Lin Laotai had her men prepared a ship to take Lin Jixuan and the others to Baiyu Shan, but the old madam didn't accompany them and didn't even come to say goodbye. Lin Jixuan could only kneel in front of her room before leaving with Huang Yu and Lin Xiaoyan, picking up Jinshui and Xu Qiao at their inn, then heading to the riverbank.
Xiaoshan and Xiaohu came with Li Qian and Huang Lian, just as Huang Yu said when they all arrived on the ship. Huang Yu always left signs along the way for his two servants and they could always find him.
Huang Lian happily greeted and hugged Xu Qiao, then recounted at length everything that had happened since they parted ways in Wuzhang weeks ago. Li Qian approached Jinshui and saw his injured and disabled state, he asked him what happened.
"I'm fine," Jinshui answered shortly.
"The promised meeting day in Chen-an City is not far off," Huang Yu said, "we have to go now."
"Li Qian, you know how to treat broken bones, you can help him recover faster." Lin Jixuan said to Li Qian. "Don't know which enemy injured him, but I will definitely help Jinshui get revenge."
They all got on the ship. The ship was a new ship and it wasn't Lin Tongtian's ship which was borrowed by Lin Jixuan without permission a few months ago and then used by Zhong Shaoyan and Han Budian to return to Wuzhang City.
There were two huge rooms inside the ship's cabin, on the top deck there was also a place that was quite spacious and was designed for leisure activities, unlike the Lin Family ship which could be used for battle.
Li Qian checked the condition of Jinshui's leg and found that the left leg bone was only slightly fractured, while the right leg was broken and not yet connected properly.
"This leg bone was broken using you ling shen shou energy," Li Qian guessed correctly. "Jinshui, the enemy who injured you, was he the member of Liangshan Liu Mo? Have you met any of these criminals?"
Jinshui nodded once.
"Ma Yongtao hurt us Yumen descendants so badly a few weeks ago in Wansui Gu, apparently it still wasn't enough and he harmed Jinshui again." Huang Yu said, "I think we Yumen descendants need to finish off Liangshan Liu Mo. It's not enough just to leave them to be controlled by the jiaozhu furen."
"Jiaozhu furen?" asked Lin Jixuan. Just like Li Qian, he had also missed a lot since the destruction of Jianyin Bang Headquarters.
"It wasn't Ma Yongtao who broke my legs, but his father," replied Jinshui. He then told his friends that the real Liangshan Mojun was Ma Yaolun, and Ma Yongtao was his substitute. Ma Yaolun's condition resembled that of a madman, in the end, he also killed himself in front of his son.
Huang Yu also then told Li Qian and Lin Jixuan everything that happened from leaving Wuzhang City to arriving at Wansui Gu. Regarding their encounter with Xie Tianhu and Huang Zhe, Zhou Sangong's rebellion, Yuan Wancui's death, and also how the Yumen descendants were nearly killed by Liangshan Liu Mo, also regarding the former jiaozhu furen Gu Chenhui who was still alive. It was only about Qingyi that Jinshui didn't mention clearly.
"If so, is this Ma Yongtao now counted as a friend or is there still enmity with us?" Lin Jixuan asked. "You don't have a grudge against him, but he still has a grudge against a friend of ours."
"This matter is for jiaozhu furen to decide," Jinshui replied, "Ma Yongtao is her disciple, I also have no intention of interfering."
"You really did deal with poison in Wansui Gu," Lin Jixuan said, "I already asked Yanzi to take care of you so that you don't get hurt. Now you tell me that she even took part in the trouble and released her father at the end. Next time I meet her, I'll definitely teach her a lesson."
"I asked Zhou Xiangnu and her boyfriend to find you when we were still in Wansui Gu, but you two didn't even respond to the fireworks signal they released," Huang Yu said to Li Qian. "Are you two having any trouble?"
"No, we just…. " Li Qian then also told him that since leaving Wuzhang City and parting ways with the others, it was Huang Lian who ask him to stay as far away as possible with the other descendants.
Huang Yu knew his little sister purposely took Li Qian to avoid him because she was afraid Huang Yu would ask her to leave Li Qian. Li Qian didn't appear during the trouble they had at Wansui Gu a while ago. But now he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.
"Jinshui, where is your xuanlong sword?" Lin Jixuan suddenly asked, just realizing that since meeting him at the Lin Family residence that day, then also at the wine shop, Jinshui had never taken the xuanlong sword with him.
"Huang Yu's brother took it," replied Jinshui, but he didn't feel the need to mention how Huang Zhe took the sword from Xu Qiao.
"My brother?" asked Huang Yu. "Did you meet him? Was he with Xie Tianhu?"
"I didn't see Xie Tianhu," Jinshui replied shortly.
"We will take the sword back," Huang Yu said, then gave orders to his two trusted servants to go to find Huang Zhe's whereabouts.
During the next few days, Li Qian reattached Jinshui's right leg bone which was broken by Ma Yaolun, gave him medicine, and tied it with wood so it wouldn't move again. The left leg bones were no longer a problem, just need a little care. Li Qian asked Jinshui to stay in the room the whole way to let his legs recover quickly.
Li Qian did not master medicine like his father, but he was still able to correct dislocated bones because it was one of his experiences while working for the imperial and being on the battlefield several times. However, he didn't understand poison at all, and naturally couldn't explain why Xu Qiao often felt tired and slept for a long time, nor did he know what kind of medicine Yanzi gave the girl.
--
The ship entered the mountainous area and the next journey had to be taken by road. But since Jinshui still can't walk, Li Qian asked everyone to wait for the other descendants to arrive on the ship.
On the same day, Xiaoshan and Xiaohu arrived again. They told Huang Yu that Huang Zhe was also on his way to Baiyu Shan, not with Xie Tianhu but with a number of martial world figures from various sects.
"We saw dashaoye with them, carrying Hua Gongzi's sword, but according to Ershaoye's message, we also tried to keep our distance, not wanting to be recognized," Xiaoshan reported. "We followed them for two days, trying to listen in on their conversations to find out their destination."
"It turned out that these people had gotten a map that said there was a treasure left by Liangtian Jian Shen somewhere in Baiyu Shan," Xiaohu continued, "there were dozens of them, then there were dozens of others who joined in, all of them wanting to go there. Dashaoye reconciled them before fighting each other, saying that Liangtian Jian Shen's legacy would belong to the entire martial world, something like that."
"Where did they get the map?" Huang Yu asked.
"Dashaoye himself claimed to have got it, after investigating Laoye's death three years ago," said Xiaoshan. "However, there are also two old men who claim to be masters of the Wine Valley who say they got the map from a lady who claims to be surnamed Xu."
"There are also several members of other sects who say they got the map from Xu Guniang," Xiaohu said too, "the maps are all the same, I don't know what Xu Guniang gave them the map."
Jinshui recalled Shen Xiru's words to Huan Jiaozheng mentioning that there was a lady claiming to be Miss Xu from Huofeng Lou who had purposely left a fan in Qingxiang Zhuang and caused many people to come asking for it. The fake silver fan that Shen Xiru later gave to Ma Yongtao had no map in it, now Jinshui realized that he had not really checked carefully at the time.
"Those men who got the map, did they find it in a silver fan?" Jinshui asked from inside the room since Huang Yu and his two servants were talking at the door.
"There are some who show a silver fan, no mistake," Xiaohu said. "Ershaoye, that time laoye also sent a fan to Huofeng Lou, and the original map had always been in Xie Tianhu's hands."
An incident similar to what happened three years ago when news emerged about Liangtian Jian Shen's treasure and many people were hunting for it. It's just that at that time there was only a white steel fan and everyone wanted to get it. This time they have got the map and want to take the treasure directly to the source.
"My brother has followed Xie Tianhu for a long time and he called our parents' murderer his master." Huang Yu said. "It could be that in a while, he managed to convince Xie Tianhu to give the map to him and then he himself made some copies, giving it to other people. Only I have two questions. The first is whether the map is the same as the original or has been faked. Second, what is the purpose."
"Xie Tianhu has never been able to enter the secret room described on the map, it's possible that Huang Zhe then proposes to borrow other people's hands, find the secret room, and take whatever is hidden in it," Jinshui said, "after the treasure was found, those two would just take it."
"It might be like that," Huang Yu said. "My brother is cunning and if there is an advantage of his own, one could say he is not careless. It was absolutely unacceptable to let him wreak havoc on Baiyu Shan."
"Ershaoye, by this time they probably have arrived in Chen-an City, and we will meet them if we go directly there," Xiaoshan said. "Don't know what will happen if you have to deal with that many people."
"Liao Xian, Qin Liangjie, and the others are now probably already in Chen-an City, and we have to meet them there anyway," said Huang Yu.
"Jinshui still can't walk, his current condition shouldn't be known by outsiders." Li Qian said, "Lin Jixuan and I can go to Chen-an City first to meet the others and bring them all here, and we don't have to deal with those people for now."
"We can go," Xiaohu quickly replied, "we can disguise ourselves, also inconspicuously, can meet them at Yongjiu Tavern and Inn."
"You two just came back, better get some rest here," Huang Yu said to his servants. "Li Qian and Lin Jixuan have good qinggong, they can go and come back much faster."
That same day Li Qian and Lin Jixuan both headed to Chen-an City to find Liao Xian and the other descendants to warn them to avoid trouble with the people who came with Huang Zhe. After midnight the two returned to the ship and informed Huang Yu and the others that the other descendants were no longer at Yongjiu Tavern and Inn.
The innkeeper informed Li Qian and Lin Jixuan that a few days earlier there had indeed been a group of youths renting the entire inn and staying there waiting for their friends. Then came a number of strange-looking foreigners, looking displeased when they heard that the entire inn had been rented by other group, and a fight almost broke out.
Then an old woman came with a weird-looking woman, a hunter, and a monk, inviting the youths who rented the entire inn to come with her at night. They all then left and the inn could be rented out by other guests.
"Jiaozhu furen," Huang Yu instantly knew the old woman mentioned was Gu Chenhui. The weird-looking woman, the hunter, and the monk who were with her were obviously Zu Ye Niang, Li Baixun, and Fuchang Long, the three members of Liu Mo's Liangshan whom she had controlled using poison. "She picked up Liao Xian and the others to Baiyu Shan to see her mother."
"Then it's best if we also head straight to Baiyu Shan," Huang Lian said.
Jinshui handed a copy of the map that Zhang Zheliang had given to Huang Yu. Baiyu Shan was a foreign place to all of them, and the descendant of Chailang was the one who could best understand a map.
A horse carriage was then prepared for Jinshui, Xu Qiao, and Lin Xiaoyan. The others followed by walking on foot. Xiaoshan and Xiaohu didn't say where they got the carriage from, but Jinshui could guess they stole it from the people who had come with Huang Zhe and were hunting for the Sword God's relics.
They walked along a small road to the north part of Baiyu Shan, through a dry forest rarely visited by humans. Mountain cliffs were not far ahead, towering through the clouds and mist.
Later that afternoon they arrived at a crossroads, having to rest for a while because the journey was getting more and more difficult. The road up the mountain was full of rocks and not easy for horse-drawn carriages to pass, and they were going uphill and getting steeper and steeper.
Huang Yu showed Li Qian the map in his hand.
"There are two roads ahead, one leads to Chen-an City, from there go around to the east of Baiyu Shan, go through the main road, and go straight to the former Yumen headquarters here," he said, pointing at the map. "The other road will take us to the Bai Family's tomb, it's not far but we all have to walk."
"From inside the tomb you can go through the underground cave and arrive directly behind Baiyu Shan," Li Qian also looked at the map and found an octagonal shape at the end of the aisles in the underground cave. "Is this an octagonal room?" he asked. "I don't know if we can get there."
"Chailang Shifu told me how to open the tomb, at least we can go all the way here," Huang Yu said, pointing to some areas on the map, "but Chailang Master didn't tell anything about this octagonal room."
"We can go there first," said Lin Jixuan, "at least we can stay in the tomb and see the secrets of this octagonal room while waiting until it's safe enough to get out and we can all meet the others."
They took the road to the tomb, having to leave the carriage not long after. Xiaoshan and Xiaohu made a stretcher to carry Jinshui, and the two of them followed the others up into the mountain. The sky was getting dark soon and they decided to have some rest in a crevice under the cliff for the night.
The next morning, they saw birds flying around the cliff, their hoarse voices carrying an ominous atmosphere. Li Qian and Lin Jixuan took over the stretcher carrying Jinshui, letting Xiaoshan and Xiaohu go ahead with Huang Yu.
"I can walk," Jinshui nearly refused as he didn't want to trouble his two friends.
"I cannot allow that," Li Qian gestured for him to stay on the stretcher, "After all we are the two Yumen descendants, possessing the energy from the guardian. Carrying you up the mountain won't be too much trouble for us. Don't you dare to waste my effort to treat your legs."
They kept heading to a cliff. Not far after, in the middle of the footpath in front of them, there were dozens of human corpses. The corpses' condition could be said to be intact, it seemed that their death had not been long.
Huang Yu stepped over, and Xiaoshan and Xiaohu turned over a few corpses. Even though all of these people were wearing similar dark clothes with long robes and head coverings, apparently they did not come from the same sect. Their various weapons were scattered among their corpses.
"The people who wanted Liangtian Jian Shen's treasure," Huang Yu reported to his friends, "seemed to have managed to find their way to the Bai Family's tomb before killing each other here."
"Greedy people," said Lin Jixuan, "they deserve it."
"Ershaoye," Xiaohu held out something to Huang Yu. It was an item she took from one of the corpses, resembling an extremely fine thread, a secret weapon that Huang Yu was familiar with.
Xiaoshan also held out another object to Huang Yu, another fake white steel fan that had been broken into two pieces, obtained when turning over one of the corpses.
"Xie Tianhu was also here," Huang Yu said, looking around, a chess piece had slipped into his finger.
Jinshui tried to get down from the stretcher, not wanting to meet the enemy under the circumstances. Xu Qiao approached, and Huang Lian pulled Lin Xiaoyan to protect her. Li Qian held Jinshui down.
"Do you want me to break your legs and correct them again?" he said firmly.
However, there were no signs of other humans still living around that place. Huang Yu led the others onward, soon arriving at a flat area with a cliff to the right. A wide and deep river divides the cliff, then flows to nowhere. They took a small path by the river and then found a man-made gate in the cliff wall overlooking the river.
Bai Family Tomb. These words were clearly engraved on a stone at the gate. Their spirits immediately regrouped, at least they had arrived at their destination.
Huang Yu went straight to the gate followed by his younger sister Huang Lian, trying to find a secret tool according to his master Chailang's guidance, and opened the big door. The ground was vibrating for a moment, and the tomb was already open.
They went inside after lighting a few torches, letting the gate slowly close again. Their eyes quickly adjusted to the limited lighting, finding another gate covering the passage they were in. The gate was locked.
"Jinshui, do you still have the command plate of Yumen's leader?" Huang Yu asked.
Jinshui nodded and then handed him a black iron plate, the object that was found tucked away in the residence of the traitor Wang Ruanya a while ago and handed over to him. Huang Yu placed the iron plate in a hole in the middle of the second gate, then turned it twice. The iron plate apparently also functioned as a key.
"This second gate was only created during the heyday of Yumen Jiao, by order of the late jiaozhu," Huang Yu said, "it can only be opened using the leader's command plate so that no one can enter."
"That command plate was taken by the traitor Wang Ruanya," said Jinshui, "it's a good thing that he didn't know about this tomb and used it to open the door."
"This tomb is part of Baiyu Shan and not Yumen Jiao, even the late jiaozhu of the past couldn't come here without any permission," Huang Yu said, "I'm sure that traitor Wang Ruanya was also quite aware that there was another magnificent figure in Baiyu Shan. He already got enough profit after his treachery and he won't dare to enter this tomb."
Huang Yu returned the command plate to Jinshui. They closed the second gate, went through another passage behind it, and found the altar room not far away.
The Bai Family Tomb had been abandoned by their guardians for decades, but it wasn't like this place had never been visited by anyone anymore. The ancestral altar and nameplates there were still well maintained, and the main room was also kept clean and tidy. Once every year, the great master of Baiyu Shan came to pray here.
They paid their respects to the nameplates that were there, then followed the map again and entered another long and winding passageway. After more than half an hour through passages and stairs, they finally arrived at another cave room, much bigger than the altar room, but an almost empty room.
"Let's rest for a while in this place," Huang Lian said. "Shijie said she was tired."
"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao came to Jinshui and called weakly, "Give me a pill."
Li Qian and Lin Jixuan took down the stretcher and helped Jinshui sit up against a boulder. Xiaoshan and Xiaohu shared some dry food with everyone. Huang Yu helped Lin Xiaoyan drink some water. Huang Lian sat on the cave floor. Jinshui took the porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed a pill to Xu Qiao.
"If that medicine can help overcome fatigue and increase energy, can you give me one?" Lin Jixuan asked Jinshui. "I'm a little curious about what kind of medicine that little brat Yanzi can make."
"Later when we arrive at Baiyu Shan, you can meet her," Huang Yu said, "I know you miss her."
"That's right, I do miss her a bit," Lin Jixuan didn't shy away from admitting, "Since leaving Wuzhang City, I haven't had the chance to prank any girls, you could say my hands are a little itchy. Eh, haven't we arrived at Baiyu Shan yet? That great master you are always talking about, does she live here?"
"There is a cliff in Baiyu Shan called taiyang feng (sunset cliff), the great master lives there," Jinshui said, "but since Liangtian Jian Shen Zhang Zheliang Laoqianbei never visited that taiyang feng, the location of that cliff was not described on the map."
"Baiyu Shan is so vast, if one doesn't know exactly where the inhabited places are then how are we going to find the others?" asked Lin Jixuan as well. "We've been circling in the bowels of this mountain long enough, are you sure we'll be able to find something?"
"Someone is coming," Jinshui suddenly said.