wait a minute

Chapter 156 Meeting in a narrow road

Somewhere in Yun'an City, inside a mansion that has been renovated since last year.

In the courtyard of the old mansion, there are piles of bricks, stones, earth and wood. Several carpenters are knocking on the beams. Because there are rich and powerful families around, bamboo fences are specially erected on the courtyard wall to block the view, so as not to make a mess. The scene caused criticism from the neighbors.

An ordinary servant dressed as Cao Aning entered the house with a lunch box in his hand, behind him was Xu Bailin, and an old man in white robe walking behind his back.

Cao Aning glanced at the back of the house, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he came to a half-rebuilt house, opened the floor covered with wooden boards, and went down the wooden stairs to an underground passage.

Both sides of the underground passage are bottomless, and the bricks and stones are old, but the top soil is new, with traces of trampling.

The old man in white robe walked silently beside the two of them, looking at the authentic old bricks and stones, slightly surprised:
"This tunnel looks like it was built by the previous dynasty. How did you find this place?"

Cao Aning was quite respectful to the white-robed old man. After all, this old man was the tutor of Jiang Zhahu, the overlord of Liangzhou, and he was also a hero who had once earned the title of "Queen of Boxing" with his bare hands.

If it was placed 30 years ago, just the appearance of the old man's name in Yunzhou would be enough to make the capital's yamen panic, as if they were facing an enemy.

Although the white-robed old man is over eighty years old, he was still severely injured by the apprentice who was expelled from the master. The first battle shattered the fame he had accumulated for half his life, and he had to hide in XZ to survive.

But those who have climbed to the top of the mountain, for warriors like Cao Aning who are still on the way, are still legends that can only be looked up to.

Hearing the old man in white robe's inquiry, Cao Aning responded:
"I've been in the palace for many years, and I didn't know there was such a secret passage underground. His Royal Highness is very powerful. I don't know where to find the news. He deduced that there is a tunnel under this place. I sent people to investigate secretly for a long time before I found this place. .”

"Where does the tunnel lead to?"

"The other end of the Qingjiang River leading to the outside of the city has collapsed and blocked. The entrance may be in Miyagi, but the risk is too high, so I haven't verified it."

After listening to the story, the old man in white robe nodded slightly and sighed:
"It's a pity that I found out too late. If people in the Jianghu knew that there was still a tunnel to enter the palace before Jiazi, the current Jianghu would probably be in a different situation."

Xu Bailin knew that the white-robed old man was a person who participated in the bloody battle in the capital at the end of the previous dynasty, and asked:

"It is said that when Yun'an City was broken, most of the martial arts leaders came to fight for treasures in Miyagi. What was the specific situation at that time?"

The white-robed old man explained: "Emperor Yan Gong was so extravagant that he wanted to lose the hearts of the people, and Fengguancheng was disheartened. Being restrained by the rebel army, the defense of the imperial city was empty, and the heroes of the world rushed to Yun'an City to fish in the troubled waters.

"At that time, not only Wu Kui from Dayan came, but also many masters from Beiliang, some who robbed the dragon map, and some who swore to protect the country and heroes who fought for the rebels. The old man and Xuanyuan Chao and others were all in their teens and 20s at the time, and they only dared to watch from a distance in the city, and they didn't even dare to take a step closer to the imperial city."

Xu Bailin could imagine the brutality of that battle, and asked:

"According to the rumors in the world, Minglong Tu was finally obtained by Kuang Yazi. Is this true?"

The old man in white robe thought for a while: "I don't know, but the old man saw it with his own eyes. When Kuang Yazi rushed out of the capital, he took off his clothes. He only had a knife on his body and he didn't wear any pants. If it wasn't for that, it would have been very difficult to escape." The heroes of the rivers and lakes escaped from the chase."

Cao Aning said: "Afterwards, the imperial court investigated and lost four of the dragon-crying pictures collected by the previous court. One may have been taken to Nanxiao Mountain, one was taken away by Beiliang people, and the remaining two are missing. I guess Kuang Yazi succeeded, he broke into the Cheng'an Palace, and then fled all the way, he may have hidden the Minglong Picture in the wound..."

While the three of them were chatting, walking along the tunnel for a long time, a light appeared in front of them.

A few oil lamps were hung on the walls of the tunnel, and two tables were placed along the walls, with some drawings, pens and inks on them, and more than 30 wooden barrels were piled up against the walls.

Four or five men were sitting against the wall, with hoes, shovels and other tools beside them. Seeing Cao Aning approaching, they quickly got up to greet him:
"Lord Cao."

"Keep resting, just come and see..."

On the wall between the several men, another horizontal hole was opened, exposing the soil, supported by wooden boards to prevent collapse, and oil lamps were hung along the way, extending to the end of the field of vision.

Cao Aning came to the entrance of the newly dug passageway and signaled the inside:
"We have already dug up to the foundation. As long as we know the position of the bearing points, we can pour molten oil on it and soak for two days to complete the work. But Ye Jingtang's calculations are too deep, and I don't dare to act rashly in the city..."

Just halfway through speaking, the old man in white robe next to him raised his hand, turned his head and frowned further into the dark tunnel:

"Is there anyone else over there?"

Cao Aning looked into the depths of the tunnel in a blink of an eye, slightly puzzled:

"Going forward, you will arrive at the vicinity of the imperial city. Don't dare to step in rashly. It has been sealed. Is there any movement?"

The old man in white robe listened carefully, then turned and walked deep into the tunnel...
-
The two palace lanterns are ten steps apart, moving forward in a long tunnel.

The tunnel was extremely quiet, and after pressing down their footsteps, they could even hear each other's heartbeats.

plop ~ plop ~
Ye Jingtang walked ahead with his saber in his hand, carefully scrutinizing the details of the ground, always feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell.

Dongfang Liren carried the palace lantern, put his arms around the empress dowager's shoulders, and walked slowly behind, probably infected by Ye Jingtang's more and more cautious appearance, didn't speak, just looked around carefully.

The empress dowager was made a little nervous by the two of them, because she walked too deep, and the fear of the unknown lingered in her heart, which made her want to retreat, but it was not easy to say it clearly, so she could only hold Li Ren's sleeve and look around.

After walking for a while, Ye Jingtang suddenly stopped and raised his hand.

Both Dongfang Liren and the Empress Dowager breathed heavily, and asked softly:

"what happened?"

Ye Jingtang frowned, squatted down, and illuminated the stone bricks on the ground with palace lanterns. He could see some traces of mud left on the stone bricks. Although they had dried and hardened, they definitely did not have a history of 200 years.

"This place is not right, and other people have been here recently."

"what?"

When the two women heard this, they naturally became nervous, and the empress dowager asked:

"A man or a ghost?"

Dongfang Liren felt that people were more terrifying than ghosts, so he slightly raised his hand;

"Shh~"

Ye Jingtang's brows were tightly furrowed, and he was suspicious in his heart, but it wasn't very strange after thinking about it.

He found "The Secret History of Claire Queen" from Prince Wu's study, and Prince Wu was looking at the content of digging tunnels. If someone has been here recently, there is a high probability that this person has no relationship with Prince Wu.

Ye Jingtang thought about it a little, and looked ahead ahead of the palace lantern, and after walking a few steps, he found a brick wall, blocking the tunnel.

The brick wall is newly built, and there is a clear difference between the color and material of the authentic masonry. From the traces, it can be seen that it has been a few months at most.

Dongfang Liren came forward with his arms around the Empress Dowager, his eyes became serious:
"Someone found the tunnel, why is it blocked here again?"

"The opponent's target is most likely not in the palace. He just borrowed this tunnel to get closer to a certain place in the city. He dared not go forward when he came to this place, probably because he knew that the tunnel would enter the scope of the imperial city and was afraid of being exposed."

As Ye Jingtang said, he pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the crack of the brick wall soundlessly, feeling:
"It should be two walls, with straw, quilts and other things sandwiched between them for sound insulation, so that the sound from the other side will not be heard by people in the direction of Miyagi if it travels too far."

The Empress Dowager didn't expect to encounter such a thing, she thought about it and said:

"Then the other party is plotting something wrong on the other side of the wall?"

Ye Jingtang felt that the probability was high, and that there was probably someone on the other side of the wall, so he raised his hand slightly, signaling the two women to step back slowly and not make any noise...
-
the other side of the wall.

The old man in white robe came silently ten feet away from the blocked wall, squatted down with one hand on his knees, and put his palms on the ground.

Cao Aning and Xu Bailin followed behind, holding their breath, and asked in a very low voice:

"Someone?"

The old man in white robe felt it for a moment, then nodded slightly:

"Three. I have discovered something strange here and are fleeing. What are you going to do?"

Cao Aning didn't know who the other party was, but if he was able to come over from that end, he must have something to do with the palace. If this place is exposed, all plans will come to naught. After thinking about it, he said:

"The tunnel has been discovered. It's useless to kill people and silence them. We can only advance the plan. The other party came in rashly from the other end without checking the exit. He must not know where it leads. Find a way to collapse the tunnel and let them touch it." If you don’t know the exact direction, it will drag on for a day or two.”

When Cao Aning said this, he looked at Xu Bailin:
"You don't need to find a bearing point, let them pour molten oil directly."

Seeing this, Xu Bailin retreated silently.

The white-robed old man stood up, scanned the rock-solid tunnel, studied the structure, then moved his feet apart, raised his air with both palms, and a breeze appeared in the deep tunnel.

Seeing this, Cao Aning backed away slowly and opened the distance.

woohoo~~
The white-robed old man clasped his hands in circles, his robes moved without any wind, and his hands could not move for a moment, so he stretched out his palms and slapped them on the blocked brick wall.

boom -

In the dead and silent tunnel, there was a sudden thunderous explosion.

the other end.

Ye Jingtang retreated cautiously, and his heart sank when he heard a slight movement in the distance.

Just as he was about to fly back with extreme steps, the brick wall a few meters away swelled into a semicircle, and then exploded. The sharp wind like a knife pierced through the tunnel in an instant. Come.

Ye Jingtang's complexion changed suddenly. Behind them were Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager. There was no way to dodge, and there was no room to move in the narrow tunnel. He gritted his teeth and flew behind him. The long knife in his hand was spinning like the wind, blocking the two women with his body and the light of the knife. behind.

ding ding ding-

The sudden explosion made the Empress Dowager scream out in fright, Dongfang Liren reacted more quickly, turned around with all her strength and hugged the petite Empress Dowager in her arms.

clap clap-

But in an instant, thousands of broken bricks roared past the three of them, and countless bricks were pulverized by the light of the knife. The dust instantly covered the tunnel and smashed the crumbling palace lantern.

Ye Jingtang used his long knife to block with all his strength, but his upper body was not hit, but the robe and shoes on his lower body were riddled with broken stones that flew like sharp blades, and there were bloodstains on his legs.

The same is true of the phoenix skirts of Dongfang Liren and the Empress Dowager, but with Ye Jingtang blocking them, the situation is much better.

"go!"

Ye Jingtang had more than just flying stones to block. Although it was dark and he couldn't see anything, he knew that the sudden and powerful opponent would definitely follow behind the broken stones. .

boom--

In the tunnel where you can't see your fingers, there is a shrill scream of the air and masonry being torn apart!

Although the light of the saber could not be seen, the ear-piercing sound pierced through the tunnel in an instant, like an invisible arrow shot out more than ten feet in an instant, the light and movement had already caused the two women in the closed tunnel to have tinnitus.

Dongfang Liren didn't dare to stay for a while, enduring the stinging pain in his legs, he hugged the Empress Dowager and flew back.

Ye Jingtang was in a dark tunnel, and his eyes couldn't see, but this knife wasn't a random hack.

Tianhe Dao does not rely on eyes at all to see things, but perceives subtle changes in the environment.

Although he didn't see anything in front of him, Ye Jingtang could vaguely catch a figure in front of the tunnel, pushing away the airflow and dust mist, and the speed was unbelievably fast.

This knife accurately cut the neck of the person who came, and obviously shocked the opponent.

The old man in white robe blasted out bricks with his palms, knocking out all the light, and also couldn't see anything, but he could accurately judge the opponent's movements by relying on movements such as breathing and the rubbing of his robe.

Seeing that the other party had started a saber directly at the neck, the white-robed old man was secretly startled, seeing that the other party was definitely not an ordinary person, he immediately folded his palms together, clamped the Chilong ring's first saber, and pulled it to the side with skillful force, At the same time, he leaned his shoulder violently and bumped into the arms of the passerby.

Ye Jingtang made a surprise attack with all his strength, and was caught by the opponent empty-handed. Surprise flashed in his heart, but he didn't withdraw the knife. people shoulders.

boom -

In the narrow tunnel, two extremely surging energy exploded.

The floor tiles on which the two stood were shattered, lightning-like cracks instantly spread in all directions, and the flying dust and mist were scattered to both ends by energy, engulfing Dongfang Liren, who was flying away, and Cao Aning, who had horrified eyes on the other end, in the blink of an eye.

Amidst the loud noise, the old man in white robe didn't move, but his body was knocked out, and his feet rubbed out more than ten feet long grooves on the floor tiles.

wow——

And Ye Jingtang had practiced fist and foot kung fu not long ago, and his inner strength was indeed a bit stronger, but his boxing frame was not as immobile as that of the white-robed old man. He was knocked back a few steps and crushed several floor tiles.

Tread-tap-

The white-robed old man keenly grasped this point. Before the crack spread and the masonry was about to fall, his body was like a tiger pounced, and his palms collapsed towards Ye Jingtang's chest and abdomen with the force of a golden dragon.

Although his movements were swift and terrifying, the old man didn't make any movement from the beginning to the end of his move, and all the energy in his body was gathered between his palms.

And Ye Jingtang also felt that the technique of the visitor was unimaginably strong, but he obviously lacked stamina, either he was an old man or he had a secret injury.

Seeing that the opponent still dared to take advantage of the loopholes, Ye Jingtang stood firm for a moment, then pulled back his right foot, and slashed horizontally with his left hand holding a knife, blocking the person's body. Like a giant cannon charging into the city, it blasted head-on between the palms of the visitor.

boom -

This head-on collision is far more powerful than the collision just now.

The broken bricks that had just fallen from above were shattered by the shock, splashing in all directions and hitting the surrounding stone walls.

The white-robed old man clenched his fists with both palms, and the sleeves of his arms were shattered from the cuffs, and the energy poured into his chest and abdomen, and the back of his robes exploded, flying away together with the bundled white hair.

Ye Jingtang punched the ground with his foot, and the clothes on the right half of his body were shattered by the energy, revealing half of the silver soft armor, but this time the lower body was firmly planted, and the right foot that supported the ground was crushed. Stone bricks, but his body didn't move at all.

But the old man in white robe couldn't stand still this time, the surging fist force penetrated his body from both palms, the old leg behind him couldn't support it, and there was a bend, and then it was like a landslide, and the whole person was punched Beng flew out and flew deep into the tunnel.

Rumbling--

They fought against each other twice, but the moment the brick wall burst.

The destroyed tunnel began to collapse from above, and then the masonry and soil fell down, blocking the middle.

Ye Jingtang punched, and the broken bricks and mud hit his body, fearing that he would be buried alive, he immediately put away his knife and turned around and ran wildly.

Dongfang Liren was swept by two consecutive air waves blowing from behind. He didn't understand what happened. He just tried his best to protect the Empress Dowager and ran wildly. He just ran two steps away when his body lightened and he was hugged by the waist. Trapped under the armpit.

The same is true for the empress dowager, because she couldn't see anything, she realized that her body was out of balance, and quickly grabbed the man's arm...

(End of this chapter)