Chapter 80
DUAN LING LED HELIAN BO and his men into the dense woods. After locating the trail he’d left, Duan Ling parted the tall grass to reveal the cave entrance leading to the hidden treasure. Just inside the cave mouth was a sheer cliff. The guards lowered ropes down into the abyss, but when Duan Ling tried to lead the way, Helian Bo pulled him back and sent a scout ahead instead.
Only once the man reported no danger from below did the rest of the party climb down. Navigating the path Duan Ling had discovered before took some time, but eventually their party reached the door of the treasure chamber.
Helian Bo was dumbfounded by the sight—never had he seen so much gold.
“Th-th-this—”
“Shh,” Duan Ling hushed him. “You want some? Just take it. Maybe you’ve no use for the gold, but you could give some to your men.”
Duan Ling knew Helian Bo would never take something that didn’t belong to him, but it’d be nothing for him to give some gold bars to his hardworking guards. He turned to Helian Bo’s men and announced, “These are all mine, so take as many as you like.”
It wasn’t a lie; this treasure belonged to him by right. Not a single coin had ended up in his pockets after the Zhao family’s possessions were confiscated by the government, and he’d been forced to rely on Helian Bo’s succor; this had frustrated Duan Ling to no end. He took up a gold bar, tapped on it, then tossed some to the guards. Everyone received a few as a reward, and Duan Ling himself pocketed a couple for when he might need money in the future.
He’d taken nothing last time he was here and almost hadn’t been able to afford his breakfast.
Helian Bo gestured that there was still time, so Duan Ling should rest. Duan Ling nodded and led everyone back to the platform, while Helian Bo left to make arrangements for ambushing Bian Lingbai.
With Helian Bo around, everything was safer. Duan Ling’s initial plan had been to hide behind the treasure chests and unleash the centipede at the moment Bian Lingbai pried one of them open. He would then carry the poisoned general out of the cave, calling for help. Explaining his reappearance would be easy: He’d simply say General Bian had tasked him with a secret mission guarding the treasure. With Fei Hongde to corroborate the story, no one would suspect anything untoward.
But now that Helian Bo was helping, Duan Ling’s chances at success had significantly increased. The Tangut guards could ambush Bian Lingbai directly, and Helan Jie wasn’t around to cause problems. Greedy bastard that he was, Bian Lingbai surely wouldn’t bring more than a few trusted men. All Duan Ling needed to do was capture his party and force Bian Lingbai to reveal the mastermind behind Helan Jie to everyone—it was a much more effective plan.
Duan Ling anticipated the moment with nervous excitement.
After the short break, Helian Bo scattered his men. The agile guards cast grappling hooks into the stalactites overhanging the cliff and breezily swung to the other side. Crawling beneath a blindage in the cliff walls, they settled in and readied their bows, arrows trained on the platform.
With everything thus in place, Helian Bo scaled the cave wall to a rocky outcropping high up near the ceiling and hid himself in the shadows. He whistled to Duan Ling on the platform, signaling that they were ready. Only the steady drip of water rolling down the stalactites could be heard within the subterranean cavern. A deep chasm bracketed by cliffs as sharp as knives cleaved through the cave, sinking into infinite darkness. Waiting higher on the cliff face were the spacious platform and the tunnel leading to the treasure chamber.
Helian Bo and his guards arrayed themselves across both walls of the cave, so that the range of their arrows covered the entirety of the platform. Once Bian Lingbai made his way over on the gallery path, the arrows would claim the lives of his subordinates, then pin him in place.
Duan Ling heard Helian Bo’s whistle as he reentered the tunnel—their usual signal back when they’d snuck around as boys. As he stepped back into the depths of the treasure chamber and looked around, he noticed something odd. A fresh set of footprints crossed in front of the hollow that had stored the missing item he’d noticed his first time here, where he’d been standing just minutes ago.
The hair on his arms rose. What was going on?! When he and Helian Bo had come in to check on the gold, no one had noticed these footprints. Had someone else come since then? He examined the room; he was sure he was the only one inside. But he was equally certain those footprints weren’t there the first time he came in—which meant someone had come after they’d left. It had to be the same person who’d taken refuge here before. Tense with nerves, Duan Ling tentatively approached and compared the size of the footprints: a size larger than his own boots. His breath hitched. Someone had come in and stood in this exact spot, scrutinizing the room.
In the darkness behind him, a glinting hook creeped toward his neck.
Wu Du reached the wheat fields where he and Duan Ling had stopped previously around sunset. Finally too fatigued to go on, he tethered Skychaser to a tree and sat down, passing out almost instantly with his head lolled to the side. Skychaser knelt beside him and grazed.
His short, four-hour nap was riddled with strange dreams. He dreamed of himself in Qunfang Pavilion, and of the brat, arms circled around his neck, whispering in his ear.
“Wh… Huh?” Wu Du woke bleary and unsettled. Ruffled by the dream and annoyed at himself, he scrubbed his face clean at a nearby pond and continued on his way.
He would reach Tong Pass within two hours. At last—he’d made it in time.