Chapter 151: Peril in the Wooden Cabin

Following the clues, the two of them walked all the way to the end of the black market, nearly reaching its limit, when they finally spotted a dilapidated little wooden cabin sitting there.

The entrance was utterly desolate, looking as though it had been abandoned and uninhabited for ages, a truly unsightly sight.

Hua Rong curled her lip in disgust and cast a glance around. They had reached the end now; to walk any further would mean heading into unknown territory.

She raised her head and looked perplexedly at Jun Yeli. "Are you certain this is the place? It hardly feels like a place where people live. Could we have come to the wrong spot?"

Jun Yeli shared similar doubts, so he took out the map for confirmation. Although the ambient light here was dim, the markings on it were clear enough.

"It is indeed here. But whether anyone is inside, let's step in and have a look first."

Taking the lead, Jun Yeli strode forward and cautiously stepped inside.

Behind him, Hua Rong continued to clutch tightly onto his sleeve, not daring to relax even a fraction.

As they penetrated deeper, they found the light growing even dimmer. Jun Yeli ignited a fire starter to illuminate their surroundings.

To their surprise, the interior was as ruined and dilapidated as a crumbling temple, caked with thick dust and cobwebs. It was a miserable sight to behold.

"Are you sure people actually live in a place like this..." Hua Rong could not help voicing her doubts once more. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but a place more wretched than a city god temple—if people could actually live here, then surely there wouldn't be so many destitute wanderers in the world!

Despite her words, Jun Yeli lowered his voice to warn her: "Hush. The atmosphere in here is quite strange; we must proceed with caution."

Although it looked like a shabby little hut from the outside, they had walked for quite a while without reaching the end, which in itself was rather miraculous.

"Wait, it seems we've triggered a mechanism!"

Realizing this belatedly, Jun Yeli looked to his left and right to find two narrow walls built of massive stones, completely different from the weathered wooden shack outside.

There truly was a hidden world within this house, yet a place like this was by no means a simple secret passage.

"What do you mean?" Hua Rong asked, perplexed, just as she felt her foot step on something. A sharp, creaking sound echoed beneath them.

In a fraction of a second, stones began emerging relentlessly from the walls on both sides.

"Not good! Stick close to me, and whatever you do, don't let go!"

Jun Yeli swept his arm around Hua Rong's waist and pulled her against him. With a sharp whish past their ears, an arrow grazed right by the side of their heads, nearly claiming their lives.

Hua Rong almost choked on her own blood, her mind completely blank and struggling to comprehend the situation. "What on earth is happening? Why are there traps here?!"

"It seems entering this place requires some special token. Barging in blindly leads straight to death!"

It was too late for Jun Yeli's realization now; that fellow had simply taken their money and failed to inform them of such crucial details!

"Damn it, he's sold us out again. I'll settle accounts with him later!"

"Who is he?"

"Don't ask so many questions. If you don't want to die, focus entirely on following me!"

Jun Yeli spoke with crisp decisiveness. All around them, arrows began flying through the air once more with a continuous *swish-swish-swish*, showering down in a chaotic, disorderly fashion.

Their paths intertwined and complex, dodging and weaving left and right left Hua Rong dizzy and disoriented, until she felt as though her body no longer belonged to her.

Seeing that the opposite side was only a single step away, Jun Yeli began to feel somewhat overtaxed. "Damn it, this place drains too much physical strength!"

Ordinarily, moving on his own would have been effortless, but having to carry someone else while leaping up and down inevitably strained his capabilities.

Gritting his teeth, Jun Yeli suddenly warned, "Don't move! I'm going to send you across!"

"What do you mean? Aren't you coming?" Before Hua Rong could react, Jun Yeli exerted all his remaining strength, grabbed her by the waist, and shoved her forward.

With that single flying leap, Hua Rong barely managed to plant her feet on solid ground. But when she turned around, she saw that her husband was still trapped inside, enduring the baptism of those flying arrows.

The speed of the arrows was far quicker than the eye could follow, leaving no time for reaction. Panic gripped Hua Rong as she cried out, "Hurry up and come over!"

It wasn't that Jun Yeli didn't want to, but the moment he took a step forward, an arrow whizzed past his face.

Every step, though miraculously avoided, was a constant probing along the edge of death.

Hua Rong's feet kept twitching, desperate to rush back out, but amidst the storm of flying arrows, she was utterly powerless to help.

Suddenly, failing to dodge in time, Jun Yeli felt an arrow slice straight across his arm.

At the sight of this, Hua Rong gasped in horror, covering her mouth in shock. "Are you alright?!"

Naturally, it was a foolish question; could anyone possibly be unhurt after being pierced by an arrow?

"Don't worry about me. There should be a mechanism nearby—see if you can find a way to stop these arrows!"

Jun Yeli gritted his teeth, pressing one hand over his wound. Between the injury and exhaustion, he had no strength left to spare and could only pin all his hopes on Hua Rong.

Facing this task, Hua Rong did not dare hesitate. She began frantically fumbling around the surroundings in a panic, but in the pitch darkness, she could barely make out anything at all.

"Why is it so dark..."

Hua Rong's hands groped along the wall, the rough stone surface scraping against her skin.

Suddenly, a hidden niche gave way slightly under her touch. Gritting her teeth, Hua Rong pressed the mechanism, unsure of what it actually did. But since arrows were already flying everywhere, it couldn't possibly unleash any worse traps.

Driven by a stroke of desperate luck, Hua Rong pressed the mechanism all the way down. With the shifting of the internal gears, the lights along the corridor suddenly flared to life, illuminating the entire passageway.

As for the arrow traps behind them, they instantly halted as if receiving a command, retracting smoothly back into the walls.

Everything fell silent. Only the debris of fallen arrows littered the ground, finally granting Jun Yeli a moment to catch his breath.

Hua Rong lunged toward him instantly. Gazing at his bleeding arm, she was overwhelmed with anxiety, tears shimmering in her eyes as she looked at him. "Does it hurt?"

"Rest assured, a minor wound like this is nothing. Let's keep moving."

Even if it hurt, Jun Yeli could hardly admit to it; wouldn't he lose all his dignity in front of his woman otherwise?

Yanking the arrow out, Jun Yeli retrieved a bottle of hemostatic powder from his tunic and casually sprinkled some over the wound. The bleeding stopped almost immediately, and without missing a beat, he prepared to resume walking.

Still uneasy, Hua Rong stopped him. "Wait, let me bandage it first!"

Before he could refuse, Hua Rong tore a strip from the hem of her skirt and bound the scrap of fabric tightly around his arm. "Like this... it won't get infected as easily."