Chapter 70: Prison Break Deep in the dungeon, dampness mixed with the smell of blood...
Deep in the dungeon, there was a smell of dampness mixed with blood. The iron locks were unlocked, and Emperor Jingwen stepped into the cell in his black boots embroidered with gold thread. A severed hand was half-hidden in the straw under his feet.
"Still refusing to say anything?"
The cell was completely silent, and the guards all hung their heads, not daring to breathe.
Emperor Jingwen raised his eyes and looked at the rusted iron frame in front of him. He sneered, "This bastard who grew up in Xiling has a very tough life."
The iron chain trembled slightly, and Zhao Huaixu's eyelashes, which were covered with blood, trembled.
His hands were hung on the rack with iron chains, and the iron hooks protruding from his scapula were covered with pieces of flesh. Every whip mark under his tattered prison uniform was bleeding, and the blood dripped onto the ground, gathering into a small pool of dark red blood.
"How dare you pretend to be dead in front of His Majesty!" He Ping quickly took the whip from the torture rack. The whip shadow broke through the air and tore the tattered clothes. The tip of the whip swept across the side of Zhao Huaixu's face, tearing the skin and leaving a bloody mark.
Zhao Huaixu showed no reaction, his chest showed no movement, his breathing was so weak that it was almost non-existent, he seemed to be dead, and had lost all perception of the torture around him.
His appearance angered He Pingfei. He stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Huaixu's messy long hair, forcing him to look at the corner of the wall, where a ball of rotten flesh that could barely be called a human shape was curled up.
The corpse belonged to none other than Wan Xi. His eyes had been crushed, his limbs severed, and he had breathed his last at midnight yesterday. The body emanated a foul odor and was already showing signs of decay, oozing a murky liquid.
"To protect a woman, you remained indifferent when your closest associate was chopped into a human stick. Should we say you are heartless and cold-blooded, or a romantic?!"
Zhao Huaixu seemed to be pulled by He Pingfei, touching a painful spot. His throat rolled and blood foam spurted out, instantly covering He Pingfei's face. A few drops splashed to the side and stained Emperor Jingwen's dragon robe.
After Zhao Huaixu vomited blood, he tilted his head and started coughing violently.
The veins on He Pingfei's forehead were bulging. Without time to wipe the dirt off his face, he grabbed the red-hot iron and pressed it hard on Zhao Huaixu's chest. Gray smoke dissipated, and a "sizzling" sound of flesh being burned was heard. The air was filled with a disgusting burnt smell.
The severe pain made Zhao Huaixu silent. His originally weak breathing almost stopped, his teeth were chattering, and his body was shaking violently uncontrollably. He could not suppress his instinctive reaction at all.
Seeing Zhao Huaixu like this, He Pingfei's anger finally subsided a little. He was breathing heavily, and his face was still covered with Zhao Huaixu's blood foam, looking particularly ferocious.
Emperor Jingwen stood aside, glancing at He Pingfei with disdain, then took the handkerchief handed to him by the guard and slowly wiped his hands: "Alright, what's the point of beating him if you can't get the answer?"
Looking at the bloodstains on his sleeves that couldn't be wiped clean, Emperor Jingwen felt as if his chest was stabbed. He took a deep breath and added, "It's better to keep him alive. At least he should watch Fang Yilan suffer a thousand times more torture and die."
These words made the dying Zhao Huaixu raise his eyes. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and the cold light was like the frost in December, shooting straight at Emperor Jingwen.
"What are you looking at! How dare you, a bastard, look His Majesty in the eye!"
He Pingfei noticed the look in Zhao Huaixu's eyes, raised his foot in anger, and kicked Zhao Huaixu hard. With a "crack", the sound of bones breaking was heard. Zhao Huaixu's body shook violently with the kick, and he almost kicked over the iron frame supporting him.
After He Pingfei finished kicking, he quickly turned around and smiled flatteringly at Emperor Jingwen. The expression on his face instantly changed from fierce to flattering: "Your Majesty is wise."
Emperor Jingwen looked at He Pingfei's flattering face, frowned, and waved his hand: "Continue the interrogation. If he refuses to draw a picture, I will kill one of his followers every hour."
"yes!"
He Pingfei respectfully watched the figure of Emperor Jingwen disappear at the end of the corridor, and his bent body did not straighten up until a long while later.
He turned around and saw a strange arc on the corner of Zhao Huaixu's mouth, smiling at him sinisterly. The smile made He Pingfei feel creepy and a chill ran up his spine.
"What are you laughing at! Do you think Fang Yilan can come and rescue you just because she conquered three states? Dream on! She must be so hungry that she's dizzy and can't even hold a gun, so how can she have the energy to care about you!"
While cursing, he reached out and picked up a long nail covered with spikes from the torture rack, and without saying a word, stabbed it hard into Zhao Huaixu's abdomen.
Dark red blood streaked along the silver blade. Zhao Huaixu's pupils suddenly constricted in pain, but he managed a sneer through his teeth, "Master He, why are you so guilty? Why do I see... ahem... all the guards in this cell have changed their faces today?"
He Pingfei's face suddenly changed. He subconsciously glanced around and raised his voice fiercely, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's pitch black in here. You can't see anything!"
Zhao Huaixu seemed not to hear what he said. He lowered his head and chuckled to himself.
The laughter was low and hoarse, echoing in this closed dungeon, one after another, making He Pingfei feel more and more uneasy. The cold sweat on his back soaked his clothes: Could it be that this kid really saw something?
He Pingfei was startled by the loud "boom". The sound was strange. The sky was clear today, so where did the thunder come from?
He instinctively raised his head. But before he could comprehend what was happening, the dungeon's dome exploded with a crash, a massive hole ripped open. Debris and dust rained down, and several hooded men in black swooped down with swift movements, like hawks in the night.
A cold light flashed, and sharp sword energy swept across. He Pingfei could only retreat three steps.
“Who is it?”
Taking advantage of this gap, the leading man in black rushed towards the iron frame, and the iron chain hanging Zhao Huaixu broke with a "clang".
Fang Yilan drew his sword and knocked away the two jailers who were rushing towards him. When he saw Zhao Huaixu, who was so badly injured on the rack that no intact skin or flesh could be seen, his eyes suddenly turned red.
She walked forward quickly, and in the end, without saying anything, she gently embraced Zhao Huaixu, who was unable to stand, and turned around and ordered: "Go!"
Suddenly, there was a sound of dense footsteps in the dungeon corridor. It was the guards who were originally scattered throughout the dungeon. They noticed the movement and continued to pour in from this side.
When He Pingfei saw Fang Yilan appear, a hideous smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Hmph, I was wondering who has the guts to break into the prison. Fang Yilan, you're walking into a trap and seeking death!"
"Well, let me send you two crazy lovers to hell." He said viciously while proudly shaking the spikes in his hand.
Fang Yilan's gaze was fixed on the blood-stained torture instrument in He Pingfei's hand. The mottled bloodstains seemed to silently tell the cruel torture Zhao Huaixu had suffered.
The torch at the entrance of the cell illuminated the murderous intent in her eyes, but it also revealed her slightly sunken cheeks. Days of fighting and running around made her already thin face even more haggard.
"General!" Zhuang Gu said anxiously.
This wasn't the place to stay, so Fang Yilan suppressed his murderous intent. Several hemp ropes were thrown down from the cave above, leaving a few people behind to guard the rear. Fang Yilan grasped the ropes, his other hand firmly holding Zhao Huaixu. The others pulled hard, and they were slowly pulled up, rising into the air.
Fang Yilan clenched his teeth, his nails almost digging into his palms. He knew in his heart that this was not the time to act impulsively. This dungeon was full of dangers, and every second he stayed there would increase the danger.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to suppress the murderous aura surging in her body. Her hand gripping the hilt of the sword was still trembling slightly with anger.
At that moment, several thick hemp ropes were thrown down from the cave entrance, dangling in the air. Fang Yilan grabbed the ropes, and with his other hand, he firmly held Zhao Huaixu, leaving a group of people behind to cover the rear.
The person in charge above received the signal and immediately pulled the rope.
"Alan...you've lost weight." Zhao Huaixu coughed lightly a few times, and stroked Fang Yilan's sunken cheek with his blood-stained fingers, his eyes full of heartache.
Fang Yilan came back to her senses and was shocked to find that the person in her arms was so light that he seemed like a gust of wind could blow him away. She unconsciously used a little more strength to hold Zhao Huaixu tightly.
The smell of blood passed through her nose. Fang Yilan felt the sticky wound on his back, her fingertips trembling. "Save your strength, and stop talking."
As soon as they came out of the dungeon, they heard the sound of the imperial guards' horses' hooves piercing the night sky. The sound was getting closer and closer. Fang Yilan jumped onto the roof with Zhao Huaixu on his back and fled towards the outside of the palace.
The pursuers were relentless in their pursuit, with rain of arrows brushing past her ears. A group of soldiers jumped onto the roof in front of them, blocking their way. Fang Yilan immediately turned around and rushed east again.
"Ahem...you shouldn't have come to save me..."
Fang Yilan ran forward and cursed, "I told you to stay in Linzhong, but you disobeyed me first!"
Perhaps she was distracted by the reply, and heard a sound of breaking air behind her. Fang Yilan had no time to dodge. Zhao Huaixu suddenly exerted force with strength from nowhere and threw her to the ground.
Only three muffled sounds were heard, and three crossbow arrows penetrated Zhao Huaixu's right shoulder. He groaned and his face became paler.
"Yuan!"
Zhao Huaixu forced out a bloody smile and comforted her, "I'm fine..."
Before he could finish his words, Fang Yilan suddenly pulled him off the roof, and the place where he had stood was full of arrows.
Fang Yilan instinctively twisted his waist and held the man in his arms. Before the stinging pain from the gravel scratching his right arm could spread to his body, his back had already hit the stone steps heavily. The sound of broken bones mixed with Zhao Huaixu's muffled groan exploded in his ears.
"Hold on!" Fang Yilan bit his teeth and climbed up. With his bloody left hand, he pulled Zhao Huaixu up and continued to walk east. The rain of arrows behind them chased them into the shadows of the corridor.
Gradually, Fang Yilan discovered that the number of imperial guards was not as large as he had imagined. It seemed that there was another force that not only did not surround them, but was moving deeper into the palace to surround them.
At the southeast corner gate, the imperial guards who were supposed to be stationed there were nowhere to be seen. On the ground, there was only half a broken spear stuck diagonally in a pool of blood. The blood had long since dried up, and it looked particularly eerie and terrifying in the dim light.
From afar came the sound of metal clashing, as if a thousand sharp blades were gnawing at the palace walls.
Fang Yilan and Zhao Huaixu supported each other and struggled to climb over the palace wall.
Xun Yun was hiding in the forest outside the palace wall. When he saw the two people escape, his tense heartstrings finally relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Fang Yilan suddenly stopped, slowly turned around, looked towards the palace, and muttered to himself, "Something is wrong."
Zhao Huaixu also raised his head, his eyes deep, and whispered, "It's begun."
The terrified roars of the imperial guards were heard from the palace: "The prince has rebelled!" But they were instantly drowned out by the shrill shouts and shattered into countless echoes within the vermilion palace walls.
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