She immediately searched everywhere. Soon, she found two arrows embedded in a tree, stained with blood. One sniff told her it was her husband’s blood.
She continued to sniff carefully along the arrows.
The arrows of a great archer, at the very least an Ink Shadow Bow, required a firm grip on the fletching during the draw. That would leave a distinct scent of the shooter on them.
She detected it: two scents. One faint, the other stronger. The stronger one was clearly left by the final shooter. She swore to herself that she would remember this scent of the murderer who killed her husband forever.
When she returned to the area near her husband’s body, she also discovered the discarded Ink Shadow Bow and quiver. Both items carried the scent of that murderer. What puzzled her was that the Ink Shadow Bow no longer had its bowstring.
A bowstring like this was so tough that even a knife could hardly cut it. How could it be missing? Without a bowstring, how could such powerfully penetrating arrows have been shot?
A great archer would never abandon their bow and arrows after killing someone.
What exactly had happened? The scene completely confused her.
Later, she transformed back into human form and collected the bow and arrows that had killed her husband. She vowed that one day she would use the murderer’s own weapon to shoot an arrow back into the murderer’s body. But without the bowstring, the weapon could no longer be used for killing. She would have to find a matching string later.
The matter of the bowstring kept nagging at her, impossible to ignore. She was bewildered, and the same question kept repeating in her mind: how could the bowstring be missing?
…
Above the mountain forest, ashes from the fire continued to drift down like heavy snow, as if trying to cover the brutal ambush site.
The surviving great archers were responsible for keeping watch on the surroundings. The surviving soldiers were counting and cleaning up the scene.
The results of the count weighed heavily on everyone’s heart.
More than thirty people from Sinan Mansion had died. More than twenty great archers were lost. Out of a thousand escorting soldiers, more than six hundred had fallen.
Nearly two hundred book boys were dead, with only a few dozen survivors.
The main targets being escorted, the candidates heading to the capital for the imperial exam, had lost more than sixty people. Unlike the others, they had died inside the cages that held them. In some cages, all eight candidates were completely wiped out. In the cage where Yu Qing had originally been, half the people died.
The surviving candidates all bore marks from rat bites. Many also had cuts from falling shattered stones from above. Even though the fighting had stopped, they were still filled with lingering fear.
“The total number of dead plus living comes to three hundred and sixteen. How can two candidates be missing?”
Fu Zuoxuan, the escort official who received the count, flew into a rage and smashed the tally booklet into his subordinate’s face.
The subordinate said awkwardly, “Sir, we checked repeatedly. Two are indeed missing.”
Fu Zuoxuan roared, “They were all locked in cages! Even the dead stayed in the cages! How can two be missing? Are you telling me people could slip out of such small cages? Don’t you dare tell me they were eaten by rats!” No matter how many died or were injured, as the escort official he had to give an explanation to his superiors. This was something witnessed by so many; it could not be brushed off carelessly.
The subordinate replied, “We have already ordered a detailed check cage by cage. Results should come soon.”
Just as he finished speaking, a soldier ran over and reported, “Sir, we found out. The two missing are named Xu Fei and A Shiheng.”
A Shiheng? Xu Juening and Tang Bulan, who were on guard nearby, exchanged glances.
“Xu Fei?”
Several people spoke at once. Fu Zuoxuan ignored the name A Shiheng and asked directly, “Is it the Xu Fei who came first in the academy examination personally overseen by the prefect?”
The man nodded. “Yes, exactly him.”
Fu Zuoxuan asked, “How could he disappear?”
“According to people in the same carriage, after the Sinan Mansion personnel opened the door, Xu Fei went out…” The man recounted in detail what the others had said about how Yu Qing and Xu Fei vanished.
One had picked up a key, opened the door, and during the collective outing was accidentally left behind.
The other had followed after the escort opened the door.
In short, both disappeared.
Jin Huahai nearby remarked, “I’m afraid they met with disaster.”
Fu Zuoxuan nodded silently. As long as there was some explanation to report to the superiors, it was fine. This accident was not his fault anyway. He sighed, “After gathering the bodies, have the candidates who knew them identify the corpses.”
“Yes!”
After the subordinate left to carry out the order, Fu Zuoxuan could not help shaking his head again. “What a pity about that Xu Fei.”
Xu Juening and Tang Bulan, who were standing guard nearby, looked at each other in silence. After all, A Shiheng was someone they had personally gone a long way to fetch. They never expected he would just vanish like this.
“If we had known, we might as well not have come,” Tang Bulan sighed softly.
It was not that they had a deep bond with A Shiheng. It was simply human nature: having put in effort for someone, they felt regret when that person was lost.
At that moment, a group of people came rushing from the direction of Qili Gorge. It was the vanguard scouts who had returned after abandoning their horses and crossing the collapsed gorge area. They were accompanied by personnel from the forward post station, who had come to deliver a message.
The tragic scene before them needed no explanation. The post station messenger presented the letter with both hands. “Lord Fu, an urgent dispatch over eight hundred li.”
Fu Zuoxuan read the letter, gave a bitter smile, and passed it to Jin Huahai and Jiang Yinian.
The urgent message brought major news: two days ago, the Commander of Sinan Mansion had personally slain the Old Demon of Qixia!
In other words, the crisis along this route had already ended.
Jiang Yinian read it and sighed with regret. “The news came too late. If Mother Earth had acted just one day earlier, how could we have suffered such losses? Why hesitate and delay until now?”
“Old Jiang, please watch your words!” Jin Huahai’s expression changed instantly. He warned gravely, “When the Commander chooses to act is her own consideration. It is not for you or me to speculate.”
Jiang Yinian immediately fell silent, knowing he had spoken out of turn. But he truly felt heartache. How many great archers did Lie Prefecture even have? More than twenty were lost in this single incident!
Since they had gone through hardship together, Jin Huahai did not blame him too much. He looked around and changed the subject. “No wonder they suddenly withdrew completely. It seems they received the news. They really have retreated.”
Fu Zuoxuan concluded with one sentence, “No matter what, until the people are safely delivered to the capital, we must remain cautious.”
…
They had drifted along the underground river for what felt like half a day, yet there was still no sign of an exit. Yu Qing had never imagined the underground river could be so long.
Half a day spent floating in complete darkness. The surroundings seemed infinitely vast, as if the edges could never be touched. Outsiders could not imagine that feeling.
The Observation Technique became completely useless here, turning into blind foolishness.
Fear of the unknown in this dark world pierced straight to the soul. Yu Qing truly regretted it.
He regretted being greedy for money. If he had not chased after the carriage, none of this would have happened.
The only thing that could comfort his soul was that he had saved Chong’er. At least he had done one good deed.
Xu Fei secretly regretted stepping out of the cage to chase after someone. That one chase had led far beyond his imagination.
No one knew where the end of this underground river was, or where it would carry them.
The three of them hid among the tree canopy as it drifted. They no longer dared make a sound, not even daring to move much. They even pulled their feet up.
The reason was that there was something in the pitch-black water. The three felt some enormous creature surging beneath the surface. Something was tugging at the branches of the tree canopy.
Xu Fei had once asked nervously, “Brother Shiheng, is something eating the leaves?”
Yu Qing replied, “If it’s vegetarian, that’s good. As long as it doesn’t eat meat.”
Even he himself did not believe those words. After that, everyone fell completely silent. One by one, they quietly pulled their feet up. They drifted along quietly, perhaps because of that the thing in the water was appeased.
When people keep longing for light, the sudden appearance of light can make them think it is an illusion.
Ahead was…? Yu Qing blinked repeatedly, rubbed his eyes, stared again. Yes, there really was light ahead.
All three saw it, yet still no one dared speak.
As they drew closer to the light source, ahead appeared what looked like a huge mirror. Reflected in it was a poignant sunset glow. The sky had already darkened.
Then a gorge came into view. The three turned back at the same time, almost ready to cheer. They had emerged from a cave mouth. They had finally drifted out of the underground river.
Yu Qing looked left and right. He did not want to stay in the water a moment longer, no matter where they were now. Get ashore first.
The steep cliffs on both sides posed no difficulty for him. He could climb them easily. The problem was how to get Xu Fei and Chong’er up as well.
“Brother Shiheng, let’s find a way to get ashore!” Xu Fei called excitedly from behind, clearly eager and unwilling to stay in the water any longer.
Chong’er felt the same but was too humble to say it out loud.
Just as the words were spoken, the water surface nearby suddenly surged. The back of an enormous creature rolled over the surface, its spine covered in spikes. It did not look like any ordinary fish.
Whatever it was, with a splash it sank back into the water, showing only a fleeting glimpse of its back.
Xu Fei instantly shut his mouth. Chong’er too fell deathly silent.
Yu Qing had already gripped his sword, ready to draw, watching the water below warily.
Unlike in the underground river where nothing could be seen, with zero light and even the Observation Technique blinded, encountering something vicious here would be no different from waiting to be slaughtered. They would be completely passive, and he was afraid. Now with light and visibility, it was different. Whatever monster dared to act up, he would jump into the water and kill it.
They drifted along for a while longer. The monster did not reappear. Instead, the scene ahead drew the attention of all three. A giant skeleton was lodged slantwise in the cliff wall, as if it had tried to fall backwards into the water but was held by the cliff with its arms. The posture was bizarre. No one knew what kind of death could leave a corpse in such a state.
Yu Qing suddenly stood up. He pushed off the tree trunk with both feet. His body leapt into the air, flipping several zhang away. As he descended towards the water, he slapped both palms on the surface. Using the splash, he flipped upwards again, springing two or three zhang further. Like a bird, he clung to the cliff wall and then climbed straight up as if walking on flat ground, bounding higher and higher.
This sudden display stunned Chong’er. Young Master Shiheng actually had such skill? It seemed even better than his own young master’s.
Although they had gone through danger together before, Chong’er had never truly seen Yu Qing’s abilities. This sudden reveal was truly dazzling to him.