Reign of the Phoenix

Three days later, the group arrived at the outskirts of Shunyi County where they settled into a tea manor owned by the Tuoba family.

Because Gao Chenghao had delivered the antidote on schedule every day, Tuoba Lan’s condition improved and the snake marks on her body had gradually faded.

As soon as she was sober, the girl urgently inquired about Murong Zhining’s situation, “How is Princess? If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of that thief Gao Chenghao. He didn’t bully her, did he?”

Chiyun Yuexuan comforted her, “First, take good care of yourself and don’t worry. Gao Chenghao only wants that book in the treasure hoard, he won’t dare to cause trouble for Princess. Not to mention, the poison I gave him won’t allow him to act impudently.”

In the tea garden, everyone was splitting up to search for clues. Chiyun Yuexuan discovered something at a huge pond on the east side of the garden.

He called everybody over, “This must be the central point on that map.”

Gathering around the pond, they began to discuss.

Yuan Dong informed, “The pond was here even before our family bought this tea garden. We have used it as a backup water source for the garden ever since. I remember during the drought a few years ago, the villages in the vicinity were all dried up, but this pond was still full of water. All of the villas around came here to ask for water. However, no matter how much we took, the water level didn’t drop one bit. In short, this pond has never dried up.”

……

Gao Chenghao also brought people to the tea garden, seemingly fearless with Murong Zhining as his hostage. After sweeping Chiyun Yuexuan a venomous glare, he walked towards the pond and carefully observed it. Murong Zhining followed close behind, also curiously staring into the pond.

Tuoba Lan happily waved. “Big sis, come over here!”

Murong Zhining returned with a dubious glance. “Are you calling for me? You know me?”

Gao Chenghao smiled and grabbed her hand. “Didn’t I tell you? Don’t talk to strangers.”

Murong Zhining nodded, smiling. “I know, Master. Is the thing you want to find hidden underwater?” She then looked up just to catch Chiyun Yuexuan’s chilling gaze. Murong Zhining instantly retreated a step and clutched the corner of Gao Chenghao’s clothes.

Chiyun Yuexuan’s eyes lingered on Murong Zhining before they were directed at Gao Chenghao with great jealousy and hatred. “We must find a way to drain the water in this pond. The treasure is likely to be underneath.”

Tuoba Zhi voiced his doubt, “It’s definitely safe to hide silver, gold, and jewelry underwater, but aren’t there also documents and books in the Murongs’ treasure as well? How would you preserve those underwater?”

Chiyun Yuexuan fixed his gaze on Murong Zhining. “This pond must be connected to an underwater river through some tunnels. Not every place in the tunnels would be filled with water, the treasure could be hidden there.”

Feeling Chiyun Yuexuan’s savage stare, Murong Zhining grasped Gao Chenghao’s hand tightly and shrank behind him.

Gao Chenghao smugly looked over at Chiyun Yuexuan as he caressed Murong Zhining’s hair. She inched even closer to him and offered him a sweet smile which caused her two faint dimples to appear on her cheeks.

Tuoba Lan furrowed her brows. “Big sis was drugged by that beast. What should we do?” Seeing Chiyun Yuexuan’s visibly rising rage, she hastily ran over and tugged on his clothes. “Don’t be angry, General Chiyun. She’s poisoned, what she’s doing is not her true desire.”

Chiyun Yuexuan growled bitterly, “She’s never once smiled at me like that before.”

Breaking away, Chiyun Yuexuan walked a circle around the pond before pointing at a low-lying area. “Dig from that place. The water will then flow towards the foot of the mountain where there’s a river nearby, so it shouldn’t flood the farmland below.”

Huyan Qi commanded the soldiers to use shovels, pickaxes and other tools to dig as Chiyun Yuexuan had said. After the removal of a thin layer of soil revealed hard rock below, the digging progress was slowed.

Gao Chenghao was extremely anxious. The longer this treasure hunt lasted, the more danger he was in. His current situation was few versus many. Even if they found the treasure, whether or not he could get any of it was still a question.

Gao Chenghao knew full well that greater benefit came with greater risk, not to mention that the opposite party wouldn’t easily dare to touch him when they were still concerned about Murong Zhining’s safety. However, he was facing not only Chiyun Yuexuan here but also the father-and-son pair of Yuan Dong and Tuoba Zhi. For Murong Zhining, Chiyun Yuexuan could hand over the book, but it wasn’t so sure if the same thing could be said for the others. Gao Chenghao didn’t think he could win against them.

The sky gradually grew dark.

Huyan Qi ordered a camp to be set up. The wary Gao Chenghao also had his men set up a separate one as well.

When Huyan Qi had people deliver dinner for Murong Zhining, Gao Chenghao enjoyed it without worry. Having Murong Zhining in his grasp was like ‘hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals.’ He felt very safe knowing the other party would never do anything that could pose a threat to her safety.

On the other hand, Chiyun Yuexuan was on edge all the way through as he secretly planned how to rescue Murong Zhining after they had opened the treasure. He needed nothing other than her safely returning to his side, but he knew nothing about Yuan Dong’s intentions. What if Yuan Dong refused to exchange the book for her? Or, what if Gao Chenghao refused to release Murong Zhining after he got the book? Chiyun Yuexuan repeatedly raised questions and pondered how he should deal with every possible situation.

Not only Chiyun Yuexuan, but everyone was imagining what might arise after the treasure appeared, including Tuoba Zhi who was much more nervous than others. He didn’t understand much about his father’s character either. Ever since he was little, his father had been running about busily doing business, providing the siblings with endless money but seldomly keeping them company.

Tuoba Zhi’s brows were tightly knitted together. In order to fish out the clues to the treasure, his father didn’t hesitate to put him and his little sister in danger and had restored their surname to Tuoba. He didn’t show near the anxiety a father would have when seeing Tuoba Lan act out due to poison either. Tuoba Zhi secretly felt afraid for what was going to happen after the treasure was found, because all of the one hundred or so manservants in this tea garden were ready to be at Yuan Dong’s disposal.

Murong Zhining looked at Gao Chenghao with confusion. “Why do I feel like those people are particularly familiar? But I can’t remember seeing them at all… Are they really bad people? If they are, why are you cooperating with the tigers? I don’t know if you’re planning to win with our little numbers, but I don’t think we stand a chance. It may even become dangerous.”

Gao Chenghao replied with a heavy heart, “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. After I get what I need, are you willing to help me hold them so I can escape first?”

Murong Zhining nodded. “You are my closest person. Ning’er is willing to do anything for you, even if it costs my life.”

Gao Chenghao nodded back with contentment. “Unless it’s a last resort, I won’t abandon you. Even if I temporarily leave you behind, I’ll come back to find you, okay?”

Murong Zhining obediently assented, “Mhm, Ning’er understands!”

The next day, Yuan Dong called several dozen workers in the tea garden to speed up the excavation. The more they dug, the lower the water level in the pond dropped, until it started to reveal an entrance on the wall of the pond. As they continued prying out the rock, the water stream that flowed down the mountain became a gush.

In the afternoon, a hole half a human tall was exposed on the pond wall. Eyeing a small boat by the edge, Chiyun Yuexuan called for a person who could row a boat to take him over to the hole.

Arriving at the hole, Chiyun Yuexuan looked inside. This was a tunnel half a human high and partly hidden underwater. The tunnel tilted upwards and, from what he could faintly make out, led to what seemed to be a big cave.

When Chiyun Yuexuan returned to shore, everyone flocked over to inquire about the tunnel. Chiyun Yuexuan looked at Yuan Dong. “Old Mister Yuan, can you have the servants prepare torches and ropes? Tomorrow, we can start exploring the cave when the water level has lowered a little more.”

Yuan Dong nodded. “I’ll personally see it through.”

Then, Yuan Dong turned to face Gao Chenghao. “If Fourth Prince wants to come with us, hand over the antidote for my little girl first. I promise not to create trouble for you, whether you can get what you want will depend on your own luck.”

Gao Chenghao shook his head. “Please rest assured, Old Mister Yuan, that I’ll keep my word and give you the antidote after I get what I want. If I give it to you now, how is it any different from putting myself in danger?”

Tuoba Zhi said between gritted teeth. “Then release the princess. It should be enough to grasp Lan’er’s life in your hands, no?”

Gao Chenghao seemed to ponder something. The closer they got to the truth of the treasure, the more he was afraid about his inability to turn the tables. One more bargaining chip meant a better chance at victory, so he didn’t budge. “You’re actually making demands on me? Are you mistaking your place here, Mister Tuoba? General Chiyun will be angry.”

Gao Chenghao threw Chiyun Yuexuan a provoking glance and naturally got a furious glare in return. Murong Zhining lightly clung to Gao Chenghao’s clothes. The visible fury in Chiyun Yuexuan’s eyes frightened her.

Early next morning, more than half of the pond was drained and the hole was above the water level. Riding the boat to the hole, Chiyun Yuexuan and Tuoba Zhi bent and entered the tunnel.

Having given orders to his men to guard Murong Zhining, Gao Chenghao also followed suit, taking the same boat as Lian Kun since he was always on full alert against Chiyun Yuexuan and Tuoba Zhi. After a dozen steps uphill, the tunnel before the four opened up to a huge cave hall.

Contrary to their expectations, the cave wasn’t pitch black, only a little dim. Yuan Dong and Huyan Qi also arrived right after, and then the six began searching the cave.

The terrain beyond the cave was complex with more tunnels within tunnels. They had to make marks on the walls so as to not get lost. After walking not very far, there was a sound of rushing water coming from a cliff that forced them to stop in their tracks.

Chiyun Yuexuan looked down the cliff face and was secretly startled. The rock wall was stark straight and unfathomably deep. He could only hear the roar of the water below them without seeing it at all.

Chiyun Yuexuan then looked up. The top of the cave was over thirty feet high up where a hole as big as a basin was letting faint light shine through.

Curious, Lian Kun picked up a rock and threw it off into the darkness. It took a long time before a splash echoed. The sound of the stone hitting water made everyone suck in a cold breath, because they could tell the water below was incredibly far from where they stood.

Moving the torches about, they spotted a small bridge made of wood logs that connected the other side of the cliff. The bridge had somewhat decayed over its long history. When Chiyun Yuexuan tried stepping on it with his foot, it creaked.

Chiyun Yuexuan turned to the others. “I’m afraid we have to chop some trees outside and build a new bridge here. There’s a stone gate on the other side.”

Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked at the opposite rock cliff to see a piece of open flat ground where a cave entrance was faintly discernible behind a shut door carved out of rock.