âA lot of eyes are watching, no one can get in! Donât worry! As for your question, there is only one possibility. If one wears these golden-silk gloves, he or she would be able to untie her without setting off the alarm. This is a complementary accessory that I forged alongside the Hongyi Chain,â Zhu Hongyi said. He was still drinking his sorrows away.
âGolden-silk Gloves?â Zhu Yan started breathing faster as he turned his gaze toward the pair of gloves in Zhu Hongyiâs palm.
ââââ
Great Qing Royal Palaceâ
Wang Ke took his clan members and entered the royal palace through the well he had used before. However, they didnât come out from another well; instead, they started digging from underneath the well.
He was able to sense Princess Youyueâs location with the Longing Orb in his hand.
Hmm? Sheâs still in the Empressâ Residence? Wang Ke looked at the Longing Orb with feelings of doubt.
âClan Lord, the well has been drained. Shall we get digging?â a Wang Clan member asked, showing great respect.
âStart digging, full speed ahead. Quick!â Wang Ke ordered.
âWill do!â
The professional tomb raiders quickly took up their tools and unleashed their mastery for digging tunnels. Tunneling was the Wang Clanâs main profession.
The sky slowly turned dark; Wang Ke and his men had already reached the place right underneath the Empressâ Residence by then.
The Wang Clan members were able to go through places freely, even tombs peppered with deadly traps. The floor and dirt of the Empressâ Residence was nothing to them!
âClan Lord, I carefully dug the area; only one stone slab is between us and the room above. Iâve already made the necessary cuts. We are ready for your orders to go in!â said another clan member, showing great respect.
Wang Ke nodded. He pushed up the stone slab and surveyed the inside of the Empressâ Residence through a small gap; he only felt relieved after seeing that there was no one else present.
Wang Ke shifted the stone slab aside, then jumped out of the tunnel first.
There was no one else inside, but Wang Ke looked through the windows and saw that a throng of demons was surrounding the residence. It would have been next to impossible to enter from the main gate. And yet, Wang Ke managed to get in.
The hall was dimly lit; a thin silk veil covered the windows, preventing the people outside from having a clear look of the interior. Wang Ke quickly located Princess Youyue, who had been tied up with a chain.
âIs that the princess?â said a Wang Clan member who had tagged along; he was pleasantly surprised, and was about to untie the chain.
âHold on!â Wang Ke cried out with a lowered voice.
The third grand-uncle slapped the back of that clan memberâs head.
âHas it been too long since youâve entered a tomb? Did you throw all caution to the wind? What if you activate a trap by acting so rashly?â the third grand-uncle berated the guy.
The clan member lowered his head in embarrassment.
Wang Ke walked closer to observe the princess, who was unconscious at the moment. The fangs in her mouth had disappeared; her demonic form had obviously been dispelled. Even so, she was unable to wake up at the moment.
The chain restraining the princess was unfamiliar to Wang Ke, but he could easily guess that it was an enchanted artifact. This chain⌠Half of it is wrapped around her, while the other end was left outside the gate?
âClan Lord, thereâs something off about the chain. Iâm afraid the demons outside would be alerted if we touch it!â said the third grand-uncle with a worried face.
âYeah, Clan Lord, can we still rescue the princess now? Weâll be exposed the moment we untie the chain!â proposed an anxious clan member.
Wang Ke was also feeling deeply frustrated. How did such a problem appear and messed up his perfect plan? How can we save the princess like that?
Just when Wang Ke was at his witâs endâ
The third grand-uncle was alarmed; he waved his hand to alert the others. âClan Lord, someoneâs here!â
âWhooosh! Whooosh! Whooosh!â
The Wang Clan members deftly leaped back into the tunnel, covering the opening with the stone slab so that no one would realize their presence.
But Wang Ke chose to leap up onto the horizontal beam of the hall instead. The entire premises were silent.
He then saw someone walking over from the annex hall.
âZhu Yan? He recovered from his injuries?â Wang Ke muttered in surprise.
Zhu Yan was looking pleased at the moment; he walked up to Princess Youyue with great excitement while holding the pair of golden-silk gloves.
âHaha, it took me a lot of effort to steal these gloves from my ancestral uncle. Iâm no longer worried that he will blame me. After all, Iâm only here for the bracelet, nothing else! After that, Iâll place the gloves back where they were. No one will ever know. Haha! And I will continue being the Great Qing Emperor!â Zhu Yan said, visibly elated.
The princessâ wrist was wrapped up inside the chain; he was unable to take the bracelet off without untying her.
Zhu Yan held onto the chain while wearing the gloves. The chain instantly seemed to have become tame, allowing him to untie it without setting off the alarm of the other end.
Above, on the supporting beam of the houseâWang Keâs eyes widened in disbelief. Is Zhu Yan my auspicious star?Such timely help!Youâre always there to help me whenever I need urgent help!The last time was when I was fighting She Tianba, and now you helped me untie the enchanted artifact on Princess Youyueâs body. Such timely help!
âRight⌠good. Might as well continue, before anyone comes. Haha!â Zhu Yan muttered to himself with an excited tone.
He was too caught up in the process of untying the chain, so much so that he didnât realize that someone was standing right behind him; it was Wang Ke who had leaped down from the beam.
Wang Ke carefully swirled up a ball of his essence Qi.
The turbid essence Qi was concentrated in his palm as he inched closer and closer to Zhu Yan. Wang Ke was going all out, even though he was fighting a weaker enemy. Zhu Yan had a weak cultivation, but that was no excuse for him to be careless.
Zhu Yan finally untied the Hongyi Chain after a short while passed. And just when he was about to take off her braceletâ
âLetâs go!â All the demonsâ cries could be heard from the outside.
The shout took Zhu Yan by surprise. He instinctively turned around to look at the gate, but what he saw was Wang Ke instead.
Their eyes met; both of them were stunned.
Wang Ke didnât expect Zhu Yan to turn around that suddenly, while Zhu Yan was not expecting that someone would be standing behind him.
Zhu Yan almost jumped out of fear. He was about to shout, but Wang Ke beat him to it, smacking the concentrated ball of turbid essence Qi on the otherâs face. He also covered Zhu Yanâs mouth at the same time to prevent him from exposing his presence.
Zhu Yan didnât even make a sound; his eyes were like saucers.