Chapter 45 The Truth
By the late hours of the night, the candlelight in the Xie family's old house had turned the air in the study to an icy chill. Wu Xie squatted on the floor, his fingertips digging into the edge of the tin box. His knuckles turned white as he examined the letter inside dozens of times. His mother's words, "Xie'er is the medicinal ingredient, do not let personal feelings interfere," were sharper than a knife, piercing straight into his heart.
"This powder isn't anything life-saving," Zhang Qiling's voice came from behind the desk. He was using tweezers to examine the half-empty bottle of brown powder under the candlelight. The powder contained an excessive amount of "Soul-Locking Grass," meant to strengthen the body's constitution. His tone was as calm as if he were stating something unrelated to himself. Only Hei Xiazi knew that the fleeting coldness in his eyes was a reminder of some long-buried past.
Hei Xiazi leaned against the doorframe, twirling a lighter between his fingers. Looking at Wu Xie's frozen back, his tone devoid of its usual mockery, he said, "Your parents knew about, and were even involved in, the deal between Old Master Wu and Master Xie." His gaze swept over Zhang Qiling, who was wiping his black gold ancient sword, the red mark on his neck glowing a pale pink in the candlelight—a mark left from last night, now adding a touch of subtle warmth to the cruel truth. "They weren't under house arrest; they went to Southeast Asia voluntarily, to avoid you, and to avoid their guilty consciences."
Wu Xie suddenly looked up, her eyes red but no tears falling. She just crumpled the letter into a ball: "What about my second and third uncles? They always say they're protecting me, but it's all a lie?"
Xiao Hua slammed the newly deciphered telegram in front of him. The sender was his second uncle, the recipient was Xie Jiuye, and the date was Wu Xie's fifteenth birthday, the day after he first asked about his parents' whereabouts. "'Wu Xie's medicinal ingredients are ready, the trip to Banna can be arranged, and arrangements have been made with the Wu family patriarch.'" Xiao Hua's voice was deep as she traced the signature on the telegram with her fingertips. "Your second and third uncles have been accomplices from beginning to end."
Zhang Qiling stood up, walked to Wu Xie's side, picked up the crumpled letter, unfolded it, and traced the four characters "Medicinal Ingredient's Duty" with his fingertip: "The Wu family are best at binding each other with interests. Your parents exchanged 'stability in Nanyang' for keeping quiet about what they knew, and your second and third uncles exchanged 'Wu family resources' for the Xie family's protection." He paused, as if recalling some distant detail, "I went to Banna in my early years and saw similar traces of transactions. Master Xie's plan was much earlier than we thought."
Hei Xiazi walked over and naturally placed his arm around Zhang Qiling's shoulder. His fingertips inadvertently brushed against the smooth fabric of Zhang Qiling's back. Although there had been some bumps and scrapes during the raid on the secret chamber last night, they were merely superficial injuries to Zhang Qiling and had long since healed. "Don't dwell on these things." His tone carried its usual flippancy, but it was more serious than usual. "It's their business if they abandon you. We're going to the Zhang Family Ancient Building not to cover up their conspiracy, but to give you the antidote."
Zhang Qiling turned his head to look at him, the coldness in his eyes lessening slightly. He gently pressed his fingertips against Hei Xiazi's palm—the "reassuring" signal they had agreed upon. Hei Xiazi's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, and he said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "There are many traps in the ancient building. Don't rush in too quickly. I'll cooperate with you."
On the eve of his departure for Banna, Zhang Qiling's room was still lit. He was sitting on the edge of the bed wiping his knife when Hei Xiazi suddenly walked in from outside, holding two bottles of mineral water: "Drink this on the road tomorrow. The water in Banna is hard; you won't like it."
Zhang Qiling looked up and took the bottle, his fingertips touching the cold surface: "You should drink less alcohol too."
Hei Xiazi laughed and sat down next to him, getting very close: "Is the mute concerned about me? Then tonight..." Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Qiling gently tapped his arm with the scabbard, but he saw that the tip of the other's ear was red, and he wasn't really angry.
The next morning, the four drove to Banna. The forests outside the car window grew denser, and the mist clung to the treetops like gauze. Wu Xie leaned against the car window, clutching the metal box in his hand, silent. He finally understood that all the "concern" over the years had been fake, that the milk his second uncle had given him might have been laced with medicine, and that the "adventure" his third uncle had taken him on was actually a test of his constitution.
“We’re almost at Banna,” Zhang Qiling suddenly said, his gaze falling on the distant mountains. “The entrance to the ancient building is behind the waterfall, and it requires Qilin blood to open.”
Hei Xiazi turned his head to look at him, a smile in his eyes: "Then we'll have to trouble the mute."
The four followed Zhang Qiling deeper into the forest. The fog grew thicker, and the fallen leaves rustled underfoot. Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi walked at the front, their steps steady, occasionally exchanging glances to understand each other's intentions. Suddenly, Hei Xiazi nudged Zhang Qiling's arm: "There's movement in the bushes on the left."
Zhang Qiling nodded, his fingertips already resting on the hilt of the Black Gold Ancient Sword. The next second, three jet-black pheasant necks darted out of the grass, heading straight for Wu Xie and Xiao Hua behind them. "Watch out!" Xiao Hua immediately pulled Wu Xie back, while simultaneously drawing her soft whip from her waist, precisely wrapping it around the seven-inch mark of the foremost pheasant, and forcefully slamming it against a tree trunk.
On the other side, Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi had already started fighting. The black gold ancient sword flashed with a cold light and directly severed the head of a pheasant by the neck. Hei Xiazi dodged the attack by turning to the side and used his dagger to stab the abdomen of another pheasant. The movement was clean and swift, and not even the hem of his clothes was stained with blood.
"Thanks." Xiaohua took a breath, the soft whip still stained with venom. "These things are more ferocious than the last time they came."
Wu Xie's arm was scratched by a tree branch, and blood was seeping out: "It seems that not only did the Wu family come, but they also deliberately disturbed these things."
Zhang Qiling walked over, took out iodine from his backpack, and handed it to Wu Xie: "Disinfect, don't get infected." His gaze swept around, "The waterfall is just ahead, they must have set up an ambush near the entrance."
Reaching the waterfall, the water cascading down from above splashed, wetting Zhang Qiling's clothes. He walked to the stone wall, bit his fingertip, and pressed his blood into the groove carved with a qilin pattern. With a soft "click," the stone wall slowly slid open, revealing a dark opening from which the faint sound of metal clanging could be heard.
"There's an ambush." Hei Xiazi tensed up instantly, shielding Xiao Hua and Wu Xie behind him, and stood back to back with Zhang Qiling. "Brother, you take the left side, I'll handle the right side."
Zhang Qiling nodded, his Black Gold Ancient Blade already drawn. The next second, more than a dozen people dressed in black rushed out from both sides of the cave entrance, each holding a crossbow bolt poisoned with poison. "It's the Wujia!" Xiao Hua shouted, her soft whip lashing out like a serpent, catching two incoming crossbow bolts and pulling them back forcefully, causing the archers to stumble.
Wu Xie didn't hesitate either. He took out an entrenching tool from his backpack and used it to block the crossbow bolts aimed at him. Although his movements were not as skillful as the other three, he still managed to protect himself.
Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi, at the forefront, had already charged in. Zhang Qiling's blade was so fast it was a blur, each strike precisely hitting the enemy's weapon or joints, without any unnecessary movements, yet each move was deadly. Hei Xiazi was even more agile, sometimes rolling to dodge attacks, sometimes using his dagger to deflect crossbow bolts, and occasionally even creating openings to shield Xiao Hua from sneak attacks. The two cooperated seamlessly, and the men in black were no match for them; in a short time, most of them fell.
In the chaos of battle, one of the men in black, finding himself outmatched head-on, suddenly turned to Wu Xie, his dagger aimed straight for his back. "Watch out!" Zhang Qiling reacted swiftly, pulling Wu Xie behind him and simultaneously parrying with his own blade. The dagger struck the blade, sparks flying. Seeing this, the man in black suddenly pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket and threw it to the ground, instantly filling the air with thick smoke.
"Don't wander off!" Black Bear shouted immediately, his voice piercing through the smoke, "Dumb Man, where are you?"
"Here." Zhang Qiling's voice came from the right. He was helping Xiaohua, who had almost tripped. Xiaohua's calf had been grazed by a crossbow bolt, leaving a deep gash that was bleeding. "Xiaohua is injured."
Hei Xiazi immediately groped his way over, his dagger still tucked in his hand: "Let me see, is it a fatal wound?" He took out a tourniquet from his backpack and handed it to Zhang Qiling, "Wrap it up first, we'll deal with it when we get out."
When the thick smoke dissipated, the men in black were either dead or had fled, and the cave entrance returned to silence. Wu Xie had a new wound on his arm, and Xiao Hua's calf was tightly wrapped with a tourniquet. Only Zhang Qiling and Hei Xiazi had no broken skin, except for some dust on their clothes.
“These people are here to test us.” Zhang Qiling looked at the corpses on the ground. “They want to know our strength and also want to buy us time.”
Hei Xiazi crouched down, examining the wounds on a corpse: "The method was used by Wujia's assassins. It seems that the old master of Wujia is determined to steal the Meteorite Jade Marrow." As he stood up, he casually brushed the grass clippings off Zhang Qiling's shoulder. "Go in, be careful of the traps inside."
The four entered the cave, where a damp atmosphere filled the air. A flashlight beam swept across the stone walls, revealing densely packed symbols. "These are the Zhang family's commemorative markings," Zhang Qiling explained as they walked. "They say the ancient building holds the 'ultimate' secret, and... any outsider who trespasses will die." His tone was calm, as if he were merely reciting ordinary text. Only Hei Xiazi knew that his familiarity with this place far exceeded the mere fact that he had "visited it in his younger days."
Wu Xie suddenly stopped and pointed to a symbol: "Isn't this the mark of the Wu family? There's also the Xie family's emblem next to it."
The crowd crowded around and saw that the symbol was engraved next to the commemorative pattern, as if it had been added later. The Xie family emblem next to it was still very new, obviously indicating that someone had been there recently. "It was left by the Wu family and the Xie family together." Xiao Hua frowned. "They got here before us, and they might already be waiting at the bottom."
After walking for about ten minutes, a fork in the road suddenly appeared ahead. The passage on the left was shrouded in a pale green mist, while faint footsteps could be heard coming from the passage on the right. "The left is strong alkaline fog, and there are people on the right," Zhang Qiling said softly. "The homeless people must have gone to the right to lead us there."
“We’ll go to the left,” Black Bear immediately said. “Although the strong alkaline fog is dangerous, it will help us avoid their ambush. Little Flower, can you walk?”
Xiao Hua nodded, supporting herself with her entrenching tool as she stood up: "No problem, this injury is nothing."
The four put on gas masks and entered the passage on the left. The mist seeped into their masks, carrying a pungent smell. Zhang Qiling walked in front, occasionally reminding those behind him: "The third step ahead is a feint, jump over it." "There are hidden arrows on the left wall, stay to the right." His reminders were incredibly precise, as if he had personally witnessed how these mechanisms were triggered.
Although Wu Xie and Xiao Hua were puzzled, they didn't ask any further questions—Zhang Qiling's "experience" had surprised them more than once. Hei Xiazi followed beside Zhang Qiling, a knowing smile in his eyes; he didn't ask, but he believed.
Upon reaching the end of the passage, the space suddenly opened up into a huge stone chamber. In the center of the chamber stood a stone platform with a translucent jade piece on it—the very thing used for "nurturing jade." Beside the platform lay several black garments, the hems embroidered with the mark of homelessness, and there were still traces of blood on the ground—clearly, a fight had just taken place.
"It seems they've had an internal conflict." Xiao Hua's voice came through the mask, carrying a hint of coldness. "Both the Xie family and the Wu family want the Meteorite Marrow, and neither is willing to give in."
Wu Xie walked to the stone platform, looked at the jade piece, and suddenly remembered the letter in the iron box: "This is what they traded me for? They would even sell their own family for this worthless jade?"
Zhang Qiling nodded, walked to the stone platform, and carefully examined the jade piece: "The corpse beetle eggs in this jade piece are about to hatch, and we must neutralize them with meteorite jade marrow as soon as possible. The meteorite jade marrow is on the bottom floor of the ancient building, and the stairs leading down are over there." His gaze swept over the edge of the stone platform, and his pupils contracted slightly—there was a line of very faint writing there, in Xie Jiuye's handwriting, which read, "Meteorite jade marrow needs to be activated with the heart's blood as a medicinal guide."
Black Bear immediately noticed his unusual behavior: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
“It’s nothing.” Zhang Qiling shook his head, hiding the writing in the shadows. “It’s just some insignificant markings. Let’s go, things might change if we go down too late.” He couldn’t say that the writing was added later, that it didn’t exist in his previous life, and that it was another trap set by Master Xie and Old Master Wu.
The four descended the stairs in the corner of the stone chamber. The stairs were steep and narrow, and the fog grew thicker and thicker. After walking for about half an hour, a faint light finally appeared ahead—it was emitted by the meteorite marrow. But beside the faint light, several figures could be vaguely seen standing with their backs to them in front of the meteorite marrow.
“It’s the Wu family and the Xie family,” Xiao Hua said in a low voice. “They were indeed waiting here.”
Hei Xiazi and Zhang Qiling exchanged a glance and simultaneously drew their weapons. This time, no words were needed. Zhang Qiling went straight for the leader, the Wu family steward, his black gold ancient sword whistling through the air. The steward was forced to retreat repeatedly by the force of the blade as soon as he turned around. Hei Xiazi, on the other hand, entangled two Xie family guards, his dagger flashing as he already slashed one of them on the arm.
Wu Xie and Xiao Hua immediately joined the battle. Although Wu Xie was slightly weaker in combat, he was more agile and could always use his entrenching tool to harass the enemy at crucial moments, creating opportunities for Xiao Hua. Xiao Hua, on the other hand, used her soft whip to restrain the enemy from a distance and occasionally even blocked sneak attacks for Hei Xiazi.
In the chaos of battle, the steward, seeing he was no match for Zhang Qiling, suddenly pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes and smashed it against the ground. The bottle shattered, and the liquid inside instantly evaporated into a purple mist with a pungent odor. "It's a mind-controlling mist!" Zhang Qiling immediately held his breath, slashed the ropes beside him with his sword, and a stone slab fell, blocking the mist's spread. "Hold your breath! Don't inhale!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Hei Xiazi dealt with the guards around him and rushed to Zhang Qiling's side: "Are you alright?"
"It's alright." Zhang Qiling shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the enemies trapped in the mist. "They can't escape."
When the fog dissipated, the Wu family and Xie family members were all unconscious on the ground. Only the Wu family steward, who was in charge, was still struggling to stand. "You... don't even think about ruining the old man's plan..." he mumbled, then suddenly pulled a short knife from his pocket and was about to stab himself in the heart.
"Trying to commit suicide? No way!" Wu Xie immediately rushed over and kicked the short knife away. "Tell me, where are my parents? What are you trying to do by using me as a medicinal ingredient?"
The steward sneered, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed to the ground, lifeless—he had already taken poison.
Silence finally returned to the stone chamber. Xiaohua leaned against the stone wall, rubbing her injured calf: "It seems impossible to get the truth out of them."
Wu Xie was a little downcast, clenching her fists: "Will I never know why Mom and Dad gave up on me?"
Zhang Qiling walked to the meteorite chalcedony, reached out and touched the cool jade surface, his voice soft: "You'll know. But for now, let's neutralize the antidote." His fingertips traced the surface of the chalcedony, finding the hidden groove. "Put your hand here. Don't be afraid, the meteorite chalcedony will automatically neutralize the jade energy in your body."
Wu Xie hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out. The moment his fingertips touched the meteorite marrow, a warm current spread from his fingertips, and the inexplicable heat in his body instantly dissipated. "It really works!" he said in surprise.
Hei Xiazi walked to Zhang Qiling's side, looked at the light of the meteorite jade marrow, and asked in a low voice, "Was there something wrong with that line of text just now?"
Zhang Qiling turned his head to look at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then nodded: "It's a trap. They said they needed the heart's blood to activate it, but they actually wanted to kill Wu Xie."
Black Bear raised an eyebrow: "How did you know?"
Zhang Qiling was silent for a moment, then said, "I've seen similar tricks in other ancient tombs before." He couldn't say more, and could only use "experience" to cover it up.
Hei Xiazi didn't press the matter, but simply patted him on the shoulder: "No matter what kind of trap it is, with us here, it won't succeed."
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