CRACK!
Like cracks spreading across glass, a network of winding fissures appeared on the enormous, irregular, diamond-shaped Ancient Jade Wall, radiating outward from the point where the Iron Pickaxe had struck.
With each passing moment, more CRACKING sounds echoed from the Ancient Jade Wall, until its entire massive surface was covered in a dense web of fissures.
Li Haomiao's face was pale, his lips trembling. The situation was beyond his wildest expectations—that Xu Yunfan could shatter the Ancient Jade Wall with a single swing of the Iron Pickaxe.
'Impossible!'
If not for his bad legs, he would have leaped to his feet.
A moment later, realization dawned, and his face turned deathly pale.
'It seems the person inside the Ancient Jade Wall is breaking free… they're coming out.'
"Maybe we should get out of here?"
Li Haomiao turned his head. The space behind him was empty. He looked up and saw Xu Yunfan already at a bend in the tunnel, half his body swallowed by shadows, on the verge of disappearing completely.
Li Haomiao roared, "That's low, even for you! After all, I'm the one who taught you Martial Arts! How could you act like such a villain!"
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan, who had already reached the tunnel entrance, froze. He looked up, sighed, and pulled back his outstretched foot. 'I guess I really did receive a good, modern education,' he thought. 'I just can't shake this feeling in my conscience.'
He whipped around, dug his toes into the ground, and launched himself back toward Li Haomiao like an arrow from a bow. He reached him in an instant. But just as he grabbed hold and prepared to flee—
With a great SHATTER, the Ancient Jade Wall completely disintegrated.
Xu Yunfan froze mid-motion and cursed, "You've gotten us killed!"
Li Haomiao paid Xu Yunfan no mind. His eyes were glued to the spot where the Ancient Jade Wall had shattered.
Illuminated by the torchlight, a graceful, naked form tumbled out from where the Ancient Jade Wall had been.
A strange, cold wind suddenly began to swirl through the mine tunnel. The torch flame flickered violently, making the shadows dance like demons breaking free from their cages.
"Where's this wind coming from?"
Li Haomiao's face was ghastly pale, his voice carrying a tremor he himself didn't notice.
Hundreds of meters deep in the mine, only the main shafts had ventilation to circulate air into the branch tunnels. It should have been impossible for a wind this bone-chilling to appear in their dead-end tunnel.
After a long moment of silence, the cold wind died down.
Xu Yunfan's stiff body finally relaxed a bit. "It must have been a disturbance caused by the Ancient Jade Wall shattering," he guessed.
"That must be it! That must be it!"
Li Haomiao snapped back to his senses. A bit of color returned to his face, and his lips stopped trembling so violently.
Xu Yunfan, also regaining his composure, moved closer to Li Haomiao. Seeing that the graceful, jade-like body in the distance remained motionless, his heart, which had leaped into his throat, slowly settled back down.
'I was just scaring myself.'
"You afraid of ghosts?"
Li Haomiao's expression tightened at Xu Yunfan's question.
"A wise man does not speak of the supernatural. In a place like this, one should not speak nonsense. Of course I don't believe in them. The time and place are wrong, the stars have yet to align, and all the Secret Power in the world is dormant. It's simply impossible for ghosts to exist."
The corner of Xu Yunfan's mouth twitched as he jutted his chin toward the body.
"So is that the Immortal you mentioned? The one who buried herself in the Ancient Jade Wall?"
Li Haomiao pressed his lips together. He knew exactly what Xu Yunfan was implying—that he should be the one to go check it out first.
"I am of the noble Great Zhou Royal Family, a bearer of heaven's mandate! If not for an unfortunate turn of events, I would be the Emperor of Great Zhou! My heart belongs to the nation and its people, and you want *me* to do something like that?"
Xu Yunfan chuckled. "The Emperor and the commoner are equals in a crisis. Now that we're both prisoners, I'd say my survival is objectively more valuable. So please, Prince Yan, go on ahead with peace of mind. If I ever get the chance, I'll be sure to have a word with the Empress and demand justice for you."
Li Haomiao could no longer maintain his composure. "Brother Xu, I have an idea! How about we go together?"
Xu Yunfan shook his head. "Nope, not going. For all we know, that body is slathered in deadly poisons—touch it and you're dead. There could be some colorless, odorless toxin spreading through the air right now…"
"Oh god, I think my breathing is getting tight! That's it, I have to get out of here."
Seeing Xu Yunfan make a show of leaving, Li Haomiao could no longer hold his tongue. "I have a Secret Technique!" he blurted out. "It can temper your muscles, bones, and skin, unifying your body and making you far stronger than an ordinary person. True Blood is great, but without a solid foundation, you'll never reach the peak of the Martial Dao."
Xu Yunfan stopped in his tracks and said graciously, "King of Yan, you are too kind. Rest assured, I would never behave so despicably. However, since Prince Yan himself has made a request, how could a lowly commoner of Great Zhou such as myself dare to refuse? I will certainly overcome all obstacles and forge ahead bravely."
Li Haomiao sneered. "If all commoners were like you, the Great Zhou would have fallen apart long ago."
Unfazed by the mockery, Xu Yunfan pressed, "So what exactly is True Blood?"
Li Haomiao knew it was perfectly normal for a commoner like Xu Yunfan to possess True Blood without understanding it. He frowned.
"I'll explain later. Let's go check on her first."
Both men were as cunning as they come. Their entire back-and-forth was simply a way to buy time and see if the graceful body that had fallen from the Ancient Jade Wall showed any signs of movement.
Xu Yunfan walked over to Li Haomiao, gently lifted him, and held him out in front of his own body. "King of Yan," he said politely, "Allow me to clear the path for you."
An unknowing observer might have mistaken him for a loyal servant, eager to win glory for his master.
Li Haomiao: "…"
Holding the torch in one hand and Li Haomiao in the other, Xu Yunfan approached the body. Only then did he realize with a start that the person who had fallen from the Ancient Jade Wall was a woman.
'Well, I guess I could have guessed from her figure,' he thought, 'but seeing her up close is a completely different experience.'
His expression grew a little dazed.
This was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Her ink-black hair was like silk, her brows like gentle, ink-washed hills. Her eyes were shut, framed by thick lashes. Her delicate nose was perfectly straight, and her features possessed a cold, aloof beauty.
His gaze traveled downward. Her naked body was exquisitely curved, her skin as flawless as cream. A long, elegant neck connected to delicate shoulders and a prominent collarbone.
Her arms were splayed out, yet they just so happened to perfectly conceal her full breasts. Her waist was slender enough to be encircled by a single hand, and the curves of her hips and flawless legs were magnificent.
After a long moment, Xu Yunfan swallowed hard.
'I swear,' he thought, 'even after being desensitized by all the online beauties in the short videos from my past life, none of them could hold a candle to this woman.'
A look of astonishment appeared in Li Haomiao's eyes as well, but it was quickly followed by an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy that made him want to cover his face and retreat.
After a long while, Li Haomiao suppressed his turbulent emotions and turned to look at Xu Yunfan, who was still staring blankly at the woman.
"Never seen a woman this beautiful before?"
Xu Yunfan seemed absentminded, his eyes unblinking.
"I was just wondering how she managed to land in such a perfect position, with her arms covering all the important parts."
Li Haomiao: "…"
After another long moment, certain that there was no immediate danger, Xu Yunfan crouched down. He carefully studied the woman, who looked as if she were in a deep sleep. If not for the stillness of her chest, he would have truly believed she was only sleeping.
He turned his head to ask Li Haomiao.
"Can you make anything out?"
Li Haomiao's gaze was complex, filled with shock.