Chapter 330: Ruler

The entrance to the basement was narrow, likely only wide enough for one person to pass through. When it opened, the mechanism creaked due to age and disrepair.

Hu Xiner took two quick steps and came to the entrance of the basement. It was dark inside and there was only a faint trace of stairs.

A smell of decay and dust emanated faintly from the entrance, carrying with it a chilling chill.

Just at this moment, a gust of wind blew, the bamboo forest rustled, and the elongated bamboo shadows twisted on the ground, like countless ghosts and monsters.

Hu Xiner shuddered, and she hesitated and retracted her foot, which was about to extend.

Yin Li stood up and raised an eyebrow. "How is it? When encountering such a matter, it's still up to this Pavilion Master to decide, right?"

Before Hu Xiner could answer, he sensitively noticed that something was wrong with Hu Xiner, and a smile flashed in his fox eyes.

Hu Xin'er said absentmindedly, "Yeah, you're really great—ah! There's a ghost!"

Yin Li actually secretly walked behind her and pushed her gently.

Because she was frightened, Hu Xiner lost her balance and was about to fall into the basement.

Yin Li originally just wanted to tease her, but who knew she would have such a big reaction?

"Be careful!" Seeing that Hu Xin'er was not standing firmly, his eyes flashed, and in a flash, he gently placed his right hand on the back of Hu Xin'er's waist, which gave Hu Xin'er the strength to regain her balance.

Then he grabbed Hu Xiner's wrist and pulled her to the ground.

Hu Xin'er patted her chest with lingering fear. Looking at Yin Li's expression of trying not to laugh, she was completely furious: "Why did you scare me?"

"Who knew you were so timid?" Yin Li pulled out a fan and opened it quickly, his smile making him look even more annoying.

"You!" Hu Xin'er originally wanted to say, you are obviously taking revenge because your confession was rejected.

But then I thought again, this was not an appropriate thing to say, so I endured it.

Yin Li spread his hands: "So, do you dare to go in?"

Hu Xiner really wanted to step in to prove her fearless courage and wash away the shame of being frightened just now.

But she really didn't dare!

"We've finally gotten to this place. I can't possibly back down just because of a little bit of fear, right?" Hu Xiner encouraged herself, and her mood slowly calmed down.

She kept repeating in her heart, I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid...

Then, one foot stepped into the dark and narrow entrance.

The chill immediately climbed up along the beaded shoes and seeped into every part of her body, making Hu Xin'er shiver with cold.

Seeing that she was so scared but still stepped into the tunnel so firmly, Yin Li couldn't help but have a complicated expression.

Hu Xin'er was about to take her second step when she suddenly stopped and turned to ask, "Yin Li, there won't be any traps in here, right?"

Her face was filled with worry.

If she were to take the risk alone, she would still give it a try no matter how many traps there were ahead.

But now she is pregnant with a child.

She couldn't risk her child's life.

When Yin Li looked over, he suppressed his emotions and snorted arrogantly: "You finally thought of this problem?"

Hu Xin'er said embarrassedly, "I originally thought the basement was just a place to hide gold, silver, and jewelry, but it turns out it's hidden so deep. It doesn't look simple..."

Yin Li hit her on the head with the handle of the fan: "Stupid girl, you should learn to be smarter in the future!"

Hu Xin'er frowned, "I told you not to lecture me in that fatherly tone."

Yin Li felt helpless. Why was it that with the same actions and tone, Mu Qing acted dotingly while he acted like a father?

With a sour face, he complained in his heart: This girl Hu Xiner is too hypocritical!

Hu Xiner didn't want to give up this hard-earned opportunity after all, so she bravely put one foot down.

Seeing her trembling, Yin Li chuckled softly, as if mocking her but also hinting at something else: "Alright, go ahead boldly. I'm here with you, what are you afraid of?"

Hu Xiner took a deep breath and was about to go inside when she heard shouting outside.

"Oh no, it must be grandpa and the others who are back!" Hu Xiner's expression suddenly changed.

She ran out in two or three steps and said to Yin Li, "You leave first, I'll deal with them!"

Yin Li stretched out his hand and twisted it in the land temple, and the entrance to the basement slowly closed. He then used his internal force to stir up the dust nearby and cover the entrance, restoring the place to its original appearance.

So in the eyes of others, Hu Xiner just came to this woods to pick up kites and never found any basement entrance.

After making sure there were no mistakes, Yin Li used his lightness skills to leave.

Hu Xin'er looked around and finally saw her kite. She ran over to pick up the kite and walked into the bamboo forest as if nothing had happened.

When Old Master Liu and his servants came looking for her, she was walking to the edge of the woods with a kite with a broken string in her hand, her face full of innocence and surprise.

A wrinkled old woman shouted, "Master, Madam, I saw it with my own eyes. It was the Madam who broke into the forbidden area!"

The old lady also followed over. She scanned the place with a vicious look, trying to find evidence that Hu Xin'er had ulterior motives.

But the entire forbidden area had long been restored to its original state by Yin Li, and even the footprints had been covered up.

"Xin'er, why are you here?" Seeing that there was no sign of tampering here, Old Master Liu's expression relaxed a lot.

Hu Xin'er walked over with a smile: "My kite was blown over here, but the servants refused to help me pick it up, so I had to do it myself."

Old Master Liu's expression softened, but before he could say anything, the eldest old lady said earnestly, "Master, this is our Liu family's forbidden area. The last time Yan Chuo barged in, he was also beaten with a stick..."

The implication is that Hu Xiner should be punished!

Old Master Liu frowned and said, "Nonsense! Xin'er is pregnant, how can she accept a beating?"

However, the old lady insisted on accusing Hu Xiner of trespassing into a restricted area.

She only sighed in a pretentious manner: "Alas, I know that the master loves her, and in fact, how can I not feel sorry for her? But——"

She changed the subject: "House rules cannot be violated, so let her be spanked ten times in public!"

Hu Xin'er opened her eyes and pretended to be stupid: "Grandfather, why did you hit me?"

She pretended to be aggrieved and asked, "Can't I pick up a kite?"

The old lady narrowed her eyes slightly. "Xin'er, it's not that I don't love you, but I've already asked the servants. As a young lady, it's okay for you to secretly move the ladder by yourself, but it took you a full quarter of an hour to pick up the kite!"

Old Master Liu heard the hidden meaning in her words and frowned even more tightly: "Why are you saying this?"

The old lady smiled calmly and said, "I just want to ask our little lady what she has done in the past quarter of an hour!"