Warm medicine emits fragrance

Li Chenbi walked along the passage, but after going halfway through, he found that it was a dead end, blocked by a wall.

He turned to go back, but after taking two steps, he stopped, turned back, and walked to the stone wall, where he saw a barely noticeable black mark.

He turned his head and discovered a gap in the side of the stone wall, large enough for a person to pass through. However, because the light was too dim, one would think it was a dead end if they did not approach it.

By this time, Feng Ji had finished checking the other end and walked over to stand behind him.

Li Chenbi looked at the mark, which only he and Li Qiuping could understand. To make it easier for Qi Weiming to bring his men over later, he turned to Feng Ji and said, "Leave a conspicuous mark on the wall so that Qi Weiming can see it."

After saying that, he turned and went inside the stone wall.

Upon hearing this, Feng Ji took out a tinderbox from his pocket, blew on it, and brought it close to the stone wall, smoking a large arrowhead into the stone wall and aiming it at the side of the crevice.

After finishing, he immediately followed Li Chenbi.

The master stared at Fan Liuer for a while, then looked at the water clock to the side.

Time is running out.

He averted his gaze and looked at the disciple holding Fan Liuer, "Don't listen to her nonsense, throw them both into the furnace."

The two disciples immediately escorted Fan Liuer and Si Qing toward the incense burner in the center of the main hall.

Seeing this, Wei Nian propped herself up and sat up, calling out to her master, "Master, please stop making this mistake!"

Fan Liuer was not cooperating either. She had to find a way to buy more time. The longer she could delay, the greater her chances of survival would be.

She turned to her escorts and said, "You've all been deceived by him. This method will only allow him to go up alone. Over the years, you've killed so many people for him, while he himself has no criminal record. You'll all bear the blame for these sins!"

"You are all stepping stones for him. Once this final ritual is completed, you will all suffer retribution, dragged into the deepest hell to be tormented by the true fire every day. You will have to repay a hundredfold or a thousandfold for how those ninety-seven people died!"

She shouted so loudly that her voice could be heard clearly throughout the entire hall.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, the people escorting her stopped and looked at their master.

The master could no longer maintain his composure. He pointed at the others and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. Throw her in there."

"There's no time left. Are you really going to give up all these years of hard work because of her?"

"I've raised you all for so many years, and you still don't trust me?"

The allure of becoming an immortal was too great, greater than her wavering reason, and Fan Liuer was once again forced to move forward.

He had just taken a step when a jade pendant flew over and hit the arm that was holding Fan Liuer. He cried out in pain and let go.

A cold voice came from the back of the main hall.

"Who dares to touch her?"

Fan Liuer turned her head and saw Li Chenbi, who was leaning on his cane, at the exit. Her eyes welled up with tears.

But now was not the time to relax. Taking advantage of the moment when the man loosened his grip, she immediately broke free and ran towards Li Chenbi.

She had only run a couple of steps when a sharp pain shot through her scalp, and the person behind her grabbed her hair and dragged her back.

She was thrown backward with a sudden jerk motion.

Seeing this, Wei Nian, who was on the ground, gritted his teeth and rushed over to catch her.

Seeing this, Li Chenbi's eyes turned bloodshot. "You're asking for death!" He swung his cane and charged forward.

When Feng Ji arrived from behind and saw that Si Qing was still being held captive, he rushed over as well.

Taking advantage of the moment when the two men holding him down were not paying attention, Li Qiuping suddenly broke free from their restraints, flipped over and jumped up from the ground, raising his fist and smashing it towards one of them.

The main hall descended into chaos. Seeing this, the master immediately pointed at Fan Liuer and said to the others, "Throw her in, quick!"

The remaining few rushed towards Fan Liuer.

Wei Nian jumped up from the ground and shielded Fan Liuer behind her. "Don't be so stubborn!" she shouted.

Several junior disciples stood in front of her, hesitant.

"Kill her!" the master commanded.

Wei Nian's eyes trembled slightly, and her hands, which were held horizontally in front of her, clenched tightly.

The junior brothers and sisters hesitated for a moment, but in the end they still swung their swords and thrust them at her.

Wei Nian was already injured, and now he was no match for the group. Soon, he was struck by another sword.

She protected Fan Liuer as they retreated until they reached the stone coffin in the main hall.

With nowhere else to retreat, she could only endure it physically.

Just as she deflected one man's sword, another struck her in the abdomen with a palm strike, causing her to stumble backward and fall into Fan Liuer's arms.

The force of the palm strike was so great that it sent Fan Liuer flying backward, causing her to fall into the stone coffin behind her.

In the midst of the chaos, Fan Liuer's eyes widened as she watched the sword thrusting down from above.

The two fell into the stone coffin. The stone slab beneath them was hard. Wei Nian crashed onto Fan Liuer, making her see stars. Before she could react, the sword pierced into Wei Nian's abdomen.

"Wei Nian!" Fan Liuer cried out in alarm. In her panic, her arm touched something and suddenly the ground beneath her gave way. The two of them fell again, landing on a pile of rough objects with a clanging sound. Then the stone slab above them closed, blocking out the light.

With everything pitch black and unable to see anything, her hearing became heightened, and she could hear Wei Nian's faint breathing in her arms.

She reached out and touched Wei Nian all over, anxiously asking, "Wei Nian, are you alright?"

Wei Nian was covered in blood. No matter where she touched, her hands were sticky. When she touched Wei Nian's abdomen, her palms were even wetter.

She panicked, released Wei Nian, and groped around, trying to find a way out. She mumbled incoherently, "Hold on, my husband is here, he will rescue us."

"Hang in there."

However, all they found was a hard stone wall and a pile of odds and ends beneath them.

She couldn't see anything, couldn't find a way out, and couldn't even move in this cramped space.

"Stop looking," Wei Nian's weak voice rang out. "This should be the second layer of the stone coffin."

At this point, Wei Nian chuckled softly, "Before, I... I was wondering why there was nothing in this stone coffin, heh... cough cough... heh... the tomb owner built such a big tomb, but there wasn't a single burial item."

"I never expected him to be hiding here."

Fan Liuer hugged her, "Don't talk, save your strength."

Wei Nian ignored her and randomly grabbed something from the pile of things, stuffing it into Fan Liuer's hand in the dark. "Although I don't... I don't know what it is, these are definitely... very valuable."

"I...I probably won't be able to leave. Here, take this as...consider it my apology to you."

Fan Liuer could no longer hold back, and tears welled up in her eyes instantly.

"Don't talk nonsense. You can get out. Look, we even found this hidden second floor. It saved our lives, which means even God didn't intend for you to die."