Immortalis

Death Hex Six

After two days on the road, they finally saw their wanted posters at the courier station entrance.

As expected, the chaos caused by the White-faced Guest on Handkerchief Street had been conveniently pinned on them. The charge listed was murder, with a substantial bounty.

Since Yang Wujian knew Bone Shrinking, the wanted posters even featured both male and female depictions. Yang Wujian couldn't help snorting, "These are much better drawn than the ones in Ghost Market."

Shen Qingshi stared at his own portrait, recalling the blade he'd thrust into Cao Zhao at Yongyi, and ultimately remained silent.

He had made his choice, and the world seldom allowed one to have it both ways.

Logically, they should have been far from Yongyi by now. That the posters had reached this place meant the Zhaoming Division had truly cast a wide net to capture them.

Not daring to take risks, the two stuck to deserted paths from then on. At a roadside tea stall along the way, they encountered several traveling physicians discussing the current situation at Medicine King Mountain.

One remarked, "It's been nearly a month since Medicine King Mountain last held free clinics... Business has improved lately. I wonder if that's why?"

Another laughed, "Isn't that obvious? Rumor has it the recent trouble at White Rainbow Tower caused Longevity Palace to reappear. The major sects are all tightening security..."

"Speaking of which, White Rainbow Tower has completely collapsed this time, hasn't it? Their young master has been missing for a month."

"Exactly. Earlier, there was talk about him mortgaging the White Rainbow Tower his father left behind, but nothing came of it. He also promised compensation for those who died in White Rainbow Tower, but I think that was just empty talk. After all, with a father like that, how can you expect him to be any honorable?"

"So now the Four Seas Alliance only has three members left. If Longevity Palace really starts abducting people like fifteen years ago, shouldn't the Alliance have some countermeasures?"

"Who knows? The martial world hasn't been peaceful lately. Not just the three remaining Alliance members, but even some smaller sects have had troubles. They say that Thousand Cliffs Fortress up north has also tightened security. Some even claim they might replace White Rainbow Tower soon, given their numbers."

"Nonsense! How many of those northern barbarians have decent martial skills?"

The two began arguing. Under their bamboo hats, Yang Wujian and Shen Qingshi exchanged glances through their veils before silently rising and leaving the tea stall.

"What's happened to the young master?"

Once they reached a secluded spot, Yang Wujian frowned deeply. "Could it be that Cao Zhao and the others are still causing trouble for him, making him too afraid to show himself?"

Shen Qingshi shook his head firmly. "No. Shen Xin already burned all bridges. If the court directly hunted the young master of White Rainbow Tower now, it would arouse suspicion in the martial world. They wouldn't specifically target Zhou Huai."

Then why had the young master remained missing for so long?

Had the blow been too heavy, leaving him collapsed in some tavern, drowning his sorrows?

As Yang Wujian grew concerned, Shen Qingshi asked, "Are you worried about him?"

Yang Wujian smiled wryly. "Although the young master was kept in the dark this whole time, he never hesitated to spend silver on us. I've never liked deceiving people's feelings."

Hearing this, Shen Qingshi hesitated before saying, "Zhou Huai probably... doesn't hate you that much either."

"Young Hero Shen, this isn't exactly your area of expertise."Whenever Zhou Huai was mentioned, the scar on Yang Wujian's shoulder would begin to throb faintly.

The White Rainbow Sword truly lived up to its reputation as a legendary weapon renowned in the martial world. Having tasted its edge with his own flesh, the fact that he was still alive could only mean the young master had been too soft-hearted.

Yang Wujian let out a bitter laugh. "The young master simply isn't accustomed to taking lives, but that doesn't mean he doesn't hate me. I actually wish he would reflect deeply and learn to hate me properly, so he won't be deceived even more severely when roaming the martial world in the future."

To avoid drawing attention, the two soon resumed their journey, taking turns keeping watch at night. Finally, after several days, they reached the Aconite Kiln.

Ten years ago, the Son of Heaven had intended to bestow the grain fields around Aconite Kiln to King Liang, who had surrendered his military power. Little did he know that after King Liang established himself as a local ruler, he acquired hundreds of acres of land from the impoverished locals. Since then, many people in the Aconite Kiln area could no longer afford food and turned to illegal mining.

"How exactly can you tell there are mineral deposits here?"

The southwestern region was filled with mountains everywhere, and the Aconite Kiln they were heading to was located in a desolate foothill area. Along the way, human traces were scarce, let alone any households.

Shen Qingshi said, "Isn't it said that Tian Ting could identify mineral deposits for people? Fifteen years ago, when Aconite Kiln didn't even exist, he sent Gu Yun here to find him, clearly already aware that there were mineral deposits in this area."

As she spoke, strange noises suddenly came from the grass nearby. Shen Qingshi reacted swiftly, stepping down with her foot, only to find a writhing black snake.

"I've heard that silver mines attract insects, insects attract frogs, and frogs attract snakes... If we see more snakes later, we should be getting close."

After saying this, Yang Wujian was about to leave when he noticed Shen Qingshi still pinning the snake under her foot. She asked, "Don't you want it?"

"Want what?"

"The snake."

Shen Qingshi struck the snake with her sword, knocking it unconscious instantly. Yang Wujian was momentarily stunned before finally understanding what she meant. He couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "You think I want to keep it as a pet?"

Shen Qingshi nodded seriously. "Didn't they say you wanted to keep one when you were young?"

"That was so long ago."

Yang Wujian didn't know what kind of inspiration had struck Shen Qingshi, but her attempts to please someone were so childish. He couldn't help but laugh. "Besides, if you keep rabbits and I keep snakes, aren't you afraid my snake would eat your rabbits?"

"..."

Shen Qingshi thought for a moment, seeming to find his reasoning quite sound. With a flick of her sword, she tossed the snake back into the grass. "Then we definitely shouldn't keep it."

Afterward, the two encountered seven or eight similar black snakes one after another. The forest vegetation was dense, requiring them to cut through weeds with their swords at every step. Just as they began to doubt whether they were on the right path, Yang Wujian suddenly stepped into empty air. If Shen Qingshi hadn't grabbed him immediately, his entire leg would have sunk into the ground.

There was a hole in the ground.

Yang Wujian felt a surge of joy in his heart. Illegal mines naturally lacked the grandeur of official mines, often dug haphazardly here and there while prospecting for minerals, inevitably leaving holes everywhere.

Now that they had found a hole, the mine couldn't be far away.

Yang Wujian said, "It's easy to step into empty spaces here. Let's travel from higher ground."

The two had already abandoned their horses before entering the mountainous area. Exchanging a glance, they stepped onto tree trunks to reach higher ground. They then saw that they had actually arrived at a mountain col, and among the towering mountains not far away, there was a stone-built deserted village. The hillside beside the deserted village was covered with large and small deep holes, some so excessively mined that no vegetation could grow around them anymore.

"This place is really far too difficult to find."Yang Wujian couldn't help but marvel, "Ordinary people would probably never come to these remote mountains, let alone discover that there's a silver mine buried here."

Shen Qingshi stood on a tree trunk while still holding out the rabbit to let it enjoy the scenery, saying, "It's quite possible that the discovery of this place is related to Tian Ting. Ordinary folks couldn't possibly locate mineral veins - perhaps the Aconite Kiln was an illegal mine discovered by Tian Ting."

With their lightness skills, traversing mountains and ridges posed no difficulty for them. In less than half an hour, they arrived before Stone Village. Noticing Shen Qingshi frequently looking back, Yang Wujian's long-dormant suspicion resurfaced as he asked, "What are you looking at?"

"I keep feeling like someone's here..."

Shen Qingshi frowned, "I sense traces of human presence nearby, though I'm not sure if it's just my imagination."

"People?"

Yang Wujian's sensitivity in this regard was indeed inferior to Shen Qingshi's, but no matter how he looked, the Aconite Kiln appeared to have been abandoned for a long time. Gu Yun had only mentioned that the miners who excavated the illegal mine here ten years ago had all been eliminated by the imperial court. For unknown reasons, the court hadn't proceeded to mine this illegal deposit but simply abandoned it.

To be safe, Shen Qingshi inspected the surroundings, but unfortunately, the dense vegetation and lack of recent rainfall made it difficult to discern any footprints on the ground.

Yang Wujian said, "Speaking of which, we haven't visited the surrounding towns. We don't know if they're aware there's a silver mine in these deep mountains... Or perhaps the silver here was completely exhausted ten years ago, which is why no one comes here anymore?"

Shen Qingshi shook her head. To calm the restless rabbit, she stuffed two handfuls of wild grass into its cage and said softly, "No matter how you look at it... this Stone Village was clearly built for mining the illegal deposit. If it were just a regular camp, simple thatched huts would suffice. Building with stone means the miners back then never expected government officials to investigate this place. There's something strange about this - we need to go in and investigate."

Having visited countless Yin evil places on their journey, the two entered Stone Village without hesitation, only to find the stone houses had long become nests for snakes and rodents, showing no traces of human presence.

"A grinding stone with silver fragments... So this was indeed a silver mine."

Having spent much time in the palace, Shen Qingshi naturally understood that ordinary silver mines would typically burn rocks then douse them with cold water to make excavation easier. Here in Stone Village, all the mining equipment remained intact, clearly left from ten years ago.

The two also explored the mining tunnel beside the village. When torchlight illuminated it, the rocks shimmered with silver light, indicating there were likely unmined silver ores remaining.

"Howling Whistle Flowers grow here too."

Yang Wujian immediately noticed the small flowers resembling pricked-up ears near the mine entrance, just as Song Lan had described - Howling Whistle Flowers bloom year-round and are particularly common in mining areas.

Yang Wujian remarked, "If we assume that wherever Howling Whistle Flowers grow indicates mineral deposits, then even I could match Tian Ting's ability to locate mines."

"But there's clearly still silver here. Why would the authorities abandon this place after shutting down the Aconite Kiln? Could there be some hidden reason?"

Shen Qingshi's attention, however, was elsewhere. She caressed the cool stone walls in the mine tunnel, recalling that day at the Meat Well outside Yongyi City. When torchlight had illuminated those walls, they shimmered like living creatures. Was that merely her illusion, or was there truly something peculiar within those stone walls?The two of them explored several nearby mining caves one after another—some deep, some shallow. Among them was even a vertical shaft that looked like a fissure blasted open with gunpowder, resembling a smaller version of the Meat Well, nestled in the foothills outside Stone Village.

"Private mines couldn’t possibly be dug this deep. It seems there was already a cave here originally."

Shen Qingshi gazed into the bottomless depths of the vertical shaft, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

Although Emperor Beixiang had only excavated twelve Meat Wells, that didn’t mean there were only twelve passages leading to the Underground Heaven. If Tian Ting was the guide to the Underground Heaven, then the Aconite Kiln he had explicitly named as their destination—could it itself be an undeveloped Ore Vein leading to the Underground Heaven?

The silent mine offered no answers to these questions. Just as the two were about to return to Stone Village, a man’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Young brothers, are you also here to seek the Meteor Star?"