At 12:15 PM on Sunday noon, atop the wind-swept five-thousand-foot precipice of Cloud-Piercing Peak:.
With his silk robes torn to ribbons by jagged granite rocks, his knees scraped raw, his tailbone still throbbing from last night’s lollipop-wrapper slip at the bottom of Moon-Mirror Lake. His fingernails crusted with dried blood, Second Prince Qian Ye [Regressor Halo: 68%] finally dragged himself over the. Top lip of the cliffside road onto the entrance landing of Secret Realm #3: The Ancient Sword-Saint Cliff Cave!
Behind him, Royal Guard Commander General Wei and the twenty exhausted Eastern Palace Guards wheezed like broken bellows as they scrambled over the ledge.
Yet the instant Qian Ye smelled the rich, mouth-watering aroma of Boiled Hotpot Mutton, Roasted Cumin-Chili Lamb Skewers. Sesame Dipping Sauce drifting out of the cave mouth—and caught sight of a giant. Sixty-foot golden-and-red striped [Hot-Air Kitchen Balloon] untying its mooring rope on the outer terrace—his bloodshot eyes flared with manic, murderous fury!
“THEY ARE STILL HERE!!”
Second Prince Qian Ye didn’t even bother to wipe the sweat from his eyes or look down at the bamboo “WET FLOOR. WATCH YOUR STEP” sign sitting two inches in front of his toes.
Drawing his sword with a hoarse, triumphant roar, Qian Ye charged straight across the stone entrance landing toward the cave mouth while forming the activation hand-seal for his advance trap:.
