Chapter 302 A different world
Seeing that Zhao Ji rarely boasted like this, Shangguan Wan'er naturally did not try to tear him down. Instead, she responded in a gentle manner: "Okay, okay, you are the best! Now that Huan Bin has left, I have to go see His Majesty. Are you also going to take this opportunity to leave the palace?"

Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment and did not nod immediately. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "As I said just now, Huan Bin is a smart guy. He may have left some people here, waiting for the opportunity. You go see His Majesty first. I will wait for a while and then act according to the situation."

Shangguan Wan'er saw Zhao Ji being so cautious and nodded in approval: "Okay, be careful!"

A moment later, Shangguan Wan'er brought a few servants to Wu Zetian's bedroom.

And sure enough, there were a few Qianniu Guards left in the dark outside, observing secretly.

However, the hiding skills of these guards were nothing but a joke in Zhao Ji's eyes. He easily avoided all sights and quietly escaped from the most stringent search range of Qianniu Guards.

But Huan Bin was determined to capture Zhao Ji. Moreover, since assassins had invaded the imperial palace, he should be on high alert both publicly and privately, so he took advantage of the situation and deployed people everywhere along the way.

However, with Zhao Ji's skills in lightness and concealment, he was not helpless. Whenever he met the patrolling Qianniu Guards, he would naturally take a detour and go to the blind spots of the search.

In this way, Zhao Ji naturally walked to an area where the search and patrol were the weakest, which happened to be next to a courtyard that had been vacant for a long time.

Zhao Ji did not take this matter seriously at first, thinking that he would be able to leave the palace smoothly. Unexpectedly, he encountered a puzzling incident.

After walking two more steps, they suddenly saw many more Qianniu Guards nearby, surrounding the side hall.

They looked solemn, were fully armed, and were obviously in a state of high alert.

Zhao Ji witnessed this scene, and a wave of shock surged in his heart. He secretly thought: "Is Huan Bin so powerful? Is he deliberately exposing his flaws to lure me to this weak point and then catch me in the trap?"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but take a breath, secretly thanking himself for being alert and ready to evacuate at any time.

However, when he looked carefully again and looked for a way to retreat, he found something strange again, and everything seemed to become confusing again.

It turned out that these Qianniu Guards were standing at various intersections in a high-profile manner, without any intention of hiding.

This abnormal behavior actually dispelled Zhao Ji's doubts.

"If it was really a bait, why would it be so blatant?" He thought to himself and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He felt that he was indeed too nervous tonight and was just scaring himself.

Just as he was about to leave quietly, Zhao Ji took a quick glance and saw that among these Qianniu Guards there was actually Huan Bin's most trusted confidant.

This person used to stay by Huan Bin's side all the time, but at such a critical moment he is standing here idle, like an idiot. It's really strange!

Zhao Ji quickly stopped and hid where he was. After thinking for a moment, he immediately understood what was going on.

"It turns out there is another mystery in this yard!"

These Qianniu Guards did not come for Zhao Ji, but came for this inconspicuous courtyard.

Most of these Qianniu guards were Huan Bin's confidants. They surrounded the courtyard quietly and stood at various intersections.

This was to indicate that there were people searching nearby, and also to separate the idle Qianniu Guards from the courtyard to prevent anyone from accidentally discovering the secret!

After understanding this, Zhao Ji suddenly felt itchy and wanted to go into the yard to investigate.

So, he found a more secluded location and quietly observed the movements around him, while secretly regulating his breathing to keep himself in the best condition.

As time passed, the night seemed to grow darker.

Soon, several Qianniu Guards came searching aimlessly. Huan Bin's confidant, who was leading the group, stepped forward and tried to persuade them to leave, saying that they had already searched the place and asked them to help elsewhere.

In the blink of an eye, Huan Bin's confidant left his position with a few of his men, giving Zhao Ji the opportunity.

He stretched out his body, quietly avoiding the sight of the remaining guards, flashed away, and finally landed steadily in the courtyard. After successfully sneaking into the courtyard, the high walls and doors blocked the Qianniu guards outside the door. Zhao Ji glanced around the courtyard with confidence.

I didn't see anything. There were just some ordinary flowers and plants in the yard, nothing special.

In Zhao Ji's memory, this place has been idle since he entered the palace as a Qianniu Guard, and few people would come here on weekdays.

Maybe this is the reason why the snake spirit has set its sights on this place?
Zhao Ji moved quietly towards the house in the courtyard.

I pushed the front door gently but it didn't budge. I looked again and saw that it was locked.

There were people outside, and Zhao Ji was afraid of making noise and couldn't open the door violently. He could only put down the rusty copper lock and turned to check the two windows.

At this point, another clue was discovered. It turned out that the windows on both sides were slightly different, and one of them seemed to have just been opened by someone.

Zhao Ji was delighted, he gently pushed the window and went in.

The room was pitch black, and Zhao Ji relied on his keen intuition to slowly grope forward in the darkness.

He carefully avoided objects that might make noises, for fear of alerting the guards outside.

As his vision gradually adjusted, Zhao Ji discovered that although the interior furnishings of the room were simple, they were arranged in an orderly manner. It seemed that someone had lived here before, but it had been some time.

He was now even more certain that there must be some unspeakable secret here.

Zhao Ji walked quietly to the center of the room, trying to find possible clues or mechanisms.

But it was not broad daylight and there were people outside. He did not dare to move rashly for fear of disturbing the peace of the outside world. He could not help feeling anxious and confused.

He forced himself to calm down, frowning, thinking to himself: "What kind of mechanism could this place have? From the outside, the structure of the house is very flimsy, and it doesn't look like it can hide a secret room. Luohe is magical, if it is to be used in the palace, it will probably be a tunnel, right?"

Thinking of this, a sharp light flashed in Zhao Ji's eyes, and he immediately squatted down, carefully groping and searching on the ground.

At this moment, Zhao Ji's hand accidentally touched a slightly raised stone slab on the ground. The slight touch made him immediately alert.

He squatted down and carefully examined the stone slab in the faint moonlight coming in from the window.

He looked closely at the stone slab in the thin moonlight that leaked in from the window. He saw that its edge was slightly raised, which was very inconsistent with the surrounding floor tiles, and a tiny gap was faintly visible in the center.

Obviously someone just moved here!

Zhao Ji's mind moved, this might be the mechanism leading to the underground secret room.

He took a deep breath, held his breath, and slowly drew the sword from his waist. He gently pried the edge of the stone slab with the tip of the sword, his movements gentle but firm.

There was a slight friction sound from the stone slab, and Zhao Ji moved the stone slab away, revealing an iron plate.

Zhao Ji did not hesitate. He stretched out his hand to grasp the edge of the iron plate and pulled it hard. There was a slight "boom" sound, and the iron plate opened. There was a deep hole underneath, accompanied by a cold and damp breath.

Zhao Ji's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up, and an indescribable excitement surged in his heart.

He quickly took out a tinder from his lapel and blew it gently. The flame instantly ignited, illuminating the way ahead for him.

Then, holding the fire stick tightly, he carefully stepped into the tunnel leading to the unknown.

(End of this chapter)