SWDnovel Chapter 16 Crossing the White Sands in Secret
Chapter 16 Crossing the White Sands in Secret
It was already midnight when the axle was replaced.
The car dealership owner yawned as he collected the wages, not even bothering with pleasantries, and immediately slammed the door shut. The street was deserted, with only a few lonely, dilapidated lanterns swaying in the night wind, casting dim, flickering shadows.
Shen Xingyao inspected the new axle and walked around the carriage to make sure there were no other hidden damages before she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's stay in town tonight," she said. "There's a place called 'Yuelai Inn' up ahead. It's a regular customer of the Sihai Escort Agency, and it's fairly clean."
Lu Chenzhou nodded. He didn't actually need to sleep—ever since the Azure Sword Qi took root in his body, his energy had become exceptionally abundant, and he wouldn't feel tired even after several days without sleep. But Shen Xingyao needed to sleep, and so did the bodyguards.
A group of people led a horse-drawn carriage along the empty street. The sound of their footsteps echoed clearly on the bluestone slabs.
The lights were still on at Yuelai Inn. The innkeeper, a chubby middle-aged man, was dozing off at the counter. Hearing the door open, he groggily looked up, saw Shen Xingyao, and immediately woke up.
"Chief镖师 Shen! What brings you here at this hour?" He hurriedly came out to greet him. "Please come in, please come in! The room is ready, and the hot water will be ready soon!"
Shen Xingyao was clearly familiar with the innkeeper, nodding, "Thank you for your trouble, Manager Chen. Three rooms, all next to each other. Feed the horses top-quality fodder, and park the carriage in the backyard."
"Okay! Don't worry!"
The room was on the second floor; it was simple, but clean. Lu Chenzhou was assigned the room closest to the stairs, Shen Xingyao was next to him, and the bodyguards lived in the innermost room.
Lu Chenzhou pushed open the door. A faint musty smell mingled with the cloying sweetness of cheap incense. There was a wooden bed, a table, a chair, and a wooden washbasin in the corner. The window faced the street, offering a view of the dark night outside.
He put down his bundle and sat down on the edge of the bed. The bed board was hard and the mattress was thin, but it was already quite good compared to the thatched huts in Zhongnan Mountain.
Just as I was about to lie down, there was a very soft knock on the door.
"Young Master Lu, are you asleep?"
It's Shen Xingyao.
Lu Chenzhou got up and opened the door. Shen Xingyao had changed into casual clothes, a moon-white cotton dress, her hair loosely tied up, and she was carrying a tray with a pot of tea and two teacups on it.
"I can't sleep, so I wanted to chat." She smiled, a slightly weary smile in the dim light. "Is it a good time?"
Lu Chenzhou stepped aside to let her in.
Shen Xingyao placed the tray on the table and poured two cups of tea. The tea was coarse, but it was steaming hot and gave off a warm feeling in the dead of night.
"Sit down," she said, pointing to a chair.
Lu Chenzhou sat down, watching the wisps of steam rising from his teacup.
"Thank you for today." Shen Xingyao picked up her teacup but didn't drink it. She just rubbed the rim of the cup with her fingertips. "If it weren't for you, this shipment would probably have failed halfway through."
"It was nothing," Lu Chenzhou repeated what he had said during the day.
Shen Xingyao shook her head: "What's your duty is a lifesaver for me. I owe you a favor." She paused, "So, there are some things I feel I should tell you."
Lu Chenzhou looked up at her.
"Do you know who robbed the goods today?" Shen Xingyao asked.
"Shadow Hall. There are still a few ruthless bandits."
"Not only that." Shen Xingyao lowered her voice, "Those few ruthless bandits are from the 'Blackwater Gang.' The Blackwater Gang is based in the Han River area and specializes in robbery and plunder, but they never touch the goods of the Sihai Escort Agency—because their boss, 'Mixed-River Dragon,' owed my father a life in his early years."
Lu Chenzhou understood the implication: "Did someone hire them to make an exception?"
"Yes." Shen Xingyao nodded. "And the one who hired them wasn't Yingtang."
"Who is that?"
Shen Xingyao was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered two words:
"The government."
Lu Chenzhou's fingers twitched almost imperceptibly.
Government officials? The imperial government, hiring bandits to rob a shipment?
"It's strange, isn't it?" Shen Xingyao smiled wryly, "But that's the truth. This batch of red goods was entrusted to a nobleman in Lin'an. I can't say exactly what it is, but I'm certain that someone doesn't want it to reach Jiangling. And it's someone in the imperial court."
She took a sip of tea and continued, "Yingtang is a spy for the Jin Dynasty. They intervened to muddy the waters and take advantage of the situation. But the real mastermind is in the imperial court. My father investigated for three months, and the clues pointed to Lin'an Prefecture, but he dared not investigate any further..."
Lu Chenzhou recalled Lu Jinghong's words. Xiao Bieli had said before his death that the clues pointed to the Lin'an Imperial Palace.
Eunuch Qin. Mr. Hai.
"Do you know Eunuch Qin?" he suddenly asked.
Shen Xingyao's hand trembled, and a few drops of tea spilled out.
"How...how do you know this name?" Her voice was a little tense.
I've heard people mention it.
Shen Xingyao stared at him for a long time, seemingly trying to discern the truth in his words. Finally, she put down her teacup and took a deep breath.
"Eunuch Qin, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, is a favorite of the Emperor." She lowered her voice as if afraid of being overheard. "But in secret, some people call him 'Mr. Hai.' It is said that he has an organization under his command called the 'Seeking Immortals Society,' which recruits a group of scoundrels and outlaws to do shady things."
The Immortal Seeking Gathering. Lu Chenzhou recalled the six men in black from Zhongnan Mountain, their synchronized movements, and their well-trained teamwork.
"Have you met anyone from the Immortal Seeking Society?" he asked.
Shen Xingyao shook her head: "No. But I've heard of it. It's said that their martial arts are strange, they act ruthlessly, and... they seem to be particularly interested in the 'Three Swords'."
The Three Swords: Azure Sky, Purple Lightning, and White Rainbow.
Lu Chenzhou's heart skipped a beat.
"You know about the Three Swords?" He tried to keep his tone calm.
"I know a little," Shen Xingyao said. "Legend has it that the Three Swords are divine weapons left over from the previous dynasty, hiding a great secret. But no one can say for sure what they are. My father investigated them in his younger days, but he couldn't find any clues. He only said that the Three Swords were too deeply involved and should not be touched."
She paused, looking at Lu Chenzhou: "You wouldn't... be looking for the Three Swords too, would you?"
Lu Chenzhou neither admitted nor denied it.
Shen Xingyao sighed: "Take my advice, don't touch it. It's not something ordinary people can touch. My father said that no one who gets involved with the Three Swords has a good ending."
Lu Jinghong also said the same thing.
But Lu Chenzhou had no way out. From the moment he received the jade pendant from his mother, from the moment he planted the Azure Nether Sword Qi within his body, this was a path he could only continue down.
"Thanks for reminding me," he said.
Shen Xingyao knew he wasn't listening, but she didn't try to persuade him further. She stood up, walked to the window, and opened it a crack.
The night breeze blew in, carrying the dampness of the river and the fishy smell of the distant dock.
"We'll cross the Han River first thing tomorrow morning, and the journey after that will be even more difficult," she said to Lu Chenzhou with her back to him. "The people from Yingtang won't let this go easily, and the Seeking Immortals Society will also get involved. You... do you still want to come to Jiangling with us?"
Lu Chenzhou watched her retreating figure. Her moon-white dress swayed gently in the wind, outlining her slender yet graceful silhouette.
"Yes," he said.
Shen Xingyao turned around and looked at him. Under the light, her eyes shone brightly, like stars that had been tempered by fire.
"Why?" she asked. "To find Yang Shirong? Or for... something else?"
Lu Chenzhou remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he gave an answer that even he himself wasn't entirely sure of:
"To figure out some things."
Shen Xingyao smiled, a smile that contained both helplessness and relief.
"Okay," she said. "Then meet me at the inn entrance first thing tomorrow morning."
She walked to the door, then stopped.
"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to mention." She took out a small iron plate from her pocket and handed it to Lu Chenzhou. "Take this."
The iron plaque was very light, about half the size of a palm. The front was engraved with the two seal characters "四海" (meaning "four seas"), and the back had a small design—a sword and a knife crossed.
"It's the token from the Sihai Escort Agency," Shen Xingyao explained. "If you encounter any trouble in Jiangling, you can find me at the 'Sihai Escort Agency Jiangling Branch.' With this token, the gatekeeper won't stop you."
Lu Chenzhou took it. The iron plate was cold to the touch, and the edges were worn smooth, obviously from being handled frequently.
Thank you.
"Don't mention it." Shen Xingyao waved her hand. "Go to sleep early, we have to travel tomorrow."
She pushed the door open and went out, gently closing it behind her.
The room fell silent again.
Lu Chenzhou sat at the table, looking at the iron plaque in his hand and then at the tea in his teacup that had long since gone cold.
Government offices, ancestral hall, Immortal Seeking Society, Three Swords, Eunuch Qin...
These fragments spun and collided in my mind, gradually piecing together a blurry yet enormous outline.
He suddenly remembered Lu Jinghong's words: "What you've gotten yourself involved in isn't some family feud, it's a trap."
Now, he could vaguely see the edge of this situation.
The real situation seems to lie in Jiangling.
He put away the iron plate, walked to the window, and looked out at the deep night.
The town was asleep, with only the distant sound of the Han River's waves faintly heard, like the ceaseless beating of a heart.
---
Lu Chenzhou didn't sleep in the middle of the night.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, trying to circulate the internal energy cultivation method taught by Lu Jinghong. It wasn't some profound skill, just the most basic breathing and regulating of the breath, allowing the internal energy to flow slowly through the meridians, nourishing the body, and also... suppressing the increasingly restless sword energy.
For the past two months, he has grown accustomed to this routine. Like taming a dangerous wild beast, he has to spend time soothing it every day, otherwise it will turn on him.
Tonight, the beast is unusually restless.
Every time his internal energy flowed through the Tanzhong acupoint in his chest, it encountered a cold resistance—that was where the Azure Nether Sword Qi lingered. Normally, he could slowly dissipate it with his mental techniques, but tonight, the resistance was exceptionally strong, like an ice wall, firmly blocking his meridians.
Lu Chenzhou frowned and increased the circulation of his internal energy.
"boom--!"
Suddenly, a burst of blue light exploded in my mind!
It wasn't something seen with the eyes, but a scene that appeared directly in the consciousness. Countless fine, hair-like cyan rays intertwined to form a net, and in the center of the net, a sword hung suspended.