Strange as it was, Lin Qingge's body moved before her mind could fully process it.
She reached out to Leng Ningyue beside her. The latter grabbed her hand, pulled hard, and then pushed off the ground with her toes.
In the blink of an eye, the two had retreated several dozen feet away.
Immediately after, six arrows, gleaming with cold light, shot out from both sides of the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda.
Fortunately, Lin Qingge and Leng Ningyue had already left their original positions.
Although two arrows flew towards them, the distance created gave them time to breathe and react. Both arrows were shot down by Leng Ningyue with her dagger.
"Did I find the wrong formation core? That shouldn't be right?"
With the immediate danger averted, Lin Qingge murmured to herself.
To be honest, she considered her comprehension in this area to be exceptionally high, perhaps even exceptionally gifted.
Coupled with the fact that she had seen ancient texts detailing similar cracking methods in her elder brother's study, she felt she shouldn't have failed.
Just as Lin Qingge was questioning herself, Leng Ningyue pointed.
Lin Qingge followed her gaze and saw that the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda, which had been tightly sealed, had now split into four sections, revealing the bamboo tubes hidden within.
Hehuan Sanren, his eyes gleaming with sharpness, darted forward and reached out to grab the bamboo tube.
Seeing this, Lin Qingge hurriedly shouted:
"Stop!"
However, the dry, wrinkled, withered hand continued its advance as if nothing had happened.
"Damn it!"
Lin Qingge cursed, her face filled with anxiety.
Concerned for Lin Qingge's safety, Leng Ningyue could not intervene. She could only throw the dagger clenched in her hand.
Sensing danger, Hehuan Sanren was forced to stop his grab and dodge to the side.
During this interval, Leng Ningyue, having had her sleeve tugged several times by Lin Qingge, leaped forward.
Hehuan Sanren, renowned for many years, while perhaps a bit too fond of his own life, was no pushover. He engaged Leng Ningyue in a back-and-forth exchange, holding his ground for several rounds.
During this time, Lin Qingge explained loudly:
"Hehuan Sanren, listen to me.
I believe I found the correct formation core just now, but the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda still fired arrows.
This indirectly indicates that the craftsman who made the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda did not want anyone to obtain what was inside.
However, due to some reason, they could not destroy the treasure within, so they chose such an extreme method of preservation.
Therefore, when the bamboo tube leaves the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda, something else detrimental will surely happen."
As soon as Lin Qingge finished speaking, a small hand stretched out from beneath the table and stealthily reached for the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda.
It turned out there was someone hidden beneath the table!
From the looks of it, it was a young Daoist, not much older.
Lin Qingge glanced at the small hand reaching for the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda, then at Leng Ningyue fighting around it, and her heart leaped into her throat.
She forced a smile and called out:
"Run!"
But that shameless Hehuan Sanren, as if he had multiplied, summoned two more martial arts experts, surrounding Leng Ningyue together.
"Despicable!"
"Hmph, what if I am despicable?
As long as I possess this treasure that can command the world, what use is a reputation?
Moreover, I am not a righteous person to begin with, so I don't care if my reputation sinks even lower."
Hehuan Sanren laughed confidently, but due to his carelessness, he took a solid kick from Leng Ningyue.
At the same time.
The young Daoist hidden under the table had already picked up the bamboo tube.
Lin Qingge acutely caught a very brief 'hissing' sound.
Perhaps her mouth was indeed touched by some mystical influence.
Because, the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda indeed held a hidden secret.
Beneath the bamboo tube was buried a "Five Thunder Blossom Firecracker," and when the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda was opened, its mechanism was triggered.
Seeing Leng Ningyue still fighting the nefarious group around the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda, Lin Qingge's body moved before her mind could catch up.
Lin Qingge didn't know at what speed or with what steps she rushed forward.
She didn't know how she kicked the Treasure Suppressing Pagoda flying.
Nor did she know how she accurately tackled Leng Ningyue, rolled several times on the ground, until they tumbled off the stage and landed heavily.
She only heard an explosion that could shatter her eardrums.
The immense impact and the wave of heat that followed made her eyes spin and her head swim.
Then, she truly fainted.
But before she lost consciousness completely, she faintly heard Leng Ningyue's voice, uncharacteristically calm and extremely anxious, calling out.
"Hiss..."
Lin Qingge slowly regained consciousness amidst the stinging pain.
She laboriously opened her eyelids, looked around dazedly, and finally confirmed she was in a bedroom within Wolong Mountain Villa.
"You're awake?
Do you feel any discomfort?"
Following the stinging sensation, Lin Qingge looked and saw her arm and hand bandaged like a zongzi.
"Madam, what is this?"
"You're injured."
"Oh."
After responding, Lin Qingge stared intently at the person before her for a long time, then suddenly smiled.
"What are you smiling at?
Knowing there was danger and you still charged forward, are you an idiot?"
Despite being reprimanded, Lin Qingge smiled and shook her head.
"Madam, your words are amiss. I am merely overjoyed to see you safe and sound."
Unexpectedly, Lin Qingge said this, Leng Ningyue paused, then reached out and tapped her forehead:
"Fool!"
But Lin Qingge's smile faded, and she retorted earnestly:
"If I am foolish, aren't you even more foolish, Madam?
To be炸 into a charred corpse would be incredibly painful."
Although she didn't know how she transmigrated here, according to Fu Xun's dying words, she hadn't died in modern times.
In that critical moment, Leng Ningyue had saved her at the cost of her own life.
At the time, she and Leng Ningyue hadn't had much interaction, yet Leng Ningyue had risked her life to save her during the explosion.
Wasn't Leng Ningyue even more foolish than her?
Understanding what Lin Qingge was referring to, Leng Ningyue looked away uncomfortably and muttered softly:
"That's different."
"Yes, it's different.
How can I compare to your capabilities, Madam!
Madam is a peerless martial artist; even without me, you could have overcome any misfortune.
I am merely a dish of pickled cabbage fish, sour, pathetic, and redundant!"
"Alright, it was my fault. I shouldn't have said that to you.
And, thank you."
Lin Qingge, who would brighten up with just a little encouragement, immediately broke into a wide smile:
"Madam, with the relationship between us, saying thank you is too distant!
By the way, where are the others?"
Mentioning those troublesome individuals who were no longer restrained on the bed, Leng Ningyue couldn't help but rub her forehead in a slight headache.