As they spoke, the always-quiet Old Man Liu gently patted Lu Shijiu and pointed at something. The others followed his gesture and saw a shadow on the wall of the former pool, about as large as a man.
They headed toward it for a better look, eventually realizing that it was a metal door. After being submerged for so long, its lock and hinge had rusted shut. Unfortunately, Xuanmin’s talisman had proven useless in this chamber, so they had to use more primitive methods.
After a great deal of time and effort, they finally managed to smash open the rusted lock with a piece of rubble.
Lu Nianqi, who’d been unconscious on the ground the entire time, was jolted awake by the screech of the iron door creaking open.
“You’re up?” Lu Shijiu looked at him. “Can you stand? If so, don’t keep lying there. If you want to leave, you’ll need to do it on your own two feet. No one’s going to carry you.”
Lu Shijiu had returned to cold indifference the moment Lu Nianqi woke up, showing no desire to mend their brotherly relationship.
“I know.” Lu Nianqi had swallowed several mouthfuls of the foul-tasting water. It aggravated his throat, leaving it a little hoarse. In the past, Lu Shijiu’s lack of caring would have pulled an angry retort from him, but he threw no jabs this time. Instead, he stumbled to his feet and coughed while hitting his chest, expelling the last dregs of liquid from his throat.
Jiang Shining’s paper body hung not far from where they stood, drying. It’d been a while, and he was no longer so damp—at least not enough to fall apart with a single touch.
Xuanmin picked him up, tossed him into the pouch with the bloated marble, and joined everyone in leaving through the iron door.
Behind the door was a staircase sloping upward. The tomb’s craftsmen had probably designed it as an exit they could use after laying down the tiles at the bottom of the pool. The end of the staircase led into another passage, which was an exact match with the hall they’d entered from.
It was as Lu Shijiu had said: There were no further dangers. The lengthy staircase didn’t even have any disturbing murals. It was surprisingly safe.
When they’d almost reached the top, Xuanmin’s paper blazed to life once more. Right as it flared, the tongue of flame began to emanate an odd smell, which spread around them in faint wisps.
Inside the pouch, Jiang Shining cried, “Wait, don’t move! Something’s not right with the smell!”
“What smell?” Lu Nianqi seemed to recall something after speaking and covered his mouth, afraid that something strange might enter through it. He held his breath.
However, thanks to Jiang Shining’s warning, Xue Xian’s sharp senses—sharper than Xuanmin’s, let alone anyone else’s—caught a faint whiff of…
“Sticks and leaves!”
It was the smell of crushed leaves and wood—not especially pleasant, but not particularly disagreeable either. Still, it was strange to encounter the scent within a dark, sunless tomb.
Jiang Shining came from a family of doctors and had grown up among many herbs and poisons. Though he would have said he was inferior to his parents if asked, he still knew a fair amount. He was also sensitive to the smells of various plants and capable of discerning between them. The fact he’d cried out meant there really was something odd going on.
Emboldened by Xue Xian, Jiang Shining crawled out of the pouch to look at Lu Nianqi. “You don’t need to cover your nose and mouth.” He waved his paper hand reassuringly. “You probably won’t be familiar with this smell. To be honest, it’s not one I know well either, but I saw two people lose their lives to it, so it left a deep impression on me. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this poison? Its folk name is ‘Seven Climb Eight Descend Nine Pass.’ The name comes from how anyone poisoned by it can only climb seven steps up a hill or eight steps down one. In any case, they’ll die by the time they’ve taken nine steps.”
“Isn’t that called ‘antiar’?” Xuanmin asked. “I’ve heard of it.”
“Oh,” said Jiang Shining. “That’s right, you’re from the south. The upas tree that produces it thrives in the south but can’t survive long here. Generally, if you wanted to use it in your medicine, you’d have to wait for summer and autumn to buy some from southern herb dealers.”
Somehow, Jiang Shining always circled back to the topic of medicine and herbs no matter what he was talking about.
“Can you get to the point before New Year’s?” Xue Xian said coldly.
Jiang Shining’s words stuttered to a stop. When he continued, his voice was stiff. “Don’t touch anything around us. I suspect that the walls of this passage, the ground beneath our feet, and even the ceiling above our heads have been coated with the sap of that tree. We’re all wounded. A couple of brushes, another couple of steps, and we’ll be goners.”
The more he spoke, the quieter his voice became, his confidence waning, because Lu Shijiu had turned to look at him with his sightless, pitch-black eyes as he was speaking. Then, Old Man Liu slowly turned his head and fixed his murky eyes on him. Finally, even Xuanmin looked down at him.
“You…”
Jiang Shining mumbled a couple of words before clearing his throat and shrinking back into a corner of Xuanmin’s pouch. “Don’t stare at me. I’ll just lie here at the bottom of this bag. You all be careful.”
Xuanmin swept his gaze past Lu Shijiu and Old Man Liu before fixing upon Lu Nianqi. After going through the iron door, the order they’d been walking in had changed. In the beginning, it’d been Lu Shijiu and Old Man Liu in front, with Xuanmin behind them and Jiang Shining and Lu Nianqi trailing him. Positioned in the center, Xuanmin had almost served as a barrier.
Things were different now. While Lu Shijiu and Old Man Liu were still in front, it was Lu Nianqi who was trailing directly behind them. No longer serving as the central barrier, Xuanmin brought up the rear, guarding their backs.
Lu Nianqi lowered the hand covering his mouth and nose. Halfway through Jiang Shining’s explanation, he turned his back to Xuanmin and faced Lu Shijiu, staring fixedly at his blind brother.
Lu Shijiu didn’t return the look. After Jiang Shining’s warning, he turned away and continued walking toward the other end of the staircase.
The flickering flame between Xuanmin’s fingers cast a dim yellow glow in front of him, just wide enough to reach Lu Shijiu’s feet. Before the youth stretched a vast expanse of darkness, while behind him glowed a warm, golden light. With each step, he walked the delicate line between light and shadow.
The collar of his garment was torn, and his disheveled hair partially scattered over his pale neck, casting a large shadow. Thanks to the dim lighting, it was difficult to notice anything amiss. Furthermore, Lu Nianqi was far shorter and thinner than most. Being several steps beneath Lu Shijiu, he was unable to clearly see the area around his collar.
As Jiang Shining had warned, the entire passage was smeared with the poisonous sap of the upas tree. The closer they got to the exit, the more pronounced the smell became.
“We’re here,” Lu Shijiu said, standing at the top of the highest step, his back to the others. “This is the last section. It leads to the entranceway. I’ve never gotten to the end, but the exit should be beyond another stone door.”
“I’ve never gotten to the end…”
This statement sounded innocuous, but something seemed amiss on further thought—if he’d gotten this far and seen the stone door, then why hadn’t he left?
Old Man Liu also stood at the top of the stairs. From Xuanmin’s vantage point, he could see the elderly man’s half-turned profile. His old eyes focused blankly at a spot in the passage ahead, and he seemed both dazed and lost in thought.
Lu Shijiu didn’t continue walking. Instead, he turned to look at his brother behind him.
“What are you staring at me for? You can only see my qi, not my face.” Lu Nianqi stopped in his tracks. For some reason, his voice was hoarse and trembling, laced with an undercurrent of sorrow and fear. “Stop looking and just go. What are you standing here for? We can talk outside. I don’t want to hear your rambling now.”
“I can see your face,” Lu Shijiu said calmly. “Even if it’s not clear.”
He ignored the second half of Lu Nianqi’s sentence and lowered his head, then pulled that bundle of twigs from his clothes. The red string binding it was a little faded. It was unclear how long it’d been tied there, yet it bore no signs of wear, a testament to its quality.
“This toy…you take it,” Lu Shijiu said, handing the bundle to Lu Nianqi.
Lu Nianqi frowned and stepped aside a little, looking at his own feet instead of Lu Shijiu. “I don’t want it. Hold it yourself!” he snapped. “Why should I have to carry your stuff? Stop talking so much. You’re blocking the way. Get going! What are you standing there for?!”
The corners of Lu Shijiu’s lips curved into a faint smile. “I’m not going.”
In the long years the two brothers had supported each other, this was one of the few times that Lu Shijiu had ever smiled. Unfortunately, Lu Nianqi didn’t see it. He kept his head down, frowning, refusing to look at Lu Shijiu, until he sighed heavily.
“What do you mean you’re not going? Don’t talk crazy…” By the time Lu Nianqi raised his gaze again, his eyes were watering. He shoved Lu Shijiu hard. “Why don’t you just go?!”