Once everything had calmed down, She Ji, still trembling with lingering fear, huddled inside a small burrow deep in the mountains, doing her utmost to hide her aura.
Though the thunder cloud had dispersed, She Ji still did not dare move. About half an hour later, the earth on one wall of the burrow bulged slightly, forming an aged face.
"Empress She, it should be safe now."
"Uh... heh, heh..."
She Ji began gasping for breath. She covered the wounds on her body as blood continued to seep out.
"Thank you, Old Man Gong. Thank you."
"Ah, this old man is ashamed. This is all I was able to do. If Your Majesty wishes to thank someone, thank that Immortal Maiden. Had she not acted, the consequences would have been unthinkable. She said her sect had some connection to mine, but who could she be?"
Within the hidden paradise-like valley, Mister Gao, frantic with anxiety, finally saw She Ji and the old man return together. Several of She Ji's subordinates and several Mountain Ghosts immediately went forward to meet them.
"Empress!" "Lord Mountain God!"
"Empress She, Old Man Gong, how are your injuries?"
She Ji Shook her head, waved away those around her, and sat cross-legged in the center of the valley. A maid brought over pills, and after taking them, she closed her eyes and began tending to her injuries.
The old man sat before the Chessboard stone table to one side, looking somewhat dazed.
"Who was she?"
"Old Man Gong, are you all right?"
Mister Gao looked at the old man with some concern. Though She Ji was injured and bleeding, she seemed relatively stable, but this old mountain god appeared to have something weighing on his mind.
"Nothing to do. The heavenly lightning of the Heavenly Deities