Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 272 Struggle in the Dark

Outside Luoyang, in a desolate valley, Wu Tao was imprisoned in a dark and damp dungeon. Her hands were tied behind her back with rough hemp ropes, and her wrists were rubbed raw and bleeding.

"Squeak-"

The heavy wooden door was pushed open, and dazzling sunlight instantly poured into the dungeon. Wu Tao instinctively closed her eyes, and only after she adjusted to the light could she see who was coming.

"It's you!" Wu Tao looked at the man in front of her in surprise. He was one of the remnants of the mysterious organization and the one who ambushed her and Hu Bugui outside the city of Chang'an.

The man sneered, walked up to Wu Tao, and looked down at her. "Are you surprised? Miss Wu."

"What exactly do you want to do?" Wu Tao asked coldly, without a trace of fear in his tone.

"What?" The man laughed as if he had heard a good joke. "Of course we are going to do something big! Do you think we went to so much trouble to capture you just for fun?"

He took out a crystal clear jade pendant from his arms, which was the one Wu Tao wore when he traveled through time and space.

"This jade pendant..." Wu Tao looked at the jade pendant in the man's hand in shock, with countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

"Yes, this is the key to open the door of time and space." The man said proudly, "With it, we can travel through time and space and conquer more worlds!"

Wu Tao then understood that the remnants of the mysterious organization had such great ambitions that they actually wanted to use the magic weapon of time travel to open a passage to other dimensions!

"Are you crazy?" Wu Tao shouted angrily, "Doing this will destroy the order of time and space and cause unimaginable disasters!"

"So what?" The man didn't care. "As long as it can help us gain more powerful strength, we will not hesitate even if it means destroying the entire world!"

Wu Tao's heart was chilled. She knew that only by destroying the magic weapon could she stop the ambitions of the remnants of the mysterious organization. However, once the magic weapon was destroyed, she and Hu Bugui would never be able to return to the Tang Dynasty...

"No, I can't..." Wu Tao closed his eyes in pain, his heart filled with struggle and despair.

"Someone come here!" the man suddenly shouted, and two men in black came in and escorted Wu Tao out of the dungeon.

"Where are you taking me?" Wu Tao asked struggling.

"Go and witness our great moment!" the man said with a fierce smile, "When we open the gate of time and space, you will be our first sacrifice!"

Wu Tao was brought to the altar, and the man held the jade pendant high, muttering something.

"stop!"

At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly sounded, and a figure rushed to the altar like lightning.

"Hu Bugui!" Wu Tao was surprised and delighted, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Taotao, I'm here to save you!" Hu Bugui held a long sword and looked at Wu Tao with a firm gaze.

Wu Tao's heart sank to the bottom. The appearance of Hu Bugui gave her a glimmer of hope, but soon this hope was extinguished by the cruel reality. The remnants of the mysterious organization were numerous and powerful in martial arts. How could Hu Bugui, alone, defeat them?

"No, leave quickly!" Wu Tao shouted anxiously, "They want to open the door of time and space and destroy the magic weapon, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"

Hu Bugui ignored Wu Tao's shouts, brandishing his sword and rushing towards the altar like a tiger descending from a mountain. His swordsmanship was sharp and his moves were deadly, knocking down several enemies in a flash.

"Taotao, don't be afraid, I'm here!" Hu Bugui fought hard while approaching Wu Tao.

Wu Tao looked at Hu Bugui's heroic figure, tears blurred her eyes. She knew that Hu Bugui rushed in recklessly for her, but she couldn't let his sacrifice be in vain.

"Hu Bugui, I'm sorry..." Wu Tao said silently in his heart.

She took a deep breath and placed all her hopes on the arrangement of fate. She accidentally glanced at a copper coin hanging around her waist, which was a token of love given to her by Hu Bugui. She took off the copper coin with trembling hands, held it tightly in her palm, closed her eyes, and prayed silently: "Guardian of time and space, please listen to my wish, please guide Hu Bugui to find me and stop this disaster..."

After finishing his prayer, Wu Tao resolutely activated the self-destruction program of the time-travel magic weapon.

"No——" Hu Bugui's eyes were red with anger. He watched Wu Tao's figure being swallowed by a white light, but he was powerless to do anything.

The white light faded away, and Wu Tao's figure disappeared, leaving only the crystal clear jade pendant, which was broken into countless pieces.

"Taotao--" Hu Bugui fell to his knees, calling out Wu Tao's name heartbreakingly.

He searched frantically for Wu Tao's trace, but found nothing. Despair, sadness, anger, all kinds of emotions intertwined together, almost swallowing him up.

At this moment, he suddenly felt something prickling in the palm of his hand. He spread out his palm and discovered that the copper coin was emitting a faint light.

Hu Bugui's heart moved. He remembered that Wu Tao once said that this copper coin was the fate between them. Could it be...

He carefully observed the copper coin and found that there were a few tiny words engraved on the surface of the copper coin: "Outside Luoyang City, on the top of a barren mountain."

Hu Bugui immediately understood that this was the clue left for him by Wu Tao!

He stood up without hesitation and ran towards the outside of Luoyang City...

On the top of a barren mountain, in a ruined temple, Wu Tao lay weakly on the ground. Her face was pale and her breath was weak, as if she would disappear at any time.

In front of her, the self-destruction program of the magic weapon has been activated, and the powerful energy fluctuations caused the entire temple to tremble violently.

"Hu Bugui, you must find me..." Wu Tao uttered a few words with difficulty. Her consciousness gradually blurred and everything in front of her was dark...

At this moment, the door of the temple was kicked open and a familiar figure appeared at the door.

"Taotao!" Hu Bugui felt heartbroken when he saw Wu Tao dying.

He rushed to Wu Tao, hugged her tightly in his arms, and said in a trembling voice: "Tao Tao, I'm coming, hold on!"

Wu Tao tried hard to open her eyes. Seeing Hu Bugui's anxious face, she smiled: "You... are here..."

"Taotao, don't talk, I'll take you away now!" Hu Bugui said, and was about to pick up Wu Tao.

“No… no time…” Wu Tao grabbed Hu Bugui’s hand and said weakly, “The magic weapon… the self-destruction program… has been activated… it can’t be stopped…”

"No, there must be a way!" Hu Bugui desperately wanted to stop the self-destruction program, but time was running out. He felt unprecedented helplessness and despair...

The temple's pillars creaked in a way that made one's teeth ache, and dust fell down, foreshadowing the approach of destruction. Wu Tao's pale hands tightly grasped Hu Bugui's sleeves, as if grasping the last straw to save his life.

"It's useless... It's too late..." She spoke weakly, but her eyes were extremely clear, "Go! Don't worry about me..."

Hu Bugui turned a deaf ear to them. With red eyes, he desperately rushed to the center of the altar, trying to shut down the self-destruction program of the magic weapon with brute force. However, the more anxious he became, the more he could not find a way. He could only watch the energy surging wildly in the magic weapon, like a volcano about to erupt.

"No! There must be a way! There must be!" Hu Bugui roared in despair, his voice echoing in the empty temple, but there was no response.

Wu Tao closed her eyes helplessly, tears falling from the corners of her eyes. Is this fate? Are they ultimately trapped in this time and space, unable to return to the place that belongs to them?

At this critical moment, a golden light descended from the sky, and a majestic voice rang out in the temple: "Stop!"

The golden light faded away, and an old man in a white robe appeared out of nowhere. His hair and beard were all white, but he looked energetic, and his eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

"Guardian of Time and Space!" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui exclaimed in unison.

The Guardian of Time and Space had no time to explain. He formed seals with his hands, and a powerful force instantly enveloped the entire altar. The originally violent energy fluctuations miraculously subsided.

“Fortunately, we made it…” The Guardian of Time and Space breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was extremely solemn, “But the magic weapon for traveling through time was severely damaged and can no longer be used.”

"What?!" Hu Bugui was struck by lightning. He looked at the Guardian of Time and Space in disbelief. "Are you saying that we can never go back?"

The Guardian of Time and Space remained silent and just sighed deeply.

Wu Tao lowered her head helplessly, her heart sinking to the bottom. She knew that the guardian of time and space would not lie to them, which meant that they would be trapped in this era forever, and could never return to the Tang Dynasty, and could never see those familiar faces again...

Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly, his palm was cold, without a trace of warmth. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but found that his throat was dry and he couldn't say a word.

Despair, like an invisible giant net, tightly enveloped them...

With the help of the guardian of time and space, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui escaped from the collapsed temple and returned to the bustling city with tall buildings and heavy traffic, which was in sharp contrast to the tranquility and peace of the Tang Dynasty.

"Taotao, can we really never go back?" Hu Bugui looked at this strange world, his eyes full of confusion and helplessness.

Wu Tao didn't say anything, but just shook her head gently, tears blurring her eyes. She wanted to tell him that she wanted to go back to the Tang Dynasty more than anyone else, to the place where he, her friends, and her memories were. However, the reality was so cruel that it was suffocating. The destruction of the magic weapon completely cut off their connection with the past.

They are like two lost travelers, wandering aimlessly in modern society. They have no identity documents, no source of income, and even no one to talk to. Wu Tao tried to contact her family and friends in modern times, but found that all the contact methods were invalid, as if she had never existed.

"Taotao, don't lose heart, we will be fine." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly to give her strength. Although he was also full of fear about the future, he knew that he had to be Wu Tao's support and couldn't let her face this predicament alone.

They found a temporary job and helped out in a small restaurant. Although life was hard, they supported and encouraged each other and tried to adapt to this strange world.

"Bugui, do you think we can still see them?" Late at night, Wu Tao snuggled in Hu Bugui's arms, looking at the flashing neon lights outside the window, and asked softly.

"Yes, we will." Hu Bugui said firmly, "Maybe we can find a way to repair the magic weapon of time travel."

Wu Tao raised his head, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Yes, they can't just give up like this, they have to find a way home and a way to protect peace.

"Bugui, look!" Wu Tao suddenly pointed at the TV screen and exclaimed. The news was reporting a bizarre case of cultural relic theft, and the stolen cultural relic was...

"It's time." Hu Bugui's eyes shone and he clenched his fists. He knew that a new challenge had arrived.