Chapter 57

The soft sound of the door closing behind him seemed to shut out the outside world. Inside the courtyard, the fragrance of the wisteria flowers was so rich it practically solidified, its sweetness tinged with a subtle chill that penetrated every pore of the nose, attempting to soothe or numb the visitor's nerves.

Gu Linzhi leaned against the cold door, panting heavily. Simply entering this courtyard had nearly exhausted the last of his strength. Cold sweat soaked his hair, slid down his pale face, and dripped onto the polished bluestone slabs beneath his feet. A faint blue chill seemed to stir in the wound beneath his ribs, invigorated by some invisible energy within the courtyard. Waves of pricking pain assaulted his nearly collapsed consciousness.

But his cold eyes, like ice-hardened blades, scanned the exquisite and almost weird courtyard sharply.

quiet.

Deathly silence.

Aside from the rustling of petals in the wind, there was no other sound of life. No maids flitted about, no guests chatted, not even a bird or insect chirped. This famed den of illicit pleasures in Jiangnan now resembled a meticulously maintained yet deserted mausoleum.

Everywhere you look, the pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing water are exquisitely designed. The star attraction is the wisteria, cascading from all sides, entwining the columns and covering the rockery, forming a layered purple curtain that obscures the view, making it impossible to discern what lies beyond.

Gu Linzhi's gaze slowly shifted, finally settling on the deepest part of the corridor, where the shadows were thickest and the flower waterfalls were densest. There, it seemed, was the source of the most intense fragrance.

He took a deep breath, and the sweet aroma filled his lungs, bringing him a slight dizziness. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, and the stinging pain and the smell of blood brought him back to consciousness.

Can't stay.

He loosened his grip on the door, his body swaying a bit before he managed to keep his balance. He took a quick look at the direction and moved forward, step by step, towards the main building.

His steps were weak, barely making a sound on the bluestone. His body protested every movement, his muscles and bones screaming as cold air coursed through his veins, attempting to freeze him. Only the faint spark of fire deep within his heart stubbornly emitted a tiny, insignificant warmth, keeping him from collapsing immediately.

Passing through a moon gate, the scene changed slightly. This was a larger courtyard, with a lotus pond in the center, built of white stone. The water was clear, but no fish were seen. Around the pond were more wisteria and other, unnamed, vibrantly colored and bizarrely shaped flowers.

Gu Linzhi's eyes flickered over the flowers, his pupils narrowing slightly. He recognized a few of them—red flowers with a vibrant, blood-red hue, small flowers with a strange metallic blue edging their petals... These were all documented poisons, medicinal, but highly toxic if used with caution. They were strategically intermingled with the ornamental plants, so inconspicuously that, were it not for his extensive reading and intense concentration, they would have been nearly unnoticed.

This Ningxiang Garden is indeed full of strangeness.

His gaze continued to wander, landing on a stone table by the pool. On it lay an exquisite purple-clay tea set, a trace of deep-red tea still lingering on the rim of one of the cups. Nearby, an embroidery frame stretched across it, an unfinished piece of embroidery. The threads were intricately colored, seemingly depicting a bird with its wings spread, though only halfway through.

Everything seemed so ordinary, as if the owner had just left for a moment and would be back at any time.

But Gu Linzhi noticed that the embroidery needle wasn't stuck in the thread or silk, but had pierced the stone tabletop at an angle, three inches deep! The end of the needle was still trembling slightly, indicating that it had been thrown out not long ago.

Also, the teacup was placed at a slightly awkward angle, with the handle pointing in a specific direction of the corridor.

Is it a clue? Or a trap?

Gu Linzhi's heart sank. Su Wanwan was dead, yet there were clear signs of human activity here. Was it someone close to her? Or... had the place been taken over by Cao Wushang or some other faction?

He approached the stone table with extreme caution, not touching anything, simply observing carefully. The needle's tip gleamed an unnatural shade of blue in the sunlight, clearly poisoned. The remaining tea in the cup exuded a strange sweet fragrance, slightly different from the wisteria scent he had previously smelled, making it even more eerie.

He looked in the direction the cup handle pointed. It was a more secluded path leading to the side of the main building. Wisteria flowers on both sides of the path blocked out the sun, and the light was dim.

Just as he was concentrating on observing——

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several extremely subtle sounds of breaking through the air suddenly erupted from the flowers on both sides!

It wasn't a crossbow, but rather silver needles as thin as ox hair! They were densely packed, like a torrential rainstorm, covering every direction he was in! The needle tips also shone with a faint blue light, clearly imbued with a deadly poison!

The attack came without warning and was extremely vicious!

Gu Linzhi's pupils shrank sharply! Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to dodge it easily with his physical skills, but at this moment his body was as heavy as iron, and his reaction was more than a beat slower!

There is no way to avoid it!

At this critical moment, his body, stretched to its limit, unleashed its final potential. He didn't attempt to retreat or block—it was too late. Instead, he lunged forward, tumbling to the ground in a desperate manner, while simultaneously using all his strength to shove the stone bench in front of him!

“Ding ding ding ding——!”

Most of the poison needles were blocked by the stone bench, making a dense and crisp sound like rain hitting banana leaves! But three or four still slipped through the net and flew past his shoulders and arms, tearing through his already tattered clothes and leaving a few shallow bloody marks on his skin!

A tingling sensation instantly came from the wound!

Gu Linzhi was shocked. The poison needle was extremely toxic!

He didn't dare to pause for even a second, and with the momentum of falling and rolling, he slammed into the lotus pond!

"Plop!" With a sound, water splashed everywhere.

The icy water instantly enveloped him, sending a shudder through his body. He held his breath, dove underwater, and swam with all his might to the other side. The wound beneath his ribs, in contact with the water, intensified the pain. The chill seemed to resonate with the water, madly drilling into his body.

Silence fell again on the water, as if the deadly attack had never happened.

Gu Linzhi endured the severe pain and cold, as well as the numbness and itchiness of the wound gradually turning into a burning sensation, and moved silently at the bottom of the pool. Fortunately, the water was clear, and he could vaguely see the situation on the other side.

Just as he was about to approach the other side, he caught a glimpse of something at the bottom of the pool reflecting a faint light.

He looked at it intently and his heart skipped a beat!

It was a woman's embroidered shoe, delicately designed, with a small pearl adorning the toe. More importantly, half-hidden in the muddy sand at the bottom of the pond next to the shoe was a small piece of lavender silk of a unique texture, embroidered with extremely fine, almost indistinguishable ripple patterns in the same color thread.

Yunze Club!

Su Wanwan had indeed left a clue here! Could this embroidered shoe be hers? What had happened to her here?

Before he could think about it, he heard extremely light footsteps above the water, slowly approaching the edge of the pool.

Gu Linzhi immediately withdrew all his energy, lying dormant like a stone at the bottom of the water. Through the swaying water, he saw two women dressed in the attire of Ningxiang Garden maids, but with unusually stern faces, appear at the edge of the pool, warily observing the water and the surroundings.

"After being poisoned by the 'Blue Spider Saliva' and falling into this 'Cold Heart Pool', I'm afraid he won't survive." A maid spoke coldly, her voice devoid of emotion.

"The master has ordered that we find the bodies, alive or dead. Especially that chest, it must be found," said another maid, her eyes scanning the water like a hawk. "Go and salvage it!"

"yes."

A maid jumped into the water without hesitation, her movements as skillful as a swimming fish, and headed straight for the area where Gu Linzhi had just fallen into the water.

Another maid was guarding the shore, holding a peculiarly shaped short crossbow with a green arrow pointed at the water.

Gu Linzhi's eyes were sharp underwater. He was in a very bad state at the moment. He was poisoned and cold, and his internal energy was almost exhausted. He had no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

Just as the maid sneaked up on him and hadn't spotted him yet, Gu Linzhi suddenly moved! Instead of attacking the maid, he used up his last bit of strength, kicked a protruding rock at the bottom of the pool with his feet, and shot his body like an arrow to the other side of the pool bottom - there was a shadowy area near the rockery at the edge of the pool. There were several stone pillars supporting the rockery underwater, forming a narrow hidden space!

His movements were extremely fast, causing a string of bubbles.

"Over there!" The maid underwater spotted it immediately and quickly chased after it. The maid on the shore also immediately turned the crossbow arrows around.

Gu Linzhi dangerously slipped into the shadows behind the stone pillars, her back pressed against the cold pool wall and the stone pillars. The maidservant in pursuit followed closely behind, but the gaps between the stone pillars were too narrow for her to enter immediately.

In this brief pause, Gu Linzhi's eyes swept over the foundation of the rockery beside him. There, due to years of water erosion, a non-natural metal pipe mouth was exposed, only the thickness of a finger, and extremely hidden.

This is…

He suddenly remembered that Su Wanwan had mentioned some of Ningxiang Garden's ingenious designs during a seemingly casual chat, including... underwater ventilation and emergency passages!

Without hesitation, he immediately moved closer to the metal pipe. Sure enough, there was an extremely weak flow of air inside!

He immediately blocked the nozzle with his mouth and took a greedy breath. Although the air was turbid and smelled of rust, it was enough to relieve the burning sensation in his lungs!

The pursuing maid tried to squeeze in. A cold light flashed in Gu Linzhi's eyes. He groped his fingers in the water with difficulty, and sure enough, he touched a raised, mechanism-like button under the pipe mouth!

He pressed it down hard!

"Click!" A slight sound of underwater mechanism!

The rockery foundation beside him suddenly and silently slid open to reveal a narrow hole, just wide enough for one person to pass through! A powerful suction force came from within the hole, stirring up the water!

The pursuing maid was caught off guard and was swept away by the current. She screamed and was instantly sucked deep into the cave! A heavy crash and a sudden groan could be heard.

When the maid on the shore heard something wrong, her face changed and she was about to shoot the crossbow immediately!

But the moment Gu Linzhi pressed the trigger, he took advantage of the suction force and suddenly drilled into the secret passage!

The moment his body completely entered the secret passage, he reached back and slapped a certain spot on the inside of the sliding stone door with difficulty!

"Bang!" The stone door closed quickly, completely isolating everything from the outside world.

The tunnel was pitch black, and the water quickly became shallow, seemingly leading to a drainage ditch. Gu Linzhi fell heavily onto the damp, cold stone floor, splashing water everywhere. He coughed violently, spitting out several mouthfuls of bloody pool water.

The burning pain in his shoulders and arms, where the poison needles had scratched him, grew more intense, the blue spider's venom spreading. The cold poison beneath his ribs was also exacerbated by the cold water.

But he didn't care about that. He struggled to sit up, leaned against the cold stone wall, and gasped for breath.

In the darkness, the only sounds were his heavy breathing and the dripping of water drops falling from his body.

He survived. For now.

But the crisis was far from over. Where did this secret passage lead to? Was the maid who was just sucked in alive or dead? The maid outside with the crossbow would surely call for reinforcements...

He must leave here as soon as possible.

At this moment, he suddenly felt something strange in his arms. He reached out to feel around, and his expression changed slightly.

He took out from his arms the piece of purple silk embroidered with Yunze water patterns that he had subconsciously caught in the water.

At this moment, in this absolutely dark passage, the water ripple mark on the silk actually emitted an extremely faint but clearly visible light blue fluorescence!

Although the light was weak, it was enough to illuminate the area around him.

It also illuminated an arrow-shaped mark on the stone wall of the secret passage ahead, which also emitted a faint blue light and pointed to the depths of the secret passage.

Gu Linzhi held the piece of silk that suddenly glowed, looking at the fluorescent mark in front of him that pointed the way. Finally, a ripple flashed in his cold eyes.

Su Wanwan...how many backup plans do you have?

Is this fluorescence a guiding light, or... a bait leading to a deeper trap?

He didn't hesitate for long. Holding onto the stone wall, using the faint fluorescent light, he followed the direction indicated by the arrow, step by step, struggling towards the depths of darkness.