Chapter 687: This is the best-looking

Lu Qi didn't have time to think more, he let go, and the fire striker fell to the ground with a "pa-da" sound and went out.

The surroundings fell into darkness.

He drew his double blades with a backhand and deflected the incoming arrows.

Right after, a "whoosh—"

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

More arrows came shooting in.

Xiao Er's ears twitched, he shouted loudly: "Protect the Miss!"

He firmly blocked Xiao Ningyuan and Tuan Tuan behind him, drawing his waist blade and waving it so tightly not even wind could pass.

The arrows landed with soft thuds.

Xiao Ningyuan shoved Tuan Tuan's little head into his embrace, crouched with his back facing outward, and used his body to cover his sister completely.

The arrows stopped, but more footsteps surged from deep in the secret passage, chaotic and hurried.

At least several dozen people!

"Charge!" Xiao Er growled low.

"Okay!" Lu Qi responded, and the two rushed toward the footsteps, charging deeper into the passage.

The clashing of metal rang loud, the "clang-clang-clang" echoing in the darkness.

A moment later,

A cry rang out: "Old Zhao?"

All sounds suddenly ceased.

A voice, somewhat hesitant, said: "Xiao, Xiao Er?"

"It's me! Old Zhao, wasn't your 'Autumn Wind Sweeps Leaves' move taught by me?"

The secret passage suddenly fell silent for a moment.

A moment later, a few soft "hiss" sounds rang out as several fire strikers were lit.

The light halo dispelled the darkness, illuminating a big face—it was Old Zhao!

He widened his eyes, looking at Xiao Er and Lu Qi before him, then at Xiao Ningyuan crouched by the wall, tightly holding Tuan Tuan, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Eldest Young Master? Little Princess! How did you come here?"

"What are you talking about!" Xiao Er sheathed his blade, exhaled deeply, "I almost chopped you!"

Old Zhao scratched his head embarrassedly, planted his big blade on the ground: "How was I to know it was you!"

"Upon hearing movement, we went on the defensive."

"The Second Young Master's order: if anyone enters the secret passage, capture them; if you can't, kill them on sight."

"Capture them one by one?" Lu Qi glared at him angrily, "You should check first before grabbing!"

The soldiers put away their weapons and gathered around, chattering.

"Xiao Er! How did you get in?"

"Is the Little Princess alright?"

"Eldest Young Master, please get up quickly!"

Xiao Ningyuan leaned against the wall and stood up.

Tuan Tuan poked her little head out from his embrace, her hair tousled, her big eyes shining: "I'm fine! Uncles, you're all here!"

She glanced at Old Zhao, then at the dusty-faced soldiers behind him, and giggled: "Why are you all covered in dirt?"

Old Zhao lowered his gaze to himself, then to his brothers behind him—each face covered in grime, their clothes speckled with mud.

He broke into a smile: "Princess, we've been guarding this place after following the Second Young Master to clean it up; we're as fresh as if we'd just been dug out of the ground."

Everyone burst into laughter, the previous tense atmosphere swept away.

Old Zhao waved his hand: "Don't block the way here, come on, let's go inside and talk."

He turned and led the way, everyone walking inward.

The secret passage grew wider as they went in; after about twenty or thirty steps, several simple stone stools made of rubble appeared on the ground, topped with a few old felt mats.

In the corner lay a flattened sack of dry rations and a water bag, with a few coarse porcelain bowls overturned nearby.

Old Zhao pointed to the stools: "Sit, sit!"

Xiao Ningyuan sat down holding Tuan Tuan, Xiao Er and Lu Qi sat beside them, and the soldiers sat or squatted in threes and twos, forming a circle.

"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" Old Zhao plopped down with a simple smile, "The last time we met was in the northwest."

"That's right," Xiao Er interjected, "How are you doing here? Is the food sufficient?"

"Enough! The Second Young Master sends supplies every few days, so we don't go hungry," Old Zhao pointed to the dry ration sack in the corner, "but it's almost gone—more grain should arrive tomorrow."

"Everything else is fine, just boring as hell—stuck in this dark hole all day, never seeing sunlight."

"Where's Second Brother?" Tuan Tuan wondered, looking left and right, "Why isn't he here?"

Old Zhao scratched his head: "The brothers who brought food a couple days ago said the Second Young Master had just finished clearing the fourth secret passage."

"The Western Regions' army has already joined forces with us; we're just waiting for all nine secret passages to be cleared before we assault the city."

Xiao Ningyuan's eyes lit up: "Which secret passage is Second Brother clearing? I have something to tell him."

"I don't know either," Old Zhao shook his head, "I've been guarding here; I'm not aware of other matters."

Tuan Tuan's little face fell, she murmured softly: "I thought I'd get to see Second Brother."

Old Zhao's heart softened, he hurriedly coaxed: "Little Princess, don't worry, it'll be soon!"

"Once we take Jingcheng, you'll get to see Second Brother every day! Then you can have him play with you for as long as you like!"

Tuan Tuan gave an "um" and buried her little face in Xiao Ningyuan's embrace.

Xiao Ningyuan rubbed her head, looked toward Old Zhao, and briefly recounted what had happened in Jingcheng these past days.

Hearing that Zhou Jinhua had defected, Chen Hao and Xiao Ran had been rescued and were now with them.

The soldiers all rejoiced: "

"Thanks really to the Little Princess and the Eldest Young Master!"

"Yeah! The Ninth Prince is so easygoing, yet he ended up in jail—what a hardship!"

"The Marquis of Jinghai has turned from darkness to light? We've gained an insider!"

Immediately after, word came that an East Sea expert was looking for the secret passage.

Old Zhao's face suddenly changed, he jumped up: "What? East Sea people? How do they know?"

Xiao Ningyuan shook his head: "I don't know either."

"But you must be extra careful—those people are extremely skilled, able to fight Xiao Er and Lu Qi to a draw!"

Old Zhao's face stiffened: "Just as skilled as Xiao Er?"

"You'd better watch out—none of us can beat Xiao Er in a one‑on‑one fight."

Xiao Ningyuan instructed: "When the person delivering goods comes tomorrow, have them bring this news to my younger brother."

Old Zhao clasped his fists: "Yes, sir!"

Tuan Tuan got bored, slipped from Xiao Ningyuan's arms, hands behind back, and started wandering around.

She poked here, glanced there, prodded the wall a moment, then crouched to scrape at a crack in the floor.

"Huh, what's this?"

Old Zhao looked up and saw Tuan Tuan pointing upward, head tilted, at several scattered shards of porcelain set into the wall.

"That's for soundproofing," Old Zhao praised, "the person who dug this secret passage was really clever—they put plenty of this stuff on the walls and ceiling."

"At first we didn't know what it was for, so we dug it all out."

"Later, thanks to a brother whose family does this work, after he saw it he explained it, and we understood."

"The Second Young Master also said that when we clean the secret passage later, we must not remove these. Little Princess, these few pieces are the ones we left behind after not digging them out again."

"Oh," Tuan Tuan understood, reached up to grab it, but she was too small to reach.

Xiao Er stood up, walked over, and picked her up.

Tuan Tuan picked one: "This one's the prettiest!" She reached out and brushed off the dust on it.

"Huh, there's a Big Dipper pattern on it!"