Tang Huan nodded and said, "By then, your hand should be almost fully healed." As he spoke, he screwed the cap back on.
Mo Xi asked, "Who usually takes care of the boiler room?"
Tang Huan immediately understood her meaning and said, "They are being personally looked after by the two elders. They should be extremely reliable."
"As long as you trust them. After all, the dust marks on this pipe indicate that we've tampered with it, which could easily give us away."
Tang Huan hadn't thought of that at all. She suddenly turned around and looked at Mo Xi, asking, "At what age did you start your training?"
Mo Xi paused for a moment before saying, "Five years old." After a pause, she continued softly, "I was still young then. What I learned most was not martial arts, but how to live in the darkness like a shadow. One of the things I learned was to eliminate all traces of my own existence at all times."
Seeing Tang Huan's gaze soften and her stare at her without saying a word, Mo Xi chuckled and said, "You are the biggest flaw I left after my debut."
Tang Huan withdrew her gaze and said softly, "If you let me go, won't the organization cause you trouble?" In her heart, she thought: So this is the kind of girl she is, who doesn't even deign to accept pity.
Mo Xi's eyes revealed a resolute look as he calmly said, "Things have come to this point, we can only deal with them as they come. Let's go."
The two jumped down together.
On the small boat, Tang Huan suddenly said, "You still haven't told me what your original surname was last time."
My surname is Mo.
Tang Huan repeated the name Mo Xi to herself several times, but then fell silent.
The next few days passed uneventfully. The two continued to practice their skills together during the day, and memorized the blueprints on the Wind-Tracing Lantern until they were second nature, so they could explore underwater.
One day, Tang Huan also reached the level of being able to breathe through his skin, so he practiced diving in the Lingbo Pool.
Two days later, Mo Xi's hand injury had almost healed. The two then practiced diving together. After about half an hour, Mo Xi surfaced first, followed by Tang Huan.
Mo Xi said, "We can't speak underwater, so we need to come up with a set of hand gestures to communicate, just in case."
Tang Huan naturally agreed.
Finally, everything was ready. The two changed into their best clothes and went to Tibet to explore the maze.
Although the pipe was wide enough for two people, the actual space was only enough for one person to dive in, so they could only dive one after the other. Tang Huan lifted the metal cap on the pipe and jumped into the water first, following the direction indicated by the Tang Xin relief. Mo Xi followed closely behind.
Mo Xi noticed that the water in the pipes was fairly clear, indicating it was probably running water.
However, there was no diving equipment in ancient times; there were no lights for underwater illumination, nor diving suits. She guessed the dive site wouldn't be too deep, otherwise the human body wouldn't be able to withstand such water pressure.
The hand signals they had prepared for underwater communication were now useless. It was pitch black all around, and after swimming for about half an hour, the current gradually became turbulent, and the two of them moved forward much faster with the current.
Suddenly, the two of them moved forward faster and faster, almost being swept forward by the water. Mo Xi couldn't help but recall her experience at a water park in her previous life, which was also a closed tube that curved down from a ten-meter-high platform and rushed into the pool with the water flow.
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly the view opened up before her, and with a splash, Tang Huan, who was ahead of her, fell into the water. Immediately afterward, she herself fell into the water, but fortunately the water was deep, and she did not suffer a tragic accident of hitting the bottom.
The two swam to the shore one after the other, climbed up, and looked around.
This place is structured like an indoor swimming pool, but it's not very large, only about 100 square meters. The lighting comes from a huge, semi-transparent glass ceiling. Fish swimming in the distant river can be faintly seen above it. The walls are reflected with constantly shifting light and shadow from the rippling water.
Tang Huan, not bothering to wring out his clothes, suddenly realized, "So the ancestors of the Tang Clan dug the Yao River not only to protect the city, but more importantly, to cover up this underwater palace."
Mo Xi thought to himself: The Tang Clan already possessed such a scale when it rose to power, spending enormous manpower and resources to build underground palaces and dig waterways. Its background must be quite profound, and its origins are far more complex than just a simple Jianghu (martial arts world) gang. Moreover, judging from the actions of the Tang Clan's high-ranking figures throughout history, they possessed a strong aristocratic air. Putting everything else aside, very few Jianghu gangs have ever built such a formidable structure.
Both of them are now quite certain of the existence of the labyrinth.
On the wall directly opposite them were three green copper doors, likely formed from the copper oxidizing after prolonged exposure to moisture, resulting in a coppery sheen. Without hesitation, the two chose the middle door, based on the location of the palace-dressed beauty on the lantern.
Mo Xi asked, "Do you think there might be some kind of trap or mechanism inside?"
Tang Huan said, "I'll scout ahead for a while, so don't get too close to me. Although your martial arts are good, your ability to adapt to traps may not be as good as mine."
Mo Xi nodded, leaving the arrangements to Tang Huan, the expert in government affairs.
Opening the door revealed only darkness, and Tang Huan couldn't help but sigh, "This is so different from looking at a floor plan."
Mo Xi chuckled, trying to find humor in the situation, but quickly became serious and said, "Wait a moment, I have a method. We'll keep a shoulder-width stride, count our steps, and remember the number after reaching the first turning point. Then, we'll calculate the actual distance relative to the original map. This will allow us to estimate the actual distance to each turning point. Of course, this method only works if the map is drawn to scale based on the actual underground palace."
Tang Huan said, "Okay. There's no harm in giving it a try."
This trick proved quite effective, but even so, the two inevitably got lost in the darkness and had to rely on the blueprints in their minds to find their way back. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any traps along the way.
Because they needed to maintain their awareness in the darkness, the two spoke very little. They walked for more than an hour. Since they did not encounter any traps along the way, and it was easy to get separated in the dark, Mo Xi took the initiative to hold Tang Huan's hand. As soon as their palms touched, she could clearly feel Tang Huan's breath catch in her throat in the darkness. Mo Xi chuckled and said, "This is the second time. Don't blush anymore."
Tang Huan did not answer, but in the darkness, Mo Xi clearly felt his hand return to grip hers.
Author's Note: Why do people think a cunning and calculating person can't be innocent? Can a scheming person be innocent? Although such characters are rare, our Tangtang is one. Especially since I don't really like scheming male leads who are only focused on manipulating the female lead. Besides, isn't this story tagged as "strong female lead"? Hehe.
As everyone has noticed, the distant river is also a foreshadowing element. The cat's foreshadowing is everywhere: weather, characters, scenery, architecture, and so on. It's truly a wicked sense of humor.
Uh, everyone, the mysteries are about to be revealed. I'm starting to get conflicted... For those of you waiting for a bloodbath, next week's episode will probably be completely different from this one. Stay tuned! ^^
Golden House
( ) The two walked hand in hand for about half an hour, and the journey was smooth and peaceful.
Mo Xi said, "We're almost there. We don't know what's at the end of the maze. We're not getting any more hints."
Tang Huan said, "Perhaps there are relics left behind by Senior Tang Xin."
"Yes, we can see light ahead."
Suddenly, the two felt the stone slab beneath their feet sink, followed by a whooshing sound as if it came from all directions. Thousands of steel nails shot towards them from the front, above, and to the sides like a storm. In the blink of an eye, Tang Huan rolled on the spot with Mo Xi in his arms, reaching a distance of ten feet, but instead of retreating, he advanced!
After a short while, the sound of steel nails hitting the stone slab gradually subsided.
Mo Xi said, "That was close. Luckily you reacted quickly! This trap is really insidious. The exit of the maze was already visible, and we hadn't encountered any obstacles along the way, so we couldn't help but let our guard down in our excitement. This trap was just a step away from the exit, waiting to deliver a fatal blow."