Chapter Twenty-One Entering the Secret Chamber

  Six children simultaneously released crossbow arrows. Li Yunfeng hastily drew his sword, deflecting the ones aimed at himself and those aimed at Hua Rulian, knocking down the crossbow arrows shot by Monk Wuzhi.

  Lu Xiaofeng also flew away and grabbed the crossbow arrows that were shot towards Yingyan Old Seventh and Yuan Daxia.

  Lu Xiaofeng looked at the crossbow arrow in his hand and shouted: "The arrow is poisonous, leave quickly!"

  Several people set off with their lightness skills and flew towards the main hall. Li Yunfei followed behind, knocking down the small crossbow arrows shot by those children.

  Shut the living room door and block it with everything that can be used to block the door. At this time, arrows shot into the hall one after another, and one arrow hit Yuan Daxia's shoulder. Hua Manlou hurriedly pressed several major acupoints for him, then pulled him and ran into the hall.

  But that flute sound, piercing the ear, made people dizzy after listening, except for Li Yunfei, Lu Xiaofeng, Jin Jiuling and Hua Manlou, everyone else fainted to the ground.

  At this critical moment, the Peacock Princess began to shoot fire arrows into the hall. Lu Xiaofeng looked down and saw that several wooden barrels used for performances in the hall were all filled with gunpowder.

  Lu Xiaofeng shouted loudly: "Be careful, there's gunpowder! Get out of the way quickly!"

  "Hua Man Lou said to Hua Ru Ling, 'Dad, let's go hide in the secret room.'"

  "Alright! Let's go." He said, and led the way running towards the secret room.

  After entering the secret room, just when everyone let out a sigh of relief, Hua Manlou suddenly said: "What sound?"

  Li Yunfei looked up and saw that the secret room was leaking water everywhere. Hua Rulian said, "This is because the Meng River is overflowing, it's bad, someone has damaged the Meng River dam."

  Water flowed down one by one, and the secret room seemed about to collapse. Huamanlou hastily said: "Father, what should we do?"

  "It can't be taken out, once it's closed, it can't be taken out."

  "Eagle Eye Old Seven said: 'Old Huatou, think of a way quickly, do you want us to drown here?'"

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "Uncle Hua, you must have a way out. There must be another road here."

  "There's no other way, and even if there was, it would be a dead end."

  Li Yunfei said: "Uncle Hua, can't think about so much now, have to take the road of death."

  "Hua Rulian thought for a moment and said: 'Lou'er, give me the ring your mother left you, it's the key.'"

  Flowers fill the building, take out the ring, flowers like orders open the secret door in the secret room, behind which there are many mechanisms, secret doors. Then another secret room.

  The flower-like commander led the way to the secret room, and they immediately set off. The previous secret room was about to be flooded with water. Water rushed towards the crowd, and the crowd used their light skills to run inside. Layer after layer of mechanisms, layer after layer of hidden doors closed.

  At this time, Song Shen Yi fell to the ground, Li Yun Fei turned his head and saw that Song Shen Yi's medical bag was clamped by the door. He risked his life to grab it over. Just as he was about to be locked out, Lu Xiao Feng made a swift move, pulling with force. He pulled Song Shen Yi over. With another push, he sent Song Shen Yi into the secret room. Lu Xiao Feng flashed and slipped through the gap in the door. The door closed.

  Li Yunfei looked up and saw stone carvings all around him, with Buddha statues everywhere.

  Jin Jiulian said: "Hua Daxia, this secret room is indeed a different world. What's the use of this secret room?"

  "Master Ku Zhi said: 'We have gone through great difficulties, but I hope we can turn bad luck into good fortune and misfortune into blessings. Amitabha Buddha!'"

  "Hmph, I'm afraid we'll all die here. Master, don't forget to chant sutras for us after we're gone."

  "Flower Great Hero, what makes you say this?"

  Hua Rulian said: "I've already said it, this is a dead end, the secret room above is Menghe Road, we all have to die here."

  "Eagle Eye Old Seven said: 'Old Flower Head, you mean there's a river above our heads.'"

  "Hua Rulan closed her eyes and said: 'That's right, we can't get out. There is no turning back.'"

  Li Yunfeng said: "Uncle, this secret room was built by you, how can we get out?"

  Hua Rulian said, "This secret room is also the work of Zhu Ting's ingenious hands. It was built for the new king of the Hanhai Kingdom to ascend to the throne. Once this stone gate is closed, it cannot be opened again. Prince Hanhai, you must bring the old king's edict and token, fast here for three days, and then you can rise to the throne and inherit the kingdom."

  "That's right, since the prince can go out, that means there is a way out here, and we can also go out."

  "What a pity! Zhu Ting only told me how to get in, but didn't tell me how to get out!"

  "Alas! It seems even resorting to desperate measures won't work this time."

  Hua Ruleng let out a deep sigh and said: "Alas! I still don't know who in the world can unravel the mechanism of Zhu Ting, the number one clever hand in the world."

  Jin Jiulian said: "Hua Daxia, this statement is wrong. Among us, there is someone who can break through Zhu Ting's mechanism."

  Hua Rulian said: "Jin Boutu, your words are a bit too hasty. Zhu Ting's mechanical skills are unmatched in the world. Do you think you're better than Zhu Ting?"

  Jin Jiuling smiled and said: "Hua Daxia misunderstood, I wasn't referring to someone else, he is the Iron Shoe Great Thief."

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "Jin Jiuling, you mean Iron Shoes Thief is right here."

  Jin Jiuling said: "That's right, Iron Shoe Thief is here."

  Lu Xiaofeng said: "Then tell me, who is the Iron Shoes Thief?"

  "That's... Master Suffering Wisdom." Jin Jiuling slowly walked up to Master Suffering Wisdom and pointed at him.

  "Stop pretending, Master Sui Zhi. Why is it that everyone else got hurt but you're perfectly fine?"

  "It's because of that Western grape wine."

  Jin Jiuling said, "That's right, it's a kind of poisonous wine called Red Sunset. The wine emits a strange and fragrant aroma that makes people feel extremely happy when they drink it. However, in reality, they have already been poisoned. After being poisoned, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians will be invaded by the toxic gas. But this poison is very subtle, if one is slightly stronger, a martial artist with high skills would detect it. This isn't what Tie Xie wants to achieve."

  "What result does he want then."

  Jin Jiuling continued, "This toxin will quietly rise to the Yintang, YuZhèn and Taiyang three major acupoints through the Huagai hole. When the barbarian's flute sounds, several seniors instantly produce a kind of inner force resistance, unaware that this is exactly what Tiesha wants. The inner force bursts out of these three major acupoints, and the toxin takes effect. You all got injured, but you all saw that the stronger the inner force, the more severe the injury. Master, am I right? You just want to create chaos and let Hua Da Xia bring us into this secret room as soon as possible."

  The Master of Bitter Wisdom said: "I don't know what I'm talking about, why should I do this?"

  Jin Jiuling said: "Hmph. Because you want to get the Hanhai Jade Buddha."

  "Eagle Eye Old Seven said, 'Golden Catcher, you're confused! Although I'm a rough man, at least I still remember that the Jade Buddha has already been stolen by Iron Shoe Great Thief.'"

  "No," said Li Yunfei, "the Jade Buddha stolen last night was a fake."

  Jin Jiulian said, "That's right, it's fake. Just as Li Yunfei suspected, if he had already obtained the iron shoes, why didn't he return to Hanhai Country to report back? Why did he leave behind a note asking for his life and also leave behind the Seven Leafed Broken Heart Grass to create confusion? He wouldn't have done so many things for no reason. There's only one possibility: he hasn't obtained the real Hanhai Jade Buddha yet."

  Jin Jiuling smiled and seemed very proud, then continued: "Hua Da Xia, if I'm not mistaken, this secret room is the real place where the Jade Buddha is hidden?"

  "Hua Rulang nodded and said: 'Not bad, let's put the Jade Buddha here.'"

  "However, Jin Cuotou, you can't suspect me just because of this."

  "Are you still daring to quibble? At the birthday banquet of Hua Da Xia, what did you say to him? Have you forgotten, I haven't. At that time, I personally heard you ask Hua Da Xia to let you see the Hanhai Jade Buddha. Hua Da Xia refused on the spot, is this true or not? And at that time, you also said that you had just returned from the Western Regions of Hanhai Country, is this true or not? What else do you have to say?"

  "Jin Jiuling pointed at Kuizhi Dashi and said: 'All the suspicious points are pointing towards you, Iron Shoe Great Thief, it's better for you to confess now.'"

  At this time, Hua Rulang interrupted: "This is impossible. I have had a long friendship with Suizhi Zen Master. You say he is the Iron Shoe Great Thief, and I am the first to disbelieve it."

  The old monk said: "I am a Buddhist, I have always been honest and never spoken deceitfully. Since you say I am the Iron Shoe Great Thief, then you must produce more conclusive evidence."

  Jin Jiuling coldly smiled and said: "Master, you don't have to rush, evidence will be available."

  "Golden Catcher, why didn't you get poisoned? It seems like Lu Xiaofeng and Yun Fei also didn't get poisoned."

  Jin Jiulian said, "To be honest, before I came, I received a secret report from the imperial court that a pair of camel teams were coming from the Western Regions to Taohuabao to celebrate his birthday. I couldn't help but have doubts, so I found someone to steal some wine and asked a master to decipher it."

  Lu Xiaofeng said, "I know now. That wine, last night when I went to get the snowy silk sash, I saw Jin Duotou drinking in the courtyard, so I snatched it and drank it. That was the antidote."

  Jin Jiuling said: "That's right, Lu Xiaofeng, didn't you drink it too? How did you know that Chi Xia Hong was poisonous wine, and I drank the antidote?"

  Lu Xiaofeng said, "That day, Li Yunfei told me that the Western wine had a problem and might be poisonous. I started to be careful, and Hua Manlou also reminded me that the Western wine was unusually fragrant. This made me even more cautious. That night, in the grand hall with so many good wines, you didn't drink any of them but instead ran out to drink your own wine. Of course, I suspected something, but I didn't know if it was an antidote or not. However, I knew that someone like Jin Duotou, who is particular about what he eats and wears, would never drink bad wine. Even if it wasn't an antidote, I wouldn't be at a disadvantage."

  Jin Jiulian burst out laughing and said: "So you were also deceived. Then how did Li Yunfei know that there was Chi Xia Hong in the wine?"

  Li Yunfei smiled and said, "I'm not sure either. The wine had a flavor of Western spices. I've heard that there's a poison with this kind of taste, so I reminded Lu Xiaofeng to be careful. But he had already drunk quite a bit at the time. I thought to myself, I'm not a heavy drinker anyway, if the wine might have a problem, then I'd better not drink it either."

  At this time, Hua Rulian said: "Jin Bu Tou, you say that Ku Zhi Da Shi is the Iron Shoe Great Thief. Do you have any other evidence?"

  Jin Jiuling said: "There is, when the poisonous needle flew towards Huo Daxia, this can only explain that Tiexue Dadao must be on the scene. Since you, Kuizhi Dashi, are the only one who didn't show your hand, it can only mean that Tiexue Dadao is actually you, Kuizhi."