"The Swift Dragon Society has two secret dungeons. One is a quiet, gloomy, damp, and dark place, enough to drive a person mad. The other..."
The older guard thought for a moment, and before he could speak, Ruoxi anxiously stepped forward and asked, "Where is the other secret prison?"
“A place…related to the murals.” The older guard looked into her eyes and said mysteriously.
"Related to the murals?" Ruoxi frowned, repeating in confusion. Casually glancing outside, she was immediately drawn to the shadow of the huge relief sculpture faintly visible on the stone wall by the dim candlelight outside the prison door. She quickly strode towards it.
Upon seeing this, the older guard reached out, picked up the oil lamp beside him, and followed closely behind.
Meanwhile, Wang Er, who had now recovered much of his strength, hurriedly looked around before walking quickly toward the faint light in the distance.
"Where are you going? It's dangerous here, come back quickly!" Seeing this, Lanxiang, supporting the still somewhat weak Yan'er, anxiously called out to her retreating figure.
Not long after, he returned with several oil lamps, handing one to Yan'er and one to Lanxiang, and said angrily, "So, after turning the corner, there was a brightly lit place! Are these lamps meant for ghosts, not for people?"
As they spoke, the three of them went forward to help.
As the gathered sparks instantly illuminated Ruoxi's surroundings, she finally saw the strange environment she was in.
It turned out that the bottom of the grotto was several meters above the ground they had slid down from the secret passage through the bamboo grove in the East Garden's back garden using ropes. The stone pillars supporting the cave were all carved with flying dragons, displaying supreme power and majesty. Coupled with the relief murals on the stone walls that now appeared before them, the underground dungeon built through this grotto suddenly became extremely mysterious.
Ruoxi turned around in surprise, looking around before finally fixing her gaze on the mural in front of her. She examined it closely, but then frowned and stared at the older guard who was holding an oil lamp and approaching to illuminate the area. She asked him blankly, "Is this the mural you're talking about?"
Before she could even get a response, she couldn't help but reach out her trembling hand and gently caress and explore the cold, shocking, and breathtaking relief painting inch by inch.
In one corner of the mural, a group of elderly, weak, women, and children are depicted huddled together on the ground, their clothes and appearance suggesting they are neither officials nor commoners, yet all appear utterly powerless. Their expressions are those of extreme terror, like frightened birds. Among them, a young woman dressed as a maidservant holds an infant girl in her arms, who is sucking on her chubby fingers. Before them stands a group of fierce warriors clad in armor, their faces contorted with rage, raising their swords as if to strike them on the head.
Seeing this, Ruoxi said angrily and incomprehensibly, "Who are these people? How can they be so cruel, not even sparing these unarmed old people, women and children?"
The older guard didn't speak, but sighed and moved the oil lamp in his hand back a little. Ruoxi hurried over and saw that under the trampling of those horses' hooves, there were many middle-aged corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, some of them civilians and some of them soldiers. Their deaths were varied and made people feel a chill down their spines.
Ruoxi was extremely shocked. She stared blankly at the older guard beside her for a moment, then excitedly snatched the oil lamp from his hand and looked back carefully one by one. However, the more she looked, the more confused and puzzled she became.
Not far behind the valiant, imposing, and fierce army, a magnificent and imposing city gate appeared. Surprisingly, however, the gate was completely unguarded, left wide open.
Through the murals, one can see that the entire city is surrounded by magnificent, rolling landscapes and vast rivers and lakes, yet at this moment it appears to be an empty city, desolate and lifeless.
"Wait, what's this?" Just as she was wondering and about to move the oil lamp she was holding to look down further, she suddenly seemed to have discovered something, so she quickly stepped back and looked carefully into the city.
This time, she finally opened her eyes wide and saw the scene inside the city clearly. It turned out that what was rising wasn't cooking smoke, but billowing smoke from many places, even mixed with raging fires, and countless corpses strewn across the land, barely visible in the dim light—many of which appeared to be the remains of starving people. Incredibly, several mummified corpses hung inexplicably from the tall masts in front of the city gate.
Seeing all this, Ruoxi was stunned. She pondered for a moment, but was filled with doubts, seemingly unable to explain it. Then she looked at the older guard's face, and said with a look of deep sorrow and indignation:
"What exactly happened in this city? Could it be that those trembling old people, women, and children outside the city are the few survivors who managed to escape from this city? And who are these soldiers? Did they come from that empty city like these civilians? Or did they plunder another faction that had taken over the city? And the city itself, it seemed to be living in peace and prosperity, so how could so many people have starved to death? Everywhere is a scene of war and hell on earth!"
At this moment, the older guard took the oil lamp from Ruoxi's hand and shone it on the theme of the mural, saying, "Take a look at the title of this mural."
"The creation of heaven and earth?" Ruoxi followed his gaze and looked over. Upon seeing the few flamboyant characters in the relief, she frowned deeply and said with great irony, "It's utterly absurd. I don't know why the person who created this mural would name it like this. This is clearly a devastating disaster. How can you talk about the creation of heaven and earth?"
The older guard took a breath and said, "Actually, the vast landscape depicted on the mural is the present-day Western Qin Kingdom. And those elderly, weak, women, and children who narrowly escaped being murdered were not the people of this city, but the girl's ancestors—the vampires. Back then, a rebellion broke out within the vampire clan, leading to their extermination. The vampire royal family ordered people to take their orphan, the baby girl in that maid's arms, and flee to various places."
Upon hearing this, for some reason, Ruoxi felt a sudden pang in her heart. She then abruptly raised her head to look at the older guard's face, his eyes clearly filled with resentment, and asked, "What exactly is going on?"
The older guard glanced at her and replied, "The vampires originally belonged to the witch doctor clan, sharing the same lineage. Later, due to various disagreements, they separated. Because of the miraculous bloodline cultivated by their ancestors, they were established as the vampire clan. However, as more and more members from other branches joined, they gradually rose to prominence among the nobles. As the saying goes, 'the taller the tree, the more the wind blows,' and rumors spread that the vampires were maliciously causing chaos in the court and intentionally instigating wars in all directions. Consequently, they were targeted for extermination by powerful forces throughout the land. Although the vampire royal family uncovered the truth and imprisoned a witch doctor spy—the true culprit—in this secret dungeon, ensuring he would never see the light of day until his death, the world did not truly forgive this tribe. In truth, they merely wanted to eliminate dissidents and force the entire vampire clan to atone for their sins with their deaths."
Hearing this, Ruoxi gritted her teeth and said in a deep voice, "Hmph... It's just a small noble tribe. How much trouble can it cause? Is it worth wiping out the entire tribe?"
"Young lady, have you forgotten? The descendants of the vampires all possess a mysterious and powerful force. It was this force that balanced the various factions, allowing everyone to coexist peacefully. But once the vampires are wiped out, they will have nothing left to fear, and that will be the time when the whole world is about to descend into chaos!" the older guard reminded her.
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi gasped and looked at the mural. The older guard continued, "Things have come to this point, and an imminent battle to the death is inevitable. In the end, the vampires were outnumbered and all died to prove their loyalty. Except for that baby girl in swaddling clothes, who was hastily taken away by a few old, weak, women and children during the chaos of war."
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi stared at the adorable baby girl on the mural, who looked like a porcelain doll, and clenched her fists, saying in a deep voice, "And then?"
The older guard turned to look into the eyes of the baby girl in the mural and began to recount: "Later, as they fled, they passed through this place and found it had been turned into a living hell by a natural disaster and man-made calamity. Thinking that this place must be sparsely populated and unknown to anyone, they decided to raise the baby girl here incognito. However, they were recognized by this group of ruthless bandits who suddenly returned. In the face of life and death, a general stepped forward and led his few dozen men to protect the baby girl with their lives."
Upon hearing this, Ruoxi finally loosened her clenched fist.
The older guard paused, then continued, "After the general argued with his colleague over the baby girl, he stabbed himself in the left chest to force his colleague back, demonstrating his resolve. Had the sword tip been just a fraction closer, it would have pierced his heart. Unable to return home to report, the general led his willing followers and the baby girl to remain in this deserted city, already littered with starving corpses. They started anew, eventually building a beautiful land, which is now the Western Qin Kingdom."
"So that's how it is! This really is unprecedented!" Ruoxi finally realized and exclaimed.
"To repay the kindness of the ancestors of Western Qin who spared her life, the baby girl, upon growing up, commanded her descendants to swear to protect every true emperor of Western Qin with all their might, and to safeguard this land of Western Qin," the elder guard added.
"'Repaying kindness' seems to be an acceptable way to do this," Ruoxi pursed her lips, agreeing, then asked doubtfully, "Then why is this creation story carved here? Is it because this place is..."
"This dungeon originally belonged to the vampires. After the vampires were wiped out, it was left empty. One day, it was discovered by the Dragon Gang Leader and became the secret prison of the Valiant Dragon Society," the older guard said, glancing around.
Hearing all this, Ruoxi was shocked. The two remained silent for a while. Just as Ruoxi had composed herself, she suddenly came to her senses and stared at the older guard's face with an extremely strange look. After a long while, she asked him, "Who exactly are you? How do you know so much!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com