Chapter 90: Very, Very Long

Yuan Gang left the rear hall and entered the back courtyard, alert to everything around him. When he reached the well, he suddenly sprang forward and dropped straight into it. The movement was swift, and he vanished with startling abruptness.

Once inside the shaft, Yuan Gang spread his legs and braced them against opposite walls, controlling the pressure as he slid downward at an even pace. His arms remained free for balance while his eyes inspected the bricks lining the well. At a depth of roughly three zhang, he pressed both feet firmly against the walls and stopped. His gaze settled on a brick whose corners were slightly chipped. Many bricks had chipped edges. There was nothing remarkable about this one at first glance.

But Yuan Gang had been told what to look for and could see the abnormality. There were matching chips above and below the brick, perfectly symmetrical. He leaned forward, planted a hand against it, and pushed. It felt completely solid. Without prior instructions, anyone testing the brick would have assumed there was no mechanism there at all. Only after Yuan Gang exerted considerable force did the brick sink inward with a muffled sound.

Once the brick had moved, he pushed against the entire curved section of wall. A large portion rotated inward around an axis like a hidden door, opening a gap. It would only open halfway. Yuan Gang caught the angled wall section with one hand and slipped through. He struck a fire lighter and saw torches stored nearby. After lighting one, he looked around and immediately understood why the door could only open halfway. A stone trough behind it blocked the way.

Inside the trough lay a large rectangular stone bar. What Yuan Gang had pushed earlier was clearly this stone bar. No wonder it had been so heavy. A brief inspection was enough for him to understand the mechanism.

The stone bar normally fitted into the entrance wall and filled the missing section, effectively locking the rotating door in place.

Unless someone first found the precise point and pushed the stone bar away, there was no chance of easily moving such a thick hidden door. The mechanism looked crude and simple, but it was extremely practical.

Someone who did not know the trick could search the entire well and still have great difficulty discovering the entrance. Yuan Gang turned back, stuck his head out through the opening, and looked upward.

He casually tore a piece of moss from the well wall and threw it up and out of the shaft. Seeing the moss fly from the well, Niu Youdao tilted his head toward Yuan Fang. Yuan Fang hurried over, checked the surroundings, and quickly jumped into the well.

"Commandery Princess, climbing down won't be convenient for you. I'll take you."

Niu Youdao turned to Shang Shuqing. Shang Shuqing nodded softly.

"Mm."

Shang Chaozong immediately cupped his hands toward Niu Youdao.

"Master Dao, please protect Qing'er."

"Rest assured. As long as I'm there, nothing will happen to the Commandery Princess."

Niu Youdao gave him the promise. The meaning was clear enough: if anything happened, it would only be after he himself had fallen first. Lan Ruoting also cupped his hands.

"Commandery Princess, Master Dao—take care!"

Niu Youdao and Shang Shuqing nodded to them and walked into the rear courtyard. After observing the surroundings, Niu Youdao reached the well.

With one casual sweep of his palm, the moss Yuan Gang had thrown out rose from the ground and flew back into the shaft. Then he slipped one arm directly around Shang Shuqing's soft waist and jumped with her into the well. Watching from the rear hall entrance, Shang Chaozong bared his teeth slightly at the sight. In an emergency, insisting too rigidly on propriety between men and women would be pedantic.

Even so, watching another man openly wrap an arm around his younger sister right before his eyes still felt a little uncomfortable. Qing'er was an unmarried maiden, after all. Shang Chaozong could not help turning to Lan Ruoting.

"Qing'er runs over to his place early every morning. She hasn't actually fallen for him, has she?"

Lan Ruoting stared at him in astonishment.

"The Commandery Princess is a person who knows proper measure. Why would Your Highness say such a thing? Have you noticed some sign?"

Shang Chaozong immediately realized he had spoken too casually. This was not the sort of thing one could say carelessly. It touched directly on his sister's reputation. He waved awkwardly.

"No. I'm overthinking it."

As for Shang Shuqing herself, Niu Youdao's sudden embrace startled her as well. Her body stiffened. Once they entered the shaft, Niu Youdao immediately circulated his cultivation.

Qi flowed outward, borrowing the air's resistance to let the two of them drift slowly downward through empty space.

Pressed so close to a man, held within his arm, Shang Shuqing could feel the strength in that arm and the distinctly masculine presence beside her. Her thoughts became disordered. Her heart began beating faster. Niu Youdao seemed to notice her quickened heartbeat.

He softly reassured her, "Don't be afraid. Nothing will happen."

The storage well was deep. He assumed the direct descent had frightened her. When they reached the hidden entrance, Niu Youdao placed one hand against the opened wall panel and first guided Shang Shuqing through. Then he slipped inside after her. The moment both of them were through, Yuan Gang restored the rotating door to its original position. Shang Shuqing slowly drew a deep breath and steadied herself. Then she pointed toward the stone bar in the trough.

"That needs to be pushed back into place. Otherwise, the entrance will be too easy to discover."

She would have liked to do it herself, but knew perfectly well that the stone bar's weight was beyond her. Yuan Gang returned and seized the end. With one pull, the stone bar—more than two hundred jin in weight—slammed back into position. A fitted groove stopped it at the end, so there was no danger of pushing it too far. After releasing it, Yuan Gang saw Niu Youdao looking around for something.

"I checked already. There's only one torch here."

Niu Youdao stepped aside and gestured for him to lead. Then he looked back at Shang Shuqing.

"Why is there only one torch?"

"Large caches of torches are stored at fixed points farther along the route. There are enough for over a thousand people to use during the journey," Shang Shuqing replied.

Then she asked curiously, "Master Dao, don't you carry a Little Moon?"

Niu Youdao laughed.

"Those glowing butterflies only recognize one master. I've never had a chance to raise one. Another day I'll definitely get one for myself."

He did not have one. Yuan Fang had never had access to one either. For the moment, the group could only advance by the single torch in Yuan Gang's hand. Firelight swayed and cast long shadows through the underground passage. Irregular stone steps wound continuously downward beneath their feet.

By Niu Youdao's estimate, they descended several hundred meters before the faint roar of flowing water reached them from ahead.

He immediately asked, "An underground river?"

"Yes. A very long underground river," Shang Shuqing replied.

At the bottom of the descending steps, the water came into view. It rushed swiftly through the darkness. Yuan Gang raised his torch. The underground space was substantial, and the flowing water carried a constant cool draft. Even with the torchlight, they could not see the opposite bank.

"Torches!"

Yuan Fang pointed and called out. Everyone turned. A cave had been opened beside the passage, filled with neatly stacked torches. They went over, each took one, and lit it. The increased firelight immediately expanded their field of view.

"Which way?" Yuan Gang asked.

"Upstream," Shang Shuqing said.

The group began following the river against the current. They had twisted around through so many turns on the descending stone steps that even Niu Youdao had lost all sense of north, south, east, and west. He no longer knew which direction they were traveling. The route here was plainly natural rather than excavated. The ground was uneven and difficult, nothing like the comparatively smooth man-made passage behind them.

"Commandery Princess, give me your things."

Niu Youdao pointed toward the large bundle hanging diagonally across Shang Shuqing's body. The path was already difficult. Carrying something so heavy would only make it worse for her. Shang Shuqing politely refused.

"No need. I can manage."

Niu Youdao simply reached out and removed the bundle from her shoulder. Then he handed it to Yuan Fang behind them.

"Old Bear, carry it. You're used to moving through mountain terrain, so go to the front and lead. Monkey, bring up the rear."

"Mm."

Yuan Fang nodded obediently. He slipped Shang Shuqing's bundle over his neck so it hung diagonally beneath his other shoulder, raised his torch, and trotted off to the front. Shang Shuqing was left speechless. She had thought Niu Youdao was going to be gallant and carry it for her. Instead, he had simply handed it to someone else. And he was not finished.

Niu Youdao removed his own bundle and casually passed it to Yuan Gang as the latter moved by him. Yuan Gang needed no explanation. He simply accepted it and slung it over himself. Niu Youdao followed behind Yuan Fang, placed Shang Shuqing behind himself, and left Yuan Gang at the rear. In that formation, the four continued over the rough ground.

After traveling for some time, Niu Youdao asked, "Commandery Princess, have you been through here before?"

"No. This is my first time."

Niu Youdao stopped and turned. His brows drew together.

"You've never been here, yet you came to guide us?"

Shang Shuqing explained, "There are many forks along the route. I know the hidden marks that distinguish the correct path, so we can avoid taking the wrong branches."

"Many forks?"

Niu Youdao looked doubtful.

"Are we going to be underground for a long time?"

"Under normal circumstances, several days. This underground river really is very, very long."

Several days?

They had to stay underground for several days? The others stared at her in disbelief. At last they understood why so much food had been prepared. They genuinely needed it. Niu Youdao made a quick estimate.

Nine chances out of ten, the secret realm was not actually within Canglu County at all. Only the entrance was here. He could not help laughing softly.

"Prince Ning really knew how to find things. He could connect two places separated by this kind of distance."

Shang Shuqing said, "It wasn't something Father deliberately found. In his early years, when he campaigned through this region, some soldiers who became separated from the main force accidentally discovered the underground river. By the time they finally found their way out, they realized they had emerged somewhere else entirely. Father later organized men to explore the route and confirm the path."

Niu Youdao gave a thoughtful sound. Something came back to him. During the negotiations at Nanshan Temple, he had already suspected Shang Chaozong possessed some secret route to the sea. He looked upstream and downstream. Could that hidden maritime route have something to do with this underground passage? Water generally flowed eventually toward the sea. His gaze lingered a moment longer in the downstream direction, and he filed the thought away. They continued forward. The path changed constantly. Most of it remained natural, rough terrain.

Especially dangerous sections showed signs of limited excavation to make passage possible. In some places they had to crouch low to squeeze through. In others they had to climb steep slopes.

There were even stretches where the ground itself was impassable and they had to rely on iron chains fixed into the rock walls to cross. Of course, those last two kinds of obstacles were little trouble for men like Niu Youdao.

Whenever they encountered a climb or chain crossing, he simply took hold of Shang Shuqing and carried her swiftly across. The ordinary rough stretches did not trouble her much either.

After Prince Ning's household fell, Shang Shuqing had practiced for some time in order to strengthen herself. Her hands and feet were reasonably nimble, far better than those of an ordinary sheltered woman who spent her days embroidering in a boudoir. Moving at this pace made Niu Youdao seriously remember the matter of raising a Little Moon.

With one of those glowing butterflies lighting the way, he could carry Shang Shuqing and race rapidly through the underground space. A torch made that impossible. Move too fast, and the wind would simply extinguish it.

[End of Chapter 90]