The bodies of tomb robbers in this passage indicated the presence of traps and mechanisms here.
Unfortunately, before Yan Shouyi could warn her, Xia Qi had already walked past.
The stone slab beneath Xia Qi's feet sank, and the kacha sound of mechanisms echoed from the sides of the passage!
Immediately, the stone slabs on both sides flipped over, revealing rows of stone serpent heads. These serpent heads were opening their mouths, baring their fangs. However, instead of forked tongues, their mouths were loaded with crossbow bolts ready to be fired!
According to historical records, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang was filled with countless mechanisms, and this type of crossbow trap was the simplest and most common, yet also the most effective!
Everyone's faces changed drastically. Wang Sihui rushed towards Xia Qi, but he knew in his heart that he wouldn't reach her in time. Even if he did, the crossbow bolts would mercilessly pierce both of them.
Yet, he still bravely charged towards Xia Qi.
Xia Qi was so terrified that her soul was about to fly out. She stood frozen, not knowing where to run.
"Xia Qi, run!" Li Yang shouted.
The next second, countless crossbow bolts were fired. Even Liang Yinqiu couldn't help but close her eyes, unable to bear watching her student die tragically.
"Crouch!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout came from beside Xia Qi's ear. The voice was like a command, making Xia Qi instinctively crouch down.
Clang, clang, clang…
A series of sharp sounds passed, and the passage fell into deathly silence once more.
Liang Yinqiu kept her eyes closed, her face filled with regret.
Had Xia Qi died?
There wasn't a sound; she must be dead, right?
How would she face Xia Qi's family? This was all her fault…
Finally, she summoned the courage to open her eyes and saw Xia Qi, completely unharmed.
Wang Sihui also stood in front of Xia Qi, but he hadn't rushed into the trap. He was just staring blankly.
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong were guarding Xia Qi on either side.
Lin Zitong was holding up the red divine umbrella she had carried on her back, while Yan Shouyi was empty-handed. In front of them lay a pile of crossbow bolts.
The shafts of the crossbow bolts were as thick as a human thumb, and the arrowheads were made of pure silver. The bolts on the ground were either blunted at the tip or snapped in the shaft, as if they had struck an incredibly hard shield.
Liang Yinqiu was also stunned.
Just moments ago, Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong had been behind them, examining the bodies. In the blink of an eye, they had surpassed Wang Sihui, who was closest to Xia Qi, and arrived by her side.
And while it was understandable that Lin Zitong was holding that not-so-simple oil-paper umbrella, how had Yan Shouyi, with his bare hands, managed to block those crossbow bolts?
Unbelievable… this was truly incredible!
"It's alright, you can stand up now."
A faint glow on Yan Shouyi's body receded. If one looked closely, they would see a pattern of fine scales within that glow.
He was wearing the fine scale armor given to him by General Qing Jiang. The fine scale armor possessed extremely strong defensive capabilities, far exceeding the Golden Light Spell. Those crossbow bolts had been blocked by the fine scale armor.
Xia Qi looked up and saw Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong, her expression equally surprised.
However, she didn't bother to think about whether it made sense; she immediately exclaimed, "Brother Yan, Sister-in-law, you are truly a divine couple!"
Yan Shouyi's old face turned red. In reality, he wasn't even older than Xia Qi.
He and Lin Zitong were only in their early twenties. Xia Qi was a graduate student and actually a few years older than Yan Shouyi.
However, Xia Qi had been studying in school and lacked social experience, while Yan Shouyi had roamed the martial world, and Lin Zitong was the female boss of several companies. Therefore, they appeared much more mature.
"There might be traps and mechanisms appearing at any time here, everyone be careful," Lin Zitong reminded them.
Wang Sihui swallowed and asked, "Should I have my team go scout ahead first?"
He certainly wasn't asking his team to sacrifice themselves. Compared to inexperienced students like Xia Qi, his team members were sure to be much more cautious and could find the mechanisms in advance.
"No need, I have a way."
Lin Zitong shook her head and, in front of everyone, shook the Soul Summoning Bell.
As the Soul Summoning Bell chimed, everyone's attention was drawn to it, especially Liang Yinqiu, who was most curious about Lin Zitong's abilities.
Amidst the ethereal ringing of the bell, white mist suddenly swirled in front of Lin Zitong.
Then, a white horse clad in armor emerged from the white mist!
"This…"
Liang Yinqiu took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes, her mind filled with only one thought: How can this be explained by science?
Everyone else had the same reaction. Wang Sihui and his team members looked not like they had seen deities, but more like they had seen ghosts.
"My apologies."
Yan Shouyi felt that Lin Zitong had startled everyone and had to step forward to apologize:
"We didn't want to use these techniques, but to ensure everyone's safety and rescue the experts sooner, we can't hold back."
The bookworm Li Yang's eyelids twitched violently.
Hearing that, how could it not sound incredibly boastful?
It was like the line from that movie starring Shen Teng: "I originally wanted to get along with you as an ordinary person, but what I got in return was distance. I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean, I'm a billionaire!"
Yan Shouyi and the others' actions had already defied common understanding, but they could still be explained by science to some extent.
But now, Lin Zitong had summoned a white horse in front of everyone. How could science even begin to explain this?
Wang Sihui was not well-read, but he had read a few fantasy novels. He couldn't help but ask:
"Miss Lin, is this the legendary 'dou qi transforming into a horse'?"
"Ah?" Lin Zitong was startled, not understanding what 'dou qi transforming into a horse' meant.
She explained, "This is the soul of a dead warhorse, also known as a spirit. Its name is Ta Xue, and it had been resting within my Soul Summoning Bell."
Upon seeing Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong, Ta Xue affectionately nudged them with its large head.
Everything before them had surpassed everyone's comprehension, so Liang Yinqiu just stood there with her mouth agape, unable to say a word.
Animals had simple minds. Ta Xue recognized the scent of Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong. To it, the current Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong were no different from General Qing Jiang and Princess Yu Shu in the past; they were its eternal masters.
Lin Zitong hugged Ta Xue's head, gently stroking it, and whispered in its ear:
"Run forward along the passage. Don't stop even if you step on a trap. If you feel any danger, return directly to the Soul Summoning Bell."
Ta Xue was very quiet, only snorting a few times through its nostrils. Then, it obediently turned around, facing the depths of the passage.
"Go," Lin Zitong said.
The usually quiet Ta Xue suddenly reared its front hooves, let out an excited neigh, and then galloped out at an extremely high speed!