Chapter 015 · Thunder Strike
235 Words
Nimble as a jungle cat, Qingxia climbed the mast, leapt for the crest of the wall, and found purchase on a sloped tile. By instinct she twisted her body and, with a final explosive heave, cleared the battlement.
She slid a thin grapnel rope over the merlon, creating a rope ladder into the darkness. With practised ease, she descended to the outer moat.
Behind her, a patrol clanked into position, rifles at rest. Two stout guards passed commentary: “Didn’t see anything,” one muttered. “Maybe a trick of the lantern light.”
“Bah,” the other scoffed. “No lady nor ghost would dare storm this prison.”
Their laughter echoed as they trudged away. Qingxia’s throat tightened: They came once—but failed. Now they search the wrong gate.
She probed the wall for hidden entries. A loose stone revealed a narrow hatch beneath a stairwell—just big enough for her frame. Beyond lay a narrow corridor choked by dank air.
Nine hundred stone steps later, she emerged in a torchlit passage. At the far end, double oak doors stood, manned by two armored guards.
Beyond these doors lay Crown Prince Qi’an’s cell—her purpose revealed. And tonight, the line between war and peace would be drawn in steel and blood.
With one last breath of chilled air, Tang Xiaoshi—Agent 003—prepared to reclaim her destiny.
- Writer
