Chapter 143 Into The Phoenix Chamber Part 23

As Michio leads U-ri and Bong through the tunnel, following Abrafo's footsteps, he notices that the soil beneath his feet becomes moister and softer, and that the tunnel walls become damp as well. He realized that the tunnel had led them deeper underground.

"This tunnel led us deeper underground," Michio said and turned to U-ri. "Where could Abrafo have gone?"

U-ri asked, "Do you see any more mark left by Abrafo?"

Michio said, "No... I haven't seen it for a while now."

Bong said indifferently, "Maybe that bastard was lost and might have been killed now."

Michio said, " If anyone survives, it's Abrafo. He's the second-in-command in our army."

Bong scoffed and said mockingly, "I suggest after you return to your kingdom, you need to ask your king to appoint a new deputy general. I think your so-called deputy general is too stupid."

From the tone of Bong's voice, U-ri smiled and shook his head. "Your Highness, there is an old saying in our kingdom."

Bong asked, "Which old saying?"

U-ri said, "There is an old saying that the thing you hate the most is the thing you will get."

Bong spat on the ground and said angrily, "Ptui... wash your mouth and say something people can actually understand."

Michio suddenly stopped.

U-ri asked, "What's wrong?"

Michio said, "Abrafo marked these tunnels? Why?"

U-ri looked over Michio's shoulder and saw many marks on the wall. "In other words, there are connected tunnels?" Michio asked blankly. "What on earth did Abrafo think, marking so many tunnels? How on earth are we going to follow him?"

Bong smirked, "I told you; he is stupid."

"There must be a reason for Abrafo to mark so many tunnels," U-ri said. "We looked around to see if one tunnel was marked differently than the others."

U-ri and Michio continued to look at the tunnel marked by Abrafo, while Bong stood looking at Michio and U-ri.

U-ri looked at the young prince who was more childish than a child. "Your Highness, do you want to help?" U-ri teased.

Bong said, "I am stalling for time, not in a hurry to see your so-called friends." He crossed his arms on his chest, leaned against the wall, and turned to look at Michio and U-ri, who were desperately trying to Look for the different marks left by Abrafo.

After searching for some time, U-ri found a tunnel with a circle drawn next to it and a leaf drawn inside the circle. "Abrafo must have taken this tunnel. It's the only tunnel with different markings than the others," U-ri said.

Bong jumped up and walked towards U-ri. He asked, "How are you sure?"

"We usually draw a leaf inside the circle to let each other know where we've been," U-ri said.

Michio led the two into the tunnel marked by Abrafo. Bong asked, "So, who created the glow powder?"

U-ri smiled and said, "I did it." He took out a small bag, turned his body halfway back to Bong, and handed Bong the bag. "Here."

Bong refused to accept it, and said, "I really don't need it."

U-ri said, "Your Highness may not need it now, but maybe it might be useful later. If you keep the powder dry, you can use it to start a fire. All you need is a spark."

Bong took the bag and said, "Thank you."

U-ri said, "Your Highness, I know that the misunderstanding between you and Abrafo may be huge, and it cannot be solved by any words or apology, but Abrafo is not a bad person."

Bong asked annoyingly, "How can you be so sure that he is not a bad person after he?" He sighed, trying to control his anger. "It doesn't matter now..."

U-ri smiled and said, "Because I watched Abrafo grow up. Abrafo is a good man. Although sometimes the words that come out of his mouth are not very nice, he treats his friends and family very well. Abrafo is a good person. A royal companion who will protect you with his life." U-ri sighed. "The way Abrafo treats others may not always be flattering to everyone and may be a thorn in some people's eyes, but if you look beyond that, you will see that Abrafo is a man with no secrets to hide. He is a very straightforward person. If he hates something, he'll tell you he hates it. If he loves someone, he will show that he likes that person without any shame. If he treats you as a friend, he will not hesitate to sacrifice his life to protect you. "

Bong said angrily, "You talk about him like a hero, but no matter what you say, it will not change my view of him. As you said, I am also a straightforward person. Once I hate someone, I will hate that person until that person is buried underneath my feet."

U-ri sighed and said, "You dislike Abrafo was it because..."

Michio suddenly stopped and quickly crushed the talisman to put out the fire. He turned around, but U-ri bumped into Michio's chest. "A mother scorpion is ahead," Michio whispered.

U-ri asked, "Was it dead?"

Michio said, "It doesn't seem to be moving."

Bong said, " With just the two of us, we can't defeat the mother scorpion without the help of others."

U-ri said, "Let's go back."

Bong said, "I refuse to turn back. We've come too far to turn back." He grabbed a rock.

Michio asked, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Bong said, "Let's try and see if that bastard killed the scorpion, or if the scorpion ate his as...kill him."

Bong threw the stone at the scorpion. The stone hit the scorpion on the back, but the scorpion did not move.

Michio turned around and said with a smile, "I think Abrafo killed that mother scorpion." He stood up, took out another talisman, and threw it at the dead scorpion. From where Michio was standing, he could see a large amount of blood on the ground. He started walking towards the dead scorpion. "It's dead and blocking our way."

Bong said, "Let's climb over it."

Michio climbed up first and passed the dead scorpion. Bong pushed U-ri onto the dead scorpion's back, and Michio helped U-ri get down. Bong then quickly jumped over the dead scorpion.

Michio looked around and said, "There are no more marks. I don't know now which way he went."

U-ri said, "Then where is he?"

Michio said, "Let's go and take a look. Maybe he is injured and is hiding somewhere."

Michio turned around to look for traces of Abrafo, when he saw a black figure standing in the tunnel. Michio was afraid that a dead man had walked into the tunnel, so he quickly took out a red paper talisman and held it on his right hand. "Show yourself, or I'll send in the arrows."

Shi assured Abrafo that he would not move from his position, but now if he refused to leave the tunnel, his life would be in danger when someone standing outside the tunnel opened fire on him.

"Don't shoot," Shi said. "I'm coming out."

Then Shi slowly walked out of the tunnel.

"Shi? Is that you?" Bong asked.

When Shi saw Bong and U-ri standing a few yards away from him. He walked quickly towards Bong. "Your Highness," he said cheerfully. "How did you get here?"

Bong said, "I followed these two here." He looked around but did not find Lixin. "Where is Lixin?"

Shi said, "Lord Lixin is still fighting a big scorpion in another tunnel. Sir Abrafo has gone to help His Lord."

Bong quickly pushed Shi away and rushed into the tunnel.

Michio shouted, "Come back, you don't know which way to go."

U-ri said, " Follow him quickly."

Shi said, "Follow me."

Michio and U-ri quickly followed Shi into the tunnel, who was chasing Bong.

The tunnel was filled with a musky smell, Jin wonder if they were going the wrong way. Jin asked, "Are you sure that Lord Lixin and Shi came this way?"

Feng said, "According to marks left by Shi, we are coming in the right direction."

Meng walked up to Jin, Feng, and Heng. He looked at the exhausted participants and said, "Sir, we need to rest, there are still many injured and we cannot continue."

Jin sighed and said, "Alright, let's take a break before we continue."

As soon as everyone sat down, a female's laughter sounded in many connected tunnels.

"Why rest when you are going to be food for my children?" The female voice echoed and then her voice turned into low giggle that echoed in the tunnel. The people sitting stood up abruptly, drawing their weapon.

"No matter where you're hiding. As long as you're within these tunnel walls. I... can...find...you."

The woman's laughter continued to echo in the tunnel.

Heng said, "Let's get out of here."

Feng said, "This way."

Jin looked at the participants and said, "Keep up the good work and don't fall behind."

Jin and the participants chased Feng and Heng into the right tunnel.

Chasing after Bong, although the tunnel was dark, Shi's eyes had adapted to the darkness. He saw that Bong had turned the corner. "Stop, you took a wrong turn," Shi shouted after Bong.

Bong stopped, turned around, and saw that Shi was walking towards him with Michio and U-ri. "Which way?" Bong asked frantically. "Which way?"

Shi stopped in front of Bong and said, "Your Highness, we must approach the tunnel carefully, because I don't know whether Sir Abrafo has successfully rescued Lord Lixin."

Michio said, "Your Highness, Shi is right."

"Hmm...." Michio felt the soft breathing of a woman on his neck, which made the hairs on his back stand up. Michio turned around quickly and threw a fire talisman into the darkness.

"Ah!" A woman's scream came from the darkness.

The four people quickly retreated toward the tunnel on the right. As the fire talisman glowed in the darkness, the four saw a woman dressed in black standing a few yards away from them. Behind the woman stood many small scorpions, squeaking at the four men.

"You're walking in my backyard without my permission," Tuya said with a smile. "Now that's... very rude." Tuya looked at the four men and smiled bitterly.