Xie Lian raised his right hand and curled it into a tight fist as if he had grabbed hold of something, his face set. “And I’ve gotten it.”
The two silently slunk out the door. After two incense time, they successfully found that room once more.
Xie Lian approached the statue of the woman and took out the two dice given to him before. He paused and took a deep breath before rolling the dice. There was a soft rattle, and sure enough, the roll was two red sixes.
Xie Lian let out a breath of relief, but he felt worse when he remembered that this luck was lent to him earlier at the Paradise Hall by Hua Cheng. Seeing his remorseful expression, Shi Qingxuan patted his shoulders.
“Since we’ve come this far, just let it go. If I were you, I would’ve declined this mission from Jun Wu no matter how he begged, lest I be a poor friend.”
Xie Lian shook his head. At the end of the day, Shi Qingxuan didn’t know Jun Wu very well. This case was certainly awkward for Xie Lian, and Jun Wu had known it would be. From his understanding of Jun Wu’s character, under normal circumstances he would never have brought this up with him and would’ve appointed another heavenly official to the mission. But even knowing this would be awkward for Xie Lian, Jun Wu still requested his assistance. That could only mean one thing: Jun Wu had no one else who was better suited to take on this mission and only asked him out of necessity. If that was the case, Xie Lian had no choice.
Besides, the missing heavenly official set off the distress signal seven days ago, and Hua Cheng had left seven days ago. That was a coincidence he couldn’t ignore.
Xie Lian heaved a sigh before taking back the dice and pushing open the door. Behind it was no longer the small, simple chamber he’d seen before but a dark tunnel with a long stairway stretching into the abyss below, with brisk winds whistling at them from the blackness.
Xie Lian traded looks with Shi Qingxuan and nodded. One behind the other, the two entered the tunnel and the darkness beyond. Shi Qingxuan took the lead; he snapped his fingers and ignited a palm torch, illuminating the steps under their feet. Xie Lian closed the door gently and brought up the rear.
As they descended, Xie Lian asked of Shi Qingxuan, “Lord Wind Master, were there any heavenly officials banished from the heavenly court in recent years? I mean, besides me.”
“There were,” Shi Qingxuan replied. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I saw a cursed shackle on the wrist of that Waning Moon Officer from Ghost City. That could only come from the heavens, no?”
Shi Qingxuan was astonished. “What? Cursed shackle? Then Crimson Rain Sought Flower is using a former heavenly official as his subordinate?! What arrogance!!”
“It can’t be arrogance,” Xie Lian responded. “If one no longer belongs to the heavens, then it’s their choice where they go. Originally, there was no need to question his motives, but that ghost officer’s been acting suspiciously. It’s worrisome, so I wanted to see what Lord Wind Master’s thoughts are on his identity.”
Shi Qingxuan pondered briefly and said, “There was indeed a Martial God of the West who was banished a few years back, and it caused quite the stir at the time.”
Martial God of the West? Wasn’t that Quan Yizhen?
Shi Qingxuan continued, “But I don’t think That Highness would descend to the Ghost Realm to be a ghost officer! He came from an orthodox background, and his character wasn’t frivolous.”
If that was the case, then why was he banished? Xie Lian was about to continue his inquiry when the two came to flat ground after sixty or so stone steps.
Before them there was a path about five or six people wide, leading in only one direction, shrouded in darkness. Behind them was the staircase that led to the surface. On either side were thick, solid walls. There wasn’t any need to debate where to go: just go forward.
But after walking along that path for only two hundred steps, a frigid stone wall loomed before them, blocking their path.
Shi Qingxuan frowned. “The path’s cut off? No way.”
He held the palm torch in one hand and used the other to feel around the stone wall, searching for any sign of a release mechanism. He then cast a few spells for clearing illusions to no avail; the wall remained immovable. There was no more he could do.
“Maybe I’ll just punch a hole through it?”
“That would cause way too much commotion,” Xie Lian said. “All of Paradise Manor would be alerted.”
Shi Qingxuan placed his hand flat on the stone wall and gave a short blast of spiritual energy, but he dropped his hand after a moment. “Punching it would be useless. This wall is probably over thirty meters thick.”