clergé

Chapitre 66

Mei Yaxiang didn't answer, but just waved her slender white hand imperiously.

The guard opened the cell door, and a chilling aura rushed out.

"The prison has a sinister atmosphere; it's best for the Lady of the Palace, who is of noble birth, to avoid coming here," the guard said with concern.

However, this flattery backfired spectacularly. Mei Yaxiang had practiced martial arts for over thirty years and was fearless. She believed that no matter how terrifying the Chaos Prison was, it was not as terrifying as her sword.

"Thank you for your trouble." So she simply smiled at the guard and gracefully jumped down.

The Chaos Prison is named so because of its unique geographical location—it is built in a huge, riddled cavern, filled with poisonous fog and surrounded by scorching lava. The cavern is home to a variety of rare and ferocious exotic birds and beasts, making it the most natural prison with an unparalleled and indestructible barrier.

Those who fall from the sixth palace will be imprisoned in the eastern part of the Chaos Prison, which is also the place with the heaviest yin energy in the entire cave. Mei Yaxiang stood on the cliff and whistled loudly, and immediately guards lowered the ladder from the cave entrance.

Descending onto land along the heavenly ladder, Mei Yaxiang lit a torch and walked forward along the carved sheep-intestine path.

To be fair, she wasn't someone who cared much about her prey, and she didn't come to the Chaos Prison very often. However, this prey was truly special, managing to break through five levels of defenses in one go and arrive at her main hall unscathed.

She hadn't seen such a fierce young man in over ten years.

Recalling the events of when her prey fell into the prison, she knew very well that if she hadn't changed the course of the hidden weapon and shot it at the girl who was full of flaws, her prey wouldn't have panicked and been so focused on saving the girl that she hadn't noticed the secret passage that suddenly appeared under her feet.

Although it was somewhat of an unfair victory, Mei Yaxiang felt it was nothing, just a little regrettable.

Personally, she still hoped to have another fair and square competition with this young man.

Just as she was about to reach the cave entrance, her gaze was suddenly drawn to a huge dark shadow in front of her.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a two-headed green python as thick as a water bucket.

"Cigu?" Mei Yaxiang called out subconsciously. This was the ferocious beast that the palace master had specially placed at the entrance of the cave to guard it.

But the two-headed python lay quietly on the ground, motionless.

Mei Yaxiang's heart was filled with doubt. She gripped her sword tightly and approached the giant python step by step.

—That's not right. In the past, when this ferocious beast smelled human flesh, its two lantern-sized green eyes would have lit up long ago. Why is it still not moving even though we're so close today?

"Cigu?" she called again, thrusting the hilt of her sword forward.

In that instant, a strange shadow darted out of the cave and grabbed Mei Yaxiang by the neck.

All that could be heard was the cracking sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh, and bright red blood gushed out. Mei Yaxiang, who was confident in her unparalleled swordsmanship, didn't even have time to cry out in alarm before she fainted from the pain.

Before long, another cold and heartless corpse appeared at the cave entrance.

*********

The discovery of two corpses, one human and one snake, simultaneously in the Chaos Prison was an unprecedented and earth-shattering event. The jailers reported it immediately, alarming the two hall masters of the Seventh and Eighth Halls. Tu Su, the hall master of the Seventh Hall, was usually quite cautious, while Guan Zhong, the hall master of the Eighth Hall, was also a resourceful individual. After discussing it overnight, the two decided to personally go down into the prison to investigate, lest they be unable to answer any questions from the palace master later.

Everyone watched as the two highly skilled palace masters jumped into the cave. It wasn't until the first light of dawn that Guanzhong, covered in blood, crawled out of the cave entrance.

"Quickly, quickly go and report to the young master that a monster has come to the prison..." He said breathlessly, and two large chunks of skin fell off his face, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

Guan Zhong's entire body looked as if it had been slashed by countless sharp weapons; not a single inch of his skin was intact, making him resemble a bloody, mangled dumpling. Realizing the problem was far more serious than anticipated, the others rushed to the twelfth hall to report.

He Qinglu's expression grew increasingly serious as he listened to his subordinate's report.

After saying these words, the guard felt uneasy, wondering how the young palace master would react.

—Although the young palace master and the palace master are uncle and nephew from the same sect, their personalities are quite different. The palace master has a warm demeanor, while the young palace master has a cold one. The palace master indulges in sensual pleasures, while the young palace master dislikes ordinary pastimes. Usually, the palace master handles most of the palace affairs personally, while the young palace master is always engrossed in his research on mechanisms. Now that such a major incident has occurred, I wonder if he can cope with it?

But He Qinglu lowered her eyelashes for a moment, then looked up at the guard: "You said Mei Yaxiang died from excessive blood loss?"

The guard nodded hastily: "That's right, Lord Mei only has one wound, which is not fatal immediately."

"Besides arrowhead, are there any other animal tracks around here?" He Qinglu asked again.

"Nothing was found," the guard replied respectfully.

He Qinglu shook his head: "There are so many rare birds and beasts kept in the prison, which one of them doesn't jump three feet away at the smell of blood? So much blood was lost by a man and a snake, yet not even half a beast was attracted. Don't you think something is wrong?"

The guard looked up in shock, his face pale: "Could the monster that Lord Guan was talking about be..."

He Qinglu stood up from her chair and flicked her sleeve: "Hearing is believing. I'm going to see that monster."

This statement was made so naturally, as if it were as casual as saying that one was going to check the weather.

Indeed, no matter how terrifying or bizarre something is, He Qinglu categorizes it into two types—those he's interested in and those he's not. If he's interested, he doesn't mind spending time researching it; if he's not interested, even if thousands of people die, it's none of his business.

This indifference was ingrained in his very being, so no matter what happened, he remained calm and composed.

Pang Wan listened intently for a while, and seeing that He Qinglu was about to leave, she couldn't help but call out to stop him: "Young master, please wait!"

He Qinglu remembered that Pang Wan was still sleeping in bed, so she stopped and turned to look at her.

"What is it?" He stood expressionless by the door, his shadow stretched long by the sunlight, exuding a handsome and dashing air.

"...Could you take me to see it too?" She was intimidated by He Qinglu's imposing manner, and her voice trembled slightly. But the thought that Nan Yi was also imprisoned in the place where the incident occurred made her unable to calm down.

He Qinglu's cold gaze swept over her legs.

Pang Wan's heart tightened, and she was about to plead for mercy when she saw He Qinglu turn to the guards and order, "Bring me the wheelchair I made."

The guards obeyed and ran outside.

"Wow! Did you do something to offend me?"

Pang Wan thought about He Qinglu's series of abnormal behaviors today, and almost subconsciously blurted it out.