and pointing at a mark on it, "The Northern Mongolian Royal Family’s wolf totem! It’s it! It’s indeed it! Gu Changsheng, how did you know this key, covered in ordinary iron, was the one we’re looking for?"
"Because the weight was off..." Gu Changsheng blinked and said.
Density, volume, mass—Gu Changsheng may not be a science student, but she knew these basic physical concepts!
The weight of iron would never be that heavy. Gu Changsheng suspected something was off when she weighed the set of keys at the Bottom of No Return Cliff!
No matter how well a forgery is made, it can’t change its essence!
Moreover, having awakened beneath the Thousand-Year Cold Iron Shackles, Gu Changsheng was all too familiar with the aura of the Thousand-Year Cold Iron!
This thing, even wrapped in ordinary iron, would leak a faint chill. Gu Changsheng’s keen senses naturally detected something amiss!
Having confirmed this set of keys was the first Cold Iron Key they needed, Borjigin Nian and the others were delighted and exhaled a long sigh of relief!
Yet they couldn’t help but start to worry again!
"Gu Changsheng, the first key is stored at the Yanmen Pass, a place we must pass through on our journey. However, aside from the key on the Royal city guard in the Royal City, the totem of the second Cold Iron Key lies with that prodigy of my mother’s tribe. My mother’s tribe, the Tashi Tribe, is located south of Northern Mongolia, by Qinghai Lake. Our current journey to the Royal City won’t take us through there..." As a princess of the Northern Mongolian lineage, Borjigin Nian was naturally familiar with the distribution of tribes in Northern Mongolia. Holding the first Cold Iron Key, she spoke with no small measure of concern...
She worried about her Father King and naturally wanted to avoid unnecessary detours, hoping to head straight to the Royal City, but...
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