YUWEN YIHUAN was determined to succeed. The hidden weapon in her sleeve shone with internal energy as it sliced toward the middle of Feng Xiao's back.
She was only three inches from Feng Xiao when Tu'an Qinghe, embroiled in battle with Feng Xiao, suddenly fell back. Feng Xiao spun and floated upward, and the hidden weapon in Yuwen Yihuan's sleeve sliced through empty air. She'd missed.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"I won't use underhanded tactics to achieve my victory." Tu'an Qinghe's cold voice echoed in her ears.
She abandoned her attack to evade Feng Xiao's deadly strike. But how could she hope to escape? Sharp pain pierced her back; Yuwen Yihuan's body flew like a kite with its string snapped, crashing heavily to the floor.
She'd activated her true qi in time to protect her life, but her organs were damaged, her strength depleted. She raised her head and coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, chest heaving as she glared at Feng Xiao and Tu'an Qinghe. Bit by bit, she edged backward.
"Tu'an Qinghe…you betrayed my brother!"
"His alliance is with Kuhezhen, not me." Tu'an Qinghe gazed back at her. His eyes were empty of emotion; he looked at her as one might at a tree or a stone.
Feng Xiao raised his hand for the finishing blow.
"I know what Kuhezhen planted beneath the temple!" Yuwen Yihuan shouted. "If you want to save Cui Buqu, spare my life!"
Feng Xiao froze. Seizing her chance, she sliced open her brow and shoved a black worm into the bloody wound. She turned and leapt unhesitatingly into the pit below, moving so fast even Feng Xiao was a heartbeat behind.
He jumped unthinkingly after her.
"Wait!" Tu'an Qinghe's expression shifted. He hadn't contributed to Kuhezhen's refashioning of the labyrinth, but he was aware of the effort the prince had put into it. Kuhezhen had hoped to lure everyone to their deaths inside; even their souls would be trapped for all eternity. Tu'an Qinghe couldn't bear to watch Feng Xiao go to his death. To him, Feng Xiao was a rare and precious thing: a truly worthy opponent. Enemies could be found anywhere, but an opponent like this should be cherished.
By the time he cried out, Feng Xiao had already disappeared from sight. Tu'an Qinghe's expression flickered through myriad emotions before setting itself in determination. He leapt after him.
***
The light of the torch had flashed, then faded, revealing an indistinct scene.
Not far from Cui Buqu and Xiao Lü was a low bronze dais. Atop it, a bronze pillar crawling with intricate carvings stretched toward the ceiling. The torch had flown too fast for them to see much more than that.
They'd had time to register only one additional thing: At the foot of the pillar, thousands of bones piled up like small hills. Long since stripped of their original color, they appeared gray and black, shocking in their sheer quantity.
Daxingshan Temple was a site of Buddhist worship. How could there be so many bones here? No matter how extraordinary Kuhezhen might be, he couldn't possibly create that many corpses in just a few days. The ground they stood upon had been part of the capital for many dynasties. An ossuary of this size was inconceivable—unless the labyrinth was far older than any of them had imagined.
All around the bronze platform, countless cracks snaked across the ground, extending beneath Cui Buqu and Xiao Lü's feet.
"This place must have once been an altar of the ancients," Xiao Lü hazarded. "Maybe it sank due to the ground caving in, or maybe it was originally built underground. Either way, it was lost to time, leaving future generations unaware of its existence. The temple must have been constructed later."
"Or perhaps the first abbot of the temple knew of its existence and built the temple here to suppress evil through compassion," Cui Buqu said. "We can speculate later. We need to figure out how to get out of here."
Xiao Lü smiled wryly. "Don't expect too much from me; I'm not much better off than you. I'll be lucky to make it out on my own, let alone bring you with me."
Cui Buqu coughed. "But you are cleverer than most. That's enough. If I go insane in a moment, remember to return me to my senses."
"All right," said Xiao Lü.
Cui Buqu lit another torch. He pushed down his nausea and dizziness and stared down at the cracks on the ground.
The lines radiated outward in ripple-like patterns. Each ring was perfectly aligned, and none overlapped. The pattern held an allure like shimmering water magnified, drawing the eye to it again and again. As he watched, the cracks began to move like living things. They rose from the ground, the chaotic pattern ordering itself until the many fissures slowly converged into a familiar object. Although Cui Buqu had encountered it only a few times, he knew it well.
The Jade of Heaven Lake.
If there was anything in the world capable of reversing his fate and prolonging his life, it was this legendary jade. But this priceless, one-of-a-kind treasure had already been consumed by Xiao Lü. Could there be a second one?
It wasn't impossible. This labyrinth had a history that far predated Daxingshan Temple. If one of the ancients had hidden a treasure here, perhaps it had remained undiscovered all this time.
The translucent stone shimmered with an inner light, green shading toward blue, like the reflection of the starry sky glinting within a tranquil lake. Its vibrant glow caught and captivated the eye. Even the most resolute man would struggle to resist the allure of such a wonder.
Cui Buqu stared intently at the Jade of Heaven Lake. He closed his eyes, then opened them. His nails bit hard into his palms.
Yet the jade did not disappear. It hovered quietly, just within reach.
Cui Buqu's fingers twitched toward the jade. With this, he wouldn't need to worry about dying. He might even enjoy decades more. Even if his health remained poor, he'd be alive. And as long as he lived, there was hope. He could continue basking in the sun's warmth, plotting against Feng Xiao and gloating over his victories. He could protect more people like his mother—those who were kind and vulnerable—because he was Cui Buqu, hard-hearted and ruthless.
His fingertips were a breath away from the stone.
Alarm rose in his heart, a jangling sense of wrongness. Cui Buqu couldn't say what prompted it—only that it was like an invisible thread tied around his finger, tugging him to a stop for a brief moment.
He bit his tongue, and the sharp tang of blood surged into his mouth, bringing a sudden clarity amid the pain. He realized there was no Jade of Heaven Lake in front of him. His hand hovered before a venomous snake, head reared and staring at him with glowing green eyes. Its tongue flicked in and out as it waited for him to deliver himself to its venomous jaws.
Cui Buqu froze. The snake remained motionless too, as if waiting to see who would falter first. Cui Buqu eased a hand into his lapels.
Lightning-fast, the snake struck; Cui Buqu flung out his hand. The snake hissed and twisted away mid-lunge, wary of the realgar powder Cui Buqu had thrown.
He had made thorough preparations before entering the labyrinth: Both he and Zhangsun were carrying sachets of realgar, effective at warding off most ordinary snakes and insects. Clearly, the sachet was insufficient against a venomous snake over a century old. Exercising the utmost caution, Cui Buqu had tasked Deputy Chief Song Liangchen with finding a secret formula. It included realgar, mugwort, and cinnabar, pure substances full of yang energy that were perfect for countering yin creatures.
The venomous snake slithered off into the darkness and vanished from sight. Peril temporarily averted, Cui Buqu lit the torch again and looked around for Xiao Lü.
Cui Buqu had been caught in danger unawares, yet Xiao Lü hadn't uttered a word of warning. They were sworn nemeses—Xiao Lü would have no issue sitting back and watching him die—but such inaction was exceedingly foolish in their current predicament. And Xiao Lü was no fool.
When Cui Buqu caught sight of him, his face fell. Xiao Lü was a short distance away. At some point, he'd ascended the bronze dais and was now staring at the central pillar. His head was tilted back, his face filled with longing. The winding pattern on the pillar now became clear: What they had taken for intricate carvings were instead countless snakes coiled around the bronze surface. Some reared and flicked their tongues, while others twined around each other as they slithered in circles. Their scales glinted in the torchlight, sending shivers down Cui Buqu's spine.
Yet Xiao Lü seemed completely oblivious as he approached the pillar.
"Xiao Lü!" Cui Buqu rushed forward and felt his foot sink as he trod on a hidden trigger buried in the fissures on the ground. The air instantly filled with the whistle of arrows. There was nowhere to run or hide, and Cui Buqu's reactions were too slow to evade. The arrows were inches from them as he grabbed Xiao Lü's arm.
The moment he touched him, Xiao Lü shuddered violently and spun, snatching Cui Buqu and leaping into the air. Cui Buqu's feet left the ground just as the arrows shot through the space he'd occupied a heartbeat ago. They whizzed past, grazing his clothes and shoes. One tore the fabric at his shoulder, missing his skin by a whisper.
Xiao Lü released him, and the two collapsed to the ground in an ungainly heap. Xiao Lü's breathing was heavy—it was clear he no longer had the strength to carry Cui Buqu.
A few snakes on the pillar died under the rain of arrows, nailed to the bronze surface. Others, startled, darted in all directions, including toward Cui Buqu and Xiao Lü.
There was no time to speak. They struggled to their feet, stumbling as they dashed away. The torch tumbled to the ground, illuminating the cracks below. Cui Buqu's eyes widened in realization.
"Take me with you, but follow my directions!" he cried.
Xiao Lü didn't hesitate. He seized Cui Buqu's arm, gathered all his energy, and leapt. With a tap of his toes against the stone, he dodged the wave of snakes below.
"Up is qian, down is kun! To the upper left, dui, ten steps!
"Kan, six steps!
"Zhen! Eight steps!"
Xiao Lü was a man of wide and varied knowledge. He understood exactly what Cui Buqu was doing—calling out directions using the eight trigrams of the bagua.
"Qian…no, not north! It's up! Forward and straight up!"
The two leapt into the air and landed in a cave concealed in the stone wall. Xiao Lü was completely drained of strength. He pressed himself against the wall with no thought for any potential poison. His brow was drenched in sweat, his face as pale as a ghost. Cui Buqu wasn't much better off, but at least he hadn't been the one using true qi only moments before. After taking a moment to recover his strength, Xiao Lü whispered, "How did you know there was a cave here?"
"The Yellow River Diagram," Cui Buqu said. "The array was likely modeled after it. Even if death lies everywhere, where death and life meet, there must be a path out. That's the secret."
Closing his eyes, he recalled his vision of the Jade of Heaven Lake. The fissures forming the jade had scattered and rearranged themselves into the shape of this diagram—an ancient cosmological map familiar to anyone who studied geomancy.
"I saw a hint within the illusion earlier. Those fissures look random, but if you took each out separately and rearranged them, they'd form the Yellow River Diagram."
Xiao Lü was silent for a moment, then smiled wryly. "You're better at arrays than I am. It seems Fan Yun held something back when he taught me."
"No," said Cui Buqu. "He treated you the same as he did me. If anything, you had his favor; he taught you more than me, not less. But your heart wasn't in it."
Xiao Lü was extraordinarily intelligent and capable, yet he was also ambitious. And ambitious individuals often shared a common flaw: They set their goals unreasonably high. For them, these arts were mere stepping stones. They felt no need to dedicate themselves to such pursuits, so they paid less attention.
"You're right." Xiao Lü didn't deny it.
"What did you see when you looked at that pillar?"
Xiao Lü paused. "Everything I've ever wanted. Fame, power. An able body. Being born into a prosperous family, climbing the ranks on my own merits, seizing the throne and replacing the emperor of Chen, governing across the Yangtze from your Sui. Then, finally, achieving my goal of unifying the land."
"Your obsession runs too deep," said Cui Buqu coldly. He had no interest in conversing further. When he felt somewhat recovered, he rose to observe his surroundings.
The cave they had landed in was clean but very small, with hardly any room to move around. One side was open and dropped down to the bronze dais. The remaining three sides were solid stone. One in particular was suspiciously smooth, suggesting it was the work of human excavation.
Cui Buqu crouched down, running his fingers along the base of the wall until he found a narrow crack that confirmed his suspicions: This wall wasn't naturally formed. It was a manmade stone door.
Groping blindly, he located the trigger—a stone ball, which he pushed into the corner. With a rumble, the stone door slowly began to rise.
Cui Buqu realized his companion had gone still. "Xiao Lü."
"I fear…I won't be leaving this place," Xiao Lü said calmly.
"If I can," said Cui Buqu, "so can you."
"In this at least, I'm not like you. The poison has seeped into my bones. Even the Jade of Heaven Lake's essence I absorbed is useless."
"What will you do?"
"I cannot escape death. Perhaps it's better if I pass the Jade of Heaven Lake's essence on to you—you still have a glimmer of hope."
"The Xiao Lü I know would never give up until the final moment."
"For me, this is the final moment. Carrying you here exhausted the last of my strength. I can't even stand; my legs are numb." Xiao Lü smiled. "There's just one problem. My body is full of poison. I can't guarantee you won't be poisoned as well if I transfer the essence to you."
Cui Buqu frowned.
"Cui Buqu," said Xiao Lü. "Do you dare take a gamble?"