Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 262: Dark clouds cover the sky, crisis reappears

Wu Tao suppressed her inner uneasiness and tried to pretend that nothing had happened, holding Hu Bugui's arm and continued to walk forward. However, with every step she took, she could feel the cold gazes following her like a venomous snake's tongue, which was creepy.

"Taotao, are you feeling unwell?" Hu Bugui keenly noticed Wu Tao's abnormality and asked with concern, "Why do you look so bad?"

"I'm fine. Maybe I'm too tired from work lately." Wu Tao forced a smile, trying to hide his inner fear.

They came to the hot pot restaurant and found a seat by the window. The steaming hot pot and the fragrant dishes could not dispel the haze in Wu Tao's heart. She turned her head to look out the window from time to time, always feeling that those sneaky figures were hiding in the crowd, waiting for an opportunity to move.

"Don't look, they've already left." Hu Bugui said in a low voice, with an imperceptible solemnity in his tone.

Wu Tao looked at Hu Bugui in surprise and asked in a low voice, "Did you see it too?"

Hu Bugui nodded, put a piece of boiled tripe into Wu Tao's bowl, and said softly: "They have followed us since we left home. It's better to be safe than sorry, let's wait and see what happens."

Wu Tao had no appetite for the meal and felt uneasy. After finally finishing the meal, she and Hu Bugui quickly got up and left the hot pot restaurant.

Along the way, Hu Bugui deliberately changed his route, trying to get rid of the pursuers behind him. However, those people seemed to be well prepared and always kept a distance from them.

Back at the villa, Wu Tao's heartbeat quickened, and an ominous premonition came over her. She hurriedly took out the key and opened the door, but the scene before her stunned her.

The originally warm and tidy living room was now in a mess, with furniture falling to the ground and broken porcelain and glass fragments scattered all over the floor, as if it had been through a fierce fight. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and a chill suddenly rose in their hearts.

"Oh no! A magic weapon for time travel!" Wu Tao exclaimed and rushed to the study.

In the study, the safe that originally stored the magic weapon of time travel was pried open by brute force. It was empty inside, with only a few scattered documents. Wu Tao's face was pale, and he sat on the ground powerlessly, muttering to himself: "How could this happen... How could this happen..."

Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's hand tightly and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, we will definitely find them."

However, he knew in his heart that things were far more complicated and dangerous than he had imagined. Who were those people? Why did they steal the magic weapon for time travel?

At this moment, a breeze blew, and the curtains of the study fluttered gently, revealing a vague figure. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui turned their heads at the same time, and saw a man in a black cloak standing outside the window. Under the moonlight, he was wearing a silver mask, and his face could not be seen clearly, only a pair of cold eyes flashing cold light.

He slowly raised his hand, pointed at Wu Tao, and said in a low and hoarse voice: "You... follow me..."

Wu Tao's heart suddenly shrank, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. The voice of the man in black seemed to come from the depths of hell, with a suffocating sense of oppression. She subconsciously grasped Hu Bugui's arm, her body trembling slightly. Hu Bugui protected her behind him, staring at the mysterious man outside the window with a sharp gaze, and asked in a deep voice: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

The man in black ignored Hu Bugui and just repeated coldly: "You... follow me..." As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flashed and turned into a black shadow, rushing straight towards Wu Tao.

"Be careful!" Hu Bugui shouted, pushing Wu Tao away and punching the man in black. However, his fist seemed to hit the air, with no force. The man in black easily dodged his attack and approached Wu Tao again.

At this critical moment, a dazzling golden light suddenly descended from the sky, covering the man in black. The man in black let out a painful roar, and his body twisted violently, as if he was imprisoned by an invisible force.

The golden light faded, and an old man in a white robe holding a golden staff appeared out of thin air in the room. His hair and beard were all white, his face was kind, but his eyes were extremely sharp.

"Guardian of Time and Space?" Hu Bugui recognized the old man's identity at a glance, and a glimmer of hope suddenly ignited in his heart.

The Guardian of Time and Space ignored Hu Bugui and turned his gaze to Wu Tao, saying gently: "Don't be afraid, kid. I'm here. No one can hurt you."

Wu Tao was still in shock and stared blankly at the old man in front of him, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Who are they? Why did they capture me? Why did they steal the magic weapon for time travel?" Wu Tao finally found his voice and asked anxiously.

The Guardian of Time and Space sighed and said slowly, "They are the remnants of a mysterious organization. They have been trying to use the power of the magic weapon to disrupt the order of time and space. This time, they used an ancient magic to temporarily block the signal of the magic weapon, so we can't track its whereabouts."

"What?" Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's faces suddenly turned even uglier when they heard this. They never thought that things would be so tricky.

"What should we do now?" Wu Tao asked anxiously.

The Spacetime Guardian pondered for a moment and said, "The most urgent task now is to find the magic weapon for time travel as soon as possible and never let them succeed. Child, do you still remember the place where the magic weapon for time travel last appeared?"

Wu Tao tried hard to recall, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he said, "I remember that night, I had a dream. I dreamed that I was on an ancient altar..."

The Guardian of Time and Space nodded and said, "It seems that your dream is not accidental. Child, you need to come with me. Only by finding that altar can you unlock the seal of the magic weapon of time travel."

Wu Tao said without hesitation: "Okay, I'll go with you!"

Hu Bugui grabbed Wu Tao's hand and said firmly: "I'll go with you!"

The Guardian of Time and Space looked at them deeply and said, "That's good. One more person means more strength. Let's set off now without further ado!" After he finished speaking, he waved his staff, and a golden light enveloped the three of them, and they disappeared in the room in an instant.

At the same time, on a barren mountain hundreds of kilometers away from the villa, the man in black was standing in a dark cave, reporting the situation to a mysterious man in a black robe and a mask.

"Master, we have failed. The Guardian of Time and Space has appeared..."

After listening to the report from the man in black, the man in black robe remained silent, with a suffocating chill all over his body. After a long time, he slowly spoke, his voice low and hoarse, as if it came from the depths of hell: "Guardian of time and space... It seems that our plan has to be advanced..." The guardian of time and space took Wu Tao and Hu Bugui and traveled through the time and space tunnel. The dazzling golden light made it impossible for them to open their eyes, and there was only the whistling wind and the humming of time and space distortion in their ears. After an unknown amount of time, they finally landed on the ground, and in front of them was a desolate valley, with gusts of cold wind and a strange atmosphere.

"Where...is this place?" Wu Tao looked around and felt that it was desolate and gloomy, different from any place he had seen before.

"This is a crack in time and space, a hub connecting different time and space." The Guardian of Time and Space explained, "The remnants of the mysterious organization are hiding here, and they are conducting an extremely dangerous experiment."

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent energy fluctuation suddenly came from a cave not far away. The Guardian of Time and Space's face changed, and he said in a deep voice: "Not good, they have already started the experiment!"

The three of them quickly sneaked into the cave, only to see that the cave was brightly lit, various complex instruments and equipment were running, and a group of men in black were busy operating them. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui hid in the dark, observing carefully, trying to find the whereabouts of the magic weapon.

"They are researching a new technology that can control time and space!" Hu Bugui lowered his voice, his tone full of worry, "If they succeed, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Wu Tao also realized the seriousness of the situation. She clenched her fists and whispered, "We must stop them!"

They decided to find a way to destroy the experimental equipment first. While the men in black were not paying attention, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui sneaked into the laboratory and prepared to tamper with the core device. However, just when they were about to succeed, the alarm suddenly rang throughout the cave.

"who?!"

Dozens of men in black rushed in from all directions and surrounded them. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui stood back to back, watching the men in black around them warily, ready for battle.

"You have been surrounded! Just surrender!"

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui fought hard, but they were outnumbered and eventually fell into the trap. They were tied up by the men in black and escorted to a dark room.

"Who are you? Why are you stopping us?" A mysterious man in a black robe and a mask slowly walked up to them and asked in a cold tone.

"You want to control time and space and disrupt order, but we will never let you succeed!" Wu Tao looked at him fearlessly, his eyes full of determination.

The black-robed man sneered and said, "Humph, you overestimate your own abilities! Do you think you can stop us?"

At this moment, the door of the room was suddenly opened, and a familiar voice came: "Who said there were only two of them?"

"Who said there were only two of them?" With this shout, the door was knocked open by a powerful force, and wood chips flew everywhere. The dazzling sunlight poured in from outside the door. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui squinted their eyes and saw a tall and familiar figure standing at the door.

"General Pei!" Wu Tao shouted in surprise. The man who came was none other than their good friend, General Pei, who had fought side by side with them in the Tang Dynasty.

Following General Pei, several more people came in one after another. They were Doctor Li, Ah Fu, Chunhua... They were all Wu Tao's closest friends in the Tang Dynasty. At this moment, they all stood in front of Wu Tao and Hu Bugui with firm eyes and weapons tightly grasped in their hands.

"Why are you here?" Hu Bugui asked in surprise.

"We got the news that you were in trouble here, so we used the magic weapon you left behind..." General Pei lowered his voice and pointed at the jade pendant on Wu Tao's neck, "We traveled through time and space to save you!"

It turned out that Hu Bugui had been prepared. He was worried that Wu Tao would be in danger again, so he told the secret of the magic weapon of time travel to General Pei and others, and left a part of the power of the magic weapon so that they could come to help at the critical moment.

"Great, you're here!" Wu Tao was very excited. With the help of these friends, they had a greater hope of escaping.

"Follow us!" General Pei waved his hand, and everyone started a fierce fight with the men in black.

Wu Tao and Hu Bugui also took the opportunity to break free from the ropes and joined the battle. They fought fiercely with the men in black, with swords flashing and shouts of killing shaking the earth.

"Don't even think about escaping!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the man in black robe became angry and swung the sword in his hand, attacking Wu Tao, Hu Bugui and others.

"Protect the princess!" General Pei and others fought desperately, covering Wu Tao and Hu Bugui's retreat out of the cave.

After a desperate fight, they finally rushed out of the cave and escaped the encirclement of the men in black.

"Let's go!" The Guardian of Time and Space opened the door of time and space, signaling everyone to leave quickly.

Wu Tao, Hu Bugui and others did not dare to fight and jumped into the gate of time and space.

However, just when they were about to leave, a man in black robe suddenly appeared. He had a ferocious face and held tightly in his hand an object shining with golden light. It was Wu Tao's jade pendant!

"Leave the magic weapon behind!" The black-robed man laughed wildly and raised the jade pendant in his hand high...