# 373
**Chapter 373: Jialan’s Arrow**
Under the provocation of the ant queen, the paper figures in the sky seemed to be consumed by rage. Their pale faces twisted grotesquely as they whirled frantically around the palace.
Baili Pangpang, An Qingyu, and Cao Yuan pressed themselves tightly against the black palace doors of the Imperial Palace. Seeing the paper figures nearly lose control, their expressions changed slightly.
At that moment, a large number of paper figures on the massive pillars above them had noticed their presence and began approaching.
“Where’s Uncle Li?!” Baili Pangpang suddenly realized something and looked around.
“He didn’t follow us when we were climbing the stone slabs,” An Qingyu added.
Cao Yuan, hearing this, let out a sigh of relief. “That’s for the best. This place is too dangerous. His cultivation level isn’t high enough. If something happens, we might not be able to protect him.”
Baili Pangpang looked up. “What do we do now? More and more paper figures are gathering… Tsk, why aren’t they going after that ant queen?”
“That ant queen seems very familiar with this place. It knows where to avoid the paper figures’ attacks. It’s probably not its first time entering Fengdu,” An Qingyu said thoughtfully.
Cao Yuan stared at the growing swarm of paper figures in the sky. After a moment of contemplation, he placed a hand on the black door behind him.
“If it comes to it, we can hide inside. With Fatty’s chalk, we can get out anytime.”
Baili Pangpang’s face fell at those words, clearly pained at the thought of using his chalk relic. But compared to his life, he’d rather lose some treasure.
Cao Yuan pushed the pitch-black door open with force. A gust of cold, eerie air rushed out.
…
Lin Qiye carried Jialan on his back, quickly moving along the suspended stone slabs toward the red palace above.
He squinted at the top of the Imperial Palace, where dense paper figures circled the sky and the ant queen provoked them from the rooftop.
“It knows the paper figures won’t enter the palace grounds, so it’s fearless,” Lin Qiye deduced instantly. “Back when it descended into Fengdu two years ago, it must’ve figured out some of the rules here. Otherwise, it never could’ve escaped to the outside world.”
Jialan stared at the ant queen on the rooftop. After a moment, she asked tentatively, “Are you going to kill it?”
Lin Qiye nodded. “That’s why we’re here.”
Jialan thought for a moment, then reached behind her and took off a pale yellow hardwood bow. She drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, and pulled the bowstring taut with slender fingers…
Lin Qiye froze at the sight.
“What are you doing?”
“Shooting it down.”
Jialan aimed the arrow at the ant queen atop the palace. Her bright eyes narrowed slightly. Her blue robes fluttered in the wind as Lin Qiye ran. A faint white light gathered at the tip of the sharp arrow.
At that moment, Lin Qiye clearly sensed a strange aura gathering behind him, along with a faint pressure.
“From this distance? Can you hit it?” Lin Qiye instinctively slowed his pace.
“Don’t stop.”
With bow in hand, Jialan’s aura seemed to shift. She stared at the ant queen and said calmly, “I might not kill it, but I can definitely knock it off the roof.”
The arrow glowed with white light. Jialan released her fingers, and the arrow tore through the air, vanishing from Lin Qiye’s perception in an instant.
Surprise flashed in Lin Qiye’s eyes.
That arrow… was shockingly fast.
**Top of the Imperial Palace.**
The ant queen’s body, previously shattered by Mumu, had mostly regenerated. It clung to the carved rooftop, roaring arrogantly at the paper figures in the sky.
Watching the paper figures swarm above, wanting to descend but not daring to, it felt immense satisfaction.
**Whoosh—!!**
Suddenly, a white-glowing arrow appeared beside it!
The ant queen froze and instinctively tried to dodge—only to realize the arrow wasn’t aimed at it, but at the palace wall beneath it!
The arrow struck the wall instantly. Despite being made of divine materials from the Heavenly Court, the wall couldn’t withstand the arrow’s tip. Cracks rapidly spread across the surface.
**Boom—!!**
With a loud crash, the wall beneath the ant queen shattered. Losing its footing, it stabbed its scythe-like forelegs into the edge of the wall to stabilize itself, hanging from the palace rim.
It turned toward the direction of the arrow, opened its terrifying mandibles, and roared furiously at Lin Qiye and Jialan.
**Whoosh—!**
A second arrow screamed in!
Hanging from the wall, the ant queen couldn’t dodge as nimbly this time. Despite twisting violently, the arrow still struck its torso, the tip sinking deep into its hard shell.
The force of the arrow shook its massive body. Its forelegs were dislodged from the wall, and it began sliding down the red palace wall, claws scraping sparks as it fell.
It tumbled from the top of the palace!
Seeing this, the countless paper soldier figures in the sky surged downward like a frenzy. Their eerie auras linked together as they charged toward the falling ant queen.
Lin Qiye, now at the palace entrance, watched the ant queen fall past him. Immediately after, a swarm of paper figures poured down from above. Fortunately, the ant queen had drawn all their attention—none noticed Lin Qiye and Jialan.
“Your arrow pierced the Imperial Palace? What’s it made of?” Lin Qiye asked in shock, glancing at the damaged wall.
Jialan smiled and handed him an arrow from her quiver.
Lin Qiye scanned it repeatedly with his mental power. No matter how he looked at it, the arrow was completely ordinary—made of simple materials, even cruder than modern arrows.
This thing pierced the Imperial Palace?
“Is it your Forbidden Ruins?” Lin Qiye handed the arrow back, then frowned. “No… that doesn’t make sense. Forbidden Ruins didn’t exist in your time.”
Jialan opened her mouth as if to explain, but no sound came out. She quietly closed it again.
Lin Qiye turned to the black palace doors in front of him. He remembered Baili Pangpang and the others had entered through here.
He placed his hand on the door and pushed it open.