A Decade of Nightscape Lights

Over an hour later, Mu and Cai met again before Chang Fu's tombstone.

Earlier, they had circled the graveyard repeatedly, testing the sunlight in every corner, along every mountain wall, even pausing briefly beside each tombstone—yet still found nothing.

The mountain wind had left Cai Zhao's face pale and lips blue. Mu Qingyan retrieved a small silver flask from the bamboo basket at his feet and handed it to her, urging her to take a sip of wine to warm up.

"Perhaps we should just dig up the graves," he said, habitually reaching to smooth the girl's disheveled hair. Cai Zhao leaned back to avoid his touch, but he took no offense. "If we excavate the entire back mountain area, we'll know exactly what lies beneath. The men Shangguan Haonan selected are quite capable—their ancestors were tomb raiders, apparently. It shouldn't take more than half a day."

"Respect yourself, Sect Leader Mu," Cai Zhao said sternly, tossing the silver flask back into the basket. "These graves belong to righteous heroes who fought against tyranny and helped the weak. How could you even think of having tomb raiders desecrate them?"

Mu Qingyan clasped his hands behind his back. "Then I defer to Young Lady Knight Cai for guidance on our next steps, as I am at a complete loss."

Today, he wore a fitted black brocade robe with narrow sleeves that trailed to the ground, his posture straight and tall. His naturally tall and slender frame made the outfit particularly striking, and as he stood against the wind in the desolate wilderness, his figure appeared as lofty and imposing as a pine tree.

Cai Zhao averted her gaze slightly, sighed with hands on hips, and tried to reorganize her thoughts. "My father said he was standing on the southern stone steps at the time..."

"Here," Mu Qingyan pointed to the small layered steps built of bluestone slabs ahead.

The steps extended down to the graveyard, while above them stood a stone cauldron large enough for two people to embrace. On either side of the cauldron were two bluestone altars for offerings, and behind it was a wide stone wall—taller than the distance between the two sets of steps below, wide enough for over twenty people to stand shoulder to shoulder. Carved on it in bold, sweeping strokes was the "Song of Righteousness."

Cai Zhao stepped onto the stone steps, looking down. "My father said he stood here for most of the day."

"There are two sets of steps here, one on each side, for ascending the altar. So which one did your father stand on?" Mu Qingyan continued to poke holes in her reasoning. "And which step, exactly?"

Ignoring him, Cai Zhao muttered to herself, "My aunt was discussing important matters with Great Hero Chang at the time. She came to call my father back, so it must have been mealtime. That means he stood here from morning until evening..."

Mu Qingyan interjected, "These two sets of steps can only fit two people side by side. We've already stood there and felt no unusual warmth."

Cai Zhao glared at him. "Stop interrupting."

Mu Qingyan smiled. "I'm just trying to help brainstorm."

"I don't need your brainstorming. Later, I'll go down the mountain and ask Senior Brother Fan to gather a hundred or so men to fill the entire graveyard. After standing under the sun all day, we'll know where the anomaly is." Cai Zhao looked triumphant.

Mu Qingyan considered this. "Not a bad idea. But what if your father misremembered and was actually sitting at the time?"

"Then we'll come back the next day and have everyone sit in the graveyard under the sun all day."

Mu Qingyan added, "That could work. But it's best to find men of similar height to your father. If they're too tall or short, even if they stand in the right spot, the sunlight might hit their heads or chests instead of their faces, and they might not notice."

Cai Zhao suppressed her irritation. "Fine. I'll ask the senior brothers to find men as close to my father's height as possible."Mu Qingyan had more to say: "We should also write to ask your father how tall he was initially. Ordinary young men can still grow before the age of twenty. I recall your father was only in his teens back then—perhaps he hadn’t reached his full height yet."

Cai Zhao was furious: "Why is this so complicated!"

Mu Qingyan let out a clear laugh. "I’m doing this for your own good. As they say, a tiny discrepancy can lead to a huge error..."

"I don’t want to deal with this!" Cai Zhao took a deep breath, forcing a calm and composed expression. "Alright, today’s matters are concluded. Let’s leave for now."

Mu Qingyan: "Why should I leave?"

Cai Zhao stamped her foot: "When my senior brothers come up here and see you, wouldn’t that be, wouldn’t that be..."

Mu Qingyan lifted his eyelids, his gaze darkening. "Young Lady Knight Cai, isn’t it a bit too hasty to discard the plow after the work is done?"

"Are you leaving or not!"

"No."

Cai Zhao fumed, her right hand slightly spread as she used the Dragon Grasping Skill to make a feigned grab at the ground, then flipped her palm forward to strike. A rock the size of a child’s head shot swiftly toward Mu Qingyan.

In her mind, Mu Qingyan would simply wave his hand to block it, shattering the rock instantly. But instead, Mu Qingyan kept both hands still, twisting his body to dodge the flying stone.

With a loud bang , the rock struck the stone table behind Mu Qingyan.

The collision sent shards flying in all directions. As the dust and debris settled, a long crack was revealed on the stone table.

A drop of sweat slowly formed at Cai Zhao’s temple.

Mu Qingyan feigned surprise, exclaiming loudly, "Zhao Zhao, you’ve shattered the memorial table of the righteous heroes who fought against tyranny!"

"You—you monster!" Cai Zhao was so angry tears nearly fell as she lunged at the troublemaker.

Mu Qingyan laughed heartily, spinning back onto the stone steps before stretching out his long arms to catch the fuming girl, pulling her into a soft embrace. His body stiffened slightly as a thought flashed through his mind—after months apart, the girl seemed to have grown a little more.

Before any other improper thoughts could arise, Cai Zhao suddenly cried out, "Look!"

Mu Qingyan glanced down to see the girl in his arms staring straight ahead while struggling. Following her gaze, his eyes landed on the easternmost side of the stone tablet behind him.

He frowned. "What’s wrong with this tablet?"

Cai Zhao shook her head, quickly stepping to the westernmost side of the stone wall and bending down to examine it closely.

Mu Qingyan followed. "We already checked this area earlier—there’s no mechanism here. What do you see?"

Cai Zhao pointed at the seven or eight emerald-green vines creeping along the wall. "Look at this."

Mu Qingyan chuckled. "Boston ivy." Then, with a hint of melancholy, he added, "Truly, the past is gone, leaving only ruins. When the Chang family was still thriving, Great Hero Chang would never have allowed such growth on the stone walls."

"Thank goodness for these vines." Cai Zhao’s expression turned serious as she pointed to a specific spot among the ivy. "Look closely. What’s unusual about these vines?"

It was early summer, and the vines on the wall were lush and thriving, likely to cover the entire surface in a few months. Yet the vines Cai Zhao pointed at appeared somewhat withered.

Mu Qingyan leaned in for a closer look—the upper leaves were dense, the lower leaves were also flourishing, but the middle section, neither high nor low, showed signs of wilting. Centered around Cai Zhao’s finger, an area about the size of a head displayed varying degrees of shriveled stems and curled leaves.Cai Zhao spoke word by word, "This is the result of prolonged exposure to sunlight." Because Cai Pingshu had been taking medicine for years, she had learned the art of drying and preparing herbs from her parents since childhood and was accustomed to seeing plants and trees in such a state.

Mu Qingyan was startled, and both turned to look behind them.

This area was close to the westernmost end of the stone wall. Directly ahead were several half-height tombstones, while the eastern side had a denser cluster of graves. Only the western side, already at the edge of the graveyard, was lined with jagged rocks, one of which stood out prominently.

The other rocks were low and sharp, but this one was tall and slender like a bent stone pillar, standing over two meters high.

Mu and Cai circled the pillar for a closer inspection. Without needing to discuss, Mu Qingyan examined the upper half while Cai Zhao took the lower half.

After a while, Cai Zhao exclaimed, "Look here."

The pillar was rugged and irregular, with uneven surfaces—some concave, others convex. But at about the height of Cai Zhao's chest, there was a large, incredibly smooth and flat surface, slightly concave inward, resembling a focusing mirror.

This mirrored surface of the rock was precisely facing the direction of the stone steps and the stele.

"So that's how it was," Mu Qingyan couldn't help but marvel at the coincidence of nature. "The back of the mountain is shaded, with sparse sunlight. Under normal circumstances, it would never get hot enough. But with this focusing mirror, the faint sunlight could be concentrated dozens of times and directed toward the opposite side."

"At that time, my father happened to be standing right here, and the concentrated sunlight hit his face from the side." Cai Zhao walked over to stand on the opposite stone steps. "Since it was early spring, even the concentrated sunlight wasn't too intense. My father stood here lost in thought for most of the day, completely unaware that his face had been sunburned. It was Ping Shu who noticed and told him to wash his face with cold water."

"No, the position isn't right," Mu Qingyan suddenly said.

He quickly took a bundle of thin hemp rope from the bamboo basket, pressed one end against the mirrored surface of the pillar, and tossed the other end to Cai Zhao.

Cai Zhao pulled the rope taut toward the sun-exposed ivy, forming a straight line.

Their gazes met along the rope, noticing that the midpoint passed over the stone steps at a height neither too high nor too low—lower than a standing man's face but slightly higher than someone sitting on the top step.

"The sunlight refracted from this mirrored surface could only reach the ivy on the stone wall at that position—it couldn't possibly have shone on your father's face," Mu Qingyan asserted, then hesitated. "Unless... your father was unusually short at the time..." The usually blunt Mu Qingyan found himself tiptoeing around the subject, given that he was speaking of Cai Zhao's future elder.

Cai Zhao looked puzzled. "No, Ping Shu said my father often kept his head down as a child because he was tall for his age and felt awkward standing among his peers."

"Then something must have changed over the past decade or so," Mu Qingyan concluded calmly.

He turned his gaze to the altar. "This altar covers a wide area, with a foundation built from massive bluestones. Even if it had settled, it wouldn't have done so evenly—some parts must have tilted in different directions. But now, the altar appears perfectly level."

He then looked back at the stone pillar beside them. "So, the change must have happened here."

Cai Zhao hurried over to inspect it and saw that the base of the pillar was deeply embedded in the earth.The mountain soil was far harder than the land below, yet it couldn't withstand the immense weight of this towering stone pillar. The earth around its base had already begun to sink slightly inward.

"Why is this pillar sinking?" Cai Zhao was quite astonished.

Mu Qingyan narrowed his eyes as he looked downward. "Mount Wu'an has endured wind and rain for centuries. These rugged rocks wouldn't have formed without a solid foundation. It wouldn't collapse without reason unless..."

"Unless someone dug underneath!" Cai Zhao finished his sentence.

Mu Qingyan gave the girl an amused glance before rummaging through the bamboo basket again. "Now that we've confirmed the location, the rest is simple. We'll just blast it open."

He approached with two familiar black objects in each hand—modified Thunderbolt Fireballs without poison needles. "If this doesn't work, we can always bring up the Earth Digging Compass."

Cai Zhao seemed dazed. "...What do you think is beneath this pillar?"

Mu Qingyan paused, puzzled. "What do you mean? We'll know once we blast it open."

She tilted her head slightly and said softly, "According to your theory, this should be the burial site of someone's secret remains. Even in his grief, Great Hero Chang would remember to pay respects during Qingming Festival. So he probably wasn't a bad person. But if he was good, why couldn't they erect a proper tombstone?"

Mu Qingyan mocked, "Don't tell me you're forbidding me from digging here too. If you're so merciful, why did you break that bully's arm by Green Gauze River and scare off Zhou Yuqi?"

"Honestly..." Cai Zhao couldn't be bothered with his temper. "What I mean is, we should blast over there instead. South opposes north, Kan one and Qian six, the Kun position governs yin, following the cycle of life and death... yes, that way!"

She walked straight about fifteen meters in that direction and stopped. "Blast here."

Mu Qingyan narrowed his eyes slightly, not moving. "Care to explain, Young Lady Knight Cai?"

Cai Zhao sighed. "Fine. Remember those Shi brothers my aunt befriended..."

"I remember." Mu Qingyan nodded. "Second Brother Shi was also afflicted with Netherworld Chill and lost all his martial arts before your aunt cured him. That's why Song Yuzhi kept blathering about finding some Purple Jade Golden Sunflower."

Cai Zhao looked skyward before continuing, "After Nie Hengcheng died, the brothers retired from the martial world to a place even my master and father didn't know about. Apparently, this was my aunt's idea. Hero Shi had endured too much—with wives, concubines, and many children—while Second Brother Shi needed long-term recovery from severe injuries..."

"The sun's setting. Let's be quick." Mu Qingyan smiled faintly. "Were the Shi brothers grave robbers by any chance?"

Cai Zhao protested vehemently, "How could you say that?! Upstanding heroes devoted to righteousness might have inherited certain digging skills from their ancestors—that doesn't make them grave robbers!"

Mu Qingyan mercilessly called out her double standard: "Just tell me if they robbed graves or not."

Defeated, Cai Zhao admitted, "Who hasn't dug up a couple of graves in their youth? They stopped after meeting my aunt."

"I think most people haven't, but whatever..." Mu Qingyan suppressed a laugh. "Go on."

Pouting, Cai Zhao said, "Before their retirement, Hero Shi gave my aunt some family heirlooms. One of them was something I leafed through a few times as a child..."

"Oh? Could it be 'Grave Robbing for Beginners'?" Mu Qingyan barely contained his amusement."It really wasn't tomb robbing!" The young girl insisted firmly. "There were records of many techniques for constructing underground burial chambers inside! Later when my Scarred Uncle passed away, it was that, that..."

"Sun Dingzhou, the Purple-Faced Scarred Hero of One Palm Decides the Universe," Mu Qingyan supplemented.

"Yes yes, him!" Cai Zhao said. "He felt guilty about those who died tragically, so he refused to have a tombstone erected and instructed my father to bury him hastily. Later, my aunt took charge and built him a small underground tomb according to the secret manual from Hero Shi."

Mu Qingyan nodded: "So you think the tomb beneath our feet now was also built by Brother Shi?"

"Common people don't have this kind of skill." Cai Zhao said. "Don't think building underground tombs is easy - you need to prevent water seepage, guard against rodents and insects... After sealing the entrance, there must be no traces left on the surface. There are many tricks to it."

"Young Lady Knight Cai is absolutely right." Watching the girl's flustered, reddened face, Mu Qingyan's eyes twinkled like stars. "We'll proceed as Young Lady Knight Cai instructs."

They dug half a foot deep at the spot Cai Zhao had indicated earlier, buried the thunderfire bombs, and lit the fuse—

With a thunderous explosion, a dark, gaping hole suddenly appeared below.