Chapter 46 Leaving the Ancient Tower

The soft light of the meteorite chalcedony flowed through the stone chamber, seeping into Wu Xie's skin as his fingertips pressed against the jade surface. The stagnation that had accumulated within him was gradually dissolving, but this comfort was instantly extinguished by the chill surging in his heart. He stared at the fragments of black clothing remaining on the stone platform, his fingertips unconsciously digging into the edge of the jade surface: "The Wu family used me as a medicinal ingredient, and my parents... were they really willing to accept that?"

“It wasn’t out of willingness, it was a deliberate choice to retreat.” Black Bear squatted beside the poisoned body of the steward, his dagger parting the man’s clothes to reveal a hidden pattern with a Qilin totem embedded inside. “This pattern is a ‘sacrifice mark.’ The one who marks it is either bait or a pawn completely abandoned by the person behind it.” As he stood up, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Qiling staring intently at the hidden pattern, his fingertips lightly stroking the hilt of the black gold ancient sword, a faint trace of the past that Zhang Qiling had recalled.

Hei Xiazi walked over calmly, nudged his arm with his elbow, and handed him an open bottle of mineral water: "Have you seen Xisha before?"

“Yes, the mark was placed on the tomb keeper who was abandoned by his family back then.” Zhang Qiling took the water, his fingertips touching the coolness of the bottle before he looked away, his tone as calm as if he were telling someone else’s story. What he didn’t say was that in his previous life, it wasn’t until Wu Xie almost died in the ultimate place that he found out from Xie Jiuye’s belongings that the original “prototype” of this pattern was that Wu Xie had been designated as a “discardable medicinal ingredient” by his parents since birth.

Xiao Hua leaned against the stone wall, bandaging the wound on her calf. She stopped abruptly after wrapping the bandage three times: "Look at the corpse of that Xie family guard." Everyone looked; the back of the insignia on the corpse's collar bore the character "Chen." "Xie Chen," he said, "my father said he died ten years ago after breaking his leg, but this corpse's leg is fine. He's only been dead for three days at most." His voice was cold. "After Ninth Master Xie took power, seven core men of the Xie family 'died' one after another. Clearly, they faked their deaths to escape, leaving only me to hold down the Xie family's sway, making it easier for him to control them."

Wu Xie whirled around, the old wound on his arm reopening, blood seeping into his sleeve: "Deliberately keeping you here? What about me? Did my parents really flee to Southeast Asia, or..."

“He voluntarily ‘sold’ you in exchange for stability.” Hei Xiazi walked to the mural in the corner of the stone chamber and shone his flashlight on the inscription at the bottom: “The only son of the Wu family, his heart is nurtured by jade; the orphan of the Xie family, his actions are bound by gold.” He turned and glanced at the files on the iron shelf. “These are the transaction records between Master Xie Jiu and the Wu family. Take a look for yourself.”

Wu Xie rushed over and searched, his fingertips trembling violently. The letter at the top was written by Xie Jiuye to the old man of Wujia. The handwriting was messy, but every word was heartbreaking: "Wu Xie's parents voluntarily leave Wujia, exchanging 'medicinal ingredient custody' for permanent protection in Nanyang. Second Uncle and Third Uncle covet Wujia's resources and are willing to act as inside agents to test his physique..." The letter ended with an old photo. It was taken on Wu Xie's fifth birthday. His parents stood at the dock, followed by people from Wujia, their faces showing no reluctance.

“They really abandoned me…” Wu Xie clutched the photo tightly, his knuckles turning white. He looked up at Zhang Qiling, wanting a word of comfort, but saw that the other only glanced at his blood-stained sleeve and then looked at the stone door mechanism, without any extra expression. In this life, Zhang Qiling had long since severed his special attachment to “Wu Xie”, treating him only as a passerby in his journey.

“The stone gate requires two people to press it with their blood, and it must be blood containing jade energy.” Zhang Qiling traced the groove with his fingertip, his tone calm. “Wu Xie, your blood can be used now.”

Hei Xiazi immediately stood beside him, back to back, protecting the two behind him. He shone his flashlight on the grooves on both sides: "Wait for my command, press them together." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Zhang Qiling's forearm, exposed at the cuff, had a shallow scratch from blocking the poison needle during the melee, and blood was rolling down his skin. He swallowed hard. "I'll block the falling rocks from above, don't worry about me."

“Unnecessary.” Zhang Qiling replied calmly, but when the command “three, two, one” was given, he deliberately shifted half an inch toward Hei Xiazi, blocking the poisonous thorn that suddenly appeared on his right.

The stone door slowly opened, revealing a room filled with files. In the center, an iron box was engraved with a qilin and sunglasses. Zhang Qiling squatted in front of the box, his fingertip tracing the keyhole: "Password 0504." Hei Xiazi raised an eyebrow and turned the combination lock, mouthing, "The day you lost your memory?" Seeing Zhang Qiling nod, he couldn't hide the smile on his lips.

The moment the iron box was opened, a musty smell wafted out. The top file contained Wu Jia's ultimate plan: "Use Wu Xie's medicinal constitution to open the ultimate secret door, borrow the financial resources of Jieyu Flower to support the operation, and utilize Zhang Qiling's protective nature towards Wu Xie and Hei Xiazi's desire for profit. Once the key is obtained, eliminate the four to prevent future troubles..."

"Are they going to wipe them all out?" Wu Xie gripped the dossier tightly, blood dripping from his wound onto the paper, spreading a small patch of red.

Xiao Hua flipped through another stack of files, his face growing increasingly grim: "The list of Xie Jiuye's faked deaths is here. Those Xie family men who 'died of illness' are now working as helpers at the Wujia Nanyang stronghold." He looked up at Zhang Qiling, "The Wujia deliberately left these behind because they are certain we will go to the ultimate goal."

Hei Xiazi slammed the dossier into the iron box, then turned to see a cold glint in Zhang Qiling's eyes. He immediately understood and tapped the scabbard with his dagger: "Trying to use us? We'll see if they're alive to close the net." He walked to Zhang Qiling's side and naturally grabbed his injured forearm. "Take care of the wound first. We still have to run away later."

Zhang Qiling didn't refuse, letting him rummage through his backpack for iodine and bandages. Hei Xiazi's movements were very gentle, pausing when his fingertips touched the wound. Seeing that Zhang Qiling didn't react, he whispered, "Don't think about Wu Xie. He has to walk his own path."

"I know," Zhang Qiling replied calmly, but his gaze fell on the bruise on Hei Xiazi's wrist where he had shielded Xiao Hua from the falling rocks. "Your injury needs a cold compress."

Hei Xiazi paused for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Will you trouble the mute to help us find a guesthouse later?" Zhang Qiling didn't speak, but gave a soft "hmm" at the end, the last syllable sounding like a sigh.

Suddenly, the stone chamber shook violently, and rocks rained down from above. "The mechanism has been triggered! It's going to collapse!" Xiaohua shouted.

Zhang Qiling immediately stuffed the iron box into his backpack, drew his black-gold ancient sword, and cleaved through the oncoming rubble: "Take the left path!" He didn't stop, with Hei Xiazi close behind. The two of them used the wind from their swords to clear away the falling rocks, creating a path ahead. Wu Xie tripped over a falling rock, and Zhang Qiling caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, but only shattered the rock above his head, coldly saying, "Get up yourself."

The bandage on Xiaohua's calf was torn open, and blood flowed down her trouser leg. Heixiazi turned around and threw her a new roll of bandage: "Wrap it yourself, don't hold me back."

The four ran out along the passage, Zhang Qiling leading the way and Hei Xiazi bringing up the rear. In the chaos, a huge boulder slammed into Zhang Qiling's back. Hei Xiazi instantly pounced and knocked him aside, scraping his own arm and drawing blood. Zhang Qiling immediately turned around, his blade flashing as he shattered the boulder, and reached out to support Hei Xiazi's arm: "Are you alright?"

"It's just a minor injury." Black Bear smiled and brushed the stone chips off his shoulder. "It's good that you're alright."

When they ran out of the forest, the fog had dissipated, and sunlight filtered through the leaves. The four of them collapsed on the ground, panting. Wu Xie looked at his and Xiao Hua's injuries, and then at Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi, whose wounds were so shallow that they were barely noticeable except for some dust on their clothes. Only then did he truly realize the difference between these two "ceilings of martial arts".

“The Wu family’s next move will definitely be to lead us to the ultimate goal.” Xiao Hua unwrapped the old bandage and re-bandaged it. “I have already ordered my men to check Xie Jiuye’s list of faked deaths and take down their Nanyang stronghold first.”

Wu Xie gripped the dossier tightly, his eyes no longer filled with confusion, but with determination: "I'm going to the Ultimate, not for them, but for myself. I have to figure out why I was born to be the medicinal ingredient, to be discarded."

Zhang Qiling leaned against a tree trunk, while Hei Xiazi wiped the stone chips off his knife. Hearing this, Hei Xiazi looked up and said, "You can go, but you have to follow our rules." He looked at Zhang Qiling, "Mute, how much of the ultimate mechanism do you still remember?"

“Most of it.” Zhang Qiling’s voice was soft as he looked at Hei Xiazi’s wrist. “Let’s find a place to treat your bruises first.”

Hei Xiazi stood up and patted Zhang Qiling on the shoulder: "Let's go find a guesthouse." He naturally took the backpack from Zhang Qiling's hand, "I'll carry it, you save your energy."

The two walked side by side, the sunlight casting long shadows. Wu Xie and Xiao Hua followed behind, watching the two synchronized figures ahead.