“Who on earth was that?” Duan LIng asks Wu Du.
If Duan Ling has no idea, Wu Du is even less likely to know. Duan Ling adds, “Helan Jie called him the Nameless One. Have you ever heard that name before?”
Wu Du jolts to attention, and remembering what Cai Yan told him, his brows furrow to a knot. “The Nameless One? You’re sure?”
Duan Ling nods, rubbing his reddened wrist.
“No. It couldn’t have been him. What would he ever come here for?”
Surprised, Duan Ling asks, “You know him?”
Wu Du takes a deep breath, all the thoughts in his head tangling into one great mess. Duan Ling keeps pressing him, but Wu Du doesn’t give him an answer.
“He chopped off Helan Jie’s hand. That’s why Helan Jie wants to take revenge on him. Why would he chop off Helan Jie’s hand?”
Wu Du replies, “I don’t know.”
“Who’s the Nameless One?”
In some sense, the Nameless One has saved his life as well. If he hadn’t appeared when he did, it’s hard to know whether Wu Du wouldn’t have fallen into Helan Jie’s trap under those circumstances. Also, in the end the Nameless One had put his own life on the line to buy Duan Ling time.
They hear whistling from a distance. It’s a Tangut signal, and Duan Ling immediately whistles back in response. The bodyguards run out of the forest, every one of them looking quite anxious until they see Wu Du riding with Duan Ling, and realise that he’s safe.
“His Highness is looking all over the mountains for you.” A bodyguard says to him in Tangut, “Bian Lingbai didn’t show up. What do we do now?”
Duan Ling replies, “Don’t take any action. I’ll be over right away.”
There’s still Bian Lingbai to get rid of, so Duan Ling briefly explains their plan to Wu Du. Wu Du gives this some thought; in his eyes, neither Bian Lingbai nor Helan Jie pose much of a threat. He nods. “Since you already made arrangements, then let’s proceed according to the plan.”
Duan Ling thinks for a moment and decides to modify the plan — he tells Helian Bo’s guards to withdraw from the cave and lie low outside instead, just in case. Since Wu Du has returned, there’s no longer a need to kill Bian Lingbai in combat anymore. He reworks their plan and sends some people to keep watch on the road to the cave, and since they’re going to walk through the Tangut’s temporary encampment, he decides to rest there for a bit before moving out. Wu Du seems to be still pondering why that Nameless One had made his appearance here, and so Duan Ling roughly summarises everything that happened after he parted with Wu Du. Wu Du is taken aback when he hears about the little casket.
“Was it about this big?” Wu Du makes a rectangle with his hands, asking Duan Ling.
“That’s right! Is there something in it?” He has a feeling that this box is really important to Wu Du somehow.
Wu Du asks, “Who ended up having it?”
Duan Ling shakes his head, unsure. It’s all clear to Wu Du now. “No wonder that knave came all the way here. But how did he ever find out about the treasure map?”
“Who is he?” Duan Ling asks again.
Wu Du stares at Duan Ling, and spends a moment hesitating. As he’s about to speak, a commotion breaks out nearby as two Tangut bodyguards shout something loudly before they’re knocked aside by a man in black.
It’s him!
Duan Ling can’t help but take a step back. Staggering and stumbling, the man in black barges into their encampment.
He’s covered in injuries, and his eyes hover between Duan Ling and Wu Du uneasily.
Wu Du draws his sword, but the man in black isn’t even carrying a weapon.
The first thing he does is untie his masking cloth, revealing a face Duan Ling is familiar with — Lang Junxia.
In an instant, Duan Ling’s mind goes entirely blank; his head spins and his throat closes over. Overwhelmed with fear, his grip on Wu Du’s hand tightens.
Helan Jie’s iron hook is covered in poison, and the wounds on his chest and arm have started turning black; his lips have taken on a blackish, purple hue.
“You … you …” By now Duan Ling can no longer get any words out.
“His Highness ordered me to either bring you back in fetters or bring him your corpse. I never thought you’d be so considerate — but I guess that’d save me some work.”
With one hand on a rock next to him to support his weight, Lang Junxia says slowly, “Trade you for your antidote.”
He produces a small casket made out of sandalwood, and slowly sets it down on the rock.
Wu Du falls quiet for quite a while before he says, “That was mine to begin with. You’re going to take something that’s mine and ask to trade me for an antidote?”
Lang Junxia removes the Buddhist prayer beads from around his wrist and puts them on the casket. “For your little friend.”
Wu Du is silent for a moment, but in the end he digs a bottle out of his inner pocket.
“It’s enough for one dose. The prescription is a lot of trouble to put together, so you’re going to have to rely on yourself if you need more.”
The porcelain bottle flies through the air in an arc. Lang Junxia catches the bottle, then with a nimble dodge, he vanishes into the forest.
Duan Ling calls out, “Wait!”
But Lang Junxia doesn’t look back behind him again, and just like that he’s gone. Duan Ling hasn’t moved from where he stood. Seeing him again has filled his head with myriad, complicated feelings.
Wu Du steps up and opens the casket. Inside is a roll of thin silk, and it looks like there’s room in there for something else.
“What’s that?” Duan Ling asks.
“‘The Sword Manual of the Realm’.” Wu Du replies, “You can’t learn it without the qi method that goes with it.”
“What about that?” Duan Ling points at a little empty box on one side of the casket. It looks like a spot for keeping medicine in.
“The Pill of Rejuvenation. It’s for bringing someone back from the brink of death. Each of the four great assassins has one.2 But it’s probably all been used by now. I’ve been looking for this for a long time, and it did fall into Zhao Kui’s hands, just as I thought. And he hid it here. There should have been one more thing in it, and that would be the White Tiger Shining Armour Helan Jie is wearing. It’s been lost for too long — I never imagined that it would actually be in his hands.”
Wu Du puts the box away and hands the prayer beads to Duan Ling. “Let’s go.”
Duan Ling dares not take them. He stares at the prayer beads.
Wu Du says, “If you don’t want them, just throw them away.”
Where did this string of beads come from? Was it Helan Jie’s? Duan Ling stares at it. Wu Du explains, “It belonged to Wangbei, Helan Jie and Abbot Kongming’s master, and it can repel poisonous miasma. He took it off to let me know that he’s taken revenge for the late emperor. It’s for that very reason that I gave him the antidote.”
Duan Ling quickly realises that after his father died, Lang Junxia chopped off one of Helan Jie’s hands, and also obtained the Buddhist prayer beads he had on his arm.
“Is Wuluohou Mu going to die?” Duan Ling feels exceedingly complicated.
“No. He’s very smart. He’s been poisoned twice and he knows I have the antidote. Only I can save him, and only I would save him.”
They get on horseback again. The sky is already starting to glow; Duan Ling is so drowsy he can’t keep his eyes open anymore, and he falls asleep leaning back into Wu Du. They seem to have a lot of things they want to say to each other after their reunion, but neither is saying anything as they leave the encampment behind, heading for the mountaintop. Benxiao crisscrosses the forest. Sunlight shines through the canopy like the glow of falling stars, drawing lines down their bodies; the autumn wind has started to blow, and the leaves rustle in the breeze.
When they get to the mouth of the cave, Wu Du wakes Duan Ling. “Is it here?”
Duan Ling points the way through bleary eyes and they climb down through the caverns again. When they reach the platform, it’s in time to overhear Bian Lingbai conversing with his men.
“What do we do?” Duan Ling whispers.
Wu Du makes Duan Ling sit down securely at the edge of the cliff. “Let me sleep for a bit. I’m exhausted.”
Duan Ling is speechless.
All of Helian Bo’s people have left the cave, and they’re the only people hiding in the cavity set above the platform. A blood-curdling scream comes from the cliff at the cavern’s entrance, clearly because someone’s just fallen off. Wu Du wakes up from his nap.
“They haven’t found the way down yet?” Wu Du is awake, sounding impatient. “You gotta give it to this guy’s parents. How’d they manage to give birth to someone this stupid?”
Duan Ling holds back a laugh; every time Wu Du roasts people, Duan Ling finds it utterly hilarious.
From their hiding spot they can just see a hint of torchlight from afar. Bian Lingbai is walking all over the place trying to find a way down.
“Where’s that little Tangut boyfriend of yours?” Wu Du asks.
“He’s not! Why are you always trying to make things hard for him? He’s just a friend. He really is just a friend.”
Wu Du glances at Duan Ling a couple of times, considering. “When you’re actually in danger, you know who’d come to save you or what?”
“I know —” Duan Ling just finds it funny that Wu Du is always saying things out of baseless jealousy like that.
“How are you going to repay me?” Wu Du rests his long legs idly on the cavern wall, looking Duan Ling up and down.
As Duan Ling happens to be playing with a gold bar he took from the cave last time, he hands it to Wu Du and says, “For you.”
Wu Du takes it without fanfare and tosses it off the platform. Duan Ling’s jaw drops to the floor — that’s gold!
“Not enough.” Wu Du yawns. He sounds rather bored.
“What can I ever give you? By the time you took me home, I already lost everything.”
Wu Du leans back against the cave wall. He’s crossed his arms, and one pointer finger twitches. He taps it against his elbow meaninglessly.
“It’s only when you came,” Duan Ling says, “that I thought … I …”
Duan Ling’s heart is a mess; in that moment, he thinks of his father again.
“Wu Du, you’re so good to me. I really don’t have anything I can repay you with. I …” Duan Ling trails off with a frustrated aiya.
Now that Duan Ling’s said that, it’s making Wu Du feel embarrassed instead. He waves a hand dismissively to let Duan Ling know he needn’t talk about his feelings anymore.
“How come you’re so good to me?” Duan Ling asks.
This question though, has Wu Du stumped. He thoughtfully meditates on it for a moment before he says suddenly, “Wang Shan, you’re a heartless person.”
Taken aback, Duan Ling turns to stare at Wu Du.
“Do you know why I said that?”
Duan Ling’s brows draw together into a slight frown. It’s the first time anyone has ever assessed him with that word.
“Am I heartless? I’m … I’m not.”
“You and Mu Qing are classmates and you study together.” Wu Du says without much feeling in his tone, “When we left Xichuan, you didn’t even bother to leave him a letter to say goodbye.”
“That’s because I …”
Wu Du raises a hand to tell him he doesn’t need to explain. “Master Fei is always thinking for you, but you never once asked for his opinion.”
“Because …”
“You don’t trust him, do you?” Wu Du continues, “You mean a lot to that Tangut kid. Can’t you see the way he looks at you? His feelings are right there in his eyes. When you were kidnapped by Helan Jie, he was so worried he ran all over the mountains looking for you. But when you saw his underlings, you sent them away with nothing more than a few words.”
Duan Ling could say nothing that can refute any of this.
“Now tell me — don’t you think that’s heartless?”
Duan Ling has nothing to say, but while Wu Du is saying all of this he’s not angry at all. He’s scrutinising Duan Ling.
“But I can feel that … you’re sincere in the way you treat me, and that’s why I came to save you. When this is all over … There are things I want to ask you, see what you think.”
Bian Lingbai has finally discovered the wooden tenon and he’s walking towards them carefully. They must pass through the spot where Duan Ling and Wu Du are sitting if they’re heading towards the treasure trove.
Wu Du and Duan Ling peers down at them from above. Wu Du takes a rope and crisscrosses it around Duan Ling’s chest, then he tells him to wedge himself between two stalactites above them.
“Hold still.” Wu Du whispers, “Hold onto the stalactite.”
Duan Ling nods. Wu Du wraps the rope over himself twice, then he spreads his arms and leaps from the cavern.
All at once, Duan Ling’s heart rises up to his throat. As they run out of slack the rope pulls taut, but the way Wu Du has tied the rope is quite clever and it doesn’t dig into Duan Ling’s skin hard enough to hurt. The force has pulled him to the edge of the cave. Duan Ling tightens his hold over the stalactite and looks down.
Like a falcon in the dark, Wu Du glides to the space on top of Bian Lingbai and flips himself upside down, where he scatters a spray of powder into Bian Lingbai’s collar. He then gives Duan Ling a hand signal. Duan Ling grips the rope tight, and Wu Du flips over and over again up the rope, soundlessly making his way back up with each flip.
Once they’re back in the cave, Duan Ling unties the rope. Wu Du says quietly, “It’s done. Let’s go.”
Bian Lingbai lets out a startled gasp. Duan Ling wants to peek outside again, but Wu Du drags him back.
“He’s still alive,” Duan Ling says.
“There’s no hurry,” Wu Du says, “He’ll be dead soon enough.”
The two head outside through the cavern. Wu Du finds one of the Tangut bodyguards, and informs Helian Bo that he should return to the Tongguan estate.
It’s already daytime. Wu Du comes down the mountain path with Duan Ling on horseback, heading towards the cave’s first entrance.
A vice general is in conversation with Fei Hongde.
“Master Fei!”
“You’re back?!” Fei Hongde is full of smiles.
“Where’s my uncle?”
“He’s right inside.” Vice General Wang says, “He only went in there a quarter of an hour ago. Eh? Wu Du?”
Wu Du once worked under Zhao Kui, so Bian Lingbai’s underlings have also met him before. Wu Du looks to him as bloodless and indifferent as ever, only giving him a slight nod in acknowledgement.
“You’re back so soon?” Says Vice General Wang.
“Wu Du went to Xichuan to get something done for my uncle.” Duan Ling dismounts. “I ran into him on the road. I was finished with my work too so we decided to come back together.”
The soldiers have made camp on the opposing shore, and Bian Lingbai still hasn’t told them what’s in the cave, as he’s extremely cautious when it comes to money. Duan Ling tells Vice General Wang that they’ll be fine waiting outside for Bian Lingbai. He walks with Wu Du towards the tree he set on fire the day before. Wu Du crouches down and washes away the powder remaining on his hands. He says to Duan Ling, “The bead.”
Duan Ling takes the gold bead out of his pocket. Wu Du puts it on the ground, and the gold bead slowly stretches back into the shape of a centipede, waking up out of hibernation, then it begins to look all over for food.
Then as though it’s discovered something, it climbs over the rocks by the stream and quickly disappears into the bushes.
“It’s called the ‘Gold Crow’.”3 Wu Du gives Benxiao a casual pat and leaves it to graze. “Anyone who’s been bitten won’t be able to speak and is rendered immobile. If they don’t get the antidote within twenty-four hours, their whole body will overheat to an unbearable temperature, their internal organs will liquefy from the heat, thus leading to death.”
Duan Ling recalls how the first time he ever saw it, Wu Du had put the gold bead onto the counter to scare him. But now that he understands Wu Du, he knows he would never recklessly kill an innocent child — Wu Du was just teasing him.
What Wu Du flicked onto Bian Lingbai’s neck must have been a powder to attract the centipede with. Wu Du once gave him a pill that was probably for making the centipede think of Duan Ling as one of its own so that it wouldn’t bounce out of his pocket to bite him when he kept it on his person.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“Soon. Give it half an hour and it’ll definitely manage to bite him.”
By now the gold centipede has already entered the cave. It climbs swiftly over the cave walls, reaching the treasure trove as smoothly as a curl of smoke. Bian Lingbai is there ordering his underlings to carry the cases out one by one, his eyes narrowing to a slit from the dazzle of the gold bars. The centipede clings onto his boots, then climbing up and up his waist it squeezes under his collar fast as a stroke of lightning. Then it lightly sinks its mandibles into his back.
All Bian Lingbai feels is a numbness that spreads so rapidly through his body that he’s falling forwards onto his mountain of gold before he manages to cry out. With a clatter, the gold bars roll onto the floor; the centipede is still attached to the skin beneath his ribs, where it starts sucking his blood.
“General?”
“General!”
“This is bad! Call for help!”
His subordinates hear the cries and rush over. Bian Lingbai’s face has turned red, and he’s starting to foam at the mouth, unable to get a word out at all. The guards immediately carry him out of the cave.
Duan Ling and Wu Du are still waiting. One moment Duan Ling is still conversing merrily with Fei Hongde, and the next moment, they see the guards supporting Bian Lingbai approach them, so he shouts in front of all the soldiers, “Uncle! I’m back!”
Bian Lingbai crosses the stream, half carried by the soldiers. They all suddenly realise that something isn’t quite right, and rush over to him. Duan Ling says in a fluster, “Uncle!”
“Put him down already!” Wu Du says.
Bian Lingbai’s mouth is full of white foam, and his cheeks have gone all red. Wu Du crouches down to read his pulse. Duan Ling shakes Bian Lingbai, saying loudly, “What happened inside the cave?!”
The ones who followed Bian Lingbai inside were no more than ordinary soldiers — he kept all of his close aides outside. A soldier falteringly explains that basically Bian Lingbai was in the cave checking the treasure when he suddenly fell unconscious. By now, Bian Lingbai’s eyes are wide open, and he doesn’t even have the strength left to raise a hand; his eyes are full of fear, as though he couldn’t figure out why this “Zhao Rong” that he kicked into an abyss would show up again.
His eyes then rolled over towards Wu Du. In that instant, something seems to have become clear to him — but that realisation has come too late.
“Send the General back to the estate, quickly.” Wu Du says, “The stuff inside the cave is poisonous. Get people to guard this place and seal off the area — no one must touch it again!”
And so Bian Lingbai is carried onto a carriage, Fei Hongde boards it to watch over him, while Wu Du and Duan Ling get on horseback. The party hurries as quickly as they can back to Tongguan.
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
The literal translation is “the pill of all trees revive in spring”, and if you don’t remember who Lang Junxia gave his to, the hint is in Chapter 1, part 1. ↩︎
“Golden Crow” is also a name for the sun. ↩︎
“Who on earth was that?” Duan LIng asks Wu Du.
If Duan Ling has no idea, Wu Du is even less likely to know. Duan Ling adds, “Helan Jie called him the Nameless One. Have you ever heard that name before?”
Wu Du jolts to attention, and remembering what Cai Yan told him, his brows furrow to a knot. “The Nameless One? You’re sure?”
Duan Ling nods, rubbing his reddened wrist.
“No. It couldn’t have been him. What would he ever come here for?”
Surprised, Duan Ling asks, “You know him?”
Wu Du takes a deep breath, all the thoughts in his head tangling into one great mess. Duan Ling keeps pressing him, but Wu Du doesn’t give him an answer.
“He chopped off Helan Jie’s hand. That’s why Helan Jie wants to take revenge on him. Why would he chop off Helan Jie’s hand?”
Wu Du replies, “I don’t know.”
“Who’s the Nameless One?”
In some sense, the Nameless One has saved his life as well. If he hadn’t appeared when he did, it’s hard to know whether Wu Du wouldn’t have fallen into Helan Jie’s trap under those circumstances. Also, in the end the Nameless One had put his own life on the line to buy Duan Ling time.
They hear whistling from a distance. It’s a Tangut signal, and Duan Ling immediately whistles back in response. The bodyguards run out of the forest, every one of them looking quite anxious until they see Wu Du riding with Duan Ling, and realise that he’s safe.
“His Highness is looking all over the mountains for you.” A bodyguard says to him in Tangut, “Bian Lingbai didn’t show up. What do we do now?”
Duan Ling replies, “Don’t take any action. I’ll be over right away.”
There’s still Bian Lingbai to get rid of, so Duan Ling briefly explains their plan to Wu Du. Wu Du gives this some thought; in his eyes, neither Bian Lingbai nor Helan Jie pose much of a threat. He nods. “Since you already made arrangements, then let’s proceed according to the plan.”
Duan Ling thinks for a moment and decides to modify the plan — he tells Helian Bo’s guards to withdraw from the cave and lie low outside instead, just in case. Since Wu Du has returned, there’s no longer a need to kill Bian Lingbai in combat anymore. He reworks their plan and sends some people to keep watch on the road to the cave, and since they’re going to walk through the Tangut’s temporary encampment, he decides to rest there for a bit before moving out. Wu Du seems to be still pondering why that Nameless One had made his appearance here, and so Duan Ling roughly summarises everything that happened after he parted with Wu Du. Wu Du is taken aback when he hears about the little casket.
“Was it about this big?” Wu Du makes a rectangle with his hands, asking Duan Ling.
“That’s right! Is there something in it?” He has a feeling that this box is really important to Wu Du somehow.
Wu Du asks, “Who ended up having it?”
Duan Ling shakes his head, unsure. It’s all clear to Wu Du now. “No wonder that knave came all the way here. But how did he ever find out about the treasure map?”
“Who is he?” Duan Ling asks again.
Wu Du stares at Duan Ling, and spends a moment hesitating. As he’s about to speak, a commotion breaks out nearby as two Tangut bodyguards shout something loudly before they’re knocked aside by a man in black.
It’s him!
Duan Ling can’t help but take a step back. Staggering and stumbling, the man in black barges into their encampment.
He’s covered in injuries, and his eyes hover between Duan Ling and Wu Du uneasily.
Wu Du draws his sword, but the man in black isn’t even carrying a weapon.
The first thing he does is untie his masking cloth, revealing a face Duan Ling is familiar with — Lang Junxia.
In an instant, Duan Ling’s mind goes entirely blank; his head spins and his throat closes over. Overwhelmed with fear, his grip on Wu Du’s hand tightens.
Helan Jie’s iron hook is covered in poison, and the wounds on his chest and arm have started turning black; his lips have taken on a blackish, purple hue.
“You … you …” By now Duan Ling can no longer get any words out.
“His Highness ordered me to either bring you back in fetters or bring him your corpse. I never thought you’d be so considerate — but I guess that’d save me some work.”
With one hand on a rock next to him to support his weight, Lang Junxia says slowly, “Trade you for your antidote.”
He produces a small casket made out of sandalwood, and slowly sets it down on the rock.
Wu Du falls quiet for quite a while before he says, “That was mine to begin with. You’re going to take something that’s mine and ask to trade me for an antidote?”
Lang Junxia removes the Buddhist prayer beads from around his wrist and puts them on the casket. “For your little friend.”
Wu Du is silent for a moment, but in the end he digs a bottle out of his inner pocket.
“It’s enough for one dose. The prescription is a lot of trouble to put together, so you’re going to have to rely on yourself if you need more.”
The porcelain bottle flies through the air in an arc. Lang Junxia catches the bottle, then with a nimble dodge, he vanishes into the forest.
Duan Ling calls out, “Wait!”
But Lang Junxia doesn’t look back behind him again, and just like that he’s gone. Duan Ling hasn’t moved from where he stood. Seeing him again has filled his head with myriad, complicated feelings.
Wu Du steps up and opens the casket. Inside is a roll of thin silk, and it looks like there’s room in there for something else.
“What’s that?” Duan Ling asks.
“‘The Sword Manual of the Realm’.” Wu Du replies, “You can’t learn it without the qi method that goes with it.”
“What about that?” Duan Ling points at a little empty box on one side of the casket. It looks like a spot for keeping medicine in.
“The Pill of Rejuvenation. It’s for bringing someone back from the brink of death. Each of the four great assassins has one.2 But it’s probably all been used by now. I’ve been looking for this for a long time, and it did fall into Zhao Kui’s hands, just as I thought. And he hid it here. There should have been one more thing in it, and that would be the White Tiger Shining Armour Helan Jie is wearing. It’s been lost for too long — I never imagined that it would actually be in his hands.”
Wu Du puts the box away and hands the prayer beads to Duan Ling. “Let’s go.”
Duan Ling dares not take them. He stares at the prayer beads.
Wu Du says, “If you don’t want them, just throw them away.”
Where did this string of beads come from? Was it Helan Jie’s? Duan Ling stares at it. Wu Du explains, “It belonged to Wangbei, Helan Jie and Abbot Kongming’s master, and it can repel poisonous miasma. He took it off to let me know that he’s taken revenge for the late emperor. It’s for that very reason that I gave him the antidote.”
Duan Ling quickly realises that after his father died, Lang Junxia chopped off one of Helan Jie’s hands, and also obtained the Buddhist prayer beads he had on his arm.
“Is Wuluohou Mu going to die?” Duan Ling feels exceedingly complicated.
“No. He’s very smart. He’s been poisoned twice and he knows I have the antidote. Only I can save him, and only I would save him.”
They get on horseback again. The sky is already starting to glow; Duan Ling is so drowsy he can’t keep his eyes open anymore, and he falls asleep leaning back into Wu Du. They seem to have a lot of things they want to say to each other after their reunion, but neither is saying anything as they leave the encampment behind, heading for the mountaintop. Benxiao crisscrosses the forest. Sunlight shines through the canopy like the glow of falling stars, drawing lines down their bodies; the autumn wind has started to blow, and the leaves rustle in the breeze.
When they get to the mouth of the cave, Wu Du wakes Duan Ling. “Is it here?”
Duan Ling points the way through bleary eyes and they climb down through the caverns again. When they reach the platform, it’s in time to overhear Bian Lingbai conversing with his men.
“What do we do?” Duan Ling whispers.
Wu Du makes Duan Ling sit down securely at the edge of the cliff. “Let me sleep for a bit. I’m exhausted.”
Duan Ling is speechless.
All of Helian Bo’s people have left the cave, and they’re the only people hiding in the cavity set above the platform. A blood-curdling scream comes from the cliff at the cavern’s entrance, clearly because someone’s just fallen off. Wu Du wakes up from his nap.
“They haven’t found the way down yet?” Wu Du is awake, sounding impatient. “You gotta give it to this guy’s parents. How’d they manage to give birth to someone this stupid?”
Duan Ling holds back a laugh; every time Wu Du roasts people, Duan Ling finds it utterly hilarious.
From their hiding spot they can just see a hint of torchlight from afar. Bian Lingbai is walking all over the place trying to find a way down.
“Where’s that little Tangut boyfriend of yours?” Wu Du asks.
“He’s not! Why are you always trying to make things hard for him? He’s just a friend. He really is just a friend.”
Wu Du glances at Duan Ling a couple of times, considering. “When you’re actually in danger, you know who’d come to save you or what?”
“I know —” Duan Ling just finds it funny that Wu Du is always saying things out of baseless jealousy like that.
“How are you going to repay me?” Wu Du rests his long legs idly on the cavern wall, looking Duan Ling up and down.
As Duan Ling happens to be playing with a gold bar he took from the cave last time, he hands it to Wu Du and says, “For you.”
Wu Du takes it without fanfare and tosses it off the platform. Duan Ling’s jaw drops to the floor — that’s gold!
“Not enough.” Wu Du yawns. He sounds rather bored.
“What can I ever give you? By the time you took me home, I already lost everything.”
Wu Du leans back against the cave wall. He’s crossed his arms, and one pointer finger twitches. He taps it against his elbow meaninglessly.
“It’s only when you came,” Duan Ling says, “that I thought … I …”
Duan Ling’s heart is a mess; in that moment, he thinks of his father again.
“Wu Du, you’re so good to me. I really don’t have anything I can repay you with. I …” Duan Ling trails off with a frustrated aiya.
Now that Duan Ling’s said that, it’s making Wu Du feel embarrassed instead. He waves a hand dismissively to let Duan Ling know he needn’t talk about his feelings anymore.
“How come you’re so good to me?” Duan Ling asks.
This question though, has Wu Du stumped. He thoughtfully meditates on it for a moment before he says suddenly, “Wang Shan, you’re a heartless person.”
Taken aback, Duan Ling turns to stare at Wu Du.
“Do you know why I said that?”
Duan Ling’s brows draw together into a slight frown. It’s the first time anyone has ever assessed him with that word.
“Am I heartless? I’m … I’m not.”
“You and Mu Qing are classmates and you study together.” Wu Du says without much feeling in his tone, “When we left Xichuan, you didn’t even bother to leave him a letter to say goodbye.”
“That’s because I …”
Wu Du raises a hand to tell him he doesn’t need to explain. “Master Fei is always thinking for you, but you never once asked for his opinion.”
“Because …”
“You don’t trust him, do you?” Wu Du continues, “You mean a lot to that Tangut kid. Can’t you see the way he looks at you? His feelings are right there in his eyes. When you were kidnapped by Helan Jie, he was so worried he ran all over the mountains looking for you. But when you saw his underlings, you sent them away with nothing more than a few words.”
Duan Ling could say nothing that can refute any of this.
“Now tell me — don’t you think that’s heartless?”
Duan Ling has nothing to say, but while Wu Du is saying all of this he’s not angry at all. He’s scrutinising Duan Ling.
“But I can feel that … you’re sincere in the way you treat me, and that’s why I came to save you. When this is all over … There are things I want to ask you, see what you think.”
Bian Lingbai has finally discovered the wooden tenon and he’s walking towards them carefully. They must pass through the spot where Duan Ling and Wu Du are sitting if they’re heading towards the treasure trove.
Wu Du and Duan Ling peers down at them from above. Wu Du takes a rope and crisscrosses it around Duan Ling’s chest, then he tells him to wedge himself between two stalactites above them.
“Hold still.” Wu Du whispers, “Hold onto the stalactite.”
Duan Ling nods. Wu Du wraps the rope over himself twice, then he spreads his arms and leaps from the cavern.
All at once, Duan Ling’s heart rises up to his throat. As they run out of slack the rope pulls taut, but the way Wu Du has tied the rope is quite clever and it doesn’t dig into Duan Ling’s skin hard enough to hurt. The force has pulled him to the edge of the cave. Duan Ling tightens his hold over the stalactite and looks down.
Like a falcon in the dark, Wu Du glides to the space on top of Bian Lingbai and flips himself upside down, where he scatters a spray of powder into Bian Lingbai’s collar. He then gives Duan Ling a hand signal. Duan Ling grips the rope tight, and Wu Du flips over and over again up the rope, soundlessly making his way back up with each flip.
Once they’re back in the cave, Duan Ling unties the rope. Wu Du says quietly, “It’s done. Let’s go.”
Bian Lingbai lets out a startled gasp. Duan Ling wants to peek outside again, but Wu Du drags him back.
“He’s still alive,” Duan Ling says.
“There’s no hurry,” Wu Du says, “He’ll be dead soon enough.”
The two head outside through the cavern. Wu Du finds one of the Tangut bodyguards, and informs Helian Bo that he should return to the Tongguan estate.
It’s already daytime. Wu Du comes down the mountain path with Duan Ling on horseback, heading towards the cave’s first entrance.
A vice general is in conversation with Fei Hongde.
“Master Fei!”
“You’re back?!” Fei Hongde is full of smiles.
“Where’s my uncle?”
“He’s right inside.” Vice General Wang says, “He only went in there a quarter of an hour ago. Eh? Wu Du?”
Wu Du once worked under Zhao Kui, so Bian Lingbai’s underlings have also met him before. Wu Du looks to him as bloodless and indifferent as ever, only giving him a slight nod in acknowledgement.
“You’re back so soon?” Says Vice General Wang.
“Wu Du went to Xichuan to get something done for my uncle.” Duan Ling dismounts. “I ran into him on the road. I was finished with my work too so we decided to come back together.”
The soldiers have made camp on the opposing shore, and Bian Lingbai still hasn’t told them what’s in the cave, as he’s extremely cautious when it comes to money. Duan Ling tells Vice General Wang that they’ll be fine waiting outside for Bian Lingbai. He walks with Wu Du towards the tree he set on fire the day before. Wu Du crouches down and washes away the powder remaining on his hands. He says to Duan Ling, “The bead.”
Duan Ling takes the gold bead out of his pocket. Wu Du puts it on the ground, and the gold bead slowly stretches back into the shape of a centipede, waking up out of hibernation, then it begins to look all over for food.
Then as though it’s discovered something, it climbs over the rocks by the stream and quickly disappears into the bushes.
“It’s called the ‘Gold Crow’.”3 Wu Du gives Benxiao a casual pat and leaves it to graze. “Anyone who’s been bitten won’t be able to speak and is rendered immobile. If they don’t get the antidote within twenty-four hours, their whole body will overheat to an unbearable temperature, their internal organs will liquefy from the heat, thus leading to death.”
Duan Ling recalls how the first time he ever saw it, Wu Du had put the gold bead onto the counter to scare him. But now that he understands Wu Du, he knows he would never recklessly kill an innocent child — Wu Du was just teasing him.
What Wu Du flicked onto Bian Lingbai’s neck must have been a powder to attract the centipede with. Wu Du once gave him a pill that was probably for making the centipede think of Duan Ling as one of its own so that it wouldn’t bounce out of his pocket to bite him when he kept it on his person.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“Soon. Give it half an hour and it’ll definitely manage to bite him.”
By now the gold centipede has already entered the cave. It climbs swiftly over the cave walls, reaching the treasure trove as smoothly as a curl of smoke. Bian Lingbai is there ordering his underlings to carry the cases out one by one, his eyes narrowing to a slit from the dazzle of the gold bars. The centipede clings onto his boots, then climbing up and up his waist it squeezes under his collar fast as a stroke of lightning. Then it lightly sinks its mandibles into his back.
All Bian Lingbai feels is a numbness that spreads so rapidly through his body that he’s falling forwards onto his mountain of gold before he manages to cry out. With a clatter, the gold bars roll onto the floor; the centipede is still attached to the skin beneath his ribs, where it starts sucking his blood.
“General?”
“General!”
“This is bad! Call for help!”
His subordinates hear the cries and rush over. Bian Lingbai’s face has turned red, and he’s starting to foam at the mouth, unable to get a word out at all. The guards immediately carry him out of the cave.
Duan Ling and Wu Du are still waiting. One moment Duan Ling is still conversing merrily with Fei Hongde, and the next moment, they see the guards supporting Bian Lingbai approach them, so he shouts in front of all the soldiers, “Uncle! I’m back!”
Bian Lingbai crosses the stream, half carried by the soldiers. They all suddenly realise that something isn’t quite right, and rush over to him. Duan Ling says in a fluster, “Uncle!”
“Put him down already!” Wu Du says.
Bian Lingbai’s mouth is full of white foam, and his cheeks have gone all red. Wu Du crouches down to read his pulse. Duan Ling shakes Bian Lingbai, saying loudly, “What happened inside the cave?!”
The ones who followed Bian Lingbai inside were no more than ordinary soldiers — he kept all of his close aides outside. A soldier falteringly explains that basically Bian Lingbai was in the cave checking the treasure when he suddenly fell unconscious. By now, Bian Lingbai’s eyes are wide open, and he doesn’t even have the strength left to raise a hand; his eyes are full of fear, as though he couldn’t figure out why this “Zhao Rong” that he kicked into an abyss would show up again.
His eyes then rolled over towards Wu Du. In that instant, something seems to have become clear to him — but that realisation has come too late.
“Send the General back to the estate, quickly.” Wu Du says, “The stuff inside the cave is poisonous. Get people to guard this place and seal off the area — no one must touch it again!”
And so Bian Lingbai is carried onto a carriage, Fei Hongde boards it to watch over him, while Wu Du and Duan Ling get on horseback. The party hurries as quickly as they can back to Tongguan.
I do not monetise my hobby translations, but if you’d like to support my work generally or support my light novel habit, you can either buy me a coffee or commission me. This is also to note that if you see this message anywhere else than on tumblr, do come to my tumblr. It’s ad-free. ↩︎
The literal translation is “the pill of all trees revive in spring”, and if you don’t remember who Lang Junxia gave his to, the hint is in Chapter 1, part 1. ↩︎
“Golden Crow” is also a name for the sun. ↩︎
