The Reticent Blade-Chapter 113 - Infiltration

Tang Jinnian was locked in a fierce battle by the western suspension bridge.

Not a single person involved in the commotion noticed that a faint figure, as nimble as a spirit monkey,[1] skillfully climbed through a narrow window into the great hall.

Flowerless Butterfly crouched on the ground and took a deep breath as she began to survey her surroundings. She had entered a small room that only contained a table, a stool, and a bed that had a neatly folded Daoist robe on it. It appeared to be merely a room for an ordinary disciple of the Five Gods Summit.

Rao Shuang stood up and walked to the table, where several books bound with thread were scattered haphazardly. She casually picked one up and flipped through it, discovering that although it contained records of corpse refining and nurturing techniques, it didn't mention the Soul Locking Sunflower she was looking for.

Rao Shuang placed the book back in its place, lightly furrowing her brows and muttering to herself with some frustration, "That guy didn’t even tell me what the Soul Locking Sunflower looks like... where should I start looking?"

That said, Rao Shuang didn’t linger there for long. Regardless of where the Soul Locking Sunflower was, it certainly wouldn’t be placed in such an unremarkable room.

Rao Shuang stepped out of the room and gently closed the door behind her.

Outside was a corridor lined with several rooms, each seemingly no different from the room she had entered.

Rao Shuang pursed her lips in thought and stepped toward the center of the great hall.

The corridor was empty, and Rao Shuang walked leisurely as if in her own backyard. Not a whisper of her movements betrayed her, like a night owl on the hunt.

The corridor was winding and long, and Rao Shuang wandered along for a while without finding her way out. Moreover, dim lamps appeared only far apart along the walls, making her search even more difficult.

Their bluish-green flames flickered irregularly. Rao Shuang couldn’t tell what was fueling the flames, but they burned without a trace of smoke, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

After walking for a long time, Rao Shuang finally saw an exit. She quickened her pace and stepped inside, suddenly finding herself in a spacious area.

This was a large hall in the center of the great hall, with a grand statue standing right in the middle. On either side of the hall were two rows of long-lasting lamps, also burning with the same eerie bluish-green flames. Looking up, it was hard to make out the edge of the ceiling dome.

"What is it with the Five Gods Summit and their tricks?" Flower Butterfly Rao Shuang looked at the statue with a slight frown. "No wonder people in the martial world are unwilling to deal with them."

Rao Shuang emerged from the corridor in the left corner of the hall, where the firelight could not reach, leaving her in complete darkness. She surreptitiously looked around to make sure she was alone in the hall before stepping toward the statue. She held her breath, focusing on making her way through the shadows.

The statue was quite imposing. From her angle, it seemed to be four to five zhang tall, sitting atop a giant rock with one leg resting on the ground and the other crossed beneath it. Clad in a dark blue robe edged with gold thread and adorned with various flying birds and beasts, it held its hands close to its chest as if cradling something.

A crown made of jade beads adorned its head, but what was most striking were its eyes. Half-opened, they were phoenix-like and gazed down at the hall. At this moment, Rao Shuang stood right below the statue and felt as if it were closely observing her.

In this eerie environment, Rao Shuang felt goosebumps all over her body. She shook her head and decided not to look at the statue's eyes anymore.

At the foot of the statue lay an altar and several cushions, with some offerings placed on the altar. A few incense sticks still burned, releasing wisps of green smoke.

Rao Shuang’s gaze was suddenly drawn to a flower-like object held in the statue's hands.

"Soul Locking Sunflower?"

Rao Shuang's eyes brightened, and she lightly leapt onto the giant rock, using it as leverage to hop onto the statue's knee.

The nine-petaled flower held in the statue's hands was dark purple-black and bloomed strikingly as if it possessed the power to captivate a person's soul.

Rao Shuang was still disappointed when she got close... The flower was carved from stone.

Oh well, at least now I know what the Soul Locking Sunflower looks like, Rao Shuang thought, comforting herself as she climbed down from the statue.

After wandering around the hall a few more times, she still found nothing, but she did locate the stairs leading to the upper level. Since she couldn’t find any clues in the hall, Rao Shuang decided to continue her search upward.

There weren’t many rooms on the upper floor, but the rooms there were considerably more spacious, indicating that they were likely where people of some standing stayed.

Rao Shuang casually found a room, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. Before she could close the door, she heard a voice within another room ask, "Master, you’re back?"

Rao Shuang’s heart sank; she had been too careless. Earlier, the lower floor had been completely empty, which had lulled her into a false sense of security. She had assumed that the upper level would be similarly empty, but it was too late for regrets now. She had to act quickly in order to salvage the situation.

At that moment, footsteps were already approaching from within the room. Rao Shuang didn’t have time to think. She swiftly darted forward and hid behind the door.

A young Daoist priest dressed in a robe stepped out of the inner room, his hands wet and a smile still on his face.

"Hmm?"

The young Daoist glanced at the wide-open door, a confused expression appearing on his face. The next instant, a pair of delicate jade-like hands reached from behind toward his neck

Crack—

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The crisp sound of breaking bones echoed, and the young Daoist’s head was forcibly twisted all the way around. A puzzled smile lingered on his face.

Rao Shuang supported the body with her hand to keep it from causing a disturbance when it fell to the ground. She dragged the corpse back into the young Daoist's inner room, planning to find a place to hide it. Upon turning around, she saw two open coffins placed in the center of the room.

Rao Shuang cursed the bad omen under her breath, threw the body on the ground, and leaned forward to look into the coffins. The coffins were open, with the lids propped against the wall.

As she leaned in, she saw that each coffin contained a body. These two bodies had plump skin, laid quietly with closed eyes, but their faces were pale and lifeless. They were clearly two corpses.

The coffins held a deep green liquid, and the corpses were soaking in it, emitting an odd stench. Rao Shuang realized that this must be what Five Gods Summit referred to as corpse refining and nurturing.

"Be careful, be careful..."

"Make sure not to touch the Third Elder..."

While Rao Shuang was still lost in thought, voices suddenly came from outside the door. Startled, she quickly closed the door to this room, leaving only a tiny crack to observe what was happening outside secretly.

Outside, two disciples of Five Gods Summit carried an older man inside. She recognized him as the elder who had previously been severely injured in the explosion. He appeared to have received some preliminary treatments for his injuries, but the bloodstains on his robe and bandages still made him look quite disheveled.

The elder was still unconscious, so the two disciples laid him on a bed in one of the rooms before they left.

Rao Shuang's eyes flashed with cunning glint as she suddenly came up with an idea.

1. A metaphor often used to represent intelligence, agility, and supernatural abilities in Chinese folklore and mythology. The most famous example is Sun Wukong (孙悟空), the Monkey King from Journey to the West. ☜