"Can we skip the pleasantries at a time like this?" I frowned. "Tell me quickly where His Majesty is, and I'll get him out of here. The rebels are about to charge in!"
"No need to panic, my personal guard is outside," the Empress chuckled.
"You mean those twenty-odd palace servants outside? You expect them to hold off cavalry? Are you kidding? They won't last ten seconds!" I activated my Qi sensing technique, scanning the hall. This Hall of Mental Cultivation wasn't large, and I could see its entirety at a glance. There was no back chamber; it looked like a big office, without adjoining rooms.
"Where exactly is His Majesty? Has he been transferred already?" I asked, looking around. All I saw were palace maids, not a single eunuch.
The Empress continued to smile without answering, her face filled with confidence in the twenty-odd people outside. I had no idea where her confidence stemmed from. Those rebel cavalry who had infiltrated the city were no ordinary footsoldiers. They killed the imperial cavalry with almost a single sword stroke, clearly well-trained elites. I even suspected this was a "ploy within a ploy" orchestrated by the rebel commander, aimed at taking down King Yama himself!
"Lord Wu, Lord Wu?" A palace maid peeked out from behind a nearby pillar.
"What? Do you know where His Majesty is?" I asked.
The maid pointed at the Empress. "This is His Majesty! You don't recognize her?"
I looked back at the Empress. "...You're His Majesty? King Yama?"
"Indeed, I am," the Empress replied, lifting her chin slightly, proudly.
No wonder there were so many female generals in the imperial army, and most of the commanders in the Underworld's bureaucracy were also women. It turned out King Yama himself was female. This was truly a matriarchal underworld!
Never mind gender for now, I was here to save someone. The rebels had already broken in, and the sounds of clashing weapons could be heard.
It seemed there was only one way.
"Your Majesty, forgive my presumption!" I said, then rushed to the palace maid who had peeked out. I grabbed her sash with my right hand and pushed her aside with my left. The maid yelped and started spinning in place. Damn, what a long sash. Her waist was so thin, it took her four full rotations to untie it. It must have been six or seven meters long.
Holding the sash, I darted behind King Yama and tied her up securely.
"Hey, hey, Imperial Guard Wu, what are you doing!"
"Don't ask, don't tell!" After tying her up, I moved in front of King Yama and wrapped both ends of the sash around myself, three strands horizontally and vertically. Just like Xie Bi'an had brought me from Lu Shun to Shengjing, I could still use the Gale Force Art while bound!
As soon as I finished tying the sash and was about to activate it, the female rebel cavalry soldier I had encountered earlier, sword in hand, leaped onto her horse and charged into the hall, heading straight for me and King Yama.
"Let's go!" I immediately formed a hand seal and took flight. I felt her blade graze past my head, a chilling sensation. I didn't know if it had cut my scalp, but fortunately, King Yama wasn't as tall as me, and her head was below mine, so she was definitely safe.
Carrying someone naturally slowed me down, but I was still traveling at near-supersonic speeds, far faster than the cavalry. I had no idea where it was safe in Erqi City, so I couldn't afford to delay and headed for the city gate. However, the gate was already closed. I scanned quickly and spotted the horse path to the left of the gate. As long as it wasn't a negative angle vertical surface, and had even a slight curve, I could ascend it with the Gale Force Art.
I leaped onto the city wall, flew down the rampart, found a gap in the rebel lines, and shot through, finally reaching Ring Mountain in one breathless rush.
Li Yuanhao's troops, who had been repelled by the rebels earlier, were resting on the mountaintop. Seeing him, I finally stopped.
Li Yuanhao was startled by the sudden appearance of two people, and the surrounding soldiers mistook them for assassins, drawing their swords.
I untied the sash and felt a soft weight behind me. Turning around, I saw King Yama looked extremely ill, possibly from motion sickness, unable to stand steadily. As soon as I let go, she collapsed to the ground. Since she was a lady, the surrounding soldiers didn't dare to step forward to help. However, they all recognized her and knelt in unison, shouting for her longevity.
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" I quickly yelled, afraid the enemies below wouldn't know I had brought King Yama here.