Chapter 264: Please be careful when opening the door: there are puppets ahead
He moved closer, "Protect this palace."
"Protect...her."
It's self-evident who the 'she' he was talking about was.
"You must remember," Xiao Yu's eyes suddenly became sharp, "from the moment we leave, the palace will be under full martial law. I leave you 3,000 palace guards, plus your own city defense battalion, which is enough to surround this place like an iron barrel."
"That room must remain as it is now. The ice inside must not show any signs of melting. Divine Doctor Sun will stay and examine her daily. You must meet all his requirements."
"The most important point."
Xiao Yu's hand slowly tightened, almost crushing Xiao Yu's shoulder blade.
"Anyone, remember anyone, who dares to trespass into the palace and approach that room, no matter who they are, no matter their status, whether they are royal relatives or high-ranking officials in the court..."
He paused, a terrifying murderous look flashing in his eyes.
"Kill without mercy."
"Do you understand?"
Xiao Yu's heart trembled violently.
"Don't worry, cousin."
Xiao Yu nodded solemnly.
"As long as I, Xiao Yu, am still alive, I will never let anyone set foot in that room."
"I'll stake my life on it."
"good."
Xiao Yu let go of his hand and looked at him with a hint of relief in his eyes.
He said no more, turned around and strode out of the study.
"Your Majesty."
Outside the door, the palace's steward had been waiting for a long time with a team of black-clad spies.
"Are you all ready?" Xiao Yu asked.
"Your Highness, we have horses, rations, water bags, and everything else needed to get out of Yangguan Pass to the west. The fifty 'Dragon Shadows' have also been assembled and are ready to set off at any time," the butler replied respectfully.
Dragon shadow.
The elite selected from the Black Armor Guards of the Regent's Palace.
This team usually breaks up into small groups and lurks in various places in the Great Zhou, even as far as overseas.
Now, with a single order from Xiao Yu, fifty core members were recalled overnight.
"Xuan Yi, how about you?" Xiao Yu looked at Chu Xuan Yi who came out later.
Chu Xuanyi was wearing a blue suit that was convenient for movement and carrying a heavy bag that was bulging with stuff.
"I've copied out a detailed map of the Shenji Pavilion ruins, as well as some methods for breaking the potential traps and formations, from the Tongtian Pavilion." He patted the bag behind him, "It's all here."
"good."
Xiao Yu nodded and jumped on his horse.
"Set off."
"yes."
Fifty dragon shadows mounted their horses and galloped towards the western city gate.
"Your Highness, the Prince Regent...where are you going?"
"It looks like it's heading west... Could it be heading to the border?"
"Impossible. The border is now stable. There's no need for the prince to lead the army in person. Besides, even if he did, he wouldn't bring so few people with him. And he wouldn't even attend the court meeting and leave like that."
"It's so strange and so abnormal."
"Quick, go and draft a memorial."
The postmaster came back to his senses and gave hurried instructions to his subordinates beside him.
"Just say...just say that His Royal Highness the Regent led his personal guards out of the capital at noon today, heading west. What they were doing...is unknown."
…
The wind is cold.
The yellow sand blew on people's faces, like the scraping of a knife.
After days of running around, everyone was exhausted.
The fifty Dragon Shadow spies and their mounts were all covered in dust and dirt, as if they had been fished out of the sand.
This place is in ruins.
All you can see are broken walls and ruins, buried in yellow sand for who knows how many years.
Occasionally you can see a charred wooden beam exposed on the ground, or a corner of broken glazed tile.
"Xuan Yi, is this the place?" Xiao Yu turned over and got off the horse.
"This is where the map points."
Chu Xuanyi also dismounted and took out a yellowed animal skin map from his arms. He carefully compared the outlines of several surrounding sand dunes and nodded affirmatively.
He took out an ancient-looking bronze compass from the bag behind him.
There was no east, south, west or north on the compass, only densely packed runes like tadpoles.
The slender needle in the center of the compass trembled slightly, pointing to the deepest part of the ruins.
"The Divine Machine Pavilion specializes in mechanical formations and arrays. They've used the art of Qimen Dunjia to conceal the entire mountain gate in another dimension." Chu Xuanyi explained as he observed the compass. "What we see now is merely its projection in the human world, an abandoned facade."
"Follow me."
Holding a compass, he took the lead and stepped into the ruins.
"Everyone dismount and remain alert."
Xiao Yu gave the order in a cold voice and followed Chu Xuanyi closely.
"yes."
Fifty dragon shadows dismounted, formed a defensive formation, and followed closely.
The further we walked in, the quieter the wind seemed to be, and the air around us became increasingly oppressive.
It took about an incense stick of time to walk.
Chu Xuanyi stopped.
In front of him was a stone tablet half buried in the sand.
The stone tablet looked ordinary, covered with traces of weathering, and the words had long been blurred, making it no different from the scattered rubble around it.
The compass needle in Chu Xuanyi's hand began to spin wildly, making a soft "buzzing" sound.
"This is it." He said in a deep voice.
A Dragon Shadow spy stepped forward and asked in a deep voice, "Sir, do you need us to dig it up?"
"No need," Chu Xuanyi shook his head. "The mechanisms of the Shenji Pavilion are interconnected. If we use brute force, it will only trigger the self-destruction restriction. By then, not to mention the things inside, all of us will be buried here."
He raised his finger, put it in his mouth and bit it hard, then bent down and began to quickly draw on the inconspicuous stone tablet.
A shimmering rune slowly took shape on the stone tablet.
When the last stroke was made, the entire rune lit up with a strange red light.
"Boom..."
The earth began to shake.
The sand under everyone's feet quickly collapsed towards the stone tablet.
A huge hole suddenly appeared behind the stone tablet.
"The entrance is open," Chu Xuanyi's face turned pale. "Your Highness, let's go in."
"Yeah." Xiao Yu responded and was the first to walk towards the stone steps leading to the underground.
"Leave ten men outside to guard the horses and the retreat route," he ordered without turning back, "the rest of you, follow me."
"yes."
Forty dragon figures lit up their fire sticks and followed closely behind.
The corridor of the underground palace is very long and deep, and the surrounding walls are made of huge black stones, which are extremely hard.
Just as everyone had walked up the stone steps and stepped onto an open platform.
"Snap." A soft sound.
Clusters of faint blue flames suddenly lit up on the stone walls on both sides of the corridor, illuminating the entire underground palace in flickering light.
"What is that?" a Dragon Shadow spy exclaimed.
On both sides of the corridor stood rows of metal structures that were several feet tall.
They have human-shaped outlines, their bodies are made of bronze and black iron, and are engraved with intricate patterns.
Some of them held huge axes in their hands, and some held thick-backed long swords.
"It's the Shenji Pavilion's... Mountain Guardian Puppet." Chu Xuanyi's expression instantly became extremely solemn. "Everyone be careful."
He had just finished speaking.
“Crack.”
A crisp sound of twisting metal suddenly rang out in the underground palace.
A pair of blood-red spots suddenly lit up in the empty eye sockets of a puppet standing in the front.
Immediately following.
“Click, click, click…”
All the metal puppets on both sides of the corridor lit up with a terrifying red light at the same time.
"roar."
A roar erupted from the throat of the first puppet.
It took heavy steps, and the ground shook slightly with its footsteps.
It raised the giant axe in its hand high and chopped it down fiercely at Xiao Yu who was walking in front.
"Be careful, my lord."
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