The scent of rotting earth and blood grew thick in the secret passage. Shen Mingyue supported Gu Jinghong, whose weight rested almost entirely on her shoulder. The moss on the stone walls glowed with a ghostly luminescence under the flickering torchlight, looking unnervingly like countless eyes watching their every move. The bloodstains left behind by the Nether Palace wolves earlier had dried into dark, brownish scabs, and the air was heavy with a nauseating stench that made every breath feel as though it were tearing at her nasal passages.
"There’s a light ahead!" Shen Mingyue stopped abruptly, a hint of surprise in her voice. At the end of the passage, a faint white light shimmered like a beacon of hope in the deep night, though it pulsed unsteadily, as if luring them into an unknown trap. The light flickered, bright one moment and dim the next, as if locked in a silent struggle with the surrounding darkness.
Gu Jinghong gripped his Xiuchun Saber, his knuckles white from the pressure. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly. "Do not be careless. This ancient tomb is full of traps. The closer we are to the exit, the less we can afford to let our guard down." Blood still seeped from his wounds, and with every step, a fresh drop fell from the hem of his Flying Fish Robe, blooming like eerie red plum blossoms on the ground. He stifled a groan of pain with every movement, his face pale as paper, yet his eyes remained sharp as a hawk’s, missing nothing.
Chapter 25