"TRY TO STAY in the middle. Don't touch the walls!" Cui Buqu repeated.
"What is that?" The lichen-covered walls sparkled with silver, captivating yet uncanny. Feng Xiao studied them by the light of the torch one of the guards carried. "It's quite beautiful."
"It's a residue produced by the caterpillars of the silver dust butterfly," said Cui Buqu. "The butterflies live in the dark, and the silver scales on their wings glow. Though their bodies aren't poisonous, the scales on their wings are."
"Are they commonly found in damp caves?"
Cui Buqu saw what he was getting at. He shook his head before remembering Feng Xiao was up ahead and couldn't see him. "Silver dust butterflies are usually found in the southwest," he murmured. "They're rare here in the north. But they live in swarms and their lifespans are short; I doubt there're more of them after this passage."
Then this was only the first trap. This toxic silver dust was likely nothing compared to the dangers that lurked ahead.
A rush of damp, stale air hit Cui Buqu full in the face and made him cough. The sound echoed through the passage, bouncing back at him from the far walls. As they walked, the ground beneath his feet gradually leveled out and was no longer as slippery. His bamboo walking stick thudded dully against the stone, the sound reverberating through their hearts like that of a monk striking a temple block.
They reached the end of the passage, and the cave opened up before them. Vines dangled from above, so low they could almost reach up to touch them. A gentle draft was blowing in from somewhere, caressing their cheeks with the cold damp of the cave.
Cui Buqu scented danger. He looked down at his feet.
The light of the torch revealed the stone tiles to be free of lichen. Beneath a scattering of dust and sand were engraved patterns: resplendent peonies and intricate lotus vines.
Treasure troves like these were usually no more than fanciful contingency plans left by an emperor for his descendants. There was no need to go to the trouble of paving the floor and carving the tiles with patterns. Clearly Emperor Wei hadn't intended this cave to be merely a storehouse for relics. He must have anticipated that if his descendants one day needed to flee here, they would temporarily—
He froze. "Back up!"
Feng Xiao reacted first. He leapt backward, grabbing Cui Buqu's arm and hauling him back with him. The Zuoyue guards were a half step too slow. One felt a cold wind bearing down on his head an instant before sharp agony pierced his nose. Sharp blades shot up from the tiles, slicing off the tip of the man's nose. Blood misted the air.
Quick again, Feng Xiao struck several acupoints on the man's body to stop the bleeding, then held up the torch to take a closer look. "It's not poisoned."
The wound looked horrific, but they'd brought medicine for incised wounds. The other Zuoyue guard swiftly bandaged his companion, but the tip of his nose was gone for good.
"You leave first," said Cui Buqu. "Go down the mountain and wait for us there."
The injured Zuoyue guard refused. "Lord Chief! It's only a flesh wound; it won't hamper my performance."
Feng Xiao didn't involve himself in their conversation. He dropped to the floor and marveled at the sharp blade peeking out from the stone tile.
"A blade this sharp must have been forged using ancient methods. When we head back, remind me to take it with us. I'll have it reforged into a new sword; it'll be better than the one I used on Fo'er. But how did you know it was a trap?"
"The tiles look similar, but they're set at different heights. The differences are regular." Cui Buqu walked over and placed his hand on a tile patterned with lotus vines, then slowly traced a path in a clockwise direction. "Look, if we start with this tile, they get lower and lower. Then here, they return to their original height. Feel for yourself."
"I'm not touching that; the ground is filthy. Just tell me."
Cui Buqu silently willed away the vein throbbing in his forehead. "I've seen this kind of trap before. The pattern is a warning to those who belong here. But trespassers won't recognize it, so they'll be caught."
Feng Xiao fanned himself. "There's no rhyme or reason to how the patterns are arranged. I trust this was done to mislead trespassers as well?"
"Correct." Cui Buqu looked at Feng Xiao in irritation. "It's freezing in here. Can you stop waving that fan around?"
Feng Xiao studied Cui Buqu's face, which was as white as snow. He shook his head. "It's not too late for you to leave!" he mocked, but he snapped the fan shut.
Next came the sound of dripping, followed by the patter of water over their heads. An ethereal mist descended from above. As Feng Xiao stepped into the drizzle, a shapeless barrier of qi knocked the water away. His clothes remained dry.
"Rain in a cave?" He poked at the mist with his fan. "It's not poisonous gas, is it?"
Cui Buqu shook his head. "There was dense fog around the mountain earlier. There must be another floor above, and that's where the exit is. If I'm not mistaken, the current floor is filled with traps as a deterrent, while the second floor will hold the treasure. The passage should be up ahead."
The Zuoyue guard's wound had stopped bleeding, and he insisted on staying. Cui Buqu didn't order him to leave, so the group continued onward as four.
This time, Cui Buqu took the lead. He proceeded with excruciating slowness, pausing to observe after each step. The injured Zuoyue guard took up the rear, his companion ahead of him. They could of course have used qinggong to fly ahead. It would have been faster, but there was no guarantee they wouldn't land in another trap. Cui Buqu's approach took much longer, but it was also much safer.
The hanging vines grew lower and lower, blocking their view. The Zuoyue guard stepped to the front to push them aside. Stalagmites of varying sizes rose from the ground. From this, they could guess that the cave was likely a natural one. A vast and empty cave like this had infinite potential. It was large enough to house many people—perhaps even an entire royal battalion. No wonder Emperor Wei had claimed it as a secret refuge.
In such a silent cave, even the subtle rustling of leaves might set one on edge. Cui Buqu's persistent coughs accompanied them, yet somehow, the sound soothed them instead.
This wasn't the Zuoyue guards' first mission. They were experienced men who had encountered their fair share of unexpected situations. The guard in front didn't let his anxiety show. He simply followed Feng Xiao around a stalagmite. There was a bend in the path up ahead and a faint glimmer of light.
An exit?
He was delighted. But at that moment, he heard a low groan from the guard behind him. He jerked around and found nothing but empty space. "Lord Chief!" he cried. "Jiang Song is gone!"
No response.
Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao too had disappeared.
The shocked guard turned the corner, but there was still no sign of any of his companions. Even the light seemed to have been an illusion. Before him was the same deep and endless darkness, a passage leading to who knew where. The only light came from the torch he held.
After walking so long, the torch was nearly spent. The flame guttered feebly, like an old man struggling to catch his breath, fading away until the darkness finally took him.
Everything went black.
The guard reached into his lapels for another torch, but before his fingers touched it, an unseen force seized his body. It was as if he'd stepped into quicksand—first his feet were trapped, and then the rest of him was dragged down into the dark.
***
Cui Buqu was still standing in place. He hadn't moved.
He hadn't fallen, and he hadn't walked too far ahead. In truth, he'd noticed something amiss the moment he'd gone around the first stalagmite. That sense of wrongness hadn't been based on any perceived threat. It was no more than a faint niggling, something he couldn't put his finger on. He'd forged ahead, hoping to spot more clues as they went.
Stalagmites thronged like trees in the cave. The torch had been unable to illuminate them all, but even within the small halo of its light, he could see there'd been many.
Was the problem with the stalagmites?
He frowned slightly, a rare trace of doubt surfacing on his features. It was unfortunate Feng Xiao was behind him and couldn't see. By now, he'd reached the fourth stalagmite.
"I think there might be a problem with the stalagmites," he called to the man behind him.
But Feng Xiao didn't respond.
He whirled around. The other three were gone.
Cui Buqu sighed. So his hunch had been right. He supported himself against the stalagmite for a moment, recalling how the cave had looked when he'd first entered.
"I made a mistake," he muttered. He'd assumed each trap was separate and self-contained. There'd been no connection between the silver dust butterflies and the stone tile traps, which seemed to have confirmed his guess. But in truth, the moment they'd entered the cave, they'd stepped into a single, enormous trap.
An Ursa Major Twin Jade Array.
As the name suggested, this array was patterned after the seven stars forming the constellation Ursa Major. Seven traps had been laid around them, and the moment they interacted with one, they'd find themselves snared within a subarray nearby. While he'd been so focused on avoiding the tile trap, he'd stepped into the subarray formed by the stalagmites.
Right now, the four of them weren't far away from each other. But as long as they were trapped in the array, they might as well be on opposite ends of the earth. They were completely out of reach, like the distant light of the stars.
The current Ursa Major subarray was based on one of the four endgame compositions in the strategy game of xiangqi, known as the Gathering of Seven Stars. Even if someone could tell this array was no ordinary one, if they didn't know the principles of its composition, they'd be rats in a trap, only able to wallow in despair.
It didn't matter who you were—young or old, alive or dead, anyone caught in the array would find themselves unable to leave.
At this moment, Cui Buqu had no way to save the others. He could only focus on saving himself. He closed his eyes, casting his mind back to the solution of this particular endgame composition. Deep within his memory, Cui Buqu found a door slightly ajar.
What would await him if he opened that door?
Cui Buqu tossed away the torch he was holding. He gripped his bamboo walking stick and placed his other hand on the stalagmite, then slowly groped his way forward. After a few steps he backed up again, circling around to a nearby stalagmite and starting the process anew.
Anyone watching would have thought him wandering around aimlessly. But as he fumbled about in the dark, he slowly began to make his way out of the array. When he next opened his eyes, a glimmer of light greeted him: a flickering candle flame that melted away the chill of the cave.
Cui Buqu looked behind him and saw nothing but darkness. Feng Xiao and the two guards were still trapped within the array.
Should he continue forward? Or should he wade back in and find them?
Cui Buqu turned around, ready to head back into the array.
"Since you're out now, why go back in? The Cui Buqu I know isn't so soft-hearted."
The voice came from behind him. Other than their party of four, there shouldn't have been anyone else in the cave. Yet that voice was acutely familiar…
Cui Buqu whipped around. The figure of a man stood near the candles beside the entrance. His silhouette was blurred, his face impossible to make out—but Cui Buqu could never fail to recognize that voice.
After all, they'd spoken not long ago.
"Yuan Sansi," Cui Buqu whispered. "To think it was you."