Chapter 74: A cunning rabbit has three burrows
In the early morning, the door panels of Xuanhe Hall had just been removed. The night watchman was rubbing his sleepy eyes when he was startled by the girl standing in the morning mist and took a step back.
After seeing who was coming, the little boy reluctantly led Yun Yuan through the front hall filled with the scent of mugwort and came to the medicine room that Song Hezi had specially allowed her to use.
"Trouble you." Yun Yuan handed over a prescription.
The medicine boy looked carefully in the daylight and suddenly his eyes widened. "What is this lady trying to do?"
Yun Yuan gently stroked her cheek with her fingertips. The morning light streamed through the window pane onto her porcelain-white skin. She smiled and said, "Try the Jade Skin Recipe."
"Tsk..." The medicine boy slapped the prescription on the rosewood table, "They are all rare things, I can't make the decision..."
Before he finished speaking, Yun Yuan had already pressed three gold leaves on the square paper.
"Expedite."
The medicine boy's eyes lit up, and he grabbed the golden leaves and rushed to the storeroom: "...Okay! Open the cellar so early in the morning!"
Yun Yuan's gaze swept over the medicine cauldron in the corner, her fingertips gently tracing the scorch marks. Every word of her father's recipes surfaced in her mind. She couldn't help but sigh softly. She wondered if her father would shake his head in his grave at what she had done all those years. If she could still live after her great revenge... she would definitely make every recipe her father had left behind, and even more so, complete those that remained unfinished.
The medicine grinder creaked, and the firelight illuminated her cheeks, bringing a faint flush. Yun Yuan was so engrossed in mixing the herbs, she hadn't noticed Song Hezi had been lingering outside the door. The old man stroked his long, graying beard, observing her deft movements with a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
When Gu Yue hurried into the medicine room, Yun Yuan was carefully removing a bowl of thick, amber-colored medicinal soup from the steaming pot amidst the rising medicinal mist. The soup shone with a lustrous sheen and exuded a faint herbal fragrance.
With the mother insect tracking them, Youxiao didn't alert them, but simply followed from a distance. Luqi didn't flee far either, instead returning to Shouchun City at dawn. As a world-renowned medical sage, Song Hezi's Xuanhe Hall was naturally Luqi's first choice.
When the half-veiled woman peeled back her mask, the exposed half of her face was a bloody mess, with countless white filamentous worms faintly visible wriggling beneath the skin. The little medicine boy standing by took one look and then, leaning against the doorframe, began to retch violently. Although Song Hezi had used the secret technique of golden needles to force dozens of live worms out of her face, the worm-eaten face was ultimately incurable.
As Luqi staggered away, her entire being seemed to have lost its soul. Suddenly, as if making up her mind, she rushed into a stable, grabbed a random horse, and galloped off towards the west city.
"You Xiao is following us." Gu Yue saw her staring blankly at the steaming medicinal soup, "When are you leaving?"
Yun Yuan grabbed the repeating crossbow from the table and swung it over his shoulder with a swift movement. The black iron crossbow mechanism collided with the quiver, making a crisp "click".
"Now."
In the bustling city, two figures flashed around the corner like ghosts. They hid behind banners, sometimes stepping on the eaves of teahouses, sometimes stepping on the railings of restaurants. In a few steps, they crossed most of the city, like two black cats chasing each other among the rooftops.
The two of them were lying on the eaves of an abandoned attic, a position that allowed them to see Luqi's every move while also being out of her hearing range.
When Yun Yuan saw clearly where Luqi had entered, he was stunned.
That was Wanlifang. The last time they tracked the old man down here, she and Feng Yanyuan dug three feet deep into the ground for two full hours, but found nothing.
Gu Yue squinted his eyes and glanced outside the workshop. A white shadow flashed in the woods five times, three long and two short.
"Luqi..." Gu Yue frowned and said, "She disappeared in the square."
"disappear?"
"There must be a mechanism. We need to go inside and investigate. Send a message to You Xiao?"
"I'll go." As he stood up, Yun Yuan added, "He once set up a self-destruct mechanism at a hidden stake outside the city, using sulfur and saltpeter to cause an explosion. I'll go in alone later. Be sure to keep You Xiao away."
Gu Yue was slightly stunned, then pondered for a moment before saying, "There shouldn't be any sulfur or saltpeter. Huainan Royal City is heavily fortified. Those things might be outside the city, but they definitely can't get inside."
"Okay..." Yun Yuan nodded slightly, a strand of hair falling from her temples. "After I go in, you quickly pass the news to the Yuanfeng Guards at the guesthouse. By the time they arrive, success or failure should have been determined..." She paused slightly. "They will act in the open, and you will support them in the dark. You must cut off the retreat of those in the neighborhood."
"Notify Feng Wei?"
"Yeah. This way, Youxiao won't be exposed."
As Yun Yuan spoke, she thought of Feng Yanyuan's gentle, sorrowful eyes. Whether he lived or died, she had to leave him an explanation.
Gu Yue watched the girl's figure fly like a bird to Wanlifang.
Pushing open the mottled paulownia door of Wanlifang, a damp, musty smell mixed with the scent of rust hit me. The hall was dimly lit and empty, with only dust particles floating in the dim light in the silence.
Since that day, You Xiao has been secretly observing this place, but he has never seen any human activity there, so he thought it was an abandoned site.
She looked around. In the dusty alley, there were a few places that looked unusually clean, as if they had just been hastily wiped - these were the traces left by Luqi just now.
It seems that there is indeed a hidden mechanism in this house, but it is far more complicated than expected.
She wanted to reach out and test the trace, but she stopped abruptly before touching it. They had already tried every brick and tile before, so it must not be this simple.
Yun Yuan took a step back and re-examined everything that had been wiped.
The copper bell on the west, the wooden box on the east, the clay pot on the table in the middle, the candlestick on the south - gold in the west, wood in the east, earth in the middle, fire in the south... these are the five elements, but there is still one missing.
She turned around and looked behind her: the well in the yard was located due north.
The Feng family are all skilled in the art of Qimen Dunjia. Could it be that they follow the order of the Five Elements' mutual generation and mutual restraint?
When she stretched out her hand to touch the bronze bell, she suddenly paused - if that was the case, why didn't Feng Yanyuan notice it at the time?
She stepped back again to take a closer look.
Feng Yanyuan was also well versed in the ways of Qimen. If this mechanism was simply a system based on the mutual generation and mutual restraint of the Five Elements, it would have been impossible to hide from his eyes. However, Feng Xiaoming, who had been imprisoned by Qimen and had a treacherous mind, would inevitably rebel against Tiangang and defy common sense.
Yun Yuan frowned and thought: If she were Feng Xiaoming, how would she set up this game?
Suddenly, a clear light flashed in her eyes - it was poison!
Looking around again, those silent objects seemed suddenly shrouded in a veil of mystery. Her heart sank, and she no longer hesitated. She gently turned the candlestick, the bronze bell, the windlass on the well—fire melted gold, creating water, and muddied water became poison, just like the cup of gold-dust wine that had poisoned the late queen.
There are also some wooden boxes and pottery jars left.
She picked up the clay pot, felt heavy in her hand, and found nothing unusual at the bottom of the pot; she pressed the mechanism of the wooden box, and the lid opened with a click, revealing there was nothing inside.
What made her feel a little depressed was that all the things that left traces had been triggered, but the house was still as quiet as before, without any movement.
Her brows furrowed in concentration. The key to Qimen Dunjia was to find the "missing one" and thereby unlock the door to life...
She was startled for a moment, then sneered. How could she forget again? Feng Xiaoming, who claimed to be the King of Hell, would open the door to life? He would only leave the door to death!
First develop the poisonous power, and then use the poison to conquer all things.
Move in order: candlestick, copper bell, then wooden box, clay pot, and finally hold the handle on the well to turn the windlass.
“Click—”
A very light sound of a mechanism turning came from underground, and the ground in front of me slowly tilted downward, revealing a black crack that was only wide enough for a slender figure to pass through.
Yun Yuan quickly took off his outer shirt, stuffed it between the gap and the ground, and then slid in sideways.
As soon as she landed on the ground, she looked up—the gap was slowly closing, and the coat sandwiched between them moved slightly in the wind.
She looked down and saw a flickering candlelight at the end of the darkness.
As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, she finally saw clearly: there was no void under her feet, but a steep stone staircase leading down into deeper shadows.
As she turned the first corner, a musty, fishy smell hit her face. She slowly descended, her fingertips snaking along the damp wall. A chilly breath crept into her nostrils, and her heartbeat was distinctly clear in the silence. After three turns, the stench grew stronger, while the flickering candlelight grew brighter.
When she held her breath and looked over, she was shocked to see dozens of pale human faces hanging in the air, rushing towards her like evil spirits in the dim candlelight!
She bit her lower lip hard to suppress a scream - when she looked again, she found that it was actually a piece of completely peeled face, some of which were still connected to the neck, with nothing underneath. They were all hanging on the wooden frame, swaying gently with the cold wind, making a slight "creaking" sound.
Yun Yuan suppressed the urge to vomit and stepped in. Her nostrils moved slightly as she carefully discerned every trace of the stench.
No, something is missing...
She could smell the poisonous aura of Feng Xiaoming even if he had been reduced to charcoal. Although there were traces of him left here, the deadly sweet smell was missing.
As she was pondering this, she suddenly felt a chilly wind blowing from behind. She dodged in panic and bumped into the group of hanging faces.
Two pieces of dough fell to the ground with a "pop".
When he looked again, Luqi was blocking the exit of the corridor. Half of her festering face looked hideous in the candlelight. Together with the masks hanging around her, she blended into the dim shadows of the candles, looking like a demon from hell.
"You really are looking for him."
Luqi's voice was hoarse, and she raised the half of her mutilated face.
"He's gone?" Yun Yuan's voice trembled.
"That's right." Luqi grinned. "The King of Hell has departed, leaving behind only this Yama Palace..." She flicked her wrist, and several silver threads flashed coldly in the dim candlelight. "I didn't expect to catch a bird."
Yun Yuan's body was as swift as a swallow. She spun lightly to avoid the silver threads. Her fluttering sleeves did not even touch a single face. She only caused the hanging faces to shake slightly, casting strange shadows in the candlelight.
"The King of Huainan treated you with courtesy. Why would you risk your life for a worm in a gutter?"
"You are so smart, didn't you notice that there is one person missing from my side?"
It’s Jinse… Yun Yuan was slightly stunned.
"King Zhao captured Jinse and forced Wei Qianji and me to surrender."
"Wei Qianji?"
"Surprised? I was surprised too. These days, it's truly rare to find a man willing to betray his family, mentor, and even his master for a woman." Luqi chuckled. "Would your Master Yuan... do that for you?"
Yun Yuan's heart trembled slightly.
Seeing that her expression was slightly hesitant, Luqi suddenly snapped her ten fingers together, and a silver thread came out of the air, flashing coldly like a spider web under the candlelight.
Yun Yuan raised her hand and pushed over a row of mask racks. The decayed faces of the people covered the silver threads like a curtain. She used the momentum to roll over and disappear into the darkness beyond the candlelight. Her voice drifted in and out, "Since he has such a sophisticated disguise technique, he can surely heal your face. Why don't you go find him?"
"I want to, too!" Luqi's laughter was shrill, "But that venomous snake is much more cunning than you. Who knows which rat hole he's hiding in now?" She suddenly snapped, "But I can still get back at the wrath I've incurred from you, a little girl!"
She pounced on Yun Yuan in the shadows, and just as her fingertips were about to touch her, the figure vanished like a ghost. When she looked back, Yun Yuan was already standing at the entrance of the corridor, her clothes fluttering.
"What a swift movement... You were actually putting on a show for me last night."
The intact half of Luqi's face flickered in the candlelight. She glared at Yun Yuan with a stern gaze. "That venomous snake and Feng Yanhao are in the same boat. You definitely didn't come here for the Feng family." Her rotting mouth twisted, revealing her sharp white teeth. "Who are you?"
"Snake Hunter."
"Humph, there are so many of them."
"You too?"
Luqi suddenly touched the dark patterns on the wall tiles, and a strange smile appeared on her festering face.
"no."
She exerted force with her fingertips, and the moment the mechanism clicked, a roar like a landslide echoed behind Yun Yuan. A thousand-pound boulder, swirling with dust, crashed down, crushing the tunnel entrance to dust.
"In this small space, let's see how you can maneuver."
Luqi's voice echoed in the enclosed space. Her silver bell-like laughter mixed with the sound of dripping water revealed a bit of childish cruelty.
"When your handsome young man digs the tunnel——"
Silver threads suddenly appeared at her fingertips, interweaving into a web of death under the candlelight.
"Just in time to bury your... freshly peeled skin."
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