Fengcheng Flying General

Chapter 16

Junyu looked at the dazzling fragments and smiled, "Sister Shu, if I hadn't taken this medicine, I might already be dead. Although I can't move now, at least we can still talk, isn't that good?"

Shu Zhenzhen paused for a moment, then said in a hoarse voice, "I'll go find the best doctor."

Junyu shook her head: "Sister Shu, it's no use. I can only hold on for three to five more days at most. It won't make a difference whoever you invite."

Shu Zhenzhen looked at that extremely calm face. A trace of sadness flashed across that face, but she remained calm and composed, still smiling serenely.

Shu Zhen was heartbroken. Although she had only known Junyu for a short time, she had already regarded her as her only family. At this moment, she could only watch helplessly as Junyu lay there, her life slowly slipping away, and she was powerless to do anything about it.

Junyu looked around. "Sister Shu, isn't it already dark?"

Shu Zhenzhen looked at her chapped lips and her face, which was as white as transparent paper, forced a smile and nodded. She took a stack of bright red peaches and watermelon slices, which she had gotten from outside while Junyu was unconscious.

Junyu could now see the stone house more clearly. It was large, containing nothing but two stone chairs and a small stone table. The demon's belongings on the stone table had already been cleared away by Shu Zhenzhen and placed in the left corner. In the right corner, however, were a considerable amount of dry food, water, lanterns for lighting, and huge tallow candles. The left corner was piled with many strange and unusual items. The most peculiar was a very ancient robe, made of an unknown material, which stood upright without a hanger, topped with a golden crown made of gold and silver, weighing at least twenty or thirty pounds.

Junyu laughed: "Good heavens, this golden robe must be very uncomfortable to wear."

Shu Zhenzhen smiled wryly, "I didn't even know I had such a thing in my house."

Junyu recalled the look of deep hatred in Danba Shangren's eyes towards the Demon of Love, and blinked: "Sister Shu, this thing probably doesn't belong to your family, it should belong to the Demon of Love. This golden robe seems to be the robe worn by the 'Guardian Lama' when he descends to the gods."

The Demon of Love is truly formidable. It seems these items were willingly given to her by that Master Muli. Otherwise, who could bring such a massive collection of things from the "Holy Palace"? From the two mythical lions to the ox horns, the ancient robe, and some inconceivable vajras, it's a mystery how the Demon of Love managed to bring these things all the way here.

Shu Zhenzhen said, "There are many strange and unusual things here. If the Demon of Love hadn't captured me, I wouldn't have known that there was such a basement in Hanjing Garden."

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Chapter 32: Lady Flower Bud (2)

It turned out that on the very night Shu Zhenzhen took the Snow Pill, not only was the poison completely neutralized, but she also discovered that her martial arts skills had greatly increased. Without delay, she went directly to "Hanjing Garden," intending to hire some people to clean it up. Unexpectedly, that very evening, she fell into a trap set by the Demon of Love. It was then that Shu Zhenzhen learned that her home actually had a hidden basement.

The Demon of Love triumphantly tells Shu Zhenzhen that over twenty years ago, she obtained half of the secret map of the basement of Hanjing Garden from Shu Zhenzhen's father, while the other two were in the hands of others. The three maps, when put together, can unlock the secret of the legendary "Eastern Yellow Bell".

Years ago, the Demon of Love encountered Shu Zhenzhen's father by chance on the border of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Shu Zhenzhen's father was instantly infatuated with her, his soul consumed by her beauty. However, the Demon of Love abruptly ordered him to leave. To win back his beloved, Shu Zhenzhen's father gave her half a map, claiming it contained the secret of the "Eastern Yellow Bell." The Demon of Love asked for the other two parts, but Shu's father said that one was with his wife, whom he had never seen, and he had no idea who possessed the other.

At the time, the Demon of Love thought he was boasting and didn't take it seriously. She quickly grew tired of the man and ruthlessly drove him away. Six months later, rumors of the "Eastern Yellow Bell" suddenly spread throughout the martial arts world. Some said it was a vast treasure, others said it was a gate to the celestial realm, the foremost of the ten ancient divine artifacts, possessing world-destroying power. Soon, various groups, drawn by the news, arrived at Hanjing Garden, hiding by day and venturing out by night. Hanjing Garden suffered a devastating blow; the entire family, except for Shu Zhenzhen, perished.

With the massacre of Han Jingyuan and the gradual withdrawal of various factions who gained nothing, the rumors surrounding "Dong Huang Zhong" faded away. Meanwhile, the Demon of Love had already gleaned a clue. She remained calm, planning to secretly investigate after the martial arts tournament that year. However, upon reaching Henan Province, she was caught off guard by assassins sent by Fang Gege, nearly paralyzed. Afterward, she disappeared for twenty years. Once she had gained enough power, she immediately went to Sichuan, hoping to discover a treasure to expand her influence.

After the gambling tournament at Hanjing Garden, although Jiang Zhilin, sent by the Demon of Love, failed, the "Red Spear Society," which had long occupied Hanjing Garden, was driven away by Shu Zhenzhen. The Demon of Love easily eliminated all obstacles and immediately led her people into Hanjing Garden. Finally, with the half map in her hand and some clues she had figured out, she found this basement.

However, apart from these two stone rooms, some stone chairs, stone tables, and some strange objects, there was nothing else in this basement. Even the Shu embroidery cushions on the stone chairs were brought by the Demon of Love himself.

Both stone houses were made of perfectly smooth marble, and the wall between them was a huge natural rock. After repeated exploration, the Demon of Love discovered that this rock was a corner of a natural hillside within the Cold Landscape Garden. There were no other passageways in any direction.

The stone house was carved with very simple patterns, the craftsmanship quite rough, even inferior to the basements of some wealthy homes. The natural stone wall, on the other hand, only had faint, natural stone patterns. Upon closer inspection, these patterns could appear as many designs, or they could be nothing at all. Like the clouds in the sky, they could sometimes be seen as various animals, even palaces or hills, but upon closer examination, they were nothing at all.

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Chapter 33: Lady Flower Bud (3)

The Shu family couple had long since turned to dust, and the Demon of Love's only hope was to obtain another map from Shu Zhenzhen, the sole heir of Hanjing Garden. Thus, as soon as Shu Zhenzhen returned to Hanjing Garden, she fell into the trap that the Demon of Love had carefully laid.

In order to obtain the secret map, the Demon of Love treated the imprisoned Shu Zhenzhen very politely, treating her to good food and drink. However, no matter how attentive she was, it was useless—because Shu Zhenzhen herself had never heard of such a secret, and even when her mother died in her arms, she did not mention anything about the map.

Junyu sighed inwardly: Shu Zhenzhen's mother must have loved her daughter very much. She was afraid that having that map would only bring more trouble upon Shu Zhenzhen, so she never revealed a word until her death. Perhaps it was precisely because she didn't know the map or its secrets that Shu Zhenzhen was able to live peacefully until now.

Shu Zhenzhen felt a pang of sorrow and choked up, unable to speak: "Too many people have died in this Hanjing Garden... If... if you can get better, I would rather give this Hanjing Garden to someone else right away."

Junyu smiled slightly. The candlelight dimmed as the wick burned down to the very end. Shu Zhenzhen got up and replaced it with a huge candle, and the stone chamber immediately became bright again.

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Junyu felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, a wave of drowsiness washing over her. She slowly closed her eyes, unaware of the sorrow and despair in Shu Zhenzhen's eyes. When she opened her eyes again, she found the stone chamber empty, and the huge ox candle was almost burned to its end.

Junyu looked around but couldn't find Shu Zhenzhen. A moment later, the last bit of the candle wick burned out, and the entire stone chamber became a dark and silent world.

After an unknown amount of time, faint footsteps were heard in the stone chamber. Soon, a person fumbled to light a cow candle. In the lamplight, the person was Shu Zhenzhen, covered in night dew, with mud on her shoes. She looked hurried and was carrying a huge, messy bundle in her hand.

Shu Zhenzhen didn't say anything. She swept all the pills from the ox horn into her bundle, then picked up several strange medicine bottles and some small candles from the left corner and stuffed them in. Then, she opened the love demon's trunk, grabbed two pieces of clothing and stuffed them into the bundle, slung the bundle over her back, bent down to pick up Junyu, and carried the candles with one hand.

Shu Zhenzhen was already petite, and now she was carrying someone and a candle, so her movements were very strange and difficult.

Seeing her strange expression, Junyu wanted to ask her something, but her chapped lips couldn't utter a word. Shu Zhenzhen hurriedly came to the outer stone room, placed Junyu against the wall, and stood in front of the natural stone wall, carefully examining the stone patterns on the wall. Junyu followed her gaze, and upon closer inspection, the stone pattern faintly transformed into the shape of a human figure. Shu Zhenzhen put down the candle, stretched out her right hand, spread her five fingers, and pressed them against the palm of the human figure. She repeated this seven times, but the stone pattern remained completely still.

Suddenly, the faint sounds of fierce fighting, footsteps, and screams could be heard coming from the corridor leading to the basement...

Shu Zhenzhen was already covered in sweat. She tried again, but the stone wall remained unmoved.

The sounds outside suddenly subsided, and Shu Zhenzhen's heart tightened. She sensed that someone had entered the secret passage, but she couldn't hear any footsteps. Presumably, the person who came must have been extremely skilled in martial arts, and must have killed the group outside and broken in alone.

This ordeal reopened Junyu's back wound, causing it to bleed again. Shu Zhenzhen picked her up, her hands covered in blood. She smiled bitterly, "Junyu, I don't know how many troops have come outside. They're currently engaged in a fierce battle with those Western Region monks who have been spying on the area around Hanjing Garden. They'll be storming this secret chamber soon. I never imagined we'd perish like this in Hanjing Garden."

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Chapter 34: Lady Flower Bud (4)

She was filled with inexplicable anger. She stretched out her blood-stained right hand and slapped heavily on the stone pattern that resembled her palm. When she raised her hand, she suddenly saw that the blood had seeped into the stone and disappeared without a trace. Both of them saw a blur before their eyes, and they saw that the huge natural rock had cracked open into a small door.

Without hesitation, Shu Zhenzhen slipped through the stone door. Turning around, she saw a figure approach the door, but before she could even make out the person's face, the stone door closed silently.

The world returned to a deathly darkness. Shu Zhenzhen took out a small candle from her bundle and lit it. Immediately, the flickering candlelight illuminated the world outside the stone wall with a shimmering light.

Upon entering, there is a very narrow mountain path. After walking about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), there is a small stone pavilion, which is completely empty. Passing through the stone pavilion, as far as the eye can see, there is a long, dark corridor. Even in the candlelight, it is not clear how far it leads.

After walking a few dozen steps forward, there was a huge stone pillar on the left and a stone house on the right. Shu Zhenzhen reached out and pushed the door. The door was made of an unknown light-colored wood that emitted a faint fragrance. The door was very light, and Shu Zhenzhen pushed it open easily.

The house was not big and was empty, with only a stone chair and a stone table.

Shu Zhenzhen gently placed Junyu on the stone chair, let out a long breath, and then said, "I wonder if they can break through."

Junyu knew, of course, that the "them" Shu Zhenzhen was referring to were groups of people who were openly or secretly coveting Hanjing Garden. In just one night, they encountered three groups of people, including Pang Ban, Danba Shangren, and Qingmo. After several battles, coupled with Jiang Zhilin's escape and the departure of Qingmo's maids, the underground secret chamber of Hanjing Garden was probably no longer a secret.

However, without knowing how to open that thick stone wall, one cannot get in at all.

But how could Shu Zhenzhen know how to open this stone wall?

Shu Zhenzhen spread out the bundle and poured out a large amount of dried food and fruit, a large pot of water, and candles, clothes, and other miscellaneous items that she had taken from the Love Demon.

Finally, at the bottom of the bundle was an embroidered shoe sole. At first glance, the sole looked no different from an ordinary shoe sole.

Shu Zhenzhen said, "This was found in my mother's grave."

Junyu exclaimed, "Sister Shu, you...you actually went and opened your mother's grave?"

Shu Zhenzhen nodded.

Shu Zhenzhen's mother had been dead for over twenty years, yet the sole of this shoe remained perfectly intact. Junyu glanced at it again and realized it was actually a crimson jade-like object shaped like a shoe sole. There was a small hole at the top of the object, presumably for storing something.

Shu Zhenzhen said sadly, “Back then, when my mother and I escaped, she was wearing these shoes. Later, my mother died at the hands of Young Master Zhu. Sister Lan saved me and even took me to bury my mother in a very secluded place in the suburbs. I never believed that there was any secret in my family until I was captured by the Demon of Love and brought to this secret room. Only then did I believe that the rumors about the Eastern Yellow Bell were not entirely unfounded… My mother, for my safety, must not have told me the secret… Moreover, when I went out this time, I carefully examined the tree at this exit. That tree has been there since I was born, and it seems to have never changed over the years. It is a species that originally grows in extremely cold places, and its growth period is extremely slow. Now it is only as thick as a strong man's wrist. There are many such trees in this garden, yet the Demon of Love judged it so accurately. She must have a lot of information. I also went to the secret room to check her pile of belongings, but I didn't find anything related to this secret room…”

Junyu recalled the look of elation on Danba Shangren's face when he found that package in the corpse of the Love Demon; perhaps the map or something similar was inside.

"The Demon of Love said that my mother still had half a map on her body, so I had no choice but to disturb her spirit to see if there were any clues. After opening the tomb, my mother, my mother... of course, all that was left was a pile of bones... except for the pair of shoes my mother wore before she died, the other shoe had long since rotted away, but this one was like this..."

She took out a very small, thin piece of paper, its color ancient and worn, on which was drawn a map of the stone patterns on the wall. Once the patterns were fully revealed, a very delicate human figure formed in the center. In the picture, a hand was pressing on the figure's right palm, the very posture Shu Zhenzhen had adopted when opening the door. There was a dark red dot in the palm of the figure, and despite the passage of time, it still faintly exuded a bloody scent.

Shu Zhenzhen sighed, "This is what I took out of that thing. I never knew what this little red dot meant. It turns out that it requires blood to open this stone door."

Junyu suddenly asked, "Sister Shu, look, can this door still be opened?"

Shu Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment, then went to the door. Sure enough, the stone wall was tightly shut, with no possibility of opening it. The map only showed the way in, and this door was in the middle, so presumably the third map showed the way out.

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Chapter 35: A Beauty That Could Topple Kingdoms (1)

Shu Zhenzhen lit another small candle. These small candles were made by the disciples of the Demon of Love using pine resin from Tibet. Although small, they had a very strong light and were more durable and long-lasting than those huge ox candles. Therefore, even though Shu Zhenzhen had just left in a hurry, she had taken all the remaining candles with her.

Shu Zhenzhen picked up the candle and slowly walked towards the corridor. After walking for a while, she turned back. At the end of the corridor was a rocky area with no way out.

Junyu gazed at the long, dark corridor, then at the thick stone wall, where countless demons and monsters lurked in the deathly darkness.

The map from the Demon of Love only opened the first level of the secret chamber. Just now, Shu Zhenzhen used her mother's map to open this thick stone wall, but it's estimated that another map is needed to open the remaining stone wall. Now, where can they find the third map?

This secret chamber, which claimed countless lives, was completely empty except for some stone chairs.

Junyu closed her eyes, suddenly wishing she had died before crossing that stone gate. —That way, with Shu Zhenzhen's martial arts skills and her familiarity with the terrain of Hanjing Garden, she could easily bypass the various groups outside and leave safely.

Now, the two are trapped in this dark and gloomy underground stone house, their own lives hanging by a thread, which is not a cause for concern. But when the candles burn out and food and water run out, how terrible will Shu Zhenzhen's death be?

Shu Zhenzhen poured some water and brought it to Junyu's lips, but Junyu shook her head and didn't drink it. Since taking the love demon's drug and becoming numb, she had been lying there quietly, not feeling hungry, and not even feeling pain from her wounds.

This was the first time Shu Zhenzhen had seen such utter despair and sorrow on Junyu's face. Her dim eyes no longer held any desire or struggle for life. Ever since she met Junyu, she had stubbornly believed that this girl would always forge ahead, always be full of vitality, and always be full of smiles and confidence. Even at this moment, she would never want to associate such a girl with impending death.

She was startled, and a surge of passion seemed to rush to her head. She shouted, "Everyone says that the Eastern Yellow Bell has the power to destroy the world. I'm going to find it and see if it has the power to bring the dead back to life."

Junyu looked at the empty stone house. The Eastern Yellow Bell might just be a terrible joke. And Shu Zhenzhen might be yet another victim of this joke. For this illusory "efficacy of bringing the dead back to life," she even went so far as to open her deceased mother's grave. The only difference was that the other victims were driven by greed, while Shu Zhenzhen was driven entirely by a desire to save someone's life.

She closed her eyes, a tightness gripped her chest, and boundless darkness descended. Death seemed to be smiling down on the two women trapped in the stone house.

Exhausted, Shu Zhenzhen had been asleep in the darkness for an unknown amount of time. She got up and groped to light a candle. Junyu was completely unconscious, her lips, cracked and blistered, slightly parted. Shu Zhenzhen dipped a can of water in it and slowly dripped it into her mouth. She felt a slight warmth from Junyu's breath and breathed a sigh of relief.

Junyu's left temple was cut by Danba Shangren's golden scalpel. Shu Zhenzhen applied a purplish-red medicine that she had obtained from the Love Demon to Junyu's side. She had been applying this medicine for the past few days, and apart from a faint red mark, the wound had almost completely healed.

Although the superficial wound had healed, her internal injuries were unresponsive to any medication. Shu Zhenzhen sighed a few times, picked up a small candle, and carefully walked towards the deep, dark corridor.

This time, Shu Zhenzhen looked more carefully. There were many images carved on the stone walls at both ends of the corridor, including various figures, animals, and even flowers, birds, mountains and rivers. On a huge stone carving, the scene was a world of ice and snow. A monk dressed in a single robe sat cross-legged on the snow with a peaceful expression, seemingly cultivating something in a very strange posture.

She walked forward, looking around, and when she reached the middle, her gaze was drawn to a green silk banner on the left wall. She pulled back the banner, revealing a life-size screen underneath.

On the screen, a woman in palace attire stood beneath a hibiscus tree in full bloom. She was more beautiful than the flowers, her smile enchanting, her eyes sparkling. This woman was as beautiful as the Demon of Love; though she possessed a captivating beauty, Shu Zhenzhen, accustomed to Junyu's appearance, found this woman unremarkable. A poem was inscribed on the screen, but Shu Zhenzhen couldn't see it clearly at first glance and didn't bother to examine it closely, continuing on her way.