### Chapter 8: The Incident at Flowerless Palace (10)
Listening to the outrageous slanders being hurled at White Peach outside the coffin, led by Ren Dan, Fatty seethed with anger. He longed to leap out and argue with those bloodthirsty idiots blabbering nonsense.
But he cooled down and contemplated the dire situation he found himself in. The reason he was crammed inside this coffin? Well, it was probably because White Peach, sensing someone approaching outside, had panic- shoved him in here without a second thought, fearing his presence would be “detected” by Ren Dan and stir up even more unnecessary trouble.
He could imagine the chaos that would ensue once Ren Dan laid eyes on him—his prior admission of being affiliated with the Extermination of Immortals would only bring more trouble to White Peach. The accusations would be cannon fodder—traitor, consorting with the enemy, and all that jazz.
But could he just sit there and watch as White Peach faced this humiliation and was cornered by Ren Dan step by step until there was no turning back?
As a man, he couldn’t just act like a coward!
No way! He had to come up with a plan!
Just then, a symphony of clashing knives and weapons broke out outside.
Clearly, Ren Dan was not about to give White Peach a single chance to defend herself. She started with a flurry of moral high ground jabs, followed by her informants throwing around accusations of plotting to m*rder the Great Palace Master, all the while surrounded by bewildered members of the Flowerless Palace.
Without missing a beat, she quickly surrounded White Peach with henchmen. All they needed was to either k*ll her or force her into a public confession of guilt, paving the way for Ren Dan’s absolute supremacy over the Flowerless Palace.
This woman was truly a master manipulator, calculating every step against White Peach like a chess game.
He had been too inexperienced.
Lin Nan’s warning had been spot on, but did he heed it? Nope! He thought that as long as he had a solid plan, everything would be foolproof. Little did he know Ren Dan had set up a whole spy network around White Peach, knowing every little movement she made, just waiting for the perfect moment to knock her off her pedestal.
What became evident was that his terrible plan had gotten White Peach into this mess.
If that weren’t the case, the Second Palace Master wouldn’t be facing such a nasty smear campaign and life-or-d*ath choices so soon.
“Clang clang clang…”
The sounds of the skirmish outside grew increasingly chaotic, punctuated by the occasional scream of agony.
Fatty was anxious, and he pushed harder against the coffin lid. With his “self-sacrificial sword technique,” he might at least serve as a meat shield. Even a tiny bit of help for White Peach would ease his heart.
“Wahhhhh!”
Fatty curled up his body and began frantically kicking the coffin lid with his feet.
“Boom… Boom…”
The coffin lid finally trembled.
Fatty felt a rush of excitement, enduring the suffocation to push again.
But just then, he heard a loud “crack” beneath him.
It was as if he had accidentally activated a switch, and suddenly, the bottom of the coffin opened up, revealing a gaping hole.
With a startled scream, Fatty found himself losing balance, flailing as he fell into the darkness below.
At that moment, he resembled a bouncy meatball tumbling down a narrow, slanting tunnel, slamming into the rough walls as he went before finally crashing into a stone-paved pit with a loud “thud.”
“Cough cough…”
In that instant, Fatty felt pain all over—every patch of skin was scrapped, his bones a jumbled mess. Lying flat on the earthen floor, he vomited up a mouthful of bl**d and fainted on the spot.
“Drip drip drip…”
Fatty found himself dreaming.
It was a summer evening where he was strolling in a garden with a lovely, curvy woman, walking hand in hand under a gentle drizzle.
So romantic, right?
Occasionally, he heard the woman’s cheerful yet tender voice in his ear, coupled with the crisp sounds of their footsteps and the warmth emanating from his arm. It all left him feeling utterly enchanted.
But suddenly, a thought sneaked in.
Who was she?
The woman strolling with him in the rain—who was she?
Unable to contain himself, he pulled her into his embrace and lifted her chin.
The next moment nearly made Fatty leap right out of his skin.
There was White Peach, smiling at him, yet two streams of bl**d tears flowed from her eyes.
“Ahhhhh!”
Eventually, Fatty woke up, still dazed from the fright. He blinked a few times, realizing his hair was soaked through.
Looking up, he noticed the pitch-black ceiling dripping water onto his forehead, breaking into smaller droplets.
Sighing, he got to his feet, pondering his nightmarish experience that felt like a horror movie. He couldn’t shake off the fear, casting doubts on the existence of the Asking Dao Continent.
But now wasn’t the time to ponder deep philosophical questions, he couldn’t help but wonder why White Peach appeared so frightening in his dream.
Was she trying to warn him of something?
Struggling to his feet, he braced against the wall and cautiously moved forward.
The cursed tunnel was pitch dark,
only the sound of dripping water echoed as droplets fell onto the ground.
Why was there a tunnel beneath the coffin? He had no clue.
But before he fell, the battle in the underground palace left him worried sick.
He desperately hoped that White Peach could escape; if they left the mountain alive, they could regroup and find a way to save her. He feared she might not be able to swallow her pride and confront her enemies head-on, which would play right into Ren Dan’s hands, enabling her to tighten the noose around White Peach.
Though he didn’t know where the tunnel led, staying put was no different than waiting for d*ath. Even if it were a dead end, he was determined to keep moving forward.
d*mn it, if only the system interface wasn’t locked!
He could’ve pulled out a health potion from his backpack!
Now, his health bar hovered just above half, but luckily, his self-sacrificial sword technique had diminished his pain by fifty percent; otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
“Whew… whew…”
The tunnel’s temperature was dropping, and had there been a light, you would see the mist forming from his breath hanging in the air.
To his shock, it seemed this deep tunnel beneath the Flowerless Palace had long been abandoned—likely man-made, yet time had worn it down to the point it felt more like a natural cave.
He didn’t know how long he had been moving, but when he was just about ready to give up for the third time and lay down to accept his fate, a faint glimmer appeared ahead.
Upon seeing it, Fatty felt like he received a shot of adrenaline—he immediately burst with energy!
No doubt about it, that had to be the exit to the surface!
If he could just climb out of here and reunite with Luo Ying and Lin Nan, there had to be a way to rescue White Peach!
Fatty huffed and puffed, quickening his pace, feeling a wind carrying a whiff of salty sea air rush past him.
It had to be the coast!
He was over the moon.
But when he staggered around a corner, what lay before him left him utterly speechless.
He could hardly believe it—right on this island occupied by the Flowerless Palace, an astonishing scene unfolded before his eyes.
…
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