When Tuoba Ze gently pushed the door open a crack, Yi Shangyun clearly felt a chilling airflow that was much colder than the secret room she and Yu Niang had just been in.
Just as she was hesitating, Tuoba Ze suddenly turned around and said to her in a tone that seemed to be both a reminder and a warning, "There will be no light inside for a long time, so you must be careful and stick close to me."
"There is no light, but isn't what you're holding in your hand the light itself?" Yi Shangyun blurted out without thinking, looking at the oil lamp in his hand. She felt that there was something hidden in his words, which seemed rather inexplicable and mysterious.
Unexpectedly, Tuoba Ze simply smiled mysteriously at what she said and then strode in through the door.
"This, this is an underground tunnel!" Yi Shangyun followed his footsteps and stepped inside, immediately stunned. It turned out that the last door did not lead to a secret room.
By the faint light of the candle in Tuoba Ze's hand, a dark, seemingly endless underground tunnel could be vaguely seen.
Yi Shangyun suddenly realized. So the Wanjiao Pavilion really was full of traps and mechanisms; they had prepared for their escape from the very beginning if their scheme were discovered. No wonder His Highness Prince Qin had surrounded the Wanjiao Pavilion for days without making a move; he must not have found the secret chamber of the Wanjiao Pavilion, nor had he found Tuoba Ze himself. This prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom was truly treacherous and cunning, with far-reaching schemes!
Just as Yi Shangyun was about to quietly take a step back, for some reason, even though she didn't feel she had touched any mechanism, the door suddenly clicked shut and closed tightly on its own.
"Trying to escape? Hmph... Too late. Let me tell you, this secret passage was designed by me personally. Its opening and closing mechanism is one-time use; once someone opens the door and enters, it will automatically close. No one will be able to open this door again, and since it hasn't been opened, it won't close again. Unless..." Seeing that Yi Shangyun still hadn't given up on escaping, Tuoba Ze snorted and said with a proud expression.
"Unless what?" Yi Shangyun asked curiously when he stopped speaking before finishing his sentence.
Tuoba Ze gave her a strange look at her extremely serious expression, then leaned close to her ear and said in an extremely ambiguous tone, "In short, don't even think about escaping anymore, it's useless. In this lifetime, this prince will never let you go..."
However, seeing that Yi Shangyun remained unmoved and her gaze was still persistent and determined, she finally told her, with a look of frustration, how to open the mysterious door again: "To open this door, it's actually quite simple, unless you have the ability to raze this Wanjiao Pavilion to the ground. However, I suppose that underground tunnel will also cease to exist by then."
Hearing Tuoba Ze's extremely smug, proud, and arrogant words, Yi Shangyun was immediately enraged and said, "Tuoba Ze...you...you are simply insane. According to you, if Wanjiao Pavilion collapses in such a deep tunnel, wouldn't all the buildings along this tunnel be affected?"
However, Tuoba Ze seemed completely unconcerned upon hearing this, as if he were enjoying and even hoping for it to be so.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Yi Shangyun's hand tightly, then dragged her along to the other end of the tunnel.
The faint candlelight he held revealed a somewhat ferocious glint in his eyes. As he walked, he said in a deep voice, "Insane? Hmph, this prince will not care about any of your slanderous words. Because one day, this prince will let you see with your own eyes what true insaneness really is. Before long, it will be clear who truly calls the shots on this entire Spirit Void Continent; who is the true master of this world; and of course, you will ultimately become nothing more than my appendage. And your words now will only strengthen my resolve."
"Don't even think about it! Let me go! Let me go! I can walk by myself. Tuoba Ze, you're dreaming! His Highness the Prince of Qin will never let you go. He will definitely not let your evil scheme succeed." Yi Shangyun struggled desperately to free his hand from Tuoba Ze's tight grip, and suddenly realized that he had once again uttered the words "His Highness the Prince of Qin."
She then thought to herself, "Is it really true that we only learn to cherish something when we lose it?! Right now, it seems that following Tuoba Ze means there's no hope of ever returning. I wonder if, in the short six months I've spent in Western Qin, anyone has felt even a little bit sad because of her departure?"
However, as soon as he said this, Tuoba Ze immediately locked his gaze back onto her eyes, and instantly froze, turning around to glare at her fiercely.
After a long pause, Yi Shangyun stared at him, seemingly still a little scared, and blinked. Tuoba Ze, however, suddenly spoke with a ferocious grin, as if gritting his teeth, "Prince Qin? Prince Qin Xuanyuan Han? Hmph... If I hadn't been misled by that mysterious legend that spread throughout the entire Lingkong Continent, I would have torn him to pieces long ago. How could I have allowed him to dare to attack the Wanjiao Pavilion that I have painstakingly built up?"
After saying this, Tuoba Ze continued on his way, holding the lantern in one hand and dragging his clothes on the cloud with the other.
"A mysterious legend that has spread throughout the entire Lingkong? What... what legend?" Yi Shangyun asked curiously as she walked and stopped reluctantly.
Tuoba Ze led the way, then suddenly his eyes lit up as he walked and said, “By the way, I heard that your father was a great pharmacist in the Western Qin Imperial Palace, and you also worked as a pharmacist in the palace. Have you ever heard in the palace that the Western Qin Emperor is protected by a mysterious power, which is why the Western Qin Kingdom has been able to maintain peace and stability for so long?”
"The emperor is protected by some mysterious power? I've never heard of such a thing before," Yi Shangyun said, recalling for a moment, puzzled.
Tuoba Ze chuckled and said, "Hmph... It seems that Emperor Jing of Western Qin is very good at hiding things. Even the old servants in the palace have not heard anything about this matter. No wonder I have not gained any information about this from those high-ranking officials and nobles over the years."
Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun suddenly became interested in this and pressed for details, asking, "What exactly is the rumor? Tell me about it."
"Want to know? Then agree to be my concubine, how about it?" Tuoba Ze asked with a sly smile, his intentions clearly malicious.
Surprisingly, this time Yi Shangyun didn't get angry at him. Instead, she said softly, "Your Highness, everyone in the Western Qin Kingdom knows that I... the eldest daughter of the Yi family in the west of the city, am a woman who has been rejected by her fiancé and is known for my unparalleled ugliness. Does Your Highness not feel that such a woman is beneath you and would even be interested in her?"
To Yi Shangyun's utter surprise, Tuoba Ze suddenly stopped in his tracks upon hearing this and burst into wild laughter, "Hahahaha...hahahaha..."
Yi Shangyun tilted her head, puzzled, and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Tuoba Ze said, "Hmph... You underestimate me too much. Do you think I'm no different from those ordinary people who only care about looks and are blinded by a pretty face? From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were a brave, intelligent, kind, and good woman. So, you don't need to waste your breath on belittling yourself, hiding your true feelings, and speaking insincerely in front of me."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun pouted and lowered her head, remaining silent.
Just then, a swarm of bats suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flew over her head, and swooped in the direction they had gone. Yi Shangyun was so frightened that she straightened up, closed her eyes tightly, and screamed. Tuoba Ze quickly pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
A moment later, Yi Shangyun, still with her eyes tightly closed, huddled in Tuoba Ze's arms, trembling and still in shock.
Tuoba Ze sneered, "I was just saying you were brave and fearless, but in the blink of an eye you've been scared out of your wits by a bunch of bats. It seems I really overestimated you."
"Hmph, so what if you're afraid of bats? Everyone has something they're naturally afraid of. You're probably afraid of caterpillars too... Who told you to overestimate me?" Yi Shangyun finally opened her eyes and argued, then pushed her away with a look of disgust.
How did you know that I, the prince, am afraid of caterpillars?
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun immediately looked up in surprise at the seven-foot-tall man before her, who could stand tall and upright. She couldn't help but burst out laughing, putting her hands on her hips. "So, you really are afraid of caterpillars, haha..." But as soon as she opened her mouth, she quickly covered her mouth tightly with the thin veil.
Yi Shangyun, a 21st-century individual, had heard of people being afraid of caterpillars, but had never actually seen one. Who would have thought that such a cunning, powerful, and ruthless prince of the Northern Lie Kingdom would be the very person rumored to be afraid of caterpillars? If this were to become public knowledge, probably no one would believe it.
Just as he was laughing freely, he suddenly saw Tuoba Ze with his head down, looking displeased, as if he were trapped in some extremely painful memory, struggling pitifully.
For some reason, Yi Shangyun suddenly felt a pang of pity. So she stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and said apologetically, "Hey, I said... Your Highness, the Prince of Beilie, I'm sorry. Please don't take it too seriously. Everyone is born with fears; it's an instinct. It's nothing. I was just curious and said it casually, not intending to mock you. Why are you holding a grudge? Besides, you just teased me about being afraid of bats, didn't you? Let's call it even, shall we?"
Unexpectedly, Tuoba Ze suddenly and silently reached out and pulled Yi Shangyun tightly into his arms again. Startled by this sudden action, Yi Shangyun struggled and pushed wildly, but Tuoba Ze simply closed his eyes and whispered softly against Yi Shangyun's hair, "Be quiet, let this prince hold you for a while, just a little while..."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun, as if possessed, stopped struggling and became quiet, letting him hold her so freely.
But what appeared in her heart, in her mind, before her eyes, and in every inch of her consciousness was no longer Wei Mingxuan, whom she had longed for day and night to return in the 21st century, but rather the King of Qin, Xuanyuan Han, of the Western Qin Kingdom. Why was that?
She was absolutely not a vain gold digger, much less someone who would betray her beloved Wei Mingxuan from the 21st century. Yet, at this moment, this feeling was more real than anything else. What on earth was going on?
Putting everything else aside, the King of Qin already has a principal wife, and as a civilized woman of the 21st century, how could she possibly be willing to share her man with another woman? In any case, she could never possibly have any feelings for him.
But... good heavens, what's wrong with me? Without realizing it, he's everywhere. That big ice block, the cold, ruthless, boring, and domineering King Xuanyuan Han of Qin, has he already taken over my entire soul?
Thinking of this, Yi Shangyun couldn't help but shout and struggle louder and louder, "No, no, no..."
Feeling her violently shaking her head and muttering incomprehensible words, Tuoba Ze slowly moved away from her hair and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com