448 A Falling Chamber (2/2)
”The king was senile and reacted nonchalantly to his proposal, and... he did this for me, so you can also put the blame on me. I hate that old fool's guts. I'm happy that he's dead,” the queen blurted out.
”Mother,” the little prince said quietly. He was pampered but also smart. More importantly, he still had some feelings for his own father and could hardly accept his mother's attitude toward the late king.
”Cover up your ears,” The queen ordered coldly.
Just like before, the little prince behaved very obediently upon hearing that order. He pressed his hands onto his ears and closed his eyes. He knew when to behave himself.
”He's the only savior of the Hui Kingdom,” said the queen. Upon learning that the Dragon King had already known everything, she began to speak truthfully to him. ”You're no match for him. No one in this world is. You want to kill me, don't you. Go ahead and kill me now, but do yourself a favor, Dragon King. Spend more time arranging a way out for yourself.”
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei could not help but exclaim in his heart, ”Wow, Shangguan Yun is capable of making all his followers stay faithful to him, such as the queen, his friend, Madman Wu in Hope Alley and even my apprentices who have known him for just two months. Even Tie Hanfeng, my late Master Shifu, who was cynical toward almost everything in the world, always harbored a deep respect toward this Third Young Master.”
”Where's he?” asked Gu Shenwei.
”Shangguan Yun has disappeared for two months and must've returned to the capital of the Hui Kingdom by now. Even though he hasn's brought back a large army, he won't easily give up his plan against me,”thought Gu Shenwei.
The queen remained silent for a long time, seemingly determined not to betray her lover. ”He,” she intoned, elongating the word, ”is right here.”
Before she finished her sentence, two killers popped out; one swooshed down from the ceiling, and the other came out from under her bed. They coordinated their actions very well with each other and came at the Dragon King almost at the same time.
They were not young apprentices but professional Golden Roc killers.
Gu Shenwei drew out his Five Peaks Saber and struck it at the killer from the ceiling.
No matter how well coordinated their were, the killer who came out from under the bed would inevitably move slower than the one from the ceiling. As such, Gu Shenwei focused on fighting against the latter and left the former to his partner.
Han Fen proved her skill and loyalty. When she was serious, she was fit to replace the position of Maid Lotus. Immediately after the Dragon King struck with his sword, she slipped into the room through a crack between a door and its frame, attacking the other killer with her claws.
Both of the two pairs were busily engaged in fighting, but none of them made a sound.
The queen got butterflies in her stomach as she watched them fighting. The little prince widened his eyes, his cheeks flushed with excitement, but before he could start to cheer the Golden Roc killers on, one of them had already been defeated by the Dragon King.
After exchanging four or five moves with the Dragon King, he retreated and then quickly launched the second round of attack. However, he only ended up brushing past the Dragon King. The first two steps he took looked alright, but after that he was staggering until he bumped into a wall and collapsed to the ground.
By that time, Han Fen had won her fight, too, but the outcome of this fight was not that clear to outsiders.
At first glance, Han Fen seemed to be at a disadvantage, since her opponent was brandishing his saber with an increasing speed. Nevertheless, after a while, even the queen who did not know any kung fu discovered that the killer was just struggling to protect himself. He was unable to see the target at all.
The New Moon Hall disciples fought and killed their opponents in a way which was very different from that of all the other sects. Gu Shenwei knew some of their tricks, but the queen and the little prince could only perceive Han Fen's kung fu techniques as some evil enchantment.
”Don't get close to us,” the queen shouted.
”It seems that he won't come here to save you. Am I right?” Gu Shenwei stepped forward and placed the tip of his saber on the edge of the queen's bed.
”You won't die well.” The queen issued a curse and then activated a device, trying to make her prophecy come true.
The next moment, the floor shook violently as if it were going to be turn upside down.
Gu Shenwei and Han Fen glanced around, searching for the enemy everywhere, but found no one.
Their feet were still on the ground, but they felt that they were falling. Gu Shenwei had seen many secret chambers which could sink into the ground, but none of them were this large. The entire room, including the walls and the ceiling, now had sunk into the ground. The room still remained the same except for one thing— its door and windows were all blocked up.
As the room began to fall, the little prince threw himself into his mother's arms and screamed with fear, but the queen smiled. Although now she was trapped together with the Dragon King, she was confident that her lover would come to her rescue and kill the Dragon King very soon.
The queen's smiling face quickly disappeared into the complete darkness, and after a while, the room stopped falling,
Everyone inside the room remained silent except the screaming little prince.
When the little prince finally quieted down, a relaxed voice sounded from outside. ”Slave Huan, it's been a while.”
”I still can't see you inside this dark room,” said Gu Shenwei.
”Take your time. I'll light up the room for us very soon.”
The next moment, when a small oil lamp on the wall was lit, Gu Shenwei discovered that there was no one in front of the light.
Beside the light, there was a small window. It was opened slowly, revealing a smiling face. ”It was you who used to see me behind bars. Now, our positions have switched.”
Shangguan Yun's face had not changed at all.