SS CH44

“You…”

Supporting Ruan Feiyu as he hurried into the secret chamber, Lu Mingyuan had not expected anyone else to be inside. Fortunately, he had a sharp memory and quickly dug up the man’s name, saying, “Young Master Ye?”

Finding the voice familiar, Ye Fusheng looked toward the elderly man he was supporting—the Southern Scholar, the very figure at the center of this storm. A thought crossed his mind, and he said, “It’s Young Master Lu, isn’t it? What a coincidence.”

Hearing his voice, the Southern Scholar raised his eyes to glance at him. He remained silent, merely twitching the corner of his lips and lightly patting Lu Mingyuan’s forearm.

That meant he was trustworthy. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lu Mingyuan asked, “Why is Young Master Ye here?”

“Entrusted by someone to find a little girl who ran away from home. Have you two happened to see her?” Ye Fusheng hesitated briefly before bending down to pick up the longsword. With a light kick off the ground, he vaulted forward to land in front of Lu Mingyuan, keeping a safe distance that made both sides comfortable.

Back at Duanshui Manor, Lu Mingyuan had seen him fight Bu Xueyao to a standstill. Unsure of this man’s true background, and seeing that he was neither blind nor lame now, Lu Mingyuan dared not treat him lightly, answering vaguely, “We saw her about half an hour ago.”

Ye Fusheng did the math in his head. The girl must have run into him right after parting ways with the scholar. Yet now that he had stumbled into these two, Qin Lanshang had disappeared off to who-knows-where again.

Ruan Feiyu cut in, “Let us leave first. This is no place to linger.”

His words were rather blunt. If an ordinary person heard someone speak of fleeing so openly, they would feel somewhat displeased. However, Ye Fusheng had dealt with him multiple times in earlier years, and Lu Mingyuan had been raised under his tutelage, so neither misconstrued his meaning.

Right now, the underground palace was in complete chaos. While ideal for fishing in troubled waters, it was also a recipe for unexpected complications. Given the state the three of them were in, wading into those muddy waters was unwise. Not only would they fail to find anyone, but they might also end up trapping themselves.

With that in mind, Ye Fusheng asked, “What kind of place is this secret chamber?”

He had landed here purely through bad luck, so how could he know whose residence this was? Yet the scabbard in his hand felt cold as ice, sending an involuntary chill through his body that demanded utmost caution. That was why he asked.

Lu Mingyuan glanced at Ruan Feiyu with concern and said, “I am not entirely sure either. I only pried information from the guards earlier that there was a secret chamber off-limits to outsiders. We rushed toward this direction just now to evade the guards.”

Ye Fusheng could not help but admire his audacity: “What if this was a dead end with no way out? Or what if an old monster was inside undergoing closed-door cultivation?”

Lu Mingyuan: “…”

Ruan Feiyu coughed twice, a flushed tint appearing on his pale face as he panted slightly, his body resembling a flickering candle in the wind.

Yet his voice remained steady as he said, “If I am not mistaken, this is a training chamber.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted meaningfully toward the wall. Ye Fusheng’s heart stirred; he pried out a night-luminescent pearl, only to find a hole roughly half a finger deep behind it. Moreover, the holes on the wall were clustered in groups of five, as if someone had plunged five fingers straight into the stone before embedding the pearls into the hollows. Yet there was not the slightest crack around the finger holes, as though they had simply been thrust into a pile of soft cotton.

Such finger strength was exceedingly rare in the world.

The Southern Scholar was vastly experienced, possessing a depth of knowledge that far surpassed Ye Fusheng’s. He spoke with calm authority: “Xiao Yangu’s mastery of hidden weapons is supreme, but her martial arts are not top-tier. Someone capable of this level of finger strength must possess extraordinary martial prowess, deep internal energy, and ruthless methods… Therefore, the person undergoing closed-door cultivation here is definitely not Xiao Yangu.”

Ye Fusheng grasped the point immediately: “She designated this a forbidden area to keep outsiders away and prevent leaks. That means the identity of the person cultivating here is crucial and must remain secret. In that case, they certainly would not enter or leave through ordinary routes, meaning there must be a secret passage leading directly outside the underground palace.”

Hearing this, Lu Mingyuan hurriedly surveyed their surroundings. Regrettably, the secret chamber was constructed with extreme precision. Aside from the finger holes in the wall and the tunnel opening Ye Fusheng had fallen from, there were no other exits. As for that tunnel, beyond being smooth and narrow, its far end still lay within the underground palace, where they might run headfirst into Xiao Yangu and her cohort.

“I don’t see any secret door.”

Ye Fusheng narrowed his eyes. Tearing off a strip of cloth, he bound his blade and the sword across his back, then leapt straight into the water pool—so fast that Lu Mingyuan had no time to stop him.

The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, with undercurrents surging violently the deeper he went. Having confirmed his hypothesis, he surfaced and said, “This is flowing water. There’s an exit below.”

Lu Mingyuan was overjoyed, yet he hesitated. Gritting his teeth, he said to Ye Fusheng, “Young Master, could I trouble you to help me take my shifu out of here? I… Miss Qin must still be somewhere in the underground palace. It is full of dangers, and she helped me greatly; I cannot leave her behind.”

Ye Fusheng chuckled: “Choosing the girl over your master—scholar, you certainly have a bright future ahead of you.”

His face flushing with embarrassment, Lu Mingyuan stammered, “No, no, no, it’s not like that… It’s just that I am not adept at swimming to begin with, so going through there would only burden Shifu and Young Master. Besides, abandoning a young girl here is hardly the conduct of a gentleman.”

Ye Fusheng remained noncommittal. His eyes inadvertently met the Southern Scholar’s, and after a moment’s thought, he replied, “Very well. Since you are entrusting your Shifu’s safety to me, I shall entrust the girl’s life to you. May neither of us fail this pact.”

Lu Mingyuan said solemnly, “I dare not break it.”

Ye Fusheng asked, “Does this old gentleman know how to swim?”

“A man from the South—how could I not be a fish in the water?” Ruan Feiyu smiled faintly. “It is just that my strength is lacking right now, so I will need Young Master’s assistance.”

“Easy enough.”

Taking a deep breath, Ruan Feiyu plunged into the water. Ye Fusheng grabbed him, and both of them submerged instantly. Lu Mingyuan stood by the bank for a moment to ensure there was no danger below before carefully climbing up through the tunnel opening Ye Fusheng had fallen from.

The pool water was peculiar: calm and motionless on the surface, yet surging with fierce undercurrents below that raged like a storm. The two grown men falling into it were like withered grass tossed about by wild gales. Fortunately, neither was poor at swimming. Holding his breath, Ye Fusheng dragged Ruan Feiyu along as they swam downstream, only feeling the force of the water ease when his chest burned as if it were about to burst.

Estimating that they had reached the outlet, he pulled Ruan Feiyu upward. Breaking through the surface, he realized that after a full night of turmoil, the pitch-black sky was beginning to brighten, displaying a faint dawn on the horizon.

They were in an overgrown, desolate clearing where the current slowed. Crawling onto the bank, Ye Fusheng and Ruan Feiyu collapsed on the ground, their strength entirely spent. After resting for a moment, Ye Fusheng looked around and realized they were at a secluded downstream section of the Hero River—a place utterly devoid of souls.

It seemed the water in the pool had been drawn directly from the Hero River, with the channel built according to the terrain.

Sitting up, Ye Fusheng patted the Southern Scholar’s back to help him cough up the water he had accidentally swallowed. The elderly man was frail, taking a long time to recover as he coughed repeatedly, making Ye Fusheng worry that the famed Southern Scholar might kick the bucket right then and there to debate scriptures with God.

Fortunately, Ruan Feiyu pulled through. After spitting out several mouthfuls of water and catching his breath, he offered Ye Fusheng a faint smile: “My thanks to the Commander this time.”

This old man was cunning beyond measure, his mind as intricate as raindrop patterns on sand. Moreover, Ye Fusheng had dealt with him repeatedly over the past decade, so he was not in the least surprised that his identity had been seen through. He merely felt relieved that Chu Xiwei was not here, or the man would be throwing a tantrum over old history again.

Waving his hand, he said, “Not at all, it was no trouble. On the contrary, Minister Ruan is hale and hearty, brimming with vigor.”

Ruan Feiyu: “…”

He coughed softly and said, “When I heard earlier that the Commander met his end at Jinghan Pass, I deeply lamented that Heaven was jealous of talent. Seeing you again today, I realize Heaven indeed has eyes. However, since the Commander managed to escape danger, why did you not return to the Capital to report your safety to His Majesty?”

By the end of his sentence, a faint edge of sternness had crept into his tone. Ye Fusheng smiled and asked, “Does Minister Ruan truly think His Majesty does not know I am alive?”

Ruan Feiyu looked at him intently, only speaking after a long silence: “Retiring at the height of your career, escaping death by a hair… The Commander is a clever man blessed by Heaven.”

Ye Fusheng smiled: “Thank you for the kind words, old gentleman. My name is Ye Fusheng.”

With that, both men dropped the topic. Ye Fusheng pondered that while Lu Mingyuan was a bit wordy, he was nonetheless reliable, and Qin Lanshang was a sharp girl, so using the chaos to protect themselves should not be too difficult.

The only thing weighing on his mind was that Chu Xiwei had still shown no trace of himself. He was unsure whether the man had encountered a tough opponent in the underground palace or had been lured away mid-path by something outside.

Though anxious, he had no clues to go on. Unable to leave Ruan Feiyu stranded here, Ye Fusheng simply brought him back to General Town.

After a long trek, the sun had already risen by the time they returned. Knowing the Southern Scholar enjoyed considerable prestige in these parts, Ye Fusheng removed his outer garment to cover Ruan Feiyu’s head, heading to the inn he had previously agreed upon with Chu Xiwei to open a room, waiting for him to return on his own.

He waited until the sun set in the west, yet neither Lu Mingyuan and Qin Lanshang nor Chu Xiwei returned.

Ye Fusheng had always been a patient man, but now he was struggling to sit still.

Ruan Feiyu poured a cup of hot tea. Absentmindedly taking it, Ye Fusheng downed it in one gulp, flinching as the scalding tea burned him before finally bestowing his gaze upon the old man.

“Com… Young Master Ye never used to lose his composure like this,” Ruan Feiyu said calmly.

Ye Fusheng countered, “Your disciple hasn’t returned either, old gentleman, yet you don’t seem worried in the slightest?”

“Care leads to confusion.” Ruan Feiyu shook his head. “Since the current situation remains unclear, why don’t we discuss other matters instead?”

Ye Fusheng raised an eyebrow: “Is it related to this?”

Ruan Feiyu’s gaze fell upon the table: “This sword you brought out from the secret chamber—is it related or not?”

Frowning, Ye Fusheng slowly unsheathed the blade. The sword body shone bright as water, reflecting his facial features like a mirror.

Yet this sword was far too new.

When he had seen it more than a decade ago, though sheathed, an ancient and magnificent aura had hovered over it. It must have been an ancient blade passed down through generations, and no matter how well preserved, it could not possibly look this brand-new.

Thus, the moment he drew it, disappointment had washed over him.

He raised his eyes: “Does this sword have a history?”

Ruan Feiyu ran his fingers inch by inch over the cloud patterns on the hilt, saying, “This sword came from the hands of a master craftsman. Sharp and rigid, it is indeed a fine blade, but that does not change the fact that it is a forgery.”

Ye Fusheng pressed, “Then where is the authentic one?”

“Young Master Ye, you have just passed thirty, so it is understandable that you do not recognize it. But for old folks like us… that sword is something we can never forget.” A trace of nostalgia flashed in Ruan Feiyu’s eyes. “‘A single sword cleaves the clouds to open heaven and earth’… This ‘Cloud-Breaking (Poyun) Sword’, paramount under Heaven, has been lost from the Jianghu for over thirty years.”

Ye Fusheng’s heart skipped a beat. Before he could speak, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the door, followed immediately by rapid knocking. A lowered voice came through, yet it was distinctly recognizable as Qin Lanshang’s: “Is anyone there! Open the door, quick!”