Chapter 52
The canal's turbid current, in the deepest darkness before dawn, seemed especially heavy and cold. Like a rootless leaf, the small boat glided silently across the inky waters. The solitary hurricane lantern on the bow, its dim glow only illuminated the roiling waves a few feet ahead. Beyond, the all-consuming, boundless darkness.
Gu Linzhi leaned against the cold side of the boat, each breath like the tugs of a rusted saw. The wound beneath his ribs no longer felt a simple, excruciating pain, but a chilling numbness that penetrated his very bones, as if freezing his very soul. The toxicity of "Jiyuhong" was irreversibly sapping his last remaining vitality. A vast, lingering blackness enveloped the edges of his vision, a buzzing in his ears. Only the old boatman's hoarse, desolate fishing rhymes echoed repeatedly in the depths of his consciousness, like a ghostly whisper.
"...The storm in front of the Dragon King Temple is fierce, and the empty box is thrown to terrify the ghosts and gods..."
Dragon King Temple...Empty Box...
His trembling, almost stiff fingers tightly grasped the Ge Ping account book, swollen and wrinkled by the river water, and the cold, hard metal fragments with the Yunze Society's watermarks. These two objects, like red-hot irons, burned his chest and his heart.
This was no coincidence. The old boatman's identity, the sudden appearance of this lonely boat, the perfectly timed "help," and the clearly pointed fishing rumor... all of this exuded a calculated, bone-chilling chill. He seemed to have stepped from a desperate situation into another, deeper, more shrouded situation.
Luo Manzi sat slumped across from him, his heavy breathing gradually subsiding, but his injuries remained severe. His one arm drooped limply, his bloodshot eyes warily scanning the dark river and the old boatman at the stern, silent as a reef. Between them lay Shen Mo, his face as pale as gold paper, his breath so weak it was almost imperceptible. The herbal powder the boatman had sprinkled on the arrow wound in his chest was now soaked with blood, emitting a faint bitter and decayed scent.
Time slipped away in the cold silence and the whimpering of the river. A faint grayish-white hue, like the belly of a fish, gradually appeared in the eastern sky.
At this moment when dawn and night alternate and the light is most ambiguous and hazy——
At the bend of the river ahead, a huge dark shadow, like a dormant monster, gradually revealed its outline.
It was an abandoned temple. Most of the eaves and brackets had collapsed, and the walls were peeling, revealing the mottled brickwork within. In front of the temple lay a relatively open, derelict, flagged pier, where a few stone piles for mooring boats stood crookedly, entangled with rotten ropes. The temple door was wide open, revealing a gloomy interior, like the gaping maw of a giant beast. The temple's back was set against a steep riverbank, adding to its desolate and eerie appearance.
Dragon King Temple. We've arrived.
The old boatman's rowing slowed. Like a ghost, the boat glided silently toward the deserted dock. He never looked back, never spoke, as if he were just a lifeless ferry.
Gu Linzhi forced himself to sit upright, his cold gaze fixed on the approaching temple, which resembled the wreckage of a giant beast. He could sense countless pairs of eyes, silently watching this uninvited guest from behind the dark temple gates and the shadows of the collapsed halls.
Luo Manzi also struggled to stand up, his only remaining left hand tightly gripping the water-dividing spear, his muscles tense.
The boat bumped gently against the stone steps of the dock, making a dull sound.
"We're here." The old boatman finally spoke, his voice still hoarse and flat, without any emotion, "Get off the boat."
Gu Linzhi took a deep look at the hunched figure, but didn't move immediately. He took a deep breath of the cold, watery air, suppressed the heavy dizziness, turned his gaze to Luo Manzi, and then looked at the dying Shen Mo.
"Boss Luo," his voice was hoarse, but it carried an unquestionable determination, "Take Doctor Shen and wait here. If...if I don't come out in an incense stick of time, sail away immediately and don't look back."
"Gu Xiang!" Luo Manzi said anxiously, "How could I, Old Luo, be so afraid of death? I'll go with you!"
"This is an order!" Gu Linzhi interrupted harshly, his eyes sharp as a knife, "Your life, and Doctor Shen's life, are more valuable than mine right now! Stay alive and expose the matter of Youzhou's craftsmen! Do you understand?!"
Luo Manzi looked at Gu Linzhi's eyes, which were still cold in the twilight of dawn, yet already filled with death. He clenched his teeth, the scar on his face twisted, and finally nodded heavily, saying in a hoarse voice: "...I understand! Minister Gu...take care!"
Gu Linzhi said no more. He struggled to his feet, stumbling a bit before steadying himself by the side of the boat. He took one last look at the unconscious Shen Mo, then solemnly placed Ge Ping's account book into Luo Manzi's hands and whispered, "Hold it. If I can't come back... I'll make it public... along with everything you know!"
After saying this, he no longer hesitated, stepped out of the boat, and stepped onto the cold and slippery stone steps of the dock.
Just as his feet touched the ground, the old boatman at the stern threw something over to him without any warning.
Gu Lin instinctively took it. It felt heavy and cold in his hand. It was a simple camphorwood box, about a foot and a half square. The surface of the box was covered with years of wear and tear and several deep knife marks. At the corner of the box, a clear number was clearly visible in the dim light of dawn.
"Three"!
The third camphorwood box?! A copy?!
Gu Linzhi's heart sank! This box... This old boatman actually had it! And he gave it to him right here and now!
The plan in the detailed outline, "Bait to stir up trouble: Gu Linzhi throws the 'Box No. 3' copy to lure the snake out of its hole", actually unfolded in this way, in a way that was completely beyond his control!
He suddenly looked up at the old boatman.
The old boatman, however, had already turned, his back to him. He picked up the bamboo pole and gently tapped the dock. The boat slid silently backward into the darkness of the central river, soon only a vague outline remained. From beginning to end, he didn't say another word, as if he had completed a long-destined mission.
Gu Linzhi was standing alone on the deserted dock, holding the cold and heavy camphorwood box in his hands, which seemed to contain endless blood and gore. He looked at the lonely boat that quickly disappeared in the darkness, and a huge chill, controlled by an invisible hand, instantly swept over his body.
But he had no time to hesitate or fear. The cold numbness beneath his ribs was intensifying. He took a deep breath, suppressed all the turbulent emotions, and cast his gaze once again towards the gaping temple door, which resembled the mouth of a giant beast.
The bait is in hand. Snake, time to come out of the hole.
He held the camphorwood box in his arms, and walked unsteadily but with great determination, step by step, towards the Dragon King Temple that exuded the smell of decay and death.
The temple interior was even darker than the outside, filled with a strong stench of dust, mildew, and some kind of animal feces. Broken statues lay tilted in the corners, covered in cobwebs, and the altar table overturned. Only a large, long-dead stone incense burner in the center still retained some trace of its former appearance.
Gu Linzhi stopped in front of the incense burner. He looked around. The dilapidated temple was shrouded in shadows and silent, but he could clearly sense the countless greedy, vigilant, and murderous gazes surging beneath the silence!
He no longer hesitated. With all his strength, he lifted the heavy camphorwood box high in the air and then slammed it towards the huge stone incense burner!
"Bang--!!!"
A huge crash sounded, which was particularly harsh in the empty and dilapidated temple!
The wooden box collided violently with the stone incense burner, and the lid of the box instantly broke open! Inside was not the expected gold, silver, jewelry, or confidential documents, but a box full of worthless, grayish-white ordinary pebbles!
Empty box! It really is an empty box!
However, the loud noise and the sight of the box lid bursting open were like cold water poured into boiling oil, instantly detonating the madness hidden in the darkness!
"The box is open!"
“Grab it!”
"Damn it! Don't let that kid get away!"
Countless roars, cries, and curses erupted from all directions like a tidal wave! Dozens of dark shadows instantly leaped out from every corner of the dilapidated temple, behind broken window frames, and even from the crumbling beams overhead!
These people were dressed in a variety of styles. Some were ferocious and ferocious, clearly desperate criminals; some had empty eyes, yet their movements were incredibly swift and coordinated, like controlled assassins; even more so, some dressed like ordinary peddlers, yet their eyes gleamed with greed and ruthlessness! All sorts of people, from all walks of life, were drawn to the same empty box. Like sharks smelling blood, they frantically pounced on Gu Linzhi in front of the incense burner and the empty box that had burst open!
The scene instantly descended into utter chaos! Fighting for the empty box (even though it contained only stones), people from different factions instantly engaged in a bloody battle! The flashing of swords, the roaring and wailing of wrath, played out madly in the dilapidated temple! Blood instantly dyed the dust and broken bricks on the ground red!
The moment Gu Linzhi let go of the box, he suddenly fell to the shadow behind the incense burner on the side! Several swords that were aimed at his original position suddenly missed and hit the stone incense burner fiercely, sparks flying!
He huddled behind the incense burner, panting heavily, feeling the toxins in his body react even more violently to his violent movements. He coldly watched the absurd tragedy of people killing each other for an empty box. His eyes were devoid of emotion, only cold mockery and exhaustion.
This is the underworld. This is human nature. A seemingly empty box can bring out the deepest greed and ugliness.
However, his target is not these fools and puppets driven by greed.
He was waiting. Waiting for the real big fish, or rather… the person who set up this fishing trap, to surface on his own.
The chaotic fight continued, with men constantly falling. The stench of blood was so strong it was nauseating. The empty box was fought over and passed around by countless hands until it was finally snatched by a ferocious giant. He laughed wildly, clutching the box in his arms, and tried to rush out of the temple gate, but was surrounded by even more furious men, who hacked them to the ground with their swords! The box had changed hands once again...
Just as the chaos reached its peak—
“Buzz!”
An extremely strange, low yet penetrating buzzing sound suddenly sounded above the ruined temple without any warning!
This sound was different from the sharp buzzing whistle before. It was more ancient and deep, carrying an unquestionable majesty and... a call as if it came from the ancient wilderness!
The moment the buzzer sounded, all the dead warriors in the temple, with their hollow eyes and stiff movements, suddenly froze in their fighting, as if they had received a supreme command! They instantly abandoned all their current targets and, like puppets on strings, turned in unison towards the half-collapsed Dragon King statue in the deepest part of the temple!
Immediately afterwards, among those desperate gangsters who were fighting and looting frantically, nearly one-third of them suddenly became dull and empty in the eyes. The greedy and crazy expressions on their faces froze in an instant, as if their souls had been sucked out. They also stopped moving and turned towards the direction of the statue!
The remaining warriors were stunned by this sudden change and stood there in a daze for a moment.
Gu Linzhi's heart skipped a beat! Here it comes! The real controller is about to appear!
Behind the statue of the Dragon King, whose half face was collapsed and covered with cobwebs, a shadow began to wriggle. A figure wearing a loose black robe and an expressionless pale mask on his face turned out silently like a ghost.
In his hand, he held a strangely shaped dark object that was neither made of metal nor wood, and engraved with strange runes. The low and oppressive humming sound came from this object!
The masked man's gaze (if the empty eye sockets could be considered a gaze) slowly swept over the dead men and controlled scoundrels in the temple who seemed to be under a spell, and finally fell on Gu Linzhi, who was curled up in the shadows behind the incense burner.
"Gu Linzhi..." The voice behind the mask had been processed in some way, becoming hoarse, distorted, and devoid of any human emotion. "...hand over the real 'key'...and I'll spare your life..."
A key? Gu Linzhi's heart trembled! They really weren't after the contents of the box, but the "key" to unlock the real secret! Was it the metal willow leaf that could open the copper box and hardwood secret letter box in Zhao Wenbi's secret room? Or... something else?
"Otherwise..." The masked man slowly raised his other hand, holding a similar buzzing whistle that emitted a faint blue glow! "... I'll let you taste... the feeling of 'Ten Thousand Ants Gnawing at Your Heart'..."
Just as the masked man was about to blow the more threatening buzzer—
Mutation regeneration!
"call out--!"
A nearly invisible black shadow, like lightning tearing through the night sky, shot through the broken window frame on the side of the temple! Its target wasn't the masked man, but the strange object in his hand that was emitting a low, humming sound!
The timing, angle, and speed are all precise and ruthless to the extreme!
The masked man obviously did not expect this sudden attack, and it was too late for him to dodge!
“Snap!”
A crisp cracking sound!
The strange object was accurately struck by the shadow and instantly exploded into countless fragments! The low humming sound that controlled the dead soldiers suddenly stopped!
Almost at the same time!
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Three more black shadows, like the impermanence of death, shot in from different directions! Their target was directly aimed at the throats of those dead soldiers and jianghu who had just escaped control and whose eyes were still in a daze!
“Puff! Puff! Puff!”
The three assassins who were closest to Gu Linzhi and had just regained consciousness suddenly had a bloody hole in their throats and fell to the ground without even a grunt!
This sudden and precise sniper attack instantly broke the balance in the temple!
The masked man was shocked and angry, and looked suddenly in the direction where the hidden weapon came from!
The desperate gang members who had just escaped control were so frightened by the terrifying sniper attack that they screamed and no longer cared about the boxes. They ran towards the temple gate like headless flies, instantly breaking down the already chaotic formation!
The moment the shadow shattered the controller, Gu Linzhi's eyes flashed with cold light! He knew this was his only chance! The unidentified "third party" hiding in the shadows had struck again! And this time, the goal was clear: break the control, create chaos, and snipe the threat!
He endured the poison and weakness and suddenly jumped out from behind the incense burner. He did not rush towards the temple gate, but like a cheetah pouncing on its prey, he rushed towards the masked man who was instantly unconscious and exposed because his controller was destroyed!
Catch the leader first!
His movements were as fast as lightning, and in his hand was a sharp broken rafter that he had picked up at some point, which he thrust straight into the masked man's throat!
The masked man reacted extremely quickly. Although his mind was shaken by the destruction of his controller, he still dodged Gu Linzhi's desperate attack in time. At the same time, he slapped Gu Linzhi's rib wound with a backhand palm, carrying a sharp gust of wind! Extremely vicious!
Gu Linzhi didn't dodge at all! He actually wanted to exchange his injury for his life!
"puff!"
The tip of the rafter scraped past the masked man's neck, leaving a trail of blood! The masked man's palm, which contained a cold inner force, also landed firmly on Gu Linzhi's ribs!
"Ugh!" Gu Linzhi felt as if he had been hit hard, and a large mouthful of black blood spurted out. His body flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, and hit the overturned wreckage of the altar heavily. His eyes went black, and he almost fainted instantly!
But the masked man wasn't feeling well either! Blood gushed out from the wound Gu Linzhi's rafter had scratched. Even more terrifying was that the pale mask on his face, impacted by the violent movement and the blood Gu Linzhi had gushed out, cracked in the middle with a "crack" and fell off in half!
Beneath the mask, half of his pale, sinister face, with a deep scar, was revealed, along with a pair of eyes filled with shock, anger, malice, and disbelief!
Although it was just a quick glimpse, and only half of the face, Gu Linzhi remembered those eyes and the scar in the moment before his consciousness completely blurred!
It's him?! It's actually him?!
The huge shock even overwhelmed the severe pain! However, before he could think carefully, the boundless darkness completely swallowed up his consciousness.
The chaos inside the temple continued. The masked man (perhaps the half-faced man should be called now), having lost his controller, clutched his bleeding neck, looking with mixed feelings of shock and anger at the unconscious Gu Linzhi. He then glanced fearfully outside the window for any snipers. Finally, he let out a desperate roar, turned abruptly, and like a giant bird, plunged into the shadows behind the statue, quickly disappearing.
Those remaining assassins who had not been killed by the sniper also retreated like the tide as he disappeared.
Inside the ruined temple, all that was left in a blink of an eye were corpses scattered all over the ground, coagulated blood, the overturned empty box, scattered pebbles, and Gu Linzhi lying in the ruins, his life or death unknown.
The faint light of dawn finally struggled to penetrate the broken window frames of the dilapidated temple, like a cold searchlight, illuminating this bloody and absurd battlefield.
A moment later, there was a slight sound of footsteps.
A figure, like a ghost, appeared silently at the temple entrance.
He was dressed in dark, night-traveling clothes, his face covered with a black scarf, revealing only a pair of cold, sharp, emotionless eyes. In his hand was a delicately shaped crossbow, the arrow slot of which was empty.
He slowly walked to the unconscious Gu Linzhi and looked at him for a moment. Then, he squatted down and checked Gu Linzhi's injuries and pulse very skillfully, frowning slightly.
Then, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, unplugged it, and carefully dripped a small amount of colorless and odorless liquid into Gu Linzhi's slightly opened lips.
After doing all this, he stood up and glanced at the mess on the ground again, finally landing on the half-fallen, pale mask. He walked over and turned the mask over with his toes.
On the inside of the mask, near the cracked edge, one could vaguely see an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible mark painted with a special dye - it was an abstract bird pattern with its wings flapping, about to take flight!
The masked man's pupils contracted very slightly the moment he saw the mark.
He did not stop, and his figure flashed, just like when he came, and he disappeared silently in the dim light before dawn, leaving behind only this dilapidated temple filled with the atmosphere of death and mystery.
In the distance on the river, the small boat was still drifting quietly in the rising morning mist.
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