Chu Feng watched as the Empress and Senior Sister Yuyan walked away. He tried to speak but found his body once again unresponsive. He couldn’t utter a single word.
It wasn’t until the two women had completely disappeared from view that Chu Feng finally regained control.
Damn it! What the hell is going on?!
Chu Feng couldn’t understand what was happening to his body.
He wanted to leave, but the guards at the door made that impossible. He had no choice but to stay where he was.
Forget it!
Frustrated, Chu Feng found a chair and sat down.
But the moment he sat, he heard a crack.
“Hmm? What was that sound?”
He quickly got up and examined the chair, only to notice that the floor beneath it had sunk slightly.
Rumble—
A low, heavy sound echoed out, and suddenly, a secret passage appeared before Chu Feng’s eyes.
A secret passage!!!
Chu Feng was stunned. He hadn’t expected to discover a hidden tunnel inside the palace!
Thinking it over, since the exit was guarded anyway, why not explore the passage instead?
“Heave-ho!”
With that, Chu Feng leapt into the passageway.
Thud!
As soon as Chu Feng landed, faint glimmers of light lit up along the walls of the secret passage, illuminating the path ahead.
Pretty thoughtfully designed, he thought.
Chu Feng followed the tunnel, walking for who knows how long, when he suddenly felt a breeze blowing through.
That must be the exit!
A flash of joy crossed his face, and he hurried forward.
Sure enough, a bright light appeared not far ahead. It was the cave’s opening!
A burst of strong light hit him, and Chu Feng squinted until his eyes adjusted. Slowly, he stepped outside.
Before him stood towering ancient trees, and birds chirped in the surrounding woods.
Bang!
Suddenly, a heavy thud rang out behind him.
A sense of foreboding swept over him. Chu Feng quickly turned around only to see that the cave entrance had been sealed shut by a massive boulder.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
He quickly gripped Little Bai in his hand and slashed at the stone. But aside from a few sparks, not even a scratch was left behind.
“This stone is insanely tough!”
Chu Feng then pulled out the Talisman. Activating it, green energy enveloped Little Bai’s blade.
Clang!
A heavy, muffled sound echoed. This time was better….at least it left a faint white mark.
“Seriously? What kind of material is this stone made from?!”
That had been one of Chu Feng’s sharpest strikes. As for why he hadn’t used his ultimate Three-Breath Sword Draw—
Using the Three-Breath Sword Draw would cause way too much noise. If he ended up alerting the guards, all the effort he put into sneaking out would be for nothing. He’d just get dragged back.
“Forget it. If I can’t go back, then so be it. I’d better focus on finding a way out.”
Chu Feng never imagined that it had barely been any time at all, and yet here he was, back to living a wilderness survival life again.
But thanks to last time’s experience, he didn’t panic this time.
Bear Grylls once said: First, find high ground or a river.
Closing his eyes, Chu Feng extended his spiritual sense to scan the surroundings. Finally, at the very edge of that sense, he located a river not too far away. If it were any farther, his spiritual sense wouldn’t have picked it up.
“If I follow the river, I’ll eventually find signs of civilization. Looks like I’ve really escaped from the Empress!”
Chu Feng couldn’t help but give himself a mental pat on the back for his quick thinking.
A short while later, he reached the riverbank but what happened next was completely unexpected.
Splash—
The sound of water. It was quiet, but in the silence of the forest, Chu Feng heard it loud and clear.
Someone’s there!
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes and focused on a patch of bushes ahead. The splashing was coming from just beyond.
Carefully parting the foliage, he peered through—
Ahead lay a crystal-clear pool. And in the center of that pool stood a graceful figure. What caught his eye first was the bold, S-shaped curve of her body.
Her snow-white skin shimmered under the sunlight. Waterfall-like black hair flowed across the water’s surface. Just the enchanting silhouette of her back was unforgettable.
“Who’s there?!”
Seemingly having sensed that someone was watching, the woman shouted angrily.
N-No… this is bad!
Chu Feng had accidentally become a peeping tom. He swore to the heavens that it wasn’t intentional! He had only come to check out the noise. How could he have known someone was bathing here?
Whoosh—
A gust of wind suddenly blew past, causing Chu Feng to squint. When the wind settled, the graceful figure was now draped in a red robe.
When Chu Feng saw that familiar, stunning face, his mouth dropped open in shock.
“The Empress?!”
It’s over. It’s all over. In that instant, Chu Feng was already drafting his last will and testament in his mind.
However, he soon realized that the woman before him didn’t have the same cold, imposing aura as the Empress from before. Instead, she felt more like the red-robed lady from last night.
Looking closely, he noticed that she was wearing a red dress. Not the imperial robes.
“Big sister?”
Chu Feng asked tentatively.
Ji Yuhuang stared at Chu Feng, a playful glint flashing through her phoenix-like eyes.
“Little brother, the first time we met, you called me your ‘wife’. The second time, you ate my dinner. And now, you’ve watched me bathe. Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
Seeing the red-robed woman raise her delicate brow, Chu Feng immediately responded with the deep bowing spirit of someone well-versed in staying out of trouble.
“I’m really sorry! I had no idea you were here!”
If he added a “Omae wa mou shindeiru (you’re already dead)”, that would really set the mood, but Chu Feng figured it’d be pointless. Even if he said it, the red-robed woman probably wouldn’t understand.
Still, how could she look exactly like the Empress? Were they twins?
“That’s exactly what I was about to ask you, little brother. What are you doing here?”
Ji Yuhuang asked.
“To tell you the truth, big sister, I accidentally found a hidden passage in the room, and somehow ended up here.”
Chu Feng explained, though he hadn’t expected to run into the red-robed woman again, of all people.
“I see. But just now, didn’t you call me… the Empress?”
Ji Yuhuang asked with a sweet smile, leaning forward slightly, her beautiful phoenix eyes locked onto Chu Feng.
“Uh… well, mainly because you look so much like her. It’s like you two were carved from the same mold.”
As Chu Feng spoke, he sneaked another glance at the red-robed woman. The resemblance really was uncanny. Not just the face, but the figure too. Especially that unforgettable backside.
“Fufu! You’re right. I am the current Empress’s twin sister. Ji… Ji Wan’er.”
Ji Yuhuang quickly made up a name on the spot.
In reality, anyone who knew even a little about the imperial family of the Great Yan would know the Empress Ji Yuhuang had no twin sister.
But Chu Feng had no clue about that. He’d only learned the Empress’s name not long ago.
So that’s how it is!
Chu Feng suddenly understood. The red-robed woman before him was the Empress’s twin sister.
No wonder they looked so alike, yet had such different personalities.
“Since I’ve told you my name, little brother, how about yours?”
“Me? I’m Zhang…”
“Hmm?”
“Zhang… ahem, Chu Feng.”
For some reason, Chu Feng had intended to say his name was Zhang San, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the red-robed woman shot him a sharp look, and he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out his real name.
“In that case, little brother, it seems we truly know each other now.”
Ji Yuhuang was now completely hooked on playing her little disguise. This clueless little husband was just too cute~
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