With a warehouse full of supplies, I stood alone as king in this chaotic world, gun in hand.

Inside the secret passage, Nangong Wu took out a shield and walked ahead. After walking about a hundred meters, there were steps leading down.

It's very dark inside, but fortunately there are luminous pearls on the walls that allow us to see into the secret passage.

The steps were very steep and winding, and at each turn, a luminous pearl hung on the wall.

The two exchanged a glance and slowed their pace.

This secret passage is so deep; there might be three levels of this dark prison below.

Nangong Wu raised her hand and gestured to Beichen Yan. The two leaned against the wall and walked down step by step.

Suddenly, the step she had just stepped on moved.

It's an organization.

"Oh no!" Nangong Wu grabbed Bei Chenyan, and the two of them pressed their backs against the wall.

But the hidden arrow they expected did not appear.

Suddenly, a loud "bang!" came from above, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Both of their expressions changed.

"Hurry up!"

They ran downhill.

"Thump thump thump..." A heavy rolling sound came down, and the entire secret passage was shaking.

Nangong Wu's expression changed. "It's a stone ball."

This secret passage is only about four feet wide. If an ordinary person were to come down, there would be no way to avoid it. Once the stone ball rolls down, the person below would be smashed into a pulp.

The Wan family is truly treacherous and vicious.

Fortunately, after they turned another corner, there were no more steps leading down, but they were blocked by an iron gate.

They had no way out.

"I'll do it!" Bei Chenyan didn't have time to think and slammed his palm against the iron gate.

"Bang!" The iron gate shattered in response.

As the iron gate was broken open, the stone ball rolled down.

The two looked back and saw a huge stone sphere, about the same size as the secret passage.

"Come in quickly!" Bei Chenyan pulled Nangong Wu through the door.

But upon seeing the situation inside, their expressions changed again. At the same time, they reacted by picking up the broken iron gate and using it to block the gate, holding it down firmly.

The stone ball rolled down and crashed heavily into the iron gate.

"Bang!"

Both Bei Chenyan and Nangong Wu felt a sudden numbness in their arms and involuntarily slid back a step, but fortunately the boulder stopped them.

"The Wan family is truly cunning," Nangong Wu gritted her teeth. "It's a good thing we didn't let Wei Yang and the others come down first, otherwise they would all be in grave danger!"

Bei Chenyan channeled his energy into his arms and suddenly exerted force, pushing the boulder behind the stone gate back.

The large round stone rolled to the middle of the dark passage and slowly came to a stop.

Once Bei Chenyan was sure it was safe, he lowered the iron gate.

The two turned around and looked inside.

Below is a large underground dungeon, with individual cells enclosed by iron bars on both sides. In the middle, there is only a passageway as wide as the secret passage. If they don't block the door, the large round stone will roll into this underground dungeon.

"Clang, clang..." came the sound of an iron chain being dragged.

Judging from the sound, it sounds like it's coming from a prison cell inside.

Bei Chenyan and Nangong Wu first inspected the cells and found there were twelve in total.

Just then, they heard footsteps coming down from the secret passage.

Bei Chenyan glanced at it and said, "It's probably Wei Yang and the others coming down!"

With such a loud commotion below, the people above must have heard it too.

"Your Highness, Princess Runing!" Wei Yang's anxious voice came from behind the large round stone.

"We're fine, you don't need to worry," Bei Chenyan replied.

Wei Yang felt relieved when he heard that they were alright.

"Your Highness, is there anything you require of me?"

"No need for now, you can wait there," Bei Chenyan said.

"Yes," Wei Yang replied.

"Who are you?" someone suddenly asked in the cell; the voice sounded like a man's.

"We're not from the Wan family; we've come down to find someone." Bei Chenyan strode to the front of the cell and saw a person sitting in a haystack inside.

When the people in the cell heard that they were not from the Wan family, they all climbed up to the bars.

"Young master, you must have triggered the mechanism inside that large round stone by forcing your way through, right?" the man asked again.

"No." Bei Chenyan shook his head at him. "Wan Sheng and his son secretly made dragon robes, forged the imperial seal, and colluded with Prince Jing to raise an army in rebellion. Now, the Emperor has ordered the confiscation of their property. I have come here on imperial orders to arrest the Wan family traitors..."

"This is me?" The man looked him over carefully after hearing his words, his face showing shock. "So you are His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Yes, my name is Bei Chenyan, and I am the Crown Prince of Nanqi Kingdom." Bei Chenyan glanced at the prison and continued, "The Wan family father and son said they imprisoned my mother here..."

Before he could finish speaking, a hoarse, aged voice came from inside the cell, "Yan'er, you are my Yan'er..."

Bei Chenyan suddenly turned around and walked inside following the sound.

Nangong Wu followed.

In the innermost cell, a withered hand wearing handcuffs protruded from the bars.

Looking at that hand, Bei Chenyan felt as if his heart had been pierced by a needle, the pain making him feel suffocated.

Nangong Wu looked at the person inside. His hands and feet were cuffed with iron chains, his hair was a mess like a chicken coop, covering most of his face, and the clothes he was wearing were so dirty that their original color could not be seen, and they also gave off a foul stench.

Bei Chenyan opened his mouth, but it was as if his throat was blocked by a wad of cotton, and he couldn't make a sound.

He slowly squatted down, looking directly at the person inside, his eyes bloodshot.

"Yan'er, you are my Yan'er, aren't you..." The withered hand inside trembled as it touched his face, and the cloudy eyes stared intently at his face through the messy hair.

"Yes, Mother..." Bei Chenyan's voice was hoarse and low, as if he was trying his best to suppress something.

"Yan'er, your mother thought she would never see you again..." Empress Wan's voice choked with sobs.

Seeing this scene, Nangong Wu felt a pang of sadness.

His mother was only forty-five years old, yet she was tormented by her own family to the point that she looked like an old woman in her sixties or seventies.

If they hadn't come looking for us, we probably wouldn't have been able to leave this place even until our deaths.

"Now that Her Majesty the Empress has been found, let's leave here first and then talk," she advised.

"Your Highness, we were captured and imprisoned here by the Wan family. Please, please save us!"

The people in the other cells pleaded.

"Mother, I will take you out." Bei Chenyan held the withered face on his hand.

"Alright." Empress Wan nodded. "How is your father now?"

"Father is fine. We can talk after you leave." Bei Chenyan helped her up through the iron bars.

Nangong Wu took out a pistol, shot it, broke the iron lock, and opened the cell door.

"Mother, please be careful." Bei Chenyan bent down and entered the prison cell, helping Empress Wan out.