The Empress Dowager's bedroom.
As if she had anticipated this, Shen Ling walked to a cabinet and turned the vase on top.
The cabinet slid to the left and right, revealing a secret passage.
“The Empress Dowager is inside.” Shen Ling said calmly, “However, the situation is already settled. The Empress Dowager should have already escaped the city. This secret passage leads directly to the outskirts of the capital.”
"Your Highness, do not panic." Shen Ling smiled brightly: "I have already arranged for people to guard the exit of the secret passage. Although we cannot kill the Empress Dowager, we can at least hold her off."
The reason they didn't take Gu Mu directly to the exit of the secret passage and wait for him to come to them was...
It was because the people who were lying in ambush there did not send out the signal for the Empress Dowager to appear.
She still harbored a sliver of doubt about Chen Jin's words.
In this battle, either Gu Mu will die, or the Empress Dowager will perish.
She was willing to risk her life alongside Gu Mu.
Your Highness, my heartfelt wish is that you not die too soon.
The secret passage was pitch black.
Shen Ling was carrying a lantern.
Gu Mu was momentarily dazed, as if Shen Ling was originally a girl from the underworld who came to the human world only to claim souls.
Seeing Shen Ling's exquisite and beautiful profile, one can't help but think, "How could a demon be so beautiful?"
The two walked side by side in the secret passage.
The entire world was silent.
It was as if only the two of them remained in the world.
"I hear footsteps ahead." At that moment, Gu Mu heard it.
He strode forward and, at a fork in the road ahead, saw an old man with white hair and beard.
In the original owner's memory, it seemed that he had never seen this person before.
Is this the Empress Dowager's hidden master?
"I am here on orders to stop you," the old man said.
He could have escorted the Empress Dowager away from the secret passage the moment Gu Mu's troops attacked the city.
However, the Empress Dowager feared she would not be able to live a life of luxury for the rest of her life, so she wanted to take all the valuable treasures with her.
The Empress Dowager spent a considerable amount of time tidying up.
Halfway through the secret passage, he heard the sound of the passage door opening.
He knew that the Empress Dowager had been betrayed and that someone was after her.
He was ordered to wait here, to hold off the pursuers, and to buy the Empress Dowager time to escape.
"You can't stop me." Gu Mu held his spear horizontally, shielding Chen Ling behind him.
She could just watch the battle; he would ensure she was unharmed.
Shen Ling stared at the spear lying in front of her, her gaze momentarily frozen, her eyes dim and unreadable in the candlelight.
She took a step back, holding the candle.
This made room for the fight between Gu Mu and the old man.
"I have practiced martial arts for over forty years, and this is the first time I have ever seen such an arrogant young man." The old man let out a hoarse laugh from his throat, and he stretched out his hand to stab Gu Mu.
Gu Mu then noticed that the old man's hands were covered with a thick layer of calluses.
These calluses are not ordinary calluses; they seem to be specially trained to strengthen the hands.
Not only the old man's hands, but also each of his four fingers held a hidden weapon, which gleamed green in the candlelight.
This is contaminated with poison.
That old man has such a black heart!
However, Gu Mu had to admit that the old man's bare hands, along with the occasional small hidden weapons, made him much more effective in this narrow secret passage than when using weapons.
Gu Mu's spear was restricted by the four walls on all four sides.
Even the most skilled marksman can't cook without rice.
Gu Mu threw the spear on the ground and said coldly, "Come on."
His opponent was unarmed, and he didn't carry any weapons either, so it was quite fair.
Perhaps due to the enhancement from the elixir, his memory was also a bit stronger than before, coupled with his innate talent in martial arts.
At this moment, he recalled the young man in the green robe's palm technique in his mind.
Try to replicate this moment.
Even if he only used one-tenth of the Green Robe Young Man's palm technique based on his memory, it would still be much better than Gu Mu trying to overpower him with brute force and just blindly attacking.
This old man, in terms of skill alone, is no match for the genius young man in green robes.
However, because he had practiced martial arts for a longer time and had a deeper understanding of the art, coupled with his vicious techniques and skillful use of hidden weapons, this narrow secret passage was precisely the perfect place for him.
Therefore, they can be quite difficult to deal with.
This is why the Empress Dowager was so confident that she only sent an old man to stop him.
But the old man couldn't stop him!
Gu Mu punched the old man in the face, knocking out several of his teeth.
After all, he's old, and his teeth are loose. This punch was not only quite damaging, but also extremely insulting.
For a brief moment, the old man saw stars.
He couldn't understand why Gu Mu, who was striking with his palm, suddenly threw a punch.
Doesn't he know that palm techniques and fist techniques belong to two different schools?
Gu Mu's palm techniques are mixed with fist techniques. Basically, after finishing a set of palm techniques, he would forget what the next step was and would start throwing punches.
This seemingly chaotic yet somewhat structured approach...
And profound internal strength,
The old man was momentarily stunned by the beating.
On one occasion, the old man's poisoned hidden weapon was about to hit Gu Mu, but Shen Ling pulled out his hairpin and secretly knocked it away.
After all, Shen Ling didn't want Gu Mu to die now more than anyone else.
Gu Mu did it on purpose.
Actually, he could have dodged that attack.
He just wanted to see Shen Ling get anxious.
Although Shen Ling's expression remained calm under the candlelight, the slight contraction in his pupils just now couldn't fool him.
Gu Mu thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
This is probably his unique, perverse sense of humor!
With another punch, the old man was sent flying, unable to get up again.
"You underestimate me." Gu Mu kicked up the spear on the ground, picked it up, and pierced the old man's throat.
Then, listening to the direction of the footsteps, he entered one of the side roads and chased after them.
It's getting closer and closer.
It's getting closer and closer.
The Empress Dowager began to panic, as if the sound behind her was not the footsteps of pursuers, but the sound of death's scythe scraping the ground.
Clutching the huge bundle tightly, she ran forward, ordering the seven people surrounding her, "Quick, Shadow, Wuye, you two, stop him for me!"
"Hurry up..." Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, her pupils dilated in fear.
She saw the two people she had just mentioned being instantly killed by a spear piercing their throats, completely catching them off guard.
“Five left.” Gu Mu dragged his spear on the ground and said in a low voice.
Four.
"Three."
...
"one."
The Empress Dowager watched as the people around her fell one by one, their blood splattering onto her, making her look extremely disheveled.
"You're the only one left, Empress Dowager." Gu Mu walked towards the Empress Dowager step by step.
His spear scraped against the ground.
"Sizzle" "Sizzle"
"Your life of luxury and wealth should come to an end." Gu Mu looked down at the Empress Dowager, and seeing her terrified expression, he felt a thrill akin to a hunter catching his prey.
What isn't yours will eventually have to be returned.
Gu Mu raised his spear, his eyes filled with indifference.
"No!!! Please..." Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, her pupils widened, her face filled with fear and resentment as she breathed her last.
There was a huge, bloody hole in her throat.
"This coup should end now," Gu Mu chuckled softly.
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