The arrow shaft shattered on the ground, piece by piece.
"Who's there? Come out," Xue Zi Ning said coldly.
"Sister, you managed to dodge it. Yuan Zhao truly admires you."
Xue Zi Ning said coldly, "It truly is you..."
Yuan Zhao slowly walked out, her expression unusually icy. "Those who trespass into the imperial mausoleum shall die."
"Do you know who I am?" Xue Zi Ning asked, frowning.
"I naturally know. You are the Empress of Chang Jiu Kingdom, a descendant of the Xue family."
"Since you know, why do you still stop me?" Xue Zi Ning asked, confused.
Yuan Zhao heard this and chuckled coldly, "You are a woman, don't you know that women are forbidden from entering the Xue family's imperial mausoleum?"
Xue Zi Ning was stunned. "I am the ruler of a nation, yet I am not allowed to enter the imperial mausoleum?"
Yuan Zhao took something from her embrace and threw it towards Xue Zi Ning. Xue Zi Ning caught it; it was an imperial decree. Upon opening it, she found it indeed stated that no woman was allowed to enter the Xue family's imperial mausoleum, not even women of the Xue family.
"Absurd, truly absurd," Xue Zi Ning said.
Yuan Zhao said, "Sister, please go back. You will not be allowed in here. Those just now were merely a prelude."
"Yuan Zhao, I must ask you, are the two people who accompanied us here?"
Yuan Zhao pondered upon hearing this. "Many people want to enter every day. I don't know who you're referring to."
"The kind that are breathtakingly beautiful, do you have any?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Yuan Zhao's gaze paused. It was such a small movement, yet Xue Zi Ning noticed it. At this moment, she was certain Yan Zhao was still here.
"How is he? Can you tell me?"
Yuan Zhao's expression was not good upon hearing this. "Sister, you are the Empress of Chang Jiu Kingdom, the ruler of this world. You should not forget your own identity for a man."
"I have always fulfilled my identity, but Yan Zhao is someone I can never give up in this life. I will not give up, and he will not leave me. We will never be separated, even in the depths of hell."
Yuan Zhao sighed. "Sister, I can only escort you this far. You will have to brave the rest on your own."
"Thank you," Xue Zi Ning said.
Yuan Zhao shook her head. "I could not persuade you to turn back, so I do not deserve your thanks. The road ahead will be very difficult."
"I am not afraid," Xue Zi Ning said, word by word.
Yuan Zhao sighed. "Then I wish you success in all your endeavors."
Yuan Zhao left, and Xue Zi Ning knew she had to continue onward. "Xue Yan, the path ahead will be difficult..."
"Your Majesty, do not think of abandoning your servant. Setting aside whether Xue Song is here or not, even if he wasn't, I would not leave Your Majesty." Moreover, with Xue Song inside, she certainly wouldn't leave.
"Good. From now on, we both must be very careful."
Xue Yan nodded. Xue Zi Ning moved forward, and it was the same as before: still a very large room, equally dark as pitch black.
Unlike the room she entered the first time, there was no breakthrough point for Xue Zi Ning here.
One's senses become heightened after spending a long time in darkness.
"Your Majesty..." Xue Yan called out.
"Did you bring the fire starter?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Xue Yan suddenly remembered. She had brought a fire starter. Thinking of this, she quickly took it from her embrace, blew on it, and then rolled up a handkerchief, using the fire starter to ignite it.
The flame ignited, but it quickly died down. Xue Yan tried several times, but the flame would extinguish as soon as it was lit.
"Your Majesty, what should we do?" Xue Yan asked urgently.
"Give it to me..." Xue Zi Ning took the fire starter from Xue Yan's hand and suddenly leaped up, flying towards one side. With a "poof," the fire was ignited, and the entire room lit up.
Xue Zi Ning landed and handed the fire starter back to Xue Yan. "Keep it safe."
Xue Yan nodded.
Only then did Xue Zi Ning carefully survey the room. There was almost nothing here, except perhaps for the candle she had lit.
"Your Majesty, what is this?" Xue Yan suddenly exclaimed.
Xue Zi Ning walked over and saw Xue Yan looking at a pattern on the ground.
She leaned closer and discovered the pattern was of dragon motifs.
"Where did you find this?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
Xue Yan pointed to the patterns on the ground behind her. "Your Majesty, look, it's all over here."
Xue Zi Ning looked and indeed saw dragon motifs everywhere.
"Your Majesty, do these patterns have any connection?"
Xue Zi Ning looked up at the room. There was no door, so the key to leaving might be within these patterns.
However, after looking for a long time, neither she nor Xue Yan found anything unusual.
"Your Majesty, did I find it incorrectly?" Xue Yan lost her confidence.
Xue Zi Ning took out a dagger from her embrace and cut her palm. Blood immediately flowed out. Xue Yan was stunned. "Your Majesty, how could you hurt yourself?"
"Xue Yan, look..." Xue Zi Ning pointed at the pattern that had absorbed her blood, which suddenly became clearer.
Suddenly, the entire room began to shake. After a moment, a hole appeared in front of them.
She and Xue Yan walked forward and saw an opening that looked like an abyss.
Xue Yan looked at her and asked, "Your Majesty, what is this?"
Xue Zi Ning said, "I don't know either. We can only go down and see."
"I'll go first," Xue Yan volunteered, leading the way down.
Xue Zi Ning followed closely behind. It was as dark inside as it was above, and one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
"Light a fire," Xue Zi Ning said.
Xue Yan took out the fire starter and lit a torch nearby. The dim candlelight revealed a tunnel. It looked like no one had entered it for a very long time.
As they walked further in, the air felt increasingly difficult to breathe.
Suddenly, a peculiar fragrance emanated from within. "Cover your mouths and noses," Xue Zi Ning whispered.
The fragrance grew stronger and stronger. Xue Zi Ning remembered that this scent could induce hallucinations.
The scent intensified, and even though she used her breathing techniques, she couldn't block it out.
Suddenly, there was a "thump" behind them. Xue Zi Ning turned and saw Xue Yan collapse there.
She quickly rushed forward to check Xue Yan's breathing. Fortunately, she was still alive, and Xue Zi Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
However, she suddenly remembered that in her panic, she had forgotten to hold her breath. As she closed her eyes, she saw a figure.
"Elder, what shall we do with them?" a man in black asked the youth.
The youth turned to the man in black and said, "Bring them to my room."
"What about those men?" the man in black asked.
The youth gazed into the distance and said faintly, "Let them fend for themselves. Without guidance here, they won't be able to get out."
The youth returned to his room and saw the woman on the bed. His expression softened considerably. He reached out and caressed her face. "Sister, why did you go in? Won't you stay here with Yuan Zhao? Yuan Zhao will take good care of you."
Suddenly, he felt a touch on his neck. He turned his head, and the tip of a sharp blade grazed his skin, drawing blood.