Chapter 69: Night Visit to the Monarch's Mansion (1)

Walking through the three thousand halls, the sun sets on the Chu Gong city.

The horizon was filled with boundless red clouds, burning like fire. On the arrow tower on the east side of the palace gate, two figures, one in front and one behind, watched from afar as two teams of Liefeng Cavalry iron guards escorted the Shao Yuan Jun riding out of the palace. The bright red cloak on the horse flashed fiercely across the eyes hidden in the twilight, leaving behind the awe-inspiring salute of all the forbidden guards, and disappeared into the dust.

Riding a horse in the royal city, wearing a sword in the golden palace, not bowing to the monarch, ordering the three armies. "Huang Fei is becoming more and more presumptuous..." The person behind had only said half of what he wanted to say, but the person in front had already turned and walked away, walking down the arrow tower until he turned back and said, "You go and arrange it."

The person behind nodded, and the darkness between heaven and earth was like clouds, swallowing a cold gaze.

The heavy shadows of the palace covered the setting sun, and the huge Chu Gong was like a sleeping beast, lying quietly in the center of Shangying City. After nightfall, the guards on duty on the arrow tower were increased from two teams to four, and patrol guards constantly passed by from all places, with neat armor and strict order.

Since Helian Yiren left his post a few days ago, the deputy general of the Monarch's Mansion, Feng Yun, took over as the commander of the capital's forbidden guards. The defense inside the Chu Gong was strengthened several times more than before, and the area around the Hengyuan Hall, which housed the Chu State's heavy treasures, was as heavily guarded as ever.

The moon passed through heavy clouds, and the flowers and trees in the Imperial Garden spread out overlapping and intricate deep shadows in the night. A team of forbidden guards had just left, and the light of the torches gradually moved away. Suddenly, someone appeared near the mountain rocks without anyone knowing. "It's here." Yan Ling lowered his voice and looked back. "This secret passage leads directly to the center of Hengyuan Hall. In a while, the guards at the high place will change shifts, and the people in front will also patrol past. At that time, we can take the opportunity to sneak to the entrance of the secret passage, ensuring we won't be discovered by anyone."

Ye Xuanshang withdrew his gaze from the arrow tower overlooking from above and laughed in a low voice, "Truly worthy of being the Golden Matchmaker Yan Ling, you even found the location of the Chu Gong's secret passage."

Yan Ling calculated the time and the angle of the guards, found a hidden and comfortable position behind him, and refused to wrong himself by bending over and waiting like an ordinary night thief. "I don't want to enter from the main hall and deal with those difficult forbidden guard experts. If one thing goes wrong, I'll lose my life. Every country's royal palace must have a secret passage leading to other places. As long as you want to find it, there is no entrance that I, Yan Ling, cannot find." He flicked his wrist and put away the hook and rope that helped them climb over the palace wall. "Opening the entrance to that secret passage will take some time. Let's see if we are lucky enough not to be discovered later. Hey, although it's a secret passage, it may not be absolutely safe. It's not too late for you to change your mind now. Wouldn't it be better to leave this troublesome matter for your big brother to worry about?"

Under the night, Ye Xuanshang's deep outline vaguely revealed a bit of coldness, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly. "My big brother? I'm afraid he's not worthy."

With nothing to do on the left and right, Yan Ling simply leaned in front of him and said deliberately, "Although you say so, your father the King probably doesn't think so, otherwise he wouldn't be the Crown Prince living comfortably, while you have to take risks in Chu."

Ye Xuanshang reached out and grabbed his shoulder, pressing him into the deeper shadows, his tone slightly smiling. "If we take that thing head-on, the Chu and Mu states will definitely start a war, and casualties will be unavoidable. If we succeed tonight, you will have avoided a great war for the two countries. When I turn back, I will set up a monument for you to remember."

"Pah, pah, pah! The ghost wants you to set up a monument to remember!" Yan Ling said angrily and flicked away half a foot, but leaned back because he was afraid of disturbing the guards. After a while, he couldn't help but say, "By the way, two pieces of news came from the Mu State, a good one and a bad one. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Ye Xuanshang said, "The bad one."

Yan Ling said, "The bad news is that Tai Zi Yu has indeed completely controlled the inner and outer palaces, including the White Tiger Secret Guards, who are already under his command. Now, without his order, no one can enter the Mu King's bedroom, let alone see the Mu King. So, your days will definitely get worse and worse."

This news was not very good, but Ye Xuanshang suddenly smiled. Yan Ling glared at him inexplicably. "The good news is that the old Mu King is still alive. Tai Zi Yu seems to have concerns and has been suppressing himself without any outrageous actions."

"Hmm." Ye Xuanshang narrowed his eyes, and a moment of deep and complex emotion flashed through his pupils. At this time, it happened that two teams of forbidden guards were changing shifts on the watchtower. He suddenly raised his hand and patted Yan Ling on the shoulder, laughing in a low voice, "Let's go! These two pieces of news are not bad. I'll thank you together later!"

"Cut, let's talk about it if we have our lives to come back tonight!" Yan Ling replied to him, but his movement was not behind at all. The two sneaked into the front of the hall silently. Yan Ling bent down and fiddled with it quickly, and a stone slab opened at his touch. The guards in front patrolled again, and the place had already returned to silence.

In the secret passage, there were torches high up every ten steps. Once inside, Yan Ling changed his usual playful attitude. The whole person was like a leopard ready to go. Every muscle seemed to be full of vigilance. He flashed to a safe and hidden position first and whispered, "My goodness, this secret passage is so clean and the air is smooth, obviously used frequently. Maybe there are guards in front. Now we have something to play with."

Ye Xuanshang raised his head to signal. Ten steps ahead of the two, two copper tubes extended from the flat blue stone wall. Yan Ling raised his eyebrows. "This thing can clearly transmit the movement around to the other end. As long as we pass by, it will be discovered by the guards responsible for monitoring on the opposite side immediately. Hmm, there are even protective mechanisms set up on the stone wall in front."

Ye Xuanshang smiled. "At least it shows we didn't go the wrong way. This secret passage does lead to the Hengyuan Hall where the Chu Gong stores heavy treasures. How about giving you half an hour?"

Yan Ling rolled his eyes. "Joking, even a quarter of an hour is too much!" Before the words fell, the person had already risen from the ground, swept over the space of a zhang with a beautiful somersault, and landed lightly toward the top of the copper tube. When he was about to land, he seemed to rise with the wind, his body rose slightly, and he landed near the copper tube without any sound, like a falling leaf.

Although Ye Xuanshang's martial arts were much higher than Yan Ling's, he asked himself that he might not be as good as him in such a clean and beautiful movement. He praised him secretly, but the situation of him being chased by the fairy aunts of the Moyun Sect because of his flower-picking and grass-stealing flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but smile. The light work of the Golden Matchmaker Yan Ling was one of the best in the martial arts world. His ability to escape was first-class, and he was familiar with dealing with all kinds of mechanisms. He leaned against the wall and bent down, first took something out of his waist bag and pressed it lightly on the opening of the copper tube, then his left hand lit a fire folder, and he focused on baking around the copper tube. The thing slowly softened with the temperature rise, and finally completely sealed the copper tube. Yan Ling checked it with satisfaction, made a gesture to Ye Xuanshang, and then focused his attention on other mechanisms.

A strange-shaped thin knife gradually sank along the side of the relief protruding from the wall. After a while, there was a light click. Yan Ling's eyes lit up slightly, and the corners of his lips bent upward. Who knew that the proud arc had not yet formed, and suddenly stopped halfway. I don't know if it was because of the heat of the nearby torches, but in the cool secret passage, cold sweat actually seeped out of his forehead.

Ye Xuanshang sneaked to the side. Yan Ling's eyes did not leave the stone wall for a moment, frowning. "Don't come over yet. There is some trouble here. If one thing goes wrong, both of us will lose our lives."

Ye Xuanshang had never seen him have such a cautious expression, so he knew the matter was tricky. "Once the mechanism is triggered, which direction do you bet on?"

Yan Ling barely twitched the corners of his mouth, smiling uglier than crying. "I have five mechanisms under my hand, which means it is likely that the left and right stone walls and the front and back of the secret passage roof, and even the soles of the feet have mechanism ambushes. Now the first one has been solved by me, but behind it are several Zi-Wu chain mechanisms. Triggering any one of them will trigger all other mechanisms. If they cannot be dismantled at the same time, then we will wait to be shot into hedgehogs by arrows and the like."

Ye Xuanshang speculated, "Since one mechanism has been broken, there must be a safe direction."

Yan Ling said, "The problem is that in this situation, it is impossible to judge which direction it is. Zi-Wu chain, seamless, it is said to be the masterpiece of Master Kou Qi of the Hou Feng State. It's really hell! How could this thing appear in the secret passage of the Chu Gong?"

Ye Xuanshang seemed to think of something, his eyebrows tightened slightly, but he smiled at Yan Ling. "Kou Qi is famous for his sword-smelting technique. Mechanisms and the like are just little things for people to pass the time. It's a pity that you boast about your ability all day long. Hurry up and dismantle the mechanism, don't waste time here." One hand was placed on his back, his tone relaxed. "In case of an accident, I will do my best to help you retreat to the Gen position. Since one mechanism has been destroyed, it may not be without a way out."

Yan Ling was about to protest, but when he heard his words, his body shook slightly. He looked at him sideways, suddenly cut his head away, and stopped talking. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, abandoning the distracting thoughts in his heart, and concentrated all his energy on the mechanism hidden under the stone wall.

Time passed bit by bit. Even if he divided most of his energy to pay attention to the movement around him, Ye Xuanshang could still feel Yan Ling's tense mind through his palm, and cold sweat seeped out of his own body. After a long time, suddenly there were a few sounds, and Yan Ling sighed and sat down beside him. Several reliefs around the two moved to the side at the same time, revealing rows of sharp arrowheads underneath. Each sharp arrow was aimed at the current position of the two of them. The number was enough to shoot more than ten people into meat mud in an instant. Even with Ye Xuanshang's courage, he couldn't help but feel cold when he saw it.

Yan Ling leaned in front of the stone wall and was shocked to find that all the sharp arrows in front of him were special four-sided hook arrows, and the arrow body was even added with double blood grooves. He couldn't help but shout, "My mother, what kind of treasure is hidden in Hengyuan Hall that is worth the Chu King paying such a price? Although Master Kou Qi's mechanism is clever, I haven't heard of it being so ruthless. Today I almost planted it here!"

Facing the sharp arrowheads, Ye Xuanshang had an unusual silence in his eyes. The light of the torches on the stone wall reflected the sharp arrow tips, appearing and disappearing in that black and cold color. "This mechanism is not Kou Qi's handwriting, and it should not have been set up by the order of the Chu King."

Yan Ling wondered, "How do you say that?"

Ye Xuanshang raised his chin slightly. "These are all new arrows made recently. Master Kou Qi passed away when the Hou Feng State died. If it was a mechanism set up by him, it must have been many years old. How could it be like this? And you once said that the monitoring copper tube here leads to the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion, not the Chu Gong."

Yan Ling knelt on the side with great interest, carefully examining the internal structure of the mechanism, and said casually, "Huang Fei is in his duty, so it's not strange that the copper tube leads to the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion. But no matter how powerful he is, he can't make it out of thin air to rival Master Kou Qi..." The conversation stopped, almost in unison with Ye Xuanshang: "Secret Record of Ye Zi!"

On the Ranxiang Lake, the peach forest is like blood, the injury of a sword, the forbearance of a step.

The "Secret Record of Ye Zi" finally belongs to the Chu State, and the Liefeng Cavalry is like a tiger with wings. Now, I am afraid that no one can estimate the true strength of the Chu State, or the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion.

Yan Ling smiled bitterly, "No wonder when I heard that Huang Fei got the 'Secret Record of Ye Zi', your expression was as ugly as losing thousands of taels of silver."

Ye Xuanshang sighed for a long time, "Now I believe that the 'Secret Record of Ye Zi' has indeed fallen into Huang Fei's hands."

Yan Ling said dissatisfiedly, "How could my intelligence be wrong? Although the Battle of Ranxiang Lake was won by the Blood Luan Sword by half a move, Ji Cang inexplicably gave the 'Secret Record of Ye Zi' to Huang Fei for nothing. But as far as I know, the Xuan State has been mobilizing troops frequently recently, obviously preparing for war against the Chu State in secret. The good show is still behind."

Ye Xuanshang sighed with emotion, "The Xuan King of the North and the Shao Yuan of the South Chu are both extraordinary people!" After saying that, he shrugged his shoulders, put the matter aside for the time being, and said to Yan Ling, "Have you seen enough? If you study here until dawn, our trouble will be more than this."

"Tsk, worthy of being the masterpiece of the great craftsman Kou Qi, it is truly amazing!" Yan Ling put away the thin knife and jumped up from the ground. Unexpectedly, his figure moved, but he and Ye Xuanshang changed color at the same time!

A sound made by the rotation of the mechanism, like several sharp blades piercing sensitive nerves, the mechanism that had been blocked suddenly started without warning, and strong and dense sharp arrows shot from all sides like a sudden rain!

Ye Xuanshang had no time to think about anything, shouted "Go quickly!" and shook Yan Ling away from the original place with one palm, sending him to the fleeting gap in the layers of arrow rain. Yan Ling's body rose into the air, turned from an impossible angle in mid-air, buckled his wrist like lightning, and used his strength to bring him out, making Ye Xuanshang fly out first. However, the sharp arrows were fast and covered the entire space. The two people in the center of the mechanism had no room to dodge, and the cold sharp tips went straight to the skin!

Just at this critical moment, Ye Xuanshang's body hit the stone wall heavily, and the dark door on the wall opened silently. The two people fell suddenly, and several sharp arrows followed, flying over their heads, clanging and falling beside them. The dark door opened and closed, and the two people were suddenly in pitch black. They heard the sound of sharp arrows falling like heavy rain outside, and it took a long time to return to silence. They sat on the ground leaning against each other, and no one spoke for a long time.

After a while, Yan Ling said with lingering fear: "Seamless, it turns out to be designed like this. If this is just a little thing to pass the time, how powerful would the sword cast by Kou Qi be?"

A mechanism actually calculated the time to trigger twice. It was calculated that if someone could destroy the first heavy mechanism, they would not only be proficient in this way, but also discover that it was a wonderful mechanism from Kou Qi. According to human nature, encountering a top opponent in the field they are good at, even in the situation of sneaking into the enemy territory, it is inevitable to delay a little time for this. During this time, the pride of breaking the trap and the focus on new things will inadvertently lower people's vigilance, and the second fatal mechanism will be triggered at this time.

The two people survived by luck. It must be said that it was lucky. Such a rare and clever mechanism and the subtle measurement of human heart, what is the Shao Yuan Jun behind it trying to guard against with these seamless sharp arrows? Is it just the rare treasure hidden in Hengyuan Hall? And where does this secret passage that suddenly appeared behind and accidentally saved the lives of the two people lead?

Ye Xuanshang exhaled for a long time, "Let's go and see if there is an exit."

"This time we are lucky..." Yan Ling climbed up from the ground, and suddenly his eyes froze, and he made a gesture of silence to Ye Xuanshang. Ye Xuanshang also noticed that someone was walking in this direction in the dark passage, and the two quickly flashed to the dark place.

"It seems to be the movement from nearby, let's look separately." As someone spoke, the footsteps came closer and closer, and suddenly stopped when they reached the front. A person dressed in the Liefeng Cavalry forbidden guard costume lowered his head here, just seeing the few sharp arrows that had just landed.

The arrow tip was cold, and the cold light suddenly bloomed!

A sword shadow appeared from the darkness without warning, and the blood light splashed and disappeared. Yan Ling reached out in time to support the soft body of the guard and slowly put the person down. A greeting from another guard came from the opposite side, "You must have heard it wrong, what did you find?"

Yan Ling immediately lowered his voice and replied imitating the previous person: "Strange, come and see what this is?"

The thin blade killed the opponent with one blow when he appeared. The blade rotated beautifully between Yan Ling's fingers and disappeared. He pointed to the two unlucky guards to Ye Xuanshang, "It's the Liefeng Cavalry forbidden guard, how?"

"The secret passage must lead to the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion." Ye Xuanshang threw a forbidden guard's clothes to him. Yan Ling took it and sighed exaggeratedly: "Dragon's pool and tiger's den! It seems that I can't go back to sleep peacefully tonight."

In the deep darkness, Ye Xuanshang looked up and smiled, his sword eyebrows raised, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub!"

Sharp swords, long halberds, strong shields... rows and rows of them, unable to estimate how many. As the space continued to widen, the secret passage continued to branch out to both sides, and the number of swords and armor gradually increased. The scene in front of him was like a complete and ready arsenal. Weapons enough to equip ten thousand troops were displayed secretly in the secret underground between the Shao Yuan Jun Mansion and the Chu Gong. Continuing to move forward, the sound of gold and iron clashing became clearer and clearer, and the hot air poured in from time to time, making the secret passage more and more stuffy, and the scene at the exit was even more shocking.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 70 =====