The ghostly figure dodged with incredible speed; perhaps he sensed Dou Akou's murderous intent the instant she decided to kill him, which is why he dodged with such composure. Dou Akou launched a few attacks, her longsword drawing a secret protective circle around her, preventing anyone from getting close.
Suddenly, the man ducked down, dodging Dou Akou's slashing blade. Dou Akou only felt her blade barely graz the man's head before he slipped into the gaps in her dense blade light and simultaneously grabbed her pulse point.
Dou Akou felt a sharp pain in her wrist, so weak she almost couldn't hold the knife. However, she gritted her teeth and endured it, knowing that losing the knife now meant losing her life. But then she heard the man's hoarse voice: "Akou, is that you?"
The voice was urgent, and upon closer listening, it trembled. Dou Akou's heart was suddenly lifted into the air by the thin, long thread, and then slammed heavily into her chest. Although it hurt, it returned to its place.
With a clang, she could no longer hold the knife and it fell to the ground. She collapsed into his arms, sobbing, "Sir!"
Almost simultaneously, with a "whoosh," someone lit a candle. Dou Akou could only sob in Fu Jiuxin's arms, her legs barely supporting her body as she leaned limply against him.
Fu Jiuxin remained silent, but gently kissed away Dou Akou's tears while cupping her face. After a long while, he asked, "Akou, are you hurt?"
His voice had regained its composure. Only his cold hands betrayed his earlier emotions.
Dou Akou wiped away her tears and looked up at Fu Jiuxin: "No. What about you?"
After asking the question, she smelled a faint scent of blood on Fu Jiuxin's body and became nervous. She groped Fu Jiuxin's body with both hands, and thinking of the medicine Ding Zisu had given her, she quickly took out an antidote pill from her bosom to feed Fu Jiuxin.
Fu Jiuxin chuckled and explained that the amount of medicine Ding Zisu had given him was not enough to intoxicate him, but he was enjoying Dou Akou's enthusiasm, so he couldn't bear to push her away and let her tease him. Finally, someone couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Tangyuanzi, do you think I'm blind?"
When Dou Akou turned around, it was Su Luoyang.
I suppose that light, nimble footstep I just heard was his.
The boy, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, held up a candle, his bright face beaming with a smile. He was always like this; it seemed that no matter how dangerous the situation, it couldn't erase the smile from his face.
Dou Akou blushed and awkwardly withdrew her hand: "Su Luoyang, what are you doing here?"
"Young Master asked me to keep an eye on Uncle Chen. A few days ago, I noticed that something was wrong with Uncle Chen. I slept soundly yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, I found that Uncle Chen was gone. That's why I rushed over."
Dou Akou looked at Fu Jiuxin with suspicion: "Sir, was it Uncle Chen who did this?"
Fu Jiuxin sighed: "Mm."
Although he didn't say much, Dou Akou was shocked. So, the person who buried the fuse in the Pangbotang warehouse, the person who caused the explosion, was actually Uncle Chen.
But on second thought, it seems to make sense.
Chen Bo was too stubborn; too much rigidity leads to breakage. He had made up his mind that even if it meant destroying the Siyou Kingdom, he would not leave its treasures to outsiders. As for that good-for-nothing young master, he might as well die on this homeland with him.
Dou Akou had never lacked food or clothing since childhood and had never particularly desired anything. Naturally, she possessed a kind of indifference and simplicity that comes from being free from desires. Now, seeing someone as persistent as Uncle Chen for the first time, she was touched and her mind was filled with thoughts.
After finding Fu Jiuxin, Dou Akou felt much more confident. The faint candlelight in Su Luoyang's hand seemed to radiate immense light. After briefly explaining their situations, the three of them headed back towards the bronze gate, following the same route they had taken.
The entrance that had been blasted open by Pi Xiaoli was still there, standing amidst the ruins. Dou Akou looked back at the road behind her; it was pitch black and deep, like the belly of a giant python, and they were inside this snake, being digested and devoured.
She shivered, gripped Fu Jiuxin's hand tightly, and turned her head. The entrance was getting closer and closer. She was holding her beloved's hand beside her. All they had to do was bend over and squeeze through the entrance to a bright and beautiful new world.
Then she would tell him she was pregnant with their child, and they might argue about what to name the baby. She might start begging her third aunt to make clothes for her child, a few sets for the boy and a few for the girl. The boy's clothes should be simple and elegant, and the girl's should be delicate and pretty, in pale yellow and light green colors...
As Dou Akou pondered to herself, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curved upwards.
Su Luoyang had already slipped out and was bending over to look inside, urging them to hurry. In that instant, it felt as if a cold snake had coiled around Dou Akou's neck. Her whole body stiffened, and she dared not move. Her eyes were wide open, her gaze empty. At the end of that gaze stood an old man.
The old man stood numbly beneath the bronze gate, muttering the oath to revive Siyou: "I will live and die with this fallen nation." Then, he released his grip, and the burning tinder fell to the ground. In an instant, a dazzling, bright sea of fire rose up, its shockwaves churning. Dou Akou, with her sharp eyes, saw the clothes of the corpses on the ground instantly burn to ashes, swirling and disappearing into the flames.
Fu Jiuxin reacted quickly, carrying Dou Akou and retreating several feet away. They looked at each other and saw a bright, burning flame in each other's eyes. Su Luoyang and Chen Bo's figures had long been engulfed in this sea of fire.
running away at the end of the road
Dou Akou could not believe it.
The flames roared and consumed everything in their path, charging into the hole just a few feet in front of it like a wild beast, nearly ripping Dou Akou's clothes with a hiss.
The heat was intense, and Dou Akou couldn't open her eyes because of the smoke and heat; tears streamed down her face.
Fu Jiuxin, holding Dou Akou, retreated without hesitation, not stopping for a moment. Even after retreating several feet away, the bright red flames could still be seen.
Dou Akou clutched Fu Jiuxin's clothes in terror: "How could he start such a big fire?"
Fu Jiuxin's expression was very unpleasant: "Stone fat."
He only said two words briefly, but Dou Akou understood immediately, and her face turned pale.
Petroleum is flammable and difficult to extinguish once it starts burning. There was petroleum in the natural mine outside, and with such a violent tremor, a lot of it has already surfaced. Uncle Chen must have brought the petroleum here!
They were in the rear hall behind the bronze gate, with walls made of blue bricks on both sides and large pieces of jade paving the ground. The flames, unable to find any flammable material, licked at the ground reluctantly before going out. However, although they couldn't ignite, the immense power of the flames heated the blue bricks. Even far from the sea of fire, Dou Akou could feel the air in this small space rapidly heating up, and the blue bricks were faintly emitting white smoke.
In their current situation, they are just like porcelain being fired and refined in a kiln!
Dou Akou felt sweat beading on her forehead. That sea of fire was so vast, and connected to the surrounding rock ash; it probably wouldn't be extinguished for days. She wondered if Gu Huaibi and Tang Xunzhen had escaped safely…
But she couldn't worry about anyone else at this moment; her situation and Fu Jiuxin's were probably even worse. The only exit had become a sea of fire. If they stayed here for a few days, they would either be roasted to death or starve and die of thirst.
Dou Akou's heart trembled; the child in her womb hadn't even had a chance to see the world yet!
Suddenly she felt a tightness in her hand; it was Fu Jiuxin holding her hand. Turning around, she saw the man's lips right in front of her, slightly upturned, blooming into a smile that seemed to offer countless comforting and reassuring solace.
"Akou, are you scared?"
"I'm not afraid." Dou Akou steadied herself. If she was indeed a little scared just now, she was now at ease because of Fu Jiuxin. As long as this man was by her side, she would be fearless.
There was no going back; they could only move forward and explore the perilous unknown path that might conceal something.
Dou Akou, while holding Fu Jiuxin's arm, chattered on and on about the events of the day.
The world is truly amazing, as if everything is preordained. She and Tang Xunzhen only had a single thought, a change of heart, and went to Longfeng Town, escaping the upheaval initiated by Xu Liren. But because of the sudden arrival of a new life, they rushed back to Haohui City, and after several twists and turns, they finally reunited.
If it weren't for this unexpected discovery of a little life, perhaps she and Tang Xunzhen would have spent one night at their home in Longfeng Town, and perhaps she would never have met Fu Jiuxin again, or perhaps they would have been separated by death.
Dou Akou thought for a moment. If it were really the latter situation, she would probably still choose to give birth to the child, but her heart had already died along with Fu Jiuxin, and she would live a life like ashes. Dou Akou felt a chill in her heart, shook her head, and thought, there are no ifs! She was standing here now, standing next to Fu Jiuxin, either living together or dying together.
She firmly believes that her ability to return here was guided by her child from beyond the heavens.
Dou Akou's mind raced with all sorts of strange thoughts. When she came to her senses, they had already gone quite far. Just a moment ago, they could still see some things thanks to the light of the fire, but now they couldn't see even a foot ahead.
Fu Jiuxin was feeling around on the wall with both hands, as if he was measuring its length and width. Then he paused, took out a tinderbox from his pocket, and with a hiss, the tinderbox's faint light flickered for a moment before a larger flame ignited.
Dou Akou rubbed her eyes. It turned out that there was an oil lamp every ten feet along the wall. After fifty years, there was still a little oil left in the lamp. Fu Jiuxin lit it, and it immediately illuminated the scene before her.
They threw the sea of fire far away, and the scorching heat from the roasting of the blue bricks gradually subsided, leaving only the unique coolness and chill of the underground labyrinth.
Fu Jiuxin let out a breath, stopped walking, and leaned against the wall to rest.
Half an hour ago, he had just escaped from the sudden collapse and massive earthquake. In that split second, his mind was blank, and he was practically relying on instinct to barely survive among the falling boulders, leaping and running without stopping. A quarter of an hour ago, he saw Dou Akou, and before he could express the sudden burst of intense joy, he was suddenly struck by another upheaval. He was still running and running, as if his body had been separated from his soul.
Only then did he completely relax, and immediately felt pain and exhaustion screaming in his bones, along with the joy and surprise he felt when he first saw Dou Akou. All of this surged up at this moment, and even his heart was throbbing with pain.
Dou Akou nestled in Fu Jiuxin's arms, snuggling against him affectionately, but her hand reached for Fu Jiuxin's waist. Suddenly, she felt something sticky and wet on her hand, and jumped up in alarm: "Sir, you're injured!"
It was inevitable that he would get injured. He's not a god; it's already remarkable that he survived such a major disaster. He must have had some injuries.
To Dou Akou, even the slightest injury on Fu Jiuxin was a matter of life and death. She immediately became anxious and tried to lift his clothes to check his injury. Fu Jiuxin said softly, "Akou, it's alright, it's just a minor injury." He couldn't resist Dou Akou's insistence and had no choice but to let her tear off his clean undergarment to bandage it.
Fu Jiuxin looked at the busy head in front of him, a soft, tender feeling welling up inside him. He wasn't without selfishness; the moment he saw Dou Akou, the overwhelming joy he felt outweighed his worry. Reason told him he should blame Dou Akou for coming down to find him, urging her to return to the surface with cold, heartless words. However, emotionally, he couldn't deceive himself; he was happy. He was selfish enough to want Dou Akou to accompany him through life and death.
But at this moment, she was within arm's reach of him. He could reach out and touch her. Her hands were wrapped around his waist, and her skin was pressed against his cheek. Fu Jiuxin gazed at her deeply and sighed, "Akou, thank goodness you're here."
Dou Akou was taken aback. What had Fu Jiuxin gone through to say such a thing? She felt a pang of heartache, helped Fu Jiuxin sit down, and began rummaging through her own belongings.
In a way, they were lucky. When Dou Akou left her home in Longfeng Town, her third aunt insisted that she take some food with her. These were things that the aunts had made at home when they had nothing else to do, such as plum blossom cakes, wheat porridge, and even a fragrant roasted chicken wrapped in lotus leaves. They were worried that Dou Akou would suffer in that desolate and remote Haohui City and not be able to eat good food. But unintentionally, these things became Dou Akou and Fu Jiuxin's life-saving treasures at this moment.
Dou Akou carried the package all the way from Longfeng Town to Haohui City, experiencing arrest, escape, reunion, and fleeing for her life, completely forgetting that she was carrying such a package. When she opened it now, she found that the plum blossom cake was broken into pieces, the wheat porridge was completely mushy, and the beggar's chicken was cold.
Dou Akou carefully wrapped the fragments of plum blossom cake in her handkerchief, her heart aching. They didn't know how many days they would be trapped in this underground labyrinth, so every grain of rice had to be cherished. She touched her waist; her water pouch was still full of water. Heaven was still looking out for them.
After resting for a short while, Fu Jiuxin took out a piece of paper from his pocket and looked at it in the candlelight. Although his face was calm, his eyes were bright and piercing, as if all the stars in the sky were shining in his eyes.
Dou Akou was stunned and couldn't help but lean closer to see what it was that made Fu Jiuxin look at her like that. When she got closer, she saw that it was a piece of paper with many lines drawn haphazardly on it, densely covered with black dots, and several bright red crosses in some places. It looked like a topographical map.
Fu Jiuxin explained in a low voice: "It was when I was surveying the terrain a while ago. I asked the group leaders of each group for it and then connected the dots myself."
At that time, Gu Huaibi divided the group into ten groups, and each group leader drew a topographic map like this. Later, because of the discovery of the Bronze Gate, everyone focused their attention on this place, and these maps were regarded as useless and were casually given to Fu Jiuxin as a favor.
Originally, each map was a fragmented area and not very useful, but Fu Jiuxin connected them into a whole. The black dots were dead ends and the red crosses were traps, and the layout of the entire underground palace of Haohui City was slowly revealed.
Fu Jiuxin pointed to a spot with his finger: "Akou, I reckon we're here now. This maze can't possibly have only one exit, otherwise the bronze door would have been locked for fifty years, and the air inside would be stale by now. We would have suffocated as soon as we came in."
“But I can still feel the wind blowing,” Dou Akou quickly added, “there’s air circulation, so there must be another exit.”
Fu Jiuxin glanced at her with admiration, but at the same time felt a little disappointed. His Akou, he had originally wanted to protect her in his arms for life and never let her know what fear or cruelty was, but in the end, he still let her experience it all. And in this trial and tempering, she gradually grew up, like a young eagle. Although her wings were still immature and she still had soft down, she had after all spread her wings toward the blue sky.
The empty passageway was unprotected, the ground was cold and the walls were hard—it was hardly a suitable place to rest. After a brief rest, the two quickly roused themselves and continued deeper into the passage.
Medical books now
Dou Akou followed Fu Jiuxin for a short while, and after turning a few corners on the main road, she saw a fork in the road ahead.
The palaces here were also built according to the terrain, with a complex network of dead ends for the blind. Dou Akou followed Fu Jiuxin closely, not daring to leave his side for even a moment.
Fu Jiuxin looked at the map he had drawn. Logically, palace architecture is usually symmetrical, with a main hall in the center and side halls on either side; even if they appear scattered like stars, they wouldn't seem too strange. Fu Jiuxin pondered for a moment, then led Dou Akou into the right-hand fork in the road.
Dou Akou thought Fu Jiuxin had chosen this path, but unexpectedly, Fu Jiuxin stopped a short while later, some distance from the end. He looked around, picked up a stone demon-suppressing beast from the corner of the corridor. The demon-suppressing beast was about a foot square, but Fu Jiuxin lifted it with one hand without any effort, and then threw it hard towards the end of the road. The demon-suppressing beast crashed heavily to the ground, and the loud noise echoed back and forth in the limited space. Dou Akou couldn't help but cover her ears.
She saw the evil-suppressing beast shatter into pieces, its round head falling off and slowly rolling towards the end of the road. In that instant, as if it had stepped into some forbidden zone, mechanisms began to activate. Gears and chains creaked and pulled, crossbows shot out from above, blades drilled from the ground, and countless poisoned spears pierced out from both sides. The sound of the mechanisms buried deep within the wall turning was deep and powerful, a continuous rumble. When it finally subsided, the stone beast head had shattered into pieces.
Dou Akou stared wide-eyed in horror, unable to imagine what a miserable death would have occurred if it had been a person who had just passed by.
Fu Jiuxin lowered his head, crossed out the end of a black line on the paper, then thickened and darkened the line next to it, and turned to Dou Akou to explain: "This road is indeed a dead end. Let's turn back and follow the main road. We can't go wrong."
With the path on the right proven to be impassable, only the left path remained. Without the need for painstaking and anxious choices, and with Fu Jiuxin by her side, Dou Akou surprisingly felt a sense of leisurely pleasure, like a stroll in the countryside.
The path on the left was exactly the same as the one on the right, paved with identical blue bricks, with an oil lamp embedded in the wall every ten feet or so. Every path in this palace was similarly constructed; someone with a poor sense of direction would likely get lost in this winding maze.
The road wasn't long, and it soon came to an end. At the end was a wall with a shallow indentation about the size of a door. Dou Akou went up and groped around, pressing and groping randomly, but the wall didn't budge. Disappointed, she could only retreat.
Fu Jiuxin looked down at her. Dou Akou puffed out her cheeks like a bun, her eyes wide and staring at the wall. Fu Jiuxin couldn't help but find it funny. He raised his hand and ruffled Dou Akou's messy hair as if to comfort her, then walked over to examine the door carefully.
Each has their own expertise, and neither of them was skilled in cunning. Dou Akou guessed that Fu Jiuxin couldn't open the door either, so she leaned against the side dejectedly, wishing that the third young master of the Gongsun Mo family was here.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she heard a scraping sound from the stone wall. Dou Akou looked over in surprise and saw that the shallow, door-shaped pit in the wall was slowly closing in. Stones were rubbing against each other, and some stone chips and dust were falling down with a sickening sound.
Dou Akou exclaimed in surprise: "Sir! The door is open!"
"Hmm." Compared to Dou Akou's intense reaction, Fu Jiuxin seemed quite calm.
The door that Dou Akou couldn't open no matter how hard she tried, was opened by Fu Jiuxin's tentative exploration.
This matter is a bit strange. Dou Akou insists that it is Fu Jiuxin's father and grandfather who are protecting him and the only remaining bloodline and descendants of the Siyou Kingdom.