Chapter 844 The Keys to the Paradise City

“Your mother sacrificed her life to bring you to this world and tried hard to ensure your safety and joyful life at all costs,” Mr. Zhu said in a deep and firm voice, gently embracing Lin Mengya who was wavering in her resolution.

He continued saying, “Before you were born, your mother had met an eminent monk who had attained wisdom, and he said that her unborn baby was a morning star, so he decided to protect you with his Buddha body until you grew up. Later, you met with misfortune and had that adventure. Silly girl, your mother and the eminent monk sacrificed their lives to ensure your safety.”

Mr. Zhu, who was Lin Mengya’s biological uncle Zuo Ao now, finally revealed the secret he had kept over the years.

Lin Mengya held on to her uncle’s sleeve with warm tears streaming down her cheeks.

It was true that her mother’s love for her was the same as that of any other mother in the world for her child.

In order to protect her, her mother was willing to give up her life.

There was probably no one other than her mother and uncle aware of this.

Because this was a matter of her life and death, her mother would never reveal it, and even her father knew nothing about it.

“Un... uncle, why on earth... did my mother die?” Lin Mengya asked.

The moment Zuo Ao, who had always been composed, heard her call him uncle, his eyes welled up with tears.

Lin Mengya raised her head tearfully. When Zuo Ao saw her face that looked exactly like that of his only biological sister, his heart was filled with tenderness towards his niece.

He said, “When your mother was pregnant with you, her whereabouts were accidentally discovered by the Candle Dragon Cult. Nevertheless, her real identity was not exposed, and they just considered her as one of the keys. In order to ensure your safety, your mother cooperated with me and pretended that she knew nothing about it. Later, she misled them that she had drunk the potion given by the Empress of the Jin State, and prevented the news of the key from spreading at the cost of her life three days after she gave birth to you. They, who could not find the key nor do anything to a dead person, spared you and Nansheng for the time being.”

Lin Mengya nodded. In fact, she knew more or less about the truth of her mother’s death.

She had long expected the Empress must have something to do with it.

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The Empress plotted against her mother 19 years ago and did that to her later.

The Shangguan family was so vicious! She definitely would destroy the Shangguan Family mercilessly in person and make the Empress pay for her evildoing!

“Uncle, thank you for telling me these things. Rest assured. I come to the Lieyun Empire this time to solve this problem once and for all. If we cooperate, we may be able to defeat the Candle Dragon Cult. Uncle, as the King of the Nation of Lintian, when did you infiltrate the Candle Dragon Cult?” she said.

Although Lin Mengya was not clear about what had happened back then, she was sure of one thing: her uncle had been the King for more than 20 years. Why did he become Mr. Zhu, a member of the Candle Dragon Cult?

Seeing that his niece had regained her composure, Zuo Ao let go of Lin Mengya and stroked her black hair amiably with a hint of helplessness on his face.

Obviously he had been through a hard time.

He said, “All this was arranged by my father when your mother and I were young. I have been sent to the Candle Dragon Cult since I was a child. Think about it, our Zuo Family has existed for more than a thousand years. Even if we couldn’t destroy the Candle Dragon Cult, it was not difficult to plant a few pawns in it.”

He had been sent to the Candle Dragon Cult since he was a child? Then who was the King of the Nation of Lintian?

Could it be that her uncle had held the positions in the Nation of Lintian and the Candle Dragon Cult since he was a child? It indeed took a lot of energy.

Lin Mengya couldn’t help admiring him.

Such a capable person turned out to be her biological uncle.

After pulling herself together, Lin Mengya accepted these things anyhow.

Resuming her relationship with her uncle was supposed to be a pleasant thing, but as she got closer to the truth, she found it increasingly tricky and strange.

Taking out the book recording the affairs in the imperial palace and turning to the page again, Lin Mengya asked in a low voice, “Rest assured, uncle. I’ll keep them secret from my two cousins. Oh, yes, uncle, what do you mean by saying that I discovered it too?”

Her uncle answered, “Emperor Wei left four keys back then. It is said that it requires the four keys to open the gate to the paradise city. One of them was in the possession of your mother, and the other three were accidentally lost in the other three countries. However, the head of the Candle Dragon Cult, an extremely smart person, somehow learned the method to open the gate to the paradise city. It is said that there are 36 barriers outside the paradise city, and it requires the blood of the descendants of the survivors of the paradise city to open the gate. You got it now, didn’t you?”

It required blood to remove the 36 barriers. Did it mean that 18 years ago, the four babies got killed at the same time to remove the barriers?

The thought sent a chill down her spine. How many people did they have to kill in order to remove the 36 barriers?

“How much time do we have now? Once they open the gate to the paradise city ahead of us, what will happen to us?” overcome by emotion, Lin Mengya asked anxiously.

Zuo Ao looked at her and said with a serious look, “Now, they have removed 30 barriers. However, as the news has been leaked out time and again over the past few decades, the secret of the paradise city is not only known to the Candle Dragon Cult and us. The head presumably intends to remove all the barriers in three years.”

Three years! They only had three years.

Although it seemed that they still had some time, compared with a thousand years their family had waited, three years were just a short moment.

“Mengya, remember, you must open the gate to the paradise city ahead of the Candle Dragon Cult, or the world will be faced with a catastrophe. I asked Xin Yu to tell you that Wanyan Jing kept Madame Hui alive because she was the key to opening the gate to the paradise city, an indispensable part of the last sacrificial ceremony. You must keep her alive, otherwise, you will be in danger,” Zuo Ao said.

After he had a long conversation with Lin Mengya, it was obviously time for him to leave.

Lin Mengya nodded.

Although she still had a lot of questions to ask, she knew that it was risky for her uncle to stay here for so long.

“It’s time for me to go. If possible, I’ll come to see you again. If I have something to tell you, I’ll send Xin Yu to take a message for me. But remember not to tell anyone that I’m your uncle. Do you get it?” her uncle said.

“Don’t worry, uncle. I know the gravity of this,” Lin Mengya said.

She did not expect that she still had a relative other than her father and brother.

But she was joyful and worried at the same time.

Her uncle left the library, while turning to look back repeatedly. Her reunion with her uncle did not just mean that she had another relative in this world.

Watching the figure in steel grey disappear in front of her, Lin Mengya had complicated feelings.

She had to inherit the task from her ancestors and seize the slim chance of survival countless members of her family had sacrificed their lives to get.

She did not expect things to turn out this way.

In no mood to open the book again, Lin Mengya put it back in its place.

Could it be the so-called paradise city was really beneath the capital city of the Lieyun Empire?

If even those people in charge of designing and building the imperial palace back then failed to discover the mysterious paradise city, then where was it?

Could the key her uncle mentioned be the ginseng-shaped seal capable of unlocking the chain around the dragon turtle or the gold hairpin with a missing gem?

She should have asked her uncle about it just now.

Nevertheless, she had given them to Baiji and the others to keep.

Her uncle told her the other three keys happened to be in the other three countries.

It appeared that she should make a trip back to the Jin State to look for the second key.

If Long Tianyu, her silly husband, knew it, he would probably be overjoyed.

All of a sudden, Lin Mengya, whose mind had been weighed down, felt a little relaxed.

Nevertheless, Lin Mengya thought that she’d better keep it from him for the time being.

Since he gave her a surprise by showing up in front of her suddenly, she might as well give him a surprise.

Outside the library, the eunuchs, who had been drugged, were fast asleep.

Lin Mengya closed the door softly. There was still a trace of knockout incense in the air, but the knockout incense, which was not very powerful, would dissipate a quarter of an hour later.

There would be no one other than Lin Mengya and her uncle knowing what they had talked about.

She walked briskly, deciding that she must do all she could to help Xiaoyu be the next Crown Prince of the Lieyun Empire before she returned to the Jin State!

Checking the time, Lin Mengya found it was time for Baisu to come to report the information she gathered today.

But when she turned a corner, someone blocked her way and said, “Greetings, Miss. My master would like to invite you over.”

At a glance, Lin Mengya could tell the person was none other than the personal manservant of Xin Luan.

She did not expect Xin Luan to summon her at this moment.

Nodding, Lin Mengya changed her mind and followed the manservant to the Xiannan Hall.

The spacious Xiannan Hall was as secluded and clear as before with nothing other than a desk and some books.

Lin Mengya followed the manservant into the room, bowed respectfully and properly to Xin Luan with her head down and said, “Greetings, reverend sir.”

Xin Luan, sitting behind the desk, lifted his eyes to look at the ravishing lady in front of him.

His eyes were as serene and restrained as before, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

“Straighten up. Since you are my sister’s trusted maid, you don’t have to be over courteous to me. The tea you brought last time was great. I’m wondering if I have the luck to drink another cup of tea made by you,” he said in an indifferent and cold tone.

Xin Luan still assumed a haughty mien in front of all people other than Madame Jingrou.

Lin Mengya agreed and then took the tea set from the manservant.

She didn’t expect him to prepare the medicinal materials she had used.

It seemed this High Priest was also an expert in medicinal materials.

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After carefully taking a proper amount of tea leaves and medicinal materials, Lin Mengya put them in boiling water for the first time.

It was not until the third time she put them in boiling water that the tea became fragrant.

As time went by, the fragrance became increasingly strong.