Chapter 98 Tomb Trap

Cui Mansion.

Li Junxian led a troop of soldiers to block the entrance of the Cui residence.

"Li Junxian, what is the meaning of your leading troops to surround my Cui residence?" Cui Yixuan stood at the gate and shouted sternly.

"Ordered to apprehend Samurai Go!"

"Whose orders are you on? And who said that Wu Shihuo is in my Cui residence?" Cui Yixuan retorted without hesitation.

"It is His Majesty's decree, of course." Li Junxian said with an upright expression.

"Bring me the imperial edict or decree so I can see it!" Cui Yixuan spread his hands.

"How dare you!"

Li Junxian shouted, "This is His Majesty's oral decree. Do you intend to disobey it?"

To everyone's surprise, Cui Yixuan simply gave a cold laugh.

"Li Junxian, even if you did have an imperial edict, do you think you can just search the Cui family of Qinghe as you please?"

Wow.

Everyone was shocked.

No one expected that Cui Yixuan would say such treasonous things.

"You can search me if you want!"

Cui Yixuan stepped down the stairs and looked directly at Li Junxian: "First, bring me the imperial edict; second, remove your helmets and weapons!"

"You are defying the imperial decree!" Li Junxian's expression was terrifyingly gloomy.

"Disobeying the imperial decree?"

Cui Yixuan leaned close to Li Junxian: "I now suspect that you are falsely conveying the imperial edict and intend to do something disloyal to my Qinghe Cui clan. Do you dare to come with me to confront His Majesty?"

Li Junxian narrowed his eyes.

Given the prestige of the Cui family of Qinghe, even if the matter were to reach His Majesty, it would ultimately come to nothing.

On the contrary, Li Junxian would leave a bad impression on Li Shimin as someone who was incompetent.

“Lord Cui, I’m not targeting the Cui family; I just want to arrest Wu Shihuo.” Li Junxian chose to back down.

"You went to Jingzhou to find Wu Shihuo, what are you doing at my Cui residence?" Cui Yixuan flicked his sleeve.

“Our spies saw Wu Shihuo coming and going from your Cui residence,” Li Junxian replied honestly.

"Oh?" Cui Yixuan smiled. "Is it possible that your spy just misread it?"

"Cui Yixuan, don't be stubborn and ask for trouble!"

Li Junxian roared, "Wu Shihuo entered Chang'an without an imperial edict, which is a serious crime of treason. You are harboring a criminal. Even the Cui family of Qinghe cannot protect him!"

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Cui Yixuan's face darkened.

"I'm just stating the facts!"

"Then try it. You definitely won't be able to get into the Cui residence today!"

Splash!

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of armed guards rushed out of the Cui residence.

Li Junxian's expression kept changing, and finally he snorted coldly and chose to withdraw his troops.

Even Li Shimin wouldn't dare to break ties with the Cui family, so how could he?

Meanwhile, next to the poison tree.

After making perfect preparations, Wei Shuyu led the group into the cave.

Inside the cave, the poison tree continued to grow, with many roots spreading out.

"Wrap your clothes up tightly, and be careful not to touch the poison tree."

Wei Shuyu blew on the tinderbox for light.

"Is this arrow poison tree really that poisonous?" Fang Yi'ai asked timidly.

"It's more toxic than you think, so you must be on your guard and don't touch anything indiscriminately," Wei Shuyu reiterated.

Wei Shuyu led the way, with the Ji people following cautiously behind.

"Ah!" Wu Qiqi.

"Ah!" Fang Yi'ai.

"Ah!" Qin Shan said.

"Awoo..." Choi Shin-ki

"What's wrong?" Wei Shuyu turned around nervously.

"No...it's nothing." Wu Qiqi blushed. "I just twisted my ankle."

"..."

"Qiqi, you can yell all you want, but can you please stop pinching my waist?" Choi Shinki said with a resentful look.

I'll try my best.

Wei Shuyu breathed a sigh of relief: "Keep your voices down, the people chasing us haven't gone far yet."

After exchanging a few words, the group continued on their way.

"ah!"

"ah!"

"ah!"

"Ouch..." Choi Shin-ki's eyes were almost filled with pain: "Seven, are you still pinching me?"

"I was the one who pinched her, but I didn't yell first," Wu Qiqi said embarrassedly.

The group all looked at Qin Shandao.

"I...it seems like we're standing on skulls and bones," Qin Shandao stammered.

"normal."

Wei Shuyu calmly replied, "They were just craftsmen who built the tomb and buried with the dead."

"If the Imperial Seal of the State was indeed buried with them, Ling Jing would definitely not allow them to spread the news."

As Wei Shuyu explained, the group gradually calmed down.

No matter how afraid they were, as long as Wei Shuyu was there, it was like a stabilizing force, making them feel at ease.

The group continued forward, and a stone gate appeared ahead.

I thought it would take some effort.

However, the growth of the roots of the poison tree directly pierced a corner of the stone gate.

Wei Shuyu pushed the stone gate down with only a little effort.

"Wow, this is the tomb."

The group gasped in surprise as they looked at the enormous stone coffin in the center of their room.

"Don't move."

Wei Shuyu interrupted, saying, "Generally speaking, such large tombs are very likely to have traps or mechanisms."

"You all stand here for now, I'll go scout ahead."

Wei Shuyu drew his dagger and cautiously advanced step by step.

With each step, Wei Shuyu would first step forward to test the ground.

Click.

It felt like I stepped on something.

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen crossbow bolts were fired from both sides.

Wei Shuyu rolled backward and dodged it.

"My goodness, is it really that scary?" Choi Shin-ki's eyes widened.

Wei Shuyu steadied himself and continued forward.

Click.

A short while later, he stepped on another mechanism.

Splash!

The ground he was standing on suddenly sank.

Fortunately, Wei Shuyu was quick and managed to grab the edge of the wall.

A quick glance down revealed nothing but sharp blades and iron spikes...

If you fall, you'll definitely be riddled with holes.

call.

Wei Shuyu let out a long sigh.

We should not underestimate the wisdom of the ancients.

"Watch out, big pot!"

Several people called out anxiously from behind.

"Stop shouting, or people outside will hear you."

Wei Shuyu climbed onto the ground and called out back.

A few meters away from the stone coffin, Wei Shuyu moved a few more steps closer.

Click.

He stepped on the mechanism again.

"..."

Why set up so many elaborate schemes for the adopted son of a deposed monarch?

Wei Shuyu hurriedly took a few steps back.

However, the imagined danger did not materialize.

A sound like a stream reached my ears...

Um?

Wei Shuyu's ears twitched slightly, and then he swept the tinderbox forward.

Water began to overflow from several holes.

wrong!

Is this mercury?

Damn it.

It was mercury that had been sealed for over a decade, so you can imagine the amount of mercury gas inside.

This is poison!

"withdraw."

Wei Shuyu showed no regret whatsoever.

Upon hearing this, the group did not hesitate at all.

"Big brother, are we just going to give up like this?"

Beside the poison tree, Choi Shin-ki felt a little resentful.

"Go ahead and go in if you miss."

Wei Shuyu glared at Cui Shenji: "Leave a ventilation opening; the mercury fumes will dissipate in a few days."

Based on the mercury vapor accumulated over the years and the ventilation openings in the cave, it should take about three days.

"Shall we go back to Chang'an now?" Fang Yi'ai asked.

"Not yet."

Wu Qiqi shook her head: "There should still be people watching at the foot of the mountain. Let's do it later."

"Is it okay to do it later?" Fang Yi'ai asked, puzzled.

"Their goal is the Imperial Seal of the State, not us. If it's not found in Dou Peng's tomb, they should leave soon."