HENG PROVINCE CONTAINED the former capital city of Pingcheng. Before Emperor Xiaowen had relocated his capital to Luoyang, it had been the capital of the Wei dynasty for generations. Even when it was no longer the capital, several emperors had continued living there. An air of royalty remained, imparting the city with a regal qi. Today, although nowhere near as prosperous as Luoyang, it was still a major metropolis.
North of the city, everything beyond the thin lines of the official roads was forest. It was now summer, and the leaves on the trees were lush as they swayed delicately in the wind. At the foot of the mountain, beside the main road, sat a teahouse. Its thatched roof was woven from hay and cattail reeds supported on bamboo poles, and it sheltered a small area of spread mats without even a table. A teahouse like this was only meant as a small rest stop for passing woodcutters and hunters before they entered the mountains.
A woodcutter stood outside it at a bit of a loss. It was rare to meet anyone here, much less four people taking up all the cattail mats. As he tried to walk around them, one of the strangers called out.
"Sir, please wait!" A Zuoyue guard approached with a bowl of steaming tea.
They'd purchased the hot tea and bowls outside the city. Cui Buqu loathed extravagant purchases and had been adamantly against spending on new bowls. Naturally, Feng Xiao had footed the bill.
The woodcutter accepted the tea. Bewildered, he asked, "Do your lordships wish to hike up the mountain?"
He'd noticed that two of them were better dressed than the others and surmised they were young masters of a wealthy family who had come out to enjoy themselves. He remarked, glancing up at the sky, "It looks like a storm's coming. I'd suggest you wait before going up the mountain."
The Zuoyue guard smiled. "Thank you very much for the warning. But we'd like to ask you something. Is there a Mount Tiannan around here somewhere?"
The woodcutter was about to shake his head, then checked himself. "Ah, there is a mountain—we locals call it Ruyi Mountain. But one of the scholars in the county told me it has another name, Tian-something. I can't remember. It might be the mountain you're talking about."
"Where is this mountain?" asked the Zuoyue guard.
The woodcutter pointed straight ahead. "It's that one!"
Everyone followed his pointing finger. Behind the mountain before them jutted a second peak. It was quite a bit taller than the mountains around it, its summit shrouded in mist like the hidden abode of immortals.
Feng Xiao looked at Cui Buqu, who shook his head slightly—he wasn't sure either.
The woodcutter finished his tea, then watched as the group rose and bade him farewell. When they started walking in the direction of the mountain, he warned them again. "The mountain roads will be slippery from the rain. It's no joke!"
Feng Xiao smiled. "So we need to hurry up the mountain before the rain arrives. Thank you."
He walked in front, fanning himself, while Cui Buqu walked with one guard in front and one guard behind for protection. A carriage was no good in terrain like this. Cui Buqu grabbed a length of bamboo to use as a walking stick and followed Feng Xiao up the mountain trail, albeit at a markedly slower pace.
The woodcutter watched their retreating backs in astonishment. They hadn't listened to his advice at all. He shook his head and sighed. "Young people these days." Then he picked up his basket and axe and trudged off toward another slope.
He couldn't have known that at that very moment, Feng Xiao was saying to Cui Buqu, "Dark clouds overhead. Are you sure there'll be no rain today?"
Cui Buqu's lashes fluttered. He didn't raise his head. "It won't rain here."
He'd hardly spoken when a strong gust of wind buffeted them. Cui Buqu was standing at a turn in the mountain path and almost lost his footing. He was on the verge of being blown right off when Feng Xiao grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, faster even than the Zuoyue guards beside him. Feng Xiao didn't hesitate to mock him. "In my opinion, you should go back down the mountain and wait for us. You're nothing but a burden!"
Cui Buqu paid him no heed. He squinted up the mountainside before pointing in another direction. "Let's go up there and take a look."
Sure enough, the dark clouds were swiftly blown over to the neighboring peak. Rain fell in the west, but in the east the sun shone and the sky above their heads was bright and clear. How had Cui Buqu cultivated such a skill? Feng Xiao was shocked he could accurately discern the weather from such a distance.
It was a hard road to their destination, and the climb was particularly agonizing for Cui Buqu. His face was as white as paper, and he needed to rest every few steps. Feng Xiao was beginning to think the next gust might scatter him to the four winds.
When they arrived, they discovered a cave entrance concealed beneath the luxuriant canopy of a tree. The cave was deep—even the glare of the summer sun couldn't penetrate the darkness.
The clue Yuan Sansi had shared with them was many years old, and the woods now were much denser than in the painting. It should have been near-impossible for anyone to tell at a glance if this spot was truly the hiding place of the Wei dynasty's secret treasure.
"How could you tell?" Feng Xiao asked curiously.
"This mountain has a unique shape," said Cui Buqu. He produced the little picture and pointed to the mountain within it, then pointed at his feet. "Did you notice? Though the mountain is steep, the path we took was not. We encountered no danger on our way."
"Except when you almost fell off," Feng Xiao reminded him.
Cui Buqu turned a deaf ear and continued. "On our way up, I noticed faint ruts in the stones of the path—evidence that it was built for the easy transport of building materials by soldiers and craftsmen."
He asked the Zuoyue guards to push aside the nearby stones and cut away some of the foliage screening the entrance. As they worked, he wiped away some of the sand on the ground with his foot, revealing a few deep grooves, too regular to be the result of wind or rain.
Feng Xiao crouched down and ran his fingers over them. "Deep and uniform. Something was dragged across the ground."
Cui Buqu looked around. "They must have searched for a long time before they found this place. It's halfway up a mountain, yet the surrounding terrain is gentle. They transported tools up the mountain and carved out the interior, then let the dense vegetation conceal the exterior. It's difficult to discover; even if passing woodcutters or hunters saw the cave entrance, they wouldn't be likely to enter. And if they were curious enough to go in…" He paused. "There's a high chance they wouldn't come back out."
Feng Xiao arched a brow. "Are you sure there's hidden treasure in such a small space? How would one even bring all that armor out through such a narrow entrance? Did Emperor Wei not consider such things? Perhaps Yuan Sansi deceived you."
Cui Buqu shook his head. "I've had Yuan Sansi's background thoroughly investigated. There's no mistake, something's inside. Let's go take a look."
The Zuoyue guards led the way. Cui Buqu had set to rolling up his sleeves in preparation for entering when Feng Xiao suddenly grabbed his wrist, his gaze flickering with something obscure. "You can wait for us outside. Look how sick you are; won't I just waste my energy saving you?"
With a sigh, Cui Buqu said, "Do you think I'm going in there just to be a burden? There are undoubtedly hidden traps inside. I might not be an expert on traps, but I know a thing or two. Without me, it won't matter how powerful a martial artist you are, you won't make it out unscathed."
Feng Xiao's usual languid smile quickly returned. He leaned in, closing the distance between them. "Daoist Master Cui, are you worried about me?"
"I am," said Cui Buqu indifferently. "After all, keeping Deputy Chief Feng alive is crucial to my safety on the way back."
The Zuoyue guards had already disappeared into the mouth of the cave; Cui Buqu turned away and followed suit.
The moment he entered, the air pressed in on him, gloomy and damp, as if he'd stepped into another world entirely. The darkness was so complete that he couldn't see his own hand before his face, and the ground under his feet was slick with moisture. If he wasn't careful, he'd slip and fall.
Squinting ahead, he called out, "Don't touch the walls!"