70: Chapter 70: Venturing into the Tiger's Den, Danger Lurks Everywhere

The carriage stopped in a narrow alley in the west of the city. Chen Xuan lifted the carriage curtain, and a cold wind poured in, carrying a damp, musty smell.

He jumped down from the carriage and looked back. Leng Shuang, Zhao Hongling, Dugu Xue, and Liu Ruyan followed him down one after another, each holding their breath and remaining silent.

"This is the place."

Chen Xuan spoke in a low voice, his gaze falling behind a broken wall that had collapsed halfway. That area was originally the transit warehouse for the old Ministry of Justice office. A fire ten years ago had burned down the main building, and the remaining ruins had been left neglected ever since. However, last night he had personally seen the gray-robed man carrying the box slip in through the base of this wall and not come back out.

Zhao Hongling frowned. "You said we were looking for clues, and yet we've come to this broken wall? My father handled a case here years ago; it was cleared out long ago, not even a mouse lives here."

"That's exactly why no one is guarding it." Chen Xuan rubbed the tip of his nose. "The cleaner a place is, the easier it is to hide dirty things."

Liu Ruyan said softly, "I remember the backyards of brothels often have secret passages, with entrances disguised as collapsed walls or gutters. The gaps between the bricks at this break are too neat; it doesn't look like a natural collapse."

Dugu Xue had already drawn her sword, the tip touching the ground. She whispered, "There's a vibration in the ground; it's not empty. There's something below."

Chen Xuan nodded and walked to the right side of the broken wall. He reached out to push aside a pile of gravel and withered grass, revealing a stone slab carved with runes. He squatted down, his fingers sliding along the lines, and suddenly pressed down firmly.

The stone slab sank half an inch, and then the entire broken wall let out a muffled sound. A stone door, only wide enough for one person to pass through, slowly slid open, revealing a downward staircase that was pitch black, like a gaping mouth.

Zhao Hongling grinned. "You really know how to find doors."

"It's not that I'm good at finding them; it's that they were too lazy to change the old mechanisms." Chen Xuan looked back at the four women. "Is everyone ready? Once inside, don't make a sound, stick to the walls, and don't try to force your way through if you encounter danger. Follow my hand signals."

The five entered in single file, with Chen Xuan in front, Leng Shuang in the middle protecting the rear, Zhao Hongling close by his side, Dugu Xue bringing up the rear, and Liu Ruyan walking in the middle with extremely light steps.

The stairs were not long, about twenty steps to the bottom. At the end was a stone-paved corridor. Oil lamps were embedded in the walls on both sides every few yards, their light faint and flickering. The air was thick with the smell of rust mixed with medicinal herbs.

"Someone comes here often," Leng Shuang whispered. She wiped the wall with her fingertip and pulled it back covered in a thin layer of dust. "But this dust is fresh."

Chen Xuan didn't answer, only raised his hand to signal a stop. He stared at the ground and noticed several shallow marks between the brick joints, as if something heavy had been dragged across.

He squatted down, scratched at it with his fingernail, and looked up at Liu Ruyan. "Listen."

Liu Ruyan closed her eyes, her earlobes trembling slightly. After a moment, she opened them. "To the southeast, there's a low-frequency echo, like people talking, but I can't make out the words."

"A meeting hall?" Zhao Hongling lowered her voice. "Holding a meeting this deep underground, aren't they afraid of suffocating?"

"People who are afraid of dying wouldn't do this kind of thing." Chen Xuan stood up, walked forward two steps, and suddenly raised his hand to block them.

On the ground three steps ahead, a stone brick was slightly darker in color, with fine cracks along the edges. He picked up a small pebble and tossed it gently over.

"Swoosh—Bang!"

As soon as the pebble landed, an iron net suddenly sprang from the overhead beam, and at the same time, a grayish-white mist sprayed from holes in the walls on both sides.

The mist exploded instantly upon touching the iron net, making a sizzling sound. Several large holes were immediately corroded into the net.

"Poison mist and corrosive net." Dugu Xue frowned. "This mechanism specifically counters those with strong Internal Energy. If you hit it, you'll lose a layer of skin even if you don't die."

"Then don't touch it." Chen Xuan stepped back twice and pointed toward the wall. "Stick to this side. The bricks with the lighter color are the safe path."

The five walked slowly against the left wall, their feet treading lightly, testing every step as they landed.

Leng Shuang walked last, cold energy gathering in her palm, ready to form an ice shield at any moment. Just past the trap zone, the corridor ahead suddenly branched into three paths: left, right, and straight.

"Which one?" Zhao Hongling asked.

Chen Xuan didn't answer. He squatted down and blew away the surface dust on the ground. There were very faint footprints on the middle path and some toward the right, but none toward the left. He reached out to test the air vent on the right, and his fingertips were damp when he pulled them back.

"Right. The wind is coming from that way; someone is ventilating it."

Liu Ruyan suddenly pulled his sleeve and pointed at the ceiling. Chen Xuan looked up and saw a copper mirror embedded in the ceiling, angled just right to reflect the fork in the road.

"We're being watched," he whispered. "Those footprints just now exposed us."

"Retreat now?" Dugu Xue gripped her sword hilt tightly.

"We can't retreat." Chen Xuan shook his head. "The door has already closed. Whether we advance or retreat now, they know exactly what we're doing."

Zhao Hongling spat. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's charge!"

"Don't be in a hurry." Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes. "The fact that they aren't rushing to act means they don't want to alert the enemy. We'll just pretend we don't know and keep going to see what game they want to play."

The five continued forward, turning into the right path. The corridor gradually widened, and murals began to appear on the walls, depicting ancient court trial scenes, but the faces of all the figures had been scraped away, leaving only empty outlines.

After another ten steps, the ground suddenly went soft. Leng Shuang reacted the fastest, grabbing Liu Ruyan and pulling her back. Chen Xuan and Zhao Hongling jumped away, while Dugu Xue used her sword tip against the ground to vault into the air.

"Trapdoor!" Chen Xuan shouted.

Before his voice faded, the stone slab beneath them crashed downward, revealing a twenty-foot deep pit. The bottom of the pit was filled with iron spikes glinting with a blue light.

"Coated in poison." Dugu Xue landed and caught her breath.

Chen Xuan lay on the edge and looked down. The pit wasn't very wide, but both sides were smooth with no leverage points. He looked back. "Who has the best movement skills?"

"Me." Zhao Hongling shook her wrists. "But I can jump across by myself; I can't carry anyone else."

"No need to carry anyone." Chen Xuan pulled a thin rope from his robe, tying one end to Zhao Hongling's waist and handing the other to Dugu Xue. "You jump first. Once you're steady, pull the rope, and they will cross one by one."

Zhao Hongling nodded, took two running steps, leaped, and landed easily on the opposite side.

Dugu Xue pulled the rope taut, and Leng Shuang was the first to go, her movements agile.

Liu Ruyan followed close behind. As she landed, her foot slipped, but Chen Xuan was quick and grabbed her wrist, pulling her over.

Finally, it was Chen Xuan's turn. Just as he was about to jump, a clicking sound came from above, and several rows of crossbow arrows extended from the wall joints, aiming at the center of the corridor.

"Linked mechanisms!" Liu Ruyan cried out in alarm.

Chen Xuan didn't hesitate. He kicked off the wall to move laterally, his body carving an arc through the air, barely avoiding the range of the crossbow arrows as he landed on the opposite side.

Almost simultaneously, a dense sound of breaking air rang out behind him, with arrows thudding into the stone wall.

"That was close." Zhao Hongling wiped away some sweat.

"It's not over yet." Chen Xuan stared ahead.

At the end of the corridor, an iron door was tightly shut. An Eight Trigrams Diagram was carved on the door, with a groove in the center that looked like it required something to be placed inside to open.

Liu Ruyan stepped forward, her fingers stroking the edge of the groove. "This pattern is the same as a jade pendant I saw when I was a child."

"Something from your family?" Chen Xuan asked.

She nodded. "My father left it to me, but it was lost later. Some said it was pawned, but I've always felt it was taken."

Chen Xuan glanced at her and didn't say much, only stating, "The door won't open. Change paths."

Just as he finished speaking, a heavy sound of metal grinding came from behind them.

The five looked back to see an iron gate slowly descending at the entrance of the path they had come from. It wasn't fast, but it was unstoppable.

"Sealed off," Dugu Xue said solemnly.

"It's intentional." Chen Xuan sneered. "They're forcing us to open the door."

Leng Shuang walked to the door and pressed her palm against the Eight Trigrams Diagram, cold energy slowly seeping in. After a moment, she shook her head. "There's a Restriction; I can't freeze it."

Zhao Hongling kicked it twice, but the door didn't budge. "It's very hard; I can't smash it open."

Liu Ruyan suddenly said, "Wait, I remember now. On the back of that jade pendant, a line of small characters was carved: Heaven Qian Position, Open."

Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. "The Qian position is Northwest. Let's try it."

He walked to the Eight Trigrams Diagram, found the symbol for the Qian position, and pressed it firmly.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the Eight Trigrams Diagram began to rotate, and the eight directions lit up with a faint glow one by one. A small drawer popped out from the central groove of the iron door, and inside lay a bronze key.

"They're actually giving it to us?" Zhao Hongling was skeptical.

Chen Xuan picked up the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it gently.

"Rumble—"

The iron door slowly rose, revealing a large hall behind it. It was brightly lit, with tables and chairs neatly arranged. A huge map hung on the wall, marking the locations of various departments in the capital. Among them, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Court of Judicial Review were circled in red, with several slips of paper covered in scrawled handwriting posted next to them.

The five walked in slowly, alertly looking around. The hall was empty, with only the candlelight on the central long table flickering slightly.

"They are waiting for us," Dugu Xue whispered.

"No, they are waiting for a specific person." Chen Xuan walked toward the map, his gaze falling on a slip of paper that read: 'Files burned, witnesses cleared, only one girl remains.'

His heart tightened, and he instinctively looked at Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruyan's face turned pale, but she didn't retreat.

"I'm not the only one," she gritted her teeth. "There are other descendants of loyal officials still alive."

Chen Xuan was about to speak when he felt a tremor beneath his feet. The ground began to shake slightly, and dust and sand fell from the corners of the walls.

"The mechanism has been activated." Leng Shuang quickly scanned the surroundings. "The exit is gone."

"The tables have been turned on us." Zhao Hongling clenched her fists. "This place is nothing but a cage."

Chen Xuan stared at the map and suddenly noticed a floor tile under the table that was slightly darker. He squatted down and pried it up with force.

The floor tile came up, revealing a hidden compartment containing a thin booklet with the title 'old archives memorandum' written on the cover.

He reached out to take it.

Just as his fingertips touched the cover, a bell suddenly rang overhead, and the four walls slammed shut, completely sealing the hall.

The lights dimmed abruptly, leaving only a few emergency oil lamps lit, casting a sickly green hue on everyone's faces.

"It's too late." Dugu Xue drew her sword, its tip pointing toward the depths of the hall. "Someone is coming."

In the darkness, the sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed, approaching from afar. There were at least twenty people, weapons drawn, the cold light of blades flashing.

Chen Xuan stuffed the booklet into his robe, stood up straight, rubbed the tip of his nose, and said in a low voice, "Everyone, welcome to the tiger's den."

Before his voice had even faded, the shadows ahead split open, and a squad of masked men in black, holding sabers, formed a battle array. Their blades pointed in unison, surrounding the five in the center.