The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 266 Skeleton

"Chongyang, pinch me quickly, I must be seeing a ghost." Chongyang was also shocked and speechless. The scene was too bizarre and overturned his understanding. The rat squeaked and moved closer to Yin Quan's feet again, and even rubbed against Yin Quan's calf. Yin Quan felt uncomfortable all over.

Although she didn't hate rats to the point of being unable to stand them, any girl would probably feel uncomfortable being rubbed against by such a large rat.

"Brother Rat, I know you like me, but could you please move away from me for a bit? I'm really not used to it." The rat moved a few steps away, looking a little aggrieved. Yin Quan breathed a sigh of relief. Chongyang looked at Yin Quan and said, "Since it can understand you, why don't you talk to it and see if we can go in for a quick look and then come out?"

Yin Quan smiled wryly. She never knew she had such a talent for understanding animal language. "Brother Rat, we want to go in and see what's behind the door, is that okay?" The rat shook its head at Chongyang, but nodded at Yin Quan. Yin Quan looked at Chongyang, completely bewildered.

"What does it mean by nodding and shaking your head at the same time?" Chongyang pondered for a moment, resting his chin on his hand. "It probably means you're allowed in, but I'm not." Yin Quan turned to look at the rat, which nodded again to confirm.

Yin Quan pointed to himself, "Is it really only me who can go in?" While Yin Quan was distracting the rat, Chongyang suddenly rushed towards the stone door. In a flash, the rat instantly moved in front of Chongyang and crashed into Chongyang's chest with a thud, sending Chongyang flying.

It crashed straight into the stone wall and slid to the ground. A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Chongyang's mouth. The rat's brown fur stood on end, revealing sharp teeth as it glared at Chongyang. Few in the martial world could knock Chongyang down with a single blow, yet this rat had done just that.

It did it so easily, so Yin Quan dared not underestimate it anymore. She helped Chongyang up and asked worriedly, "Are you alright?" Chongyang wiped the blood from the corner of its mouth and shook its head. "I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've fought this beast. I was prepared." Yin Quan looked at Chongyang, who was still eager to try.

She blocked his way and said to Chongyang, "Fine, since that's the case, let me go in and take a look by myself." Chongyang frowned, "No, if there's any danger inside, you don't have martial arts skills to handle it." Yin Quan shook her head, "I think with this rat around, I'll be fine."

The rat gradually calmed down, and its eyes looked at Yin Quan with a hint of expectation. It rubbed against Yin Quan's side, but seemed afraid that Yin Quan would be scared of it and did not dare to get too close. Yin Quan suddenly felt that it was not as annoying as it had been at first.

"You won't hurt me, will you?" The rat nodded. Yin Quan took a deep breath and looked at Chongyang, saying, "I see. Even you can't beat it. As long as it doesn't hurt me, I'll be fine."

As soon as Yin Quan turned around, her wrist tightened, and Chongyang's eyes showed an unusual firmness. "I can't let you take the risk. Forget it, we're not going." Yin Quan smiled. "Hey, did I say I looked that weak? Back in the day, I was a fearsome figure, okay? In court, so many people didn't dare to look me in the eye. How come I'm just a piece of trash in your eyes here?"

Chongyang looked at the bewildered Yin Quan. Although he didn't know what she meant, for a moment he seemed to see a different Yin Quan. The timid, cowardly, and infatuated woman was now like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley, confident and radiant, making it impossible to look away.

Seeing Chongyang staring blankly, Yin Quan waved her hand in front of him. "What are you daydreaming about?" Chongyang looked again and realized he must have been seeing things. This woman still looked timid. "Never mind, whatever you want. But don't say I didn't warn you." "Okay, go get help if you need anything."

Chongyang nodded, and Yin Quan arrived at the stone gate. The rat leaped and flashed in front of Yin Quan. Yin Quan felt a sharp pain in her fingertip and looked down to find that her finger had been bitten and was bleeding. She looked at the rat, wondering if she had contracted the plague. The rat gestured for her to put her bleeding finger on the wall.

Yin Quan hesitated for a moment, then placed her bloodied finger on the wall. A blue light flashed on the wall, and the stone door slowly opened. A blinding golden light burst forth, and the next second, Yin Quan felt a warmth all over her body. When she opened her eyes, she felt as if her body had sunk into a ball of cotton, soft, fluffy, and comfortably tight.

Yin Quan saw that everything in front of her seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist. The green mountains and clear waters were so pleasant. Yin Quan stepped on the green grass and felt as if she had come to a paradise. The sound of a flute in the distance attracted her attention. She followed the sound and saw a cliff in the distance, where a woman was dancing gracefully.

Every movement of her dance was like a willow swaying in the breeze, evoking countless thoughts. Yin Quan held her breath, afraid that even a slight exhale would spoil this picturesque scene. However, as soon as the flute music stopped, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from behind. The woman ran in panic into the depths of the woods. Yin Quan hurriedly chased after her. Deep in the woods, a pale-faced man held a jade flute, his face filled with grief and indignation.

The woman looked sorrowful. "Haoran, I will never betray you. I'm tired of the ways of the martial world. Please let me stay with you forever." The man named Haoran trembled like a leaf. His eyes were filled with intense hatred. "It's my fault. I couldn't even protect the woman I love."

The woman placed the man's hand on her cheek with satisfaction. "Haoran, I am satisfied. You gave me what I wanted most in this life. This trip was not in vain." The sound of hooves approached, and the leader was wrapped in a dark red robe with a ferocious mask on his face.

"Our master has ordered that if you obediently come with us, he will be spared a proper burial. He can forgive his heinous crimes. Otherwise, he will be executed on the spot." The man sneered, "Tell him to stop dreaming. He's capable of stealing a country and a wife. What kind of gentleman is he? Since we can't escape today, I, Haoran, am not willing to live a life of dishonor. My beloved wife, let's meet again in the next life."

The woman shed two lines of clear tears, but her eyes also held a resolute look.

"If you live, I live; if you die, I will go." The two drew daggers from their robes and plunged them into their own chests. Yin Quan hurriedly tried to stop them, but as soon as she moved, the scenery in front of her suddenly distorted. When Yin Quan looked again, there was no longer any green mountains and clear waters. It was dark all around. Looking around, she found herself in a closed stone chamber with a beam of light shining through from above.

The scene just now was like a movie playing in Yin Quan's mind, lingering there. She shook her still somewhat dazed head and looked again at the wall, where golden characters appeared. The characters seemed to be both Chinese and Sanskrit, floating up and down in front of Yin Quan's eyes, making her dizzy.

A buzzing sound filled her ears, and she covered them, feeling nauseous. The woman's face, a mixture of joy and sorrow, kept flashing before her eyes. Finally, the woman's face turned into her own, startling her awake. She looked in front of the stone chamber and saw a wooden box that had appeared out of nowhere.

She carefully walked over, pushed open the lid of the wooden box, and saw a skeleton lying inside. She was so frightened that her hand trembled, and the lid of the wooden box fell to the ground. The rat had somehow crawled in and climbed into the wooden box, rubbing its head against the skeleton, with a faint glimmer of tears in its eyes.

Who exactly is the person in this box? And what is their connection to this rat? It all seems like an unsolvable mystery. Yin Quan turned to look at the wall, and the words on the wall suddenly floated up and started to swirl around her. Wherever she went, the words followed her.

Golden characters kept imprinting themselves on her body. Yin Quan felt a slight tingling sensation on her skin. She lifted her clothes and saw faint golden shimmering patterns on her skin, like golden tattoos. No matter how much she rubbed them, the characters seemed to be engraved on her body. Could it be that these characters would be imprinted on her body like tattoos from now on?

Wouldn't that scare Xiahou Ying to death? The rat squeaked twice in a hurry, and Yin Quan looked up and saw the skeleton in the wooden box begin to gradually dissipate. A silver mist dissipated, and the rat's body gradually shrank, and its color began to change until it became completely silver-white. Yin Quan rubbed his eyes.

Looking at the scene before her in disbelief, the rat looked sorrowful, and a few tears even rolled down its cheeks. Even after the skeleton completely disappeared, the rat refused to leave. Yin Quan was somehow infected. If she was not mistaken, the person in the wooden box was either that man or that woman. But what happened to those two in the end?

"Do you know who's inside the wooden box?" The mouse nodded. "Is he the person from that illusion just now?" The mouse looked at her with a confused expression. Could it be that she was the only one who saw the illusion just now? The mouse chirped something to her, but Yin Quan couldn't understand a word.

"Forget it, I really don't know what you're trying to say. Now that your wish has been fulfilled and I've seen what I wanted to see, let's part ways from now on." Yin Quan clapped her hands and walked out of the stone chamber. As soon as she came out, Chongyang hurriedly came up to her, "Why did you stay in there for so long? What was inside? Was the Ancient Spirit Pearl hidden in there?"

Yin Quan rolled her eyes at him. "If you were the master of the manor, would you just casually hide something so important here?" Chongyang asked with some disappointment, "What's inside?"

Yin Quan scratched her head. “A skeleton… um, and some characters I can’t understand. They were just imprinted on me. Let me show you, maybe you’ll recognize them.” With that, Yin Quan began to undress. Chongyang suddenly blushed and grabbed her hand.

"I'm telling you, woman! Do you...don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other?"

"Hey, why are you being so sentimental with me now? Haven't you heard of 'people of the martial world don't care about trivial matters'? How can a grown man be so uncultured?" Chongyang said through gritted teeth. "Go home and have your Xiahou Ying take a look at it for you." Yin Quan suddenly realized, "That's right, if I let you take a look, wouldn't that be giving you an advantage?"

Chongyang felt a surge of frustration in his chest. His ears twitched, and he pulled Yin Quan into the shadows. "They're leaving. We have to get out before them." Before Yin Quan could even stand properly, Chongyang had already dragged her away at breakneck speed.