Chapter 35: The Secret Cave

After jumping into the hole, what came into view was a long and narrow secret passage.

Lu Lingfeng tried to move around, only to find he couldn't stretch out at all.

After a moment of thought, he ordered his three trusted aides to take off their night-traveling clothes, tie them around their arms, and wrap them into cloth shields to avoid being hit by hidden arrows.

Sure enough, after crawling out of this narrow passage, the assassins hiding in the shadows immediately struck, attacking the four.

Fortunately, Lu Lingfeng was highly skilled in martial arts, and the three Jin Wuwei beside him were all one-in-a-hundred elites. Being alert, they blocked the arrows with their cloth shields, rushed out of the passage with Lu Lingfeng, and killed all the assassins lying in ambush at the exit.

Lu Lingfeng understood in his heart that these assassins were just an appetizer; there must be more danger hidden in the underground cave ahead!

He exchanged a glance with the three Jin Wuwei, gritted his teeth, and resolutely continued forward.

But strangely, the opponent's forces seemed to really be just this small.

Lu Lingfeng and the others advanced cautiously for a long time without encountering a second wave of ambush.

Until shortly after, they passed through a corridor filled with traces of manual chiseling, and a closed stone door appeared before them.

Lu Lingfeng frowned, immediately raised his cloth shield, and walked cautiously toward the stone door.

Before he could get close to the stone door, a friction sound came from the cave wall, and the entire stone door actually rumbled and lifted up!

"It's mechanism art!"

The three Jin Wuwei were all startled, hurriedly holding their cloth shields to protect Lu Lingfeng.

Lu Lingfeng frowned and looked at the open stone door, only to see that behind it was a huge natural karst cave.

The space in this cave was extremely spacious, with sharp stalactites hanging from the top, many cave entrances and stone platforms hanging on the surrounding walls, and some strange-looking ghost god statues.

Various candles were inserted into the stone platforms and the ground below, releasing bright light.

By the candlelight, Lu Lingfeng saw a stone platform in the center of the cave. Four Heavenly King statues stood at the four corners of the platform, and in the very center was placed an openwork iron throne, on which sat a white-clad person with disheveled hair and a ghost mask.

At this moment, the white-clad person's arms were hanging on the armrests, eyes indifferently watching the four people behind the stone door.

"Lu Lingfeng... you finally came!"

A slightly buzzing voice came from behind the mask, echoing throughout the cave.

Lu Lingfeng frowned and said coldly: "You were waiting for me?"

"Correct!"

The white-clad person responded frankly, then looked at him indifferently: "Why, a dignified Jin Wuwei Middle General, are you afraid to come in and talk?"

Lu Lingfeng sneered: "Why go in? To fall for your ambush?"

The white-clad person shook his head in disappointment: "A dignified Fan Yang Lu clan, a famous noble family, holding a Rank 4 official position at such a young age. With such achievements, I thought you were some young hero, but it turns out you're just a coward!"

Lu Lingfeng's expression sank, and he said coldly: "Are you provoking me?"

The white-clad person glanced at him indifferently: "So what if I am?"

"……"

Lu Lingfeng's expression couldn't help but change.

Just then, he was slightly stunned, as if he had discovered something, and then suddenly gritted his teeth, changing his previous hesitation, waving his hand to push aside the Jin Wuwei blocking him, and strode into the stone door.

"Middle General!"

The three Jin Wuwei couldn't help but exclaim. After looking at each other, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

Seeing this scene, Su Haoming, who had been hiding his figure and following behind, couldn't help but shake his head.

Because of his existence, Jin Wuwei Xiao Wu, who should have died in the last Ghost Market trip, was able to survive.

This led to Lu Lingfeng not experiencing the death of his brother, his character not growing, and he remained that reckless Jin Wuwei Middle General.

Sure enough, over-interfering with the plot is not all good.

If they weren't following this time, I'm afraid the four of them would have been wiped out here...

Thinking of this, Su Haoming tapped his toes and quietly floated in while the stone door had not yet closed.

"Boom!"

The heavy stone door fell behind them.

Lu Lingfeng's heart sank, but he did not regret it.

He raised his shield and sword, looking coldly at the white-clad person.

"This General has come in, what will you do?"

The white-clad person laughed and couldn't help but clap his hands.

"Clap~ Clap~"

"What a Lu Lingfeng..."

The white-clad person's tone was smiling, then suddenly changed, sneering: "Truly stupid!"

Before the words had faded, dozens of figures rushed out from the shadows of the platform behind him, each holding a long sword to protect themselves.

Above the surrounding cave, more than a dozen archers revealed their figures, drawing their bows and aiming at the four Lu Lingfengs below.

The white-clad person sneered: "I thought you would walk right into the trap, but I didn't expect it to be so easy. Lu Lingfeng, even a fool like you can hold a high position. Are all the officials in the court blind?!"

Once these words were spoken, Lu Lingfeng's expression turned as gloomy as water.

Seeing this, Su Haoming, who was hiding his figure, couldn't help but have black lines on his forehead.

Blood pressure! My blood pressure!

This early-stage Lu Lingfeng is just too damn blood-pressure-raising, isn't he?!

No choice, I have to prepare to strike early...

Just as Su Haoming was thinking this, a breeze blew across his face, revealing a figure that only he could see.

"Lin Dage!"

Su Haoming's face showed joy.

Before entering the cave, he and Lin Yu split into two paths. He followed the four Lu Lingfengs with higher combat power, while Lin Yu protected his cousin Su Wuming in secret.

Since Lin Dage had already arrived here, it meant his cousin Su Wuming had also arrived!

Sure enough, Lin Yu whispered with a smile: "Don't be in a hurry to strike, let's see how your cousin performs!"

Before the words had faded, a slow and deliberate voice suddenly came from a cave entrance on the cave wall above.

"What the officials in the court think, Su does not know..."

"But listening to your tone, it seems you have deep grievances!"

The white-clad person was shocked and suddenly looked up.

Only to see a figure walking out of the cave entrance on the cave wall.

He walked with his hands behind his back, stepped onto the stone platform, and walked straight to the side of the archer, revealing that familiar face.

"Su Wuming……"

Lu Lingfeng looked at the figure above with a complex expression, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

At that time, Su Haoming was hiding behind them and couldn't see the situation on the cave wall, so he thought he was just being provoked.

In fact, the reason he chose to step into the stone door was not just simple recklessness, but also because he received Su Wuming's signal.

Seeing everyone's eyes gather, Su Wuming curled his lips and clapped his hands lightly.

In an instant, the archers standing on the cave wall stone platform turned their directions and aimed at the white-clad person below.

Seeing this scene, the many assassins in front of the white-clad person were all startled, hurriedly protecting the white-clad person, looking at the archers who had suddenly rebelled with suspicion.

Not only them, but even Su Haoming, who was hiding in the shadows, was shocked by the reversal before his eyes.

"……What is going on?!"

Su Haoming came back to his senses and looked at Lin Yu with surprise and joy.

Lin Yu explained with a smile: "Su Wuming didn't order his men to search everywhere for other secret passage entrances, but instead captured Fei Jishi, who was stealing chickens. This person has lived in the underground of the Ghost Market for years and knows the underground secret passages like the back of his hand, a living map of the Ghost Market."

"Plus, this mastermind specifically set an ambush for Lu Lingfeng, moving most of his manpower over."

"With the two combined, Su Wuming was able to sneak in and arrive here first."

"Those archers had already been taken down by him. What you see now are all Changan constables he brought!"

"As expected of my cousin!" Su Haoming couldn't help but exclaim, then said gloomily, "But Lin Dage, in this way, is there still room for us to make an entrance?"

"Don't worry!"

Lin Yu glanced at the platform: "See those four Heavenly King statues on the platform? They seal the sleeping Youli Four Freaks. The strength of these four freaks is indeed not bad. Relying only on Lu Lingfeng and these Changan constables, they might not be their opponents..."

He thought these four freaks weren't here!

So they were in the statues!

Su Haoming suddenly realized. He had only heard the names of the Youli Four Freaks from Lin Yu and didn't know their specific situation.

Lin Yu said with a smile: "Now the white-clad person is ambushing Lu Lingfeng, Su Wuming is ambushing the white-clad person, and the Youli Four Freaks are ambushing Su Wuming. We will then ambush the Youli Four Freaks. This is called the grand finale, showing off in front of people!"

(End of chapter)