By the time Yuan Conglai awoke from unconsciousness, he found that he was no longer inside the train car, but lying on the tunnel floor.
His ears rang with a buzzing hum. He pressed a hand to his head and shook it hard, then looked around. He saw that the attendants and the mounted scouts who had been in other train cars were now sprawled all around him.
It felt as if they had been thrown out of the train cars.
Straight ahead, blue-green light was spreading through the tunnel, which had originally been deep and dark.
He could vaguely make out a figure standing within that glow. After a while, once his eyes had adjusted somewhat, he realized it was an elderly Profound Scholar.
The man was sizing him up with an unfriendly gaze, apparently filled with intense disgust and hatred.
A chill ran through him.
Seeing his expression, the old Profound Scholar gave a cold laugh.
At that moment, a paper crane suddenly flew over from the rear of the tunnel. The sound of its flapping wings and its nimble bearing nearly made one suspect it was a real immortal crane.
The old man reached out and caught it, then turned around. Before long, even more light surged from that end of the tunnel, so piercing that tears flowed from Yuan Conglai's eyes. He hurriedly raised a hand to shield them.
After a while, the sound of several pairs of military boots approached and stopped nearby. Then he heard the elderly Profound Scholar say, "Xuanji, this man should be Emperor Wenguang's eldest son, born of Empress Cao. Though Emperor Wenguang does not favor him, he knows many secrets of the palace. Emperor Wenguang must have sent him here to scout the way."
Then he heard a young yet