“First of all, how did the woman survive? Since there was nothing edible at the foot of the cliff, how did she hold out until the rescue team arrived—not through sheer willpower alone? The man and the woman fell together. A wild animal could not have dragged away only the man while leaving the woman. Even if the woman were uninjured, a person who had been starving for days would have no strength left to fight off a wild animal. Therefore, the man went nowhere—he went into the woman’s stomach.”

Yan Qing had long expected him to guess correctly, yet she still couldn’t help praising him. “Worthy indeed of Director Shi. You’re absolutely right—the man did go into the woman’s stomach. Every day she used a small knife to cut flesh from the man’s body to eat, sustaining herself until the rescue team arrived. She killed her boyfriend alive, then buried his bones. Sometimes, in the face of survival, human nature can be utterly extinguished.”

Shi Ting suddenly extended his arm toward her mouth. “Here, eat me.”

Yan Qing was taken aback, then opened her mouth and gave his arm a bite, her expression full of disdain. “Awful. Can’t stomach it.”

Shi Ting laughed too, though his tone was grave. “If rescuers truly do come, I will make sure you hold on until that day.”

Yan Qing glared at him. “Don’t you dare.”

“Yan Qing, your life is more important than anything else. Nothing else matters to me.”

“If I didn’t have you, what would I want this life for?” Yan Qing’s nose stung. “You could cut your flesh and bleed yourself dry to keep me alive, but the version of me that survived that way would be nothing more than a walking corpse—or I’d simply tie a rope and hang myself to go find you. Your sacrifice would be utterly meaningless.”

“No matter what you might do afterward, I will never stand by and watch you die before my eyes.”

Yan Qing struck his chest with her fist in frustration. “Shi Xingzhi, you need to find a way to get us out of here, not talk nonsense. Listen to me—even if we die, I want to die with you. I will not survive alone. Not ever.”

That punch had not been struck with much force, yet when it landed on his body, a sudden sharp pain shot through his heart.

He could not help but take her hand. In the darkness he found her lips and kissed her gently.

There was neither night nor day inside the passage. In a daze, Yan Qing lost track of how much time had passed. When she wasn’t sleeping, she talked with Shi Ting.

She told him about cases she had handled before, and he could deduce most of the details on his own. Yan Qing thought that if he had been born in her era, he would surely have been a rising star in the world of law enforcement.

She couldn’t help imagining: if he had been her colleague, if they had worked together and solved cases together… would sparks of love have still flown between them, just as they had now.

“Smiling to yourself about what?” Shi Ting heard her voice and turned to look.

“Nothing.” Yan Qing smiled until her eyes curved like crescents. “Shi Ting, do you believe in past lives and future lives?”

“I didn’t before. Now I hope they truly exist.” The two lay side by side, their warmth intermingled, their heartbeats seemingly answering each other. “One lifetime is too short, Yan Qing. I haven’t fully savored everything you bring me. And I don’t want our story to end this way. I want to have children with you, grow old with you, do so many things with you.”

Yan Qing could not help but hold him tighter, her eyes already wet.

“Shi Ting, whether you believe it or not, I do.” Her voice was choked. “Even if this life is brief, I believe we will meet again in the next. Even if you change your appearance and take on a different identity, I would still recognize you at a glance.”

Shi Ting kissed her forehead. “Me too. If there’s a next life, I want to be an ordinary person—living plainly with you through an entire lifetime, without having to vie for power or scheme against others. I could be a cook, or work the fields. As long as it’s with you, anything would bring happiness. But in this life, I’m afraid that can’t be. I cannot give you the peace you desire, Yan Qing. I know this is not the life you would choose.”

“Shi Ting, let me tell you a story.” Yan Qing suddenly turned to face him, her gentle breath warming his cheek. “This story is called the Nine Princes Contending for the Throne. There was an emperor whose surviving sons numbered twenty-four. Nine of them entered the contest for the throne. In the end, only one prevailed and became emperor. To be born into the imperial family is to be destined for an exceptional fate. Even if you don’t wish to compete, you are forced into competition—that is the lot of a dragon’s son and grandson.”

Yan Qing had meant to use the story to let him know she understood his helplessness. But Shi Ting suddenly sat up in bed.

“What’s wrong?” His sudden movement startled Yan Qing.

Shi Ting picked up the flashlight and hurried to the sketched diagrams. The flashlight’s glow was now quite dim—it would not last much longer.

“Yan Qing, look at this—does it look like the scales on a dragon?” He pointed at one of the diagrams, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

“Yes, it does look a bit like that. But besides dragons, snakes also have scales, don’t they?”

“An ancient saying goes: east is the Azure Dragon, south is the Vermilion Phoenix, north is the Black Tortoise, west is the White Tiger. Now look at this diagram—doesn’t it look like feathers? And this one—doesn’t it look like a tortoise shell?”

Yan Qing pointed at a diagram before her. “This one looks like a tiger’s stripes.”

“Exactly. These diagrams correspond to the four cardinal directions of the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Phoenix, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger. The others are all there to mislead.”

“Then the one with the Azure Dragon is the east gate—the Life Gate. As long as we enter the east gate, we should be able to find the corresponding west gate inside, and then finally take the north gate to get out?”

Shi Ting was equally excited. “Of the eight openings, only the east gate is the correct one. Once we enter the east gate, we should find the same diagrams inside.”

“Then let’s go now.” Yan Qing stood up—and immediately felt the world spin around her. She nearly crumpled to the ground.

Neither of them knew how long they had been down here. Even the sensation of hunger had gone numb. But Yan Qing knew: this was her limit. If they did not get out now, she would not survive another day.

Shi Ting caught her in an instant and, without a word, hoisted her onto his back.

“It’s all right, I can walk.” Yan Qing said urgently. “You haven’t eaten anything either. Where would you find the strength?”

“When I’m on a case, I often go without food or water for long stretches. I’m used to it.” Shi Ting carried her steadily. “Hold on tight.”

Yan Qing lay on his back, both arms wrapped tightly around his neck. His footsteps were even, his back broad. She loved the sense of security he gave her—making her feel safe at every moment, without exception.

Shi Ting used the last remaining glow of the flashlight to search the tunnel walls for diagrams. The passages were a labyrinthine tangle of exits; once inside, it was like entering a maze, and one could only keep circling back to the origin.

“Shi Ting, there.” Yan Qing pointed ahead to a passage. “There’s a tiger-stripe diagram.”

After the two turned into that passage, Shi Ting switched off the flashlight. To conserve the remaining charge, he had to feel his way forward in the dark.

Only when they reached a new fork did he switch it on again. Just as he had expected, they saw the tortoise-shell diagram.

Following this passage all the way ahead, Yan Qing heard a faint birdsong. “Shi Ting, there are birds—we must be near an exit.”

Just as the two were on the verge of reaching the exit, someone appeared to be standing at the passage ahead, motionless as a statue.

Shi Ting instinctively stopped. His eyes narrowed. “Yan Qing, come down for now.”

Yan Qing slid off Shi Ting’s back and looked toward the passage entrance. Someone truly was standing there. Because of the lighting, the person’s face was unclear, but one could see she was slight and slender.

“Master Huiyuan, is that you?” Yan Qing called out suddenly.

The figure seemed to pause. Then a kerosene lamp was lit, and the person carried it slowly forward.

Shi Ting placed himself in front of Yan Qing and watched the figure approach without blinking.

The flashlight grew dimmer and dimmer, and at last went out entirely. But the kerosene lamp grew brighter and brighter, gradually illuminating the person’s face.

She wore a gray monk’s robe, so washed and worn it had gone pale and old. The robe was a little large and clearly not a proper fit.

Her face was small, her skin pale and fine. Though she was no longer young, she still carried the grace and elegance of exceptional beauty.

She moved with unhurried serenity, her steps measured and steady, and as she walked toward them from the distance, she bore a distinctive and refined air.

“It appears your guess was correct.” Shi Ting said quietly. “Master Huiyuan, it really is you.”

Even though Shi Ting had never seen her before, he trusted his instincts.

Huiyuan raised her beautiful eyes. When she saw Shi Ting, her fine brows instinctively furrowed. “What is your relationship to Shi Kai?”

“I am his son.”

“No wonder.” Huiyuan smiled. That smile made her face even more radiant. “I heard that Shi Kai has three sons. Which one are you?”

“Shi Ting. The third son.”

Huiyuan nodded. “And your mother?”

“She was once a maidservant of the First Madam.”

“You look very much like him.” Huiyuan’s tone was light, her voice pleasing to the ear. “How is he now?”

Shi Ting did not mention that the General had just taken a new wife. He only nodded. “All is well.”

Huiyuan looked past the two of them. “How did you find your way out? This passage has only one true exit. All the others are dead ends or simply loop back to the beginning. The exits here are countless and intricate—finding the way out by luck alone is impossible.”

“Did Master Huiyuan know we were trapped in here?”

“Of course.” Huiyuan smiled slightly. “Anyone who enters this passage, I will know of it. But in all the years it has stood, you are the first to enter—and the first to find the way out.”

“Was Master Huiyuan coming to see whether we were alive or dead?”

“I had originally intended to let you fend for yourselves. But you are innocent people, and it would be too cruel to do that.”

Yan Qing looked at her in surprise. “You’ve come to rescue us?”