nashuaworldcup Chapter 519
Chapter 519
A cold wind swirled fine sand against the glazed tiles. Dongfang Wan'er's fingertips traced the faint, elusive royal insignia on the edge of the secret passage map, her nails digging deep into her palms. The candlelight flickered in her eyes, making the golden dragon on the Regent's black python robe seem alive, its claws outstretched as it lunged into the shadows. "Though the insignia has faded, it is identical to the late Emperor's emblem." Her voice seemed to be squeezed from the depths of her chest, carrying an icy chill. The Regent's hand gripping his sword bulged with veins, causing the bronze candlestick on the table to vibrate slightly. "If it truly is someone from the royal family..." Before he could finish, a night owl cried out outside the window, startling the bronze bells under the eaves, as if foreshadowing an even greater storm.
The carriage returning to the Prince's mansion trod across the cobblestone road, the sound of its wheels particularly jarring in the quiet streets. Dongfang Wan'er lifted a corner of the curtain, watching the patrolling guards along the way, each one looking as if facing a formidable enemy. The gates of the Prince's mansion slowly opened in the twilight, and with the creaking of the hinges, she caught a whiff of blood in the air—the lingering scent of the Life-Burning Gu from the Imperial Physician, now mingled with the damp earth, permeating the corridors of the mansion.
The moment the iron door to the secret chamber slammed shut, the Imperial Physician suddenly let out a sinister laugh. His hands, bound by chains, twisted like chicken claws, the flesh of the recently deceased guard still embedded in his fingernails. "You think you can trap me?" His hoarse voice trembled eerily. The Regent turned around coldly, his heavy boots clicking crisply on the blue bricks. "Watch closely, if anything goes wrong..." Before he could finish speaking, Dongfang Wan'er had already pulled out a bronze mirror engraved with runes. The mirror surface flashed with a ghostly blue light, firmly locking the Imperial Physician's acupoints.
At the third quarter of midnight, the night watchman's drum shattered the deathly silence. The guards on night duty, pulling their cloaks tighter, paced before the dark chamber. Suddenly, a faint scraping sound came from underground, followed by the loud crash of chains falling to the ground. When they burst through the iron door, they found only an empty cell with several broken chains gleaming eerily dark red. A trail of bloody footprints snaked across the blue bricks, each footprint containing tiny, writhing worms that were burrowing into the cracks in the stone.
Dongfang Wan'er rushed into the dark room, oil lamp in hand, the flame casting flickering shadows on her pale face. The blood-stained words on the wall were still seeping down, the characters twisted like snakes, the last stroke long and drawn out, dripping onto the floor and pooling into a small puddle. She crouched down, dipped her fingertip in the blood, and sniffed it lightly. Her pupils contracted sharply—this blood was mixed with the Western Regions' rare poison, "Bone-Corroding Powder," which would turn the victim into a pool of pus within seven days.
"The other party is not only proficient in Gu magic, but also possesses secret medicines from the Western Regions." As Dongfang Wan'er rose, the jade pendant at her waist struck the iron bars of the dark room, producing a clear, melodious sound. The Regent had already drawn his Xuan Tie sword, its blade reflecting a chilling light in the candlelight. "Pass on my order: mobilize the Shadow Guards to investigate throughout the night." Before he finished speaking, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from afar, mixed with the clanging of clashing weapons. The lanterns of the Prince's mansion swayed violently in the wind, casting long shadows of the gatekeepers, like countless menacing ghosts.
Dongfang Wan'er strode to the window, and the moment she lifted the brocade curtain, a strong stench of blood assaulted her nostrils. Flames soared into the sky above the outer walls of the palace, and countless dark figures surged in like a tide. The leader's cloak fluttered in the night wind, faintly revealing the royal crest on its lining. She turned to look at the Regent, only to see a ruthless glint in his eyes as he plunged his black iron sword heavily into the ground: "Perfect timing." With his movement, a hidden mechanism beneath the floor tiles slowly activated, instantly extinguishing all the lights in the palace, leaving only echoes of screams reverberating in the night.
Dongfang Wan'er's fingertips still lingered on the cold brocade curtain, yet the stench of blood grew stronger, almost tangible, stinging her nostrils. Firelight filtered through the carved window lattice, casting a distorted shadow on the blue brick floor. In the flickering light, the dark figures who had scaled the wall were already approaching the inner courtyard, stepping over the corpses of their companions. The leader's cloak billowed in the wind, the golden dragon embroidered on it baring its fangs in the firelight—unmistakably the crown prince's insignia.
"Your Highness, this is rebellion!" Before Dongfang Wan'er could finish speaking, the Regent's Xuan Tie sword had already deflected several arrows that were flying through the air. Amidst the sparks flying from the collision of the blade and the arrows, he sneered, "A bastard that should have been eradicated three years ago." Suddenly, a slight tremor came from the ground. Hidden mechanisms were activated layer by layer under the pressure of the Xuan Tie sword. Black banners rose from the watchtowers at the four corners of the palace, and the once silent artificial hill cracked open, revealing countless poisoned crossbows.
Screams suddenly intensified as the leading assassins were riddled with crossbow bolts, their corpses piling up like small mountains. Yet more shadowy figures continued their advance, trampling over the flesh and blood of their fallen comrades. Their pupils glowed with an eerie, ghostly green—they too were assassins controlled by the Gu worms. Dongfang Wan'er flicked three silver needles from her sleeve, precisely piercing the Tanzhong acupoints of three assassins. The needles immediately corroded the skin, leaving black spots. "It's the Miao's Heart-Eating Gu!" she whispered, quickly pulling out a medicine bottle from her bosom and scattering a powder mixed with realgar and cinnabar into the air.
In the midst of the chaos, a white figure suddenly leaped onto the roof. Dongfang Wan'er looked up and saw the Crown Prince, wielding a gilded and silver-inlaid sword, overlooking the battlefield from his high vantage point. His pale face was flushed with a sickly pallor, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Uncle, hand over the secret passage map, and I will spare your life." Before he finished speaking, the assassins behind him suddenly threw out several smoke bombs, instantly filling the palace with thick smoke and intensifying the stench of the Gu worms.
The Regent's black iron sword flashed with silver light, repelling all the approaching assassins. He suddenly grabbed Dongfang Wan'er's wrist and pulled her behind him: "Go to the dungeon and activate the Soul-Suppressing Bell! Only the ancient bell can awaken these assassins controlled by the Gu worms!" Dongfang Wan'er nodded and turned to run towards the dungeon. On the way, she encountered a wounded shadow guard and received a key engraved with runes from him.