CH 48

Chapter 48: The secret path in the Hu Guo Temple

Habit was a terrible thing. He had clearly stretched out his hand to her, but he still said something to hurt her.

But even so, so what? Did Gu Yu Qi think that she could escape his palm as she thought in this life?

Yun Ke’s hand tightened his hand. It seemed like his actions were proving what he thought in his heart. Gu Yu Qi was in pain. She could not help frowning but she tolerated it and did not cry out in pain.

He was really strong. He almost crushed the bones in her hand.

Glancing at Gu Yu Qi’s wrinkled brows, only then did Yun Ke realise how much strength he was using and he lowered his strength.

Yun Ke squatted down in front of Gu Yu Qi. Gu Yu Qi was frightened and leapt off the stone bench. What was this? He was not going to lift her skirt, was he? He must have taken the wrong medicine, or he had been released out without being medicated.

“Sit down!” Seeing Gu Yu Qi jump up as though she had been stabbed by a needle, Yun Ke’s brows tightened slightly and he spoke coldly. “If you don’t want your sprained ankle to hurt anymore, sit down for this prince!”

He really wanted to see how Gu Yu Qi’s ankle was. He had not expected his actions to be so horrific in Gu Yu Qi’s eyes.

“Your Highness, this is not in line with etiquette,” Gu Yu Qi hurriedly lifted her foot up and hopped backwards on one leg, speaking anxiously.

Not in line with etiquette? This was new. In his previous life, had she not done many things that were not in line with etiquette? Besides, he had been her husband in the previous life. What part of her body had he not touched, not seen? Now he just wanted to see how hurt she was, and this was not in line with etiquette?

Yun Ke’s eyes flashed with a cold light. He straightened his body, “Young Miss Gu is so well mannered.” There was a faint sneer on the corner of his lips, “This prince was rude.” After speaking, he reached out and pulled Gu Yu Qi’s slim waist into his arms.

When Yan Zhi saw this, she flared up. She jumped over and grabbed Yun Ke’s arm, “Let go of our Young Miss. So what if you’re a prince? Can you offend my Young Miss just because you’re a prince?” She shouted and wanted to rescue Gu Yu Qi, but Yun Ke pushed her away.

Yan Zhi was just an ordinary maid who was suddenly thrown by Yun Ke. Her body flew out like a broken kite. Her forehead hit the trunk of the peach blossom tree and she instantly collapsed onto the ground.

“Yan Zhi!” Gu Yu Qi was shocked. She wanted to shake off Yun Ke and rush over to see if Yan Zhi was still alive. She could already see the bright red blood oozing out of Yan Zhi’s forehead.

“She’s just a maid!” Yun Ke snorted coldly. “Out of control.”

A maid?

Gu Yu Qi was really angry now.

“Yes! She’s just a maid!” Gu Yu Qi raised her hand to slap Yun Ke in the face, eyes full of anger, “In your eyes, everyone else is worthless! In your eyes, she’s just a maid. But not in my heart!” Yun Ke caught her hand before it could land on his face.

“You actually want to hit this prince for the sake of a maid?” Yun Ke was furious. Why did she have to be like this with him? In his previous life, as long as he took her into his arms, she would be more obedient than a kitten. She was also like a kitten right now, but she was a wild one with claws and teeth!

Gu Yu Qi’s body turned and her hands in the air turned into fists. Taking advantage of the situation, she hit Yun Ke’s lower rib. Her speed and strength were completely beyond Yun Ke’s expectations. He only thought she was the Gu Yu Qi from the previous life, having learned nothing more than some flowery martial arts moves for show. So he had taken no precautions and this blow really hit his soft underbelly. He almost suffocated in pain and could not help but fall to the side.

Gu Yu Qi saw that her blow was successful. Using the momentum of Yun Ke’s body falling, she flew into the air and kicked Yun Ke in the stomach, pushing Yun Ke back several steps. When she dropped down, she put her centre of gravity on her injured foot. As soon as her toes touched the slate, there was a piercing pain and she could not stand. She leant back and sat on the stone bench.

Her sitting down was not the important part. That stone bench, either it was too old or something, gave a muffled sound and then the stone cracked open in the middle. Gu Yu Qi fell to the ground along with the stone. As the corner of the stone touched the slate slab on the ground, Yun Ke and Gu Yu Qi heard a crisp sound. Then the slate slabs under their feet quickly separated into two and revealed a bottomless hole. The two of them were caught off guard and fell together. When the two of them fell, the slate closed quickly again and there was no trace at all.

Gu Yu Qi could not help screaming in panic as she fell without stopping. Suddenly, something tightened around her waist and an arm pulled her tightly into someone’s arms, as if being hugged. It was Yun Ke!

Could it be that the two of them would fall to their deaths in this way at Hu Guo Temple in this life? Gu Yu Qi could not help but burst into tears. This should not be the life of someone who had crossed over! Well, falling to death was at least slightly better than burning to death in her previous life. It was just that she did not know if Yan Zhi was alive or dead. And her mother, if she knew she was gone, would she not be heartbroken?

Gu Yu Qi fell uncontrollably as she was being held by Yun Ke, her thoughts in chaos.

Just as she thought the two of them were going to fall and turn into mush, she suddenly realised that the speed of her fall had slowed down.

She looked up. After the slate slab at the top of the cave had closed, she could not even see her fingers inside. She could only see sparks flying off the stone wall from time to time. Yun Ke had pulled a sharp dagger out from nowhere and had actually pierced the dagger into the stone wall. With the power of the dagger, their downward fall had slowed down.

The flying sparks lit up Yun Ke’s face. He was frowning and looking at his feet. Gu Yu Qi suddenly had a thought. What would happen if she grabbed his throat now?

Before Gu Yu Qi could put this idea into action, the two of them seemed to fall to the bottom of the cave.

Their feet had just touched the ground and they had not even regained their footing yet, when the ground beneath their feet seemed to split open into two, just like the slate above their heads had.

Dang, again! Gu Yu Qi and Yun Ke were both caught off guard and they rolled down again. Fortunately, this section was not vertical, but was a slope.

Yun Ke withdrew the dagger and wrapped both his arms tightly around Gu Yu Qi. The two of them kept rolling down like this and not knowing how far they rolled, they finally reached level ground.

A rancid smell formed from the lack of sunlight all year round came from the ground.

Gu Yu Qi resisted the urge to throw up and broke free from Yun Ke’s arms.

It was still pitch black and she could not see her fingers. Gu Yu Qi touched herself. It seemed she did not break any bones. Apart from the pain in her swollen ankle, the others were all just skin injuries caused by being scratched against the rocks on the slope just now.

Gu Yu Qi could not see, but she could hear the sound of breathing from beside her, “You… Is Your Highness alright?” She asked tentatively.

No one answered her.

Gu Yu Qi was startled and reached out to touch the place she had just broken free from with her hand.

She first touched the fabric on Yun Ke’s body. She pressed down. It should be his leg. Then she followed up his leg, touching his calf first, then his knee, then his thigh. When she touched his thigh, she heard Yun Ke’s voice come from the darkness, “Stop touching! This prince is fine.”

Damn you, if you were fine, then why not say so sooner?! Gu Yu Qi really wanted to send him away with a flying kick, but remembering the consequences from her kicking him just now, Gu Yu Qi still held back. It was pitch black in here and she could not see anything so it was better not to move as much.

***

Yun Ke’s lower back was burning with pain. He had learned martial arts since childhood and his inner strength was deep rooted. Although he could not see in this darkness, he was still better than Gu Yu Qi. When the second cavity opened just now, the sparks between his dagger and the stone wall allowed him to see clearly below his feet. That was why he put away the dagger and protected Gu Yu Qi with his arms because he saw sharp protrusions on the ramp.

It was a pity that they were falling too fast. Although he saw it, he could not avoid it and so the back of his waist was slashed and now blood was gurgling out. He had not said a word just now because he had been tapping his own acupuncture point to stop the bleeding. However, he had not expected Gu Yu Qi to touch his thigh. If he still had not said something to stop her, who knew what embarrassing place this woman would touch.

She knew to teach others that it was inappropriate etiquette, but what about herself? Putting her hands all over a man. If it was not him who had fallen with her right now and had been someone else, would she be acting so recklessly like this too?

Thinking of this, Yun Ke felt himself get angry again.

As long as he met Gu Yu Qi, he could not hold back his anger.

“You’re bleeding.” Although Yun Ke had already tapped his own acupuncture point and had stopped the bleeding from the wound, it did not evade Gu Yu Qi’s nose.

In addition to the rancid smell, there was a strong smell of blood wafting out. Gu Yu Qi had scratches all over herself but although they hurt, they were not so bloody. The only explanation was that Yun Ke was injured.

“Miss Gu need not worry.” Yun Ke said grumpily. If it was not for her fighting against him for the sake of a maid, and even flying up to kick him, how would she have activated the underground caverns of the Hu Guo Temple? In the end, this damn woman was the chief culprit! Yes! She actually hit him for a maid! She really had the courage of a bear and gall of a leopard! Yun Ke naturally knew that maid, but he just could not remember what her name was. What maid was worth remembering to him? However, he remembered that this little girl also sacrificed herself for Gu Yu Qi when she died. She was a loyal servant, but so what if she was a loyal servant?!

She actually hit him for a servant and this was all Yun Ke’s mind could focus on! He had been bewitched by a ghost, reaching out to protect her. It would have been better for a woman like her to fall to her death!

“So be it. You think I want to?” Gu Yu Qi snorted. She touched around her with her hands, reaching out cautiously. She touched the cold stone, then moved her fingers slowly again to feel more stone. It must be a stone wall, but she did not know how high it was. Gu Yu Qi leaned on the wall to reduce the pain in her feet. She stood up slowly. It seemed pretty high here and her head did not touch the top.

“Hah.” Yun Ke laughed angrily at Gu Yu Qi’s words, “Having not seen you for four years, Miss Gu is getting bolder and bolder. This prince has seen it all.”

Gu Yu Qi pouted in the darkness. She turned her head and made a face at Yun Ke. He could not see it anyway. When she was done, she turned her head back and something lit up before her eyes. A skeleton had appeared in front of her and her eyes were facing the hollow eye sockets of the skull.

“Ah!” Gu Yu Qi could not help screaming and punching it. Who knew how old the skeleton was, but it had been shattered by Gu Yu Qi’s punch. The skeleton fell to the ground and the skull also dropped down and rolled to Gu Yu Qi’s feet.

Gu Yu Qi shrieked as if scalded by hot water. She jumped up. The skeleton head seemed to have grown eyes, rolling to where Gu Yu Qi’s feet were. Gu yu Qi’s bad foot hurt and she teetered backwards, about to fall, but was caught by Yun Ke.

Yun Ke took Gu Yu Qi several steps backwards and the skull finally stopped following Gu Yu Qi. It rolled a few times and came to a halt.

Gu Yu Qi was so frightened that her soul was about to fly away. She was completely unaware that she had been embraced by Yun Ke again. She covered her eyes with her hands and curled up.

Having lived for several lifetimes, Gu Yu Qi was still regarded as pampered. How could she have seen such a thing, especially in a cave like this?

Gu Yu Qi’s body trembled as Yun Ke took her into her arms. Yun Ke originally wanted to say a few words to her, but looking down and seeing that the person in his arms was really frightened, he swallowed what he wanted to say.

She was really frightened.

In fact, the moment that Yun Ke had taken out the fire torch and lit it up, he had also been taken aback, not to mention that Gu Yu Qi’s nose had almost been stuck to the skeleton.

Yun Ke did not speak, but quietly hugged Gu Yu Qi’s body, feeling her trembling.

It took a long time for Gu Yu Qi to calm down. She raised her head slightly and when she saw Yun Ke’s calm eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She was really scared to death, alright? It was not that she was timid. To fall into a black hole, unable to even see your five fingers, then for something to suddenly light up in front of your eyes and a skull appeared, anyone would have been so frightened that their soul would have practically flown away.

“It’s alright, it’s just a dead person.” Yun Ke saw Gu Yu Qi looking at him pitifully with bright eyes still filled with horror. His lips moved and he still spoke words of comfort.

Of course you would be alright, you kill people like you are chopping vegetables! Even killing your own brother. Just a dead person…

Gu Yu Qi retracted her gaze and lowered her head, “Excuse my ridiculousness, Your Highness.” Only then did she realise she was being hugged by Yun Ke. Her body leaned backwards. Yun Ke did not try to keep her this time. She pushed lightly and he loosened his arms.

“This is probably the secret passage of Hu Guo Temple.” Seeing that Gu Yu Qi had calmed down, Yun Ke blew on the fire inside the fire torch to make it brighter. He spoke after looking around.

Nonsense! Gu Yu Qi really wanted to roll her eyes at him. Of course it was a secret passage, was it a known passage?

In her last life, she had not even known that there was such a place in Hu Guo Temple.

Knowing that Gu Yu Qi was doubtful, Yun Ke spoke as if explaining to Gu Yu Qi, “Hu Guo Temple had been passed down for hundreds of years and it has been there ever since. This prince remembers reading a book once and in it, it records that in order to resist riots, the monks and soldiers of the former Hu Guo Temple dug a tunnel to protect the neighbouring people and to store food. It was just that it had been a long time ago and gradually, this place became less known. Unexpectedly, we actually fell in.”

Gu Yu Qi glanced with lingering fear at the pile of dead bones that had been smashed by her punch, “Wonder if there is a way out of this place.” Her heart sank suddenly, “Could we become the same as them…”

Yun Ke fell silent.

While Gu Yu Qi had been afraid, he had roughly looked around and there really did not seem to be any way out.

Their greatest hope was that little maid who he had flung away and knocked out under the tree.