Though the white-robed man had kept silent all this time, Long Feiye and Gu Qishao hadn't forgotten about him. The fact that someone from the Shadow Clan had shown up here was worth thinking over. Moreover, he'd just said such a thing. What right did he had to lead the path?
"What, you know the way?" Gu Qishao laughed.
Before the white-robed man replied, Han Yunxi gave Gu Qishao a look. "He really does!"
A complicated look flitted past Long Feiye's eyes at the statement. How could someone from the Shadow Clan know the passageways of the Poison Sect's Sky Pit? Could it be that the thing he was investigating was true?
Gu Qishao suddenly grew indignant. "So you were the one who stole the map!" After all, the Sky Pit's limestone cave was filled with hundreds and thousands of twists and turns and dead ends. It was an extremely complicated maze, so who else but the upper echelons of the Medical Academy or those with the map in hand could know the way? Heaven knows whether the white-robed man had stolen a map, but Han Yunxi had never seen him take one out.
He ignored Gu Qishao's accusation and asked, "Miss Yunxi, are we leaving or not?"
It'd be best if someone was there to lead the way. Han Yunxi didn't know anything about the Shadow Clan, so she didn't have many reservations. She could tell that this white-robed man didn't know anything about poisons, so he probably needed her help to catch the poison beast. She dared to follow him even when Long Feiye and Gu Qishao weren't present, so why would she fear him now? When they finally did reach the poison beast, there'd be enough of them to snatch it to their side.
"Let's go!" Han Yunxi said cheerfully. But Long Feiye and Gu Qishao didn't budge.
"Hand over the map!" Gu Qishao narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"What does the Shadow Clan want to do with the poison beast?" Long Feiye was more concerned with that matter. Members of the Shadow Clan never lived for themselves, but dedicated their lives to loyally serve the royalty of West Qin. If the West Qin imperial family had been annihilated, then the Shadow Clan had to perish too. But since members of their clan still existed in this world, then the West Qin must have a surviving orphan! What the Shadow Clan needed would be precisely what the West Qin imperial family needed! Why did this fellow insisted on tagging along with them? He wouldn't gain any advantage if they all found the poison beast. Thinking up to here, Long Feiye glanced carefully at Han Yunxi.
Faced with Long Feiye and Gu Qishao's heated questions, the white-robed man was as serene as water. He was about to speak when the ground suddenly began to shake. Following that, the entire cave shook as if it was about to collapse. Long Feiye was the first to grab Han Yunxi's hand. "What's going on?"
"Someone's triggered the Sky Pit Death Trap! Before noon, the Sky Pit will definitely collapse! We have to hurry!" the white-robed man said.
"You know about the Sky Pit Death Trap too?" Gu Qishao was very surprised. This Sky Pit Death Trap was the most important secret of the Poison Sect. It wasn't drawn on the map of the Sky Pit, but only known to members of the highest levels in the medical academy. He'd overheard the secret when he was younger. It was the only trap outside of the 100 other traps down here, and also known as the 101st trap. Once triggered, it'd cause the entire Sky Pit to cave in, burying alive everything in it. Even the poison beast would be hard pressed to escape. Over the years, the upper echelons had been on the constant lookout for this trap so they could destroy the Sky Pit and keep the poison beast here forever, but they'd never managed to succeed.
Dammnit, this was like a blind cat who'd happened to catch a mouse. Who was it that triggered the trap?
After the declaration, a large boulder came crashing down towards them. Long Feiye shielded Han Yunxi and ducked into a cave on the side. Seeing this, the white-robed man was even quicker than Gu Qishao to give chase.
"There's no much time left, are you all going or not?" the white-robed man asked again. As he finished, more rocks began to fall in the cave around them as the ceiling threatened to cave in.
Neither Long Feiye nor Gu Qishao hesitated as they said at the same time, "Go, lead the way!"
Go?
Were they rushing to leave through the exit, or rushing forward to find the poison beast? Nobody bothered to clarify, but the white-robed man, Long Feiye, and Gu Qishao had all come to a tacit understanding. None of them were men who accepted defeat easily, so they wouldn't run away. Since they were here, they couldn't leave empty-handed. When they said 'go,' their only meaning was to keep moving forward!
The white-robed man immediately pressed a switch on the right side of the right wall and opened up a hidden passageway. With him leading the way, Long Feiye and Han Yunxi followed, Gu Qishao and Mu Linger behind them. Tang Li brought up the rear. The entire way, Long Feiye was shielding Han Yunxi and kept a tight grip on her hand. Everyone was using their lightness techniques to fly, but the ignorant Han Yunxi had the easiest journey of the bunch. Her face was pressed against Long Feiye's chest, where she could clearly hear his strong heartbeat. It was only at this moment that she truly felt close to him. Behind them, the rocks kept breaking apart and falling down, severely rocking the cave. It seemed like the entire world was going to collapse. But wrapped in Long Feiye's embrace, Han Yunxi felt that everything had gone still. Amidst the turbulence and mix of light and shadow, they hurtled forward quickly. He was holding her so, so tightly, making it a little difficult for her to breathe. Despite this, he still wanted her to press against him even closer.
"Hold on tight!" his voice was utterly commanding.
Hold on tight?
With the way he was holding her now, there was no way for her to hold onto him besides circling her arms around his waist. She hesitated, only for him to urge again, "Hold on tight!"
They were travelling way too fast. If this woman happened to fall, she'd lose half her life, if not die outright.
"I can't hold on," Han Yunxi said softly. After a pause, she carefully wrapped her arms around him until she was fully pressed against his body. His strong masculine scent flooded her senses, making her heart beat fast.
Hug him?
When Long Feiye felt her little hands circling around his waist, an unconscious smile crept onto his lips in tacit consent. Behind them, Gu Qishao saw everything as clear as day. In his eyes, it was Han Yunxi who'd chosen to hug Long Feiye out of her own will. As he watched, his thoughts wandered until he came to a stop, causing Mu Linger to crash right into him. Fortunately, Tang Li was quicker to react and stopped himself in time.
"Gu Qishao, what are you doing?" he said angrily.
Gu Qishao didn't react at all, but continued moving forward. Mu Linger watched him chase after Long Feiye and Han Yunxi with his back covered in wounds and felt as if her heart would break. Qi gege, I definitely won't let Han Yunxi hurt you like this! Definitely not!
As the tremors in the cave intensified, the white-robed man went faster and faster, forcing the people behind him to increase their speed so they could keep up. The entire group of people whizzed rapidly through the tunnel and through secret passageway after secret passageway, somehow finding themselves going deeper and deeper underground. Finally, the white-robed man stopped before a gigantic stone door. They had arrived.
"Behind this door is the lowest point in the Sky Pit, and the secret room imprisoning the poison beast," the white-robed man said mildly. Everyone expected the white-robed man to find a switch and open the door, but he only said, "We have to find a way to open this door. I don't know where the switch is, either."
Long Feiye used the handle of his sword to hit the door. The sound revealed that it was a very thick door. He signaled everyone to back away and sliced down with his sword. In a flash, the sword awn glowed like a rainbow to attack the door, which didn't budge at all. It didn't even show any traces of the attack. Not expecting this, Long Feiye tried again, striking the door directly with his sword. But again, the stone door showed no reaction. Long Feiye's blade was none other than a famous ancient sword called the Dragon's Cry. Its blade was as worthy as its name, capable of slicing through iron as if it was mud. Combined with his inner energy, how could he make no dent against a single door?
"This isn't a stone door!" Long Feiye didn't waste his strength any more.
"It's a Xuan gold1 door, nothing can move it," the white-robed man replied honestly.
Everyone sucked in a cold breath at these words. Xuan gold was the toughest, hardest material in this world. It was the premium material for making weapons, and a single piece was enough to send people scrambling after it like a flock of ducks, much less this gargantuan chunk! The Poison Sect had actually used it for their door. Wasn't this a little too wasteful? Of course, once their astonishment passed, hopelessness came in its wake. The white-robed man was right; nothing could possibly budge this door.
"Is there only one entrance?" Han Yunxi asked. Whether or not the white-robed man heard, he didn't answer.
Gu Qishao came forward to touch the door and sighed. "Bone corrosives might work on other materials, but not Xuan gold." Bone corrosives had the strongest decaying properties in poisons, but they were useless against Xuan gold. At this, Han Yunxi's eyes brightened as she remembered something. Meanwhile, the rumbling around them grew louder and louder. If this kept up, they'd probably be buried in this secret entrance as well.
"We can only look for the switch, it should be somewhere nearby," the white-robed man said seriously.
"It could only be on the left or right walls. Everyone split up to search!" Tang Li had already felt around the walls. Traps and hidden weapons were similar in some respects, so he was somewhat of an expert when facing them. Very soon, everyone started searching on both sides, leaving only Han Yunxi to stand in place. The white-robed man glanced at her, a trace of anxiety in his calm, serene eyes. Then he looked back at the others and made sure they weren't watching before his hand brushed past a rough patch of wall that sliced through his fingers and left a bloodstain behind. Strangely enough, the blood soon disappeared from sight, as if the wall itself had swallowed it up.
The white-robed man withdrew his fingers and curled them into his palm, before speaking up. "Miss Yunxi, I'll go over there. You look around here."
"Mm." Han Yunxi walked over. She was about to touched the wall when she suddenly stopped and said, "I have a way to melt away this door!"
Long Feiye was the first to look back at her eyes, a sign of warning in his eyes. There did exist one poison in this world that could melt Xuan gold, but its name was Perplexing Butterfly Illusion!
1. Xuan gold– xuan means mysterious, dark, obscure, jin is gold.