CH 6

This prison is a little strange. Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu find out after they turn a corner.

A few steps after the corner, the lamps remain brightly lit, exuberantly lighting up the place. At a glance, only the place they were previously in had been unlit, like a line separating the world of the living and the dead. The more they walk deeply into it, the more prison cells appear in front of them. Thick and solid doors are tightly locked with little iron windows and not a soul behind them. They are all empty. The scent of blood gathered in the air, and as they walked they could pick up a stench of old rot. Their surroundings are so quiet that only the sound of their footsteps is left behind.

The prison’s structure is incredibly complex. Forked roads overlap. Chu Mingyun takes a few turns just by instinct alone, and after stepping out of a tunnel he suddenly pauses, the colour of his face freezing. Su Shiyu, following behind him, sees the pile of ash not far away and says, “We’ve returned to where we began.”

There is no ridicule in his voice. Chu Mingyun couldn’t help twitching his lips. “Then, does Your Excellency Su have any brilliant ideas?”

Su Shiyu gently smiles. “What brilliant ideas? You and I are not familiar with these types of places, so we can only try walking around.” He looks at Chu Mingyun. “People who have long been shedding blood on the battlefield have more accurate instincts. Your Excellency Chu may continue leading the way.”

Chu Mingyun cants his head to the side and meets Su Shiyu’s gaze. He turns around to once again walk into the tunnel. This time, he no longer takes turns simply. Along the way, he pays attention to the markings on the stone walls. After walking for the period of one cup of tea, Chu Mingyun suddenly raises his hand to block Su Shiyu. Listening intently for a while, his lips have a hint of a smile and he looks to the forked road on his left before telling Su Shiyu, “Finally, there are people we could ask for directions.”

In the next second, the sound of clear footsteps rings. A dozen patrolling guards come by. The leader is surprised when he sees them both, and what follows is a loud roar: “Seize them!” There is a rumbling of footsteps and sound of weapons being unsheathed. Then a rain of blades strikes at them.

Chu Mingyun stands in front of Su Shiyu and inwardly sighs. “This is really troublesome. You’ve ruined the fan, so now I can only take it in flesh and blood.”

He speaks somewhat pitifully, yet his actions are incredibly cruel. He dashes towards the patrolling guards and with no effort at all, he grabs the wrist of a guard, turning his saber around to stab through two other guards.Then he turns to the side to avoid a sharp blade while his backhand gets hold of the guard’s throat, crushing it under his grip. Although Chu Mingyun is surrounded by patrolling guards, he does not look troubled at all. His movement amidst the attack of sharp blades is flexible and casual like a leisurely stroll, not a single drop of blood staining his clothes.

The enemy’s attacks gradually wane, and only then does Chu Mingyun suddenly realize that someone has dashed towards Su Shiyu, so he immediately turns to look.

Yet all he sees is that behind him had long lain a few corpses. Su Shiyu stands there with a flat expression; He keeps his hands behind his back while evading the attacks. Only when the blade gets too close as to be unavoidable that he will strike back almost reluctantly. Slitting throats and breaking bones, so swift and clean that it takes one’s breath away.

Chu Mingyun raises his brow and turns his gaze away, thinking to himself: It’s certainly right to investigate Su Shiyu. At least in this capital, there aren’t many people who know this prim and proper Imperial Secretary knows martial arts.

He suddenly hears footsteps rushing in his direction. With a flourish, he forces back the person in front of himself, just in time to see another wave of patrolling guards pouring forward. The troop of people seems to have increased in morale, looking like this would be an endless fight.

Chu Mingyun feels a tug on his arm suddenly. Su Shiyu speaks before he can react: “Follow me.”

Su Shiyu pulls him towards the way they came from. Chu Mingyun doesn’t understand but he followes anyway. The patrol guards feel agitated and rush up to them with large steps. Along the way, there are even patrol guards coming in from the forked paths. What has originally been a quiet and soulless place turns into chaos within a blink of an eye. It’s unknown how so many people could hide in here.

Su Shiyu stops before that pile of ash and raises his hand to touch the walls, as if searching for clues.

Chu Mingyun leans against the wall, not even looking over his shoulders at the path the patrolling guards have yet to arrive at. “What did you discover?”

A clicking sound came as his reply. Chu Mingyun turned around in surprise and saw the stone panel in front of Su Shiyu rising up, revealing a brightly lit path before him.

He opens his mouth to say something, but he feels a cutting wind suddenly from behind. Chu Mingyun turns around with a kick which send the attacker flying away. Raising his gaze, he sees a surge of patrolling guards pour forward. Su Shiyu reaches out to grab him and pulls him behind the door. At the wave of his sleeve, a burst of blue-coloured smoke explodes, forcing the patrolling guards to retreat a few steps. At that moment, Su Shiyu slams on the control of the mechanism and shuts the door.

Chu Mingyun is taken aback, watching as Su Shiyu places the empty ceramic bottle on the ground. Chu Mingyun says in disbelief, “Couldn’t have guessed His Excellency Su would know how to use poison.”

“Didn’t the art of war say ‘All is fair in war’? These are just methods to achieve one’s goal at the least expense.” Su Shiyu looks at Chu Mingyun and faintly smiles, unperturbed. “Additionally, since Your Excellency Chu has never taken me for a righteous goody-two-shoes, so why would I insist on the act?” 

Chu Mingyun admits it with a silent smile, then changes the subject. “How did you know there is a hidden tunnel here?”

“A guess that turned out to be true.” Su Shiyu turns around to look at the long path ahead. “According to the bearings, the prison cells we saw when we walked deeper were built beneath the pond and guarded by patrolling guards. Obviously, that place is used to lock people up, and so the cell we’ve fallen into was most probably made for you and me. Setting that aside, when we showed up where we began, it could prove that many places in this underground prison are interlinked, so why waste effort on connecting a dead end?”

Chu Mingyun understands what he meant. “So that is to say, from the beginning we fell in from the exit of the prison. Hence, that is why the paths were more complicated the deeper we went, and we might in fact never find the exit.” He pauses for a moment and narrows his eyes. “From these events, it seems like Song Heng wants to make use of this to lock us up here?”

Su Shiyu smiles and says, “That is right.”

“Hm?” Chu Mingyun cants his head to the side to look at him.

“The mechanism could still be opened. Does Your Excellency Chu want to take out his fan?” Su Shiyu asks.

Chu Mingyun asks, “Why would I want that for?”

“After a while, if there is another change of events, there would be no need for you to take it in flesh and blood again.”

“……” Chu Mingyun could never have anticipated that Su Shiyu would take something he’d casually said to heart. “It’s reduced into a pile of ash. Would you want me to learn from you and toss them into the air?”

“The fan has indeed turned into a pile of ash, but those iron pieces Your Excellency Chu placed inside the fan are still there.” Su Shiyu says, pausing a while before adding, “I also did not use the poison tactlessly.”

“They’re the same.” Chu Mingyun walks forward. “This flesh and body of mine could still take it;  just forget about the fan.”

Su Shiyu doesn’t insist on this subject. He follows after him.

The stone path remains silent, but without those complicated twists and turns, the deeper they walk the broader the road. Chu Mingyun, however, feels in his heart that something has gone wrong.

A sudden chill wind brushes past his face and Chu Mingyun stops. Even Su Shiyu could feel that breeze and asks, “Are we approaching the entrance?”

Chu Mingyun doesn’t utter a sound. He regards an oil lamp on one side of the stone wall in thought. That oil lamp is extinguished. The oil stains on that bronze lamp look different from other lamps, indicating that it is not often used.

Su Shiyu follows his line of vision and after some thought, he walks up.

Chu Mingyun’s heart skips a beat. He calls, “Come back!”

Too late. Su Shiyu has already taken a step in front. The stone platform beneath his feet sinks and the stones at the top of the wall flip open. With a burst of strong wind,a rain of arrows weaves a pitch black shadow.

Chu Mingyun watches as Su Shiyu raises his eyes to survey above, yet still walks forward. Chu Mingyun dashes behind Su Shiyu and grabs him. This movement is carried out swiftly, but the falling arrow is already aiming between his eyebrows. He pulls Su Shiyu into his embrace; within a flash of lightning, he only had enough time to take a step back and turn his body sideways, taking the arrow that means to strike between Su Shiyu on his shoulder, and steps out of this arrow rain.

Su Shiyu is locked in his arms in discomfort, but just as he could move, he hears the sound of an arrow piercing through human flesh. The person behind him is momentarily stunned and slowly, the scent of blood fills the air. Time seems to slow down for Su Shiyu before he turns around to look.