Smoke of war
The heavy rain became their best cover. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain of the city and Wen Ciyuan's keen insight, Ruan Yunsheng and the other two managed to avoid the sight of several waves of Yong Wang's minions who were still carrying out "cleaning".
They were soaked and in a mess, but they finally arrived at the familiar but now dead street and found the shop called "Li Ji Pharmacy".
The medicine shop was filled with moldy medicinal materials and a faint smell of blood. The shelves collapsed and the medicinal materials were scattered all over the floor.
Wen Ciyuan's sharp eyes swept across every corner, and finally stopped at an inconspicuous corner inside the counter. There, an extremely obscure arrow symbol was drawn with a special medicinal juice, pointing to the bottom of the counter.
It’s the mark left by Mo Yu!
Wen Ciyuan's heart moved, and he immediately squatted down. Following the method Mo Yu had told him, he fumbled under the counter for a while, and his fingertips touched a tiny bump.
He pressed hard.
With a soft "click", the floor behind the counter, which had been tightly closed, silently slid open to create an entrance that was only wide enough for one person to pass through. A wind carrying the smell of dirt and faint light rushed out from below.
Wen Ciyuan was the first to enter sideways, followed closely by Ruan Yunsheng and Shen Yunzhou, and the entrance closed quietly behind them.
After walking down the narrow and steep stone steps for about an incense stick of time, the view in front of me suddenly opened up!
They seemed to have entered another world, and a huge and well-organized underground city appeared before them.
The dome is tall, supported by solid stone and wood, and the walls are inlaid with eternal lamps, illuminating the huge space as bright as day.
The passages crisscrossed each other, and from time to time, teams wearing uniform and carrying weapons patrolled by. The discipline was strict and the atmosphere was solemn. In the distance, one could even faintly hear the sounds of forging weapons and personnel training.
This is not a simple secret room at all, but an underground stronghold that has been operating for a long time and is extremely heavily guarded!
"Murong Mo really has evil intentions."
Ruan Yunsheng lowered his voice, unable to hide his shock. This level of scale could definitely not be accomplished overnight. Perhaps this was all the power he had hidden.
Wen Ciyuan's eyes were cold, and he whispered, "Follow me closely."
They carefully used the shadows and piles of cargo as cover and observed the patterns of the patrol team. Soon, Wen Ciyuan locked onto a lone guard who was napping in the corner.
He approached silently like a ghost, and with a precise knife strike, the guard fell down without even making a sound.
Wen Ciyuan quickly dragged him into the shadows, and deftly stripped off his coat and waist badge, and put them on himself. Although they were a little ill-fitting, they were enough to pass through in the dim light.
Following the same method, they quickly got rid of two unlucky guys and also replaced Ruan Yunsheng and Shen Yunzhou with guards' skins.
The three men straightened their clothes, tried their best to imitate the pace and demeanor of the patrol teams, lowered their heads, and blended into the end of a patrol team that had just passed by.
His heart was beating wildly in his chest, and every step he took felt like he was stepping on a knife. Shen Yunzhou lowered his head, trying to imitate the stiff steps of the guard in front of him, but his eyes were darting around uncontrollably. Cold sweat had already soaked his shirt and stuck to his back.
Could this disguise really fool anyone? Murong Mo's men were so elite that he could practically feel the scrutinizing gazes of the patrolling soldiers, each one making his scalp tingle.
Just as they followed the team through a relatively spacious area, a cold and serious voice suddenly sounded from the side and behind:
"stop!"
Shen Yunzhou's body suddenly stiffened, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly. He was discovered!
He almost subconsciously reached for the silver needle hidden in his sleeve, a single thought running through his mind: It's over! Should I just attack? How many can I kill?
Wen Ciyuan and Ruan Yunsheng beside him also paused, but did not react immediately.
A man wearing the clothes of a small leader and with a stern face walked quickly to their group, swept his eyes over them sternly, and finally fell on Wen Ciyuan.
"The prince has just issued a strict order, requiring everyone to be extra vigilant and not slack off in the slightest! Are you turning a deaf ear to the prince's words?" the leader shouted in a stern voice, his tone extremely dissatisfied. "Whispering and slacking while on patrol! How disgraceful!"
Shen Yunzhou's tense nerves relaxed a little, as if he just thought they were not patrolling seriously, rather than that their identities had been discovered. But he didn't dare to relax at all.
The leader seemed to be getting angrier and angrier as he watched. He snorted coldly, "All of you! Come here!"
He turned around and motioned for them to follow him. Wen Ciyuan and Ruan Yunsheng exchanged a quick glance, then followed with their heads down, without any objection.
Shen Yunzhou's heart was in his throat again, but he had no choice but to follow.
The leader took them to a relatively deserted room at the edge where miscellaneous items were stored and slammed the door shut.
In the small space, the atmosphere instantly became extremely tense!
Shen Yunzhou could almost hear the sound of his blood rushing against his eardrums. He quietly retracted his hand into his sleeve, grasping a few silver needles soaked in anesthetic, ready to attack at any time.
War is about to break out!
However, at this critical moment——
The "leader" suddenly did something that left Shen Yunzhou stunned.
He walked quickly to a basin in the corner of the room, picked up a cloth beside it, dipped it in some clean water, and then began to wipe his face vigorously!
As the clear water washed away the deliberately drawn rough lines and slightly dull powder on his face, a face that Shen Yunzhou was extremely familiar with gradually emerged clearly. The eyebrows were sharp, the nose was high, and although it was tired and a little scarred, it was clearly...
"Mo Yu!" Shen Yunzhou screamed in shock, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his brain was completely unable to process this sudden change.
He suddenly turned his head to look at Wen Ciyuan beside him, his expression calm, as if he had known it for a long time. Ruan Yunsheng even raised the corners of his mouth slightly with a sly smile.
Shen Yunzhou understood something instantly. An indescribable emotion surged in his heart, a mixture of relief and anger. His voice trembled: "You, you guys... So I was the only one standing there, scared to death, sweating profusely, right?"
Wen Ciyuan glanced at him and said calmly, "You didn't ask."
Shen Yunzhou still found it incredible and pointed at Mo Yu's face: "But your disguise technique..."
He even imitated the voice, expression, and even the way he walked so perfectly that he fooled everyone!
Mo Yu looked at Ruan Yunsheng with admiration in his eyes: "This is all thanks to Madam."
Ruan Yunsheng winked playfully, with a hint of pride: "I only know the basics, it's not worth mentioning."
Shen Yunzhou looked at the three "accomplices" in front of him, and then recalled how he was scared to death and almost fought to the death. He suddenly felt depressed and speechless.
So... from the beginning to the end, he was really the only one who was kept in the dark and was really anxious and angry, right?
He covered his chest, feeling like he urgently needed a quick-acting heart pill. This teammate's "improper behavior" always came so unexpectedly.
Fortunately, that jump only lasted for a minute. Mo Yu quickly restrained his expression and described the overall structure and personnel division of the entire underground city in a clear and detailed manner.
Mo Yu frowned. "Based on the current clues, I speculate that the key evidence that could expose Murong Mo is most likely hidden in the central area of the aboveground city. That's where he lives and holds meetings."
He paused, his tone heavy, "But the defense there is extremely strict, like a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, it's difficult to approach."
"Is Murong Mo in there now?" Wen Ciyuan asked in a deep voice.
Mo Yu shook his head: "He went to the core alchemy room in the deepest part and will not appear in the short time."
Their eyes met instantly. Opportunity! This was a golden opportunity!
Ruan Yunsheng had a flash of inspiration in her mind, and suddenly remembered that when they were sneaking in, they had passed by several marked and hidden gunpowder depots. A bold plan instantly formed in her mind.
"Perhaps... we can create an 'accidental' chaos." She lowered her voice and quickly stated her idea.
There is no time to hesitate, the action begins immediately.
A quarter of an hour later.
boom--!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from a warehouse in the southeast corner of the dungeon! The huge sound waves impacted everyone's eardrums, and thick smoke and flames shot up into the sky, instantly tearing apart the original order of the dungeon.
"What's going on! Quick! Go to the southeast corner!"
Sharp alarms and chaotic shouts rang out, and the fire spread rapidly with the help of the materials stored in the warehouse. There were crackling sounds and hot air waves rolling, almost illuminating half the sky red.
The guards who were originally patrolling closely and the personnel at various posts were instantly attracted by this sudden and huge disaster. As if attracted by a magnet, they rushed to the source of the explosion in panic to put out the fire.
The guarding forces in the core area on the ground became visibly sparse and chaotic.
Chaos is the best cover.
In the shadows, several figures passed by quietly like ghosts, heading straight for their destination.
Unlike the solemn and luxurious scene imagined, this study is actually somewhat simple and back to nature. The walls are all dark wooden bookshelves that reach from floor to ceiling, densely packed with various books and volumes. The air is filled with the scent of old paper mixed with the faint fragrance of ink. It is so quiet that one can hear each other's slight breathing.
"Search separately." Wen Ciyuan gave the order in a low voice, and his voice caused a faint echo in the empty study.
Shen Yunzhou strode towards the nearest bookshelf, quickly ran his fingers across the spines of the books, pulled out a book, flipped through two pages, frowned, put the book back, and pulled out another one.
His movements became faster and faster, and the breeze he created blew away the fine dust accumulated in the corners of the bookshelf.
"'Records of Plants and Trees in Southern Xinjiang'...'Miscellaneous Essays on Minerals and Stones'...'Records of Strange Folk Tales'..." He muttered the titles, his tone growing increasingly impatient. "It's all these useless books. Is this how Murong Mo pretends to be?"
Ruan Yunsheng moved slowly along the bookshelf with his sharp eyes. He not only looked at the titles of the books, but also observed the order in which the books were placed and how new or old they were. He even reached into the depths of the bookshelf to feel for any hidden compartments or foreign objects.
There was a thin layer of dust on her fingertips, indicating that these books had not been read seriously for a long time.
Time passes quietly in the silent search, and hope is like the pages of a book turned by fingertips, decreasing page by page.
Bang!
A muffled thud shattered the silence. Shen Yunzhou, finally unable to contain his anger, slammed the thick "Geographical Atlas" in his hand onto the desk, shaking the brush in the pen holder slightly.
"We've searched everywhere! All we found was this junk!" His low voice was filled with anxiety and anger. "This old fox! He's too cautious! Did we work in vain?"
Feelings of tension and disappointment began to flood the room.
At this moment, Ruan Yunsheng paused. She stood in front of a row of bookshelves, her gaze once again sweeping over the overflowing books that few people cared about. A trace of extreme confusion slowly emerged between her beautiful brows, then gradually transformed into a flickering light.
"No..." She murmured to herself, her voice was very soft, but it instantly attracted the attention of the other three.
The three of them looked at her.
Ruan Yunsheng turned around, his eyes filled with a sudden enlightenment. "The gunpowder storage and alchemy room we've seen along the way all show that Murong Mo is a man who values practicality and ambition. Why would he go to so much trouble to fill his study, such a central location, with these seemingly useless books?"
She reached out and gently brushed the tops of the books in front of her, leaving clear traces of dust on them. "Also, if these books are truly just for display, why is the dust so evenly distributed? It's like... they're deliberately maintaining a certain pristine state."
She raised her eyes and looked at Wen Ciyuan, her tone becoming more certain: "Do you remember the mechanisms in the haunted house?"
Wen Ciyuan's eyes flashed, and he instantly understood what she meant.
Maybe it's similar to a haunted house.
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