After refusing marriage, she was pampered by the prince who acted as a shield.

Chapter 483: A World Within

Black smoke billowed upwards, and finally, after the last piece of wood was used up, footsteps could be heard in the distance.

Lin Rusi wasn't stupid; she immediately hid in a more secluded corner and even grabbed a nearby stick, ready to give someone a good whack.

However, once she could see what the people looked like, she breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked forward.

"Madam, we've finally found you."

“I twisted my ankle, and I also found the carcass of a wild animal over there, as well as this piece of clothing.”

The two guards immediately separated; one treated the wounded man, while the other had his clothes soaked in blood.

Once the ankle was secured with a wooden stick, a mark was also found in the corner.

"This is indeed the hem of the Crown Prince's robe, but there are no clues whatsoever."

"It's alright, this tells us that he's right here, and we'll definitely find him if we keep looking..."

Before he could finish speaking, countless bright yellow eyes suddenly appeared all around him.

Lin Rusi had never eaten pork, but she had seen pigs run. She knew these were the eyes of a wolf and nervously clutched the hem of her clothes.

"It's troublesome."

"Madam, this wolf is very likely to climb the tree, so we can only hide you in a nearby cave."

"So what are you going to do? Block the doorway and prepare to feed it?"

This caused the two guards who had caught up to turn to the side and hesitantly say "sorry."

Lin Rusi guessed what this meant, gritted her teeth and let the two drag her away to another place.

To avoid being ambushed by wolves, they even jumped onto tree trunks several times to escape from above.

But the two had already exhausted themselves from the whole day, and dragging people in the rain only increased their fatigue. Finally, they landed in front of a cave.

"Let's go find some stones nearby, and block the door while we wait for the wolves to leave."

"But if the wolves keep watch on us like this, it's like catching a turtle in a jar."

Lin Rusi wasn't going to give them a chance to argue. She pulled out the signal device from her waist and lit it with a tinderbox.

The next instant, a faint light appeared in the sky.

"That's good. Let them handle the rest."

"Yes, Madam's thoughts are indeed more comprehensive."

Hearing the heavy breathing coming from behind, the two immediately pulled over two huge rocks and quickly blocked the cave.

The next moment, a claw reached out from the gap.

Fortunately, the gap wasn't large, only big enough for one claw to stick out, before the guard cut it off with a single slash.

"Alright, let's rest for a while. There's not much wood here, and I'm afraid we won't even be able to dry our clothes."

Lin Rusi felt her clothes soaked through by the rain and couldn't help but rub her arms, trying to get some warmth.

But as soon as it warmed up a little, it was shivered by the cold clothes and the cold wind blowing in.

"Madam, there seems to be the sound of water inside, and there also seems to be the smell of sulfur."

"Does that mean there might be hot springs inside?"

The guard nodded, then seemed to sense something was wrong. He tried to stop Lin Rusi, but she had already hopped and skipped into the room.

"lady!"

The two hurried forward, trying to shield the person behind them, when they heard another soft cry.

"There really is a hot spring, but the water is a bit murky."

"This must be due to the rain; the smell is really strong."

Sensing something was wrong, the guards used tinderboxes to illuminate their surroundings and quickly made out their surroundings.

They found only traces of human habitation here, but they were too faint and not very obvious to determine the identity of the person.

Hearing their conversation, Lin Rusi frowned even more deeply. Just as she was about to say something else, her fingers, which were about to touch the hot water, touched something sticky.

What did I encounter?

It wasn't very bright inside, and Lin Rusi had to bring her fingers close to her face to see the mud.

But to her utter surprise, it wasn't ordinary mud; it was covered in scarlet, as if someone had mixed blood into it.

"Madam, we don't know what's in the water, please don't approach it."

"I see."

Lin Rusi handed the lump of mud to the two of them, then pointed to the spot where they had been standing, and asked one of them to go down and check it.

But it was too dark inside, and after searching for a long time, Wei An found nothing except that one mass.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he struggled to his feet and shook his head at Lin Rusi.

"There are no secret passages below. Could it be that they've already left?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi suddenly felt dizzy and then collapsed against the wall.

But before she could even brace herself with her hands, the ground beneath her suddenly gave way, and she fell backward.

Lin Rusi reacted quickly and immediately called out the name of one of the bodyguards.

The next moment, her wrist was grabbed and she was carefully placed on the ground.

Feeling pain in my ankle, I finally came to my senses and nearly fainted as I exhaled a breath of stale air.

But she sensed something was wrong behind her and couldn't help but bite her tongue hard.

The pain brought Lin Rusi back to her senses, and she looked into the darkness inside.

What do you think is inside?

"I don't know, but there might still be people inside; the smell of blood is extremely strong."

But what exactly is this so-called secret door?

The three of them cautiously moved closer, hoping to get a better look, but it was already dark enough outside, and there wasn't a single ray of light inside, so how could they possibly see anything clearly?

Thinking about this, Lin Rusi hesitated and looked at the two of them, only to find that they were both very wary and would never allow anyone to go in and investigate.

After thinking it over and over, she suddenly stood up and looked at the seat next to her.

"I want to go in and take a look now. Are you going to stay outside and keep watch, or come in with me?"

"Madam, it's not safe here. If you go in, you'll definitely be in danger. Should we wait until more people come in?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Rusi felt that the smell inside was too strong, and if there were people inside, they would surely have lost most of their lives.

Since they've already lost most of their lives, they won't pose a danger to anyone.

Having thought things through, Lin Rusi ignored the other person's words and quickly walked towards the other person.

The two were caught off guard and immediately chased after the man, trying to stop him.

"Madam, the situation inside is far too dangerous. Who knows who might be inside? Please think carefully before you act."

"There was no such time."

Lin Rusi bent down to dodge the hand that was being reached out, but accidentally aggravated her wound and fell to the ground.

Worried that she might fall and get hurt, the two immediately stopped and carefully laid her down, then re-bandaged her wounds.

"Madam, please do not explore any further. This place is far too dangerous; it is highly likely that..."

"You think that such a strong smell of blood won't pose much of a danger?"

Upon hearing Lin Rusi's words, the guards fell silent.