Chapter 262: Can It Be Broken? |
The moment the words "open the vault" fell, the incense tip actually began to emit a wisp of thin smoke on its own.
That smoke was very faint, so faint it was nearly invisible, yet it didn't rise straight up. Instead, it crept slowly down along the base of the wall.
As if pulled by something underground, it burrowed bit by bit into the cracks between the bricks.
Everyone held their breath and watched.
After a short while, the loose brick at the base of the wall suddenly let out a soft *crack*.
Then, the entire brick actually shrank inward by half an inch.
Lin Zhaoxuan's eyes lit up: "There really is a path!"
But Lu Yuan didn't show any joy; on the contrary, his expression turned even colder.
Because as that brick retreated, what appeared underneath wasn't the usual vault entrance. Instead, a short section of pitch-black wooden plank was exposed.
And in the center of the plank, a character was clearly carved.
"Offering."
Lu Yuan stared at the character for a long while without speaking.
Zhou Heng couldn't help but whisper from behind: "Is this where they buried some offerings underneath?"
Lu Yuan shook his head gently: "Not sure yet."
"But being able to carve this character on the Altar Root means the vault below was used for sending things."
Having said that, he took a tightly folded Yellow Talisman from his bosom, pinched it between his fingers, and flicked it gently.
As the Yellow Talisman unfurled, the lines of cinnabar on its surface were densely woven, clearly a vault-suppressing talisman prepared long ago.
Lu Yuan pressed his fingers together on the talisman and slowly chanted: "A vault has a vault door, the door has door teeth. An offering has an offering road, the road has an offering home. I now borrow this talisman, not to seize treasures. I only ask this door, which home it leads to. Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command, reveal the path."
As he chanted, he pressed the talisman paper onto the wooden plank.
The moment the talisman paper stuck firmly, a very faint, very subtle muffled sound came from beneath the plank, as if something below had turned over impatiently.
Immediately after, the seven copper nails began to emit a fine, trembling hum one after another, as if they were being loosened by the talisman's energy.
But right at that moment, a short, startled cry suddenly came from the other side of the hillside.
It was Xu Erxiao.
He was standing in the back, originally just following obediently. But then, without paying attention, he stepped into a very shallow mud groove, and his whole body immediately slipped, almost falling.
Wang Cheng'an quickly reached out to steady him, cursing under his breath: "Take it easy, don't just step around!"
That sound seemed to trigger some mechanism. The loose brick at the base of the wall suddenly sank inward heavily, and the entire old wall split open from the middle with an extremely fine crack.
First, a burst of aged earthy staleness rushed out from the crack. Then, an even thicker scent of incense ash surged forth.
Lu Yuan's gaze darkened. He immediately raised his hand to press down on the crack and commanded in a low voice: "Fall back three steps! No one come near!"
Everyone quickly retreated.
The crack slowly opened before their eyes, revealing a narrow opening just wide enough for one person to pass through bent over.
Inside the narrow opening, it was dark and heavy, like an old well that had been buried for a long time. A few strands of blackened hemp rope were faintly visible clinging to the well's walls.
Lu Yuan bent down and looked inside for a moment, and his gaze turned even colder.
"Just as I thought. Below connects to an old vault. And it's more than one layer."
Lin Zhaoxuan asked: "What did you see?"
Lu Yuan slowly straightened up and said in a deep voice: "I saw paper banners. And human bones."
Without further explanation, Lu Yuan only pushed the vault-suppressing talisman in his hand forward again, the talisman paper pressing firmly against the edge of the crack, steadily holding back the Yin energy surging out.
"We can't force our way in here. The air channels below have already been opened. We don't know where they lead. First, we dismantle this outer layer of the Altar Root, then we go in."
Having said that, he turned back to look at where the black altar had originally been.
By now, the fog on that side had thinned slightly compared to before. After the black altar had retracted, only a patch of trampled muddy ground remained, scattered with broken nails, charred matting, and black ash.
But Lu Yuan knew the real trouble wasn't the altar itself. It was the line that had been twisted between it and the underground old vault.
A yin-route, borrowing the Life Gate from the altar, borrowing the vault to nourish the mouth, borrowing the mountain range to send qi.
If this line wasn't pulled out, the shrine feeding the Malevolent Deity would never be cut off.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath and began taking out the items from his bag one by one.
Copper coins, black filings, incense ash, small yellow flags, short talismans, and mud-suppressing nails.
Each one wasn't large, but they were the most crucial tools on this journey.
He first handed three mud-suppressing nails to Lin Zhaoxuan, signaling him to press down the two corners of the cracked wall.
Then he distributed two protective talismans to Song Qinghe and Zhou Heng.
As for Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao, they were still kept in the back. They could pass things when needed and watch the bags. He no longer let them come forward.
"In a moment, I'll set up the altar." Lu Yuan said in a low voice. "None of you speak. When I move the incense, you all breathe lightly. If you hear a knocking sound from inside, don't respond to it, no matter what."
Zhou Heng immediately nodded.
Song Qinghe also responded in a subdued voice. Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao nodded frantically in agreement.
Only then did Lu Yuan walk to the crack, squat down, and gently break off a piece of the Vault-Questioning Incense. The incense tip flickered, and then ignited on its own.
As the smoke emerged, it went straight down into the narrow opening.
And this time, the smoke didn't dissipate. It followed the vault passage downward, as if it were scouting the path for Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan stared at that wisp of smoke, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Because he could already see that this vault passage wasn't just a simple underground route.
It was heading deeper into the mountain's belly. And inside there, there was a second layer of the altar.
The real stuff was probably still waiting further ahead.
The smoke from the Vault-Questioning Incense followed the crack and burrowed down, thin as a grayish-white thread. But it didn't scatter, didn't break, sinking straight down into the vault.
Lu Yuan crouched before the crack, following the smoke all the way down with his eyes, his expression growing colder by the second.
"This vault... is deep."
Lin Zhaoxuan stood beside him and asked in a hushed voice: "The smoke is moving steadily, so there's an airway below?"
Lu Yuan shook his head: "It's traveling on a yin-road. This place wasn't used for storing goods in the past. It was used for sending things."
As he spoke, a very faint *thump* suddenly came from within the narrow opening.
It sounded like someone was knocking on a wooden board inside.
Everyone's expression stiffened. Zhou Heng instinctively took half a step back, while Song Qinghe clutched the protective talisman in her hand even tighter.
Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao followed behind, standing obediently, but their eyes were also fixed on the narrow opening, not daring to move.
Another *thump*.
This time it was clearer, like someone slowly knocking on a door with their knuckles from inside.
Lu Yuan raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, then slowly stood up, taking a small copper bell from his bag.
The bell wasn't big, but its clapper was made of wood. It wasn't used for ringing, but for sensing qi.
He suspended the copper bell at the edge of the narrow opening. The bell's body swayed slightly, but indeed made no sound. Instead, it slowly turned half a circle in mid-air.
"There's a draft inside." Lu Yuan said in a low voice. "The wind is coming from below and moving upward. That means there isn't just one layer of vault below. There's another opening."
Lin Zhaoxuan frowned and asked: "Are you saying this connects to somewhere else below?"
Lu Yuan raised his eyes, looking toward the denser fog at the end of the mountain hollow: "It's not one vault connecting to another. It's that someone built a road inside the mountain. That road wasn't meant for people to walk. It was meant for things to travel through."
Having said that, he took a pinch of black ash from his sleeve and slowly sprinkled it along the edge of the narrow opening.
The black ash didn't scatter when it hit the ground. Instead, it seemed to be absorbed by something, crawling along the brick cracks, disappearing into the vault opening in the blink of an eye.
Lu Yuan watched, his lips pressing down slightly: "There are door teeth."
Zhou Heng was bewildered: "Door teeth?"
Lu Yuan explained: "If there are notches on the edge of the vault door, it means it's not a dead-end entrance. A dead entrance is only for burial, not for passage. Only a living entrance leaves notches. This vault door can consume qi."
Lin Zhaoxuan's expression grew heavier: "So, do we open it now?"
Lu Yuan didn't answer immediately. He just reached into his bag and took out two mud-suppressing nails, handing one to Lin Zhaoxuan and keeping the other in his own hand.
Then, he glanced at Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao once more, and said in a calm tone: "You two, fall back. Just guard the rear."
Only then did Lu Yuan turn back, reach out and press the edge of the crack, chanting in a low voice: "Vault door unopened, Yin energy does not leave. I now borrow these nails, to first suppress its bones. One nail to seal the left, one nail to seal the right. If the door teeth move, first break its mouth. Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command, set!"
As soon as the word "set" fell, he and Lin Zhaoxuan simultaneously pressed the mud-suppressing nails onto either side of the vault opening.
*Tap. Tap.*
Two very faint cracking sounds emerged.
Immediately after, the faint Yin wind that had been seeping out of the vault opening was abruptly reined in.
In that instant, the narrow opening seemed to be pinched tight by an invisible hand. The faint, elusive knocking sound from inside also stopped for a beat.
Lu Yuan seized the moment to take out a short talisman, pressed it into the vault opening, and added another incantation in a low voice: "Road-Questioning Talisman. Entering without startling the door, borrowing a lamp without borrowing a soul."
Once the talisman paper was pressed inside, the smoke path immediately changed.
The smoke, which had been sinking straight down, suddenly began to spiral inside the vault, as if it had encountered a fork in the path below.
Lu Yuan's eyes flashed. He immediately understood that there wasn't just one layer of vault below; it was an old crossroads.
"We won't be going far." He said in a low voice. "This vault connects to a returning path."
Song Qinghe was taken aback: "What does that mean?"
Lu Yuan explained: "It means no matter how you walk, you'll end up back where you started. This path is the most sinister. If a person goes in without a marker, they'll eventually think they're walking in circles. In reality, they're being slowly led somewhere else."
Zhou Heng couldn't help but mutter from the side: "This... isn't this just ghost walling?"
Lu Yuan, however, shook his head: "It's more sinister than ghost walling. Ghost walling makes you hit walls. This kind of path doesn't make you hit walls. It makes you feel like you're walking the right way. The more you think you're right, the harder it is to get out."
Having said that, he stood up and looked up at the sky.
The mountain fog pressed down extremely low. The clouds were like a layer of grayish-white cotton wool, layered thickly over the mountain ridge.
Logically, it was almost noon. But the light was still gloomy, not bright at all.
Lu Yuan knew very well that it wasn't the weather. It was this very path that was swallowing the light.
He turned back to look at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Pack up your things. We're going down into the vault."
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Heng's Adam's apple bobbed visibly. Lin Zhaoxuan also furrowed his brow. But neither of them said much.
Lu Yuan opened the canvas bag at his waist and began reorganizing the short talismans, copper coins, black filings, and incense ash himself.
Then he broke the Vault-Questioning Incense in two, tucking one piece back into his sleeve and holding the other between his fingers.
"Remember." He said in a low voice. "Once we go down into the vault, no looking around, no responding to anything, and no looking back. If you actually hear someone call your name, recite the self-protection mantra first."
Zhou Heng nodded hastily.
Lin Zhaoxuan also replied in a deep voice: "Understood."
Song Qinghe pressed the protective talisman tighter and whispered: "I'll follow you."
Lu Yuan didn't say anything more. He bent down and thoroughly pried the loose brick aside from the vault opening.
As soon as the brick was moved, the narrow opening below became clearer, revealing a section of wooden stairs sloping downward.
The stairs were old and blackened, but copper sheets were nailed onto the corners, clearly showing that someone had repaired them later.
Lu Yuan stared at the stairs for a moment, his gaze turning cold.
"Someone's been here. And more than once."
Lin Zhaoxuan followed his gaze and also nodded: "The stairs have been newly patched with nails, so they've been used recently."
Lu Yuan said: "Right. This isn't an abandoned vault. It's been in continuous use."
With that, he flicked a copper coin toward the stairway entrance.
The copper coin spun in mid-air, landed on the first wooden step, and didn't roll off. Instead, it stopped steadily in place.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan's expression grew even heavier: "The path is stable. We can go down."
Without further hesitation, he formed a hand seal with his right hand, held the incense with his left, and was the first to bend down and enter.
The moment the vault opening went dark, the mountain wind was immediately shut out. All around, there was only the stale, musty smell of damp wood, mixed with a faint scent of incense ash.
The stairs were very narrow. As soon as a person stepped on them, the entire staircase creaked softly, as if there was water underneath, or as if someone was sighing gently from below.
Lu Yuan led the way. Lin Zhaoxuan was second. Zhou Heng and Song Qinghe followed closely. Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao brought up the rear.
After descending about ten or so steps, a turn suddenly appeared ahead.
The turn didn't go straight down. It slanted to the left.
Lu Yuan raised his hand to stop, then bent down to feel along the wall. When his fingertip touched the surface, he felt an extremely thin layer of white ash.
The ash was very fine. When he wiped it away, the corner of a blackened wooden tablet was faintly visible underneath.
He pulled out the wooden tablet, took one look at it, and his expression turned even colder.
What was written on the wooden tablet wasn't characters. It was a series of Yin-suppressing symbols. But the tail of the symbols had been supplemented with a stroke using a knife.
That stroke had been added to form the character "Return."
"It's exactly a returning path." Lu Yuan said in a low voice. "Someone deliberately altered the fork into a return path, so that anyone who walks in will get lost and never find their way out."
Lin Zhaoxuan asked: "Can it be broken?"
Lu Yuan turned the wooden tablet over. His fingertip traced over the supplemented stroke, then he took out a mud-suppressing nail, gently pressed it onto the back of the tablet, and chanted: "The character 'return' is not correct, so the path's heart is crooked. Straighten what is beneath my feet, distort your door sign. If the wooden tablet recognizes, let it first recognize my nail. Urgently, urgently, as by the law's command, turn!"
As soon as the word "turn" was uttered, the wooden tablet trembled slightly, then emitted an extremely faint *crack*.
The supplemented stroke seemed to suddenly lose its strength.
Lu Yuan casually folded the wooden tablet in half and stuffed it directly into his sleeve.
"Go left. The left is the true path. The right is just a loop."
Everyone followed instructions and went left.
As they continued forward, the vault passage suddenly became a bit narrower. A series of old scratch marks began to appear on the walls on both sides.
Those scratch marks weren't random doodles. They looked like they had been clawed out one by one with human fingernails. They were of varying depths, dense and numerous, almost scratching the entire wall to pieces.
Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and asked in a low voice: "What are these?"
Lu Yuan swept his gaze over them. His tone was calm, but even colder: "Records of days. Could also be records of people."