Chapter 734: What exactly is hidden?

Ling Feng knew the Empress was always resourceful, but now he had to obey the Emperor.

He had followed Xiao Yin for so many years, knowing Xiao Yin rarely made decisions lightly; once made, they were surely the most accurate.

The Emperor wanted to protect the Empress; how could he dare defy the imperial will?

Ling Feng had no intention of loosening his grip on Gu Jiu Ling's arm, still tightly pulling her as they charged down the mountain.

"Ling Feng! Am I the sort to act on impulse? Go back! If you don't believe me, fine, but surely you don't even doubt Jiu Yue?"

Gu Jiu Ling struck straight to the point, hitting Ling Feng's vital point; Ling Feng froze for a moment.

"Listen! I said go back! I have a way to get out of this—right on that stone wall!"

Ling Feng gave it no further thought, let out a low roar, and charged back.

The men surrounding them were all thrown into confusion by Ling Feng's counterattack; in a moment their formation broke, and a large number were swept down by Xiao Yin's Dragon Spring Sword from behind.

Seeing Gu Jiu Ling return, Xiao Yin's eyes turned red and he shouted.

"You want to die?"

Gu Jiu Ling rushed straight to Xiao Yin, grabbed his wrist, and said, "Come with me!"

Xiao Yin instinctively followed behind Gu Jiu Ling, having no slightest resistance to her orders, not even hesitating.

"To the stone wall!" Gu Jiu Ling urged, without time to explain.

Xiao Yin directly put his arm around her waist, leapt up, and in a few steps reached the stone wall's edge.

Ling Feng also brought the only dozen or so men to guard Xiao Yin's rear; the assassins pursuing them would not let this chance pass, thinking Xiao Yin was scared and fleeing with his men.

Heh! Back then Mr. Wen gave them the map, letting them ambush here was setting a heavenly net for Xiao Yin, leaving him no chance to escape at all.

"Chase!"

The assassin leader led his men in relentless pursuit, seeing Xiao Yin and the others pressed entirely against the stone wall.

A flash of bloodlust crossed his gloomy eyes—what so-called Southern Qi war god, what veteran of a hundred battles? They were still going to die under his blade.

"Go die! My war god Majesty!"

The assassin leader led his men, each gripping poisoned weapons, charging at Xiao Yin and the others.

He even saw that they had given up resistance, and with only a dozen or so zhang between them, they lay prone on the stone wall with their backs to him—such a sight was almost comical.

"Prepare to die!" he shouted, raising his blade high, and everyone surged excitedly toward the stone wall.

Slaying a dragon is probably every man's ultimate dream, right?

Boom—

The ground suddenly shook violently, as if the whole mountain would collapse; the dust thrown up blotted out the sky, making heaven and earth seem to rend apart.

Though a massive stone wall loomed ahead, it now slowly lowered, and one could even hear the harsh sound of the black iron chains moving the mechanism.

The assassin leader watched helplessly as Xiao Yin and the others vanished with the collapsing stone wall; immediately after, the ground beneath his feet split open, and in a moment of dizzying spin he fell down.

Along with him fell the few who had been at the very front; the others barely managed to stop their steps, stunned dumbfounded by the sight that suddenly appeared before them.

Before they could recover from their shock, the stone wall that had seemed to sink slowly now rose bit by bit, returning to its original state.

It couldn't be called a full restoration, for the wall was covered in years of dust, the surrounding choking haze still not cleared, and everything felt like a dream.

By the time they reacted, there was no trace of those people left.

"What's going on?"

"Where are the people?"

"What on earth is going on?"

All around was pitch black, the dust gradually drifting away, and only then could Gu Jiu Ling catch her breath.

That fall had left her dazed and disoriented; if Xiao Yin hadn't been shielding her, her soul might have been knocked loose.

"Jiu Ling!" Xiao Yin's hoarse voice rang out urgently in the dark night, accompanied by more groans, the clashing of weapons, and startled cries from those waking up.

"I'm here," Gu Jiu Ling said, her voice trembling slightly, tinged with the joy of having survived.

The next moment, she fell into a warm, strong embrace.

"It's fine, it's fine!" Xiao Yin held Gu Jiu Ling tightly; the sudden turn of events had just happened, and only now could he savor how perilous it had been.

Gu Jiu Ling also didn't know how she'd thought of it—she hadn't fled but turned back, sliced her palm with a dagger, smeared the blood that welled out haphazardly on the stone wall, and somehow caused such a huge commotion, as if heaven and earth had been overturned.

Fortunately, no one was hurt; as long as people are alive, that's enough.

"Your Majesty! Empress!"

"Stop! Who is it?"

It was Ling Feng's voice, followed immediately by the sound of blades clashing.

In the space where they had fallen, nothing could be seen; it was pitch black.

Besides, it was certain that not only their side had fallen, but the assassins pursuing them had also fallen.

Gu Jiu Ling also didn't know where she'd gotten a thin, slender tube; gripping it and twisting hard, it blazed bright as daylight.

"Ling Feng!" Gu Jiu Ling threw the illuminating tube in the direction of Ling Feng's voice.

In an instant the whole space blazed like daylight, revealing that the assassin leader who had been chasing them was now locked in combat with Ling Feng, his blade already slashing at Ling Feng's face—Ling Feng could hardly avoid it.

At that moment a clump of illuminating object was thrown over; both paused, then Ling Feng lowered his body to dodge the man's strike and countered with a backhand slash.

Xiao Yin pulled Gu Jiu Ling behind him and whispered, "Any more?"

Gu Jiu Ling produced another illuminating rod, twisted it hard and shoved it into Xiao Yin's hand; Xiao Yin gently pushed her into a corner, saying, "Wait for me! Don't move!"

Gu Jiu Ling obediently stepped back; though a crowd had besieged them above without harming Xiao Yin, these few who had fallen were hardly enough to trouble him.

Sure enough, flickering light and shadow were accompanied by waves of wails; within a moment the cries faded, replaced by a strong smell of blood.

Xiao Yin walked up to Gu Jiu Ling, not forgetting to wipe the blood from his Dragon Spring Sword with an assassin's clothing on the ground, and then leisurely cleaned his hands as well.

"Your Majesty, should we leave a survivor for questioning?" Ling Feng, seeing that the Emperor had nearly slaughtered them all, hurriedly interjected.

"No need, kill them all!"

Ling Feng stared, not yet able to say anything, when indeed the few remaining lackeys before him slowly collapsed to the ground, black blood seeping from the corners of their mouths.

These are all dead warriors; you can't get any information from them.

Ling Feng thought it was unlucky, kicked aside the dead warrior's corpse blocking the path, and followed behind Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling.

He raised his head to look at Gu Jiu Ling, tightly guarded by the Emperor at his side, but his heart felt a little uneasy.

Even now he still found it astonishing: the Empress had cut her own hand, pressed her blood onto the stone wall, which then sank to reveal a crack, and they had inadvertently fallen down.

How could the Empress open the secret mechanism passage here? What exactly is this place? What secret does it hide?