Baobao gazed at Hu Xiaotian with admiration written all over her face. They headed farther inside, toward the cavern used to store ice. Although the cavern was sizable, the piled ice left little room, with only a few passages remaining for people to walk through and transport the blocks.
They searched the Ice Cave but found nothing. There was ice and more ice, leaving them wondering why Ren Tianqing had installed so many traps.
Suddenly, Baobao grabbed Hu Xiaotian's arm. He looked at her and saw her discreetly pointing at the ground ahead. Following her finger, he discovered a drop of blue blood on the floor. His heart jolted. He gave Baobao a look, signaling her to keep quiet, then listened closely, but heard neither a sound nor any movement. Baobao pointed upward. They had already searched below without seeing anyone, which meant the only possible hiding place was on top of the ice.
Hu Xiaotian nodded. They leaped up together, landing atop the stacked ice blocks, where they spotted a set of clothes a short distance away. They approached slowly. The clothes appeared to belong to a man, and one sleeve was missing. Hu Xiaotian immediately recognized them as Ren Tianqing's. The sleeve was gone because he had severed Ren Tianqing's arm with his Lightsaber. There were blue bloodstains beside the clothes as well, but judging by how they had frozen, they had been there for quite some time. It seemed Ren Tianqing had come here after fleeing the Imperial Palace.
Hu Xiaotian silently reasoned that Ren Tianqing probably had not entered through the Ice Cellar's main entrance. In other words, besides the route they had just taken, there had to be another passage connecting this place to the outside. He unfolded the map Baobao had brought him, but