Chapter 67. Feng Yu is missing.
Chapter 67
Princess Jinling's name was Li Xunyin. Shen Suining had heard her mother mention her before, and she couldn't believe that the skeleton in front of her was He Changxin.
However, before she could calm down, the stone walls around the underground palace suddenly began to move, and strange thick smoke spewed from the mouths of the lion heads on the walls. The two of them were immediately terrified.
With their path blocked, the two could only hurriedly flee back the way they came, hoping to retreat back to Tianji Palace. However, after the stone wall shifted, the secret passage seemed to lead nowhere. Before they could even catch their breath, they were met with a hail of arrows.
Shen Suining swung her sword to defend herself, trying to find a new path by sticking close to the stone wall. However, the arrows that were shot out struck a mechanism on the stone wall, and the ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked open, leaving her body suspended in mid-air and weightless.
"Young Master!" After a cry of surprise, Shen Fengyu's voice inexplicably disappeared into the darkness.
The torch that had fallen to the ground shone dimly, and Shen Suining struggled with all her might to climb up the crack.
Suddenly, Shen Suining caught a glimpse of the scene below the crack out of the corner of her eye. It was a very deep ravine, the bottom of which was covered with sharp blades. Anyone who fell into it would be instantly pierced through.
She saw several skeletons in bizarre positions below, their empty eyes seemingly staring directly in her direction. Shen Suining was horrified. As her strength gave way, the cracks rapidly closed, and endless darkness engulfed her in an instant. She seemed to have no time to react before she was about to face death.
In that instant, someone grabbed her forearm and desperately pulled her up just as the crack was about to close.
Shen Suining knelt on the ground, still shaken, her body trembling uncontrollably, until the person spoke, gently comforting her, "Ningning, don't be afraid, it's me."
He Hansheng's voice finally broke through Shen Suining's long-tense psychological defenses. She hugged the person in front of her tightly, gritted her teeth and suppressed her emotions. After a long while, she finally spoke: "He Hansheng, Feng Yu... is gone."
The underground palace they were in was riddled with traps and even the ground beneath it was fraught with danger. Shen Fengyu had just disappeared in an instant, most likely falling into a crevice. Shen Suining was on the verge of a breakdown when she thought about what had happened at the bottom of the crevice.
She dared not think too deeply, and only spoke in a trembling voice, "It was I who asked Lingrui and the others to come to this kind of dangerous place, and it was I who insisted on bringing Fengyu to find them. He Hansheng, do you think it's so dark here, with dead bodies everywhere? The three of them are all girls, won't they feel cold? Won't they be scared?"
"Ningning, Ningning, calm down," He Hansheng said softly, trying to get her to listen to him. "The stone wall suddenly moved just now, so Feng Yu should be trapped with Jiang Yuchu now. She'll be fine, and Ling Rui and Yan Zhen will be fine too. Don't overthink things, okay?"
His broad, kind hand gently stroked her back, and he kept comforting her in a warm voice. After a long time, Shen Suining finally recovered from the fear of being on the verge of death.
He Hansheng slowly released her and reached out to remove the mask from her face, but when he tried to touch her cheek, Shen Suining turned her head away.
His fingers paused slightly, as if he understood something. He didn't insist, but helped her to her feet. "This is Kaiyang Palace, which belongs to the Wuqu Star. It's probably the place with the most traps and hidden weapons. Let's find a way to get to Yuheng first."
Shen Suining opened her mouth, recalling the scene she had just witnessed at Tianxuan Palace. Amidst the corpses scattered everywhere, He Changxin's remains were pierced by countless arrows, kneeling on the ground. It was hard to imagine what kind of fierce battle he had experienced before his death, and what kind of state of mind he had when he left behind the powerful word "hatred" on the ground.
Following the method to break the Seven Palaces Formation, he exited Tianxuan and entered Tianshu. He was only one step away from surviving.
Shen Suining closed her eyes. She had only heard snippets about He Changxin from others, knowing that he was a tough and valiant man on the battlefield and a peerless hero who valued loyalty and righteousness. Even she, who had never met him, felt extremely sad when facing He Changxin's remains. She dared not imagine what He Hansheng would feel.
While Shen Suining was deep in thought, He Hansheng had already found the location of the secret passage connecting to Yuheng, but the passage was blocked by a stone wall and could not be opened no matter what he did.
There are mechanisms everywhere here. The mechanism to open the stone wall is probably among them, but there is a greater chance that you will trigger hidden weapons or cracks.
Seeing He Hansheng remain motionless, Shen Suining paused for a moment before speaking, "We had just found the secret passage to Tian Shu, but the stone wall suddenly moved, forcing us back here. Now even the Bagua formation has been altered. He Hansheng—"
Her expression was grave. "Have we been discovered?"
He Hansheng didn't speak, but picked up the torch on the ground and relit it. Then, he took Shen Suining's hand, carefully avoided the traps, and pried open another secret passage.
"What is this?" Shen Suining recalled the direction of the Bagua formation, unsure of where this secret passage led.
He Hansheng explained: "Beyond the Big Dipper, there are two stars that are gradually disappearing, known as 'Seven Appearing and Two Hidden.' This place should lead to the Dongming Palace outside the Seven Palaces. Since the person who set up the formation can control it from behind, they must have already entered the formation. Since the two hidden stars are outside the Seven Palaces, they must be a place that is connected to the Seven Palaces but is relatively safe."
Shen Suining suddenly realized.
She had previously heard Shen Yan mention the mysteries of the Seven Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation. Soldiers could deploy according to the formation and change positions at will, allowing for both offense and defense. If someone entered the formation and could not escape unscathed in time, they would inevitably be trapped inside and become a prisoner of war.
There are two ways to break this formation. One is to find the correct pattern and direction and go straight to Tian Shu according to the route of the Seven Palaces. The other is to destroy the main forces set up in Dongming and Yinyuan. The latter is "hidden", which means that it cannot be easily found in the formation. It is like the seven-inch spot of a snake. Once it is broken, the entire formation will collapse instantly.
Knowing that He Hansheng understood how to break the Seven Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation better than she did, Shen Suining finally felt relieved and couldn't help but tease him, "He Hansheng, you're pretty amazing. You can even break such a difficult formation."
He Hansheng smiled faintly and said softly, "I've only heard my father mention it before."
Shen Suining instantly stopped smiling and fell silent.
Compared to other underground palaces, Dongming Palace is slightly more spacious, more like a cave. The stone walls here are engraved with complete array diagrams and corresponding locations of some mechanisms. However, the diagrams are covered with cobwebs and dust. Only the locations of Tianxuan Palace and Kaiyang Palace, which Shen Suining had just visited, show signs of being touched.
Shen Suining instantly became alert, gripping her sword with her thumb pressing against the hilt.
The cave was brighter than the underground palace. When the light from outside shone in, Shen Suining finally noticed that He Hansheng had injuries on his back and hands, like the arrows that had hit him in Kaiyang Palace. He had pulled the arrows out of his hand at some point, which was why Shen Suining hadn't noticed them in the darkness. Now his clothes were stained red.
Shen Suining was immediately alarmed, "He Hansheng, your injury..."
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," He Hansheng said, raising his arm to shield Shen Suining behind him, his expression serious. "That person is still here."
Shen Suining hummed in response, then turned around to face him back to back, both becoming wary.
Those who practice martial arts have very keen hearing, and the two quickly discovered each other's hiding place.
After exchanging glances, the two nodded to each other. As Shen Suining crouched down, she pressed the blade of her sword into a crack in the rock not far in front of her. Meanwhile, He Hansheng leaped over her head and, the moment the rock wall was pried open, he kicked the man hard across the chest, sending him flying and crashing to the ground.
The man was extremely short, hunched over on the ground like a nimble monkey, baring his teeth and kicking his feet, before quickly getting up and jumping around.
He was dressed in black cloth, with a straw raincoat draped over his back and a straw hat on his head. His face was covered with white powder, and his features were drawn with ink strokes, creating a face that looked like it was both crying and laughing, like someone performing in an opera, yet with an indescribable eeriness.
Shen Suining was startled and instinctively cried out, "What kind of monster is this?"
As they were talking, the monster had already started sparring with He Hansheng. Shen Suining watched for a moment and then realized that this person was probably the strange witness that Wei Zhao had mentioned.
This man's martial arts skills were very poor. He Hansheng toyed with him like a monkey, and he took a solid beating, after which he made strange, babbling noises.
Shen Suining originally disdained bullying the weak with numbers, but in order to save time, she quickly joined the fight. The two cooperated tacitly and soon pinned the man to the ground.
"Who are you?" He Hansheng asked in a deep voice, pinning the man to the ground with his hands behind his back.
Sensing that the two were up to no good, the man struggled several times to no avail, then gave up on getting up. Instead, he turned his head and took out a small packet of white powder from his collar and blew it forcefully at He Hansheng. The powder exploded instantly, choking He Hansheng and causing him to lose his grip. He broke free in an instant, and in the chaos, he took a solid kick from Shen Suining and was knocked back to the stone wall.
"Are you alright?" Shen Suining supported He Hansheng. She touched the wound on his back and clearly felt a warm liquid gushing out.
He Hansheng replied, "It's nothing," adjusted his inner energy, and was about to step forward when Shen Suining blocked his way.
"Ningning?" He Hansheng was both amused and exasperated as he watched Shen Suining shield him like a chick.
"Shut up," Shen Suining hissed. "If you collapse, I can't carry you. If you keep nagging, I'll throw you into this cave to feed the monsters!"
He Hansheng reluctantly replied, "Okay."
The "monster" leaned against the stone wall, panting, spitting out a lot of blood. Its expression was unreadable, neither crying nor laughing. It only wrinkled its nose and scratched its ears and cheeks, using body language to express its dissatisfaction.
Knowing that these two wouldn't let him go, and that he was indeed no match for them, the "monster" suddenly stuck out his tongue and made a face at them, then pressed a mechanism on the stone wall, causing thick smoke to instantly spew from the mouths of the stone lions on the wall.
The "monster" grinned, revealing a wide smile, and danced around with obvious smugness.
Shen Suining knew something was wrong and immediately retreated to He Hansheng's side, stuffing an antidote into his mouth. The two of them used the Turtle Breathing Technique to hold their breath and prevent the smoke from entering their bodies.
However, they couldn't hold on for long, and both collapsed in the smoke.
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