Seeing Pei Yunyi's reaction, Song Xizhi knew that the situation below was not good.
She hurriedly grabbed the ladder with both hands and climbed down using both hands and feet. The lower she climbed, the more she could smell a pungent stench.
Once Song Xizhi had regained his footing and could see everything clearly, his pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran down his spine.
Beneath the altar lies another world, a huge secret chamber secretly carved out by someone, where many crosses are erected.
When Qing Tong and Si Qin climbed down the ladder, they were also completely shocked by what they saw.
Each cross had a person heavily chained to it, and each person was dressed in rags and covered in blood.
Some people still had skin and flesh, wrinkled and stuck to the flesh, while many more had turned into mummies.
Above each cross hangs a round object in the palm of a hand. The metal object swings from side to side, and if you listen carefully, you can hear a ticking sound.
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Song Xizhi stiffened and immediately turned to Pei Yunyi, speaking as follows:
"When the fake He Jingyan lured me into a dream, I also heard this ticking sound in my ear..."
"He Jingyan must be imprisoned here...he..."
Looking at the mummified corpses before him, Song Xizhi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a whooshing sound. Before Song Xizhi could react, she saw Pei Yunyi's expression suddenly turn sharp.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, then leaped into the air and pounced towards Song Xizhi again.
Pei Yunyi suddenly pulled Song Xizhi into his arms, then twisted his wrist and slashed the long sword in his hand at the arrow flying through the air.
At that moment, Qing Tong and Si Qin rushed towards Song Xizhi's direction at lightning speed. Song Xizhi also shouted at them, "Si Qin, there's an ambush here! Go upstairs and call for help!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than countless arrows flew toward them.
Fortunately, their hidden guards were already inside the temple. Hearing the commotion, they quickly climbed down the ladder into the cellar and surrounded Song Xizhi.
Seeing the large number of hidden guards, and noticing that the rain of arrows had ceased its attack, Pei Yunyi seemed to understand something. He smiled slightly and calmly spoke again:
“The enemy is weak while we are strong. This cellar can only be opened from the outside. So all those hiding in the shadows are nothing more than remnants of the Western Rong tribes who were abandoned by the Empress Dowager.”
“You are hiding in the shadows shooting arrows only because the odds of winning are slim, and you know you have no chance of defeating us.”
“If we hadn’t come, these people would have just been waiting to starve to death in the cellar. It is because of our arrival that you have a chance to survive. If you resist stubbornly, you will still die.”
As soon as Pei Yunyi finished speaking, the pitch-black cellar fell silent for a moment, and then a raging fire broke out again.
In the firelight, Pei Yunyi finally saw the people hidden in the darkness.
Perhaps because the Empress Dowager's people hadn't come to their aid for so long, they were all trapped in the cellar. Everyone was emaciated, their skin had turned an eerie blue, their hair and beards were thick, and their cheekbones were high and prominent.
In the very center of that group stood a middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader.
He stared intently in Pei Yunyi's direction with his cloudy eyes: "Let us go."
He spoke to Pei Yunyi.
Pei Yunyi stood still, gripping his longsword tightly: "On what grounds?"
The middle-aged man just smiled sinisterly, and slowly took a few steps to the side, revealing a person behind him.
The man was so thin he was practically skin and bones, his tall body covered in skeletal flesh. He was being held hostage, his two broken legs bent in a bizarre shape. He was barely able to stand, his consciousness completely clouded.
When Song Xizhi saw the person in front of him, and the small mole on the tip of his nose, his breath seemed to stop for a moment.
He is He Jingyan!
Seeing Song Xizhi's expression, the leader couldn't help but laugh smugly: "We'll trade the lives of a few of our lowly henchmen for this great general..."
Before he could finish speaking, Pei Yunyi had already reacted decisively.
A long sword was thrown from Pei Yunyi's hand, making a sharp whistling sound.
Before anyone could react, the longsword struck the leader squarely in the chest. The hilt was still trembling slightly, carrying a murderous aura.
Everyone panicked at that moment, but Pei Yunyi simultaneously leaped into the air, passed through the crowd, and tightly embraced He Jingyan.
All the hidden guards launched their attack at this moment.
The wounded soldiers, cornered and desperate, were no match for them, and they were all quickly subdued.
Song Xizhi hurriedly stepped forward to check on He Jingyan, who was in Pei Yunyi's arms.
He Jingyan seemed to realize something at this moment. He opened his eyes with great difficulty and saw Pei Yunyi's face at first glance.
Tears welled in his bloodshot eyes at that moment: "Your...Your Highness..."
Pei Yunyi's voice trembled uncontrollably. He clearly felt that the man in his arms at this moment was the brother he had fought alongside before: "Ayan! Ayan!"
He Jingyan opened his mouth, but was too weak to say anything, and then fell into a deep coma again.
Song Xizhi quickly grasped his pulse: "He has lost too much blood and is having difficulty breathing. We need to get him out of here right away."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi gave Song Xizhi another meaningful look: "Siqin, protect your master."
After saying this, he hurriedly carried He Jingyan out of the cellar.
Song Xizhi walked around the cellar and discovered many strange things.
Besides the various people bound on the cross, the cellar also contained many different secret rooms, each containing a large metal bed with various precision knives placed beside it.
Song Xizhi took the knives in his hands and examined them carefully. He found that these knives were somewhat similar to the scalpels his master used.
Besides, the tidy secret room was filled with all kinds of bottles and jars, each containing a mysterious liquid. Song Xizhi could not discern the purpose of these liquids with the naked eye.
However, she discovered that in the larger jars and pots, there were also many human remains.
Song Xizhi studied the secret room for a long time until the hidden guards had cleaned up the outside. Only then did Song Xizhi tell them to take everything from the secret room back.
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