Immortalis

Hero's Tomb Part Six

"Have you ever considered that no matter who is playing these tricks, their real target is your father?"

To venture into the Hero's Tomb, the group needed to make preparations—at the very least, they had to prepare long ropes to handle any unexpected situations that might arise in the Meat Well.

While Yang Wujian returned to his room, Shen Qingshi checked the fire starters and remarked, "Someone is trying to connect the Hero's Tomb with White Rainbow Tower. Corpses appearing out of thin air in the tower, coupled with your Evil Sickness—your father has many things that are hard to explain."

Zhou Huai had long felt the same way and frowned. "Are they trying to pin these dirty deeds on my father? Accuse him of murdering those martial heroes?"

Shen Qingshi listened discreetly for any movement from Yang Wujian's direction and added, "Once word gets out, it's inevitable that someone will come to cause trouble for your father. For instance, they might use the excuse of corpses appearing in the tower to demand a search. Is there anything in the tower that your father possesses that others might covet?"

"In the tower?"

After last night's vigil, Zhou Huai had long shed his wariness toward Shen Qingshi and answered without thinking, "Aside from money, what else does my father have that's worth coveting? Or perhaps those treasures he has hidden away?"

"Treasures?"

"Yes, my father is in business. Not everything he acquires is silver notes—he inevitably collects some valuables. I've heard that many of his friendships with martial artists were forged through exchanges of treasures. For example, he would offer privately hoarded minerals and medicinal herbs as gifts to secure deals with Immeasurable Manor and Medicine King Mountain."

Zhou Huai thought for a moment and continued, "But that's just what I've heard. I've never seen them myself. All I know is that aside from Seven Killings, the fourteenth floor has the most Woqu Mechanisms. Without my father's permission, any outsider who goes there would likely meet their death... When I was a child, I always wondered if my father's treasures were stored there."

Just as he finished speaking, Yang Wujian pushed the door open and entered, saying that women needed more time to prepare—though in reality, he had only returned to his room to take a blood-tonifying pill.

He thought to himself that if they truly had to use the Longevity Heart Sutra in a place like the Meat Well, he would have no choice but to employ it.

Yang Wujian laughed and said, "So, are you ready, Young Master? That place is the source of your Evil Sickness. Are you sure you want to come with us?"

Zhou Huai felt a bit apprehensive, but since Shen Qingshi, despite his injuries, showed no fear, it would be unreasonable for him to back out now.

So, steeling himself, Zhou Huai picked up the long rope and fire starters from the table and stood up. "I'm going. They've already pushed me this far. If I don't go and see for myself, tomorrow there might be a human head right in my room."

With that, the group left Heavenly Mystery Tower. Only after the three had gone far did Shen Xin, who was disguised as a servant, enter Zhou Huai's room. Releasing a Messenger Bee, he watched as the insect spelled out two words on the table:

Woqu.

"You've been to the Hero's Tomb a few times before, Young Master?"

Walking through the bamboo forest, Yang Wujian couldn't help but feel curious upon seeing how familiar Zhou Huai seemed with the path.

Logically, Young Master Zhou had lived a smooth-sailing life since childhood—wealthy and handsome—yet he had stumbled over this Evil Sickness, which inevitably left him with some resentment.

Zhou Huai thought for a moment. "Probably over a hundred times. But I usually just linger around the cave entrance—I've never gone down. You have to understand, my father only has me as his son. Even if I were seeking death, I'd have to inform him first."The group hadn't ridden horses, so their journey was inevitably delayed. By the time they reached the Hero's Tomb, it was already noon. Though it should have been the brightest time of day, the bamboo forest remained deeply secluded, and what appeared before the three of them was still a sinister, chillingly deep mine shaft that inspired fear at first glance.

"This place doesn't look like a mining area at all. How did those Northern Xiang people ever think to mine here?"

Unlike the Meat Well near Baiqian Town, the Hero's Tomb was hidden deep within the bamboo sea, resembling more of a natural cave. Scattered around were some white Howling Whistle Flowers.

As Yang Wujian approached the cave entrance, he could vaguely make out traces of the explosives that had been used there years before.

Zhou Huai said, "During the Northern Xiang era, this entire bamboo forest was forbidden to enter. I've consulted many ancient texts, but none reveal what the Northern Xiang emperor actually excavated from the Meat Well. There are rumors that anyone who enters the Meat Well dies, and only the Northern Xiang emperor can emerge. Another legend claims that when the Northern Desert attacked Crimson Gold, the Founding Emperor of Northern Xiang relied on secret techniques learned in the Meat Well to make his iron cavalry immortal and indestructible..."

The bamboo forest was already sparsely traveled, but the area around the Hero's Tomb felt particularly ominous. The three stood there for quite some time, hearing neither human voices nor even birdsong.

After some thought, Shen Qingshi said, "If it's truly like the Meat Well outside Baiqian Town, then there must be something strange inside. We shouldn't all go in—two should enter while one stays outside. That way, those inside can watch each other's backs, and if anything goes wrong, the person outside can pull them out in time."

The three exchanged glances, and Yang Wujian immediately spoke up: "Young Master, you stay up here. Young Master Shen and I will go down. I've read the manual your father gave me—you know thirteen different martial arts techniques from various schools that you use when your condition flares up. If you get frightened and have an episode inside the Hero's Tomb, there'll be no saving you."

Though reluctant, Zhou Huai had to admit it would be too dangerous for him to go down.

So he tightly secured one end of the rope around himself and the other around Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi, saying, "If you sense anything wrong, turn back immediately. This is no joke. My father sent people down the Meat Well several times before, and they barely made it out. Some who returned were driven mad for ten days to half a month."

"Of course, Young Master. Young Master Shen and I value our lives more than you think. Besides, my mother is down there—this is something you can't do for me."

Though Yang Wujian said this, he had a feeling that the secrets beneath the Hero's Tomb might also be connected to Guanri. After all, he had heard the story of the Longevity Heart Sutra countless times since childhood.

Legend had it that during the final years of Crimson Gold, there was a starving man named Zhao Jian. To keep him from dying of hunger, his mother cut flesh from her own body daily to feed him, eventually becoming so weak she passed away. Upon learning the truth, Zhao Jian was overcome with grief and rage. Holding his mother, he leaped into a bottomless chasm, where deep underground, he heard the voices of immortals.

Moved by his determination to die with his mother, the immortals bestowed upon him the Longevity Heart Sutra, helping him ascend to immortality.

At first, Yang Wujian had always thought this story was fabricated merely to comfort the palace servants, making them accustomed to living in lightless places underground.However, it was only recently that he began to realize that this story might precisely illustrate how the Longevity Heart Sutra, much like the gods worshipped by the Northern Desert people, originates from underground. And back then, Zhao Jian also learned the Longevity Heart Sutra by connecting with the heavens through the earth.

Throughout their journey, the case of the Yin Residence revealed that the Cage Play was related to the art of connecting with the heavens, and the White Dog case showed that the White Dog was also linked to this art. It seemed that there were faint connections among the bloody crimes committed by Guanri in the past, and the root of it all lay hidden beneath their feet.

No matter what, he wanted to know why Guanri had once brought back those martial arts manuals that should have vanished in the Hero's Tomb. Could it be that with Guanri's abilities, even the Meat Well could be traversed freely?

Yang Wujian thought this and glanced at Shen Qingshi again. Seeing that she was prepared, the two of them walked toward the cave entrance that emitted not a single ray of light.

"Why did you insist on coming down?"

After walking for a while, the two relied on a fire starter to see the jagged rocks inside the cave. Up to this point, the Hero's Tomb was no different from an ordinary stone cavern.

Perhaps because the cave was too dark, and the scenes they encountered were almost identical, Yang Wujian inexplicably felt a bit dizzy. He stumbled forward a couple of steps, realizing he couldn't continue like this, so he simply started a conversation with Shen Qingshi.

"Why did you suddenly insist on stubbornly staying at the White Rainbow Tower? Could it be that you've taken a liking to the young master?"

The sound of dripping water echoed in the distance. Shen Qingshi walked ahead without turning back: "Zhou Huai is the one who likes you. Compared to me, you deceived him even more cruelly."

Yang Wujian was momentarily speechless. He could tell that Shen Qingshi was evading the question and said, "Or is it that you also think this cave is related to the Longevity Palace?"

Shen Qingshi paused in her descent: "Don't you think so? The White-faced Guest deliberately exposed Chu Qiqi's lie about the White Dog in public. It seems like he has some personal grudge against the White Dog. He said the White Dog isn't worthy of being called a god—sounds like he knows quite a bit about the beliefs surrounding the White Dog."

"And the White Dog is responsible for guarding the Meat Well. Is that why you feel it's necessary to explore the Meat Well? You want to know what the White-faced Guest is really thinking?"

The two continued deeper into the cave, but for some reason, Shen Qingshi didn't respond. Yang Wujian began to feel something was wrong: "Shen Qingshi, are you alright? Last time you came up from the Meat Well, you weren't feeling well."

Shen Qingshi remained silent until they reached an even deeper part of the cave. Unable to bear it any longer, Yang Wujian grabbed the rope tied to her, forcing her to stop: "Speak. If you're not feeling well, we need to turn back immediately. Didn't the young master say before..."

"You care about me so much—aren't you worried I might stab you in the back?"

Suddenly, Shen Qingshi stood in the pitch-black darkness, her back to him, and coldly asked: "Aren't you worried that, as a member of the Zhaoming Division, I might turn you and the Longevity Palace over? Trade you and the Longevity Heart Sutra for a lifetime of wealth and honor?"

"What..."

Yang Wujian never expected Shen Qingshi to confront him here.

His mind buzzed: "Shen Qingshi, do you know what you're saying right now?"

"Don't you know what I'm talking about?"Finally, Shen Qingshi turned around, a faint cold smile hanging on her pale face, exactly like her master Cao Zhao: "You should have known who I am by now, right? The Zhaoming Division originally wanted me to extract the location of the Longevity Palace from you, but that's too troublesome. Seeing how deeply affectionate you were with that Elder Baihe earlier, I thought it would be better to just kill you right here. Then I'll spread the news that you've disappeared in the Hero's Tomb and see if the people from the Longevity Palace come looking for you when they hear it."

As she spoke, Shen Qingshi actually drew her sword. Yang Wujian felt a chill in his heart: "Is that why you came down to the Hero's Tomb? You want to kill me here as bait? Do you know that I..."

"Of course I know. You're the one who helped me open the cage, but so what?"

Shen Qingshi walked toward him, enunciating each word clearly: "As long as I'm alive, I will never let any member of the Longevity Palace go. Today, either you kill me, or I will eventually hang all the heads from the Longevity Palace in the Zhaoming Prison and use them as lanterns."

"You..."

By the time she finished, Yang Wujian felt his head grow hot with rage, disregarding everything else. He immediately pulled out his Golden Rings and snarled viciously: "It seems I shouldn't have saved you that day! I should have let you die in that cage!"

With that, Yang Wujian lunged at Shen Qingshi without another word. A clang rang out as his Golden Rings collided with her sword, and in mere seconds, they had exchanged several moves!

Overwhelmed with murderous intent, Yang Wujian saw Shen Qingshi seemingly weakened by her injuries as she fled deeper into the tomb. He let out a cold laugh and was about to pursue her when suddenly, an icy-cold hand clamped tightly around his wrist. A voice that barely sounded human spoke from behind him.

"Don't go!"

The voice said: "It's luring you deeper. There's no light there. If you keep running, I won't be able to find you."