Chapter 8: A Hidden Chamber

[Ding~ You have received a new task: Emperor Jing has ordered you to swiftly travel to the Southern Frontier to secretly escort the Celestial Mechanic. Bandits run rampant along the way, so be extremely cautious, or you may meet your demise.]

[Ding~ You have received a special task from Old Daoist Xu: Use the Southern Frontier’s Gu creatures to secretly manipulate your target. Upon completion, you will be richly rewarded.]

[Ding~ The Emperor has tasked you with investigating the tomb of a princess from the previous dynasty to uncover its connection with the Heavenly Pardoned One. It is said that the ghost of a charming woman resides there, longing to find a man with a strong yang essence to dual cultivate.]

[Ding~ Investigate the cause of the old emperor’s death and continue secretly assisting Prince Huai, Zhu Zigui, ensuring your identity remains undisclosed.]

“…!”

The ten players scattered throughout Prince Huai’s residence simultaneously activated their mainline tasks. Some had to maintain their concealment, while others needed to act aggressively or travel far afield.

Ren Ye, holding the Nation-Stabilizing Sword, had propelled the “script reenactment” process forward significantly.

…

Inside the Hall of Tranquility, Ren Ye stood behind the throne, gripping the Nation-Stabilizing Sword as clarity flooded his mind.

The room’s bizarre phenomena had vanished, and calm returned.

Had he truly obtained a peerless divine weapon so effortlessly?

Ren Ye’s heart raced with excitement as he scanned the sword with burning eyes, thinking, I really am the child of destiny, the main character of this world!

[Congratulations, Heavenly Pardoned One. The Nation-Stabilizing Sword has sensed the aura of heavenly pardon emanating from you and is willing to recognize you as its master. However, it seems the sword’s spirit has been lost. You must recover it to fully restore the sword’s legendary powers. Currently, it is only slightly sharper than an ordinary weapon.]

“Damn it! No special abilities? Then why even bother?” Ren Ye cursed in frustration. “All that drama just for a glorified kitchen knife?”

To restore its original mystical power, he would need to recover the spirit—a task for another day. Right now, he was more interested in seeing where the hidden passage led.

Ren Ye raised his head to examine the cracked wall. The passage was dark, exuding an air of eerie mystery.

Feeling uneasy, he turned to Second Fool and ordered, “My loyal general, go. Head down there!”

Second Fool blinked his small, “intelligent” eyes, showing some hesitation.

“What? Do you expect me to lead the way?”

“That’s not what I mean,” Second Fool scratched his head nervously. “I can go down there, even die if necessary, but… could you not assign me to care for the military horses? To be honest, I’m a little scared…!”

Ren Ye felt exasperated. This guy truly was a blockhead, unable to recognize a joke. “Go check it out. If you do well, I’ll assign you only to the mares.”

“Really, Your Highness?” Second Fool’s eyes lit up.

“…Yes.”

“Understood!” Second Fool, overjoyed, leaped into the tunnel in a single bound, seemingly unafraid of anything anymore.

Ren Ye held the Nation-Stabilizing Sword, waiting in the hall for a moment. Soon, Second Fool’s voice echoed from the passage: “Your Highness, we’ve struck gold! There’s a treasure trove of gold, silver, and jewels down here—no traps in sight!”

“Wait there.”

Hearing the call, Ren Ye didn’t rush into the tunnel. Instead, he stepped out of the hall and called out into the corridor, “Lian’er!”

“Your Highness, I’m here,” Lian’er answered sweetly as she approached, her eyes shyly avoiding his gaze.

“Turn around,” Ren Ye instructed.

Lian’er glanced at him curiously but obediently turned her back to him.

As a familiar masculine scent wafted into her nose, her heart fluttered like a deer in panic, and her cheeks turned rosy.

Lian’er had previously shared intimate moments with Zhu Zigui and was well aware of his unusual preferences. Whether in public or private, day or night, he often indulged in scandalous behavior without concern for the setting or the presence of others.

No way… surely His Highness wouldn’t… here…

Lian’er felt him slowly approaching, his hand gently brushing her back. Her heart raced with nervousness, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

“Rip!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain radiated from the back of her head.

“Uh… Your Highness, what are you doing?” Lian’er stood stiffly, unsure of what to do.

Ren Ye quickly yanked out a lock of Lian’er’s hair and strode back into the hall. “That’s all. You may leave.”

Lian’er turned around, her face blank with confusion. Her mind was full of questions: “Why did His Highness pull out a lock of my hair? Is this some new eccentricity of his?”

Once inside the hall, Ren Ye tied a few strands of her hair to all the doors and windows in the room. This precaution was to ensure that if anyone snuck in, he would know.

Why not use his own hair?

Probably because he was wearing a crown, which made it inconvenient to pluck out his own hair. Of course, it could also just be because it would hurt too much.

After setting everything up, Ren Ye finally walked into the secret passage with the Nation-Stabilizing Sword in his arms. He lit the torches hanging along the walls with a firestarter.

…

The flickering torchlight dispelled the darkness. Ren Ye descended a winding stone staircase, going down about seven or eight meters, until he reached a secret chamber.

The room was approximately 20 square meters. The interior was almost entirely filled with shelves, which stood in two rows, leaving only a narrow and cramped pathway in the middle. The setting resembled a private archive.

The shelves were lined with an array of items: precious gold and silver treasures, antique calligraphy and paintings, weapons, and numerous documents.

With a torch in hand, Ren Ye stepped through the narrow corridor and saw Second Fool standing in front of an iron door. Second Fool was staring at it curiously. “Your Highness, look, there’s another door here.”

Huh?

Why would a secret chamber have another door?

Ren Ye moved closer to inspect it. The iron door had a simple and ancient design, heavy and adorned with indistinct patterns resembling murals. A yellow talisman with red characters was affixed to the door’s knocker.

As Ren Ye got closer, he felt a chilling wind seeping through the door’s cracks. Goosebumps instantly rose on his neck.

“Why does this door feel so eerie, like it’s connected to the underworld?” Second Fool, though a robust martial artist with strong yang energy, also felt a wave of discomfort.

Cautiously, Ren Ye shuffled forward, trying to peer through the crack in the door to glimpse what lay inside.

“Shhh… shhh…”

The torchlight flickered, the shadows dancing wildly. The cold wind blew through the crack, rustling the talisman.

Ren Ye swallowed hard and stretched his neck forward, squinting with one eye to peer into the crack.

“Boom!!!”

Out of nowhere, the iron door let out a deafening bang, as though something had slammed against it with great force.

Ren Ye stumbled three steps back in fright. Second Fool, startled, immediately stepped in front of him without hesitation.

“Clang, clang!”

The sound of chains scraping against the ground echoed from behind the door.

“Woo… woo…”

The wind howled, interspersed with faint, sorrowful wails.

“Damn!”

Sweat broke out on Ren Ye’s forehead as he instinctively grabbed Second Fool’s arm. “Don’t go near it.”

[You have discovered a sealed chamber. It is said that three eunuchs who guarded the Hall of Tranquility once saw, at the stroke of midnight, a figure hanging from the main hall’s beam—a red ribbon wrapped around its neck, its body swaying gently in the candlelight…]

[You cannot open this chamber at the moment. Perhaps the Nation-Stabilizing Sword, once its spirit is restored, can break the seal.]

The cold, detached voice of the Stellar Scar Gate echoed in Ren Ye’s ears.

Hearing that the chamber was related to the quest, Ren Ye exhaled slightly in relief. “Second Fool, let’s focus on finding the secret edict and ignore this door for now.”

“Understood.” Second Fool nodded.

Turning away, Ren Ye wiped the sweat from his brow.

But as he turned, his pupils suddenly constricted.

In the dimly lit chamber, a face had appeared, less than half a step away from him.

It was a face mostly obscured by long hair, pale and wrinkled. Blood dripped from its hollow eyes, and its lips were a ghastly shade of purple. It was impossible to discern its gender, but its gaze was filled with intense malice as it stared at Ren Ye.

With just one glance, Ren Ye felt his hair stand on end, a cold chill shooting straight to the top of his head.

“Snap!”

Every torch in the chamber simultaneously went out.

“Ungrateful descendants! Return my life… give me back my soul!!”

A piercing scream reverberated through the chamber.