In the dim morning light, Qu Ling’er led imperial troops out from the mountain mist at the foot of Mount Meng, accompanied by Xuzhou Governor Liang Fang.
Li Shi stood with his hands behind his back, instructing Liang Fang: “Completely suppress the Secret Door rebels in Lu Family Village. If any resist, deal with them on the spot.”
Liang Fang accepted the order and led the imperial troops in a grand procession toward the village.
Suddenly, a huge explosion occurred, shaking the entire village. The tremor was strong even at the foot of the mountain, not to mention the visible shaking of the village in the distance.
“What happened? An earthquake?” In his panic, Qu Ling’er looked around, but saw that everyone was staring intently at the village at the foot of the mountain, as if seeing someone off.
Everyone knew that the intertwined underground passages beneath the village, along with the fear that had haunted their hearts and those dark days without seeing the sun, no longer existed.
Qu Ling’er turned around to find that Qi Lin had come to his side, and immediately brightened: “Brother Qi!”
Then his brow furrowed: “You’re injured?”
Qi Lin looked at his arm and dismissively shook his hand: “It’s nothing, just a small wound.”
Winding blood trails flowed down his arm, staining half his sleeve, finally drying on a string of prayer beads around his wrist.
How could that be nothing?
Qu Ling’er insisted on pulling Qi Lin aside to carefully bandage the wound, and only after confirming there were no other injuries on Qi Lin’s body did he smile with satisfaction. Turning around, he met several resentful gazes.
He saw that the scattered Tuduo Three Guards were all covered in wounds, some even missing arms or legs. Compared to them, the small cut on Qi Lin’s arm was indeed nothing.
Yet Qi Lin showed no shame, rolling up his sleeve high, proudly displaying the carefully bandaged white gauze as he walked by.
Chen Ling was so angry he gritted his teeth, thinking that if he had known this would happen, he should have let Qi Lin get stabbed a few more times last night. Then they could have had an even more dramatic scene of life and death separation today!
“Where’s Brother Su?” Qu Ling’er looked around but couldn’t find Su Cen, so he turned back to ask Qi Lin.
Qi Lin raised his chin and nodded toward the room without saying much more. Qu Ling’er looked around and saw that while people were coming and going in the courtyard, no one seemed to be entering that room—not even the Prince, who was waiting outside. Puzzled, Qu Ling’er slowly approached.
The room was still dim, and it took Qu Ling’er a moment to adjust his eyes before seeing the furnishings clearly. Su Cen was sitting by the large table next to the bed, staring blankly at a liubo chess set.
“Brother Su?” Qu Ling’er approached carefully, afraid of disturbing someone deep in thought. Only when he got closer did he notice that Su Cen was holding a white piece between his fingertips, which hadn’t moved for quite some time.
After watching for a while without understanding, Qu Ling’er finally asked: “Brother Su, what are you doing?”
Su Cen finally stirred, “I’m wondering if, after the white piece enters the water, there’s still a possibility for it to return with a fish in its mouth.”
Qu Ling’er remembered that Su Cen had once said the center position of the board was “water,” and now that central square was completely surrounded by black pieces. It seemed that no matter where the white piece landed, it was a dead end.
Qu Ling’er scratched his head: “Is that even possible anymore?”
After a moment, Su Cen shook his head and tossed the white piece back into the chess box.
The white piece’s fate was sealed, the outcome already determined.
Qu Ling’er helped put away the black pieces as well, and heard Su Cen let out a soft sigh.
“Don’t you think it would be nice if people could be like chess pieces—black is black, white is white, clear-cut, engaging in open and honest struggles?”
Qu Ling’er didn’t understand where his brother Su got all these reflections from and tilted his head in confusion: “Wouldn’t that be boring?”
After a while, Su Cen smiled inexplicably, “Indeed.”
He rose and headed for the door.
In the village not far away, the dust of conflict was rising. The Secret Door people, with no secret passages to retreat into, could only fight desperately. This was exactly what Liang Fang wanted—these people had made the citizens of Xuzhou homeless, and now he had the perfect opportunity for revenge.
Previously, the Secret Door had employed many times more people against the Tuduo Three Guards without gaining any advantage. Now, facing the same treatment from the imperial troops led by Liang Fang, they were being utterly defeated.
Su Cen found Li Shi and asked: “How’s it going?”
Li Shi gazed at the distant chaos, clearly confident, “Just a matter of time.”
He then turned to look at Su Cen and asked: “Are you better now?”
Su Cen embarrassedly rubbed his nose, “Lord Chen left so heroically. If he saw me like this, he would probably laugh at my lack of spirit.”
Li Shi smiled gently, “He wouldn’t.”
Soon, imperial troops returned to report that the Secret Door rebels in the village had been completely eliminated, but they hadn’t found the whereabouts of Lu Xun, Song Fan, or White Stake.
Su Cen frowned: “How could that be?”
Li Shi touched his thumb ring in thought for a moment, then said: “Let’s go take a look.”
By the time Li Shi arrived with his people, Liang Fang had already thoroughly searched the mansion inside and out. Seeing Li Shi, he shook his head, “We found another secret passage in the back garden, not connected to the chess game. They must have escaped through there.”
Led by their guides, Li Shi circled past the front court and middle court, finally arriving at the back garden. Su Cen leaned in and asked quietly: “Doesn’t the layout here look familiar?”
Li Shi nodded slightly: “Taiji Palace.”
Su Cen thought to himself that it was indeed so. Even if he had few opportunities to enter the palace and might misidentify it, Li Shi was born and raised in the palace and wouldn’t mistake the appearance of his own home.
“Are they remnants of the previous dynasty?”
Li Shi was silent for a moment, neither confirming nor denying.
The secret passage was behind the rockery in the back garden. What shocked Su Cen was that this passage was directly opposite the one he had entered before, yet he hadn’t noticed it at all.
Li Shi took the lead and was about to enter when Qi Lin gently stopped him, “My lord, let me go first.”
Li Shi didn’t insist and let Qi Lin go first, with Qu Ling’er following closely behind, then Li Shi and Su Cen, and Liang Fang at the rear to prevent any ambush from behind.
As soon as they entered the secret passage, a cool breeze hit their faces. After walking a few steps, daylight disappeared. Qi Lin lit a fire stick and distributed them one by one, allowing them to barely make out their surroundings.
This secret passage was different from those Su Cen had seen in the chess game. It was narrow and confining, with no murals on the walls, and the ground was quite uneven. In some places, only one person could pass through while stooping. If the previous passages were meticulously planned, this one seemed hastily made or abandoned.
After walking for an unknown time, Su Cen roughly estimated that if the secret passage was straight, they should have already left the village and be close to the foot of Mount Meng.
Qi Lin suddenly stopped and said: “My lord, there’s a change ahead.”
Li Shi led Su Cen forward, and by the light in Qi Lin’s hand, they saw that the previously narrow stone passage suddenly widened, filled with strange rock formations. These rocks weren’t individual pieces but long, cone-shaped structures hanging from the ceiling, looking as if they might fall at any moment and impale anyone underneath.
From unseen places came the drip-drop of water, sounding especially distant and ethereal.
“It’s a limestone cave,” Su Cen said after looking, “The ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ in the ‘Classic of the Southern Mountains’ records: ‘The mountain of South Yu has much gold and jade above, and much water below. There is a cavity where water flows in and out, emerging in summer and closing in winter.’ This describes exactly this kind of cave. These stones were formed by water erosion over years and years, like the principle of dripping water piercing stone. They must have dug to this point, discovered this natural cave, and used it as a secret escape route.”
Li Shi teased: “You actually believe the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’?”
Su Cen glared at him, “It was created by the wisdom of the ancients, why not believe it? Although some things don’t exist now, with the ever-changing world, how do you know they didn’t exist back then?”
“Then when you traveled according to the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ before, what did you find?”
Su Cen opened his mouth but in the end could only stop speaking sheepishly, saying irritably: “Are we going or not?”
Li Shi stopped smiling, considered for a moment, and said: “Let’s go.”
This cave was filled with strange rock formations, some as sharp as needles, others as flowing as curtains. At first, the group held some reverence for these works of nature’s craftsmanship, but after walking for a while, they realized that these rocks just looked a bit strange but weren’t really different from ordinary stones. Only then did they stride forward with confidence.
“I think I’ve been here before,” Qu Ling’er muttered softly. Seeing Qi Lin turn his head with a questioning look, he added, “These stones look familiar.”
Su Cen asked from behind: “When have you seen them before?”
“It’s what I mentioned before. When I was little, I lived with my master and Han Shu in a place where we couldn’t see stars. That place had many strange stones like these,” Qu Ling’er frowned slightly. “But I can’t be sure. Maybe other places have stones like these too.”
“The conditions for forming a limestone cave are strict, requiring both the right time and place. They don’t just occur anywhere. Moreover, even if they can form, due to differences in water and stone quality, the rocks inside the caves aren’t necessarily the same…”
Focused on talking without paying attention to his feet, Su Cen accidentally tripped and bumped his head on a stone pillar. His eyes stung, and tears immediately came out.
Hearing the sound, Li Shi turned around to see Su Cen crouching on the ground, hugging his head and whimpering, curled up into a ball. Feeling both sympathetic and amused, he could only stop and turn back to comfort him.
A small accident caused the entire team to stop. Since they had been walking for more than half an hour, Li Shi took the opportunity to let everyone rest.
Su Cen’s forehead was red, and it would probably swell soon. His eyes were rimmed with red, showing a rare pitiful appearance. Li Shi pulled him close and blew on it a few times. Finally, as if possessed, he leaned forward and gently kissed the swollen area.
Su Cen felt a momentary coolness, which was very comforting. Just as he raised his head, he felt darkness before his eyes as Li Shi extinguished the fire stick in his hand and leaned down toward a spot he had already set his sights on.
Su Cen’s throat moved slightly. He wasn’t as concerned about Qi Lin and Qu Ling’er, but he worried about Governor Liang behind them, who was already past fifty. Fearing that a careless action might startle the governor, he hesitated to push back, giving Li Shi the perfect opportunity to advance.
A kiss, smooth and secretive under Li Shi’s lead. Su Cen realized that since they had met at Lu Family Village, they hadn’t had a moment of peace. Now, taking advantage of this darkness to enjoy a moment of tenderness, Su Cen had just let down his guard when he heard Qu Ling’er exclaim from ahead: “Brother Su, come quickly!”
Li Shi frowned, the creases revealing his annoyance at being interrupted. He mentally took note against Qu Ling’er, then pinched Su Cen’s chin, exchanged a deep kiss, and reluctantly let him go.
The light was lit again, and Su Cen cleared his throat awkwardly before asking: “What’s wrong?”
“Brother Su, you were right. I have been here before,” Qu Ling’er was standing with Qi Lin in front of a stone wall. As Su Cen got closer, he saw a crack in the wall, about as thick as an adult’s arm. Qu Ling’er was pointing at this wall excitedly. “Brother Su, do you remember when I told you about playing hide-and-seek with Han Shu and getting stuck in a stone crack? This is that crack!”
Su Cen looked at the crack, which didn’t seem different from other cracks, and frowned: “How do you know it’s this one?”
“Brother Qi, help shine some light,” Qu Ling’er asked. With a bit of light, he reached his hand into the crack and, to their surprise, pulled out a shoe—a child-sized one, with its color so faded that the original shade was no longer visible.
“This is the shoe I lost when I got stuck here.”
Su Cen looked at the shoe and pondered for a moment, “So this means that this is the Secret Door’s original base. The Secret Door started from here, gradually expanded, and eventually infiltrated everywhere within Great Zhou.”
If the former emperor had listened to Chen Guanglu and led troops to suppress them, would this whole series of events have been avoided?
After walking for another half hour, they finally began to see some light. The group quickened their pace, emerging from the pile of strange rocks into a suddenly open area.
Su Cen and Qu Ling’er were startled.
Qu Ling’er circled around, “Brother Su, isn’t this… that cave from before?”
After looking around, Su Cen nodded. This was indeed the cave on Mount Meng where the bodies of Lu Family Village residents had been stored. He never expected that after all this circling, they would end up back here.
As they say, fate plays tricks on people; heaven truly does not deceive us.
The bodies in the cave had already been removed, leaving nothing particularly special. As the group came out of the cave, they saw a winding small path leading down, twisting and turning until it disappeared into the dense forest.
Su Cen said: “Following this mountain path down will lead to Jinghe Village where we previously stayed. From Jinghe Village to Chuanling County, and beyond that, the roads branch out in all directions. I’m afraid it will be difficult to pursue them now.”
“If I don’t go to the mountain, the mountain will naturally come to me,” Li Shi looked at Lu Family Village hidden at the foot of the mountain, gradually furrowing his brow. He turned to ask Qi Lin, “Was Song Fan interrogated when he was returned?”
Qi Lin nodded: “Since we couldn’t leave marks on his body, we could only use drugs. This person has an extremely strong resistance to various drugs. In the end, we only managed to get two words out of him.”
“What?”
Qi Lin said: “Chongde.”
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
![Flying Dust [Fei Chen]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/9k.png "Flying Dust [Fei Chen]")
