Chapter 721: He didn't dare to shoot the arrow

Gu Jiu Ling woke up, a dull pain surged in the back of her neck; she wanted to raise her hand to touch the injured spot, but she didn't expect both hands to be tightly bound.

She suddenly startled awake, lifted her gaze and discovered she was now sitting in a boat.

The boat's material was special, not like ordinary wood, but rather like something made from the skin and bones of an unknown large animal.

All around was pitch black, making it impossible to see what the surroundings were like.

Only the sound of flowing water echoed beside her ears; that sound sounded muffled, and Gu Jiu Ling felt as if she were moving through a cave.

"Awake?" a gentle male voice came from behind.

Gu Jiu Ling hurriedly turned around, only to discover that Tuo Ba Yu was also sitting on the boat; behind Tuo Ba Yu stood a tall man dressed in dark close-fitting attire, namely Tuo Ba Yu's close aide Gu Lv.

This time Gu Lv vigorously shook the oars, controlling the boat that drifted in the surging underground dark river.

Only the three of them were on the boat; Gu Jiu Ling was placed at the stern, her body tied with rope to an iron hook on the deck, allowing only her upper body to move.

In Gu Jiu Ling's view, it seemed as if they were worried she might be overturned by the waves of the underground dark river and fall into the water below.

Gu Jiu Ling furrowed her brows; she only knew this was a lake-center island, but she hadn't expected there to be such a large cavern beneath it.

Even if the bottom couldn't be seen, it was fine, but the depths of the cavern actually held an underground river, and she didn't know where it led.

No wonder Bai Xiao Sheng originally chose this place as his hiding spot.

A desert oasis, with its unbelievable secret mechanisms and hidden passages, actually also had an underground river leading to the outside world.

At this moment she was anxious as if on fire.

Earlier she had guessed that Xiao Yin had come to rescue her; just as she was preparing to meet Xiao Yan, she was ambushed by Tuo Ba Yu and brought here.

Obviously Tuo Ba Yu wanted to take her out of the manor.

Gu Jiu Ling stared fixedly at Tuo Ba Yu, whose face was full of smiles, her eyes carrying a hint of murderous intent.

"Release me, there is still room for maneuver between us."

Tuo Ba Yu looked at Gu Jiu Ling's icy, frost-like face; a complex flicker passed through his eyes, then he sighed.

"There is no room for maneuver anymore; we can't go back—we can ultimately never return to the beginning."

Gu Jiu Ling's heart gave a jolt; a bad premonition rose from the depths of her heart.

She coldly said: "If I'm not mistaken, Bai Xiao Sheng used puppets to bring me here, while you went to the Eastern Island Sea, brought out my two children, and took them to Wan Chuan Cheng to make a deal with Bai Xiao Sheng."

"Now that Xiao Yin has already arrived here, Bai Xiao Sheng is likely already slain by his blade, so your deal cannot be made."

"If you tell me where my children are, out of past feelings between us I will spare your life, as long as you return the children to me."

Gu Jiu Ling dared not speak without leaving any leeway; the children were still in that bastard's hands.

But she was dying of worry now; since Tuo Ba Yu had already kidnapped her children, why hadn't he quickly made this deal with Bai Xiao Sheng, making her wait so long?

She stared at Tuo Ba Yu, hoping to find answers from him.

Along this journey she felt immense torment, only wanting to find her children as soon as possible.

Tuo Ba Yu actually had no need to keep hiding from Gu Jiu Ling; from the moment he kidnapped her children, they had already lost any chance of reconciliation, but he didn't care.

He took a breath and said: "I lost the children."

"You... what did you say?" Gu Jiu Ling glared at him fiercely, wishing to pounce and bite him to death.

Such small children, and he actually lost them?

Not to mention two helpless little tots; even a strong, vigorous man in Mo Bei would find it hard to survive without some skill.

"Speak! Where did you dump them? You bastard! Speak! Where exactly did you dump them?"

Gu Jiu Ling struggled, wanting to crash into him; even if she rammed herself to death into Tuo Ba Yu, it would be better than being bound here with no recourse.

If her gaze could turn into blades, Tuo Ba Yu would have died countless times in her eyes.

Deep down Tuo Ba Yu also felt some guilt; instinctively he turned his face away, not daring to look again at Gu Jiu Ling's eyes filled with hatred and despair.

This is what he least wanted to see, yet he also didn't know why they had come to this point.

Tuo Ba Yu still couldn't help explaining: "I didn't intentionally lose the children."

"That day I was bringing the two children to Wan Chuan Cheng when we encountered a rare sandstorm on the way."

"I ordered people to dig a sand pit on the spot, hide inside to avoid the storm, but I didn't expect that after the storm passed those two children would be missing."

"I stayed there for over ten days, constantly searching and waiting, with no news at all; five despicable people, the children just disappeared like that..."

Tuo Ba Yu cautiously looked at Gu Jiu Ling: "But don't be anxious; come with me to Bei Di, and I'll send more people to look for those two little ones."

"If they were truly buried by the sandstorm and died, we would certainly be able to dig up corpses nearby; but there is nothing, as if they vanished into thin air, so you shouldn't be too upset..."

Tuo Ba Yu alone felt somewhat guilty about this matter, nagging incessantly.

Gu Jiu Ling clenched her teeth, wishing to devour Tuo Ba Yu alive: "I'll kill you!"

Tuo Ba Yu was about to speak when suddenly a hurried shout came from behind.

Gu Lv's face turned pale with fright; he hurriedly said: "Not good, Your Highness, someone is chasing us."

"How is that possible?" Tuo Ba Yu stood up, looking incredulously behind him.

Instead he saw a larger pointed speedboat made of animal hide, rapidly pursuing them from behind.

And behind that boat one could see specks of starlight; it was likely not just one or two pursuers, but a whole group chasing them.

At that moment Tuo Ba Yu froze; initially he had sent people to hide early in this oasis, and his men were already in Wan Chuan Cheng.

Moreover he used the influence of the Red Scorpion organization to purchase, from a craftsman's descendant, the map of this lake-center island; likely Bai Xiao Sheng didn't know that beneath this manor there is an underground river leading to the outside world.

At this moment the boat behind pursued relentlessly; Tuo Ba Yu already guessed who was chasing them from behind.

It must be Xiao Yin himself who came chasing; if it were someone else they wouldn't know this place.

Xiao Yin has been active in the martial world for so many years—what could he not know?

Since he could find this place in such a short time and even kill Bai Xiao Sheng in one strike, he certainly has the ability to locate this underground river.

The boat behind drew ever closer to theirs; even the sound of the opposing side drawing bows could be heard, those clusters of arrowheads flashing silver in the dark night, making one feel creepy.

"What should we do, Your Highness? They'll catch up imminently—should we shoot arrows?" Gu Lv's voice carried a hint of panic.

Tuo Ba Yu swung his sword, cutting the rope binding Gu Jiu Ling, and pulled Gu Jiu Ling up.

He pulled Gu Jiu Ling to his side, gave a cold laugh, and said: "He doesn't dare to shoot arrows!"