Rumble-
Deep within the dark tunnel, the earth-shaking rumble carried far.
With Silly tucked under his left arm and the Empress Dowager under his right, Ye Jingtang sprinted more than a hundred feet at full speed before the chain of collapsing masonry behind him finally stopped. The thunder within the tunnel quickly subsided.
From the wall bursting apart to the tunnel collapsing, it had all happened in the space of a thought. Faced with such a tremendous upheaval, neither woman had managed to understand what had happened. They merely tensed, filled with shock and uncertainty.
Just then, the glow of a Fire Starter appeared ahead, and a middle-aged palace maid approached with an official saber in hand.
Yang Lan, a Secret Guard, had followed them in merely to guard against Ye Jingtang harboring improper intentions. She truly had not expected a fight of such terrifying force to erupt suddenly in a tunnel sealed for two hundred years. Startled, she asked:
"What happened?"
Without stopping, Ye Jingtang passed the Empress Dowager straight into Yang Lan's arms.
"Someone ambushed us from the other end and brought down the tunnel. Get out, quickly."
The Empress Dowager had kept her eyes tightly shut. Hearing their voices and realizing she was not dead, she hurriedly wrapped her arms around Yang Lan's neck.
Hearing them speak, Dongfang Liren suppressed the shock on her face and looked back.
"Who was over there?"
"I don't know, but their martial skills were extremely high. Their technique was so masterful it looked artless, practically flawless, but it lacked staying power. I've never encountered them before."
As he spoke, Ye Jingtang shifted Dongfang Liren into a bridal carry and looked down at her.
"How badly are you hurt?"
Dongfang Liren had not been paying attention to anything else. Only when he