Safety

"He did this only to lower Mo Li's guard so he could launch a sneak attack with the Rain of Pear Blossoms. But he couldn't fool Mo Li and was killed. That's all I saw. Believe it or not, you can leave now." I finished speaking and shut up.

The voice of the person in front came from outside the door, still sounding like it was coming from a small hole, muffled and unclear, "Chief Chang, are you done?"

I heard Chang Ling take a deep breath, as if he wanted to say something to me, but he didn't. He just said a simple "Yes" to the outside, and after a pause, he added, "You go up first, I'll handle it."

The man responded and left, as if he was extremely unwilling to stay in this place for even a second longer. After Chang Ling left, the heavy iron door moved with a sound, opened, and then closed. The dungeon fell silent, as if dead. I sat on the cold ground, my body huddled up, my bones stiff, and for a moment I didn't know what else I could do.

But I don't want to die.

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, I want to live. Only by living can I see the person I want to see, and only by living can I be with him.

This thought gradually restored my strength. I mustered my courage again to remove the black cloth, knowing that I should not look at the pictures on the wall. I simply closed my eyes, leaned against the wall, and began to feel around with my hands.

The dungeon was cold and damp, with rough stone walls. The thought of those blood-red demonic flowers right under my palm made me feel nauseous, but in this critical moment, I could only grit my teeth and endure it.

I groped along the wall. The dungeon was narrow, and soon I passed a corner. As I peered forward, the rough wall suddenly changed, becoming hard and smooth under my fingertips. It turned out that I had touched the iron door.

I carefully explored, trying to find a way to open the iron door, but the iron door was tightly sealed, and I couldn't move it even an inch. Actually, it makes sense. Since it was a place for important people, why would they make the door open from the inside?

I was discouraged and lowered my head, my hand still pressed against the door, when I suddenly felt a cool breeze brush past my sweaty palm, as if a crack had opened somewhere.

I looked up abruptly, then moved my fingers and suddenly touched a small, raised square with grooves on the top and bottom. With a bit of effort, I managed to slide it open, and a rush of cool air invigorated me.

I probed the vent, but it was just a small hole, barely big enough for one hand to stick out. It must have been used to pass items or communicate with people in the cell. No wonder the voice of the guard in the cell always sounded like it was coming from the hole.

I reached out and the first thing I touched was an iron lock, hanging on the edge of the iron plate. Although the lock was closed, it was not jammed, allowing the iron plate to slide freely.

Was this a glimmer of hope that Chang Ling had left me? I didn't have time to speculate. I reached out and continued to feel my way toward the door. After several attempts, I finally found another keyhole, which should be used to open this iron door.

The tiny hole filled me with elation. I immediately pulled my hand back and plucked the sharp gold hairpin from my temple, intending to use it to help me escape.

I spent three years in Qingcheng. Occasionally, my master would send me down the mountain to meet with my fellow disciples. Although I didn't speak, I was known as the junior sister and didn't appear often, so my fellow disciples really liked me. Especially my eldest brother, who would get nervous whenever he saw me. He was even more anxious than my master because I didn't practice martial arts diligently. He was always thinking about teaching me more skills, and it would be best if I could learn all the miscellaneous skills he had acquired in his past life in the martial arts world.

The master took in a diverse group of disciples, from all walks of life. The eldest disciple was quite old, looking at least ten years older than Wende. He originally ran a security escort agency, but later, for some reason, he stopped doing business, packed up his belongings, and followed the master up the mountain. He had a complicated past before joining the sect, and he really knew a little bit of everything, including lock picking with gold thread.

I am of royal lineage, how could I want to learn such petty tricks? I refused on the spot, but he clutched his heart and said, "Junior Sister, the world is dangerous. When you go down the mountain in the future, relying solely on Master's name and the Cloud-Soaring Technique will be far from enough. If that day ever comes, your senior brother will worry day and night, worry day and night..."

I found it funny at the time. My master was the famous leader of the Three Villages and Nine Schools Alliance, and his Cloud Soaring Technique was unparalleled. With these two things combined, how could he not be enough to travel the world?

That's why they say you can't be too stubborn, or you'll bite into a brick wall. Who would have thought that as soon as I came down the mountain, I would encounter such a series of unbelievable things, constantly wandering and on the verge of death. The wonderful things my senior brothers and sisters talked about, like wandering the world, upholding justice, enjoying a gentle breeze and a little wine, never happened to me.

I was forced into a corner by my senior brother and only learned lock picking twice, which was of little use. I never really put in the effort and could only pick the simplest locks. Complex locks like the gold thread on my foot were beyond my ability to even attempt. But the keyhole in front of me was as thick as my little finger. Maybe I'll be lucky and succeed this time.

I prayed silently, my hands groping to insert the sharp end of the hairpin into the keyhole, listening intently to the sound while sighing inwardly.

It's true what they say, you can't buy hindsight. If I had known beforehand that I would be living like this after I went down the mountain, I should have studied harder. Of course, I should have learned my master's unparalleled martial arts, and I should have also learned my senior brother's petty thievery.

The gold hairpin spun in the keyhole, making a soft, tinkling sound. I was completely absorbed when suddenly a voice came from somewhere.

"My lord? Is it the high priest?"

...

Hai: Ping An, I have so much to say about you, so many secrets to reveal, so many characters to entangle with, what am I supposed to do?! I'm so struggling! I've never written a book with more than 200,000 words before, but your story isn't even finished and it's already over 200,000! (Screaming/Burning)

Ping An: ...Actually, it's very simple. I'll just cut you in two. Mo Li, don't you think so...?

Chapter 73

The dungeon was cold and deathly quiet. The sound was low and eerie, as if it came from hell. I was filled with fear and trepidation, afraid that people would find out that I was escaping from prison. I quickly withdrew my hand and hurriedly closed the iron plate. When I pushed the iron plate, the gold hairpin collided with it and fell to the ground in the dungeon with a "clink". I don't know where it went.

The voice continued, calling, "My lord, my lord?"

Chang Ling said that this cell had once imprisoned their former priest, who had painted a wall full of soul-capturing demon flowers with his blood. But the cell guard also said that this Earth-character Nine cell had been empty for more than ten years. As far as I can tell, the so-called priest must have rotted to ashes by now.

I just opened my eyes in a hurry. This dungeon is extremely small, barely big enough for two people. Chang Ling has already left, but now another man's voice is coming out. He not only calls himself Dan Gui, but he is also calling out the name of someone who was imprisoned here more than ten years ago...

Where did this third person come from? Could it be a ghost?

I was horrified and squeezed my eyes shut even tighter, afraid of seeing something even more terrifying than the wall of bloodstains. I was already on the ground, groping around for the gold hairpin, wanting to find it quickly, unlock it, and escape this hellish place.

The ground was paved with bluestone slabs. Because it was underground, it was extremely damp and bone-chillingly cold. I have always been afraid of the cold, and normally I would not even put a finger on it. But the situation was terrifying and critical at this time, so I didn't care about these things. I just frantically groped around. Just as I was getting anxious, I felt a chill on my wrist and was suddenly grabbed tightly by a cold and slippery hand.

A chill ran down my spine and my eyes snapped open. The dungeon was dimly lit, and before me stood a pale, human hand that seemed to spring from the ground and was gripping me tightly.

I screamed. The narrow dungeon echoed, making my screams deafening. There was immediate commotion outside. Someone was banging on the iron door and shouting something, but the iron door was too heavy, and I kept screaming, so I couldn't hear anything clearly.

All the bloodstains on the wall materialized as I screamed, and countless blood-red skulls lunged at me again. I was terrified, my vision blurred, the ground cracked, and the hand that was gripping my wrist tightened its grip, pulling me towards the ground.

Is this going to drag me to the underworld?

No! Fear froze my blood. I stopped screaming and struggled with all my might, grip

……