The mine tunnels deep beneath Changping Xian were so low that one had to bend over to pass through.

Lu shi held a long-burning lamp and followed the triangular marks, walking outwards.

Chen Ji noticed that at every intersection there were three types of marks: circles, triangles, and crosses. If someone unfamiliar with the system were to come down, their chances of survival seemed to be just over thirty percent.

After passing each intersection, Lu shi would erase all the marks.

As she walked, she proactively cautioned Chen Ji, “When using the San Shan Hui secret passage, you must erase the marks. Don’t worry about later users not being able to use it; the people in the Cang Shen Temple have memorized the route. If the Si Li Jian doesn’t find the Cang Shen Temple, he will come down again to re-mark it after a while.”

Chen Ji whispered, “I don’t have Qi Gong’s seal.”

Lu shi’s tone was casual, “Then knock out the temple guardian, pick a mark yourself, and at least you’ll have a thirty percent chance of survival. If you’re ruthless, you can interrogate the temple guardian. If all else fails, kneel and beg him; some temple guardians are soft-hearted… It’s not shameful to do anything to survive.”

Chen Ji was astonished and couldn’t help but ask, “Who was this secret passage originally prepared for?”

Lu shi bent over and turned into a fork in the road, “People always have times of trouble. The gentlemen on the surface like to use everyone’s lives as chess pieces, but the chess pieces underneath also need to find a way to survive, and sometimes they help each other out. Changping Xian is closest to Jing Cheng, so many people have used this path. Some went to Jing Chao, others to Xi Yu, An Nan, Xian Luo, Zhua Wa… If you ever get a chance to go overseas, you’ll realize there’s a much wider world out there.”

Chen Ji realized that on the surface, Ning Chao was governed by the Six Ministries and Grand Secretaries, but underneath, it was like the mine tunnels before him, intricate, crisscrossing, and unknown.

And this Ping Zhao seemed to be subtly hinting that he didn’t need to stay in Ning Chao.

Even if he didn’t want to go to Jing Chao, he could go overseas.

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Ping Zhao Jie…”

Lu shi said in a clear voice, “I am old enough to be your… elder. Call me Ping Yi.”

Chen Ji responded with an “Oh,” “Ping Yi, have you been overseas?”

Lu shi replied without turning her head, “No, but someone from San Shan Hui has. Both San Shan Hui and Deng Huo want to expand their business abroad, but Chen Jia and Xu Jia guard their routes so tightly that they can only transport goods to An Nan and Xian Luo, which are accessible by land.”

At this moment, a glimmer of light appeared ahead; they had arrived. Chen Ji could already hear the sound of the Yongding He’s flowing water.

Lu shi emerged from the mine tunnel, but Chen Ji saw a poem carved by a ‘predecessor’ at the tunnel entrance: “Chen bing jiu fu ling yun zhi, yuan hai fan lan shi gu shen, dai lie xuan jia sheng lu huo, xue cui qing feng zhao ning chen.”

The writing was unremarkable, but it was an acrostic poem spelling out “Chen yuan dai xue” (grievances awaiting redress).

He looked around and saw several other poems, presumably left by others.

Outside the tunnel, Lu shi said coldly, “No need to look, they’re just useless poems from failures. They hope someone will see these poems, see their innocence, but even if someone places these poems before the emperor’s desk, that emperor in Ren Shou Gong won’t even glance at them.”

Chen Ji crawled out of the tunnel and saw a long anchor stake on the bank, to which a small wooden boat was tied.

Inside the small wooden boat was a cowhide water skin. Su Zhou, feeling thirsty, stepped forward and pulled out the stopper, but then frowned, “Why is this wine?”

“Wine is for those leaving their hometowns, either to drown their sorrows or to get drunk and jump into the river to end it all,” Lu shi untied the hemp rope and pushed the small boat into the river, “Get in.”

The three of them sat in the boat. Lu shi slowly rowed upstream with her double oars. The oars splashed the water, making a gentle lapping sound in the tranquil night.

For some reason, the sound of the rowing was oddly comforting.

A thick fog gradually rose from the water, and the small boat passed through it as if traversing a secret realm. Chen Ji suddenly felt as if he had returned to the dark sea of clouds, adrift in a small flat boat.

Lu shi asked Chen Ji with her back to him, “Tell me, why did you want to capture Liao Zhong?”

Chen Ji deliberated; now that the other party had saved him, there was nothing he couldn’t say: “The assassination of the Crown Prince was a frame-up by the Crown Prince against me. The only way to resolve this now is to capture Liao Zhong and bring him back to Jing Cheng for interrogation to clear my name.”

Lu shi hesitated, “Why would the Crown Prince frame you?”

Chen Ji chose his words carefully, “The Crown Prince instructed Liao Zhong, intending to kill me at Xiang Shan.”

Lu shi was even more puzzled, “To my knowledge, you saved him in Gu Yuan. Why would he want to kill you?”

Chen Ji did not answer.

It involved Zhang Xia, and he did not want others to know too much. If the outside world knew that the Crown Prince was so insidious and malicious because of Zhang Xia, even if Zhang Xia was blameless, she would still be subjected to unwarranted speculation by idle people, which would not be good.

Seeing that he didn’t want to answer, Lu shi didn’t press the matter, “Liao Zhong, a Xun Dao Jing master, made a move, and you not only survived but also severed his arm? That’s impossible.”

Chen Ji explained, “Liao Zhong was chasing me, but unexpectedly, someone summoned the Wu Chang Bing Ma, and the Wu Chang Bing Ma severed his arm.”

Lu shi suddenly said, “That’s not right.”

Chen Ji was startled, “What’s not right?”

Lu shi said casually, “The Wu Chang Bing Ma are ancient fierce souls summoned by blood sacrifice. They only kill the person the blood sacrificer wants to kill. If that person isn’t killed, the Wu Chang Bing Ma will dissipate at dawn. Clearly, Liao Zhong isn’t worth others using such a deadly weapon.”

Chen Ji was stunned.

Only one sentence echoed in his mind: “If that person isn’t killed, the Wu Chang Bing Ma will dissipate.”

Chen Ji recalled the centurion’s resolute charge down Xianglu Feng with his men, and a subtle ache suddenly began in his heart. The pain wasn’t intense, like an inflammation in his body, burning faintly.

After a long time, Chen Ji asked softly, “Where did Ping Yi learn of this, and are you certain?”

Lu shi heard the despondency in his voice and gently explained, “In Jiazhi Eleventh Year, the Mi Die Si’s Mu Gou once dug up twelve volumes of ancient texts from the western suburbs of Changsha Fu. They contained the secrets of the Wu Chang Bing Ma, including the mask on Bai Long’s face, which was also unearthed at that time.”

Chen Ji was startled, “Bai Long’s mask?”

Lu shi hummed, “The mask can change one’s voice and appearance when worn, and the white robe is impervious to water, fire, and blades. This dragon-patterned mask was originally hidden in Jiefan Lou. Later, Bai Long’s face was disfigured during the quelling of a rebellion, so Ning Di bestowed the mask upon him.”

Wait, Chen Ji realized with a start.

Feng Xian Sheng had no facial injuries, so this mask must have been given to the first Bai Long, and Feng Xian Sheng was the second. Now it was the third.

Bai Long.

Who exactly was Bai Long?

But Chen Ji was even more puzzled. Why did Ping Yi know so many secrets of the Mi Die Si? Did Deng Huo also have informants within the Mi Die Si?

Lu shi seemed to guess his thoughts and explained, “After Mu Gou unearthed the ancient texts, knowing that these twelve volumes were extraordinary, he secretly copied them overnight. This was discovered by his subordinate Hai Dong Qing, who intended to report it to Du Xiang. Mu Gou was forced to kill him to silence him, but the murder was discovered by Xuan She…”

Su Zhou gloated, “What a unlucky fellow.”

Lu shi ignored her and continued, “Mi Die Si is a place for raising Gu. Those people from Wu Nian Shan, seeing Mu Gou’s weakness, chased him like madmen to become one of the Twelve Zodiacs. Mu Gou fled with the copied twelve volumes of ancient texts, escaping all the way to Jin Ling. In the Jianghu of Jin Ling, he released the first three volumes of the general outline to divert his pursuers, while he continued to flee with the remaining nine volumes.”

Lu shi continued, “Finally, he escaped to Yang Zhou, where he was ambushed and killed by an official practitioner of the Cang Mang Men Jing. Since then, the whereabouts of the nine copied volumes of ancient texts have been unknown. It is said that they contain the cultivation methods for the blood sacrifice of the Wu Chang Bing Ma. As for the first three volumes of the general outline left in the Jianghu, one of them is in Deng Huo’s hands.”

Chen Ji pondered, the latter nine volumes of ancient texts fell into the hands of that Cang Mang Men Jing official, where did they go after that, he wondered?

While he was pondering, Lu shi asked, “The person who summoned the Wu Chang Bing Ma, was it to assassinate the Crown Prince… or to pursue you?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, “To pursue me.”

Lu shi was puzzled, “Then how did you survive?”

Chen Ji said calmly, “Luck.”

Lu shi chuckled, “It’s alright if you don’t want to say. I just want to remind you that if you find that Cang Mang Men Jing practitioner, you might find the whereabouts of those nine ancient texts, and then you’ll know who wanted to kill you.”

“Cang Mang?”

Su Zhou was puzzled, “How can you not know anything? The Cang Mang Men Jing is not a secret in the Jianghu. They mix tip-of-the-tongue blood with four-leaf clover juice and sprinkled gold徽墨, tattoo the patterns on their bodies, and meditate on them daily. It is said that meditating on dragon, tiger, Buddha, or immortal tattoos easily leads to loss of sanity, so most people only dare to tattoo a python.”

Lu shi also said, “Several people practice this path. When they meet, they will fight each other relentlessly until one dies. I remember Liu Ge Lao once had two by his side, but they were killed by Tian Ma in Luo Cheng recently.”

Chen Ji suddenly remembered that he had seen more than just those two Cang Mang Men Jing officials; there was one more!

The moon was high in the sky, and the small boat slowly passed through the white mist on the river.

Ping Yi had given them too much information today, and Chen Ji might need a long time to digest it. All three of them became quiet, lost in their own thoughts, with only the sound of Lu shi rowing the oars.

After a long while, Lu shi asked, “Why are you unwilling to leave Ning Chao?”

Chen Ji’s gaze went over Lu shi’s shoulder, looking at the thick fog ahead, “I still have unfinished business.”

Lu shi said casually, “What business is so important that you would risk your life to return to Jing Cheng? Is it worth it? If you truly die in Zhao Yu, wouldn’t your family be heartbroken?”

Chen Ji looked up at the moon in the sky, “It’s alright, I have no family.”

Lu shi was startled, then fell silent again.

At this moment, Chen Ji suddenly asked, “Why are you helping me, Ping Yi?”

Lu shi said calmly, “Naturally, it’s because of your Chen family identity. If you can be adopted into the Chen family’s main branch and inherit the Chen family’s legacy, I want you to help me investigate something.”

“What is it?”

“Find out who Chang Jing is, and investigate whether the Chen family is involved with him. If you can discover his identity, I will owe you a favor.”

Chen Ji’s heart tightened.

Chang Jing?

Was it the Chang Jing he knew? If so, why would Ping Yi be looking for a Si Cao of Jing Chao’s Military Intelligence Bureau?

Chen Ji said calmly, “Alright, even if I don’t inherit the Chen family’s legacy, if Ping Yi is in trouble, I will go through fire and water for you.”

Lu shi smiled, “Big words. You should focus on staying alive first.”

Chen Ji changed the subject, “Let me row for a while.”

“No need, you two sleep for a bit. We’ll have to disembark and travel by foot at dawn.”

“Mm.”

The small boat went upstream, and Su Zhou fell into a deep sleep on the boat.

After an unknown amount of time, she slowly woke up, “Where are we… huh?”

Su Zhou suddenly sat up in the boat, “Where are they?”

She saw that she was still on the small boat, slowly drifting downstream with the Yongding He’s current. She could already see the outline of Jing Cheng, but Lu shi and Chen Ji were nowhere to be found!

The sun was high in the sky, the scorching sun overhead making it hard for her to open her eyes.

Su Zhou shaded her eyes with her palm and looked around: even the oars on this small boat had been taken, as if they were afraid she might row to catch up.

Su Zhou sat in the boat and cursed, “Where’s that old hag? Where is she! It was bad enough running into that wretched girl Yao Man, and now I’ve run into this old hag too!”