Li Han and his friends temporarily blocked the entrance of the cave with stones, but they could vaguely hear footsteps coming from the tunnel. The sound was getting closer and closer, and the footsteps were quick and noisy, as if they were about to approach.
"Oh no! They're about to catch up. We need to leave quickly!" Li Han grabbed the old man and said, "Old man, come with us."
Li Han was mainly afraid that after they left, Shen Lingli would put all her efforts on the old man and that the old man would be hurt. After all, the old man was trying to save her, so she wanted to take the old man away with her to ensure his safety.
The old man knew Li Han's good intentions, but still shook his head. "No, I'm too old to move. My home is here. I've lived here for decades. Where else can I go? I'll just stay here. You guys better leave!"
"Old sir, but you..." Tuoba Jun was also very worried about the old man. Just as she was about to persuade him, the old man interrupted her.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I can see you're not ordinary people, so naturally the people chasing you aren't good people either. Although I'm old, I'm not senile and can still distinguish between good and evil. I can help hold you off for a while, so that this old man's life in this world is not in vain!"
Li Han and the others were deeply moved by the old man's words, but they were still reluctant to leave. The old man slowly walked to a haystack on the side, squatted down and started digging at something, then suddenly there was a creaking sound, and bursts of gear running sounds came from underground.
Li Han and the others were very surprised, "Old man, what are you doing?"
The old man smiled and slowly stood up, "This is the mechanism of this tunnel!"
"Mechanism?" Li Han and the others looked at each other in surprise. They didn't expect that this small tunnel could have such a secret. They felt very strange.
"That's right. You may not know this, but before our village was built, there was a small country here. It was later destroyed by another country and became ruins. Afterwards, the vicissitudes of life buried the ruins underground and turned them into flat land. Later, my ancestors moved here because of the war, and that's how our village came into being. I heard about this from the old people here, and I'm not sure whether it's true or not. I discovered this tunnel by accident. The exit was buried before, and I dug it through..."
Listening to the old man's words, Li Han and the others found the story quite mysterious. It was hard to imagine that there had been a country on the land of this small village. They couldn't help but sigh at the cruelty of the fall of the dynasty, which was finally annihilated in the long river of history without leaving any trace.
The old man had just activated the tunnel mechanism. The sound just now meant that all the exits of the tunnel were closed, and the only hole dug by the old man had also been blocked.
"They probably won't be able to get out for a while now. Furthermore, when the mechanism is activated, the mechanisms in the tunnel will also activate. We can delay it for a while, but it won't last long. In about three days, the mechanisms will stop, and the other entrances to the tunnel will automatically open."
After hearing what the old man said, Li Han's heart was finally at ease. "Since that's the case, old sir, we won't force you. You can wait here for a while and we will come to pick you up after we find reinforcements." The old man nodded in response.
When the old man opened the tunnel mechanism, Shen Lingli's guards also heard the sound of the tunnel mechanism opening. "Miss, there is movement around here, everyone should be careful!"
Before the guard finished speaking, several hidden arrows suddenly flew in from the front and back of the tunnel. Several of Shen Lingli's men were hit by the arrows and fell to the ground. Everyone reacted immediately, gathered together, and waved their swords to deflect the flying arrows. As the arrows broke, strange powder flew out.
After Shen Lingli inhaled the powder, she suddenly felt a little dizzy and immediately shouted, "Everyone, cover your mouth and nose quickly, there's something wrong with this powder!"
The arrows shot for a short while before stopping. However, everyone covered their mouths and noses, not wanting to relax, lest the arrows come out again. The guards stepped forward to check on the people who had been shot. They found that the arrowheads were blunt-angled and would not cause fatal damage, but the people's lips were obviously a little purple. "The powder is poisonous. Everyone, leave quickly."
Afterwards, everyone hurried forward. When the air around them returned to normal, Shen Lingli and the others dared to breathe deeply. "This tunnel is extremely strange. Everyone must be careful and quickly find the exit."
Shen Lingli's men searched for a long time but could not find the exit of the tunnel. As different mechanisms appeared, everyone became panicked and gradually began to lose control of Shen Lingli. After all, in such a situation, everyone's only thought was to survive. No matter how much money you have, it will be useless if you lose your life.
Shen Lingli was trapped in the tunnel and couldn't get out for a while. Li Han and his friends took this opportunity to return to the capital at full speed. The Emperor of Li was overjoyed to see Tuoba Jun and Lu Yuan returned safely. After all, this could avoid unnecessary conflicts between the two countries.
Tuoba Jun again requested the Emperor of Li to allow them to return to the Western Regions, but the Emperor of Li was still worried about their safety and wanted them to stay for a few more days. However, under Tuoba Jun's firmness, the Emperor of Li finally compromised. Fearing that they might encounter accidents on the way, he sent Lu Li to escort them all the way and to take care of them.
Li Han saw that Lu Li had gone with him, leaving him alone in the palace. Li Han could no longer sit still, "Father, I also want to accompany Lu Li!"
"Nonsense! The journey is dangerous. Why do you, a girl, want to join in the fun? I don't agree!" The emperor refused without even thinking.
Li Han curled her lips, then hugged the emperor's arm and said coquettishly: "Father, please let me go. If you don't let me go, I will sneak out. Anyway, I have to go no matter what, otherwise I will not be at ease!"
The emperor looked at Li Han, feeling helpless. He also knew Li Han's character. He knew that once she decided to do something, she would be stubborn and could not be persuaded. So he had no choice but to agree, "I can let you go, but you must not act recklessly along the way!"
Li Han nodded obediently. The emperor then said to Lu Li, "Lu Li, thank you for your hard work this time. Please take good care of Li Han on the way and don't let her get into trouble. If she doesn't stop you, come back and tell me. I will punish her!"
Hearing this, the joy on Li Han's face gradually cooled. Thinking that he would have a hard time on this journey, Lu Li smiled at Li Han's frustrated expression, and then replied to the emperor, "Your Majesty!"
Afterwards, the emperor sent troops to the previous tunnel to wait for Shen Lingli. Knowing that all these things were done by Shen Lingli, the emperor was very angry and thought that after catching him, he must punish him severely.
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