Sealing Sword Chapter 6

Translator: Pal.vi

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Chapter 6: The Cave

 

The “Wanghai Tide,” truly lives up to its name.

 

As they neared the river, Ye Fusheng swiftly pulled Xie Li into his embrace and thrust his palm toward the river, intending to stir up a water column to alter their falling trajectory. However, his palm strike sank silently into the water like a stone sinking into the sea. Sensing that things weren’t going well, he quickly instructed Xie Li to hold his breath. In the next instant, both of them plunged into the river.

 

Water surged from all directions, far more turbulent than it appeared on the surface, carrying a force strong enough to destroy everything in its path. Worse still, there was a powerful undercurrent beneath, almost forming a whirlpool that sucked them in. Ye Fusheng tightly shielded Xie Li as the current swept them downwards. They were buffeted and tossed until they crashed into a rock, sending pain shooting through Ye Fusheng’s back.

 

Once the water pressure eased, Ye Fusheng, relying on his night vision, barely made out that they were in an underwater cave. The cave twisted and turned, with secret channels diverting the water, giving them a brief respite. As for the brute who was chasing them earlier, he was probably fish food by now.

 

His injured leg, after this ordeal, throbbed with excruciating pain, but Ye Fusheng didn’t even furrow his brow. He patted his clothes and found the brocade pouch still there. Then, he looked at Xie Li, who was struggling to raise his head from his chest, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

 

The little rascal had choked on a few mouthfuls of water and was now sitting beside him, clutching the Duanshui blade like a well-behaved, defanged hedgehog. Ye Fusheng couldn’t resist pinching his cheek and sighed, “I’ve seen people rushing to markets, but I’ve never seen someone rushing to their death. Tell me, Young Master, are you trying to emulate the Buddha feeding himself to the fish, or have you read too many tales and believe you’ll find a master’s secret technique in a desperate situation? Is that sword more important than your life?”

 

Xie Li held onto his Duanshui blade stubbornly, replying in a low voice, “Yes.”

 

Ye Fusheng shook his head, “You’re just like your father, stubborn as a mule.”

 

Upon hearing this, Xie Li glared and asked, “Who gave you the right to speak ill of the manor master?”

 

“You should be repaying a life-saving favor with the gratitude of a spring. Cursing your father twice is nothing! In fact, it wouldn’t be too much to ask you to call me ‘father,’ you brat! If I had a son like you, I’d beat you three times a day. Why do you love courting death so much?”

 

Xie Li, like a sealed gourd, clammed up, saying nothing further. Ye Fusheng, using the wall for support, stood up and looked around. In the dim cave, his night vision served him well. A cold, damp wind blew from somewhere, and after listening intently for a moment, he said, “The wind is coming from that direction. Let’s go.”

 

Xie Li sneezed and shivered while holding his Duanshui blade. Ye Fusheng rolled his eyes skyward and fished around in his soaked clothes, pulling out a packet of ginger candies that had been drenched in water. With genuine sincerity, he offered, “Make do with this, alright?”

 

Xie Li: “…No, thank you.”

 

Dragging his stiff right leg, Ye Fusheng grabbed Xie Li’s hand as they trudged through the watery cave. When they reached a cave entrance, Ye Fusheng crouched down to feel the moss on the ground and marveled, “Master Xie’s lightness skill is truly remarkable.”

 

Xie Li didn’t understand, so Ye Fusheng pointed to the thick moss and said, “Look closely.”

 

The moss stretched from the entrance into the cave, soft and overgrown, slipping at the slightest touch. Beneath it lay marshy ground, where even a small stone would immediately sink. Yet, on this mossy surface, there was a series of shallow footprints. Judging by the evenly pressed edges, it seemed someone had walked this path regularly, always stepping in the same spots, which had left these prints over time.

 

Who would frequently come and go in the forbidden grounds of Duanshui manor?

 

“The footprints head inward, which means there must be a way out if we follow them.” Ye Fusheng crouched down, “Get on.”

 

Xie Li hesitated for a moment, then strapped the Duanshui blade onto his back and resolutely wrapped his arms around Ye Fusheng’s neck. Ye Fusheng gauged the area of the moss, grinned, and the next moment, Xie Li saw his vision blur as his forehead crashed into an overhanging rock.

 

An insincere apology followed, “Sorry, I forgot I had someone on my back.”

 

Xie Li: “…”

 

He blinked away the tears, holding them back, but soon felt solid ground beneath him. Ye Fusheng had carried him beyond the mossy stretch, setting him down on firm footing.

 

The next moment, Ye Fusheng’s right leg buckled, and he collapsed onto his knee. Xie Li quickly jumped off his back, anxiously asking in the darkness, “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, you’re just too heavy for my knees to handle.”

 

Xie Li: “…”

 

The pain in Ye Fusheng’s right leg grew more intense. His knee and ankle joints swelled and throbbed with heat, sapping him of the strength to continue walking. He stuffed the remaining ginger candies into his mouth, pressed a few acupoints, and massaged his meridians. Only then did he reach out to grab Xie Li’s hand.

 

Xie Li clutched his cold, sweat-soaked hand tightly. In the pitch-black cave, unable to see anything, he could only follow Ye Fusheng’s steps closely.

 

Ye Fusheng sat down on the ground, glancing around. They were in a spacious stone chamber. The walls were polished smooth, yet marked with deep scratches. Directly in front of them…

 

“Young Master, take five steps to your left, and you’ll find a large stone. You can use it to reach the lamp.”

 

Following the instructions, Xie Li moved to the stone and found the lamp fixture, but it was filled with frozen oil. Unfortunately, neither of them had a fire starter, and even if they did, it would have been useless after being soaked in water.

 

“What use is this?” Xie Li tried but couldn’t remove the fixture.

 

Ye Fusheng pointed, “Lift the lamp holder a bit higher.”

 

With a click, accompanied by the sound of gears turning, Xie Li suddenly felt the wall he was leaning against flip, and he was pushed through it. In the next moment, the wall closed behind him as if nothing had happened.

 

Though young, being thrust into a pitch-dark, unfamiliar place without the only person he knew left him panicked. He frantically pounded on the wall and shouted, “What’s going on, you…”

 

His voice couldn’t penetrate the wall, which weighed thousands of pounds. On the other side, Ye Fusheng slowly pushed himself up, his gaze fixed on the wall ahead. From behind it, there came the sound of chains rattling—someone had stood up.

 

A woman. A very disheveled woman.

 

Her hands were bound by long shackles, which clinked as she moved. Her hair was a wild mess, like straw, and she wore a tattered robe, so thin it barely clung to her gaunt frame.

 

Ye Fusheng sighed, “A beauty once, but alas…”

 

With a loud clatter, a chain swung toward him. He caught it, but the frail-looking woman possessed astonishing strength, and he was nearly flung into the wall.

 

Like an eel, Ye Fusheng slipped his hand from the iron chain’s loop. His left foot pressed against the wall as he leaped to her back, reaching for her neck. The woman ducked, kicking backward, but Ye Fusheng grabbed her leg, twisted it, and threw her a full ten feet away.

 

With a crisp sound, the woman stamped her dislocated ankle back into place. The two chains shook and lashed out at him, as swift as lightning, arriving before Ye Fusheng in the blink of an eye.

 

It was too dark, yet she never failed to locate him precisely. Either she had a similar affliction to Ye Fusheng’s, or… she was just far too accustomed to this place.

 

The fierce wind from the chains rushed at him, but Ye Fusheng’s hands moved like lightning. Grabbing both chains, he flipped into the air. The woman was pulled two steps forward before twisting her waist, causing the chains to slip from his grasp, spinning like blooming lotuses, creating a blur before his eyes. Squinting, Ye Fusheng reached into the blur, grabbed one chain, and chopped down with his right hand as if it were a blade, producing a ringing clash.

 

The woman laughed loudly. “These chains are made of refined iron, difficult to cut even with blades, and you think your bare hand can…”

 

However, the chain snapped under Ye Fusheng’s palm.

 

Holding the half-chain, Ye Fusheng glided forward like a fish through water. In just a moment, he had passed the woman, wrapping the chain around her neck, forcing her to arch backward in pain.

 

The throat is a vital spot, but Ye Fusheng had no desire to be cruel. He tapped two acupoints on her body, shook the chain, and flung her aside.

 

His right leg throbbed with pain, and Ye Fusheng sat down, “Madam, we’ve fought, now can we have a civil conversation?”

 

“Get lost!” The woman propped herself up, but despite her effort, she couldn’t stand. She coughed violently, covering her mouth.

 

She looked up. Despite her disheveled state, traces of her once noble and beautiful features were still visible. However, after spending who knows how long in this lightless place, she looked more like a ghost than a human. Whatever beauty she once had was entirely gone.

 

“Is Xie Wuyi dead, or has the Duanshui manor been destroyed, to allow an outsider like you into the Wang Haichao?” The woman’s sharp eyes were like a hawk’s, filled with suspicion as she glared at Ye Fusheng.

 

Rarely did Ye Fusheng scrutinize a woman so impolitely. His eyes roved over her from head to toe, not missing a single detail, until finally resting on her hand—her left hand, missing its pinky finger, the wound jagged and old, as if it had been bitten off by a wild beast.

 

Their recent exchange had revealed she was skilled in using whip-like weapons, highly proficient in fact. Had it not been for the chains restraining her movement and her weakened body, she would not have been easily subdued by Ye Fusheng.

 

A woman with nine fingers, skilled with whips, from the Duanshui manor… In the martial world, only one person fit these criteria.

 

“It’s said that the lady of Duanshui manor passed away two years ago. Once an enviable pair of divine lovers, now only a widower and an orphan remain. What a pity,” Ye Fusheng said as he walked toward her. “But why is the supposedly deceased Lady Xie here?”

 

As he neared, he could clearly see every expression on her face. Her brows and eyes trembled uncontrollably, and the little color she had drained from her face. Pain flashed in her eyes. For a moment, Ye Fusheng thought she was about to cry, but then she slowly calmed down.

 

In this world, there are two kinds of people: those who can stumble into fortune even with their eyes closed, and those who choke on cold water.

 

The young master of Duanshui manor and anyone else meant nothing to Chu Xiwei. He had jumped into the water not to save anyone, but because that little brat was holding the Duanshui Sword… but someone intercepted him midway.

 

That person’s movements were swift, their lightness skill leagues ahead of his own. Chu Xiwei barely spared them a glance, intending to settle the score later, but before he could blink, they and the brat had disappeared beneath the river’s surface.

 

The river currents were treacherous, and after only a brief hesitation, Chu Xiwei protected his body with inner energy, adjusted his breathing, and let the current carry him. Soon, he was swept into an underwater cave.

 

The cave walls were damp and slippery, but there was only one set of small footprints, clearly belonging to a child. Judging by the traces left behind, the mysterious expert was still around, and the child was likely unharmed. At this thought, the tension in Chu Xiwei’s furrowed brow eased slightly.

 

Moving silently like a ghost, he crossed the dangerous moss-covered ground and entered a dark passageway. He pressed his ear to the wall and listened, detecting sounds of fighting not far ahead.

 

Decisive as ever, Chu Xiwei lifted his foot to move forward when a loud crash came from the left, causing the entire cave to tremble. Stalactites and rocks fell with a clatter. He hesitated for a moment, then lifted a stone slab, his body suddenly flattening like paper as he clung to the ceiling’s shadows.

 

The strange tremor came and went quickly. Chu Xiwei darted forward like a phantom. The left wall had partially collapsed, revealing a gap just wide enough for a person. He slipped through.

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T/N: I had some issues in real life and was really depressed these past few days therefore I couldn’t upload chapters but I will try to update you guys daily since I have more than enough chapters stockpiled. (⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)