71: Chapter 71 Counterattack from Desperate Circumstances: First Glimpse of Talent

The men in black stepped out from the shadows, their blades glinting with a cold light under the dim oil lamps.

About twenty of them closed in in a semi-circle, their steps steady and their formation disciplined; they were clearly well-trained death warriors.

The four walls of the hall had already closed in, and stone bricks overhead blocked all paths of retreat. The only iron door was slowly descending behind the five of them, emitting a heavy sound of metal grinding.

Chen Xuan stood in the center, his left hand resting on the cover of the "old archives memorandum," while his right hand slowly wiped across the tip of his nose.

He didn't look at the enemies but instead scanned the battlefield: the ground was level with no trapdoors; there were no nozzles in the corners, meaning no poison gas mechanisms; the shadows behind the pillars moved slightly, indicating hidden archers.

"Leng Shuang, the path ahead," he spoke in a low voice. It wasn't loud, yet it pierced everyone's ears like a nail. "Shield-Breaking Formation."

Leng Shuang nodded, her palms crossing as cold Qi surged from her center, instantly frosting the blue bricks beneath her feet.

Her figure flashed as she charged into the enemy's front line, striking the ground with her left palm and pushing out horizontally with her right.

The ice spread like a spiderweb, causing two large shield-bearing men to slip, their balance faltering.

Leng Shuang drew her sword, and with a series of flashes, two heads flew into the air as pillars of blood shot upward.

"Zhao Hongling, disturb their minds." Just as Chen Xuan finished speaking, Zhao Hongling grinned, bit her fingertip, and let a drop of blood fall into her palm. She formed a hand seal and barked, "Soul-Shocking Lead—Rise!"

Sound waves vibrated outward, carrying a metallic scent of blood, echoing within the enclosed space.

The eyes of several nearby men in black suddenly grew vacant as they began hacking at each other; one even turned and swung his blade at a companion, plunging the scene into chaos.

"Dugu Xue, watch the blind spots." Chen Xuan's gaze was like lightning, fixed on the shadow behind the pillar on the right.

Dugu Xue had already understood. Her longsword pointed diagonally at the ground, her peripheral vision locked onto that motionless figure.

She said softly, "Behind the third pillar on the right, he hasn't moved—that's the leader."

"Liu Ruyan, guard the flanks."

Liu Ruyan immediately moved toward the left wall, took out her pipa, and plucked the strings with her ten fingers.

The notes were sometimes urgent and sometimes slow, not forming a melody but containing a hidden rhythm that stirred agitation in the heart. The footsteps of several enemies attempting to flank them faltered, their internal breath becoming disordered and their movements sluggish.

Taking advantage of the opening created by the three women, Chen Xuan raised his hand and flicked three flying stones. Snap, snap, snap—the oil lamps on both sides were extinguished.

The hall was suddenly plunged into semi-darkness, with only a few unextinguished lamps in the center still flickering.

Darkness was the best cover.

Gliding across the ice, Leng Shuang used an unconventional sword move, "Frozen Moon on the Cold River," to pierce a man's throat.

As the man fell, he knocked over the corner of a table, causing a candlestick to roll off. The flame splashed onto the carpet, igniting a small blaze.

She took the opportunity to kick up a brazier, and the flames soared, illuminating half the hall and revealing the positions of the archers in the back row.

"Archers behind the pillars!" Dugu Xue shouted.

Before her voice had even faded, arrows were already whistling through the air.

Liu Ruyan shifted quickly, holding her pipa in front of her. With two clangs, the arrowheads embedded themselves into the wood.

Zhao Hongling rolled on the spot, dodging three consecutive arrows. As she stood back up, she cursed angrily, "Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

She suddenly flung out the blood-stained strip of cloth in her hand, wrapping it around a pillar and pulling hard. It turned out she had pre-coated the cloth with lamp oil.

The fire spread up the pillar along the cloth, and as thick smoke rose, the archers were forced to reveal themselves.

Chen Xuan seized this split second and erupted like thunder. He charged forward, staying low to the ground, moving so fast he left afterimages.

A blocker swung a blade down, but he dodged to the side and struck the man's chest with a backhand palm. The man flew out like a sandbag, knocking over two others.

He lunged straight for the right pillar.

As expected, the man in black who had remained motionless finally reacted, turning abruptly to flee.

How could Chen Xuan let him escape? He leaped up, kicking off the pillar to gain momentum, flipped through the air above the man's head, and pressed down on his shoulder with one palm, pinning him to the ground.

The opponent struggled to get up, but Chen Xuan grabbed his wrist, breaking it with a crack, then seized him by the throat and lifted him straight up.

"Everyone, stop!" he barked, his voice so loud it made the hall hum. "Take one more step, and I'll snap his neck."

The crowd's offensive stalled.

The captive's feet left the ground, his face turning purple as his hands clawed futilely at Chen Xuan's wrist.

The other men in black looked at each other; though their blades were still pointed at the five, they didn't dare act rashly.

"Go!" Chen Xuan barked. "Back to the passage!"

Leng Shuang immediately stepped forward to clear the way, her palms condensing ice. The biting cold forced back the several enemies closing in.

Zhao Hongling picked up a fallen torch and held it high, the flames reflecting on her sweat-slicked face. "If anyone dares come forward, I'll burn your ancestors' tablets!"

She retreated while shouting, her steps steady. Dugu Xue brought up the rear, her longsword held horizontally across her chest, her gaze like a blade scanning the crowd.

Liu Ruyan followed closely, one hand clutching her pipa and the other supporting herself against the wall, her breathing slightly hurried.

The five of them slowly retreated, back to the iron gate leading to the passage.

The iron gate had already closed two-thirds of the way, leaving only a narrow gap. Liu Ruyan, being the slimmest, was the first to squeeze through.

Dugu Xue followed closely, wedging her sword tip into the gap to forcibly hold back the gate's descent.

Leng Shuang circulated her full True Qi and struck the gate's hinges with both palms. With a loud boom, the metal snapped, and the iron gate came to a lopsided halt.

"Quick!" she barked.

Zhao Hongling jumped out and turned to help. Chen Xuan threw the captive to the ground, drew a short blade from his waist to plunge it into the floor, and used the leverage to leap out through the air.

As the last person landed, Leng Shuang flipped out, and Dugu Xue withdrew her sword and stepped back. The iron gate slammed down with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.

All five of them panted together, their backs against the cold stone wall, their hearts beating like drums.

"Cough, cough..."

Zhao Hongling wiped the dust from her face. "We finally made it out alive."

Liu Ruyan leaned against the wall, her fingers gently brushing over the pipa strings, her voice trembling slightly. "We really did it."

Dugu Xue sheathed her sword, her gaze still warily scanning the surroundings. "Don't relax yet; there's still movement in this place."

She was right. A muffled sound came from the direction of the hall, like the sound of collapsing stones, followed by a dull roar, as if the entire underground structure was crumbling.

"Self-destruct mechanism," Chen Xuan frowned. "They'd rather destroy the evidence than leave any survivors."

Leng Shuang stood up straight, cold Qi still lingering in her palms. "What do we do now?"

Chen Xuan looked down at the booklet in his arms, then back at the completely sealed iron door.

Firelight shone through the gaps in the door, illuminating half of his face in a play of light and shadow.

"They want to burn everything," he said slowly. "But we got what we came for."

Zhao Hongling grinned. "Then it's simple! We'll investigate! I'd like to see who else dares to stop me!"

Dugu Xue nodded. "The Northern Frontier Spies are available; I can mobilize people to secretly audit the accounts."

Liu Ruyan said softly, "I also know a few old bailiffs from back then; perhaps I can ask for some clues."

Leng Shuang didn't speak, but she gave Chen Xuan a look, her eyes resolute.

Chen Xuan rubbed his chin and suddenly smiled. "Alright, then we'll split up. But before that..."

He bent down and unfastened a black token from the captive's waist. Turning it over, he saw a twisted 'Shadow' character carved on it.

"These aren't people from the Imperial Court," he narrowed his eyes. "It's an outside force."

Zhao Hongling leaned in to take a look. "I don't care who it is; if they dare move against us, they'd better be prepared to have their hands cut off."

Chen Xuan tucked the token into his robes and looked up toward the end of the passage.

It was pitch black there, with no telling where it led, but there was a faint flow of air, indicating the exit wasn't blocked.

"Let's leave here first," he said. "Once it's light out, we'll have plenty of time to settle the score."

The five of them reorganized briefly.

Leng Shuang walked at the front, a thin layer of ice condensing in her palm to guard against sudden traps.

Zhao Hongling followed closely behind, still clutching the half-burned torch.

Dugu Xue was in the middle on alert, her gaze scanning the stone walls on both sides.

Liu Ruyan walked at the very back, her pipa slung behind her, her steps weary but steady.

Chen Xuan brought up the rear, habitually wiping the tip of his nose, his brow slightly furrowed.

He knew that this counterattack was just beginning.

The passage gradually narrowed, and the air turned damp. At the corner ahead, a faint beam of light fell on the ground, seemingly morning light leaking through a crevice.

Chen Xuan's footsteps paused.

"You guys go ahead."

The four women looked back at him.

"I'm going to the restroom," he grinned. "I've been holding it in for a long time."

Zhao Hongling rolled her eyes. "You're still joking at a time like this?"

"The more tense it gets, the more you have to laugh," he shrugged. "Otherwise, it's easy to get constipated."

Leng Shuang shook her head gently, but the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.

Dugu Xue snorted. "Stop the nonsense and hurry up."

The four women continued forward, their figures disappearing into the halo of light at the corner.

Chen Xuan stood in place, listening to their footsteps fade away. After confirming no one was looking back, he slowly took out the "old archives memorandum" from his robes and flipped to the first page.

The pages were yellowed and the handwriting was scrawled. The first line read:

"March 7th, Vice Minister of Revenue Vice Minister Zhang Weizhou received five thousand taels of silver to destroy the disaster relief account books from the Yongchang era."

He stared at that line of text, his gaze gradually turning cold.

After a moment, he closed the booklet, tucked it back into his robes, and turned to walk in the opposite direction of the group.

Behind the corner of the stone wall, a drop of water fell from a crack in the ceiling, splashing onto the ground where he had just stood with a crisp sound.