Chapter 51: A Mystery Lies Behind the Stone Tablet
Is there a secret behind the stone tablet? Ye Wanning was filled with curiosity: What exactly did her mother hide behind the stone tablet?
The next morning, Ye Wanning received intelligence from Pei Zhi's men: the Shadow Pavilion had discovered members of the Tantric sect near the Xishan Temple, and they appeared to be carrying things up the mountain.
"It seems they really are preparing something," Ye Wanning said to Chun Tao. "We must find a way to sneak in and see."
"Miss, are you going on another adventure?" Chun Tao said worriedly.
“This isn’t an adventure; it’s to find out the truth,” Ye Wanning said. “Go and prepare; we’ll disguise ourselves as villagers gathering herbs in the mountains.”
Helpless, Chun Tao had no choice but to prepare. Ye Wanning, on the other hand, found the topographical map left by her mother and studied the terrain of Begonia Valley and West Mountain, hoping to find a hidden path.
Just then, she suddenly noticed a small mark in the corner of the map, which looked like the shape of a cave, with two small words written next to it: "Treasure".
Ye Wanning's heart started racing: Could this be where her mother hid things?
Ye Wanning and Chun Tao disguised themselves as villagers gathering herbs, carrying bamboo baskets on their backs, and walked westward along the rugged mountain path. The path was lined with dense forests, and the occasional bird song made it seem exceptionally quiet.
"Miss, are we really going?" Chun Tao was still afraid. "The people from the Tantric sect are very fierce. What if they find out..."
"It's alright." Ye Wanning patted her hand. "We'll just go take a look, without alerting them."
The two walked for about an hour before finally seeing the temple. The temple was very old, with cracked walls and no guards at the entrance, indicating that it had been abandoned for a long time.
"Something's not right." Ye Wanning stopped. "Why is it so quiet here? It doesn't look like there are many people here."
She told Chun Tao to hide behind a tree, and then quietly walked to the front of the temple, peeking through the crack in the door. Sure enough, there was no one in the temple; the courtyard was overgrown with tall weeds, making it look like an abandoned temple.
"Could it be that the people from Shadow Pavilion made a mistake?" Ye Wanning wondered to herself.
Ye Wanning shook her head, and was about to take a closer look when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She quickly pulled Chun Tao behind a tree, and several members of the Tantric sect walked by on the path beside her, carrying several buckets, apparently going to fetch water.
“The opportunity has arrived.” Ye Wanning winked at Chun Tao. “Let’s follow them.”
The two quietly followed the Tantric practitioners to a mountain spring. After drawing water, the practitioners left a water bag on the ground. Ye Wanning took the opportunity to pick up the water bag, put some things inside, and then quietly followed them back.
Upon reaching the cave entrance, Ye Wanning saw the Tantric practitioners preparing to enter. Taking advantage of the moment, she tossed her water pouch inside, then pulled Chun Tao behind a distant rock. Soon after, coughing and screams echoed from inside the cave—it seemed the laxative Ye Wanning had added to the water had taken effect. The Tantric practitioners poured out of the cave, frantically searching for a toilet, creating chaos.
"Hurry up!" Ye Wanning grabbed Chun Tao and took the opportunity to slip into the cave.
The cave turned out to be much larger than they had imagined; it was a man-made tunnel with oil lamps hanging on the walls, illuminating the way ahead. The two walked along the tunnel and heard voices ahead.
"...Why did that crystal ball suddenly crack? Has the plan been exposed?... "
"Yes, I heard it's a treasure left over from the previous dynasty, possessing immense power..."
Ye Wanning and Chun Tao exchanged a glance, both taken aback: a treasure from the previous dynasty? No wonder their mother hid this instead of a rubbing of the military tally!
After walking for a while, at the end of the passage was a large stone chamber filled with weapons, provisions, and several Tantric practitioners packing up, apparently preparing to move.
“We must find it quickly,” said one of the leaders. “Lord Agula said we must leave this place before nightfall.”
“Okay,” the others replied.
Ye Wanning and Chun Tao hid to the side and watched them work for a while. Suddenly, Ye Wanning noticed a very inconspicuous box in the corner of the stone chamber. It was locked with a key and looked very heavy.
"Could it be there?" Chun Tao asked softly.
Ye Wanning nodded, gave her a wink, and quietly walked over, using the dagger she carried to pry open the lock. Inside the box was something wrapped in red cloth, which looked like a book. Just as Ye Wanning reached for it, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She quickly stuffed the item into her arms and pulled Chun Tao behind a pile of grain and straw to hide.
A member of the Tantric sect walked in, looked around, found nothing, and then left.
"Hurry up!" Ye Wanning grabbed Chun Tao and ran towards the passage.
As the two ran out of the cave, the Tantric practitioners below spotted them and chased after them with knives.
"There!" Ye Wanning pointed to a small path on the side and pulled Chun Tao to run there.
The path was steep, and both of them were panting heavily, but the footsteps behind them were getting closer and closer. Suddenly, Ye Wanning saw that there was a cliff ahead, and the path ended there.
"What should we do?" Chun Tao cried in fear.
Ye Wanning turned around. The Tantric practitioners had caught up, their faces contorted with grotesque smiles. She took a deep breath, pulled out the bundle of red cloth she had exchanged with Chun Tao from her bosom, and opened it. Inside was indeed a book with four large characters written on it—"Tantric Mind Method."
"So this is what they were looking for," Ye Wanning said, suddenly realizing.
She shoved the book into Chuntao's arms: "Take this and go first. Run towards Begonia Valley, find Lord Pei, and tell him what's going on here."
"And what about you?" Chuntao asked.
"I'll cover you." Ye Wanning drew her dagger. "Let's go!"
Chun Tao knew now was not the time to hesitate, so she nodded through her tears and turned to run down a side path.
The people from the Tantric sect saw Chun Tao run away and wanted to chase after her, but Ye Wanning stopped them.
"Want to leave? You'll have to get past me first!" Ye Wanning brandished her dagger, blocking their way.
The Tantric practitioners were taken aback by the woman's bravery and hesitated for a moment before swarming her. Although Ye Wanning had learned some self-defense techniques, she was outnumbered and quickly forced to the edge of the cliff.
"Hand over the book!" the leader sneered.
Ye Wanning glanced at the cliff behind her, then at the approaching Tantric practitioners, and made her decision. Suddenly, she threw the dagger in her hand at the leader, and in the instant he dodged, she leaped off the cliff.
The Tantric practitioners rushed to the edge of the cliff, only to find Ye Wanning had already disappeared into the clouds below. They were furious and cursed loudly.
The instant Ye Wanning jumped off the cliff, a branch extending from the precipice caught her clothes. She didn't fall; she hung suspended in mid-air. Looking down, there was a sheer cliff below, and beyond that, a bottomless abyss, shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see what lay below. Ye Wanning tried to move, but the branch trembled violently, as if it might snap at any moment.
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