Chapter 264
Chapter 264
Discovering such an enormous chamber beneath the mansion was astonishing enough.
Finding a massive stone statue there made it stranger still.
“Could this statue be Prince Wu?”
Yan Zhengchu’s conjecture was quickly rejected by Lady Du, now a Vengeful Spirit. “That is not Prince Wu!”
None of the others present had ever seen Prince Wu.
As his favored concubine, Lady Du was in a better position to judge.
After studying the statue for a long while, Yu Lang finally rubbed his chin and concluded, “It should be a general from the previous dynasty.”
“The previous dynasty? A general?”
Yan Zhengchu was about to ask for details.
But Yu Lang hastily waved his hands. “I’m only guessing. Lord Ren should know more about it!”
Lady Du added, “The man trapped beneath this statue also said that the mansion once belonged to a general from the previous dynasty.”
At that, Yu Lang declared with certainty, “Then Lord Ren must be down there!”
Xia Ximo looked around but saw no entrance or exit. “How do we get in?”
Lady Du pointed at the large saber on the statue’s waist. “The mechanism is hidden on that saber.”
The statue was tall. An ordinary person standing on the ground could not reach the weapon.
It would take some agility to jump up there and find a way to activate the mechanism.
This was something Yu Lang excelled at. He volunteered immediately. “Then leave it to me.”
He leaped lightly up, found a foothold, grasped the hilt, and tried to draw the saber.
But even using eighty or ninety percent of his strength, he could not budge it.
“Try turning it left and right,” Yan Zhengchu said.
Yu Lang tried again, but that did not work either.
With no other choice, he bent closer to examine it. He discovered that it was no ordinary saber, but a set of Mother-and-Son Sabers.
These were an uncommon design, with one blade concealed within another.
Who would have thought that this general carried such a weapon!
Understanding at last, Yu Lang gripped the end of the scabbard, turned it gently, then pulled the blade outward.
Sure enough, a soft click sounded. The statue immediately turned its back, revealing an opening below.
Seeing only darkness beneath, Yu Lang called out, “My lord, are you in there?”
As his voice traveled down, Ren Fengjue’s answer came back at once.
“It really is Lord Ren!”
Yu Lang was about to jump down when Yan Zhengchu grabbed him. “We don’t know what dangers are below. Better let me…”
Before he could finish, Xia Ximo jumped straight in.
Yu Lang patted Yan Zhengchu’s shoulder. “Letting Miss Xia go is the safer option.”
He had barely spoken when Ren Fengjue called from below. “Yu Lang, come down.”
“What?”
Puzzled, Yu Lang wondered whether Miss Xia’s coming down to rescue him was not enough.
Only after descending did he understand why Lord Ren had summoned him.
An unconscious Princess Zhao Wan was down there too.
Now Yu Lang recognized the awkward atmosphere.
Ren Fengjue spoke quite courteously. “I was affected by drugged fumes and am somewhat incapacitated. I’ll have to trouble Vice Minister Yu to carry the princess out.”
Yu Lang had wanted to ask why the princess was here. The chamber’s furnishings also seemed rather odd…
There were red gauze bridal curtains and red candles. Surely only a bridal chamber on the wedding night would be decorated like this.
Could it be…?
He cleared his throat.
Vice Minister Yu glanced at Xia Ximo and dared ask nothing. Without a word, he hoisted Zhao Wan onto his back and used his lightness skills to leave the chamber.
Only Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo remained inside.
“I was waiting in my room for Yu Lang and Daoist Yan when a Vengeful Ghost suddenly took your appearance…”
Keenly observant, Lord Ren could clearly sense the significance in Xia Ximo’s gaze as she looked at him and Zhao Wan after coming down.
Once Yu Lang left, he hastened to explain. “I lost consciousness then. When I woke, I found myself trapped in this chamber with the princess…”
“I know Princess Consort Wu wanted to bring us together, but nothing happened between us!”
Xia Ximo merely gave a quiet acknowledgment. “Oh.”
Her cool response left Ren Fengjue a little flustered. He wanted to explain further.
But Xia Ximo cut him off. “There’s no need to explain so much. Let’s get out first.”
Ren Fengjue stopped awkwardly and agreed, then added, “But I’m having some trouble summoning any strength. I may need your help, Miss Mo!”
Xia Ximo glanced at him and said nothing. She stepped forward and supported him directly.
With her help, Ren Fengjue rose to his feet. Untroubled by formalities, Xia Ximo put an arm around his waist and carried him out of the chamber.
But the moment they left, the huge circular stone below trembled slightly.
Then a cloud of black vapor clung to its carved patterns, and the slab gave a cracking sound…
The faint noise reached Xia Ximo’s ears. Frowning, she glanced down.
Unexpectedly, the stone statue beside them suddenly split down the middle.
“Danger! Get back!”
Yan Zhengchu shouted.
The others reacted immediately, retreating to put distance between themselves and the statue.
In moments, it cracked apart and collapsed, sending dust billowing everywhere.
The dust made them cough incessantly. Even the unconscious Zhao Wan slowly awoke.
Her sharp eyes soon spotted unidentified crawling things swarming out of the rubble…
“Bugs! Bugs!”
Yu Lang was nearest, and Zhao Wan immediately tried to hide in his arms.
But having been bitten by Corpse Worms before, Yu Lang was deeply traumatized. The mere word “bugs” made his stomach turn. Without thinking, he pushed Zhao Wan away.
Princess Fenghua feared bugs more than anything. Pushed aside, she instinctively moved toward Ren Fengjue.
Then a cool voice sounded beside her. “Hide behind me.”
It was Xia Ximo.
Deeply touched, Zhao Wan hurried behind her. For reasons she could not explain, she blurted out, “Xia Ximo, I’ll never fight you for Ren Fengjue again. I don’t like him at all!”
“…”
Everyone involuntarily looked toward Ren Fengjue.
Lord Ren was startled at first. Then, inexplicably, he felt a weight lift from him.
Xia Ximo did not answer Zhao Wan. Instead, she asked Yan Zhengchu, “What kind of insects are these?”
Daoist Yan had initially thought they were Corpse Worms too. On closer inspection, however, they were much larger than those he had seen in Yunxia Town.
Moreover, they were not attacking anyone. As though summoned by something, they swarmed in one direction and soon disappeared.
“I can’t be certain they’re Corpse Worms, but anything that can grow in a place like this must be steeped in sinister yin energy.”
Yu Lang turned to Ren Fengjue. “My lord, I remember you once mentioning a general of the previous dynasty who was stationed in Liangzhou and later disappeared. Was that statue of him?”
Though Ren Fengjue had not had time to examine the statue closely, he nodded with conviction. “At this point, we can be fairly certain.”
He surveyed their surroundings, his expression growing grave. “And this place looks more like a tomb built for the living.”