Wulongtai Palace is located on the eastern side of Wudang Mountain, in a relatively remote area. When Lanqin visited the palace with a tour group in her later life, she discovered that Wulongtai was a palace with exceptionally beautiful scenery. It was built halfway up a mountain, surrounded by cliffs, with a raised, flat area in the center.
Lanqin chose to take the small paths as much as possible to avoid encountering more Taoist priests. However, those hurrying along the road at this moment were all of low status. Lanqin carried her basket, walking on the rather slippery path. Because it was winter, the mountain wind was like a stern thug, attacking the people walking on the road. Lanqin felt she had never been so cold; her exposed hands ached with cold. So, Lanqin tried to warm her hands by crossing them inside her sleeves, like rural women and children. But then she thought, she was pretending to be a minor Taoist priest; how could she do such a thing? So she had no choice but to endure the cold.
When she finally reached the foundation of the Five Dragon Terrace Palace, Lanqin realized how arduous the journey had been. She resolved that when she returned home, she would make several sets of fur-lined cotton clothes for each of the servants; otherwise, with them constantly going in and out while she stayed warm and cozy inside, it would be difficult for her to truly understand their hardships.
They arrived, but Lanqin didn't know how to find "those people" the Taoist priest had mentioned. Where exactly were they keeping the people locked up?
Lanqin tucked her hands into her sleeves and hid in a corner of a palace room, gazing at the inner gate as she pondered how to recruit people. She squatted there, enduring the biting mountain wind, waiting for her opportunity.
She thought that these Taoist priests probably all went to a certain place to eat at noon. Because she remembered seeing such a house when she visited Wudang Mountain in her later life, which was said to be the place where the Taoist priests ate together.
Lanqin huddled in a corner, gazing at the lush trees of Wudang Mountain outside, some areas still covered in white snow, clearly remnants of the previous snowfall. She couldn't help but stand up and gaze into the distance, utterly captivated by the beauty of Wudang Mountain.
Around lunchtime, Lanqin began to eat the two steamed buns and some eggs she had taken from the kitchen that morning. She continued to hide in the corner, munching on the cold buns while keeping an eye on the gate.
Sure enough, the Taoist priests carrying the lunch boxes returned. They carried the lunch to another room, a smaller room next to the main hall.
Lanqin watched the Taoist priests going in and out, wondering where they would imprison people. From her visits to Wudang Mountain in later generations, she hadn't seen any buildings resembling underground prisons.
Just as Lanqin had predicted, the Taoist priests began to emerge from the main hall, and others from other areas also headed towards the room where lunch was served. They really were eating together! So, by now, the other rooms should be empty!
Lanqin planned to enter the main palace through the back door. She secretly followed the corner of the wall and circled around to the back of the main palace, only to find it closed. Lanqin noticed a small, dilapidated temple-like building not far behind the main palace. It was connected to the main hall by only a stone path, with slopes on both sides and a bottomless abyss below.
Lanqin looked at the room and thought: They probably wouldn't lock someone up in their usual living space; they must have locked them up in a woodshed or storage room.
Lanqin decided to go check that area, so she looked around but saw no one; they must have all gone to the canteen for lunch. She immediately hurried there. Luckily, the road wasn't narrow, otherwise she wouldn't have dared to run so fast.
Lanqin arrived at the entrance of this lonely palace. She saw that the lion head lock on the black-lacquered door was latched but not locked.
Wow, what great luck! Lanqin suppressed her inner elation, tiptoed to the door, secretly removed the lock, and gently pushed it open a crack. She pressed her head against the crack and peeked inside.
Originally, there was a large iron cauldron-like object in the courtyard, used specifically for burning paper money and worshipping immortals, similar to what is seen in Taoist temples in later generations. Then, the interior was like a traditional courtyard house, with two side rooms on the east and west sides, and a main room in the center. The room closest to the door was probably the gatehouse.
"It's all the same everywhere!" Lanqin muttered to herself. She pushed open the door and quickly slipped inside. Lanqin walked in with her head down; sure enough, there was no one there.
She quickly began checking the doors for any places where people might be imprisoned. To her disappointment, she found no one. Lanqin even looked around carefully, but still couldn't find a single person.
Not here? Lanqin walked to the door of the main room and looked inside. She saw some pot-like objects, but she couldn't figure out what they were used for.
She stood around the pot and felt that something was strange about it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong with it.
Lanqin looked at the ground and noticed that the distribution of the bricks was somewhat different. She imitated the mechanisms she had seen in TV dramas from later generations and began to step on the red bricks.
Unexpectedly, a miracle actually occurred. The cauldron twisted, and a section of stairs was revealed underneath, with a bulge protruding from the bottom.
Lanqin was so surprised by what she saw that she was almost speechless. She had actually found it! She had really stumbled upon it by sheer luck! How had she even stepped on it just now?
Lanqin thought for a moment, realizing she couldn't just stand there in a daze, and quickly went down the stairs. She didn't know if she could get out, but her intuition told her that once she went in, the iron cauldron above would automatically close. Sure enough, as she went down the stairs, the light above her head immediately disappeared, because the iron cauldron had closed the door to the basement.
Lanqin took out a tinderbox from her bosom and lit it with a soft pop. In this pitch-black place, the small flame in Lanqin's hand dispelled the darkness from which one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
Lanqin discovered that this was a basement, but it wasn't an ordinary basement. Lanqin took a tinderbox and walked inside, but after walking for a long time, she was still in a corridor, and there were no cells or people being imprisoned at all.
Lanqin felt a wave of disappointment. When she first walked in, her heart was pounding in her chest. She had thought she had found Fourth Master and the others, but now she saw this scene in the basement.
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