Qiao Fenglang nodded approvingly, "Young Master in blue really understands me." He tilted his head slightly to look at the struggling crowd below, "Young Master in blue, why don't you guess what would happen if an explosive were detonated up there right now?"
Baili Qingyi had experienced countless trials and tribulations, but upon hearing these words, she couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart.
Qiao Fenglang turned around, adopting a nonchalant attitude. Once the explosives detonated, everyone below the cliff would fall like beans spilling from a bamboo tube during the powerful earthquake. Given Baili Qingyi's character, he wouldn't abandon them, but in this situation, he himself was in dire need of protection, let alone saving others. He refused to believe he couldn't risk Baili Qingyi's life.
Baili Qingyi narrowed her slender eyes and suddenly lunged forward with unpredictable movements, pointing the tip of her sword directly at Qiao Fenglang's heart before he could react: "You dare?"
Qiao Fenglang looked down at the long sword pressed against his chest and suddenly sighed: "The martial arts skills of the young master in green are indeed something I could never catch up to even if I practiced for another twenty years. Even after losing half of his power, he can still easily defeat me. It's just a pity that the person controlling the explosives will not hesitate for the slightest because of my life or death."
He looked up, as if calling out softly, or perhaps talking to himself: "Master, what are you waiting for?"
What? Could it be that someone else is capable of activating the explosive mechanism?
Could there be another mastermind behind all this conspiracy?
Baili Qingyi suddenly looked up and saw that on the cliff not far away, the stone walls had crumbled due to the collapse of the hall, revealing a large area of crystal wall.
"You saw everything?"
Inside the secret chamber, the strange man straightened his sleeves and leaned down to look Yin Wuxiao in the eye, his eyes hidden beneath his mask.
"They... fell down?" Yin Wuxiao's voice trembled.
"What did you say? Say it again!" Yuwen Cuiyu was facing away from the crystal wall and couldn't move, so she could only shout anxiously.
"They fell off the cliff..." Yin Wuxiao murmured to herself. Due to limited visibility, she could not see what was happening below the cliff, but could only see the ground in the hall sinking.
"What?" Yuwen Cuiyu's face turned ashen. "Who? Who did you say fell off the cliff?"
"Are you satisfied now? Isn't what you wanted them to kill each other? Are you satisfied now?" Yin Wuxiao looked at the strange man with a mixture of sorrow and anger.
“Satisfied?” the strange woman repeated, feigning surprise. “No, far from it.” She pointed to another handle by the bed. “Do you see that? Do you know what will happen if I press it?”
"What consequences?" Yin Wuxiao felt a sense of foreboding.
“Explosives, of course it’s explosives.” The strange man chuckled coldly. “What in this world is more interesting than explosives? As long as I pull this handle down, all those ‘Traceless,’ all those Qiao Bang, all those Qiao Fenglang, all those Mu Li, all those Qingyi Gongzi, will vanish into thin air, as if they never existed in this world at all.”
"What good will it do you to do this?"
"Hmph, watching them perish together is the greatest benefit to me."
"You shouldn't be like this." Yin Wuxiao struggled to sit up. "Who do you hate? Who wronged you? If you kill indiscriminately like this, what's the point of all your previous love and hatred?"
"Silly girl..." the strange man laughed, "How did I teach you? Love and hate are just superfluous things!"
Yin Wuxiao was stunned.
She suddenly looked behind the strange man: "Mansi, you've come!"
The strange man was startled and turned around abruptly, only to find no one behind him.
"Hmph, you think you can use this as an excuse to stall for time? Too bad, you can't fool me. The mechanisms in my secret chamber are unparalleled in the world. Not even the Old Man of Tianshan could get in, let alone Shi Mansi!"
"Really? I don't think so," Yin Wuxiao said with a calm smile. "Then tell me, where has your good disciple gone?"
The strange woman then realized with a start that Yuwen Cuiyu, who should have been pinned behind her, had disappeared.
"No, impossible, no one can get into this secret room... but she couldn't possibly have broken through her acupoints on her own... Who? Who is it? If you have the guts, come out. What kind of hero hides like this? Come out! Come out!" the strange man shouted like a madman.
"Didn't you say that no one can enter this secret room? Since there's no one, it must be a ghost, it must be a ghost! Guess whose ghost it is?" Seeing her going crazy, Yin Wuxiao quickly added fuel to the fire.
"Shut up!" The strange man slapped Yin Wuxiao across the face, the sound loud and clear. "Don't try to scare me! You little brat, don't you think I don't know your tricks? You think you can fool me and escape? You're dreaming!"
"You don't believe me?" Yin Wuxiao ignored the blood gushing from his mouth. "Then who's behind you? Is it your uncle? Uncle, please save me!"
"Qiao Baiyue?" The strange man couldn't help but turn around, but there was still no one behind him.
"You're lying to me! There are no ghosts here! I don't believe you!"
"Can't you see him? He's right there! Look, he's got a knife, he's about to stab me!" Yin Wuxiao shouted.
"You..." The strange man struggled in fear and confusion, his body already dodging before his reason could react.
Yin Wuxiao laughed loudly: "Didn't you not believe me?"
The strange woman gritted her teeth: "Whether there are ghosts or not, I'm going to ignite this explosive today! I'll blow you all up first and see what that old ghost Qiao Baiyue can do to me!" She leaped up and reached out to pull the lever.
The situation was critical. Before he could catch his breath, Yin Wuxiao blurted out, "Aunt Yun!"
Chapter Twenty-Two: Overlapping Joy Turns into Sorrow (Part Three)
In the blink of an eye, Shi Mansi lost track of Yin Wuxiao.
Terrified, she was running down the corridor when suddenly a loud crash resounded, and the ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. She saw the ground crack open, and stones rained down from the exquisitely painted ceiling. She hurriedly grabbed a nearby stone pillar, barely managing to regain her footing.
The panicked members of "Wuhen" began to scatter and flee. The ground was still shaking, and shouts of battle were heard outside. She quickly grabbed a servant from "Wuhen" to ask what was going on. The servant only said, "The Qiao Gang and the Nine Villages and Eighteen Societies have broken in," and then turned and ran.
Shi Mansi realized what was happening and was overjoyed. She quickly turned around and ran back the way she came. She had rushed out of the hall as soon as she saw Yin Wuxiao being carried away, so she didn't know what was going on inside. She was only thinking about finding Baili Qingyi for help and then going to find Yin Wuxiao together.
Halfway there, a man in a black robe and belt with a cold expression appeared in front of them.
"A-Lu!" Shi Mansi exclaimed in surprise and joy. "I knew you would come to save us! Quick, come with me to find A-Wu!" She grabbed Cen Lu's hand as usual, turned and ran, but she couldn't pull him.
She turned around in surprise, only to see Cen Luru standing rooted to the spot, motionless, his brows furrowed with a complex and cold expression.
"A-Lu?" she called out tentatively, wondering what was wrong with Cen Lu.
Cen Lu stared at her and slowly said, "Are you so sure I'll come to save you?"
Shi Mansi smiled and said, "You always come."
"So...so you don't care at all that I'll worry about you, and you're just putting yourself in danger?"
Shi Mansi was taken aback, only then realizing that he seemed a little angry. But Cen Lu always had this icy expression, so she didn't think there was anything seriously wrong, and just said anxiously, "A-Lu, now is not the time to scold me. When we find A-Wu, you two can scold me together, and I'll listen obediently."
Cen Lu's eyes dimmed.
"Do you...do you take it for granted that I'm by your side?"
Shi Mansi was taken aback.
"Am I cheap in your heart?" Cen Lu rarely showed a sorrowful expression.
Shi Mansi felt an overwhelming sense of panic. She couldn't understand why Cen Lu would say these things at such a critical time. At this moment, she was only concerned about Yin Wuxiao's condition. Even though she vaguely sensed Cen Lu's thoughts, she couldn't think about them in detail. Little did she know that Cen Lu had been following the marks she left behind, getting lost several times. She was also unaware that during the time since his indenture had expired, Cen Lu had accumulated many emotions that he had previously refused to confront.
"A-Lu, what's wrong with you?" Shi Mansi subconsciously avoided such questions. She hadn't felt this out of control in a long time.
Cen Lu gave her a deep look, then reached out and pulled her along. When they reached the spot where he had landed after descending the cliff, he scooped her up with one hand and began climbing towards the top of the cliff.
Shi Mansi was startled: "A-Lu, what are you doing?" She dared not move, afraid that Cen Lu might accidentally cause them both to fall into the deep valley.
"I'll take you up there."
"Are you crazy! Ah Wu is still down there!" Shi Mansi screamed.
Cen Lu remained silent and smoothly climbed to the top of the cliff, handing her over to the Black Feather Guards who were waiting there.
"There will always only be Yin Wuxiao in your heart."
His words were calm, without a trace of anger.
"Awu is in danger, of course I have to go save her!" Shi Man racked her brains but still couldn't figure out what was wrong with this man. "How could you abandon her?"
Cen Lu remained silent for a while, then nodded: "Okay, I'll go down and save her."
"What?"
“Aren’t you worried about her? I’ll go down and save her again.” Cen Lu gazed at Shi Mansi, then suddenly reached out to stroke her cheek, something he had always wanted to do but hadn’t.
"Shi Mansi, have you ever thought about what it has been all these years of chasing after you?"
Shi Mansi flinched.
"Because of... a contract of servitude..."
Cen Lu smiled bitterly.
He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, turned his back to her, and softly uttered:
"If I go down this time and never come back up, will you... miss me more?"
As if her heart had been suddenly struck hard, Shi Mansi opened her mouth as if to say something, but saw Cen Lu already gracefully leap off the cliff.
A nameless panic spread like wildfire. Shi Mansi clenched her fists and placed them against her chest.
Cen Lu said: If he can't come up again...
How could such a thing be possible?
For the first time, Shi Mansi felt her free and unrestrained life being choked by a strange force. She had never felt this way, not even when she received the devastating news of the Yin family tragedy. She was proud of her life of constant travel, but without Cen Lu behind her, Shi Mansi would no longer be Shi Mansi.
At this moment, she could observe the entire situation below the cliff, including the ground where "Wuhen" fell, the people falling off the cliff, Baili Qingyi's quick thinking, and the shadowy crystal wall.
The cliff swayed again, and several more "Wuhen" or Qiao Bang members who had been in the wedding banquet hall lost their footing and fell off the cliff, their brains smashing against protruding rocks halfway down the cliff.
Shi Mansi gasped sharply. This was no longer a situation that could be resolved with clever tricks; it was a battle of life and death.
Yin Wuxiao was below, and Cen Lu was below too. Shi Mansi suddenly felt that her entire life depended on this cliff. She even regretted letting Cen Lu go back there again.
Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind:
"You just said that Yin Wuxiao is down there?"
Shi Mansi and all the Black Feather Guards turned around abruptly, but no one noticed when this person had appeared behind them.
“You are…” Shi Mansi pointed her trembling finger at the handsome man in green in front of her.
"You are Yin Bitong!"
Below the cliff, separated by a crystal wall, lies life and death on one side, and life and death on the other.
The strange man was struck dumb upon hearing Yin Wuxiao's desperate cry.
What did you call me?
Yin Wuxiao slowly raised her gaze, fixing it firmly on the strange man. If her shout just now was merely a desperate attempt to stop the strange man's mad actions, then the strange man's current reaction was enough to confirm her suspicions.
“I said, Aunt Yun.”
"You..." The strange man took two steps back. "What nonsense are you talking about? What Aunt Yun? Who is your Aunt Yun?"
“You don’t need to deny it! My uncle told me it was you, Aunt Yun, it was you.”
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" the strange woman screamed, as if provoked. She backed away and turned, shouting at the empty air and ceiling, "Qiao Baiyue, you bastard! Even in death, you can't let me have peace?!" She spun around angrily, but still couldn't see a single person. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"