Arrows fell like stars, and Gu Qianying dodged them, evading several arrows. However, she couldn't get close, and seeing the guards outside call for more reinforcements, she had to give up and find another opportunity.
Just as she turned to leave, a large iron cage suddenly descended from above, trapping her.
Several guards, drawing their sabers, rushed in and surrounded Gu Qianying.
Trapped in an iron cage and surrounded by guards, with two layers of confinement, it was impossible for her to escape unscathed.
Fortunately, her face was covered by a black veil, so her appearance could not be seen by outsiders, thus not revealing her identity.
Gu Qianying drew her dagger with her right hand, gripping it tightly. She had intended to use her silver needles but then reconsidered and put them away.
Using silver needles would be too obvious.
Gu Qianying attempted to use her internal energy to shake the iron cage open, but it wouldn't budge. The cage was made of adamantine, impossible to break or destroy.
"Quickly, go report to the Empress!"
The guards did not attack Gu Qianying but merely surrounded her. The leader of the guards ordered one of his men to fetch the Empress.
Gu Qianying's delicate eyebrows furrowed.
If the Empress of Xia were to arrive, things would become difficult.
Suddenly,
A gust of wind swept through,
A man in brocade robes, wearing a silver mask, descended as if from the heavens, attacking with his sword.
Upon seeing the man's figure, Gu Qianying froze.
How could it be him?
The man moved like the wind, his figure a blur. Amidst the clash of blades, a large number of guards fell.
From half a zhang away, the man struck out with his palm, instantly shattering the sturdy iron cage and sending other furnishings in the room flying. In an instant, they turned to dust.
Amidst the spreading blood, he stepped over the sprawled bodies, walking towards her step by step.
Blood still dripped from the tip of his sword, forming beads on the ground. His voice was like a spring breeze, "Still not coming out? Waiting for me to carry you?"
His magnetic, deep voice brought Gu Qianying back to her senses. She walked out, "Who exactly are you? Why are you asking me?"
Beneath the silver mask, she couldn't see his face, but she felt that this man in the silver mask might be someone she knew, or someone who knew her.
As he approached, she reached out to take off his mask.
He looked at her, not stopping her, and simply asked, "The Empress of Xia is not easy to deal with. Let me take you away."
If she said yes, he would take her away at all costs, even though he knew that outside Zhongyang Palace, several archers were already surrounding it,
Even though he knew that tonight was the full moon, the day his poison would flare up,
As long as she agreed to go with him, he wouldn't care about injury or death. At this moment, he only cared about her.
He didn't want her to take risks; he was worried about her.
"Why should I leave? What I want, I must obtain!"
Following her like this, and saving her at such a opportune moment, it was clear that this person had been tracking her.
But why was he tracking her? This person's back was very familiar, and his voice felt extremely familiar, so... was he...
As the silver mask was about to be removed, the man raised his hand, blocking her wrist, and retreated, creating distance between them.
"Even if you get hurt, even if you die, you still want to do this?"
His voice was calm, but his tightly clenched hands beneath his sleeves revealed his current anger.
"Sir, your martial arts are so formidable. If we cooperate, this Yi Ling Pearl will surely be within our grasp!"
Saying this, Gu Qianying turned around, looking at the bookshelf some distance away. The books on the shelf had not fallen along with the valuable porcelain.
Just now, the internal energy the man in the silver mask had unleashed was extremely powerful. Logically, all the furnishings in the room should have turned to dust.
But... the books on the bookshelf were... so... special!
Gu Qianying walked over.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her.
Gu Qianying stopped, looking down. The hand beneath the brocade robe, with its knuckles turning white, gripped her with a bit of force. She turned back to meet his deep, abyss-like dark eyes and asked, "What's wrong? Sir, are you unwilling to cooperate? Of course, after obtaining this Yi Ling Pearl and the treasure later, you can have a share."
"I don't want it. I only want you!"
"What?"
Gu Qianying was stunned.
She had thought for a moment that her ears were playing tricks on her.
"You... what did you say?"
She asked again, as if possessed.
"I want you to be safe."
With that,
The man released her, walked past her to the bookshelf, and turned a hidden black knob within the topmost book. As the books on the shelf vibrated slightly, a hidden secret chamber appeared before Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying glanced at the man in the silver mask. She was very confused and had many questions.
The man in the silver mask seemed very familiar with this place; he must have been here before.
Also, why had he said those words to her? Was he someone she knew? Or someone who knew her?
Overwhelmed with questions, she didn't have time to think further and followed the man in the silver mask into the secret chamber. What she saw there shocked her.
A hundred elite warriors were attacking the man in the silver mask. The man, clutching his abdomen, bled black blood from between his fingers as he fought.
Gu Qianying's eyes narrowed, and she thought, "Not good!"
That man was poisoned!
With a sharp dagger spinning in her palm, she moved swiftly. The tip of the dagger grazed the throats of the elite warriors, and five or six of them fell. The others, realizing Gu Qianying's considerable martial arts skills, became wary and threw hidden weapons and poisoned darts at her.
Gu Qianying dodged to the side and quickly moved to the man's side. They stood back to back, and she could only see the blood-stained hem of his clothes from the corner of her eye. "How are you?"
The man's voice was a little weak, "I won't die!"
Sensing his discomfort, and perhaps that he was holding on, Gu Qianying made a decision: "Hold on, I'll take you away."
The Yi Ling Pearl could be snatched another day, but the man in the silver mask was injured, and she had to take him away first.
No matter who this man was, at this moment, he hadn't abandoned her in danger, making him her friend.
At this moment, outside the secret chamber, the voice of the Empress of Xia could be heard: "The person must be captured alive! I want to see who has the audacity to steal my belongings!"
A palace maid brought a chair, and she sat down slowly, her eyes sharp and venomous.
Outside the hall, a hundred archers waited. She didn't believe anyone inside could escape!
Upon hearing the voice of the Empress of Xia, Gu Qianying quickly took out her silver needles and coated them with the poison powder she kept on her person. She was about to launch the needles.
Now, even if she wanted to conceal her identity, she couldn't. Since she couldn't conceal it, she wouldn't.
What if her identity was exposed!
At worst, she would bloodbath the Xia imperial palace!
As the silver needles flew, she took out her signal flare.
Her people should be mobilized!
However, the man's bloodstained hands pressed down on her, blocking the silver needles she was about to throw.
"Seven steps away from your feet, there is a secret passage. You can leave, hurry!"
With that,
The man pushed Gu Qianying,
Turned around, and fought the remaining elite warriors alone.
Gu Qianying hadn't expected there to be a secret passage in the secret chamber, but she didn't want to leave. She wanted to take the man in the silver mask with her.
Just as she was about to turn,
Suddenly, the floor beneath her feet loosened violently, splitting open a gap. Beneath the gap was a black hole of unfathomable depth. Her feet lost their purchase, and she fell straight down.
The floor instantly returned to its original state.
Two elite warriors, who were supposed to capture Gu Qianying alive, were bewildered. After searching for Gu Qianying in vain, they turned to attack the man in the silver mask.
The man in the silver mask glanced at the floor that had returned to its original state, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Girl, take care!
"Pfft!"
The man clutched his abdomen and spat out a mouthful of black blood. He held his long sword with one hand, the tip of the blade resting on the ground. As figures blurred before his eyes, his vision darkened, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing.
The elite warriors dragged the man out of the secret chamber and threw him at the feet of the Empress of Xia. Kneeling on one knee, they reported, "Reporting to my lord, your subordinate is incompetent. That person still managed to escape!"
The Empress of Xia glanced at the man in the silver mask lying on the ground, her gaze fierce. "A bunch of useless people."
Thinking of something, she suddenly turned and ordered her personal palace maid, "Go and check if that little slut Gu Qianying is still resting in her room."
With these outsiders arriving, her Zhongyang Palace was no longer peaceful. Thus, she couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Yes, Your Majesty the Empress."
The palace maid obeyed and left.
The Empress of Xia's gaze fell again on the man in the silver mask: "Go, take off his mask. I want to see who this person is!"
"Yes!"
Beside her, a young eunuch stepped forward, crouched down, and lifted the silver mask from the man's face...