Chapter 701: Wuxia: Even Archrivals Can Become Lovers 35

If the mercury corroded these gold, the Earth Evil Palace's evidence of intercepting official silver would completely disappear.

Thinking of this, Jin Chen led the group out of the stone gate, but he himself intended to go back in.

"No way! Jin Chen!"

Mu Huaizhi grabbed his hand, brows furrowed tightly.

"It's fine, you go first, I'll catch up soon, trust me."

Jin Chen hugged him, then pushed him forward and slipped into the stone gate.

"Huai zhi! You can't go!" Fang Xun, quick-eyed and quick-handed, blocked Mu Huaizhi, "Jin Chen might have his own way; if we follow, we'll only hold him back!"

Mu Huaizhi hesitated half a second, then could only go back up first.

Fang Xun was right, Jin Chen's abilities are extraordinary; he will surely have a way out… otherwise he wouldn't risk his life for this official silver.

If I rashly went over, it might even backfire.

Although mercury has no smell, it is highly volatile; Sang Ning, lacking internal power to protect his body, already began to feel dizzy and nauseous, so he quickly took out half an herbal medicine from his cloth pack and held it in his mouth.

The five, carrying that child, kept moving forward, tearing strips of cloth to wrap around their noses.

Inside the stone gate.

Jin Chen stood beside the gold, invoking his spiritual power.

Spiritual power formed a shield, instantly stopping the mercury from spreading further, and it seeped into the crevices, filling them.

Under the effect of spiritual power, the soil around the cavern began to harden, gradually replacing the spiritual shield in resisting the mercury's erosion.

But this only treats the symptom, not the root; the most important thing is still the mercury pool beneath the cavern.

Jin Chen thought it over and decided to change his method to continue dealing with it.

He must speed up, otherwise Mu Huaizhi's path to the surface might also get blocked by the cavern's collapse.

Mu Huaizhi's group moved extremely fast; soon they reached the narrow passage, and while climbing up they could faintly sense someone's presence above.

It seemed they were lying in wait, just waiting for them to come up.

But in the crisis, Mu Huaizhi couldn't worry about that much.

He now had only one thought: return to the surface, then wait for Jin Chen to come up.

Mu Huaizhi even dared not think of the result of Jin Chen not coming back.

In the darkness, everyone quickened their pace, already reaching the large hole where they had first fallen.

Several people were somewhat affected by the mercury, feeling dazed and weak all over.

They exchanged a few glances, communicating silently.

Mu Huaizhi nodded, made a gesture; certainly someone was waiting above, their current state unsuited for a direct clash, so only Jiang Chu could assassinate.

Then we must first get Jiang Chu safely up there.

He pointed to himself, then pointed to Fu Zhiyuan.

The latter immediately understood, handing the unconscious child to Fang Xun.

The two used the cavern wall to perform lightness skill, kicked up to the mouth, and the moment they steadied, they leaned back-to-back, holding long swords.

Sure enough, the blue-clad they had previously encountered was already waiting outside with dozens of black-clad men.

Beside him was also a green-clad man.

Seeing them emerge unharmed, the blue-clad was obviously shocked, his low, muffled voice full of disbelief.

"Chi Lian actually didn't kill you!"

"Chi Lian." Mu Huaizhi's expression was cold, faintly pleased, "He's dead."

Then the Jade Hilt Dragon pointed straight at the blue-clad, "Now it's your turn."

The blue-clad retreated half a step, clenching his fists tightly.

That day at Zhu Wu, he had only exchanged blows with Jin Chen, and didn't know Mu Huaizhi's strength.

But the Seven Clad Assassins are ranked by strength; Chi Lian specializes in enchantment, and anyone, male or female, who is enchanted loses the ability to move.

In such a situation, Mu Huaizhi actually managed to kill Chi Lian!

The green-clad snorted coldly, thinking Chi Lian was just infatuated with male beauty and careless, completely not believing this brat could have such skill.

But… he glanced at Fu Zhiyuan, hesitating whether to act.

Indeed, they go soft-hearted toward Fu Zhiyuan.

Mu Huaizhi's gaze shifted instantly; he had already stepped forward to take the initiative.

Although Fu Zhiyuan didn't know why, he still tried his best to block Mu Huaizhi with his body; the green- and blue-clad feared hurting him, so indeed their moves were obstructed, unable to attack effectively.

"Get out of the way!"

The green-clad shouted angrily, trying to drive Fu Zhiyuan away.

The black-clad also came to help.

In the chaos, Jiang Chu seized the chance to leap out, hiding in the grass.

He lowered his stance, eyes sharp as a hawk; as his hand gestures shifted, several hidden weapons appeared in his hand, their blades mixed with a dark green glow, obviously poisonous.

Swish!

The hidden weapons shot out.

"Ah!"

Before the blue-clad could retract his move, he clutched his neck and collapsed, utterly unprepared.

Seeing this, the green-clad immediately stopped his actions and looked around, but Mu Huaizhi had no intention of letting him go, charging forward again.

Attacked from front and back, the black-clad also kept falling as the hidden weapons were fired; the green-clad realized he had underestimated the younger generation's strength, and could only retreat to survive, planning to settle the score later.

At that moment, Jin Chen finally emerged from the cavern; the whole underground trembling finally ceased, returning to calm.

Everyone already knew their identities; Jin Chen no longer concealed himself, his demonic art adapting even more smoothly than orthodox techniques, as if aided by a deity.

Its ruthlessness surpasses what orthodox martial arts can match.

But Jin Chen did not kill him.

They still haven't found the Earth Evil Palace's lair; this manor can at most be considered a stronghold. If they want to wipe it out in one fell swoop, someone must be able to locate the lair's position.

So Jin Chen feigned weakness, let the green-clad go, and meanwhile left a tracking spell on him.

Mu Huaizhi still intended to pursue, but was stopped by Jin Chen.

"No need to chase; I have another use."

Thus Mu Huaizhi obediently stopped and retracted his blade.

He turned around, and his tense expression only relaxed after seeing Jin Chen unharmed.

"All right, I'm really fine."

Jin Chen embraced him, rubbed his head, his tone low and soft.

"Don't worry, I haven't yet waited for your promise to me—how could I die so easily?"

"Such a dangerous place… you actually dare to go alone, truly reckless."

Mu Huaizhi's voice was a bit muffled, leaning against his shoulder, pursing his lips; the lingering fear remained.

"At the time there was no other way—I couldn't just watch the evidence disappear."

"Then you also shouldn't put yourself in danger!"

Listening to Jin Chen's explanation, Mu Huaizhi's voice grew heavier; he suddenly reached out and hugged back in response to this embrace.

His tone hinted at some grievance, yet he stubbornly did not want Jin Chen to see his now-red-eyed appearance.

Even if concealed as well as possible, affection will still show through other emotions.

Such as uncontrollable worry and tension.

Even if unwilling to admit it, Mu Huaizhi cannot but face the fact.

Regarding Jin Chen, he had long since gone from initially disliking him to the point of wanting to kill him, to now feeling heartache even when he is injured.

"Why are you still crying? There are others around." Jin Chen, soft-hearted to the extreme, rubbed the corner of his mouth against his cheek, whispering soothingly by his ear.

"Let's wait until we go back and then slowly let you calm down, okay?"

"... Mm."

Mu Huaizhi, after a moment of silence, replied; his tone sounded cold yet with a hint of obedient softness.

This is an emotion that only shows itself in front of Jin Chen.

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -10, total 35!】