“Who goes there? What happened?” All around was darkness, and people from the brightly lit corridor came running toward the dim tunnel, shouting questions.

The man who had fallen groaned and said: “Deputy Commander Qian sent us to deliver food. I tripped and fell, it’s nothing.”

“Password!” The people in the corridor were fully alert, shouting sternly.

“Long live the Prince!” the man replied.

It seemed the two groups didn’t know each other. Qing Xia couldn’t help but feel relieved. By now, she had quickly stripped the clothes from the killed soldier and put them on over her black night clothes. Though they were large, with a layer of clothing underneath, they actually fit quite well. She fastened the man’s black iron helmet, and now Qing Xia looked exactly like an Iron Buddha foot soldier.

She dragged the corpse to a dark, hidden spot – a visual blind spot where it wouldn’t be discovered unless someone walked over and looked down carefully. Obviously, whoever built this place was also a master. Located over a hundred meters underground, even with the best ventilation holes, the air would be insufficient, so they couldn’t light fires everywhere. The tunnel had only a few torches, naturally making it dim. But to guard Prince An, they had set up a brightly lit corridor with numerous guards on duty around the clock. Anyone approaching the prison cell would have to pass through this corridor, ensuring security.

The torches in the tunnel were quickly relit. Everyone was somewhat frustrated by this sudden incident and didn’t pay attention to whether the guards behind were keeping up.

With the password correct, the people in the corridor didn’t speak further with these men and continued patrolling around without the slightest relaxation of vigilance. It seemed this constant movement was arranged to prevent guards from becoming lazy and falling asleep, or being affected by enemy sleeping drugs. If even one person stopped, it would confirm that someone had been there.

Qing Xia followed closely behind the food-delivering guards. A line of people walked down the middle of the corridor without arousing any suspicion. Though the corridor wasn’t long, Qing Xia’s palms were sweating, because once discovered, she would face a siege. Moreover, she had secretly observed that at the corner tube lights, there were thin ropes leading to the dark holes above – no need to think to know what they were for. If she had forced her way in earlier, it would have triggered an attack from the entire prison’s guards, plus the nearby military camp. Whether she could escape would be unknown, let alone Prince An.

Qing Xia carefully followed behind the group. She followed very cleverly, not too closely, maintaining a slight distance. Because although the corridor guards and the food-delivering guards didn’t know each other, they were all Iron Buddha Imperial Guards with identical uniforms. So if the food-delivering guards ahead turned around, she would wander left and right, making them think she was a corridor guard. If the corridor guards patrolling left and right looked over, she would catch up with the people ahead, and they would think she was there to deliver food. This way, neither group spoke to each other, but both thought this person belonged to the other group. Qing Xia was actually in the most dangerously safe position.

At the end of the corridor, the man in front showed his token, and the door opened with a clang. Inside was a dim long corridor with not a single guard in sight.

Qing Xia silently praised heaven for helping her. As soon as the door behind closed, she instantly flashed forward, covered the man’s mouth with one hand, and the dagger instantly pierced down. The man didn’t even groan before collapsing softly. She gently laid down the man’s corpse and quickly ran toward another person.

She silently eliminated five guards. The two men ahead who appeared to be leaders still had no awareness whatsoever. This series of actions didn’t rely on luck – Qing Xia had practiced these movements thousands of times in previous operations and was completely familiar with them now. What was needed was superior martial skills, supreme courage, utmost caution, and sufficient wisdom.

“We’re here, open the door ahead,” the man in front said in a low voice.

“Yes.” Qing Xia replied loudly and stepped forward to open the final door.

“Mm,” the man nodded and casually glanced at Qing Xia. At first he didn’t pay attention, but immediately jumped up like a corpse coming back to life, shouting loudly: “Who are you?”

However, before he could make any move, Qing Xia’s right hand instantly shot forward, grabbing the man’s throat. The sound of bones dislocating immediately rang out, and the man fell to the ground with his eyes wide open.

“Someone…” Before he could say the word “jailbreak,” the man crashed down with a thud. Qing Xia walked to his corpse, pulled out the dagger inserted in his throat, wiped it twice on his clothes, then stood up, took the food box and keys from his hands, and walked deeper into the prison.

Compared to Qing Xia’s original cell, this prison was truly worlds apart. Unfortunately, Qing Xia had no mood to appreciate it now. A spacious central hall appeared before her, filled with various torture instruments that caught her eye, the floor bloody and reeking of gore.

Qing Xia frowned slightly. This was a top-secret prison holding only Prince An of Qi – why set up these torture instruments? Could it be that Chu Li had actually dared to defy the world and torture Prince An? At this thought, a snoring sound suddenly came from a nearby room. Qing Xia’s brow furrowed tightly. Logically, there shouldn’t be anyone guarding here. First, the outer guards were already extremely tight, and second, given Prince An’s special status, to prevent infiltration, this place should be a vacuum zone. So could the person inside be Prince An?

She carefully approached. The door wasn’t locked – it wasn’t Prince Qi. Qing Xia cautiously pushed open the door to see a fat body lying on the bed – a fierce-looking old man with a red beard, mouth wide open, sleeping soundly. So it was this cruel fellow. Since she hadn’t taught this scoundrel a lesson back in the prison, encountering him here naturally meant no need for mercy. Qing Xia slowly walked over, a cold light flashing in her eyes. Her hand rose and the blade fell – Warden Shen’s fat head dropped to the ground.

Thinking of this fellow’s cruel methods, Qing Xia felt anxious. Following the corridor beside the central hall, she quickly rushed to her final destination.

The key inserted into the iron lock, and with a click, the iron lock fell to the ground. The figure on the stone bed inside moved slightly. The bloodied body suddenly emanated powerful killing intent. He slowly raised his head, his eyes shooting over like knives, fixed deadly on Qing Xia’s petite form.

Qing Xia sighed, an unknown fire rising in her heart. Chu Li indeed disregarded the bigger picture and had no righteousness. Having already decided to negotiate with Great Qi, he still tortured Prince An like this. Her eyes turned cold as frost. Qing Xia removed her black iron helmet and looked with unbearable pain at Prince Qi, who was wounded everywhere.

“It’s me.”

The gentle voice slowly echoed in the air. Prince An’s eyes immediately widened, looking at Qing Xia in guard uniform with disbelief. Complex emotions flashed and disappeared, leaving only enormous shock and disbelief. Prince An, covered in wounds, finally couldn’t contain his inner amazement and cried out in surprise: “Qing Xia?”

Cold wind blew faintly from the tunnel entrance. In the spacious prison, on a cold stone bed, sat a thinly clothed man alone, his eyes pale as water with the cold indifference of iron blades. After the initial shock, he gradually turned his head away and no longer looked at Qing Xia even once. His clothes stained with blood, covered in wounds – Qing Xia’s heart suddenly felt as if gripped tightly by a giant hand. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She wanted to speak but was still pushed away by his coldness, kept at a thousand miles’ distance.

Under the dim light of a single lamp like a bean, Qing Xia suddenly snapped back to awareness. What was wrong with her? Why did she have such strong emotions? In such a dangerous situation, how could she so disregard the bigger picture? With no time to consider her abnormal state, Qing Xia ran forward in a few steps, grabbed Prince An’s arm, and said softly and urgently: “Can you walk?”

Qi An turned his head. His thin face was pale as paper. Qing Xia’s brow furrowed deeply, anger flashing across her face as she said in a low voice: “They tortured you?”

The woman’s anxious expression immediately broke down Qi An’s coldness. He slowly turned his head, looking haggard and pained, his voice low: “Why?”

The low, hoarse voice slowly emerged from the man’s cracked lips. Just hearing this voice was enough to imagine what kind of torment he had endured. Qi An opened his eyes wide and suddenly gripped Qing Xia’s arm tightly with such force that he seemed to want to crush her bones. His breathing was rapid, his body suddenly leaning forward, warm breath hitting Qing Xia’s cheek as he said almost word by word: “Why did you betray me?”

Qing Xia’s hand was tightly gripped by Qi An. Looking at the bloody wounds all over his body, she felt burning with rage. Those inexplicable emotions suddenly surged up from the bottom of her heart. “I’m going to kill them all!”

“Qing Xia!” A low cry suddenly burst from Qi An’s mouth. He grabbed hold of Qing Xia who was about to leave. In his urgency, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The warm liquid slowly flowed down Qing Xia’s pale arm. Qing Xia quickly bent down and supported him.

“Tell me!” Urgent coughing immediately rang out. Qi An’s mouth was bloody, and Qing Xia held his body, feeling that there wasn’t a spot on him without wounds. He seemed unable to say any other words, only repeatedly asking for the reason.

“Search your own heart and ask – would the Zhuang Qing Xia you know ever betray you?” Qing Xia half-knelt before Qi An, slightly lowering her head and staring intently into his eyes, asking seriously.

Qi An’s expression froze, and he didn’t answer. Qing Xia knew that no explanation at this moment could put his mind at ease. Moreover, this matter itself was incomprehensible. If she said she was a soul from another time and space borrowing this body, he would probably think she had ulterior motives. He was already full of suspicions about Zhuang Qing Xia – mere words could never dispel the hatred in his heart.