"Haha..."
A strange laugh echoed from within.
"The people you want to see are all in here. If you have the guts, come in and save them," a sinister female voice called out from behind the iron gate.
Leng Ruo Li exchanged a glance with Jun Mo Han, then they strode through the iron gate, followed closely by the guards behind the Cold King and his consort.
As Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han entered, they were assailed by a nauseating smell of mildew and decay. They discovered that behind the iron gate was a very spacious stone chamber.
The entire chamber was constructed from massive granite stones. Eight colossal stone pillars supported the ceiling, which was also made of stone. Moonlight streamed through several openings, about the size of a bowl, illuminating the dark chamber with beams of light, yet casting an eerie, chilling atmosphere.
Leng Ruo Li couldn't discern what transparent material covered these openings, allowing such clear light.
Then, the Cold King and his consort looked up at the figure seated on the foremost stone chair at the chamber's steps and were instantly stunned. The person was none other than Liu Ru Yi.
Just a few days ago, Liu Ru Yi had been alluring and charming, her hair a lustrous black. Now, her hair was silver, her face devoid of luster, and it was unclear what she had endured in the past two days.
According to Jun Mo Han's guards, yesterday, Liu Ru Yi's illegitimate son was killed by a butcher in front of her at the Qing King's mansion. His head had fallen to the ground instantly, and Liu Ru Yi had cried until she was on the verge of collapse.
Liu Ru Yi's white hair was likely connected to her son's death.
However, Leng Ruo Li hadn't expected Liu Ru Yi to emerge from her grief so quickly.
Beside her sat six men in black, wearing masks of malevolent spirits. Even more perplexing to Leng Ruo Li was a young girl in the corner of the chamber, her hair tied in twin pigtails, wearing a butterfly mask and a pink floral dress. She appeared to be only five or six years old.
At this moment, facing Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han, she was astride a wooden rocking horse, rocking back and forth, as if all danger were irrelevant to her.
"Liu Ru Yi, you captured my people just to lure us here, didn't you? Now that the King and I are here, you can release our people, right?"
Leng Ruo Li glanced at Yin Er, Yin Shi, Ye Jiu, and Xiao Liu Zi, who were tied to the four large stone pillars in the chamber and lay unconscious. Her voice was icy, her words sharp.
"Hmph! To expect me to release your people is wishful thinking. However, we have to thank last night's assassins for helping us lure you here without much effort," Liu Ru Yi said, her face filled with resentment.
Upon hearing Liu Ru Yi's words, the Cold King and his consort understood. The group who set fire to Lao Guo's cloth shop and attempted to assassinate Xiao Liu Zi last night were not the same as Liu Ru Yi's group.
"Since you're unwilling to release Yin Er and the other three, then... we'll have to rescue them ourselves." Ruo Li said, turning to Jun Mo Han and giving him a slight nod.
Jun Mo Han quickly understood Leng Ruo Li's intention.
He and Leng Ruo Li swiftly pulled out the mini pistols from their sleeves and fired towards Liu Ru Yi.
As a result, the bullets fired by Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han were deflected by an inexplicable force, deviating from their intended targets and striking the stone wall. Immediately, they heard two "clang!" sounds as the empty casings fell to the ground.
This scene caused Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han to freeze for a moment, but they quickly realized that there was another hidden master within the chamber whom they had not detected earlier.
The bullets they had just fired were likely the work of this hidden master.
Jun Mo Han scanned the stone chamber with a cold gaze, looked at the masked men in black beside Liu Ru Yi, his slightly narrowed violet eyes flashed with a chill, and finally, his eyes, as cold as millennia-old ice, settled on the little girl sitting on the rocking horse.
When Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han first entered this stone chamber, the presence of the little girl had struck them as very peculiar. Could the bullets they fired earlier have had their trajectory altered by this little girl?
She looked only five or six years old, how could she possess such formidable internal energy to alter their bullets?
But if it wasn't her, then who was hidden in the shadows, observing every movement within the stone chamber?
The Cold King and his consort pondered for a moment, then exchanged another glance. This time, they fired at two of the black-clad men beside Liu Ru Yi.
However, these men in black had already become highly vigilant against Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han. The moment the couple raised their hands to fire, they swiftly dodged behind the large stone chair where Liu Ru Yi was seated, successfully evading the bullets.
Concurrently, the six men in black launched star-shaped projectiles at Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han. Then, the men in black quickly drew their sabers, channeled their qinggong, leaped into the air, and engaged the Cold King and his consort in combat.
Even Liu Ru Yi joined the fight against the Cold King and his consort. However, after less than ten exchanges with Leng Ruo Li, she was sent flying by a palm strike, crashing directly into the hard stone wall. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, looking extremely disheveled.
The little girl in the corner, who had been playing with the rocking horse, watched the fight in the stone chamber with a cold gaze. A sinister smile curved her lips unintentionally, and her eyes were filled with a chilling malevolence that made one shudder.
Then, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, she quietly approached the back of the stone chamber's steps, opened the hidden door switch, and slipped away unnoticed.
Inside the stone chamber, after Leng Ruo Li had severely wounded Liu Ru Yi, Jun Mo Han and his group also killed the six men in black surrounding Liu Ru Yi.
Just as Leng Ruo Li was about to strike Liu Ru Yi's throat with her sword, Liu Ru Yi suddenly spoke, begging for mercy.
"Ruor Li, wait! Don't kill me yet. I know I have committed grave sins in this life, and you hate me deeply, but I still want to shamelessly beg you to spare my life for now. Let me see Yu Ge one last time. I have some secrets to tell him, or I will die with regret," Liu Ru Yi said weakly, clutching her chest, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Liu Ru Yi, what other tricks do you have up your sleeve? Haven't you harmed our parents enough? How dare you have the audacity to ask me to take you to see Father?" Leng Ruo Li mocked.
"Ruor Li, I beg you, please take me back to see your father one last time. I have some secrets he wants to know. I want to tell him before I die, and it will also settle the harm I, Liu Ru Yi, have inflicted upon him and Wan'er for the past twenty years. That way, even if I die, I will die with peace," Liu Ru Yi pleaded in a humble tone, leaning against the corner of the stone wall.