Chapter 36
The cold rain, carrying the charred scent of the Zhao Mansion's ruins, seeped into Gu Linzhi's bones. He hid in the gnarled branches of an old locust tree, half-dead from lightning and fire, in the alley behind the Zhao Mansion. His dark robe blended seamlessly with the charred trunk. Only the tearing sensation of the wound under his ribs with every subtle movement reminded him of his remaining vitality. Numbness had spread to his left chest, and every breath was heavy, stabbing, and numb, like a cold anvil pressing against his chest.
Across a narrow alley lay the Zhao Mansion's rear corner gate, twisted and deformed by the fire and hastily sealed by the government. Inside, the shattered walls, like the ribs of a giant beast, pierced the leaden sky. Blackened beams and pillars shone with their last wisps of smoke in the rain, and the air was filled with charcoal, ash, and a deeper, sweet, burnt stench of incinerated flesh and blood.
Han Meng…Cao Wushang…burned the mansion to silence them. The plot of "Cao Wushang's secret order to burn the Zhao residence" in Xi Gang's book was now transformed into the shocking ruins before our eyes. But Xi Gang also pointed out the key: "Zhao Wenbi left a secret compartment in his secret room, obliterating the account book." That obliterated account book was the last hope for uncovering the dark secrets of the refined iron smuggling operation, and it also held the key to Ge Ping's account books. It must still be there! In a corner not completely consumed by the flames.
The rain gradually subsided, turning into a fine, drizzling drizzle, shrouding the ruins in a gray, damp, cold haze. Two yamen runners, dressed in black uniforms, clutched their fire and water sticks and huddled under the eaves across the street for shelter. They chatted idly, their gazes lazily scanning the ruins, having clearly lost their vigilance against this deadly place.
Opportunities are fleeting.
Gu Linzhi took a deep breath, the icy air stinging his lungs. He forced down the churning blood and dizziness. Like a shadow melting into the rain, he slid down the tree trunk silently, his feet tapping the mud without a splash. His figure clung to the shadow of the alley wall. With a few swift, silent flashes, he approached the charred rear corner door like a ghost.
The seal, soaked by rainwater, had lost much of its stickiness. He reached out from his fingertips and, with a light stroke and a flick, the seal slipped away silently. He leaned sideways, pressing his shoulder against the burnt-to-a-crisp door panel, exerting a slight force.
“Crunch…”
A faint groan, almost completely drowned out by the sound of rain, and the door was pushed open, barely wide enough for one person to pass sideways. A strong smell of burning and smoke hit him. Gu Linzhi held his breath, slipped in, and closed the door with his backhand.
Inside the door was a hellish scene.
Everywhere I looked, I saw charred black and devastation. Collapsed beams, the remains of furniture reduced to ash, twisted and deformed metal utensils... Rainwater dripped from the burned-out roof, creating small pits in the thick ash with a monotonous "tick-tick" sound. Scattered on the ground were shards of charred fabric, and occasionally, an unrecognizable, carbonized piece of bone, silently telling of the horror of that night.
Gu Linzhi's footsteps treaded on the slippery ashes and rubble, as if walking in a graveyard. His sharp gaze, like a probe, pierced through the thick smoke and mist, quickly scanning the ruins. Based on his memory of the Zhao Mansion's layout and the detailed outline, Zhao Wenbi's study and secret room should be located in the deepest part of the mansion, near the back garden.
He avoided the main road, sneaking through the shadows of broken walls and charred timber. Every step he took was extremely cautious, avoiding any loose rubble that might make a sound. The numbness in his ribs, like a maggot in his tarsal bones, eroded his strength and reaction speed, but he forced himself to maintain absolute focus.
Passing through a burnt-out moon-shaped gate, the back garden's scene became even more desolate. Precious flowers and trees were reduced to charred branches, the rockery crumbled, and the pond dried up, its bottom covered in ash and dust. A relatively independent two-story building, also burned beyond recognition, stood alone in the corner of the garden. The building was half-collapsed, the second floor almost completely burned, leaving only a section of the ground floor's walls intact, and the windows were nothing but charred holes.
This is it! Zhao Wenbi's secret room is located!
Gu Linzhi's heartbeat was heavy in his numb chest. He looked around, confirmed that no one was around, and then, like a raccoon cat, he slid through a burnt-out window and into the first floor of the small building.
The building was even darker than outside. Most of the roof had collapsed, and a mountain of charred rafters and rubble blocked most of the space. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning and decaying wet wood. The ground was covered with thick, wet ash, soft to the touch, like treading on the ashes of the dead.
The entrance to the secret room… The detailed outline didn't specify its exact location, but for a veteran like Zhao Wenbi, the secret room must be in the most secluded corner of the study. Gu Linzhi's gaze was like a cold blade, scraping inch by inch across the remaining wall, blackened by smoke and fire. He remembered where Zhao Wenbi's desk had been… his eyes locked on the remains of the desk against the wall, where only half of the frame remained, charred and burnt.
He walked over, crouched down, and, ignoring the dirtiness of the ashes, he carefully felt the cold, thickly ash-covered wall with his hands. His fingertips traced the rough masonry surface, feeling every tiny bump and dent. Cold, numb, despair... Time slipped by amid the sound of dripping rain, and waves of dull pain washed over him from his ribs.
Sudden!
When your fingertips touch the edge of a brick, it feels slightly different from the rest of the ground – it seems… too smooth? It lacks the natural wear and tear of long-term exposure to the air!
Gu Linzhi's spirits lifted! He immediately focused his attention, carefully probing around the brick with his fingers. Sure enough! The gap between the brick and the surrounding area was extremely fine, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, and the knocking sounded dull and hollow! It was moving!
He suppressed his excitement, fished out several slender steel needles from his pocket, and carefully inserted them into the tiny cracks in the masonry, searching for the trigger point of the mechanism. His movements were gentle and steady, like the most delicate surgery. A fine layer of cold sweat oozed from his forehead, mixing with the ashes on his face and flowing down.
“Click.”
An extremely slight sound, like the snapping of a dead branch, was heard!
The brick suddenly shrank inwards, then slid silently to the side, revealing a dark hole at the back that was only wide enough for an arm to fit through!
Found it! Secret compartment!
Without hesitation, Gu Linzhi immediately reached into the cave to explore. The cave was small and cold to the touch, with what appeared to be metal linings. His fingertips soon touched a square, leathery object!
He pulls it out!
It was a flat copper box, a foot square! The box itself was blackened by smoke, yet it felt heavy to the touch, and the copper corners inlaid around the edges were still sturdy. There was no lock on the lid, only a buckle that had been slightly deformed by the high temperature.
Hope lies within!
Gu Linzhi took a deep breath, suppressed the numbness and dull pain in his ribs, exerted force with his fingers, and suddenly opened the lid of the box!
The stale smell of old paper and ink mixed with a faint burnt smell hit him. However, when Gu Linzhi's eyes fell on the box, the glimmer of light that had just ignited in his eyes solidified and extinguished in an instant!
Inside the box, instead of the expected account books containing earth-shattering secrets, was a thick pile of burnt-black paper ashes, completely crumpled into a ball of rags! The ashes had been crumpled so vigorously that a few scraps of ink-stained paper remained at the edges, the writing smeared and blurred beyond recognition!
Destroyed! The "destroyed account books" mentioned in the detailed outline were so thorough! Zhao Wenbi, this old fox, destroyed the last piece of evidence so thoroughly before his death!
A wave of cold disappointment and anger instantly gripped Gu Linzhi's heart. He stared intently at the worthless pile of charred paper ash in the box, his knuckles turning white from the force he applied. The clue... is broken? No! Xi Gang would never leave only a dead end!
At this moment of disappointment and anger, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the inner wall of the copper box near the bottom out of the corner of his eye - there seemed to be an extremely fine scratch there, which was different from the surrounding blackened marks...?
Gu Linzhi's heart skipped a beat! He immediately put down the useless pile of paper ash, reached into the box, and carefully felt the location of the scratch. It felt... a slight indentation! He immediately used his fingertips to carefully feel along the indentation.
It was a very hidden groove carved into the inner wall of the copper box! It was shaped like... a small keyhole? But it was shallower and more irregular than an ordinary keyhole!
This isn't the box for the ledger! The box itself, or rather, the groove, is the real key!
Zhao Wenbi hid the crucial account books somewhere else! The key to the real hiding place was in the groove on the inner wall of this copper box! What he destroyed was just a decoy! A smokescreen to confuse the searchers!
"Escape..." Gu Linzhi instantly understood. This old fox really had a trick up his sleeve!
He immediately turned the box over, his fingers carefully exploring the bottom and outside of the box. Since the groove was a keyhole, the corresponding "key"... was likely hidden somewhere else in the box! Or... did it require a specific item to trigger it?
His gaze fell back on the pile of crumpled, charred paper ashes. Could it be... that the key was hidden in this pile of junk?
Gu Linzhi no longer hesitated, not caring about the dirt. He reached out and carefully lifted the charred, sticky mass of paper ash from the copper box. From the vigorous rubbing and the high temperature of the fire, the ash had hardened into a clump, like a charred mud cake. He placed it on the ground and, with the tip of his bayonet, carefully peeled it off layer by layer.
The ashes of paper fell, bringing with them a pungent smell. His movements were meticulous and patient, like an archaeologist peeling away a thousand-year-old seal. Time seemed frozen in the dim ruins, with only the subtle rustling of the bayonet tip through the charred ashes.
Sudden!
The tip of the bayonet touched a hard object!
Gu Linzhi paused, held his breath, and carefully brushed away the ashes around him. A small, slightly deformed, pitch-black metal object was revealed!
He picked it up and brushed off the ashes on the surface.
It was a strangely shaped piece of metal, only half the size of a thumb. Neither gold nor iron, it felt cold and heavy to the touch. It resembled a flattened willow leaf, its edges polished to an exceptionally smooth and sharp edge. At one end of the leaf-like metal piece, there was an extremely tiny, irregular protrusion, the shape of which... vaguely matched the outline of the groove on the inner wall of the copper box!
Found it!
Gu Linzhi's heart began to beat violently in his numb chest. He immediately placed the strange metal "key" against the groove on the inner wall of the copper box.
Fits perfectly!
He carefully aligned the raised part of the metal sheet with the concave part of the groove, pressed it in lightly, and then twisted his wrist slightly!
“Click.”
An extremely slight but clear sound of a mechanism moving came from inside the copper box!
Then, near the edge of the bottom of the copper box, a copper plate that had been tightly fitted together slid inward silently, revealing a smaller, flatter, embedded compartment!
In the secret compartment, there lay quietly a thin booklet, only the size of a palm!
The cover of the booklet was made of dark blue cardboard, the edges slightly curled and yellowed from the heat, but overall it was in good condition. There was no writing on the cover.
Gu Linzhi suppressed his excitement and with slightly trembling fingers (whether from the poison or excitement, it was unclear whether it was due to the poison or the excitement), he carefully took out the booklet and opened it.
The paper inside had also been yellowed and brittle by the heat, but the writing was clearly visible! No longer were those messy accounts smeared beyond recognition, but extremely concise yet shocking records!
"On the seventh day of the third month of the Jiachen year, I received 200 packages of 'green salt' as a shipping fee and 500 taels of silver. Handled by: Wang Laowu (deceased), Warehouse Bing."
"On May 23rd of the Jiachen year, a 'ship damage subsidy' of one thousand taels of silver was paid. Handled by: Zhang Lu'er (deceased) of Heishiji."
"On August 15th of the Jiachen year, a special toll of 3,000 taels of silver was collected for 'Northern Goods'. Handled by: Ge Ping (deceased) of the Tongyuan Canal Gang."
"On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month of the Jiachen year, a year-end tribute of five thousand taels of silver was paid to the Youzhou Craftsman's Workshop. Handled by: Postman Zhou Fu (deceased)..."
Line after line, page after page! Time, place, name, amount, person in charge... and the shocking number of "deceased"!
This is no ordinary account book! It's a record stained with human lives, paid for protection and hush money! Every living life becomes a footnote beneath these cold figures! Ge Ping, Wang Laowu, Zhang Lu'er, Zhou Fu... These names are just vague codes in Ge Ping's account book, but here, they have become ghosts bought by money!
The name "Youzhou Craftsman Workshop" burned Gu Linzhi's eyes like a red-hot iron! Together with the broken arrow with "Youzhou" engraved on it on the Linqingzha River beach, it instantly formed a cold closed circle!
The last few pages of the account book were written in an even more hasty and sloppy manner, with ink of varying shades, clearly written in a hurry:
"...On the 17th day of the first month of the Bingwu year, Cao Gong issued a secret order: cargo should be diverted to the Xiaocangxiang Wharf on the inland river, and the Bingzi Warehouse should be cleared and kept ready for use..."
"...On the third day of the second month of the Bingwu year, Han Meng arrived, demanding information about Shadow Scale's whereabouts and paying a deposit of three thousand taels..."
"...On the ninth day of the second month of the Bingwu year, at Linqing Sluice Gate...If this mission fails...my life will be over..."
The record abruptly stops! Time stops at the eve of the burning of the Zhao Mansion! Zhao Wenbi has clearly sensed the impending disaster!
Gu Linzhi closed the booklet, soaked in blood, tears, and guilt. The cold touch penetrated his fingertips and penetrated his heart. He tucked it close to his chest, next to Ge Ping's account book and the broken half of the Youzhou arrow. These three objects pressed against the wound under his ribs, causing sharp pain, but like three cold rocks, they suppressed the surging murderous intent.
Zhao Wenbi…Cao Wushang…Han Meng…Youzhou Craftsmen’s Workshop…and the Purple Owl of the Snow Spider Pavilion hidden deep in Ningxiang Garden…A huge and cold web finally revealed its hideous outline on the bloody account book!
He carefully restored the copper box to its original state, hid the metal "key", put the useless charred paper ash back into the box, and closed the lid. Then, he put the copper box back into the secret compartment, pushed it back into the masonry, and carefully erased all traces of himself.
After doing all this, he leaned against the cold, charred wall, panting violently. The paralyzing feeling of the poison was like an icy tide, and with the violent fluctuations of emotions and the depletion of physical strength, it surged back again, and his vision began to blur with black spots.
We must leave immediately! We can't stay here any longer!
He forced himself to stand up and prepared to leave through the window he came in from.
The moment he turned around, he caught a glimpse of a pile of scattered, unburned files in the corner, revealing a piece of paper that hadn't been completely blackened. The color of the paper... was an extremely rare color, with a faint purple hue!
Wisteria paper!
Gu Linzhi's steps suddenly stopped! His heart felt like it was being gripped by an icy hand! He immediately squatted down, disregarding the dirt, brushed aside the ashes covering it, and carefully pulled out the torn page.
The fragment was only the size of a palm, its edges charred and curled, and most of the writing had been blurred by the high temperature. But in the lower right corner of the fragment, a clear mark against the backdrop of ashes was like a drenching head of ice water, instantly freezing Gu Linzhi's blood!
It was a circular mark made of water ripples! The lines of the ripples were extremely smooth and unique, not an ordinary watermark. In the center of the mark, surrounded by the water waves, two extremely ancient seal characters could be vaguely seen:
Yunze
Yunze Club!
The crucial clue in the detailed outline, "a rubbing of a fragment reveals the watermarked seal of the 'Yun Ze Hui'," unexpectedly appeared in the ruins of Zhao Wenbi's secret room! How could this clue, which should have appeared at the explosion site of the Tongyuan Canal Gang's pleasure boat in Hangzhou, appear thousands of miles away in Zhao's mansion? What is the connection between Zhao Wenbi and the Yun Ze Hui... and the grain transport, salt and iron, and even refined iron smuggling in Jiangnan?!
Gu Linzhi clutched the torn purple vine paper, his fingertips icy cold. Su Wanwan from Ningxiang Garden, the fragments of the Yunze Society from the Zhao Mansion, the broken arrow from Youzhou… these seemingly scattered clues, as if connected by invisible threads, pointed to a deeper, colder, and more intricate core of darkness!
He quickly put the fragment of the page into his arms. This place was no longer of any value, and someone might come patrolling at any time.
He didn't pause, forcing himself to endure the dizziness and the piercing numbness in his ribs. Just as he'd come in, he silently climbed out the window, his figure swiftly disappearing into the deeper shadows of the Zhao Mansion ruins and the relentless rain. Behind him, the charred ruins, like the silent bones of a giant beast, guarded a corner of the bloody secret that had just been revealed.
---
Mo Ya's consciousness ebbed and flowed in endless darkness and excruciating pain. Each faint glimmer of consciousness was accompanied by an inhuman agony in his broken right shoulder, as if repeatedly burned by a branding iron and gnawed by countless poisonous insects. The icy rain seemed to pour down on him, yet it seemed only an illusion. He felt himself being dragged along, bouncing through the mud, the rough ground rubbing against the wound on his back, adding another layer of torture.
"Hoo... hoo..." He tried to breathe, but only a rumbling sound like a broken bellows came from his throat. The toxins mixed with the high fever, corroding his mind. He tried hard to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt heavy, as if weighed down by a thousand-pound rock.
"Don't move." A female voice, cold and emotionless, seemed to come from a very far away place, and seemed to ring right next to the ear.
It's that moon-white... ghostly...
Su Wanwan's icy grey eyes and the life-threatening icy silk thread flashed through Mo Ya's remaining consciousness. His murderous intent instinctively tried to gather, but his body couldn't even move a finger.
Then, he felt his stump being lifted, not gently. A sharper pain, as if piercing deep into his soul, suddenly erupted from the wound! It was as if something cold and sharp was forcibly scraping away the rotting flesh and necrotic tissue deep within the wound!
"Ugh!" A suppressed, beast-like whimper finally broke through the blockage in his throat. The excruciating pain was like a tsunami, instantly drowning his remaining consciousness and plunging him into endless darkness once again.
He didn't know how long it took. A strange, bone-chilling chill pulled him back from the brink of unconsciousness. The chill emanated from the broken arm of his right shoulder, partially covering the burning pain and bringing a brief moment of clarity. At the same time, an extremely bitter liquid with a strong medicinal smell was forced into his parched lips, causing him to cough violently.
He struggled to open his heavy eyelids.
My vision was blurry, as if through a layer of blood-colored frosted glass. Under the dim light, the first thing that caught my eye was a low, mold-stained thatched roof. The air was filled with the smell of cheap herbs, blood, and... the faint, yet remarkably clear, cool fragrance of wisteria.
He turned his stiff neck and focused his vision with difficulty.
The moon-white figure, with its back to him, stood before a worn wooden table. A dim oil lamp lit the table, and beneath it lay a plain white cotton cloth, scattered upon it were several golden needles of varying lengths, gleaming with a cold light, and a small coil of nearly transparent silk thread, flowing with a jade-white sheen—ice silk!
Su Wanwan leaned slightly to the side, seemingly tidying something. The dim light outlined her cold and detached silhouette, a few strands of black hair drooping, stained with tiny water droplets. She raised her hand, and the wide cuffs slipped down, revealing a small part of her arm, as white as snow. And on the inside of her arm, near her shoulder—
Mo Ya's pupils suddenly contracted in the darkness!
A thumb-sized, pale mark, like a condensed ice and snow, was clearly imprinted on that fair skin! It was a coiled spider, eight legs spread out, its web radiating from it! The Northern Di Snow Spider Totem!
The cold reality was like a hammer, hammering down upon Mo Ya's remaining consciousness! The courtesan of Ningxiang Garden... the life-threatening ice silk... the totem of the Snow Spider Pavilion... she was the Purple Owl!
Su Wanwan seemed to sense his gaze, and she paused slightly as she adjusted her sleeves. Then, naturally, she pulled them down, covering the mark on her arm. Without turning back, she picked up a golden needle from the table and slowly burned it over the flame of the oil lamp. Her voice was cold and ethereal, like falling ice beads:
"If you don't want to ruin your entire arm, just bear with it."
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