"Lord Hua, the Pavilion Master instructed you to wait here patiently."
The two, Lan Ying and Lan Tong, were the shadowy figures Lan Wuxie had sent to follow Hua Chongyang. In terms of martial arts, the two combined were only slightly better than Hua Chongyang, but in terms of imposing presence, neither was as formidable as him.
"I don't like waiting, I want to see it with my own eyes! Get out of the way!"
But these two were even more ruthless. They probably already realized that force wouldn't work, so they withdrew their hands, bent their knees, and "thump!" fell to their knees in unison.
"Lord Hua, Madam of the Pavilion Master, we know you are not to be trifled with! But before the Pavilion Master left, he said that if he lets you leave today, he would at least expel us both from Lan Ying Palace! Think about it, do you think anyone who has stayed in Lan Ying Palace can leave alive? If you take one step out today, to be honest, we will die right here!"
Hua Chongyang's unruly nature was immediately suppressed.
Lan Tong knelt on the ground, pointed to her bright red shirt, and used both soft and hard tactics:
"Madam, look! He's all dressed in crimson. Since midnight, half the palace disciples have been sent out to prepare for their weddings. The Pavilion Master will definitely be back on time. Don't you trust him?"
Hua Chongyang didn't reply, but he felt uneasy.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Lan Wuxie; it was that she didn't trust that old fox, Situ Yebai. If Situ Yebai were merely cunning, it wouldn't be so bad—after all, everyone makes mistakes; but Situ Yebai's composure and demeanor were excessive, coupled with his frequent absent-mindedness, leading him to mistake people for others. Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Hua Chongyang somehow felt that the man was somewhat insane.
Then he recalled what Lan Wuxie had said last night—the underground treasure map tattooed on his body.
No matter how you look at it, it makes you uneasy.
She frowned and waved to Lan Ying and Lan Tong:
"It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. Forget it, get up."
At the doorway, Lan Yu looked at her with a grin:
"Madam, why don't you go inside and have some breakfast first?"
"Um."
Hua Chongyang glanced at him, then absentmindedly entered the room. Shortly after, breakfast was brought, and she ate a little before calling Lan Yu over.
"Take it away. I didn't sleep well last night and need to nap a little longer. Don't come in and disturb me."
Lan Yu nodded and left.
Hua Chongyang rolled up his sleeves, pushed open the back window, and with a slight push of his palm, removed the window frame. He then flipped over and jumped out of the back window, soaring across the lake and vaulting over the back wall along the corridor.
The only place to guess where Situ Yebai met was somewhere else.
Hua Chongyang went straight to the orchids and irises on the bank.
To everyone's surprise, as soon as they arrived, they saw Bai Lu, Liu Dahuang, San Chu San, and Ye Laoqi coming out from inside. They were both surprised and delighted to see Hua Chongyang.
"OP!"
"Sister Liu, Sister Huang, what are you doing here?"
"Judging from yesterday's events, Situ Yebai and Lan Wuxie were bound to have a fierce battle. We were worried, so we sent people to gather information. We heard that Lan Wuxie and Situ Yebai were meeting here, but when we arrived, they were already gone. Luckily, you didn't go!"
"Do you know where they went?"
"I don't know. One of our men came back to report, and another followed, but we haven't heard from him yet."
Hua Chongyang was immediately disheartened.
It seems Lan Wuxie first met Situ Yebai at Anzhitinglan, and then they went together to the location of the underground vault. Such a secret place, how are they going to find it now?
Just as the group was worrying, someone else came up and whispered in Liu Da's ear. Hua Chongyang recognized him as one of Liu Da's spies, and sure enough, after they finished speaking, Liu Da frowned and said:
Where did Rong Chenfei fly?
Hua Chongyang couldn't wait any longer and directly grabbed the spy:
"Did they go to Lake Moon Villa?"
"I don't know about that. I followed Pavilion Master Lan and Situ Yebai and their group, circling around and around, from inside the city to the foot of the mountain outside the city. We kept going around and around until we lost them, so we had to turn back. But then I saw Bo Jiang and his group at the city gate, rushing out as if they were trying to grab something, so I followed them. I kept following them, and they ended up circling around to the back gate of a mansion. I couldn't go in, so I just wandered around the area. The place was huge, with courtyard after courtyard connected to courtyard. I'd never seen anything like it before. But as I wandered around, I discovered that the front gate of that mansion was actually right next to the back gate of Lake Moon Manor, separated only by a city wall—one inside the city, the other outside. So I quickly turned back and told you."
After hearing this, Hua Chongyang turned and left without saying a word.
The group didn't leave the city gates but headed straight for Lake Moon Manor, then followed the nearby alleys to the manor's back gate. The city wall was a piece of cake; after scaling it, they indeed saw a villa's courtyard. The scout pointed to the shaded trees on either side of the entrance:
"The courtyard is lined with towering pines and cypresses, with shady branches on both sides, making it seem small at first glance. But walking along the courtyard wall, it took me more than half an hour to get from the back gate to the front gate. I have no idea how big it is inside. And strangely enough, there's only one character on the plaque."
Hua Chongyang carefully examined the plaque above the mansion gate, which bore only one character: "Huan" (宦).
It's neither an official's residence nor a government office; it only has the character "宦" (official) on it. What's even stranger is that there's no stone eaves above the plaque; it's simply hung directly on the top of the lintel.
Hua Chongyang stared at it for a long time, unable to grasp its meaning. Bai Lu, who was also watching, said after a while:
"This character..."
"how?"
"The plaque is at the very top, and '宦' means official—could it be a veiled reference to the word 'superior official'?"
Hua Chongyang suddenly realized.
That's true.
If they were going to the underground vault, Lan Wuxie would certainly have led the way; and the appearance of the name "Shangguan" in the place Lan Wuxie went to couldn't be considered a coincidence.
Just as they were about to lead everyone towards the back door, a faint, slow sound of a door opening was heard: "Squeak—"
The group fell silent.
The surrounding area was filled with towering pines and cypresses, extremely quiet. Suddenly, they heard the slow sound of a door opening. In particular, the imposing gate standing in front of them remained tightly closed and unmoved.
Just as I was filled with doubt and fear, a faint voice entered my ears:
"These gentlemen here, surely Prince Ningjing doesn't find them unfamiliar?"
The group held their breath.
Hua Chongyang's heart nearly jumped out of his throat.
She knew that voice all too well—low, husky, and slow, its calm tone undeniably captivating, only now it wasn't so gentle.
Lan Wuxie.
They were right there in the courtyard.
87. Treasure Cave
Liu Dahuang, Sanbailu, Ye Laoqi, and others wisely kept quiet.
Hua Chongyang stepped forward silently.
A muffled voice came from inside the courtyard. It was Situ Yebai. From outside, one could hear low laughter, but what he was saying was unclear. She frowned, drew her sword, leaped over the wall, and quietly crouched down behind a towering ancient pine tree.
She peeked inside through the dense shade of the trees and was startled.
The high walls and gates of the mansion were surrounded by pine and cypress trees, which provided shade. Below the walls was a group of stone tablets, which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a group of tombstones.
Hua Chongyang couldn't help but shiver.
Suppressing the chill running down her spine, she carefully raised her sword and parted the pine branches obstructing her view to look down. In the center stood a tombstone, exquisitely carved from white jade with a magnificent cloud-shaped crown, yet the inscription itself was blank.
A stele without inscription?
Behind the majestic stone tablet, a cluster of white jade stone tablets of varying sizes stood.
Through the stele forest, a group of people could be vaguely seen standing at the back gate of the garden, with Lan Wuxie at the forefront. Situ Yebai stood on the other side, his hands behind his back, leisurely walking down the steps.
"So, the underground cave is right beneath this garden?"
"Hand over the map in one hand, release the person in the other."
Lan Wuxie stood at the top of the steps, far away. Hua Chongyang couldn't see his expression clearly, but she knew that his voice was as cold as ever, reminding her of the martial arts tournament a year ago when he first appeared, exuding elegance, wearing a golden mask, and with a clear, pure voice that was incredibly cold.
Situ Yebai waved his hand gently.
Two guards dragged a man in from outside the door. It was Anping. He wasn't tied up, but the two men held his arms and slowly walked him to the door. Anping's face was pale, clearly showing signs of poisoning. He called out in a hoarse voice, "Young Master."
Lan Wuxie didn't turn around. Situ Yebai turned around and half-raised his hand:
"Once you see the map, the person will be yours."
Lan Wuxie raised his right hand, and Lan Cao handed him a dagger. He took the dagger, and with a swift motion, he slashed open his sleeve, revealing half of his bare arm. Lan Cao then handed him a porcelain bottle, which he took and drank from. Moments later, a dark blue pattern appeared on his arm.
Situ Yebai watched quietly without saying a word.
A moment later, the blue tattoo disappeared, and Lan Wuxie lowered his hand:
"Even if I said it was a map, I'm afraid the prince wouldn't believe me."
Situ Yebai then chuckled softly:
"So we'll have to trouble you to take us there."
Lan Wuxie put away the dagger and walked silently towards the main gate of the courtyard. A group of people followed behind, with Anping and two guards bringing up the rear. Seeing Lan Wuxie heading straight for the gate, Hua Chongyang turned and gestured to the people outside the wall. They immediately and silently moved aside. However, although they clearly saw Lan Wuxie approach the gate and a boatload of figures disappear inside, no one came out from outside.
Could there be a secret passage here?
She looked around for a while and was about to go down to take a look when there was another noise at the back gate of the garden, followed by a series of figures appearing.
Hua Chongyang gripped his sword tightly.
The group was led by Cheng Sheng and Xing Yanshui, followed closely by a figure wearing a bright red cloak. Even from a distance, Hua Chongyang recognized him at a glance as Bo Jiang. There were two or three other people behind them, who silently headed straight for the gate and then disappeared.
Bo Jiang was indeed from Yanzu Valley.
Hua Chongyang gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound.
It seems they arrived quite some time ago, but have been hiding outside, waiting for an opportunity to follow them into the treasure vault. She had always thought Bo Jiang's target was the Yellow Spring Martial Arts Manual and the Azure Sky Heart Sutra, but who knew she even wanted a share of the treasure vault? Her appetite was indeed quite large.
After about fifteen minutes, Hua Chongyang finally jumped over the wall and gave the order:
"Sister Liu and Sister Chu, come inside with me. Sister Huang, Seventh Brother, and Bai Lu, you wait outside and see what happens."
The three of them quietly landed in the garden.
The pines and cypresses stood tall and rustling softly. The garden was quiet and deserted. Long, blue stone steps, covered with green moss, led the three of them up the steps. They discovered two side doors on either side of the main gate. Next to the left side door was a hidden door, about two feet wide and tall enough to fit a person. When opened, it revealed a dark and deep interior. Liu Da was about to go in when Hua Chongyang grabbed her and pulled her forward:
"I was first."
She entered through the hidden door and descended the narrow steps. Outside, it was April or May, but inside it felt like late autumn, chilly and oppressive. The walls were cold and damp, and every few dozen steps, a luminous pearl was embedded in a niche, its faint light emanating from it. She raised her sword and moved forward; occasionally, her wrist would brush against the wall, sending a shiver down her spine. The steps twisted and turned, and after an unknown amount of time, the hidden passage turned into a stone cave, with cracks appearing in the ceiling, gradually letting in a faint light. Hua Chongyang slowed her pace and listened intently, hearing faint voices.
He cautiously walked forward a few dozen steps, reaching a corner. Peeking out, he saw Bo Jiang and his group ahead, also hidden in the shadows. Further down, there was a spacious cave, like a large hall. Liu Da peeked out and gave a soft snort.
"That scoundrel Bo Jiang clearly wants to sit back and watch the tigers fight, then reap the benefits."
Chu San sneered:
"Who knew that the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it—"