Shangguan Wanning was so frightened that her whole body froze.
At this moment, a strong arm held her waist, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear: "Ning'er, don't be afraid, it's me."
"Jingrui?" Shangguan Wanning thought she was hallucinating. She leaned into Mu Jingrui's arms until she felt his breath. Her throbbing heart barely calmed down. "Jingrui, is it really you?"
"I'm here, don't be afraid." Mu Jingrui hugged Shangguan Wanning, patted her back gently and comforted her, "Silly girl, I'm sorry, I'm late."
Shangguan Wanning shook her head vigorously. With Mu Jingrui by her side, she felt much more at ease.
"You...how did you get here?"
"You said that, you left a letter at home and left. Your mother was so worried about you that she couldn't eat or sleep. I asked the emperor for leave and lied that I was going back to my hometown to worship my ancestors, so that I could leave the capital to find you."
Shangguan Wanning calmed down and hesitated to speak.
She didn't know how to express her feelings to Mu Jingrui at the moment.
"Don't say anything. Now that we're here, let's give it a try." Mu Jingrui held Shangguan Wanning's hand tightly. He noticed that she was still shaking and felt distressed.
Just now, for Shangguan Wanning, it must have been an unbearable nightmare.
"Really... it will be very dangerous..." Shangguan Wanning said softly, "I don't want you to take risks for me..."
"Shangguan Wanning, if you keep saying that, I'll really leave." Mu Jingrui said this, but he tightened his grip on her hand. "I also encountered some spiders and centipedes when I came in just now. Spider silk is poisonous, and spiders rely on light to sense our presence. So, the torches cannot be lit."
Is spider silk poisonous?
Shangguan Wanning actually guessed it, but she didn't know how poisonous it was.
The red and swollen area just now doesn't seem to feel much now.
"But without the torches...we can't see the road."
"I'll carry you."
For Mu Jingrui, his profound internal strength is enough to allow him to see in the dark.
Shangguan Wanning jumped up, lay on Mu Jingrui's back, and asked, "What should we do next?"
"I've already explored the cave at the fork in the road. There's another fork in the road not far ahead. I estimate that there must be many forks in this cave, but the final destination must be somewhere, and we can get there no matter which way we go. I'm just not sure which road has fewer traps, so I'll have to try my luck."
Mu Jingrui kept walking forward, and he felt that he had stepped on no less than five snakes to death.
Fortunately he came. If Shangguan Wanning was alone, she would have been scared to death.
Only when he no longer heard anything above his head did he dare to light the tinder and put Shangguan Wanning down.
"ah!"
Shangguan Wanning screamed, and Mu Jingrui followed her gaze and saw two skeletons lying beside them, each with several rusty arrows stuck in their bodies.
"It seems that Doctor Lu is not trying to scare me. There really are people who came in to break through and haven't left." Shangguan Wanning sighed secretly.
They just wanted to seek medical treatment, but ended up losing their lives here. How sad their families must be when they return.
Shangguan Wanning felt a little bit reluctant, so she stepped forward to cover the bones with a handkerchief and stepped on them.
“Crack!”
"careful!"
Mu Jingrui's face changed slightly. He rushed over, hugged Shangguan Wanning and rolled on the ground. Several sharp arrows shot out from the wall and almost swept past his face.
He pulled Shangguan Wan Ning to her feet, and with the soft power of his palms, he sent her to a safe place. He drew out the soft sword wrapped around his waist and simply rushed forward.
Mu Jingrui was agile and he dodged the arrows while destroying the mechanism.
After a long time, peace finally returned to the surroundings.
Shangguan Wanning ran over and grabbed Mu Jingrui's hand, and asked with concern: "How are you? Are you hurt?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the oil lamps hanging on the walls on both sides suddenly lit up automatically.
Suddenly, there was plenty of light.
Mu Jingrui and Shangguan Wanning looked ahead and saw that there seemed to be a stone chamber in front of them, emitting a faint orchid-like light.
The two looked at each other, then walked over carefully holding hands.
The stone room was not big, with a stone table in the middle. On the stone table were ten boxes made of cowhide.
There were seven or eight skeletons lying in a disorderly manner in the stone chamber.
Judging from their appearance, the time of their death was different.
"Are those the medical books that Doctor Lu mentioned?" Shangguan Wanning showed joy on her face and couldn't help but rush over.
"Don't move."
Mu Jingrui held Shangguan Wanning's wrist and said calmly, "Look at these people. They have come here, but they still died. This means... this stone chamber is not as simple as you see."
Shangguan Wanning suppressed her excitement and looked around.
"Stand here and wait for me." After Mu Jingrui gave the instructions, he walked forward step by step.
When he walked to the stone table, nothing happened. He became more alert. He stared at the cowhide box on the stone table.
Shangguan Wanning also looked around. For some reason, her eyes were fixed on the corpses and she couldn't move them away. Heartbreaking scenes appeared before her eyes.
She saw her entire family being ordered to be killed by Xiao Zhenting and hung on the city gate; she saw Mu Jingrui breaking through the city gate and abducting her as a concubine; she saw her being kept and tortured by him day and night, and she couldn't tell whether it was a unique doting or an unquestionable possession.
Shangguan Wanning felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms and oozing bright red blood.
"Mu Jingrui, I'm going to kill you."
Shangguan Wanning suddenly pounced over and grabbed Mu Jingrui's neck.
Mu Jingrui was caught off guard. It would have been easy for him to push Shangguan Wanning away, but he didn't know where she got the strength from, and pushing her away would definitely hurt her.
“Ning’er…”
Mu Jingrui had no choice but to hold Shangguan Wanning's pulse, and she indeed loosened her grip in pain.
"Ning'er, what's wrong with you?"
"Mu Jingrui, I hate you so much. It was you who killed my parents and destroyed my innocence. You kept me by your side for three years but never gave me a legitimate status. You made me suffer from bullying and humiliation..."
"What are you talking about?" Mu Jingrui saw Shangguan Wanning's eyes were bloodshot, completely devoid of the light she once had. "Ning'er, listen to me..."
Shangguan Wanning pounced on him again, and Mu Jingrui had no choice but to take a few steps back.
Suddenly, the stone slab under Shangguan Wanning's feet flipped over and she fell down.
Mu Jingrui jumped over almost without thinking and grabbed her arm.
He found that Shangguan Wanning's entire arm was purple-purple.
"Ning'er, are you poisoned?"
As soon as Mu Jingrui finished speaking, he heard the sound of a mechanism being activated.
Countless sharp arrows shot towards him. If he wanted to protect himself, he had to let go of Shangguan Wanning's hand.
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