As they neared the cave entrance, Yan Qing grasped the hand Yaoshi Yuan lowered and was pulled effortlessly up onto the ground.
"Yellow Dog, give me a hand." Shang Xin Lei called from below the entrance. She was right behind Yan Qing. The two of them had tied the Serpent-Patterned Ropes around themselves for support, then had Yaoshi Yuan and Ying Ru Shi pull them up. Yan Qing thought that Yaoshi Yuan was already reaching down, yet Shang Xin Lei still had to trouble him. But then he remembered that Shang Xin Lei might not be familiar with Yaoshi Yuan, so he reached down and pulled the little crybaby up.
When Shang Xin Lei came up, she found the central plaza eerily quiet. There were no guards or palace attendants patrolling nearby, so no one had disturbed the rescue operation, which had lasted nearly half a minute. She asked in shock, "Did you kill all the palace attendants nearby?"
"We're thieves. Why would we do something like that?" Yaoshi Yuan said as she tidied the Serpent-Patterned Rope. "Do we look like bloodthirsty killers?"
The Snake and Dog looked at the mottled, filthy bloodstains on the Fox Wolf Night Cloaks and tacitly shook their heads. You came back to save us tonight, so whatever you say goes.
"We set a fire when we came over. The palace attendants have all gone to the rear palace to put it out," Ying Ru Shi explained. "Let's leave first. This isn't a place to linger."
No one objected. As they withdrew, Yan Qing could not help sighing, "I really didn't expect you to come to the imperial palace for us."
"Yeah." Shang Xin Lei nodded along. "I thought you would at most wait for us by the gatehouse. More likely, you would have returned