Mei Qing naturally already knew long ago the target of Liu Na’s operation this time. Although Hou Shen had heard some related information from Mei Qing, he was not fully informed. Upon hearing Liu Na mention that they were going to strike the Imperial Palace, Hou Shen couldn’t help but chuckle, “I thought I was already bold enough just by daring to conduct business with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I didn’t expect someone even bolder who would actually attempt a heist at the Imperial Palace.”
Liu Na didn’t respond directly, merely letting out another long sigh, filled with helplessness and sorrow.
“Even though I knew this task was risky, by then it was already too late to back out. Breaking into the palace was indeed perilous, but compared to the terrifying Mr. Mu, who was watching us menacingly, he was still easier to deal with. At that time, I assigned people, planned the route, and divided everyone into three shifts to dig continuously day and night. During this time, two individuals were burned alive by Mr. Mu’s horrifying methods simply because they attempted to escape or had displeased him.”
“We were like kidnapped laborers, spending every moment outside of eating and sleeping digging and digging. Despite our hard work, progress was slow. After all, the location was quite far from the palace. But then again, the area around the palace would certainly be heavily guarded—where would there be room for someone to act?”
“It took over half a month of frantic work before we were finally close to breaking through. On that day, I specially grouped my brother and a few familiar companions together. Once inside the tunnel, I had those few people transport soil from the front while my brother and I dug a small hole at a bend to prepare an air vent, thinking that in case of any danger, this place might save my life.”
“Those people weren’t stupid either. They soon noticed what we had done. They didn’t say anything, but came over and asked me to enlarge the hole. Everyone’s eyes looked strange at that moment. I didn’t say anything either, and just expanded the hole until it could fit all of us.”
“Finally, that night, I told Mr. Mu that the tunnel was almost completed and that we could enter the treasure vault. Mr. Mu seemed agitated, as if he were shivering from some illness. Upon hearing the news, he was delighted and said that once we entered and retrieved the two chests he wanted, he would certainly reward us with wealth and endless pleasures. Sigh, when he said that, he spoke as if the entire world were already his.”
“At that time, none of us were really thinking about that. At midnight, we, a group of more than ten people, lined up to enter the tunnel. We all had to go in because Mr. Mu didn’t trust us to stay outside while he went in alone. However, he promised that anything we took from the treasure vault would be ours—except for those two chests.”
“I remember that I was the second to last to enter the tunnel, with my brother ahead of me and Mr. Mu behind. As I walked through the tunnel, I felt extremely frightened. I couldn’t help but want to look back to see where Mr. Mu was because I couldn’t hear any sound from him at all—no breathing, no footsteps, just like a ghost. Yet, I kept reminding myself: don’t look back! Because I was afraid that if I did, I might find Mr. Mu gone or transformed into something strange. At that moment, I was convinced that Mr. Mu was definitely not an ordinary person.”
“When the people ahead of us pushed open the stone slab above and entered the vault safely, they signaled for the rest of us to come out and light torches. We looked around and realized that the vault contained no gold, pearls, or treasures, but only stationery, porcelain, and various valuable calligraphies and paintings.”
“Some of the others whispered complaints, saying they had been promised gold and jewels. At that moment, Mr. Mu was too preoccupied to scold them, merely ordering everyone to quickly find two large chests and describing their size and appearance. Out of fear of his cruelty, everyone reluctantly began searching—except my brother, who stood there, staring blankly at the porcelain pieces.”
“Fearing Mr. Mu would punish him, I could only pull him away. Mr. Mu himself was also searching for the chests. The vault was vast, and there were many chests, so it wasn’t easy to find the right ones quickly. Just as I pulled my brother away, he suddenly started acting like a madman, carrying one piece of porcelain after another into the small cave we had dug earlier.”
“I was both frightened and anxious but dared not make a sound, only desperately trying to cover for him. Fortunately, the vault was extremely dark, and even though everyone carried torches, they were covered with black gauze to prevent guards from seeing the light through the door cracks. Luckily, my brother’s actions went unnoticed. At that moment, I heard someone quietly pass the message that the chests had been found.”
“Just when we were beginning to relax, preparing to move the chests over, suddenly, from somewhere, came a strange laugh.”
At this point, Liu Na couldn’t help shivering, still visibly frightened as he said, “At that moment, we were all terrified, not knowing what to do. That laughter… filled with hatred and mockery, it grew louder and louder until it echoed throughout the entire vault, turning into that terrifying sound.”
“Amidst the laughter, a cold, sinister voice said, ‘Oh my, isn’t this our Master, ha ha, isn’t this our esteemed teacher? Ha ha, Teacher, how did you become like this? Oh? Let me see… Oh, I see! I see! Teacher, I wonder what business you have coming here in the dead of night? If you have something that needs doing, your disciples are here to help, aren’t we?'”
“At that moment, I heard Mr. Mu suddenly let out a strange scream, filled with both fury and despair, like a ghost wailing, so loud that my legs nearly gave way and I almost fell to the ground. Then I heard all sorts of eerie sounds and felt the ground shaking violently, everything falling into chaos, as if the entire vault were about to collapse.”
“We all felt something terrible was happening and scrambled toward the tunnel entrance. Just then, suddenly, ‘boom!’ a burst of purple flame erupted from midair, instantly filling the entire vault and setting it ablaze!”
“We desperately crawled into the tunnel, but everything was in chaos, and we couldn’t see clearly where we were going. Fortunately, since I had personally designed the tunnel’s layout, I had a better sense of direction and managed to find the entrance and crawl inside. But I didn’t dare to go outside again, fearing that Mr. Mu might escape there and wait for us. Therefore, I sneaked into the small cave we had previously dug.”
“After a while, several members of our group who knew about this place also came in. No one spoke, but I secretly searched around and couldn’t find my younger brother anywhere.”
“My heart sank. We had survived so many disasters together—could it be that we would now be separated here? I had to go back to the vault to look for him. A companion named Si Lengzi tried to stop me, saying that the fire alone would have suffocated and killed him already, and going back would only cost me my life. I knew he meant well, but I couldn’t help myself. Even if I died too, at least we would die together as brothers.”
“I tore off a piece of my robe, soaked it in urine, and covered my nose before crawling back to the tunnel exit leading to the vault. Suddenly, I heard some movement inside the vault, as if it were Mr. Mu’s voice, cursing something unintelligibly. In the chaos, I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Just as I was about to go in, a strange sound suddenly came from above, like something piercing through the air with a ‘whoosh,’ followed by a loud ‘bang’ from inside the vault, after which the entire place seemed to tremble as if the ceiling had burned through and was about to collapse.”
“Following my memory, I crawled toward the porcelain shelves. The flames illuminated the vault, which helped me find my way. When I arrived, I saw my brother’s head wedged between two large chests, his head buried inside a big porcelain jar, already unconscious.”
“I saw that the chests had already caught fire, and sparks were beginning to fall on my brother. I rushed over and pulled him up. But at that moment, he suddenly seemed to go mad, grabbing tightly onto the unburned wooden chest with both hands and refusing to let go. I exerted all my strength, dragging both him and the chest to the tunnel entrance, calling for Si Lengzi to help, and finally got both of them into the tunnel.”
“Inside the tunnel, we quickly blocked the entrance and discussed our next move. We took the chest, along with the porcelain my brother had hidden in the small cave, and slowly made our way out. Fortunately, the exit was still as we had left it, and Mr. Mu hadn’t come out. We originally planned to escape with the loot, but something strange happened in the room. No matter how hard we tried to head toward the door, we kept going in circles and never actually moved forward!”
“Eventually, I grew extremely exhausted, with my unconscious brother still on my back. After walking for a while, I felt weak and dizzy, and somehow fell asleep.”
“When I woke up due to pain, I found several people kicking me. I learned that everyone had somehow fallen asleep, and when they woke up, my brother had already disappeared, taking the chest and the porcelain with him!”
“I had no idea what had happened, but there was no time to think carefully. I had to fight my way out with the others, and during the chaos, I found an opportunity to escape. I discovered that the room’s strange effect had vanished, and we all managed to flee. I ran desperately down a small path and finally shook off my pursuers.”
“At that time, I was seriously injured and deeply confused. I had to find a place to rest and recover until I felt strong enough to move again. Then I secretly went out to gather information. It was then that I learned that the palace had indeed caught fire and been robbed. Among us, one person had been captured by the soldiers because he woke up too late. But my brother had completely vanished, leaving no trace behind.”
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