GBP Chapter 108 Who is that person in the court?
Chapter 108 Who is that person in the court?
As soon as Jinyou spoke, Yingyi rushed forward and said, "Prince, please stand back. I will explore the way."
"Okay, be more careful."
Ying nodded, supported himself on the edge of the well, and jumped in.
About half a cup of tea later, Ying Yi shouted from the bottom of the well, "Prince has made a discovery! There's no danger, you can come down!"
Then the remaining dozen or so secret guards jumped into the well like dumplings, and Jin You followed closely behind.
The moment he landed on the ground, Xiao Yunzhen said in disgust: [What's that smell? It smells terrible!]
Jinyou moved his nose and smelled the unpleasant smell in the air, such as that of rotting meat.
The smell instantly reminded him of the smell when Chen Xuan dissected the corpse. His stomach began to churn and he felt a little nauseous.
[What a disgusting smell! What the hell is going on? I'm about to pass out... Ugh~]
Jin You suppressed his nausea, patted Xiao Yunzhen, pursed his lips and asked Ying Yi helplessly: "What's going on up there?"
Ying Yi shook his head slightly: "It would be better for the prince to see it for himself."
"Okay, let's go take a look."
After passing through the narrow passage, the view in front of the group suddenly opened up.
A palace similar to a temporary palace was dug out from the ground. It was magnificent and golden. A five-clawed golden dragon was coiled on the pillar in front of the door, and the door was half open as if inviting people in.
But Jinyou was only shocked by the underground palace for a moment, and his attention was attracted by something in the corner.
There seemed to be something piled up in the corner, as high as a small tower, but it was hidden in the shadows and it was impossible to tell what it was.
Jinyou pointed and asked, "What is that?" The smell seemed to come from that direction.
As soon as Jinyou finished speaking, a shadow guard holding a torch went forward to investigate.
As the small tower was gradually illuminated by the firelight, its original appearance was revealed.
Everyone was so shocked by the scene before them that they were speechless.
There were many corpses lying in a mess, piled up into a small hill, emitting a disgusting stench.
【what? 】
Xiao Yunzhen couldn't see what that pile of things in the distance was, but he was really curious.
But Jinyou did not answer him. Instead, he covered his eyes with the corner of the quilt and then handed it to Yingyi beside him.
"Protect him." Jinyou left a word and went to check the pile of corpses.
Yingyi had a child stuffed into his arms before he could prepare. He was stunned for a moment, and then followed Jinyou.
Xiao Yunzhen only felt that he had changed his place, and did not cry or make a fuss. He just asked, "What's wrong?"
Unfortunately, Jinyou didn't have time to answer him at this time, because he seemed to see a familiar face among the dead bodies.
Memories flashed through his mind, but Jinyou couldn't grasp anything.
He pointed silently at the body of a young boy and asked, "Who... is he?"
[Jinyou? Do you know him?]
"Prince?"
Jinyou frowned, the familiar feeling in his heart still lingered.
He rubbed his brows irritably and said, "Count the bodies first."
"This underground palace?"
"Send someone to investigate and report any findings immediately."
"Yes!"
Yingyi arranged several people to count the bodies, and sent eight people to explore the underground palace, while the rest of the people stayed by Jinyou's side to protect him.
Jinyou stood aside and watched the mountain of corpses being flattened, and looked at the young faces lying lifeless on the cold floor.
But strangely, the corpses did not rot, but each one emitted an extremely unpleasant odor.
Pei Qingfan's face darkened when he saw this.
"Someone is using corpse qi to refine poison!"
"What?" Jinyou was puzzled.
Pei Qingfan squatted beside a corpse and explained, "Humans have seven orifices, corresponding to seven acupuncture points, used for breathing air and nourishing the soul. But if the seven orifices are sealed after a person dies and drugs are used to prevent the body from decaying, the soul and the last breath can be sealed inside the corpse. When needed, one orifice can be opened to collect the last trace of qi filled with resentful spirits. This trace of qi has long been infected with corpse poison and can become the strongest ingredient in the poison!"
Pei Qingfan was furious, gritting his teeth in hatred as he spoke. He was a little crazy, thinking of resurrecting his ancestor, but after all, he hadn't used the corpse to make poison. He didn't know who was so cruel, even crazier than him. It was really a match made in heaven!
Jinyou still had one thing unclear. "Since the body wasn't rotten, there shouldn't be any smell. And why did I only smell it after I jumped down?"
"Even though the body doesn't rot on the outside, the internal organs gradually decay after death, which is why there's a rotting smell. As for why I can't smell it outside..." He had a vague guess in his mind and said, "It must be the layer of medicine at the wellhead."
"Medicine? Not poison?"
Pei Qingfan shook his head, "I have a guess but it needs to be confirmed."
"Tell me more."
"The coating on the well wall was probably just a layer of odor-absorbing medicine from the beginning. It's only because of the accumulation of corpse poison over time that it has undergone new changes and become so extremely toxic now."
Pei Qingfan paused for a moment, took out a handkerchief from his arms, pinched it on the temple of a corpse, and squeezed out a silver needle.
The moment he pulled the silver needle out of the corpse's head, a foul stench instantly spread throughout the empty secret room.
Everyone covered their mouths and noses, even Pei Qingfan himself was no exception.
He continued, "Also, these bodies appear uninjured, but they've actually been dead for a long time. There shouldn't be only this many bodies."
"In my opinion, this is just a place where failed products are stored. The real place where the poison is refined must be somewhere else." Pei Qingfan looked around and continued, "It may be inside this palace."
[But...what is Zhao Wuming doing here? There's no way such a huge palace could have been built by Zhao Wuming. There must be someone behind him who's behind it!]
Xiao Yunzhen's words touched Jinyou's heart, and Jinyou nodded secretly.
Pei Qingfan assumed Jinyou agreed with him, so he said hurriedly, "But we don't have much time. Now that the poison on the well wall has dissolved, the stench of corpses in the underground palace will spread out, and it won't be long before people nearby can smell it."
Listening to his words, Xiao Yunzhen thought of another level.
[Curfew! Jinyou! There will be patrols. If those Jinwu Guards find us here, we will be held responsible!]
"Don't worry." Jin You comforted the two and asked Pei Qingfan, "How long will it take?"
Pei Qingfan roughly calculated, "About an incense stick of time."
Jin You breathed a sigh of relief. "That's enough. Since no one saw Zhao Wuming appear again, there must be another exit. Let's go into the palace first!"
"Sir, what should we do with these corpses?"
Jinyou paused and looked at the dozens of them at a glance.
"Leave it to the Dali Temple."
"Prince, Lord Ji is still investigating the cause of the Sixth Prince's death... Lord Ji entered the palace after obtaining Lin Peinian, and has not come out yet."
【…】
Ying Yi held the 'dead' Sixth Prince in his arms and spoke of the Sixth Prince's death, feeling no guilt at all.
Jin You didn't expect that Ji Zhonghuan had not returned from the palace for so long. He was afraid that he would not stop until he had squeezed Lin Peinian dry.
"Forget it." Jin You said, "I don't know what the situation is like in the palace, so it's important to enter the palace first."
Several shadow guards who had gone out to explore the way had not returned yet. Jinyou felt a little panicked, and a sense of unease lingered in his heart.
But having come this far, there is no reason to retreat. Even if it is a dangerous place, we have to brave it.
The group entered the palace and saw a long corridor with only walls on all sides. They could only see the road clearly with the help of torches.
After walking for a while, there was another gate at the end of the corridor.
The door was pushed open a crack wide enough for only one person to pass through. It must have been pushed open by several shadow guards.
The group squeezed in sideways, and as soon as they entered, they saw the stairs extending downwards, connecting to a huge martial arts field.
Everyone walked downstairs and stood on the white marble martial arts field. Jinyou widened his eyes and was suddenly shocked!
"Zhao Wuming!"
【What? 】
Zhao Wuming's body was tied to the middle pillar of the martial arts field, his eyes were wide open and his vision was broken, as if he had seen something terrifying before he died.
There was a fatal wound on his chest, and his heart was already hollow.
The body was already completely stiff. Pei Qingfan roughly felt around and shook his head, saying, "He's been dead for some time."
"Do you have anything on you?"
Pei Qingfan flipped through it and said, "No."
Jinyou felt a chill in his heart. What on earth was going on? Zhao Wuming, carrying the account book, entered the underground palace, and not only did he die, but the account book also disappeared?
[They were wondering why no one had left. Sure enough, no one had left. They must have died in here!]
Xiao Yunzhen's words were rough but his point was sound, but Jinyou was not worried about Zhao Wuming, but was thinking about something else.
If the shadow guard had not neglected his duty, and when Zhao Wuming died in the underground palace, there would have been at least some people left. But how could these people have been quietly moved away in just two quarters of an hour?
Suddenly he asked, "Has Zhao Wuming attended court these days?"
One of the shadow guards was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes, no officials have asked for leave recently."
Who is Zhao Wuming in the court? Which one is the real one?
Jinyou felt a little cold. He pulled his cloak, but still couldn't help shivering.
This eerie place felt even more eerie.
For a moment, everyone fell silent. A gust of wind blew, extinguishing the torches, and the gloomy environment became even darker.
Before the torches were lit again, everyone heard a shrill cry: "Ah!!!!!!"
"problem occurs!"