Ch61 - Hidden Chamber

The study was also a mess; even the paperweights on the desk and the dish for washing pens had been looted. 

Mu Hanzhang went to a painting hanging on the wall and smoothed down the damaged portion. When he had a clearer view of the painting, he couldn’t help but feel it was a great pity. “Zhuo Sui Sanren’s painting, worth thousands of gold, was actually ruined just like this.”

When Jing Shao went closer for a look, he couldn’t see what was so special about it; it was just a landscape painting of some mountains and water. Seeing that he didn’t understand, Mu Hanzhang explained in a warm tone. 

Zhuo Shui Sanren was one of the sixteen Sanren in the dynasty before the previous one. During this period, the reverence toward calligraphy and painting was the highest it had ever been since ancient times, and these sixteen Sanren were the most excellent at them. They often studied painting and calligraphy together, but due to the chaos of war at the end of this period, few of their paintings survived.

Mu Hanzhang took down the already deteriorating picture scroll and carefully rolled it up. When they went back, he would find an expert to glue it back together; maybe it could be restored to its original condition. “This painting is far more valuable than any precious jewels. Why didn’t the Southwest King take it with him?”

“The Southwest King of this generation is illiterate. Come with me.” Jing Shao took his Wang Fei to a small corner that had been partitioned off.

The study of a rich family always had a small area like this with a bed or divan for daily rest, and this study was no exception. It was just that this area was quite small and there was only one bed. The bed was a mess, and even the jade pieces on the pillow had been plucked off. It looked rather bare. 

“The servants in the southwest palace must have taken a lot of things.” Mu Hanzhang looked at the pull rope for the curtain, which was missing its golden hook.

“When the tree falls and the monkeys scatter, everyone has to find a way to survive.” Jing Shao laughed and tore down the whole curtain to reveal a rough wall. 

Jing Shao jumped onto the bed and said to the man behind him, “Jun Qing, move back.”

Mu Hanzhang withdrew from the area as per Jing Shao’s words, then saw Jing Shao lift his leg to kick the uneven wall hard. 

The wall crumbled under the kick to create a large hole as wooden shards were sent flying. Mu Hanzhang realized that the wall was made of wood, but a thin layer of brick had been laid over its surface. When the dust cleared, it seemed to reveal a room  through the hole, but it was dark and Mu Hanzhang couldn’t really see anything clearly.

Jing Shao took out his firestarter and lit the candlestick that was on the table. He squeezed into the hole first and quickly lit the candle that was in the room before he reached out to help his Wang Fei inside. 

Mu Hanzhang looked at the small room in front of him. It had no windows, and should be a secret room. A black Buddha statue five chi tall was displayed on a raised platform, and underneath it were some praying mats. In the middle of the room was a square bronze cauldron and wooden shelves lined the walls. Many things on the shelves had already disappeared. However, there were still four or five picture scrolls in a porcelain barrel, several long boxes still lay on the wooden shelves, and some scattered jewels were still embedded in the bronze cauldron, though there were broken pearls and jade shards everywhere.

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“Xiao Shao, come and look at this!” Mu Hanzhang’s voice was quite excited.

Jing Shao picked up the old blade in the box and looked at the painting scroll in the hands of his Wang Fei. It was a strange painting. There were all kinds of flowers, birds, insects and fish on it, but all the styles were different. Putting it altogether, it made for quite the strange painting. “What is this?” 

“Nine Songs and Sixteen Poets! This is the collaborative painting of the sixteen Sanren!” Mu Hanzhang was overjoyed. All their lives, the sixteen Sanren had only painted this one picture together, and it was truly a treasure which had been handed down through the years. However, it had already been lost in the previous dynasty; unexpectedly, it had fallen into the hands of the southwest palace and had even been abandoned. “This painting is worth at least a thousand gold taels.”

“If the Southwest King is running for his life, calligraphy and paintings aren’t things that are easy to take with him.” Jing Shao grinned and rolled up the painting, which in his eyes looked pretty ugly. He then showed Mu Hanzhang the rusty sword in his hand. “Look at this.” 

Mu Hanzhang took it. It clearly looked very rusty. No matter what he did, he couldn’t pull out the sword. The handle and sheath seemed to have been rusted together.

Jing Shao put his hands over his and gently pressed on the side of the scabbard. With a click, a mechanism was unlocked, and the blade was slowly drawn out. 

The scarlet blade seemed like gold but also not, like jade but also not. Even in the dark room, it was beautiful, like the colorful Dan Xia terrain.

“So beautiful.” Even if Mu Hanzhang wasn’t a weapon enthusiast, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. There were no carvings on the blade; such a smooth and flowing blade was already beautiful enough without them.

Jing Shao plucked a loose strand of hair from his Wang Fei’s shoulder and placed it on the blade. “Come and blow on it.”

Mu Hanzhang looked at him and said with a smile, “Blowing to cut a strand of hair in two is just a rumor. Do you really think a weapon like that exists in this world?”

“Well, then let’s make a bet. If it truly exists, what’s the prize?” Jing Shao smiled and inched closer to his ear.

Mu Hanzhang saw that he was certain, and he was also very curious, so he blew on the loose hair.

“Hey, we still haven’t set the prize!” Jing Shao hurriedly moved the blade away, but he was too late. The hair touched the thin blade and immediately split into two parts and slowly drifted down.

“It truly is a treasure sword!” Mu Hanzhang was utterly amazed that there was actually such a treasure like this in the world. When he turned to look at Jing Shao, who was glaring indignantly at him, he couldn’t help laughing. He pinched Jing Shao’s face and said, “You look like a child.”

“Hmph! Not only can this sword sever a strand of hair with a breath, it can also cut through iron like mud!” Jing Shao didn’t get a prize, so he was very angry. He swung at the pedestal of the dark Buddha statue with his treasure sword. With a swishing sound, the lotus platform was cut apart, and the two of them were stunned at the scene.

Underneath that black outer shell, the platform was a dazzling solid gold. The five-chi-tall Buddha statue was actually made of pure gold!

The golden Buddha was enormous; the Southwest King hadn’t been able to carry it away, and naturally, the two of them also couldn’t bring it out themselves. They called for some soldiers to carry the Buddha statue out, along with that ancient bronze cauldron, and would have them immediately escorted back to the capital.

While there was no actual gold and jewels, they could still sweep up those few ancient paintings and treasure swords.

“I heard from the right protectorate general that you can use a sword.” Jing Shao took his Wang Fei out of the secret room to avoid continuing to look at that Buddha and feel regretful. He now understood how the Southwest King felt when the latter was fleeing – there was such a valuable object here, but he couldn’t move it. No wonder he also forgot his grandson. It would really be hard to feel calm.

“I only know some moves. I don’t have much internal strength. It’s just enough to protect myself when I’m in danger.” Mu Hanzhang didn’t think that the little bit of martial arts knowledge he knew was very practical.

“Take this sword with you in the future.” Jing Shao wiped the treasure blade clean and hung it on his Wang Fei’s waist.

“The treasure sword is useless in my hands. Why waste its illustrious name on me?” Mu Hanzhang rubbed the ancient hilt of the sword and pursed his lips slightly. He really liked the sword, but it would be wasted in his hands as someone who only understood the basic concepts of the sword arts.

“This sword ought to be yours.” Jing Shao smiled. He had come to the hidden chamber this time precisely to find this sword. Looking like jade and gold but not, and as stunning as the Dan Xia landforms. There were nine treasures from ancient times. This blade was known as Hanzhang!

After a while, the small soldiers who were to carry away the giant Buddha came to report in a hurry, “Reporting to Wang Ye, there is a secret tunnel under the giant Buddha!”

Jing Shao frowned. Previously, he had beheaded the Southwest King before the latter could escape. Therefore, Jing Shao had never looked into the location of the secret tunnel. This time, the Southwest King had fled beforehand, and didn’t realise that he had left traces behind. If they searched this secret path, they would definitely be able to track him down.

Jing Shao immediately took people with him to follow the secret path and investigate. The secret tunnel was narrow, and it was slow going. They followed it all the way until dusk fell, and then made a discovery. That secret road led directly to a dry well ten li outside the east city wall. The Southwest King had been transporting some heavy things at the time; the ruts on the road were very distinct and went straight to the East.

“He must have gone to seek refuge with the Southeast King. The items in the carriage should be gold, silver and precious jewels,” Mu Hanzhang speculated.

“Wang Ye, I will take a thousand light cavalry to pursue him; we will definitely catch that old man alive!” Zhao Meng was eager to give it a try.

Jing Shao pondered for a moment, then raised his hand to stop Zhao Meng. “Don’t give chase.”

“Wang Ye, why not?” Zhao Meng didn’t understand. The Southwest King hadn’t taken many people with him; it would be easy to kill him. “Wang Ye, if you don’t eliminate the root, it will certainly cause future trouble.”

“If the Southwest King doesn’t die and he escapes to the southeast, it will be like letting a tiger return to its mountain!” Hao Dadao, who had finished arranging things with the main army, came in with the little tiger cub.

“Wawu!” Xiao Huang immediately joined in when it heard about a tiger returning to its mountain. However, its big eyes remained fixed on Hao Dadao’s cloth bag, which hung at the man’s waist, and it even stretched out its claws.

Mu Hanzhang took Xiao Huang and rubbed the fluff on its head. “That mountaintop doesn’t really belong to the Southwest King; the ancients once said that one mountain cannot hold two tigers.”

Hao Dadao nodded. “Then we’re just going to let him do as he wishes?”

“About this, Benwang has his own decision.” Jing Shao didn’t ponder too long and waved at them to withdraw. “There are many courtyards in this palace; go and choose one to rest in.”

On hearing this, the right protectorate general rushed out. The small bamboo buildings in the back courtyard looked very interesting, and he already couldn’t sit still. The left protectorate general looked at his figure bouncing away, then silently followed him out with an expressionless face.

As soon as everyone scattered, Jing Shao immediately took out pen and paper and wrote a letter of utmost urgency as fast as possible, with the news that after taking Cloud City, the Southwest King had fled to the southeast. 

Mu Hanzhang watched him write quietly. Under his comfortable pats, the little tiger cub lay on its back to sleep soundly in his warm arms. Zhao Meng didn’t understand Jing Shao’s actions, but Mu Hanzhang did. The Southwest King had already committed treason. If the Southeast King offered him shelter, he would be rebelling along with him. Army morale was high, and the timing was perfect for storming the southeast. It was just… 

“Why are you so eager to attack the southeast?” Mu Hanzhang looked at the various hints in the letter. When Emperor Hong Zheng saw this letter of utmost urgency, he would surely swiftly issue an edict of top priority for Jing Shao to attack the southeast directly. Many of Jing Shao’s actions were very strange. No one else knew, but Mu Hanzhang accompanied him every day, and so could see it very clearly. Like with that secret chamber, for example; if Jing Shao didn’t know about it beforehand, how could he have found it so quickly?