PFC Chapter 517
Chapter 517
The air in the secret chamber seemed to solidify into lead. The Regent's black iron sword still bore the blood of his guards, the dark red liquid meandering down its spine, spreading into eerie blooms on the blue bricks. Dongfang Wan'er's back pressed tightly against his armor, she could clearly feel his violently heaving breathing, and the porcelain bottle in her medicine pouch left deep marks on her palm. Twelve guards advanced in a fan formation, the clanging of their bronze shields echoing as the leading commander sneered, "Two noble ladies, surrender!"
The Regent's sword suddenly flashed with a three-foot-long, chilling light, its dragon-like cry causing ear-piercing pain. He lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping through the air on the tips of the guards' spears, his black iron sword moving like a dragon emerging from the sea, instantly disarming the three men. Taking advantage of the situation, Dongfang Wan'er threw out three smoke bombs; specially made rosemary powder mixed with realgar powder exploded, the pungent smoke washing over the guards like a tidal wave. Amid coughs and curses, she touched the fluorite at her waist; its faint green light traced a ghostly arc in the thick fog.
"The third brick in the southeast corner!" The Regent's voice pierced through the mist. Dongfang Wan'er followed the direction of the voice, her fingertips touching the cold blue brick, only to discover that the surface was engraved with strange cloud and thunder patterns. The Dowager Consort's laughter, mixed with the clattering of gears turning, surged from all directions: "This is a dragon-trapping formation made by the secret techniques of the previous dynasty. Do you think you can escape?" The girl suddenly remembered the annotation in the corner of the ancient book—"When encountering clouds and thunder, seek yin and yang." She quickly tore off the red rope around her neck, tied the fluorite to her hair, and carefully examined the faint yin-yang fish patterns on the wall by the dim light.
The moment her fingertip touched the fisheye spot, the entire wall emitted a teeth-grinding scraping sound. The instant the secret passage opened, a damp, putrid stench assaulted their senses, and Dongfang Wan'er was practically dragged into the passage by the Regent. The heavy slamming of the hidden door closing behind them caused dust to fall from the wall above, and darkness, like thick ink, swallowed them whole. The two groped their way forward, their boots slapping against an unknown slime with a nauseating "plop."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, a reddish-orange halo suddenly appeared ahead. Dozens of torches lit up simultaneously, illuminating the passage in minute detail. Dongfang Wan'er's pupils contracted sharply—in the center of the circle formed by the torches, mysterious figures dressed in black robes stood in neat rows. The leader slowly removed his hood, revealing a face that should have been lying in a mass grave. On that pale, paper-like face, the vermilion birthmark at the corner of his right eye trembled slightly with a smile; it was none other than the Imperial Physician Ling, who had "committed suicide out of guilt" three years ago in connection with the witchcraft case. He toyed with a token engraved with a snake totem in his hand, the metal surface reflecting the wary expressions of the two: "Regent, Miss Dongfang, how have you been?" From the depths of the passage, the faint hissing of thousands of snakes flicking their tongues echoed in the enclosed space, creating a chilling resonance.
A stench of putrid snakes mixed with the smell of sulfur assaulted the senses. The Regent King held his Xuan Tie sword horizontally, shielding Dongfang Wan'er behind him. The cold blade reflected the Imperial Physician's twisted smile, the dragon patterns on the hilt digging painfully into his palm. The girl's fingertips traced the spiral threads at the end of a silver needle. Thirty poisoned silver needles were already neatly arranged in order of toxicity in her medicine pouch. At this moment, she touched the topmost needle, which was covered in bluish-gray powder—it was made from the venom glands of a poisonous spider from the Western Regions' Corpse Forest, a deadly poison that would kill on contact with blood.
"It's been three years, and your skills have improved considerably." The Imperial Physician twirled the snake-shaped token in his hand, the scales on its metal surface gleaming eerily blue in the firelight. "However, within this Dragon-Trapping Formation, no matter how skilled you are, you cannot defeat my meticulously cultivated Thousand Snakes and Myriad Gu." Before he finished speaking, a soft rustling sound suddenly came from the cracks in the stone on both sides of the passage. Dark red forked tongues, like clusters of burning flames, emerged from dozens of triangular-headed venomous snakes, their tongues flicking. The rustling sound of their scales rubbing against the stone walls was like countless sheets of sandpaper polishing simultaneously.
As the first bamboo viper leaped into the air, the Xuan Tie sword flashed a silver arc. The moment its head was severed, dark green venomous blood splattered onto the blue bricks, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound. Taking advantage of the moment, Dongfang Wan'er flicked out three silver needles, their tips piercing the snake's vital spot precisely. Peacock gall powder attached to the needles seeped into the wounds, and the poisoned snake writhed and collapsed to the ground, black blood gushing from its mouth. But more vipers surged in from all directions, the swarm like a rolling black tide, the clattering of their scales sending chills down one's spine.
"Hold on!" Dongfang Wan'er suddenly tore off the silk handkerchief around her neck and pulled out an oiled paper packet from the inner layer of her medicine pouch. This snake-repelling powder, a mixture of realgar, mugwort, and datura, was something she had spent three whole months concocting. The moment the silk handkerchief containing the powder was lit with a tinderbox, a pungent smoke mingled with a dizzying, exotic fragrance. The venomous snakes in the front row raised their heads, their forked tongues flicking in and out frantically, and they actually began to retreat.